Z-Stuff not responding...

That is exactly why I never ordered from them.

 A few years ago I put in an online order. Weeks went by, called and no answer. Left a voicemail. No return call. Tried again a week or two later. Tried emails, etc. 

Quick to charge my card but never shipped the order. Finally called again, some dude picks up the phone (several months after order was placed) and proceeds to argue to with me and demands I "stop calling" as his daughter handled the online business and he had nothing to do with it. Interestingly, almost instantly when I said I was filing a claim with my bank, I got a shipping notification email on my order.

Cool products, terrible service. Won't use them again or give them the time of day. If you have to have one of their products, call Ross or someone that stocks their stuff and is reliable. 

I think it’s best to order from Ross or Gargraves. 

I’ve had issues ordering online.  Thank God I used PayPal and it was easy to get my money back.  As for customer service with product issues I’ve had no issues so go figure.  Maybe they’re traveling in-between shows but theses complaints pope up at least once a year.  I do agree purchase from Ross, you’ll get a better price.

Dennis and his wife are a older couple and I’m wondering how long they’ll be in business.  

Most dealers that stock O scale accessories have the ability to stock and/or special order Z-Stuff.  I get my Z-Stuff inventory from Gargraves, but I know Walthers stock it too.  If you are looking for something specific, I am more than happy to special order Z-Stuff for you.

Any time I have ordered direct from Z-stuff I have found the customer service contact to be the antithesis of customer service.  My Plan B has always been to send Dennis an email as he responds quickly and the order is shipped.

That aside; I agree with the earlier posters that your absolute best bet is to order through one of the established dealers.  I suspect Z-stuff’s business model is more attuned to working with dealers as opposed to direct to the public (York meet and other large shows being an exception).

Curt

I ordered all the Z-stuff I need when I order turnouts, etc., from ROSS ....

When I sent back my older DZ2500s for the updated ones, I dealt with Dennis directly and had no problems at all.

Good luck getting Dennis to help you.  Our club placed a large order and had a horrible experience, and meeting with him at York was particularly unpleasant.  Zero people skills, and poor follow-up.

Gee, that’s odd.  I hope all is well in the Zander household.  I dealt with Dennis on several occasions over the past summer and fall.  Our club spent a good portion of our budget on his signals.  Very pleased with his products and our orders were filled in a matter of days.   Dennis even did some special programming for our signal bridge to perform to our specifications.

We are already planning on buying additional pieces this year.  I will be contacting z-stuff in the next two weeks to place another order.

SantaFeJim posted:

Gee, that’s odd.  I hope all is well in the Zander household.  I dealt with Dennis on several occasions over the past summer and fall.  Our club spent a good portion of our budget on his signals.  Very pleased with his products and our orders were filled in a matter of days.   Dennis even did some special programming for our signal bridge to perform to our specifications.

We are already planning on buying additional pieces this year.  I will be contacting z-stuff in the next two weeks to place another order.

Ditto, very odd, Dennis did the same thing with my signal bridge

I also paid for an order in late January for two switch machines.  Only after several emails, including one suggesting I was going to ask for a refund via PayPal, did my order finally get shipped for arrival today.  It was nearly a month start to finish.  

OMG...

The order I placed January 30th just arrived.  However they never did respond to my emails or voice mail.

Dennis replied today to an email I sent him last night.  He attached a wire diagram that will help me very much.  I have found that he is quick to reply to my email requests for help.

Think we will ever see the wig-wag signals again, or are they gone for good?

I had a question about installing one of his products. I called the number listed and Dennis returned my call immediately, this was after hours east coast time.  Dennis was very helpful. I really appreciated his quick response and help.

I hate to read these types of posts, but they are what they are.

 I bought a set of crossing gates from my local hobby store in Buffalo, NY. They did not work right, right out of the box. I played with the adjustments and thought they were picky. Finally one gate stopped working. So I contacted the maker. They got back to me right away with send it in. So I did. I got the gate back days later and it was either fixed or brand new, I can't remember. So I wish to stick up for them saying great customer service.

 The gates worked for almost a year and then the other one started messing up. I ignored it and then they both quit. I have no one to blame as I didn't wish to bother the maker again. I haven't posted about them quitting as it sounds bad for quality. I bet it's just the other gate messing things up and because my layout is just plywood, I never bothered to do anything about it. So it's more about me being to lazy or not wanting to pursue the issue. I have the gates hooked up to my old HO scale pack. I may have shorted them out or overpowered them? Wires got tangled and ripped off before, when moving stuff around under the layout.

 My lazy work left the wires hanging down as a temporary measure that never got corrected. I really believe that if I had contacted them, they would have fixed them again. I seem to remember them telling me that, when they fixed the first gate.

 All we can ask nowadays is for customer service as a lot of what we buy is made overseas. I can understand the frustration when trying to order. I guess all I could add is to buy from a dealer then. I would say with some confidence, that they stand behind their product.

 I will buy more from them when my layout goes into a more permanent configuration. I like that they offer more products and even G scale stuff.