englishal

Why is customer service from many UK GA suppliers so bad? I have come to the conclusion that UK businesses supplying parts or services to UK GA are either:

• Too busy to reply
• Too lazy to reply
• Obviously don't want the work.
• Think it is beneath them to talk to an end user such as me
• Stuck in the dark ages and don't really know what email is

This is based on my recent attempts to source parts / services for our aeroplane repair (we're talking high value items here, in excess of £30,000).

Of all the companies I contacted, the replies I got first were from the USA, second Portugal, and in last place the UK, and in fact some of the UK companies didn't bother replying.

One example, I want a new high value item. The US manufacturer replied straight away (when you take into account the time change) and said no problem, here is the price, and shipping will be X amount, but why not try contacting the UK distributor as they may be able to do it cheaper as they are sent differently and so shipping is cheaper. So I do.....No response.....that is 10 days ago.

UK GA must be in such good shape that all these companies are so busy that they are rushed off their feet and don't have time to respond to me, the only logical conclusion. In that case I better take all my business to the USA..................

IO540

One could add to the list

- illiterate and embarrassed about it

- illiterate and unaware of it

- read PPRuNe/flyer

- don't like customers who ask intelligent questions (= trouble)

The last one is a problem everywhere; one has to be really careful with the way questions are framed...

The basic problem is that most of UK GA is tight as.... and most people want something for nothing. Obviously one cannot make any money from people who want to pay literally nothing, but over the years the whole business has become structured to scrape out some kind of living from the next layer up which is people who are just really tight.

This in turn means that competence and project management tend to be poor.

It's like most builders - they run 5 jobs at the same time, moving workers from a job where the punter is laid back to a job where the punter is screaming at them, leaving machinery or maybe one token worker on the former site to make it look like they are "just about to come back" to it, etc...

And when a punter with £30k to spend and clear knowledge of what he wants turns up, and being a business/professional person himself he rightly expects a decent service, he can't get it - because it doesn't exist.

BroomstickPilot

This isn't new Englishal.

It has been going on for years and years.

'Trouble is, we have put up with it for so long.

I'd say don't even bother to seek prices from UK 'suppliers'; buy from the Yanks, they DESERVE the business.

Broomstick.

englishal

It seems that way, and it seems the WANT the business.