New As Tucas Foratata Quilt

Enzo

Thru Hiker
I get the hump when they just flat out lie to you. Tbh let me know its going to be 6 months, I'm fine with that, but if you say a week and its 6 months less so.
Paul is without exception lightening quick to post and the gear is faultless in my experience, so it can be done!
 

Gordon

Ultralighter
Totally agree with your comments Enzo. In any form of business quality products are one thing, but, if they are not matched with prompt delivery and effective communications then that business will suffer.
 

Munro277

Thru Hiker
And it just carries on......Think I’ve now had 3-5 promised delivery dates,followed by no product and no replies to any emails,direct messages on most social media ..... I feel **** writing this but I’ve had a lot of messages over internet from many customers all still waiting and all struggling to get even a basic reply ...is this the end of As Tucas ?
 

Padstowe

Thru Hiker
Am sorry, I know that they are a small businesses & for that fact I wish them well. But in truth, business is business & no matter how well I may wish them in the beginning, If they mess me around I boycott them just as I would any other business.
That may seem hard, but I ain't going back anywhere a second time to pay to get messed around or have my time wasted. I mean why would I, am not that mad!
 

Enzo

Thru Hiker
That's why we need competition in the market. I've gone back a few ties to a cottage maker that I had a similar experience with because there wasn't anyone else.
Generally roll my own these days, partly for that reason.
 

SafetyThird

Section Hiker
I’m also failing to get replies to my enquiries. It’s now nearly 3 months since paying for my quilt. I will never order from them again and I will tell people of my experience. If you want to build a company then you really shouldn’t **** off paying customers like this.
 

SafetyThird

Section Hiker
As I typed that I received an email apologising and saying that if he can’t finish the quilt this week he’ll refund my order.

Don’t know if that means my order will be cancelled or not at this stage. Have to ask him that.
 

SafetyThird

Section Hiker
Just had a message from Marco to say that he’s going to refund the cost if he can’t get the quilt done this week as a gesture of goodwill and apologising for all the delays so I will receive the quilt free if he can’t get it done that quickly.

He says he knows he did this badly and wants to make things right and improve.

Watch this space.
 

Munro277

Thru Hiker
He’s replied to me saying he plans to get mine out next wk or he will give me other options as a prize
 

tom

Thru Hiker
Feels quite awful reading about such immensely frustrating and annoying sagas. My own experience with As Tucas is entirely positive and I`ve not had any quality issues with any cottage (or former cottage) makers as yet and so far - touch wood - but I`d react just the same as others here if I was at the receiving end. I also do get, and share, the good will: the UL scene is a relatively small community and the “makers“ of gear are part of “us” and I include zpacks and TT here - at least for now (Petzl started in a gardenshed making gear otherwise unavailable for his caving mates...). I also suffer email fatigue (and wouldn`t waste any time with “unsocial“ media) and recognise that emailing is an immensely time consuming and time wasting activity. For myself, I operate a strict policy of minimising email in my work role - no polite acknowledgements, no immediate replies (most frustrating to receive for me - I always politely wait a day or two) etc. The choice of spending time on correspondence or actually working and making things must be particularly rough for cottage gear makers I imagine. That said, good enough communication is obviously key to running any business - so no excuses here!
But modern communication seems more and more a Faustian deal (the devil you call for...) and I think with nostalgia back to the days when a letter loop (writing/sending to receiving reply) took a month as it did where I used to live...
 
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EM - paul

Thru Hiker
The choice of spending time on correspondence or actually working and making things must be particularly tuff for cottage gear makers I imagine.

Its the biggest time sink out there but its part of the job. The art of conversation seems to be lost though. I can sort a custom order in 2 minutes on the phone that could take a day via email ping pong and i can keep working whilst doing it.

Glad to hear Marco is addressing the issue. doing an Ostrich is seldom a good way to go
 

SafetyThird

Section Hiker
It's funny but I'm not so good with phone calls as my previous working environment meant that we generally couldn't use our phones during the day and certainly couldn't answer an incoming call. All phones had to be on silent and woe betide you if your phone rang on set during a shot.

Emails can be done whenever you have a spare moment, phone calls need to be during reasonable hours and not everyone is available by phone.

Even a single line saying 'very sorry, time scales have slipped, would you like to continue with your order' would go a long way to solving much of what's gone on here where there are weeks of no contact after promised deadlines.
 

Mole

Thru Hiker
Well. Given 2 "delayed quilt" perpetrators are active qiite regularly on Instagram, one would think they'd have no problem doing quick emails or Instant messages.

I`d second the telephone @paul - much more efficient than all this typing...:)
Really?!

I can respond to emails/IMs in a far greater part of my day than when I'd consider it polite to phone someone.
 

Dave V

Moderator
Staff member
My working background would probably see be do both if I was able. I do prefer a phone call as you can gauge the tone of voice much easier and any hesitancy can be identified.

However, I would always backup or confirm a phone call in writing via email or some form of traceable media. For me it’s the next best thing to a contract, if a supplier or manufacturer has sent you a written spec or confirmed your requirements prior to payment, your in allot stronger position if things go wrong.
 

el manana

Thru Hiker
Horses for courses...there's sometimes when I've requested bespoke gear that I thought it would have been far easier to have a quick phone conversation than back and forth on email. Email does have it uses though as described above, sending and responding when the times convenient.

I know some cottage manufacturers only look at emails on an evening, that's fine by me. A message on the Contact page 'I only check emails twice per week' would satisfy most people.

This isn't really about the method of communication, it's the lack of. There's far too many jobs these days where the working day orientates around the Inbox.
 

EM - paul

Thru Hiker
Horses for courses...there's sometimes when I've requested bespoke gear that I thought it would have been far easier to have a quick phone conversation than back and forth on email. Email does have it uses though as described above, sending and responding when the times convenient.

I know some cottage manufacturers only look at emails on an evening, that's fine by me. A message on the Contact page 'I only check emails twice per week' would satisfy most people.

This isn't really about the method of communication, it's the lack of. There's far too many jobs these days where the working day orientates around the Inbox.

Agree, to be honest ill go with the customers preference but a phone call suits me as i can still work and talk and may just lose 2 ticks when i write down whats agreed. email tennis gets old fast. i recently exchanged a 38 email chain with an aussie guy for 2 zip pouches and a pot cover :D Someone phoned me last week asking whether i had an opinion on whether they should buy a zpacks or mld shelter. :arghh::arghh::arghh:
 

Munro277

Thru Hiker
So latest update said he sent it last Monday I tracked it and it was delivered Friday last wk . Nope nothing here .I tried communicating but no response I tried the courier no response ..then get a message late Saturday saying it was returned to As Tucas on Friday instead of to my address and he didn’t know why ?
Would I confirm address and he will resend I confirmed it was correct address
I was told Seur lost or alledly lost someone else’s down quilt last yr too after a very long wait for it to arrive .I offered to pay for UPS delivery and I’ll send him the money
Again no reply it’s beginning to look like I’ll never see this prize I’m meant to have won in December last yr also hearing others are now cancelling there orders and trying to get there money back after waiting for over 3 months for quilts to arrive .. really sad affair
 

Padstowe

Thru Hiker
What I don't understand is how you can blame design issues in one thread while stating in this one that they were doing the photo shoot in early Jan.
Was it a photo shoot of faulty quilts? :confused:
 

Marco

Ultralighter
Hi Peter,

For sure you'll get your prize. I have nothing to win if I don't send you the quilt, and I'm already losing our good reputation.

As I said to you we got a returned parcel notification last week. Unfortunately, we haven't recovered the parcel yet. This issue is driving me crazy too.

It also seems we both a communication problem, since this is first news I have of your offer re UPS shipment. We'll send the parcel via another courier, and of course you don't have to nothing for this.

Finally, another customer cancelled his order for a custom Foratata Quilt (not a standard one indeed). That's true and I understand his point. But it's also true that ee returned him the money same day.

Marco.
 

Marco

Ultralighter
What I don't understand is how you can blame design issues in one thread while stating in this one that they were doing the photo shoot in early Jan.
Was it a photo shoot of faulty quilts? :confused:

At that point we though quilts was ready to go into production, and hence the planned photo shot.

We do a really extensive field testing of every item we design. We discovered a potential weak point in the design and have been working to solve that, and making sure for this. We could have launched the product much earlier for sure, but our R&D cycle is different.

As I already said, our mistake was to offer this as a prize and also accept orders too early.

Marco.
 

Munro277

Thru Hiker
Hi Peter,

For sure you'll get your prize. I have nothing to win if I don't send you the quilt, and I'm already losing our good reputation.

As I said to you we got a returned parcel notification last week. Unfortunately, we haven't recovered the parcel yet. This issue is driving me crazy too.

It also seems we both a communication problem, since this is first news I have of your offer re UPS shipment. We'll send the parcel via another courier, and of course you don't have to nothing for this.

Finally, another customer cancelled his order for a custom Foratata Quilt (not a standard one indeed). That's true and I understand his point. But it's also true that ee returned him the money same day.

Marco.

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These were my replies back to you 30 mins after you messaged me..I may have read it wrong but to me it reads you have had the parcel returned to you ...so I assume you have it and will resend it Monday as you have written .. out of goodwill,and after hearing and reading horrible reviews about SEUR , I offer to pay UPS to deliver it. I’m still more than happy to pay you to use them to send it to me ....Peter. Ps this is frustrating and annoying me as much as it is you..I don’t want anyone’s business to suffer but I won’t be made a fool off or passed off as the bad guy because I complain about false delivery dates ..
 

Marco

Ultralighter
Hi Peter,

Sorry, I replied you when I was out of office and I thought we got the parcel returned, not a notification. I also apologize for the UPS part, I overlooked that reply.

Sincerely Peter, I wholeheartedly understand you. I don't think by any means you are a bad guy. But please, believe me I'm doing all my best to solve this.

Marco.
 
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