Tech

And what happens when you tried to telephone them?
You have tried to call them havent you?

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Heels 4 Men - Guys in heels, as guys!

fastfreddy2

Someone picks up the phone, and you have a pleasant conversation with a very helpful person.



NEXT!

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Tech

Ahh, so you telephoned them and spoke to them.
Did you ask them about the problem our fellow member is having?

A) No you didnt phone them and were just being an ass?

B) You did phone them, and spoke to them and everything is fine, and you asked about our fellow members problems but totally forgot to post any of it here?

My money is on A.

__________________
Heels 4 Men - Guys in heels, as guys!

fastfreddy2

Actually, it was: C)


C) I asked them about an order I've been thinking of placing for a couple of months. I asked (i) if I could visit as they are only 15 miles from me, so a visit makes sense <with a prior appointment obviously>, and (ii) if they would change one of their styles to suit something I have in mind.

Replies: (i) Yes. (ii) Yes.



Sorry I couldn't oblige with A). It was much easier dialling than trying to be an arse.

And B) wasn't an option either. I'll help anyone, but like God, I expect them to help themselves. Making a phone call is Step 1, and that doesn't seem to have been tried yet. Until directly requested, it's not my remit to speak on someone elses behalf.


Hope this is of help.


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benno

I have bought 4 or 5 pairs of shoes from Cozzie. He's a gem of a guy.

He's really good at making shoes, not so hot on fashionable designs and really bad at keeping to timescales.

The phone is definately the best weapon.

Don't tell him I told you but he is f-l-e-x-i-b-l-e on his ebay prices.

One day soon I will get in touch and sort him out a great looking functional website. The trouble with small companies (Leatherworks included) is that their websites look like a page of Exchange and Mart gone www. Compare Leatherworks sale section with something like Office or Topshop. Leatherworks give you a page of undecipherable mushy codes... Office give you a lovely page of shoes at great prices.

So many companies tragically ignore the web as a stunning tool, especailly when they don't have a proper shop. Most big high street brands/shops class their website as the top store in their chain as it generates the highest sales and needs a relatively small amount of staff. Small companies seem to get their nephew or daughter who is doing a YTS scheme in webdesign and exhaust fitting to bodge them up an appalling mess.

My girlfriend is about to embark on a mission of making her/our own shoes with a view to selling some on a commission basis. Maybe we can do something really cool with someone like Elite Heels/QOH/Gina and Cozzie?

I'm a graphic designer with a heavy lean towards fashion/styling and my girlfriend is an occasion wear fashion buyer.


Cheers,

Ben

Tech

Nice one Freddie, and glad you took my comment in the lighthearted way it was intended.

__________________
Heels 4 Men - Guys in heels, as guys!

Histiletto

Thanks benno and fastfreddy2,

Back in May, I contracted with Cos to have two pair of heels made and delivered. Our communication through the internet didn't have any problems until after the payment was made. Since then none of my emails have been acknowledged as received or they were deemed by the email server as undeliverable. Not being able to communicate has been really disturbing. The Burlesque Blue web site states a delivery time of 5 weeks and I know this is just an idea of the time it takes to complete an order, but this time has passed and I need to find out the status of my order.

I didn't want to make an international telephone call until I could get some assurance that Cos was still in business and there was at least another heeler (hopefully in the proximity of Burlesque Blue), who has had recent dealings. There is so much internet fraud that this non-communication is a bit up-setting. If Cos is going to do business over the internet, he has to get his site more functional to accommodate his patrons and not leave them in the lurch, like I am at this time.

Thanks again for the help in this matter.

fastfreddy2

I'm sure many here would make sincere offers to help, and that would include me.

While adequate internet comms might suit international buyers, convincing an aged craftsman trading in what is a cottage industry that investing $100 a page for his internet site is money well spent, will take some doing no matter how good a salesman you might be.

Missed delivery dates are symptomatic of a one man band, subjected to the demands of phone calls, ordering/receiving goods, making and dispatching finished product. And often, mistakes. It's not unusual for me to spend half a day answering calls, and offering guidance on what I hope will convert to an order.

Thankfully, I buy in or sub-contract everything. But I've promised availability of parts in a week, that are normally turned around in 3 or 4 working days, only to find there's a 3 week queue for manufacturing time. Put a couple of delays like this in the process, and completion dates slip quickly.


In my field, a 6 month wait is typical for 'semi' or fully custom goods, and 12 months isn't that unusual. Once an order goes delinquent, some like me, will advise the customer ASAP. Others cope less well with inviting stress, and avoid it. Far from ideal.

In fact, this very situation has led to several US suppliers no longer shipping to the UK, where they used to. I don't blame them. Even with 100 or 200 happy customers, one bad one can undo all the goodwill generated from the previous sales. The worst of this, is that the 'bad one' probably isn't. Emails and other forms of the written word don't often carry inflections and tone of voice. They certainly don't show facial expression that reveal humour or sincerity experienced in a face to face conversation. An innocent enquiry poorly worded, can read as a condemnation. I'm certainly guilty of it...


If there's anything I can do to ease 'a situation', I'm happy to help. I'd like to see a lot more two-way shoe-traffic across 'the pond'. Possibly this will show it can be done by the HHplace members, rather than relying solely on commercial outlets for a service?

I await a PM.



....

Tech

email and old people really dont mix well, and often their web sites have been built or setup by friends/family because they dont understand all that "technology" so not getting a reply to an email really shouldnt be taken badly, just pickup the phone and ask.

We always encourage our customers to call if they have a problem as some dont even know how to use email at all, and have web sites, but only show phone numbers because there a bit scared of email.

If ever your contacting people who are not in a technology related field, give em a call and say hi, often its simple things like a spam filter that may have caught the email and they dont even know its there.

Its a shame these days, people are far too reliant on email, and often forget its not been around for long, and anybody not working in a computer background might not be comfortable with it.

__________________
Heels 4 Men - Guys in heels, as guys!

benno

I foud that Cozzie answers questions sent via ebay. I too had problems using the email address found on burlesqueblue.com.

To find him on ebay go to advanced search and type burlesqueblue into search shop names only. Then use 'contact seller' via his ebay page.


A few weeks ago my girlfriend was deparate to get some 5" ankle strap peeptoe courts in white leather to wear to a family wedding. No high street shops had anything nice in white. We sent Leatherworks a few emails and none were replied to. Tried to phone but their phones were down. It's a shame as they lost out on an order of 2 pairs of shoes. In the end my girlfriend had to make changes to her outfit and settle for some relatively boring shoes from ALDO.

It's a shame about these little companies. I really want to give them my money but they need to sort this sort of thing out.