fantastic service

I recently had an issue in trying to turn a 14tpi thread. My lathe is metric and despite being told and seeing it advertised as capable of cutting both metric and imperial threads, it couldn't do that with the change gears supplied. Calling the supplier (Chester Hobby Lathes) to ask for help was left with a promise to get back to me with a solution, that was several weeks ago still not heard anything.

On the other hand, Ketan from Arc Eurotrade, an alternative engineering supplier, saw the thread and contacted me to say that his company could help. So yesterday, I called Arc Eurotrade, I ordered a 127 tooth metal change gear that will fit my lathe, including postage it came to less than £25, and it arrived today. Now that is an incredible level of service by any standard.

Ketan I wonder if you could source and sell a lathe of similar spec, size, weight and quality as an english lathe such as Harrison M300 or Colchester Bantam etc If so let me know, I will happily put my name down on the list of people wanting such a thing.

Good to hear, I have ordered quite a bit of stuff from Arc Euro and have been very satisified with everything,

I really don't see why. I realise it's de rigueur here to make these posts about Ketan and Arc but in this case I think the term "opportunistic" (NOT a criticism) would apply rather more than "incredible service".

LOL, some people are just never happy! Good on Ketan, I say.

I always find that good service should be publicized as long as the company involved it not directly trying to just advertise. I know that Ketan is a member here but that should not stop other members saying what kind of service they received. As very new member and looking to get into model engineering I find it good to know who to buy from and who not to.

Well done to all concerned.

I have been a customer of Arc for many years and the service has always been streets ahead of the competition, I know that if I order from Arc the item will be here usually the following day whereas with their competitors a week or more is not unusual. It was always been a pleasure to deal with Arc when they attended exhibitions, sadly they no longer do so but I fully understand their reasons for not doing so. I certainly wouldn’t refer to Ketan’s response above as opportunistic, to me it is just an extension of his company’s philosophy of service, you only have to follow some of the threads on this site where Ketan has freely given advice which sometimes steers customers to other suppliers to realise that he is passionate about his chosen vocation and his advice is impartial. I have no connection with Arc other than being a loyal customer.

Dave W

I find Ketan very helpful he explained some of the downsides of a product I wanted from him a pity not every trader is as forthcoming as he is.

Certainly no more opportunistic than adding yet another customer to his list, or perhaps an existing customer who will go to Arc, as first port of call, rather than a competitor.

The thread may just be a comparison between suppliers or as a bit of a downer for one in particular (in this case). It might be remotely possible that the first-mentioned company might make a greater effort, next time, as it cannot leave them in the most favoured light...

Definitely full marks to Arc. I will freely admit that my trade is more often directed towards Arc these days, although I have never had a problem with Warco either.

We all seem to enjoy good service and the fact that we are moved to write about it on here would seem to indicate that it is not normal any more. These days we get a bit miffed if things ordered online don't turn up in less than a few days, remember when 28 days was normal for mail order items? We now have outstanding delivery but quality after sales service is rarer. A pecking order is definitely emerging from the feedback posted on this forum and I suspect the suppliers who don't explain their position are not at the top of the preferred supplier list. I read trip advisor reviews and it is plain that some of the reviewers are unreasonable people with unrealistic expectations. It is interesting when the other side of a bad review is posted and unrealistic demands or expectations are exposed.

Mike

Hi Bandersnatch,

I understand why you would think as you do, and I don't think of it as criticism at all. I wish it was an opportunistic situation, but to put it into perspective, you may be missing a piece of the puzzle. My response to Ian came in on page 6 of this thread after I was directed to it by Howard Lewis, who was wanting to help Ian. Until then I hadn't even looked at the thread.

I am guessing that Ian making this post is in response to that thread.

If after reading that thread you still feel that the term 'opportunistic' applies, then so be it.

Ketan at ARC

Hi Ian,

At one time... back in mid-2014, the late John Stevenson and I visited a factory in China which was/is making the Runmaster. This falls in line with one of the offering you seek. However, there are a few reservations.

The person behind the Runmaster was a very well knowledge old man, and it was 'his baby' for want of word. Old man Runmaster came into China a few decades ago from Taiwan, where Runmaster is famous, especially for very big machines. He explained to us many technical attributes and real meaning of 'M' on the castings, and how this was abused by many competitors. Being an engineer, by the time we meet him, he had hit hard times, after being diddled by several Chinese partners over the decades. His nature was straight forward. His latest partnership was with a new venture group. They learned a lot from him in terms of how to make and assemble the machines. Initially, SIEG was going to promote it as their own brand, but I persuaded them to go with the 'Runmaster' name as part of the product branding, and old man Runmaster gave his permission and agreed to help in promoting the story and history behind him, which was being proposed by me. I remember that day well. John was my designated 'alcahol drinker' especially as I cannot stand rice wine, and I try to avoid drinking while I am out there. Both he and the SIEG GM were well and truly 'pissed' on the way back, snoring away like god knows what.

Unfortunately, I had less confidence in the new partners with whom old man Runmaster was with. So, I kept the story/idea dormant to wait and see what would happen after two years. If he was still there, I would have considered, but sadly, that partnership came to an end in the same way as rest of his previous arrangements. I wish we could have worked with him. But as he is out of the picture now, I prefer to stay out of this product for now.

Anyway, if you want the Runmaster, it is available from Axminster. I think Antony Powell who is on this forum purchased one. See this thread, on page 9.

You may want to ask him what he thinks. I believe that that machine probably came from production post departure of old man Runmaster. So, how good, bad or ugly it is open to question.

Ketan at ARC.

Forgot to say: Glad to read that the gear worked for you.

Edited By Ketan Swali on 13/08/2018 12:18:55

Yes, Ketan, I was missing that bit and yes, it does make a difference.

Bravely said Bandersnatch.