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Complaining about a demonstrators lack of professionalism

J

JerrySambrook

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Dec 3, 2006
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Location
Western Mass
Where in these forums can we go to make comments about a demonstrator. And what may be their lack of professionalism, comments made to attendees, etc?

I have seen a post where this was done in the past, and the post was removed for "bashing"

I think there might be a small difference between "bashing" and helping others not go through the same hardships.

I ask this, because I was verbally warned by a friend about the demands someone asks, and h ow that person treats audience members, etc.
I thanked my friend, asked another who might be in the know, and received the same reply.

Needless to say, it saved me from having an angry group from three different clubs from being irked at me.

Jerry
 
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questionable to pass on hearsay or even one person's experience

JerrySambrook said:
Where in these forums can we go to make comments about a demonstrator. And what may be their lack of professionalism, comments made to attendees, etc?

I have seen a post where this was done in the past, and the post was removed for "bashing"

I think there might be a small difference between "bashing" and helping others not go through the same hardships.

I ask this, because I was verbally warned by a friend about the demands someone asks, and h ow that person treats audience members, etc.
I thanked my friend, asked another who might be in the know, and received the same reply.

Needless to say, it saved me from having an angry group from three different clubs from being irked at me.

Jerry
Click to expand...



Jerry,

Always questionable to pass on other people's experience good or bad. There is a specialty supplier with a pretty bad reputation. He is my number one favorite supplier to deal with and went to amazing lengths to make things right when there was an issue with a shipment.

Another supplier, a good Christian gentleman recommended by almost one and all took me over the hurdles to the tune of thousands. Yet another supplier, maybe the biggest in the business(not general wood turning, a niche) sent me an order so fouled up it seemed to have to be deliberate. Out of ten or twelve items, two or three were what I had ordered. When I had ordered I had given name and item number, this was purely on the puller.

I called the supplier to make them aware that I had an issue and they seemed to have one with an unhappy employee trying to offend customers. The gentleman I spoke to has a great reputation for customer service. I was quiet and polite discussing my problem, I certainly expected no issues dealing with it. The "gentleman" was a great smelly butt to put it as gently as possible and expected me to pay shipping on the returned items unless I shipped them in their preferred method. The funny part about that, he didn't tell me what that method was!

They shipped me a piece of material four times longer than I had ordered and charged full price. The introductory offer for the smaller piece was considerably cheaper but at thirty dollars a foot for one inch round stock this was pretty pricey stuff. I had intended to part it off on my lathe and send them back the extra including an extra 1/8" but I found it ridiculous that he was very emphatic that I eat the curf on something I didn't order and send them back exactly full length or no refund.

A thirty minute conversation with this man respected far and wide for great customer service and he was a jackass on every point. Suspect I caught him on less than his best day but needless to say my opinion and any review or feedback I gave would reflect my dealings not the thousands of wonderful dealings people had with this huge entity.

I don't know where we draw the line between people's right to know and potentially harming businesses with an unfair review. I defend the people that have treated me right and hammer the people that have taken my over the hurdles. The first supplier mentioned came to my attention because there was a thread with a handful of professionals bashing him. I said something about glad to see the thread, where there is smoke there is usually fire and I don't need the headaches. The owner of the business contacted me privately to tell me not a problem, he didn't need the headache of a customer like me. Once communications were opened though we both found we wanted to do business with each other. As the owner of the business explained to me he had thousands of happy customers and a few unhappy ones. The unhappy ones made a lot more noise!

I think we should be allowed to post requesting experiences with a person or business good or bad and ask that all replies be by PM. Rarely works out that way in my experience though. The people with good experiences post openly and after awhile the people with bad experiences feel the need to balance the thread.

You bring up a valid issue, when all is said and done I don't know how to solve it. Hopefully I have at least explained the issue and the reason that posting a few experiences out of thousands, good or bad, can be misleading.

Hu
 
Don't even think about it.

If you personally have something that needs to be discussed, talk directly to the individual and don't go slandering somebody on a public forum. It is an even worse move on your part if you are only going on hearsay regardless of how much you believe that it is reliable. We have had some demonstrators that some people didn't like and others thought that they were wonderful.
 
I agree with Bill.

Best thing to do is have. Short conversation with prospective demonstrators/ workshop leaders.
Tell them what you are looking for. Ask them about what they need.
put all the time schedules and financial agreements in an email also list equipment and wood you may be supplying.

All demonstrators have great, good, and not so good days. Often a little side comment will turn a whole club against a demonstrator.
Might be a misunderstood joke or a miscommunicated question.
A few years ago a national demonstrator visited two nearby clubs. One club thought he was the worst person on earth
The other club could not say enough good things about the man. I did not get to either event but I heard plenty from both.

Al
 
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Jerry
Hu has described why Bill and Als are so right the forums are not the place as things get out of hand and the mods have to step in and close it down, there is never an answer so nothing achieved only a slanging match for those that want to have a go at someone. Just my 2 cents worth.

Ian
 
Good & bad

I frequent a forum that is only distantly related to woodworking or turning. Since a number of the members have this particular business as a source of income, they are very outspoken in their reviews of suppliers. Quality and timely delivery can be critical in getting a product to the customer. As a result, the reviews can reflect the findings of several rather than one person. Critique of a supplier to any hobby or craft can be a wake-up call to get their act together and treat customers in a proper way. JMHO.
 
Jerry, if asked about the person by say a club thinking about having that person then by all means tell your experiance. When face to face with someone and you begin comparing notes of folks you have seen you will find what has been stated. A turner can have a great day at one club and a really bad one at another. And I kid you not that info does get around. Turners can be kicked back and go with pretty much whatever a club hands them and time and time again they get high marks. Its turners who when things go right for them deliver a great demo. But one little thing and that same turner becomes a clubs nightmare. So word gets around. Both turners may be high in demand to demo. But the day that one turner went south meant they would never be invited back to that club. Is that fair to that turner? You bet it is. But do I talk about it on a public forum? No. I have been demo point for the Big Island for more than 20 years. The list of turners to teach here is the whos who. 98% of them so to speak did very good to great. Even when things were not the best for them. That other 2%? Anyway talk over the phone or face to face. And has been stated if you feel that strong about it give the person in question a direct call and see what they have to say.
Outfits giving bad service I think is another matter. Threads on that have resulted in the company either trying to make it better or they have had their mask pulled off.
 
I see no harm in giving a rating for a demonstrator. Similar to a rating of a movie for example. We ask for comments and critiques of our work, why not for a demonstrator experience. Some mention that the word gets around, but I would argue that with the number of small clubs in the AAW, many of them get stung by an expensive and unpleasant experience as the years go by. That expensive mistake will kill a budget for the year with a small club. Spending a little more for a 5 star demonstrator would give more confidence to the expenditure.
 
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