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Hello all,

Firstly I would like to sincerely apologise for any upset that has been caused to any of our clients. I have been here for eight years now and I can honestly say that I have personally always tried my very hardest to give exemplary customer service. I can also say that I see what my staff do on a day to day basis and how they go above and beyond to make sure that we do the very best for our clients that we can.

We work in a very small industry and negative comments can be quite harmful but if we have behaved in the manner suggested then we have to expect them.
People have bad days, behave improperly and get irritated in all sort jobs and situations. A company who values their customers and delivers a good service will recognise this and act accordingly. I do hope that this apology and the apology you have received from my MD go some way towards that.

May I also say thank you for the very kind comments posted about me and Howarth on this thread and to one of the sax on the web members for realising I would want to respond to this and sending me the link.

Once again, please accept my sincerest apologies and if in doubt you can always contact me.

Stuart James
Saxophone sales manager.
Well said Stuart. I hope this puts people's minds at rest that Michael's bad experience was not a common-place.

I've seen the very best service at Howarth's for years and years now and although I believe Michael did right to bring the problem to SOTW, I also hope that the transparency with which it's been handled will clear the air.

Dave
 
Discussion starter · #23 ·
I always recommend Howarth sax department and if you look back very recently I recommended a visitor to London to go there. I hope if what I've been told is going to happen happens I'll be able to order stuff from the clarinet department without the problem that precipitated this regretable thread, Thankyou Dave and Stewart, Mike
 
Rooty, I can get that dog eating out the palm of my hand!!
Careful, it's a monster! It nearly had my kid's fingers off!

not really, folks, this is just my little joke at the expense of a poor old cuddly labrador

Re Howarths: I have followed this thread with interest, having bought stuff and tried stuff there quite a number of times since the 90s. Personally I have always found the shop to be very professional, well-organised, knowledgeable and (in many cases) competitively priced. I recall having a very nice conversation with a young lady about reed makes and strengths for clarinet. I won't say I have never had a curt phone conversation with anyone there but then my own phone manner is probably not a thing of great beauty either.

On the subject of whether this thread is "regrettable" or not, I would argue strongly that in fact it shows that often it's good to get things out in the open. If the complainant is a whinger or a "something for nothing" type that soon becomes apparent. Equally, if the shop is reputable they will take a genuine grievance seriously. And that is what has happened here, I think. In general I reckon we Brits are a bit too inclined to grin and bear it when something isn't right.
 
I have received an apology from a director and he has stated his intention to speak to the person responsible. As I said Howarth do have some good staff. The sax department have always been friendly and relaxed with me but the clarinets have an attitude problem. Maybe they smell a doubler down the line and it offends their sensibilities..maybe it's my lovely flat Northern vowels.
I had a very poor experience earlier this year with another large emporium, subsequently receiving an unsolicited apologie from the MD - the point being that after cancelling that order I went to Howarths who were just brilliant, and have been since (even though I'm not a regular user).

+1 for Howarths!
 
Dear Mike,

All's well that ends well I hope. Did you actually manage to sort out what you were calling about? I presume that the MD has seen to whatever it was. If not no problems on our end and as I said you are more than welcome to ask for me in future.

Cheers Stuart.
 
I bought a JK SX90R from the saxophone department that Howarth this summer. My experience was very pleasant people who did what they could to help me before, during and afterwards.
 
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