Parts from Lionel

@Berkshire President posted:

Over time, the rock solid TMCC steamers (most of which were made in Korea, not China)....upgraded to four chuffs and a Super Chuffer from GRJ....become more appealing, me thinks.

That said, my biggest gripe is not a terrible website or slow service/fulfillment.

My biggest concern is lack of replacement parts in the future for steam engines I recently paid around $2K for.

This is interesting...and sad.

A quick check on the internet shows numerous sites for supplying parts for trains built 50,60,70+ years ago...what the heck happened? 😐

Mark in Oregon

ordered parts on 4/12/22........website still shows "pending fulfillment"

@jrose609 posted:

ordered parts on 4/12/22........website still shows "pending fulfillment"

Can we get Elon Musk buy Lionel???

@superwarp1 posted:

Can we get Elon Musk buy Lionel???

Can't even get him to buy Twitter. And if you think it's long waiting for parts from Lionel, try ordering parts for a Tesla (or even a whole Tesla). No thanks...

@Strummer posted:

It sounds like Lionel simply doesn't want to be bothered with providing parts anymore... which was always a real attraction, I think. 😐

Mark in Oregon

Based on this thread as well as others, it sounds like Lionel doesn't want to be bothered with turning out anything that resembles good quality.

I guess I'm lucky.  I ordered a couple of parts on 5/2 and received them 5/13.

@superwarp1 posted:

Can we get Elon Musk buy Lionel???

LOL. So……after posting this I got an email from Lionel support saying my parts were shipping today. what are the odds? 🤔

@BlueComet400 posted:

Based on this thread as well as others, it sounds like Lionel doesn't want to be bothered with turning out anything that resembles good quality.

Blue,

No.  What we can tell is that many of us like to complain about things, and others seem to be satisfied.

Why can we tell nothing else? We have no numbers.

    Q1: How many opportunities does Lionel process (per month, per year)?

    Q2: How many are delayed, or handled incorrectly?

Do you have access to these figures?  I don't.

Now, if you believe, as many seem to, that it doesn't matter, i.e. that everyone should be perfectly satisfied regardless, you're definitely expecting too much.  It doesn't happen in the real world; with anything you buy.  It's not just trains.

Companies that are good at quality tabulate the numbers, monitor them closely, and work aggressively to make sure they never go south.  But, they have the numbers to use for the purpose.

We need the figures to go any further.

Mike

The other basis for my comment is a reply I recently received from Lionel. I wrote to them, expressing my concerns, specifically related to the upcoming release of the Strasburg Decapod that many of us, myself included, have pre-ordered in good faith that it will look and perform as promised, right out of the box, without any "tinkering." If I want to tinker with a toy train, I'll buy a used one and pay a used-train price.  I asked Lionel, point-blank, what specifically they are doing / plan to do to improve the quality of their products, and I received a response telling me they have a 30-day return policy and a 1-year warranty. I already know that. I was looking for something more specific; if the rep who received my email wasn't in a position to thoughtfully / thoroughly answer my questions, then she should have sent it up the chain of command to someone who could provide the information I was seeking. She went on to say that they are "aware of some quality issues" and that when they have "known quality issues" they "try to cover" them beyond the 1-year warranty. That is not a plan to address the root issue of poor quality-control. If they are "known issues," then Lionel should be taking steps to correct them before the trains are packed and shipped.

My experience with the new parts website is less than positive as well, like several here have had. I placed an order for parts on 2-15-22, and the order simply vanished. The website indicated the parts were in stock, it took my debit card payment, I received an order number, and the process was complete-- or so I thought. The order simply disappeared and the charge to my card was reversed.  Life got in the way and I never followed-up on it, but I will.

I would bet my Blue Comet that if Richard Kughn or Joshua Lionel Cowen were alive today, they would not be happy with the quality of the products Lionel is producing, and that they would do whatever it takes to "right the ship."

@BlueComet400 all very valid and good points.  Fix the issues creating the problems.  Give your CS staff a break from all the angry and disappointed customers.

Called Lionel today about my order 5/2/22..........The girl promised to send right down to parts and see if they would get it out...........Shall we all now pray for fulfillment of my order.............

Jackie

My parts order with lionel is now closed......what does that mean?   Tried to call lionel and I could not reach anyone....... got mad and cancelled all of my parts order with them thru Talk-to -us ......I wonder if anybody will read this.

Jackie