Lee was kind enough to forward an email to me. An email that came directly from Simpson Brushes addressing a couple of quality issues that have recently come to light. Manufacturing can be a tough business, and I admire Simpson Brushes for making this information public.
Dear Sir
I have been given your e-mail address by Lees Razors. I hope you will forgive me for having to send another e-mail to you from Simpsons regarding the problems with your shaving brush.
All of the queries regarding faulty brushes are being referred direct to Mr. David Carter. He is away from the office until the end of the month and I am dealing with his correspondence during his absence.
Unfortunately Hannah was misinformed when she told you that the problem of splitting of the handles was caused by the batch of faulty badger hair. Hannah is with us on a temporary basis covering maternity leave and does not have the full product knowledge.
Although we have had problems with the hair breaking off which is caused by faulty badger hair, the splitting of the handles is a separate issue which we believe we have traced to a batch of faulty rod used for turning the handles. I am afraid that these two problems occuring at the same time is making things very difficult..
I appreciate that you have sent a picture of your faulty brush by e-mail but I would be grateful if you could either return it to Lees Razors so that they can send it back to us, or, if you prefer, return the brush directly to us at A. Simpson & Co., Oriel House, Tabrams Pitch, Nailsworth, Glos., GL6 0BS.
We will then be able to replace the brush free of charge. As the brush is faulty is has a minimal value so you should be able to send it by airmail post, keeping a receipt of confirmation of postage.
Please accept my sincere apologies for all the trouble you have experienced over this brush. I trust that the matter will be sorted out without any delay once we have received your brush.
With best wishes
Sarah Crumpton
Also thanks to Lee for sharing this with us.
Randy
"I won't be wronged. I won't be insulted. I won't be laid a-hand on. I don't do these things to other people, and I require the same from them." J. B. Books
I know people have lots of feelings about the decal, but I'm gonna go out on a limb, and suggest it might be DESIGNED to fall off. Indeed, it does say "sterilized", so it just isn't true once the brush has been used. Who cares if it has been sterilized at one time?
I don't care if it's meant to come off; of course it's meant to come off, we all know it's meant to come off....BUT I WANT IT TO STICK ON IT PERMANENTLY!!!!!!!!!!
Okay, it's rather obessive, i know, but i find my beauties MUCH more appealing with than without decal......
ScottS wrote:Not too bad, but they should probably just send out a new brush without the return.
Scott is right. If they are aware of the problem (faulty rod), then what is the point of asking for the old brush back? I can't help but think this is a road block, albeit minor, in their customer service.
I suppose they could argue that they do not want one faulty brush being passed around, photographed, and used as a claim for many replacments. But that concern could be satisfied by sending the brush back to Lee, not all the way to the UK.
I can even understand wanting the brush back, but at the very very least, they should ship out a new brush right away (or tell Lee to do this and ship him the replacement). I don't know who the customer was, or which brush it was, but somebody went out of their way to buy a Simpson brush because of the reputation. Some shoddy brushes went out, clearly no fault of the customer. Simpson's response should be to minimize the inconvenience that they've already caused their customer, which in this case would be to ship out a replacement right away, and include a shipping label if they want the brush back- or maybe just send the replacement brush out with some sort of cheap stand or something, in lieu of picking up the shipping, just to say "sorry we've inconvenienced you".
Further, their US retailers should be made aware that if their customers have complaints of this type, the retailer should send replacements out and trust Simpsons to make it right with them.
ScottS wrote:Not too bad, but they should probably just send out a new brush without the return.
Scott is right. If they are aware of the problem (faulty rod), then what is the point of asking for the old brush back? I can't help but think this is a road block, albeit minor, in their customer service.
I suppose they could argue that they do not want one faulty brush being passed around, photographed, and used as a claim for many replacments. But that concern could be satisfied by sending the brush back to Lee, not all the way to the UK.
Cheers,
Danny
There is another possibility. I have reviewed and litigated contracts for manufactured parts where the parts supplier imposes conditions on refunds for defective materials.
So, for example, the supplier of the defective rods might require the return of the defective product for examination before honoring any warranty claim that the top tier manufacturer (Simpson) wants to make. If so, then Simpsons might need to recover the brushes to recoup from its supplier.
Further, if there is going to be a fight over the defect, then Simpson will need to be able to prove its damages. They'll need some evidence that the damages they suffered (in the form of refunds or exchanges) were in fact due to faulty rods. If they don't collect the defective brushes, the rod supplier has more room to dispute that the refund was proper.
Brian, I agree. I don't think that's it's unreasonable or questionable for Simpson to request the defective brush back. They are going to replace it, and that's all you can ask. And, if I read the above correspondence correctly, all the customer has to do IS return it to Lee, and not pay international shipping, if he doesn't chose to. It's very fair, IMO.
Regards,
Gordon
Talking of the Simpson's factory, does anyone know if this doubles as a retail outlet, or is it strictly a manufacturing operation?
The reason I ask is because Gloucestershire is the next county over from me ( I live in Oxfordshire) so it would be kind of cool to be able to call in at Simpsons and have my pick of the brushes.
It's probably only a dream, but it is certainly a nice dream to have until someone tell me that the factory doesn't retail to the general public.
Regards,
PP
bnett wrote:
There is another possibility. I have reviewed and litigated contracts for manufactured parts where the parts supplier imposes conditions on refunds for defective materials.
So, for example, the supplier of the defective rods might require the return of the defective product for examination before honoring any warranty claim that the top tier manufacturer (Simpson) wants to make. If so, then Simpsons might need to recover the brushes to recoup from its supplier.
Further, if there is going to be a fight over the defect, then Simpson will need to be able to prove its damages. They'll need some evidence that the damages they suffered (in the form of refunds or exchanges) were in fact due to faulty rods. If they don't collect the defective brushes, the rod supplier has more room to dispute that the refund was proper.
Just a thought.
Regards,
Brian
This may very well be the case, and is all the more reason for Simpson to pick up the shipping cost. If I were them, I'd still send out the replacement brush first, and trust the inconvenienced customer to return the brush, especially if it were made convenient to do so.
But personally I find the decal ugly. I like the simple black lettering on the brush; a nice retro look.
If the decal comes off, I'm running a home for abandoned, labelless Simpson brushes. I've got a major donor who will pay for the transportation for all of these unwanted brushes . . .
My 2 cents . . .
There is only one difference between a madman and me. The madman thinks he is sane. I know I am mad. - Salvador Dali
PP, It's not a retail outlet ( sorry to shatter the dream ). However, if contacted in advance, arrangements can sometimes be made to show you around a little bit, and it might even be possible to buy a brush on the spot, under those circumstances. I know that if I lived in England, I long since would have made a visit over there to say 'hello'. But, call first.
Regards,
Gordon
So long as we've drifted to the topic of the Simpson factory, I'll toss in a gentle reminder that I would be fantastically interested in a group purchase of a Duke3.
bernards66 wrote:PP, It's not a retail outlet ( sorry to shatter the dream ). However, if contacted in advance, arrangements can sometimes be made to show you around a little bit, and it might even be possible to buy a brush on the spot, under those circumstances. I know that if I lived in England, I long since would have made a visit over there to say 'hello'. But, call first.
Regards,
Gordon
If you do go it may help to tell them that you know DrP. All you need to do is point to the portrait of them they have hanging in the main office.
And just llike that the dream is over, I feel like a small child who has just been told that Father Christmas doesn't exist.
Still the prospect of a visit is very interesting and something that is certainly worth investigating further.
BTW, my real name is Alex, the whole PP thing was an old university nickname that I use as my email address, when selecting a username I just typed it in out of force of habit.
P
I can't help but think this is a road block, albeit minor, in their customer service.
