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Post by greenpesto on Dec 18, 2005 15:42:50 GMT 1
We've all been moaning about the quality of all our product range lately, & I agree that it is the worst year we've had for this.
I've been getting Verticals now with:
1. Carriers mis-aligned
2. Tilt chain so weak they snap easily when attempting to re-align louvres. ( scared to touch them now)
3. Bottom chains so inflexible you can't fit them onto the weights
4. Bottom chains continually too short by several links
5. Greasy H/rails
6. Plastic ends of rails broken on delivery
7. Ends jamming
8. Carriers jamming
9. H/rails supplied un-corded
10. 'No' or 'wrong' brackets supplied
11. Louvres badly made ( especially on hems - top & bottom )
12. Variations in length of louvres for same blind
13. Loose 'star washers'.
14. Marks from 'marker pens' on louvres
15. Plastic spacer tube missing/incorrect size
( especially on centre of 'split bunch' )
Yes! these problems have been going on for years but to have almost every order with some problem is now annoying.
You all probably do the same as me & put some of these right yourself rather than go back with a DOR.
This does mean however that the Verticals department don't see there being a problem ( seems to be the Hillarys way!!!).
Can I suggest that we all email the 'Service Centre' with these problems & ask them to pass it on to the relevant department. If any one knows of the Vertical Department 'heads' email address let us know & we can then contact him/her by email direct.
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Post by heriticus on Dec 18, 2005 17:31:58 GMT 1
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Post by desmorse on Dec 18, 2005 19:46:26 GMT 1
You missed one, greenpesto. I've had 3 jobs recently with only enough hangers for 1 or 2 blinds. I was 40 down last week, 60 last Thursday and 52 today. There's a limit to the number of spares we can carry, I sat and cut 50 5" hangers down to 3,1/2" today to get the job finished
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Post by Blind Scout on Dec 19, 2005 1:44:01 GMT 1
I said I would post after Christmas, and you beat me to it. Most of what you say above is my findings and most due to the quality of the "plastics" now being supplied. No doubt they are also from China, since Hillarys closed their own plastic mouldings department.
Being in Scotland, most of our orders are usually made at Washington, but we do get supplied from Notts. I can tell as the parts are packaged differently. One observation I seem to have made, is Notts supplied products are usually been much worse than from Wash. Is this because all the temps are down at HO. The only good thing on Verts is the screw adjustment to realign the centre splits. The biggest problem is they either don't tighten the screw and the cord pulls out, d**n, another re-cording job, after taking all the louvres off and taking the rail down; or they over-tighten, and you strip the head of the grub screw, when trying to slacken it to adjust.
Another concern is when there are 3 or more blinds, bundled together. Guaranteed that 1 or more rails are scratched. It just needs a turn of tape over the cut edge. After all, they usually use a whole roll of tape wrapping the rails together.
But, again, when I make my lists for each blind type I will send it to quality, cc'd to FSM, suggest you do likewise. I will be duplicating what I have already said in the Quality Survey many months ago, of which the results have not been publicised, and, by the downward trend in Quality, completely ignored.
"Cost of Failure"? Factories prooved it in the past, "piece work" gives "nuts work".
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Post by kwikfitfitter on Dec 20, 2005 6:43:20 GMT 1
Wait till they roll out the new Delta system, no screw adjustment on the leading carrier just a split ball inside the carrier itself, I can see DORs going through the roof with this one as to adjust the control length when it comes longer than you ordered ( surely not ) means a total stripdown, and if you sell your verticals on a quality angle, forget it, looks the same as all the other cheap headrails out there
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Post by kwikfitfitter on Dec 20, 2005 7:14:00 GMT 1
Looking back though these posts there seems to be a serious quality issue, but then its been like that for years, i think the word is cyclical, the same issues keep appearing every few years like short louvres, i think it was about 4 years ago when this last appeared, but it transpired that the amount that is deducted from the measured drop was changed from 4.5 to 5cms, all those .5 of a cm add up to a lot of fabric saved, except that it doesn't because of all the DORs.
Which brings me to my point, all the tales of penny pinching on this site mean nothing when compared to the huge amount of waste created by not getting it right first time,
Just think if every blind that came out of Hillarys was right first time,
How much time would you save by not going to the same call 2 or 3 times
How much time would you save not waiting on the phone to order your DORs listening to plinkey plonkey music
How much time would you save not having to put blinds right on site
How much more business could you do with all the new found spare time
So that would mean less advisors needed, less call centre staff, less factory staff ( pay peanuts, get monkeys ) and then theres all the savings on materials, just what DOES happen to all the returned product, customers often ask, but I have no answer.
Or is it just me!!!!!!!!!!
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Post by keenasmustard on Dec 20, 2005 8:26:21 GMT 1
they are skipped  or so my last decent driver told me |
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Post by BlindWizard on Dec 20, 2005 9:35:21 GMT 1
Speaking to someone on the support line she was telling me how staff can buy returns cheaply. She brought a large roman for £10 and then altered it to fit her window.
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Post by phugly on Dec 20, 2005 9:49:02 GMT 1
Thats it then, blinds are being made wrong to start with so that Hillarys staff can buy cheaper to furnish their own homes  |
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Post by Blind Scout on Dec 20, 2005 9:56:32 GMT 1
Wait till they roll out the new Delta system, no screw adjustment on the leading carrier just a split ball inside the carrier itself, I can see DORs going through the roof with this one as to adjust the control length when it comes longer than you ordered ( surely not ) means a total stripdown, and if you sell your verticals on a quality angle, forget it, looks the same as all the other cheap headrails out there Oh dear, that is very bad news, back to balls. Every blind I have ordered recently on SAM, for "full length" controls, the controls are a good 3" below the sill. Full length controls used to stop with the weight clear of the drop length. And in square corner conservatories, where blinds butt up against each other, I shorten the end spacer to reduce the gap when the blinds are closed. This requires the lead carrier to be moved back the same distance. Looks like quality of installation is going down as well then. Cost of Failure vs Cost of Quality. |
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Post by heriticus on Dec 20, 2005 10:12:23 GMT 1
oh please no not the old split ball system more service calls than i care too remember  |
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Post by Augustus on Dec 20, 2005 13:10:01 GMT 1
I'll probably just send them all straight back to save time actually driving to the customers house with them to find they don't work.
If they think anything of us then they will listen if we all stop doing them ?
P.
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Post by RED on Dec 20, 2005 22:16:31 GMT 1
My fitter just got back in time to let me know a customer would be ringing me.
Seconds later he did. God what an irate person, mind you he has good reason.
6 vertical blinds.
1 wont turn
1 bent and scratched
No cord weights and the best of all not one single set of Louvre's have been sealed properly so all the weights are falling out and hes using selotape to hold them together.
" I came to you because I did not think you were one of these cowboy companies you see in the paper" he said.
Not a lot I could say really.
Get them out after Xmas and I will go to one of the other cowboys that may not do such a bad job.
And all this after I had told him on the selling appointment that he should be careful as there are a lot of cowboys out there.
Red
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Post by greenpesto on Dec 20, 2005 23:41:33 GMT 1
I am currently running at around 25% of my orders with faults on them. Most I can sort myself ( but shouldn't have to! )
Verticals however, are running at around 60 - 70% with some form of fault.
Wooden venetians at around 35%.
Most of the range of blinds we do are however arriving WITHOUT brackets!
Are we back to using 'sky hooks' again?
I've stopped selling 'Woods' for the moment ... If I do this with 'verts' I'll have little to offer my customers.
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Post by grumperbear on Dec 21, 2005 9:40:19 GMT 1
What is a sky hook?
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or so my last decent driver told me
