Friday, 28 November 2014

Needle Needs

So back in July, I decided to order a Millennium Frame from Needle Needs. They're a small company based in England that hand make scroll frames for needlework. I watched the videos and checked out what other people though about them by doing internet searches and what some people were saying on the message board I frequent.

These are expensive. It cost me 140ish dollars to have them made and shipped to me. The website claims: Although we normally endevour to deliver orders within 28 days, due to an unprecedented demand for our products and their bespoke, handmade nature, it can on occasion take a little longer for deliveries. We are ever evolving the nature of our manufacturing processes however and our ultimate aim is to deliver within 28 days.

Close to 3 months later I had not received my frame nor have I gotten any updates from them about my order, so I emailed them asking what was up.

3 weeks after that, I had gotten no reply and at this point I was getting a little miffed. I posted on the message board with my frustration and someone replied that someone within the company was going through medical testing or whatever. Nowhere on their site says anything about delays from that. I had no received any email to say they were having issues. I emailed again, with no reply. I then started revising my internet searches to find out if other people were having issues with this company. I found a blog post detailing their frustration with the lack of communication, and excessive time to get their product. Other people on the message board who had ordered a month before me still hadn't gotten their product.

November 19th, almost 4 months later,  I finally receive an email saying my order was being processed. Then nothing.

November 25th I got a card in my mailbox to go pick it up from the post office. it has now been 4 months since my order was placed.

Their lack of communication is unacceptable. if the demand is too high, don't take so many orders. If you have someone who is sick, find a replacement to cover for it. Or even update the website to say expect your product in 4-6 months, so they don't have people wondering why it's taking so freaking LONG. That would have been totally acceptable to me, that I know upfront that the wait would be that long.

I have absolutely nothing against the frame itself. The craftsmanship is amazing and I can't wait to start using it.I am putting this blog post out there for others to make a more informed choice on whether or not they want to deal with a company that has such terrible communication, but a good product if you happen to want to wait for it.