Message Forums

Whilst I agree with what the OP and supporting posts have said in principle, I do think there is another way of looking at this.

I too have had the metal connector of an Outwell steel pole break on me (twice) on an Idaho XL . The tent was within guarantee and I could have made a complaint, but I've had first hand experience of just how pedantic some returns policies are, so I couldn't be bothered.

Instead I spoke to a guy at my local camping shop who sold me a pack of replacement pole connectors for about £2.00. They are not exactly the same as the Outwell connectors that broke, but they work just as effectively and are still going strong 2 years and several pitches later. 

http://www.ukcampsite.co.uk/redirect.asp?redir=http://www.towsure.com/product/Tent_Pole_Spring_Joiners_Pack_of_3

They take a bit of brute force to fit them - using a screwdriver or similar to push them down into the poles until they click into place.

But for me this is far more painless than writing complaint letters or making endless phone calls.

Yes we shouldn't have to fix things ourselves, but sometimes it's just so much easier than the alternative.

We also have a Kampa Filey 6 and whilst I really love the tent we have lost several of the straps that connect the inners to the flysheet due to very poor stitching.  I did complain about this, but to no avail.  Now my mum has kindly re-stitched them (about 5 of them) in less than half an hour and they won't break again!.

At the other end of the scale we once had an Outwell Nevada that had a big "ladder" or snag through the mesh door.  Cleary this was something I couldn't fix myself, so that went straight back to the retailer for a no quibble replacement.

So I guess what I am saying is if your tent has a problem and you can't fix it yourself for free, or for a small cost then you should definitely complain. 

However, IMHO minor mendable faults on big tents aren't worth arguing about.  Tents nowadays are so packed with features that I reckon there's no such thing as a 'perfect' tent.  Every single one made will have something we could find fault with if we looked hard enough. 

Save your time and energy for something else like reading these forums and booking next years camping trips!

liz.......customer service which brings back people to your doors or sends them packing. I know 100% that i am out of guarantee... and i know that the poles are not part of that guarantee..... as for the new owners i may think by your defence of them that you actually took over yeomans ,.....lol...seriously though...the staff member in question has bent over backwards for us to try and resolve this speaking to area managers and higher in my company and met with a flat refusal. this is not a problem as i said i have rights...the rights to source all mt camping equipment elsewhere, and being the sort of camper who has to have everything (whether i can afford it or not ..lol) then this is going to be a not too inconsiderable amount, and i am sure yeomans will not miss my business... however i do believe this site and the forum is a useful place to let people know of our experiences allowing them to make decisions on where they shop with knowledge of good and bad. as i said yeomans didnt even question the first fault or inspect it, the fault was there and was respected fully....i have had many responses of a variety of views all of which i respect however my sole purpose for the post was to let others know of my predicament so they can make informed choices.

OLLY 70....another voice of reason.... a big well done to your mum i bet that stitching lasts longer than the rest of your tent. and ty for the advice i will go to my local camp shop (not yeomans) and source the fix...i wouldnt be going down anyother route than a coplaint to the shop..1 phone call... and an e-mail to outwell uk... their responses direct my future choices.... this is not a problem. wasting time arguing isnt happening i do however get a little miffed with seasonal products and their guarantees, may be the buy cheap use and throw is the way forward and spend your money on the accesories lol. who knows.....gaffer tape is always in my camping arsenal and works fine. as i told the others the sole purpose of my post was informative....is nice to help out fellow campers with info good and bad.

there is another camp shop near me in bury called castlecroft caravans & camping who have always been helpfull in the past and if they had sold the tent in question i would have bought it from them, and i know first hand they would have been more helpful as we have discovered in the past,

thanks everyone for your posts and happy camping yawl......lol

It's true about Yeomans customer service going down the pan.  They can not do any exchange or refund now without getting permission from the area manager.

Also (as of last week, so not sure if things have improved now), there were no deliveries to any stores as they had no van drivers.  Hence any internet orders were not getting out.  Internet orders are dispatched from the local stores, collected, then sent to the  warehouse (mad I know).  Also it explains why the shelves in store are virtually empty.

Many staff at head office have been laid off, they did not even have a receptionist to divert calls to the right people.

I wanted my *source* to post on here and explain what is going on, but they were to afraid to.  All they can do is watch years of excellent service etc go down the toilet.  Whether things improve once all the cuts have taken place remains to be seen.  Personally I can't see it.  The damage has been done.

So Mr New Owner, you certainly know how to ruin a companys' reputation in 6 short weeks...IMO.

Had some fantastic stuff from Yeomans over the years, so won't ditch them in a hurry, but it's useful to have feedback, negative and positive, so we don't go in 'blind' with the next order, so thanks for posting.

FoO

Quote: Originally posted by Liznjezza on 05/9/2011

---

Someone mentioned about a washer for £400 not working after 14 months - if it only had a 12 month guarantee then there is nothing you can do.

---

No one has mentioned this before but Outwell has a new warranty system since 2011.
Before 2011 retailers could exchange / refund tents without any problems. Since the beginning of this year retailers must take back the equipment with problems, fill in a claim form and Outwell will take a look at the problem and will decide what they gonna do about it.

When the tent is out of the 12 month warranty the will charge the costs of repair.

Yeomann can not give you a new pole without informing Outwell....

Quote: Originally posted by Yeomans on 14/10/2011

---

Hi There,

I am the owner of Yeomans Outdoors. I took over the business on 12 July 2011 and spent the summer restructuring the business.

I have read a number of forum posts and was shocked to see some of the posts and comments made by loyal customers of Yeomans.

When I took over the company, I realised that there was a lot of work to do and my team and I have been working really hard to rebuild the customer service operation so that we never again deliver poor levels of service.

I have recently invested in a new Customer Service Call Centre, new technology and new people too.

Yeomans was founded in 1904 and has been trading for over 100 years and it is my intention that Yeomans continue to have the very best customer service in the sector.

I am committed to ensuring we honour our history and legacy and wish to express my personal apology for the level of customer service some customers received before I had chance to get on top of things after acquiring the company.

If you wish to contact me directly you can do so at jason at wyeomans.com.

Thank-you.

www.yeomansoutdoors.co.ukYeomans

---

Hello 'Mr' Yeomans,

I am impressed that you have replied here and put up your direct contact for all to use.

Just for that you should be . Great to hear you have identified and are trying to improve any 'dips' for your customer base.

I have used your company before and after seeing that you are prepared to put your name to account- would use it again.

Ty for your response jason from yeomans, as already said it is nice for the owner of a company to get in on this type of level to comment about a situation, this is great testament to the UKcampsite.co.uk respect in the industry.

and ty for posting your personal email address for further contact. however as i have been offloading in public i feel it only fair for you to be allowed to deal with this complaint in the same way. I think it would be remiss of me to ask you to do help out in private, as this would not allow you 'positive airtime' in response.

so heres the issue. i love my tent and i dont want a refund, exchange or any form of compensation all i wanted was 1 new pole to replace the one which broke on its second use. if you can help i welcome your response. ty very much for the contact