Just a short note..really geared to those of us starting to pay attention to what is in the food we eat. I bought some Cascadian Farm cereal. I've not used this product before but its "organic" , all natural etc. AND of course if its in the natural food section SO it has to be better for you-right? ah no!
Well if you take a look at the ingredients it makes you wonder. You can read plenty of research on the misuse of the words like: organic and all natural etc. What surprised me is it has the same preservatives as any Kellogg or General Mills cereal (in this case maltodextrin) and MORE sugar than some of the cereals in the cereal isle. I guess its 'special' because they can call themselves "organic" according to the USDA? Maybe not such big deal based on the USDA reputation for cronyism with big food companies. Hmmmm?
I have seen documentaries that slam the manufacturers and grocery stores but I think the responsibility is up to each of us. (not sure about the whose side the USDA is on...that is another day's reading) People want convenience and the product on the shelf when we want it....so I can see the needed for additives. Since I don't want the preservatives and sugar I will choose different foods.
But I will close on one last note. The marketing some of these food manufacturers use is at best misleading at worst deceptive. So word to the wise: read the label. I know I will be more careful.
Monday
Thursday
Hearthstone Heritage Nightmare Update
The folks we bought the Heritage stove from have come through. Yesterday we got rid of the Hearthstone Heritage and replaced it with a Lopi Liberty. After we get through the break in fires I'll will let you know how it performs.
Karis at JR Bolton was just excellent--she looked after us every step of the way. The Hearthstone rep, who lives in the same town as we do, never showed an interest in learning why his product was not working properly. Every variable was checked: stove pipe height, the air tightness of the house, roof pitch, wind and, of course, the wood. All checked out and in the end the thinking is it was just a lemon.
Anyone in the business of building a product is going to have some problems at some point--that's a given. The hope is that they are responsive to their customers and are focused on making it right. Sadly some are and some are not....but in the end its the consumers who will reward the good companies and stay away from the ones that are bad. As for me, I will not buy another Hearthstone product but when I need another stove or some other product that Bolton carries; I will not hesitate to buy from them.
Lessons learned.
1. It pays off to do alot of reseach up front. Know the products and how they work
2. If you're buying a product that you are unfamiliar with, buy from a local company just in case you have trouble.
3. Shop around for a reseller and for the product. The more you know the better off you will be.
4. In particular with wood burning stoves-there are a lot of factors that can affect their performance, take the time to know what they are.
Take care.
Karis at JR Bolton was just excellent--she looked after us every step of the way. The Hearthstone rep, who lives in the same town as we do, never showed an interest in learning why his product was not working properly. Every variable was checked: stove pipe height, the air tightness of the house, roof pitch, wind and, of course, the wood. All checked out and in the end the thinking is it was just a lemon.
Anyone in the business of building a product is going to have some problems at some point--that's a given. The hope is that they are responsive to their customers and are focused on making it right. Sadly some are and some are not....but in the end its the consumers who will reward the good companies and stay away from the ones that are bad. As for me, I will not buy another Hearthstone product but when I need another stove or some other product that Bolton carries; I will not hesitate to buy from them.
Lessons learned.
1. It pays off to do alot of reseach up front. Know the products and how they work
2. If you're buying a product that you are unfamiliar with, buy from a local company just in case you have trouble.
3. Shop around for a reseller and for the product. The more you know the better off you will be.
4. In particular with wood burning stoves-there are a lot of factors that can affect their performance, take the time to know what they are.
Take care.
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.
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.
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.
Monday
Hearthstone Stoves
I am going to do something a little different. Most postings I try to make folks aware of offers, products etc that may require closer examination before purchasing. I recently bought a Hearthstone Heritage wood burning stove to have some alternative heat in my house and its not been a good customer experience so far. I hope in these entries to not only make other consumers aware of our experience with this Hearthstone product but to also give some tips on how to avoid the problems I have had if you are considering buying a wood-burning stove.
First a general overview.
I looked at several stoves-offered by local distributors and sold online. Because of the potential hassles of ordering online and then contracting with someone not necessarily familiar with the stove manufacturer, I decided to order from someone locally. This is turning out to be a HUGE benefit. So far our contractor JR Bolton is doing wonderfully and is working with me to solve the problems with the stove. Had I contracted with someone to just install then this would be a much worse situation. So first lesson: Put as much time researching a distributor as you do researching what stove to buy. I bought the Hearthstone Heritage because I liked the way it held the heat and this model had a side door for easier wood loading. The color and finish are beautiful.
The Problem.
I read the manual and did several small burn in fires to break in the stove as discussed in the manual. However the stove would not maintain the fire when the doors were shut and the air controller handle was wide open, I had to go to the stove every so often to open a door because the fire would keep dying out. I called Hearthstone and confirmed how the stove SHOULD operate, I looked online and read several articles and forum postings on the operation of the stove. No problem, pretty straight forward stuff. also for this stove there are several youtube videos so I could see how others stoves performed. Mine was not even close. The test of a good company is how they handle a problem. Reaching Hearthstone was hit or miss. Many calls were not returned. When we first raised the issue with the distributor we got some dismissive answer that the firewood was not dry enough. Well according to the folks that delivered it, it was very seasoned and very dry. The one time we spoke to someone at Hearthstone they said it should be dry but unless the wood is green that should not be a problem. When we told the owners of the distributor about the problem continuing and the answers we got, they quickly sent their senior troubleshooter out to the house. This guy, Scott, knows his stuff what a difference it makes to work with someone who cares about doing whats right. So far JR Bolton has acted like they are going to solve this problem. Lucky for me because the customer service out of Hearthstone has been terrible!! So we are entering the second week of trying to get this stove to work properly.
Lessons learned? 1. Do a lot of research!!! So much on the internet is marketing hype so its important that you learn the terminology. Understand how the product works and how it should work once you have it in your home. Know what you should be able to expect from the stove in terms of how it operates. 2. Try to visit more than one distributor and see as many types as you can. 3. Ask if they have referrals. This is important because I have learned that the same stove in different a setting and install can perform differently. 4. Ask to speak to their repair guy and have questions ready about what problems they have had to deal with. 5. Do enough research so you are very clear in your own mind what features you want and how you plan to use the stove.
So in summary. I am not happy with Hearthstone. Because both their product and customer service is so bad, in my opinion, I will never buy their product again or refer people to them. We have a fair chance of getting this fixed because the distributor is trying to help us. More on that as this situation unfolds.
First a general overview.
I looked at several stoves-offered by local distributors and sold online. Because of the potential hassles of ordering online and then contracting with someone not necessarily familiar with the stove manufacturer, I decided to order from someone locally. This is turning out to be a HUGE benefit. So far our contractor JR Bolton is doing wonderfully and is working with me to solve the problems with the stove. Had I contracted with someone to just install then this would be a much worse situation. So first lesson: Put as much time researching a distributor as you do researching what stove to buy. I bought the Hearthstone Heritage because I liked the way it held the heat and this model had a side door for easier wood loading. The color and finish are beautiful.
The Problem.
I read the manual and did several small burn in fires to break in the stove as discussed in the manual. However the stove would not maintain the fire when the doors were shut and the air controller handle was wide open, I had to go to the stove every so often to open a door because the fire would keep dying out. I called Hearthstone and confirmed how the stove SHOULD operate, I looked online and read several articles and forum postings on the operation of the stove. No problem, pretty straight forward stuff. also for this stove there are several youtube videos so I could see how others stoves performed. Mine was not even close. The test of a good company is how they handle a problem. Reaching Hearthstone was hit or miss. Many calls were not returned. When we first raised the issue with the distributor we got some dismissive answer that the firewood was not dry enough. Well according to the folks that delivered it, it was very seasoned and very dry. The one time we spoke to someone at Hearthstone they said it should be dry but unless the wood is green that should not be a problem. When we told the owners of the distributor about the problem continuing and the answers we got, they quickly sent their senior troubleshooter out to the house. This guy, Scott, knows his stuff what a difference it makes to work with someone who cares about doing whats right. So far JR Bolton has acted like they are going to solve this problem. Lucky for me because the customer service out of Hearthstone has been terrible!! So we are entering the second week of trying to get this stove to work properly.
Lessons learned? 1. Do a lot of research!!! So much on the internet is marketing hype so its important that you learn the terminology. Understand how the product works and how it should work once you have it in your home. Know what you should be able to expect from the stove in terms of how it operates. 2. Try to visit more than one distributor and see as many types as you can. 3. Ask if they have referrals. This is important because I have learned that the same stove in different a setting and install can perform differently. 4. Ask to speak to their repair guy and have questions ready about what problems they have had to deal with. 5. Do enough research so you are very clear in your own mind what features you want and how you plan to use the stove.
So in summary. I am not happy with Hearthstone. Because both their product and customer service is so bad, in my opinion, I will never buy their product again or refer people to them. We have a fair chance of getting this fixed because the distributor is trying to help us. More on that as this situation unfolds.
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