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tarheel1
July 19th, 2013, 03:18 PM
Back in 2010 I ordered a custom stand from Nakaya through nibs.com. It was a 2 pen sword stand with custom Kanji on it. Somehow it got lost in the mix and I received it today and the Kanji is incorrect. Nibs said sorry nothing we can do. Now with a 150.00 stand I am quite disappointed and the wife is pissed. I dont feel I will ever do business with this company. Its a shame as there are several pens I was going to order and now have to find a new source. Here is the stand as well as what the Kanji should have been.

caribbean_skye
July 19th, 2013, 03:39 PM
In 2010 and you're just getting it now? Surprised you didn't cancel the transaction or ask for a refund (unless you were told of a specific waiting time).

tarheel1
July 19th, 2013, 03:55 PM
A lot has happened between 2010 and now and I was just waiting patiently. I am sure it was ready before now, but communication was dropped somehow in the mix, but email address never changed. I am not worried about how long it took to finally get the product just that it is incorrect.

tandaina
July 19th, 2013, 04:10 PM
If your original emails show the correct kanji then it seems completely out of line that they wouldn't take it back and have the issue corrected. Custom stuff not being returnable makes sense ONLY if it was produced correctly. If it isn't correct it isn't custom, how can you be bound to keep it? I'm just flabbergasted!

Jon Szanto
July 19th, 2013, 04:34 PM
As always, I'd be curious to hear the other side of the story. Classic Fountain Pens is not some cheesy, fly-by-night operation, but rather one that has a very good reputation. Something certainly isn't right in all of this.

dr.grace
July 19th, 2013, 04:37 PM
It is strange. But you'd think that Nakaya would know Japanese characters as well as anyone! So I'd check to see if this is a Japanese variant, maybe an older form. I only know the standard Chinese character, which is the same as the one you pictured at the top. However, when I write the character they carved into the character-recognition module of Pleco, it spits out the character at the top.

OTOH, you could just chalk it up to fate (one of the meanings of that character)… jk

dr.grace
July 19th, 2013, 04:39 PM
Actually, now that I look at the character in your stand, it looks like hand-drawn calligraphy, and there is a lot of latitude in that style of writing. So it may not be wrong.

dannzeman
July 19th, 2013, 04:41 PM
Jon, I agree. I'm going to close this thread until Nibs.com decides to comment.

Update 7:31pm: John responded and said he's currently on vacation and unaware of the situation. He doesn't want an unhappy customer and will take care of it as soon as he returns.

tarheel1
July 22nd, 2013, 01:09 PM
David from Nibs.com contacted me today and apologized for the experience over the phone and that I was unhappy. He offered me an acceptable solution and has renewed my faith in the company. I thank Dan for being able to contact John and for this to be resolved pretty quick after a bad experience. I will be shopping more with them.

Jon Szanto
July 22nd, 2013, 01:45 PM
"I'm sorry that I hadn't explored every avenue before coming on a public forum and painting them as asshats. I've learned a good lesson."

tarheel1
July 22nd, 2013, 01:52 PM
"I'm sorry that I hadn't explored every avenue before coming on a public forum and painting them as asshats. I've learned a good lesson."

No as me coming on here is what got the situation resolved. I explored my options and attempted to get the situation resolved before I came on here and posted. Not everyone jumps to conclusion before acting on a public forum. I am not new to forums nor new to fountain pens or to customer service issues. The market feedback is for use to share our experiences with vendors. It should not be censored just because others have not had the same result.

Sailor Kenshin
July 22nd, 2013, 02:16 PM
So what DO the kanji mean?

tarheel1
July 22nd, 2013, 02:29 PM
Best translation would be life. Can also mean fate or part of Destiny.

Sailor Kenshin
July 22nd, 2013, 02:43 PM
Best translation would be life. Can also mean fate or part of Destiny.

Inochi, ka?

The handwritten one looks different-y.

Flounder
July 22nd, 2013, 02:44 PM
Is there some sort of filter for mind-reading condescension posts from alternate timelines?

dr.grace
July 22nd, 2013, 03:35 PM
In certain calligraphic styles of Kanji or Chinese characters, parts of the character can look a little abbreviated, to make them flow more. It's something like the difference between printed and cursive script in Western writing, where often there are lines connecting words and the pen doesn't lift as much from the paper. I suspect that's what happened here. They probably thought this was more elegant than the formal character.

I like mango pudding
July 22nd, 2013, 04:18 PM
What is supposed to be the square for the bottom left portion of the original turned into a W. Even a stylized fast flowing writing of a square will not turn into a W. It may turn into a 12, but not a W

dr.grace
July 22nd, 2013, 04:26 PM
Still within the range of possible variations, I think. A squiggle is sometimes what is written in the "grass" or "running" styles. (I don't know what they're called in Japanese.)

reprieve
July 22nd, 2013, 05:13 PM
I'm glad the issue will be resolved.

I have had nothing but good experiences with John and Nibs.com, even when things have gone wrong. Overwhelmingly, things go perfectly right, but I did have an experience in which a nib was not ground as I had specified--it was fixed immediately and without question and John graciously apologized. That earned my loyalty.

For what it's worth, I appreciate this thread because I value the ability to inform others of one's experiences even when they are less than perfect. I appreciate FPG's relative lack of censorship. And if this particular feedback forum can sometimes facilitate satisfactory resolutions, it is all the more valuable.

Tony Rex
July 22nd, 2013, 05:53 PM
This is like asking a professional calligrapher to write like a schoolchild. And could potentially affect future orders for English speaking world to get dictionary kanji rather than masterful brushwork.

Sigh.

Jon Szanto
July 22nd, 2013, 06:13 PM
No as me coming on here is what got the situation resolved. I explored my options and attempted to get the situation resolved before I came on here and posted.
No, I get that: you came here, complained, and someone else managed to make a call that was, most likely, reasonable and rational and - lo and behold - things have worked out swell. I wonder what the missing link is here?


The market feedback is for use to share our experiences with vendors. It should not be censored just because others have not had the same result.
Nothing I have said indicated even the remotest interest in censoring opinions. You have every right to share your experiences, as well as receive commentary on same.

tarheel1
July 22nd, 2013, 06:54 PM
No, I get that: you came here, complained, and someone else managed to make a call that was, most likely, reasonable and rational and - lo and behold - things have worked out swell. I wonder what the missing link is here?


The market feedback is for use to share our experiences with vendors. It should not be censored just because others have not had the same result.
Nothing I have said indicated even the remotest interest in censoring opinions. You have every right to share your experiences, as well as receive commentary on same.

The missing link is not having the contact information for John other than the Business line and an email address. Don't you think Dan might have contact info that we do not have? Don't you think I tried multiple ways of contact without any result other than someone being rude on the phone with me. Again not everyone just comes here without trying and jut bitching. It was a fair review of my experience with them. Most of the time on the forums people jump to the defense of the retailer, saying the buyer did not try everything or is blowing things out of proportion.

Maybe the person who spoke with me over the phone was new or just having a bad day, but that does not change the fact it was bad customer service , and despite multiple phone calls to the business line as well as multiple emails, no apologies, or explanations were given nor was the option to look into it any further. Just "we don't care and I don't know what to tell you"

Thanks Dan for being able to contact John and I am grateful everything is resolved.

To Tony
If I had been given an explanation before ordering that there might be artistic license or there might be variation I would not have had a problem with it. I will never hamper an artist on a bespoke item as long as I am aware of it. An explanation as well as a drawing was submitted and was told it would be exact. That was what I was expecting and if it had been revealed before hand I would have been happy. It is not Nakaya I was upset with, just bad customer service.

Jon Szanto
July 22nd, 2013, 07:51 PM
Most of the time on the forums people jump to the defense of the retailer, saying the buyer did not try everything or is blowing things out of proportion.
Actually, I find more people reacting in the opposite way, in favor of the aggrieved party. As with all of this, I can only know what I read, and I have no way of knowing that Dan has some magic contact for the people in question. I'm glad that it seems to be moving towards a resolution that makes all parties pleased.

dannzeman
July 23rd, 2013, 07:43 AM
The following is a response I've just received from John Mottishaw:


Hi Daniel,We heard back from our representative at Nakaya yesterday. She explains the situation in the following way:


"Thank you very much for your e-mail by return.

We are relieved to hear that Mr. ******* understands the difference.
We think other people’s comments on the forum helps us this time.
When your customer place an order with kanji naming in future,
Could you please explain the following to him(her)?

Name drawing by Nakaya’s Maki-e technique is done by each craftsman’s original style of character
he uses when he inscribes his name on his work.
The craftsman never draws the different kanji, but the style tends to be a cursive(running) one.

Thank you very much for understanding and patience.

Sincerely,
Yoshiko Kato(Ms.), Nakaya Fountain Pen"


Could you please post her explanation on the thread?


Again, thank you for pointing out this issue to me!



Best Regards,

John

dduran
July 23rd, 2013, 11:46 AM
does not change the fact it was bad customer service , and despite multiple phone calls to the business line as well as multiple emails, no apologies, or explanations were given nor was the option to look into it any further. Just "we don't care and I don't know what to tell you"


Why not give the benefit of the doubt to the original poster that he did what he could (contact, email, call etc.).

I feel like one should think twice (or thrice) before posting a negative feedback on the forum. I know some have not done their due diligence and should not use forums and their default channel but I feel the OP of some negative posts are treated with some sort of hostility... I thought we were cultivating a healthy atmosphere here so that we all could benefit from each other's input.

TBH, I feel there's a condescending atmosphere... even early on when the poster clarified that he did what he could have done..

tarheel1
July 23rd, 2013, 04:05 PM
Thanks for that Dan. I was able to talk with Nakaya about the issue as well as NIbs.com. Everything was resolved and I am glad for the support.

david i
July 23rd, 2013, 10:01 PM
No as me coming on here...

Interesting turn of the phrase....

-d

tarheel1
July 23rd, 2013, 11:47 PM
No as me coming on here...

Interesting turn of the phrase....

-d

Seriously? How is that relevant? Yes i was upset and should have typed " No i am not sorry i posted this as i feel it was the main source of a positive resolution"

Jon Szanto
July 24th, 2013, 01:06 AM
On reflection, I've decided I just won't comment any more on this thread. I've had my say, and no sense repeating myself.

david i
July 24th, 2013, 06:18 AM
Seriously? How is that relevant? Yes i was upset and should have typed " No i am not sorry i posted this as i feel it was the main source of a positive resolution"

How we write reflects how we think. This whole thread has a flavor of "Gee, I rushed..."

Just sayin'...

regards

-d