Admiral answers

[AdmiralSteel]

Answers to some questions -

TimW - Ask for me - Cleo or Antoine for blade steels. On any problems
talk to me.

Indian George - I am fairly well versed in the knife making area and am
trying to "educate" my associates.

T.Mickly - We are close to having a "secure" on-line site with a well
known host open. Having a problem finding 416 Stainless
in sheets or even in some bar sizes lately. We offer 5 gages
of S30V in 24" x 72" sheets that we can cut to any width.
We can get many sizes in 52100 rounds- but very pricey
in one pc quantities. More limited in 52100 flats (made from
rounds)

LesV - We have gotten extremely busy for the past 2 months. Our
shipping on stock sizes has gone from 1 to 2 days to 3 to 4 days.
Our shipping on "special" sizes we have to cut to size are running
8 to 10 days rather than 4 to 5 days. We will be adding help
shortly and hope to get back to a more "normal" shipping time in
the near future.

MikeH - You are right - I am not a "computer" guy. Bob Warner had given
me some tips on searching and posting on the forums. See post
above to Les on why some answers have been slow in coming.

wtf - I have been trying to answer some of the questions posted with
general information covering those topics. I am now getting to
answer more specific questions as best I can.

fitzo - I am reading the posts as frequently as possible. I personally give
my cc# over the internet very reluctantly.

Our shearing does cause specialty steel to get distorted. We have
custom made equipment to reflatten and straighten the steel after
shearing. All of our ATS-34 / 440C / 154CM / CPM steels are
annealed and should be as straight as HR bars when shipped.

Before our statement concerning the on-line site problem and
customer service problems was posted, we had group sales
meetings concerning the service problems brought up. I spoke
to each sales person individually expressing grave concerns about
some of the conduct toward customers. Our service should now
be up to the high standards anyone dealing with Admiral should
expect and receive.

DanG - As I explained to Mr. Witty in a direct response our statements
on the forums were sincere and honest. Our entire sales force
was briefed on problems brought up by dissatisfied customers
and the efforts that would be required to make them satisfied
customers.

Our computer person was not a part of these sessions as after
his assinine posting showed, he most certainly should have been.


Thank you all.

More to come.

Terry

 

[fitzo]

Thank you, Terry.

When and if you feel you can provide S30V sheared from plate as straight as Crucible can provide, I will be happy to return my business to you. Perhaps providing it in 18" lengths the way Crucible/Dallas seems to prefer might aid the problem. I am quite serious when I say I try to keep it as local as possible.

Also, I appreciate your taking my concerns about customer service to heart and look forward to receiving more satisfying treatment in the future. You have to agree it's no fun to feel disregarded when one has a complaint.

Once again, thank you for your interest in maintaining a good relationship with the knifemaking community. I'm certain I can speak for all of us in stating we appreciate a competent and caring vendor.

 

[peter nap]

Well guys...I've been to both ends of this. I badmouthed them in the beginning and complimented them for their efforts when they made the turnaround.

I can only compare them to other vendors that I have issues with. Track of the Wolf is a prime example. I had problems with their sales people letting information (Like credit card numbers) for other people in my zip code slip when I was ordering. Their sales people ranged from great to stupid and very nice to downright rude. They lost orders and never a word of apology.

Something small brought it to a head on another board and other than one email saying that they would try to take care of it, nothing was ever done.

I sent a $500.00 order to their competition the next day because of it and will likely never deal with them again.

At least Admiral is trying to solve it's problems and treat us as valued customers. This is more than can be said of a great many businesses these days.

That also doesn't mean I'm going to run out and order from them. I made some darn good steel contacts during this that want business very badly. It does put Admiral back in the vendor book!
I've pretty well said everything I can think of in this matter.

 

[C L Wilkins]

My hat is off to Admiral Steel for taking the bull by the horns. This is very refreshing indeed.

I went to a place today, the woman behind the counter was more concerned about the person on the phone than the person at her counter.

Between phone calls she told me that she would be with me in just a moment and I replied, "no problem, take your time" but in the meantime a couple of other folks saw me there but were busy "taking care of business". Well, a few minutes go by...

I left.

I will order the 2X72 belts I needed from Trugrit or Pops. Yes, this business is very convenient and are a little higher than the rest of the suppliers but I don't mind paying for convenience. It is no longer convenient. I have been doing business there for over 9 years. Today, they lost a long time customer but I really am left with the impression that they could care less. After all, it is just one customer.

The only way I will ever go back there is if I am really in a bind for something. It is my intent to never get that desperate.

Craig

 

[watakipoma]

This may be a bit off track, but it does relate.

My wife and I have been noticing a slip in customer service all around; both mail order and in local stores. It seems that the latest trend in business is to focus on getting new customers and ignoring old ones.

Case in point, my wife worked for a dentist that was more concerned about having the phone answered before three rings because "it might be a new patient". If there was a patient waiting to check in or check out then they would have to wait even more. After all, the dentist already had their money and insurance information for billing.

What ended up happening instead was that the "new patient" on the phone was actually a telemarketer or drug rep that you had to get rid of and you now had a pissed off patient that is now thinking of getting a new dentist.

Does this remind anyone of an Aesop's fable about a dog with a bone and a reflection in the stream?

Admiral Steel isn't going to become a top 10 company by selling tons and tons of steel to knifemakers. Admiral Steel is going to become a top 10 company by selling tons and tons of steel to many, many knifemakers. To do that they need excellent service.

May hat is off to those that try to give excellent customer service.

 

[Mike Hull]

Terry, I hope you didn't take my post in a previous thread(mentioned in your post above) as criticism. I was merely trying to offer an explanation.

I appreciate all your efforts to help Knifemakers get good service.