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Post by Rockindad on Apr 1, 2019 11:07:00 GMT -5
I am currently having a frustrating experience with a particular shop (T-Rocks in Quartzsite) where the communication is lacking, product not forthcoming, etc., but there was no problem processing the money part of the transaction immediately. As a very realistic person I understand that life happens, but I was also in business for myself before my current job and am a big believer in communication. I really do not want to throw any business under the bus so I will not comment on that situation until later this week to give them every opportunity to make things right. This made me want to focus more on the positive dealings I have had to date. None of this is based on pricing, more on customer service. VERY GOOD/ GREAT:RockTumbler.com- bought tumblers, rock, grit..........everything to get started and then some. Excellent website for someone just getting into tumbling. Multiple transactions. The Rock Shed- bought a lot of rock, large bags of grit, ceramics, tumbler, etc. Multiple transactions. Color Wright/GreatSlabs.com- bought various slabs. Only one transaction, so far. They all had very good communication from the time of the transaction forward. Packaging from all three was also terrific. Would not hesitate to purchase from any of them again and plan on doing so in the near future. Highly recommended. NOT DECIDED YET:Fantasia Mining- bought a lot of rock directly through their website (they also sell on Amazon). Literally no communication after the sale, no receipt, no tracking number, nothing. Although, once again, they processed the money part of the transaction immediately. When I contacted them I was told they had the order and would send me an email with the confirmation and tracking. It never came. The order did show up in a reasonable amount of time though. Packaging was terrible. Everything just thrown in a box haphazardly. Everything we received was in one pound bags regardless of the quantity ordered and it was the brittle type of plastic- half of them were busted open. The quality of the rough was also pretty inconsistent. Some was pretty good but a couple of others looked like someone took a 30lb. sledgehammer to them- they were reduced to shards. Not some pieces, but whole bags. The sunstone we received was soaked in oil that will not come out after much washing and going through coarse. This was not on the outside of the bags so somewhere along the line this was packaged like this. It is a neat website in that there was a lot of variety but I would not be in a hurry to deal with them again. ***Special shoutout to bcrockhound from whom I purchased, like many others here, some great Dallasite. Seemless transaction with great communication. I would definitely deal with him again! Al |
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QuailRiver
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since May 2008
Posts: 1,640
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Post by QuailRiver on Apr 2, 2019 14:17:20 GMT -5
I've always had good experiences with The Rock Shed too. Also one that I don't see mentioned often but I have always had good experiences with is MLS (Minnesota Lapidary Supply). Nice folks, very helpful and carry a good assortment of supplies.
Kingsley North is usually pretty good too but they did give me a little bit of resistance once when they shipped me a couple of defected MK/Barranca diamond blades. The blades were defective from the factory so it wasn't their fault but they didn't seem to believe me and didn't want to authorize a return but after a lengthy phone conversation finally did. Other than that one time I've had pretty good service from them.
Larry C.
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Post by Rockindad on Apr 2, 2019 16:38:52 GMT -5
I've always had good experiences with The Rock Shed too. Also one that I don't see mentioned often but I have always had good experiences with is MLS (Minnesota Lapidary Supply). Nice folks, very helpful and carry a good assortment of supplies. Kingsley North is usually pretty good too but they did give me a little bit of resistance once when they shipped me a couple of defected MK/Barranca diamond blades. The blades were defective from the factory so it wasn't their fault but they didn't seem to believe me and didn't want to authorize a return but after a lengthy phone conversation finally did. Other than that one time I've had pretty good service from them. Larry C. Thanks for the reminder about MLS, I had been on their site before but forgot about it, got it bookmarked now. Al |
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MommaGem
spending too much on rocks
Member since April 2019
Posts: 312
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Post by MommaGem on May 1, 2019 15:07:52 GMT -5
Another thumbs up for The Rock Shed! I placed a large order for grit, polish, and plastic pellets on Monday..... and it arrived today!! He also discounted shipping because it could fit in a flat-rate box. I will definitely buy from him again!
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Post by Rockindad on May 1, 2019 15:38:54 GMT -5
Another thumbs up for The Rock Shed! I placed a large order for grit, polish, and plastic pellets on Monday..... and it arrived today!! He also discounted shipping because it could fit in a flat-rate box. I will definitely buy from him again! In the last month I have been out of control as I have made two more orders with RockTumbler.com, three with The Rock Shed and one more with GreatSlabs.com. I am very happy to say that these all went very smooth and shipping was fast on all of them. I also bought material from two RTH members which were great as well and I would highly recommend dealing with roy and vegasjames. In the meantime I am still having problems with the shop mentioned in my original post. This has been going on for a month and a half. I really go out of my way not to say anything negative about a business and that is why I have not updated this thread yet- I have reached out to them multiple times to make things right and they just fail to respond. I ordered 45lbs. of different jaspers from them and was shorted on some of the more expensive ones. What I received was a total of 46lbs. with the difference "made up" by going over on the cheapest variety, not even coming close to making up for what I was charged. I just asked for what I ordered and paid for. As I am in NY and they are in Arizona it is not like I can drive over there and knock on their door. Despite this, I still hesitate to name the business. I think I am going to try one last email (after multiple phone calls and emails). It has been a very discouraging process. Thankfully I have found plenty of other trustworthy people to deal with. Al |
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MommaGem
spending too much on rocks
Member since April 2019
Posts: 312
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Post by MommaGem on May 1, 2019 16:18:45 GMT -5
Wow - a month after your original post and you still haven't gotten a good response from them yet? I'm so sorry to hear that  |
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Post by MsAli on May 1, 2019 17:18:10 GMT -5
I am sorry Al, that is very frustrating and not good business. Can you return what they sent for a refund?
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Post by Rockindad on May 1, 2019 17:34:15 GMT -5
I am sorry Al, that is very frustrating and not good business. Can you return what they sent for a refund? I would be fine with any of the following (and have let them know this): -Refund me the difference in money that they made by substituting a cheaper material to "make up" the weight. -Just send me the material I was shorted. -I will send the material back for a refund, I do however want them to cover the shipping as they are the ones that did not fulfill the order. I think each one of these is simple and fair and just don't see what the big deal is. Al |
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Post by MsAli on May 1, 2019 17:39:58 GMT -5
I am sorry Al, that is very frustrating and not good business. Can you return what they sent for a refund? I would be fine with any of the following (and have let them know this): -Refund me the difference in money that they made by substituting a cheaper material to "make up" the weight. -Just send me the material I was shorted. -I will send the material back for a refund, I do however want them to cover the shipping as they are the ones that did not fulfill the order. I think each one of these is simple and fair and just don't see what the big deal is. Al More than fair and more than fair for you to leave them a bad review. I think you have been very patient with them and them ignoring you is just really bad business. |
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Post by rockjunquie on May 1, 2019 19:26:06 GMT -5
In the interest of protecting fellow RTH'ers, I think at this point it would be safe to name drop the sob's.
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Post by Rockindad on May 1, 2019 19:30:17 GMT -5
In the interest of protecting fellow RTH'ers, I think at this point it would be safe to name drop the sob's. Very soon, I promised myself that I would try to reach out to them one more time- either tonight/tomorrow. Al |
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Post by roy on May 10, 2019 11:02:26 GMT -5
thanks for the good review ! sorry your having issues in the future let me know if i dont have what your looking for i will most likely know who will and i can refer you to that person
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Post by MsAli on May 10, 2019 12:04:52 GMT -5
Al
Did you get a solution to this?
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Post by Rockindad on May 10, 2019 13:09:03 GMT -5
Al Did you get a solution to this? After reaching out to them yet again they did acquiesce and send the material I was shorted which I just received Wednesday. A bit torn as to whether or not to post the name of the business. Generally, my philosophy is to talk up the businesses I have had good experiences with and just not patronize the ones that have not been so good. They did eventually do the right thing but not without a lot of unanswered communications and badgering that went on for a month and a half. For now, I will say that they are a business that not only sells online but has a storefront in Arizona located in a town that is home to some rather large gem and mineral shows each year. If you went to their website you would know right away by their name. One of the real unfortunate things is we like visiting the southwest and I really wanted to visit this shop based on the pictures from their website, won't be doing that now. If anyone would want further information you can send me a PM and I will give you the businesses name, just have not made up my mind yet whether to publicly name them. Al |
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Post by MsAli on May 10, 2019 13:30:02 GMT -5
Al Did you get a solution to this? After reaching out to them yet again they did acquiesce and send the material I was shorted which I just received Wednesday. A bit torn as to whether or not to post the name of the business. Generally, my philosophy is to talk up the businesses I have had good experiences with and just not patronize the ones that have not been so good. They did eventually do the right thing but not without a lot of unanswered communications and badgering that went on for a month and a half. For now, I will say that they are a business that not only sells online but has a storefront in Arizona located in a town that is home to some rather large gem and mineral shows each year. If you went to their website you would know right away by their name. One of the real unfortunate things is we like visiting the southwest and I really wanted to visit this shop based on the pictures from their website, won't be doing that now. If anyone would want further information you can send me a PM and I will give you the businesses name, just have not made up my mind yet whether to publicly name them. Al I am just glad it got resolved and that is all I wanted to know Now I cant wait to see what you do with all the goodies you bought and IMO there really isn't any need to state who it was, in the end the outcome was good |
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Post by Rockindad on May 10, 2019 18:20:26 GMT -5
thanks for the good review ! sorry your having issues in the future let me know if i dont have what your looking for i will most likely know who will and i can refer you to that person Thanks Roy, I appreciate it and look forward to dealing with you again! Al |
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Post by Rockindad on May 10, 2019 18:26:07 GMT -5
After reaching out to them yet again they did acquiesce and send the material I was shorted which I just received Wednesday. A bit torn as to whether or not to post the name of the business. Generally, my philosophy is to talk up the businesses I have had good experiences with and just not patronize the ones that have not been so good. They did eventually do the right thing but not without a lot of unanswered communications and badgering that went on for a month and a half. For now, I will say that they are a business that not only sells online but has a storefront in Arizona located in a town that is home to some rather large gem and mineral shows each year. If you went to their website you would know right away by their name. One of the real unfortunate things is we like visiting the southwest and I really wanted to visit this shop based on the pictures from their website, won't be doing that now. If anyone would want further information you can send me a PM and I will give you the businesses name, just have not made up my mind yet whether to publicly name them. Al I am just glad it got resolved and that is all I wanted to know Now I cant wait to see what you do with all the goodies you bought and IMO there really isn't any need to state who it was, in the end the outcome was good Thanks Ali, I'm glad it is done also as it was truly the last attempt I was going to make with them. Was just tired of stewing about it. Although I've got to admit it feels good to finally get what was owed. Al |
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Post by Garage Rocker on May 11, 2019 3:48:52 GMT -5
My biggest problem with them was a failure to ship my materials in a timely manner and poor communication.
Glad your situation was finally resolved to your satisfaction.
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Post by Rockindad on Aug 16, 2021 16:37:16 GMT -5
Due to a discussion in a current thread I went digging for this one, I knew I had written about T-Rocks before. What I did not recall was that I did not name the business at the time. For the sake of posterity I am going to change that, now that I know others have had similar issues. Looking back I regret not doing this when the thread was first created as it may have saved others some aggravation.
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Tommy
Administrator 
Member since January 2013
Posts: 12,981
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Post by Tommy on Aug 17, 2021 10:28:39 GMT -5
Due to a discussion in a current thread I went digging for this one, I knew I had written about T-Rocks before. What I did not recall was that I did not name the business at the time. For the sake of posterity I am going to change that, now that I know others have had similar issues. Looking back I regret not doing this when the thread was first created as it may have saved others some aggravation. Thanks for the followup. I never have regrets for airing on the side of fairness to a business while the jury is still out on their performance. After a while it becomes obvious when customer service just isn't their strong suite and other folks should be aware of it. I recently left a "maps" review for a restaurant that is all the rage here in Napa - gently stating that the "Kobe" burgers we both ordered were seriously over cooked. The "chef" responded implying it was our fault and sorry the burgers didn't meet our exacting standards ... now the gloves come off, it's on like donkey kong.  |
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