quality control... poll?

[ben walsh]

what do you guys do when you get a tube that is scratched all to hell?

what about a tube of conturex, or a tube of ion x, or a 38 rod.

i would like to drop names here but i won't so that there'll still be a chance in hell that i receive quality materials.( maybe if one day glass gets me famous or 'big' i'll get the good stuff).

just an ex. i got a 50 mill tube of red ion x with a three inch air bubble and two lines drawn in permanent marker around the defect...wtf!!!! and one 30 mill conturex tube that is scratched so bad it looks like it was sitting on a cement floor for a few weeks!!! i don't know about anyone else but i pay good money to various distributors to split up the cases they receive and ship pieces to me because i can't afford to buy a whole case of whatever it is i want or need, from the manufacturer. and it it pisses me off that bitching about it to various distibutors will probably only make matters worse.

and if you want to return said items it will end up costing you in shipping and time and blah blah blah. just had to rant. (in hopes that some distributors will see this and try to make some positive changes in their QC, that will ultimately benefit everyone involved).

peace, ben

opinions here would be greatly appreciated...

[somberbear]

out of all my dealing in lampworking distributers i feel i have been very very lucky and never got this problem, i also pick up my clear localy from some friends... so i can bitch right then and grab another tube.

but in my experiance if you not happy all most every one i have delt with will work with you... maybe you might not get to exchange it but you might get a credit or something... i would complain but be polite. we wouldnt be able to work if not for these people and alot of them dont have control over it. but they can if you need them too. alot of the distibiuters that work with this board and others are excelent and should be treated with respect. as well they should respect you. becouse it isnt a one way street. we both support each other.

so just chill , take a safty brake and figure out what you wanna say and see the alturnitives. be open and be nice. and all should work out well. if not show your disatifaction with your dollor and dont go threw them agian. there are a good selection of distributers. they might not carry every thing but there are options.

peace
rob

[Monkythrowpoop]

Hey Ben, good to see you back around here, I hope the new baby is doing well. I guess I'd figure out how much you could use off of each of the tubes and then call up the distributor and tell them how much you couldn't use. Maybe figure out how much it cost, and ask them to credit that to your account, or send you some color, or another tube, whatever. There are enough distributors that you shouldn't have to deal with anyone who gives you crappy glass AND crappy service.

Ben

[smutboy420]

Ya if you got to work around a defect you should at least get some kind of a credit back.

[Firekist]

i'm surprised the distributor didn't outright replace the shoddy material.. them replacing it is gonna cost them a lot less than you ordering from someone else.
if they do this type of thing enough, they won't have customers for long. let them know, and if they don't resolve the issue by just crediting you, or giving you a replacement, shop somewhere else if you can. they'll get it figured out one way or another.

i don't know you, but if you're sketchy.. well.. maybe you deserve it ;) (i doubt this is the case, but.. i'm just covering the bases)

z--seth

[IrieGuy05]

"and if you want to return said items it will end up costing you in shipping and time and blah blah blah"

To me its a sign of shitty customer service if they don't offer to replace it for free without you having to ship the broken or defective glass back.

The only times I've had things break or a few tubes missing they sent out free replacements without me having to prove anything.

[steven p selchow]

Well, since you didn't mention any names here, and probably shouldn't...at least until you contact them first and have them make good on it. I didn't see where you said you tried to.

I use to get rod, pyrex, and sometimes it was all scratched up, unfortunatly I don't always catch it until I'm in the middle of a sculpture, then its almost to late, you just can't burn the bad section off, it deforms the entire piece when you re-attach a new rod.

I think we should have a section on the board somewhere when their is a legitimate complaint and the company doesn't make good on it, this can be a bad thing to because theirs a lot more to it, but the cost of sending it back if its only a few tubes or rods is more costly...so...a credit or an alternative product is the best way to go.

Most distributors know the customers that buy a lot from them, and I think if I had complained of some bad glass, they would make good on it, but their inevitably will be some that just can't be satisfied and just be a consistent thorn in their side, just guessing here.

Most all my bad rod was from Glasscraft, now, not to knock them, as they are a very good company who sells split up cases, and small amounts of glass you just don't need a full case of, and their customer service has been good to me...besides, I never brought it to their attention when I had bad or scratched glass, so thats my fault, And it has been only a few times and a few rods here and there, so I just ate it.

Since I switched to artists series Kimble, I have a new supplier of that ,CSG, and they are super good people and haven't had any bad stuff, and if I had, Chris and Todd would replace it im sure.

Speak up Ben, glass ain't cheap, the problem is more when you have to get a piece made with that special glass you ordered and find its unusable, and your on a deadline or something to that effect that pisses me off more than anything.

peace

[Mike_Aurelius]

My perspective as a retailer of (clear) rod and tubing: If you buy a full case, still factory sealed, there's not a lot I (as a the seller) can do. I didn't open up the case to check the quality of what's inside.

However, if we've sold individual rod and tubing, each and every piece better be in damn good condition! I've seen a couple of large diameter tubes come out of our Simax boxes with marked defects (which surprised the hell out of me!), but those we cut up and discarded the bad section, and the odd ball lengths I took to my studio to use.

We do occasionally get a case that has had end impact and has suffered some internal rod/tube end breakage. These boxes get special handling, first to avoid injury to ourselves, but second to ensure that the chips and pieces don't scratch up anything we pull from the box.

There are times when you get a scratch on a rod or tube. It can't be helped. We've never had a complaint about that as far as I know, so I assume that the glassworker sees the scratch and takes the necessary steps to remove the bad glass as he/she is working.