Tuesday

Hearthstone Stoves [pt2]

Just a quick update. Scott has concluded the stove has a problem....nothing he has done has fixed the stove's poor performance. Kudos to Scott.

Now a week or so after that announcement we have not heard from JR Bolton about when we can expect to have the unit replaced. We have a call into them but so far no answer. Hmmm???

Here is an example of how many retailers miss an opportunity to wow a customer and have a raving fan. Understanding that a customer has been putting up with a bad product and all the inconvenience that comes along with the efforts to get it to work, they should step up and go out of their way to make a bad situation a good customer experience.  At a minimum a conscientious retailer would have called to communicate they are going to make things right....so far not the case.

No follow up from Hearthstone.

I'll keep you posted.

Dutch Glow Amish Wood Milk

Watching TV and thought I'd take a look at the website because the TV commercial mentioned getting 2 bottles for $10 but paying shipping and processing twice. One of those red flags I often mention.

So here is what I found out.

1. S&P is $7.95. So if you order you pay $10 for the product and $15.90 for shipping and processing. Huge red flag for me!!. Shipping and Processing more than the cost of the product? Hmmm.

2. Reading the return tab (at the bottom of the website) it says: "RETURNS:
30-Day Money Back Guarantee (Less S&P.) No Way!!! If I buy the product I get my $10 and they keep $15.90....see the problem?

3. Also they charge a web surcharge.

4. The other problem I have with this offering is the website does not clearly tell you what is the volume of the bottle. I don't know if its 10, 12, 16  or 20 ounces?

5. As with any online purchase make sure you read the privacy policy. At Dutch Glow Amish wood milk the policy reads:

From time to time, we make the e-mail addresses of those who access our site available to other reputable organizations whose products or services we think you might find interesting. If you do not want us to share your e-mail address with other companies or organizations, please let us know by visiting us here

From time to time, we make our customer e-mail list available to other reputable organizations whose products or services we think you might find interesting. If you do not want us to share your e-mail address with other companies or organizations, please let us know by visiting us here.

If you supply us with your postal address on-line you may receive periodic mailings from us with information on new products and services or upcoming events. If you do not wish to receive such mailings, please let us know by emailing us at web support

Not illegal but consumers need to know when a vendor is making additional revenue selling contact information. If a consumer comes to this site and fills out their contact information without checking the privacy policy they would unknowingly be giving this vendor permission to make their information available to other  businesses.

6. Lastly, I went and looked up the product on Amazon. I found the bottle size but more importantly I saw that the product has more 1 star reviews than any other rating. 54% of the reveiws are 1 or 2 star reviews. 

So in summary, this is one of those products where the buyer has to do some careful research. Apart from the product itself, I really do not like the return policy.  You pay (approx) $26  and if you want to return it, you get back $10. [note at this writing the shipping policy link went to customer service so I can't confirm or deny there might be additional shipping charges]

Well folks I hope this helps.