@BucksCo,
Yeah, I didn’t think you were. I believe you made an observation of your experience that didn’t stack up to your previous visits. It was corroborated by @TheRambles. Hopefully someone from NST reads this and can make adjustments in order to improve customer service.
Thank you for posting this. I should clarify my earlier point. I will continue to shop there, but not nearly as much, and I no longer place my pre-orders with them.
I want to elaborate on my experience because I truly hope they can turn things around in the event staff at Nick Smiths does read this.
Many issues are forgivable. For one, I understand it's a challenging environment to hire people - that's everywhere. I don't typically rely on the staff's knowledge because I generally know what I am looking at/for. (Come to think of it, I learned much of what I know from the staff at Nick Smith's). Servicing trains is a related issue. I can only imagine how difficult it is to find someone to service trains at a cost that makes any sense economically. Perhaps, that's why MTH no longer repairs their trains.
I generally try to support all the brick-and-mortar hobby stores in the area because there is nothing like the experience of seeing the model you'd like to purchase before doing so or the odd discovery of that impossible-to-find item not listed online. This experience is generally not possible through the internet. In short, physical train stores are an excellent resource for us, and it's ok if they're not the pinnacle of customer service – We've all been to a store where some grump behind the counter looks bothered by our mere presence, and we always go back because...trains.
That said, Nick Smith lost me when I was concerned about a pre-order and could not get any answers. As a result, I purchased the item elsewhere at a higher price because I was not confident a pre-order was ever placed. We all know how important pre-orders are in the BTO environment. I saw the item come into other retailers and, after some time, tried to request a simple update. When I called, I was either quickly dismissed or once I was placed on hold for more than 30 minutes. My emails went unanswered. I even submitted communications through their website and was never contacted. Ultimately, they did have the item for me, which is great, but it was unclear whether they had to cancel someone else's pre-order to get me it. This made me uncomfortable. I was prepared to pay for the pre-order, but they said they wouldn't have any issue selling it.
With other questions and previous employees, I used to be able to send an email and would hear back with updates within a few days. I'd often receive just one-word responses, which was enough for me. All of a sudden, they stopped responding to my emails.
The second issue concerns custom runs. Nick Smith was the BEST for custom runs. The runs took a good store and made it great. I'd usually get something from each run because they'd make what I model. However, that program seems to have come to an end. This may have to do with the larger minimums required by the manufacturers, but there doesn't seem to be an appetite for it, even if the enhanced minimums weren't the case.
I wish the crew there all the best, and I hope things turn around. If you buy an item online and they have it in stock, you shouldn't have any issues; however, if you do have issues try calling and asking for a manager rather than emailing. I have a few pre-orders left with them, and I am happy to report that I expect them to come in even if later than other stores. If you shop there in person, I would expect long wait times at the checkout and a staff that is not particularly well-versed in the hobby, but it could be worth it because they also have the largest selection in the area and decent prices. Plus, the toy store downstairs is really cool and well-run. Don't even get me started about how good the pizza is at the shop they share a lot with.
Please tell me if you think I am being unreasonable. I am happy to receive the feedback.
