1/6 Doctor Who Figures - BCS and everything else

[Taibhse]

Re: Big Chief Studios - 1/6 Doctor Who - #04 Tom Baker

Wait... they want you to send back in a coat to get a button??!!? I thought they were just doing the "send it back" thing with the bases and heads, which I could kind of see as those are wanted items that people might double up and sell. But a coat button?

I really like all the effort that BCS goes through, but if this is true and not a misunderstanding, it just proves they desperately need to hire a customer service professional to do this part for them and to help guide them as to best practices. It's a shame to think they'd lose customers (which they certainly could) because of poor follow-through on this kind of thing.

While I take the point you are making, I don't think people would be quite so concerned about posting an item back, if they got a discount voucher with the replacement.

Coats can be used for kitbash purposes, so I doubt BCS want people to get the idea they can just request replacement items and get them mailed out automatically.. it would be easy to cut a button off a coat, take a photo, then sew it back on again, after getting your replacement.. obviously I am not suggesting Thedarkknight did this.. however it's a sad fact, that there are people who would do that, to get free kit if they thought they could get away with it.. customer service includes protecting the company from predators.

 

[pixletwin]

Re: Big Chief Studios - 1/6 Doctor Who - #04 Tom Baker

I received my replacement Tom hair and replacement Tennant head yesterday and they were minty-mint!

 

[cylon]

Re: Big Chief Studios - 1/6 Doctor Who - #04 Tom Baker

you officially rule!

 

[thedarkknight]

Re: Big Chief Studios - 1/6 Doctor Who - #04 Tom Baker

While I take the point you are making, I don't think people would be quite so concerned about posting an item back, if they got a discount voucher with the replacement.

Coats can be used for kitbash purposes, so I doubt BCS want people to get the idea they can just request replacement items and get them mailed out automatically.. it would be easy to cut a button off a coat, take a photo, then sew it back on again, after getting your replacement.. obviously I am not suggesting Thedarkknight did this.. however it's a sad fact, that there are people who would do that, to get free kit if they thought they could get away with it.. customer service includes protecting the company from predators.

My issue is not having to mail it back to wait on a replacement. It's more that I have to PAY to mail it back because they sent me a defective item. If they offered to cover the shipping costs, there would have been no issues, other than it taking almost 3 months to get a reply.

 

[canadaclone]

Re: Big Chief Studios - 1/6 Doctor Who - #04 Tom Baker

That is an unbelievable custom 1/6 Tardis...ever think of making them to sell? You would sell quite a few! That is better than any 1/6 Batmobile!!!!

 

[Taibhse]

Re: Big Chief Studios - 1/6 Doctor Who - #04 Tom Baker

My issue is not having to mail it back to wait on a replacement. It's more that I have to PAY to mail it back because they sent me a defective item. If they offered to cover the shipping costs, there would have been no issues, other than it taking almost 3 months to get a reply.

Three months is way too long to have to wait for a customer service reply, so I am certainly not defending BCS' record on that.. but many companies do expect faulty goods to be returned at the customer's expense for a replacement under 'warranty'.. the warranty replacement is then shipped out 'free'.. Obviously this is a considerable problem, if the 'Producer' is resident in another country or worse, another Continent.. often when you do not see this issue, its actually because there is a local Retail middleman who is soaking up the pain on your behalf as an unavoidable (local consumer law) part of the cost of doing business.

Part of the problem is that it is often just not practical to check every item before shipping to a customer, particularly if the 'actual' manufacturing is carried out under license.. if BCS receive these figures from China in sealed packaging and simply ship them on to customers, they would have no way of knowing your figure had failed QC at the assembly line in China.

As a parallel example.. quite a few Manufacturers in the Computer industry offer warranties that require faulty goods to be shipped back in some cases to Europe, in others the Far East.. the Manufacturer does ship the replacement out for free.. but of course the cost of return often outweighs the value of the goods.. in the Computer industry these issues are generally resolved in an ugly fight between your local Retail outlet and the Manufacturer, because consumer law in many countries means the Retail outlet HAS to honor the warranty regardless of Manufacturer support.. so the problem is invisible to you, the customer.
This is the advantage of buying from a Retail outlet or Dealer, you may pay extra because of the 'middle man' but the logistics are entirely local.. obviously this is not an option, if there is no local outlet.

 

[Stryker2011]

Re: Big Chief Studios - 1/6 Doctor Who - #04 Tom Baker

Sorry to hear so many people have gotten faulty figures; mine is perfect, and I absolutely love it. That being said, when I first attempted to pre-order this it was such a pain in the @$&, and took a few months to finally get any reply (and the only reason I did get a reply was by sending a snarky email saying I was going to give up), that I will NEVER order from them again. I don't care how small an operation you are, when you ask your customers to fork over nearly $300 for a figure, you damn well better be losing sleep responding to their inquiries. It's the price you pay for wanting to play with the big boys, otherwise don't be surprised if you lose customers and go out of business; it's always hardest for the first couple of years for any growing company. When I started a small company I was lucky to get an hour or two of sleep a day, but that's life. So suck it up Big Chief and take better care of your customers! Rant over.

 

[Captain Britain]

Re: Big Chief Studios - 1/6 Doctor Who - #04 Tom Baker

And yet, some of us have had great customer service all the time. That's why this company arouses such strong views (that, and the fact its dealing with the toughest fanbase in geekdom).

 

[Prime Clone]

Re: Big Chief Studios - 1/6 Doctor Who - #04 Tom Baker

It's a bit of a Catch-22. A new company has to charge Hot Toys-like prices to be viable, but such a price point demands a certain level of quality control.

 

[drowranger]

Re: Big Chief Studios - 1/6 Doctor Who - #04 Tom Baker

I have a question (especially to my fellow Canadians). I've never ordered from Big Chief directly and I was wondering what type of shipping they use? I tired looking on their site and it was a bit confusing. I want to order Tom, but I can only accept parcels that were sent with Canada Post (I have a post office box and I'm unable to receive packages sent with a courier). Thanks!

 

[canadaclone]

Re: Big Chief Studios - 1/6 Doctor Who - #04 Tom Baker

Their site says DHL will be used...but when I ordered it actually came with Fed Ex...still a courier...

 

[pixletwin]

Re: Big Chief Studios - 1/6 Doctor Who - #04 Tom Baker

Does DHL still function in North America?

 

[canadaclone]

Re: Big Chief Studios - 1/6 Doctor Who - #04 Tom Baker

Yes...but we dream of a day they don't...

 

[thedarkknight]

Re: Big Chief Studios - 1/6 Doctor Who - #04 Tom Baker

I did e-mail them again about having to pay for shipping and this time got a quick response. They will reimburse me for the shipping costs once the jacket is received.

I rescind my previous complaint, since they are taking care of it.

 

[pixletwin]

Re: Big Chief Studios - 1/6 Doctor Who - #04 Tom Baker

I think you mean "rescind". That's great that you are getting worked out.

 

[thedarkknight]

Re: Big Chief Studios - 1/6 Doctor Who - #04 Tom Baker

I think you mean "rescind". That's great that you are getting worked out.

Thanks for the correction. I must be tired today.

 

[Captain Britain]

Re: Big Chief Studios - 1/6 Doctor Who - #04 Tom Baker

Big Chief have just cut the price on this to £149.99, may help those (like me!) who have been wavering on it:
https://www.bigchiefstudios.co.uk/site/fourth-doctor-limited-edition.php

It's a limited time discount (and presumably the figure is a lot more limited than Amy).

 

[Doom Saber]

Re: Big Chief Studios - 1/6 Doctor Who - #04 Tom Baker

That sucks they dropped the price on him a week after I paid for the figure and had it shipped.

 

[Prime Clone]

Re: Big Chief Studios - 1/6 Doctor Who - #04 Tom Baker

Funny, I assumed it would sell out as quickly as the Tenth.

 

[Lejuan]

Re: Big Chief Studios - 1/6 Doctor Who - #04 Tom Baker

I'd rather not have known that