Poor Service from across the Pond

I'm not generally in the habit of moaning about retailers but sometimes I do wonder how certain companies stay in business. I'm also not in the habit of 'naming and shaming' but in this case I'll make an exception because this is a cautionary tale and it's retelling may be of some value to fellow gamers and potential customers of C-in-C.

Let me start by saying that I love C-in-C's miniatures and on the whole I have had a very positive experience purchasing their products through their UK distributor, Wargames Emporium. But on this occasion I wanted a product from their accessories range which I suspected might not be held in stock here in the UK. So I contacted Wargames Emporium to check their stock and they emailed me straight back confirming they didn't have it and would have to wait for their next restock order. Rather than wait I decided I'd try purchasing the items I wanted direct from the manufacturer, reasoning that although it might prove more expensive to pay shipping from the US, I would probably get my order delivered quicker. Oh how wrong I was! Here's the short version of the story (the long version ran to 8 paragraphs before I edited down!)....

I ordered my items on the C-in-C website on the 17th September. I knew shipping would be expensive, but I wanted these models quickly and was prepared to cough up the money to get them (yes, a bad case of shineyitus). I received an order confirmation by email and expected a further email confirming the shipping costs and advising a dispatch date. So I waited, and I waited.... 28 days later my patience crumbled and I emailed asking for an ETA on dispatch. They replied saying the order would be worked on over the weekend and delivery would be 7-10 days thereafter. However two weeks later and I still hadn't received confirmation that my order had been dispatched, so I decided to email them again. 

This time I got a rather strange reply stating that my order was below the minimum for any discount on shipping and did I want to proceed with my order? I was slightly alarmed at this message because a) it still hadn't been sent and b) it sounded a lot like they didn't want to fulfil my order because it was so small. I immediately replied back confirming my intention to proceed with my order and asking for confirmation of the shipping costs. I heared nothing back and after five more days days of silence I emailed again, repeating the same message that I wanted to continue with my order and asking how they wanted me to pay for the shipping costs. I did eventually get a response and last Friday - seven and a half weeks after placing my order - I received an email saying my goods had at last been dispatched. 

I understand that it may not be economical for a company like this to fulfil small orders but if that is the case the minimum order value ought to be clearly shown on the website. Similarly if delivery is going to be outside the stated ETA then it would seem to me to be simple courtesy to communicate with the customer to keep them informed. CinC state 7-14 days for dispatch with delivery 7-10 days thereafter so orders should be at most 24 days... I'm still waiting for my order to arrive and its now 59 days and counting.

One mitigating factor to bare in mind (to be fair) is that the company had to relocate to new premises in June and they have been quite open about the fact that this has impacted on delivery times. However they also posted an update on their website early in September stating that production was up and running and the backlog was shrinking. So either there is a backlog or there isn't, but either way a little communication with their customers would go a long long way.

So, is this an example of bad customer service or am I just being a grumpy and impatient Englishman stamping my foot in petulant frustration? 

Let the Retail Therapy Commence

Although I'm a keen Internet shopper there really is no replacement for hands-on retail therapy. And for gamers like me that usually means visiting a local wargames show or convention. There are a handful of game shops within reach of my home but for the sheer variety of products available you can't beat a convention. My 'show season' (for want of a better phrase) starts this Sunday with Cavalier at Tonbridge in Kent.

I have only been going to this show for a couple of years (since I joined Posties Rejects) but it has become a firm favourite and a regular feature of my gaming calender. It's nice and early in the year and it feels like the herald of spring after a long bleak winter without any other shows (the last one I went to was SELWG, waaaaay back in October). My trigger finger is definitely starting to get twitchy and I have some cash burning a hole in my pocket that absolutely must be spent!

Here are a collection of my pictures from the 2011 and 2012 shows to whet your appetite for this great little event. 

Another Friday Rant

A recent post that has stirred up a lot of interest was my article last week on poor customer service and lack of communication. I had a lot of feedback asking me to name and shame the retailer involved but I'm afraid that after a week of thinking about this issue I have decided not to name them. Its far too easy to throw accusations around the Internet these days and I decided that I didn't want to jump on that particular bandwagon just yet. The fact is that no one single retailer has hacked me off to the point where I'd feel justified damaging their reputation online. So rather than ranting about a specific retailer I decided I'd list a few general examples of problems I have encountered over the last few months. You know, just to get it off my chest...

Processing Delays
Some retailers are lightening fast. Amazon are a prime example. I have bought some products and had them delivered the next day even though I had selected the Standard delivery option. Clearly not all retailers have the economic power and resources of Amazon but I have received similar fast service from small retailers and even from online businesses based around a single High Street shop. One recent order was a sad exception.

Firstly it took a whole week for the seller to even begin processing my order. I realise that this sounds very impatient (boo-hoo!), but as already stated many other online retailers I have dealt with dispatch orders within 2-3 days if not quicker. Having said that I assume this is a small outfit, possibly a one-person operation, so I can understand some degree of delay. But then having begun processing my order it them took a further 18 days before my parcel was eventually posted. During the whole of this time I never received any communication explaining the delay and no reply to my emails regarding the delay in my order.

Unexpected Charges

Another issue I have encountered is unexpected or unexplained charges that appear after an order has been placed. I've had this happen several times, usually from overseas retailers, and each time we haven't been talking small change. One particular example added a Shipping charge at the point of order but then emailed a week later to say there would be an additional charge that was greater than the cost of the items being ordered!

Its always worth checking the website of an online retailer you have never used before because they should state if additional charges apply. This isn't always the case and on at least two occasions I felt I was being ripped off and cancelled the order immediately. But on other occasions I have accepted that it was my own fault for not checking the shipping rates at point of sale. The lesson I have learnt (the hard way) is that it is incumbent on the buyer to check the total charges for their order before proceeding with that order.

Poor Packaging
Having paid for your goods the least you would expect of the retailer/supplier is that they send your goods in suitable packaging so that it has a reasonable chance of arriving in good condition. I've had books delivered in regular envelops (not even a padded bag) with bent spines and damaged corners. I've had orders arrive in re-used packing that barely covered the items inside. On one occasion I even received an un-boxed resin figure in a padded bag which arrived in several very small pieces.

One recent example was the delivery of my Mat-o-War. Bare in mind this order was for a 6'x4' gaming mat so you'd expect a 4' long roll to be delivered, possibly in a tube or at the very least rolled tightly so that it would resist bending in transit. Instead the mat was very loosely rolled lengthwise so what I received was a squashed, creased and floppy 6ft long package in an ill fitting plastic wrapper. Some of the creases are so bad I think they will need to be ironed out, although thankfully it doesn't look as if there has been any permanent damage to the mat.

Wrong or missing items
Twice in the last six months I have ordered miniatures from online manufacturer/retailers and either received the wrong items or found items missing. Neither order was particularly large or complex so I find it hard understand how completely the wrong figures could have been posted. On one occasion I ordered two items and only one turned up. When emailed the supplier said the missing item was out of stock and I would get my delivery when they were resupplied. If there had been a note to that effect in my first parcel I would have been quite happy but as I had to chase for an explanation I cancelled the second item (I then found it cheaper and in stock with another retailer!).

Taking your Business Elsewhere is Easy

When there are so many alternative suppliers to choose from online I can easily take my disposable income elsewhere. For many of the companies involved in the above examples, next time I probably will go somewhere else. The loss of one repeat customer might not bring down a business but if others feel the same as me then these companies are shooting themselves in the foot, which is very dangerous in the current economic climate.

Maybe these orders were an exception to the norm for these retailers. It is possible I was just unlucky and they were having an 'off day', but as my money, time and patience is of limited capacity, I won't be returning to find out.

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OK. I fell better now for getting that out of my system. I promise to be less grumpy in future. 

Friday Rant - Poor Customer Service

Like many gamers I purchase a lot of the paints, accessories and miniatures I want online. I personally feel that 'my' hobby has benefited from the growth of Internet shopping because I can search and find products that I might never have found at a show or in a FLGS. Maybe the product I want is very rare, or maybe its only available outside the UK. No matter where it is, how rare or obscure it might be, I can find it with the right browser search terms and a little patience. But it seems to me that some online retailers still have a lot to learn about customer service.

I should make it clear that I still think there is an important place in the high street for real game shops and that I still visit them and buy from traders at shows. Indeed I made a quick estimate of my hobby spending last year and three quarters of it was conducted face to face with traders rather than across the World Wide Web. The great benefit of direct purchases like this is the 'relationship' you have with the trader. I'm not suggesting they are my personal buddies or that we are on first name terms, but dealing with a human being rather than a web page is obviously a more interactive experience. I can get a feeling for what sort of business they run, how they deal with customers and whether they are 'my sort of people' (i.e. gamers themselves). Its hard to achieve that online, although it has to be said that many of the companies I buy from via the Internet I have previously bought from at shows and shops.

However sometimes I do deviate from online traders that I know personally. Sometimes the service and experience is excellent but recently I seem to have encountered online retailers that fall far below my expectations for good customer service. And when I talk about customer service I'm largely talking about good communication skills.

For me communication is everything because its part of building the 'relationship' between customer and supplier that the Internet doesn't normally provide. OK something has gone wrong, but this should be seen as an opportunity not a disaster. Its an opportunity to speak directly to the customer and reassure them that you care about their order and their loyalty as a consumer. For example my very first purchase from Skytrex was online and as it turned out there were issues that resulted in a delay in delivery. It eventually took close to four weeks from my miniatures to arrive, but I was OK with that because I received several emails notifying me of the problem and asking me how I would like to proceed. My needs as a customer were put first meaning I felt valued and I have happily placed several more orders with them since.

I have also encountered radically different experiences with other online retailers. Long period of utter silence; unanswered requests for information; inexplicable delays in delivery; 'customer account' pages that never get updated. I won't name names because they might just have been having a bad day, or there might have been perfectly reasonable issues I didn't know about. But as I'll never know what those issues were (because they weren't communicated to me) they have already lost my faith in them and I'll spend my money elsewhere.

I think that word faith is actually quite important here. When I buy in a shop or at a show I have the product in my grasp and all I have to do is hand over the cash. But with online purchases we relinquish our credit card details for products that we haven't even seen yet. We trust they have the stock they claim. We hope they will delivery promptly as promised. We assume that our order will be accurately met. In short we show faith that the retailer will live up to their half of the bargain. And when they don't (or when things go wrong and they don't reassure us with good communications) we feel all the more let down and disappointed as a result.

Bad Customer Service & Late Deliveries

Poor Customer Service comes in many forms not just rude or obstructive sales staff. In this age of  Internet Shopping its things like late deliveries, lack of communications, mistakes in orders, unhelpful websites, and poor stock control that are probably the most common examples of Bad Customer Service that are encountered by most shoppers. And I've encountered them all in the last few months.

Regular readers will know that I have entered into a new scale recently, complimenting my 15mm WWII collection with 6mm figures and vehicles. My acquisition of a large collection of models from a fellow member of Posties Rejects has boosted my output of painted figures and without it I would probably still be sitting here twiddling my thumbs. Why? Because clearly not all retailers work to the same standards, especially where customer service is concerned.

Since I first decided to go the 6mm route in mid October, I have placed three different orders and so far none of them have fulfilled my expectations. Half the items I ordered from one retailer were out of stock, despite being shown as in-stock when I placed the order. I eventually received half my order (and a refund for the missing stuff) nearly five weeks after purchasing them. A second order with a different retailer is still outstanding over four weeks after placing it. Despite emailing them I have had no communications confirming an ETA for the delivery or explaining the delay. And a third order - this time placed direct from a manufacturer - is also overdue and now in its fifth week.

Maybe I have been a bit spoiled with the more mainstream (?) 15mm market where I could easily expect to place an order on the Monday and have my goods within the week. I have also grown accustomed to purchasing items that are listed as in-stock and those items actually being in-stock and then delivered as anticipated. So far neither situation seems to apply when buying 6mm figures and vehicles and I'm rather disappointed. This of course raises the question, is this a common experience for other micro scale wargamer's out there, or am I just unlucky?

Patience of a Wargamer

I had an email earlier in the week from the company I am buying my Afrika Korps 6mm stuff from. I won't name them just yet because my feelings on the issue are a little undecided at the moment, but it goes without saying I would have liked to have had my figures by now. I'm glad the company concerned have communicated their stock problem to me although I do feel they could have done so a bit quicker (seven days after I placed the order online). Plus their website was showing stock available when it clearly wasn't so they have some issues they need to resolve there.

Finished bases in their magnetised box

But on the plus side their email to me seemed genuine and apologetic and they gave me the option of cancelling or putting the items on back order. After a further email exchange they also gave me an ETA for the arrival of their new stock so I could make an informed decision about what to do.

A lot is now riding on how long I actually have to wait, the accuracy of the order when it arrives and of course the condition of the models I receive. I'm being very cautious about all this because I am conscious of the fact that I am breaking into a new scale and pretty much everything is a learning curve at the moment.

So while I sit, wait and metaphorically twiddle-my-thumbs I'm trying to keep busy. I've got a veritable production line for desert bases going on at the moment. Once I have painted my first batch of tanks they can simply be glue onto the prepped bases, given a finishing spray of varnish and they'll be good to go. Of course I need the models to arrive before any of this can happen. Sigh...You'd think after all these years of painting and gaming I would be better at this patience malarkey.

Jolly Good Service

The Flames of War 3rd Edition Rulebook in Hardback was released on the 10th March and I was hoping to pick up a copy at the Skirmish show on the Sunday. I knew that my FLGS would be in attendance and that they usually bring plenty of stock to these events. Unfortunately they hadn't had their copies in so I decided to visit the shop a week later after their next delivery. But when I called in they still hadn't had the delivery and couldn't confirm when they would get it. They were apologetic but frankly didn't seem all that worried, perhaps because they still had several copies of the 2nd edition rules on sale!

This is the point my willpower broke down and I hit the Internet instead. I found several retailers selling copies online but in the end opted for one I have used several times before, Empire Game Store. Although they are based in Kings Lynn (over 100 miles from where I live) they are fast becoming my FLGS.

I placed my order about midday yesterday and less than 24hrs later I have the rulebooks in my hands. Now that's amazing service in anyone's book, and I didn't even have to pay for delivery! So this is a big shout out to Matt at Empire Games to say cheers and thanks for the truly amazing service!

You've gotta love Battlefront

I'm sure that for non Flames of War players the title of this post may be a little contentious but right now I want to 'big up' my respect for Battlefront so bare with me. The last issue of Wargames Illustrated contained a rather enigmatic full page advert announcing the release of the 3rd Edition rules for Flames of War. Now there is a video (embeded below) elaborating on this news and announcing a special offer for veteran FoW players. Battlefront are giving away the paperback version of the 3rd edition rules to anyone that owns the hardback 2nd edition book. Now that's what I call customer service!



Awesome! Like most existing FoW players I will probably end up buying the hardback 3rd Edition rules at some point but I do like the handy sized paperback version of the rulebook and would have had to replace it eventually.

Whether your a FoW player or not I think most gamers would agree this is a great way of acknowledging existing players (as well as being a shrewd piece of PR). Nice one Battlefront!

What's on your list?

With just over a week to go before Christmas and I'm reasonable sure that I'm getting a lot of what I wanted. My family all make lists because it means both the giver and receiver are happy on Christmas morning. Its not to everyone's taste, but it works for us. And my wife and I have an understanding at this time of year that helps smooth things along. I promise not to buy anything in the couple of months prior to Christmas (just in case its already bought) and she promises to turn a blind eye when I go on a post x-mas shopping spree. Win Win.

Most of the models and miniatures I want I'll get after New Year and probably most will be bought online. But what about you? Do you have a wish list for Christmas or will you be receiving socks again?

Excellent Service from Battlefront

Battlefront Customer Services have a Missing Parts service whereby you can send details of anything you are missing from boxes or blisters of their models. Fortunately I have not had much need of this service and when I used it back in March 2010 I was less than impressed.

This time though I can only say that the speed of service was excellent. I sent an email on Sunday (the 24th) stating that I was missing the Gun Barrels from my M5A1 Stuart Platoon. Within minutes I received an email reply confirming my issue and promising to resolve it promptly. Today, just four days later I had an envelope in the post with my missing Gun Barrels. Now that's good service, and worthy of mentioning.

I don't expect every product to be perfect every time, but I do expect problems to be resolved quickly and to my satisfaction. Customer service often seems to be overlooked by many big companies these days but its vital to keeping customers who usually have lots of other products and companies to choose from. Many moons ago - while I was a student and working part time as a salesman - I learned the simple fact that customer complaints (both minor and major) are not a problem, they are an opportunity. Its a chance to develop a new relationship with the customer that goes beyond the initial sale and demonstrate the value of your company over the opposition.

Its an important lesson that many small (and some not so small) games companies would do well to learn. A quick look at various forums like TMP throw up lots of examples of poor customer service within the industry. And in the Internet age failure to resolve a customer service issue can be messy, public and damaging. I'm a firm believer in complaining - no famous British reserve for me - but I also believe in trumpeting good service when it occurs. Hense this post.

Tough Times

The current tight financial climate in the UK and overseas is definitely starting to effect our hobby. The first casualties have already fallen and I expect we will see more as the year progresses. The recent debacle at Wargames Factory (discussed in detail on TMP here and here) seems to have been precipitated by the need for that company to raise money outside the US. The full details of the situation are no doubt more complicated than this but judging from the few 'facts' available this seems to be the situation. Now another company (Bastion Studios) is being shut down due to financial problems. This was reported on Meeples and Miniatures last week.

The gaming industry has always been volatile, with small companies rising and falling all the time. Even some of the larger names in the industry like Rackham have been lost in recent times so few people can be under any doubt that hobby companies are not immune to the current climate. Even the behemoth that is Games Workshop has experienced a wobble on the stock exchange recently. I'm not suggesting they are about to go belly-up but at times of weakness anything can happen.

I expect many gamers are, like me, tightening their belts a little this year. Here in the UK we have rising inflation, increased VAT and rising fuel and food prices combined with pay freezes and job cuts in the public sector. The retail market will likely suffer to some extent this year but I suspect that the games industry will suffer more than others. While you and I may consider our hobby purchases vitally important the fact is to anyone else they would be considered a luxury item.

So what can we as gamers do about the situation, aside from wearing an extra jumper or walking to work. The prevailing advice has long been to spend our hard earned cash at the FLGS and to buy direct from the manufacturers. But I think games companies, like retailers in any other sector, need to realise that brand loyalty alone will not save them if they built their houses on weak foundations.

My suggestion goes against the grain (brace yourself, some of you may not like this) because while I support brand loyalty I also believe firmly in the need to make our individual budgets go further. So my suggestion is shop around, buy second hand, squeeze the best deals you can from the Internet and most important of all, keep playing. Choose those companies and or ranges you really want to support and focus your limited resources there.

There will almost certainly be more casualties in the hobby industry over the coming 12-18 months. I think the best we can hope for is that those that survive come out of this period stronger, and those that die get a second chance to do things better when the market recovers.

Bargain!

I'm currently working on a German Anti-Aircraft platoon for my Flames of War forces. However I'm already thinking ahead to the next project for which I need to buy the models. The US boxed set Armored Rifle Platoon (UBX01) has a RRP in the UK of £48. But like everyone else in the civilised world I'm short of cash and need a cheaper option. Various web based retailers do a 10% discount bringing the price down to £43.20. One retailer at Salute earlier in the year was even doing a 20% discount but I just picked this set up for the measly sum of £25.80 plus £4 postage. That's just short of a 38% discount!

The set is listed as being new and unopened so this isn't a second hand kit. The seller also has an excellent feedback rating so (as far as it's possible to judge these things) I can be confident in his reputability. Within minutes of winning the bid and paying by Credit Card I had an email telling me the item was packaged and ready for dispatch the next morning. With luck I should get this through the post before the week is out. If all goes to plan, I can see myself using eBay a LOT more in future when hunting for models. This isn't the first time I've bought from eBay but this has to be the most unequivocal bargain of all my purchases from that site.

A Bridge Too Far

This week I've been playing around with the strategic boardgame A Bridge Too Far by Battlefront. I bought this back in April at Salute but haven't really made the time to play it because of other projects, lack of time and a lack of available opponents.

The original plan was to rope my Brother-in-law (pictured on the right) into playing; but he, like me, has had a busy summer with nearly every weekend taken up with events of one kind or another. However as autumn races towards winter we are both finding our schedule clearing and spare time on our hands. So this week I've been reading the rules for the game and playtesting it to get a feel for how the game will run.

Unfortunately I've discovered that my box is missing a sprue of Firestorm models. Luckily it was only two German half tracks and not one of the larger sprues but even so I'm a little miffed. I should have checked the box more thoroughly when I got it because this isn't the first Battlefront product I have bought that has had missing parts.

I've looked on the Internet to see of it's possible to buy spare parts for the game but so far without luck. I could try getting a replacement from Battlefront's UK distributor but last time I used this service I was more frustrated than impressed. I'm sure I can make some suitable replacement tokens with a lot less stress and in half the time.

Less than Impressed

At the risk of some sort of legal action I feel the need to tell you a story of woe, and poor service.

Its a recognised fact (to anyone that reads this blog) that I like Wargames Illustrated and I like the Flames of War game/models. When the magazine was relaunched under the banner of Battlefront last year I signed up for a subscription immediately. This was probably one of the best purchases I have made all year and every month I have enjoyed the magazine cover to cover. The new format and look of the magazine isn't to every gamers taste, but its combination of well written articles and eye candy is just what I enjoy. So when my subscription came to an end in May I didn't hesitate to purchase another year subscription.

The only downside was that the 'subscription gift' offer no longer includes any Flames of War items, instead offering a choice of Battlefronts Moments in History vignettes or something from their Vietnam range. The subscription offer is handled by their UK distributor (who shall remain nameless for fear of legal reprisals!) and once the order is processed you email them your 'gift' choices. I opted for two osprey books on Vietnam on the grounds that it was an interesting period to learn about even if I never had any intention of wargaming it. I got an email back saying the books were out of stock and could I re choose. Fair enough, but I didn't want either of the Helicopter models on offer and I didn't want any of the Moments in History range (I've got enough unpainted lead without getting something else I don't have time to work on). So I rather cheekily asked if I could have an alternative from the FOW range.

I got a quick reply saying they would try to accommodate me and was asked what did I need. Great service (I thought) which was just what any customer needs. I sent a list of 'wants' back but kept it broad and left the final choice to the distributor. Then I waited, and waited and waited.

Half a dozen emails, and six weeks later, I have finally received my Subscription gift through the post. I should be pleased and excited (I got exactly what I needed) but instead I just feel relived this sorry saga is over and done with. I'll continue to enjoy my subscription for the next year, and the models I received will definitely get painted soon. But I have to admit that when my subscription comes up for renewal next year I may well be thinking twice before I get dragged into another protracted exchange like this one.

New Project - Take 2

I've started a new Flames of War painting project, the US M10 3"GMC Tank Destroyer Platoon. Actually this is the second time I've 'started' this project because I had this ready to go way back in October last year. I got as far as cleaning the models of minor flash and other casting defects when I realised that I was missing a part. I immediately contacted customer services to request a replacement part and then waited....and waited....

Unfortunately after several attempts I still don't have a replacement part and my confidence in the much praised customer service of Battlefront Miniatures has been severely dented. I hope this was just a blip and hope that any future problems are resolved more efficiently.

The part I was missing was the Turret Counterweight (the metal bit on the back of the turrets in the above pictures). I had one counterweight and decided to make a replacement for the other model. I ended up making a part using some waste metal (to give the part strength) and milliput putty for the detail. The finished counterweight should look fine when painted, especially as I covered its imperfections with some pre cast stowage items that came in the box.

Everything is now assembled and ready to be undercoated, which is my job for tonight. I'm hoping to get these painted in short order as I now have enough models for a few practice games with my Brother in law. Once we've had a chance to get to grips with the rules we can settle on a scenario for some future game and work towards that. As I'll be doing most, if not all, the painting/modeling the sooner we decide what we want to refight the better.

This and That

If you haven't done so already please register your vote on my Poll "What games do you Play?". One year on from the start of this blog I now have a healthy and growing readership. But I'm always striving to improve and I'm determined not to sit on my laurels. For that I need feedback from you, the readers. I'll write up an analysis of the results once all the votes are in.

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Just in case you think I've given up painting (it has been a while since I last showed off anything new) here's a picture of something I'm working on. In fact I have started four models and all are in various stages of completion. I actually had a productive weekend painting and two models are nearly finished. It'll be a few days before I post any pictures as they still lack varnish and the bases need to be dressed. This usually takes a couple of days to complete properly so I hope to have some pictures by or over the weekend.

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A long time ago in a galaxy far far away I started work on a couple of M10 GMC Tank Destroyers for Flames of War. I reported on this blog that I was missing a part (the turret counterweight) but had contacted the parts replacement service number and was awaiting a response. Well that was 11th November and I still haven't had my part. I have however had three empty promises to send it and my model remains incomplete and un-started. The problem seems to be with the local (i.e. UK) supplier rather than with Battlefront but that's little consolation. I'm starting the process again - this time with a strongly worded email attached - and have my fingers crossed for a swift resolution. I'll keep you posted.

Testing Customer Service

I've started work on a new FoW platoon, this time for my US forces. I'm working on the M10 3" GMC Tank Destroyer Platoon that I got when I took out my Wargames Illustrated Subscription.

Unfortunately my pack was missing a part - the turret counterweight - for one of the M10's. The open-topped turret housed a 50 caliber cannon, which fired armor piercing ammunition. This gun could penetrate 88mm of armor at a range of 1000 meters but the weight of the gun required a large counterweight in the rear of the turret. This boxed set contained two M10's but only one counterweight.

Fortunately Battlefront have a parts replacement service. I've heard that they are pretty good at sending out missing parts so here I am checking the service out! I'll keep you posted when and if I get the missing counterweight.