F1 telescopes- any dealings?

[Dean Watson]

Just had a bit of a contretemps with this mob.  Ordered a couple of scope bags from them at the weekend, called them up to check if it was coming out by courier and when (other than acknowledgement  of order), no courier shipping  details - no dig deal, just wanted to find what was happening.

 

Anyway, was told by rather officious woman that they don't work Monday and Tuesday and when I expressed relatively mild consternation that this wasnt how most companies conduct business, was told they are not Amazon and its on their website clearly (It isn't, not even in the 'about' section, its certainly not obvious).  She immediately  proceeded to saying she had better cancel my order then - I hadn't even suggested that and was no more than mildly irritated. - except after that of course.  So anyway proceeded to make my order with Rother Valley Optics, who do want my money...

 

 

[+Graham]

Unbelievable 

Some companies do make you wonder. 

[+RonC]

Good name and shame, F1 telescopes!!

[tuckstar]

I ordered a filter kit from them a few months ago. Like you got the order confirmation then nothing for a week or 2. Rang them up and they told me they were out of stock. Even though I had had a confirmation email. They hadn't taken any money so they just cancelled the order. Would of been nice to know.

[+bryand]

Interesting.  I ordered my ES ED102 scope from them because they DID answer the phone (Altair lost my business because they didn't) and the goods arrived within 48 hours.  I subsequently went down to Sittingborne and traded in my 6" SCT  for some ES lenses - which again arrived in 48 hours with no fuss.  They are a small outfit with limited stocks, and rely on just-in-time supply from their suppliers, like many small UK retailers.

So I've had good experiences with them, but that clearly isn't universal.

 

Edited March 27, 2018 by bryand

[Dean Watson]

What got me wasn't the supply, delivery time or whatnot, simply the take it or leave it attitude to how they work.  Sometimes...  Not that you would know that from their website.  A heads up that they are part timers would be nice...  And taking the criticism for the lack thereof.

[+bryand]

You seem to have hit them on a bad day, which can happen to anybody.

When I was there they had 3 telescope cases in stock and on display (I subsequently bought a golf bag from Amazon at 1/3rd the price).

I've had poor responses - online and over the phone - from FLO, Altair, Tring and RVO so singling out f1 on the basis of a single transaction seems a bit harsh to me.

 

Maybe we need to adopt a cuddly phone persona.

[Bottletopburly]

7 hours ago, bryand said:

You seem to have hit them on a bad day, which can happen to anybody.

When I was there they had 3 telescope cases in stock and on display (I subsequently bought a golf bag from Amazon at 1/3rd the price).

I've had poor responses - online and over the phone - from FLO, Altair, Tring and RVO so singling out f1 on the basis of a single transaction seems a bit harsh to me.

 

Maybe we need to adopt a cuddly phone persona.

I’ve had poor responses from other Astro retailers , maybe down to being busy, I can live with that but one to one over the phone that’s different, if they value your custom  and business, manners cost nothing, that phone call resulted in a customer taking their money elsewhere . 

[Dean Watson]

10 hours ago, bryand said:

You seem to have hit them on a bad day, which can happen to anybody.

When I was there they had 3 telescope cases in stock and on display (I subsequently bought a golf bag from Amazon at 1/3rd the price).

I've had poor responses - online and over the phone - from FLO, Altair, Tring and RVO so singling out f1 on the basis of a single transaction seems a bit harsh to me.

 

Maybe we need to adopt a cuddly phone persona.

weeelll.... I was a first time customer and this sort of thing does not make one want to hurry back.  By contrast, ordered the same thing yesterday at one pm, came this morning by courier at nine.  No muss, no fuss, no attitude.  Customer service is fundamental, especially for astronomy suppliers which even with the relatively few left is still paramount.  Through rudeness and slack attitude they lost not just an active sale but potential future ones.  On the other hand RV optics did it right for no more effort.