I don’t normal post about my experiences with shops, though I think I might start after this but today is the exception. I am at the moment right royally miffed with Wayland Games! I think this might end up being the first in a new set of reviews for stores and products.I usually have a bit of tolerance for stores and the delays faced but today took the biscuit and I can confirm that after my first order with them I will never hand them another penny, but why all this animosity I hear you cry, well let me tell you.
This saga starts way back in October 2014, I decided as a treat after the summer of hassle to buy myself some of the Secret Weapon Bases and the new Secret Weapon Tablescapes, as I’m sure you can tell I love the Secret Weapon products. So I duly placed the order for the 24 tile damaged urban streets, some bases, some glue and some terrain. So the order goes in and I get the cursory email to confirm. First issue was one of personal annoyance and not necessarily an issue, when completing the order I try to use the free shipping code on orders over £40 but find that for some reason I can’t use this, most likely down to the Tablescapes being on pre-order. Annoying but not too much that it puts me off.
So I sit and I wait as I know the tiles were on pre-order for November. November comes, the date passes and nothing arrives or moves. I give it another week and I call Wayland to be told the dates have being pushed back so will be another couple of weeks. Apparently I should have received an email, checked all my folders and nothing.
So I sit and I wait as I know the tiles were on pre-order for another few weeks. The date passes and nothing arrives or moves. I give it another day or two and again I call Wayland to be told the dates have being pushed back so will be another couple of weeks, early December. Apparently I should have received an email, checked all my folders and nothing.
So I sit and I wait as I know the tiles were on pre-order for another few weeks. Early December arrives and the date passes and nothing arrives or moves. I again call Wayland to be told the dates have being pushed back so will be another couple of weeks but I should have them by the end of the month. Apparently I should have received an email, checked all my folders and nothing.
So I sit and I wait as I know the tiles were on pre-order for another few weeks. January arrives and the date passes and nothing arrives or moves. I again call Wayland to be told the dates have being pushed back but they are on their way so should be with me soon. Apparently I should have received an email, checked all my folders and nothing. In the mean time they finally decide they can ship me some of the items I’ve ordered as they are finally available, this wasn’t offered before (don’t know why) but I gladly take it just so I have something for my £185 I’ve thrown at them.
So I sit and I wait as I know the tiles were on pre-order for another few weeks. Amazingly some of the bases and terrain arrives (did I mention I love the Secret Weapon stuff, it’s great) It comes to the 10th and I find myself in Leigh, just a stone’s throw away so I think ok so I will pop in and ask at the store and see if I can get some more information, while I’m there I might also pick up some other bits.
So in to the shop I go, not visited before and must say gaming hall is great, selection on the shelves very poor, very little stock out, but this isn’t why I’m here. So I head up to the desk and am met by someone who seems more interested in his PC than me. Speak to him and ask for what I’m after to which he finally drags himself off to get it, 15 mins later I finally get the items I ask for (only a couple of packs of bases, the terrain was out of stock - I can see a pattern here) and he speaks to the team upstairs about the tablescapes who advise him they are on their way and could be at the docks as they speak so should be in at some point this next week. I question this and rely my story to which there is no understanding and a case of “well they should be in soon, it’s not our fault we don’t have the stock” so I’m left again with no tables.
So jump to today, guess what finally hits my inbox! An email advising me of a modified release date for the tablescapes, so I duly click the link and am met with a release date of 22 September 2015 – suffice to say when I read it the swear words must have been audible in the wayland shop!
I ring wayland, get met with the same blank lack of understanding and ask them to confirm the date, the girl who answered was so disinterested I considered hanging up and calling back. So she finally goes off and checks the date and confirms that those are the right dates and that there is no movement on it. I ask if she thinks waiting for that long after all this time is right and I’m met with more disinterest. Again it goes on, she doesn’t seem to get that a year from date of order for something I could have ordered direct is slightly taking the mick! We dance round in circles like this for a good ten minutes and finally get it through to her that I want my money back and I will go elsewhere. Again more disinterest and an advisement that I will have to wait up to 5 days because the payment was over 60 days ago, the argument that they are the ones causing that delay falls on deaf ears. I did get the refund this evening but only after much gnashing of teeth.
I finally get a refund actioned and decide to explain my disappointment and frustration, yet more disinterest is evident, it’s almost like she hears this daily. All I can finish by saying to her is that this is the worst service I’ve had in a long time and I would rather pay full price in future (and in the case of Secret Weapon support Justin) than put a single penny in to their coffers. There was little in the way of apology and all they did was continually blame Secret Weapon, there was no offer of anything to compensate for my wasted time and the hassle this all caused and I reiterate there was no sense of shame or culpability that has left me feeling as if Wayland as a company couldn’t care less about who places orders and if they even get them as long as they are paid.
Since this conversation I have contacted Justin and have discuss not only release dates but that no uk seller has stock of these nor have they had stock of these! So it worries me that the initial release dates from wayland were just random and have meant orders have been placed that realistically will never be fulfilled.
For me I found this one of the single most frustrating orders to place ever, some people might read this and think I’m whinging, some might think I’m being too critical but the fact of the matter is I handed over £185 and had to do all the hard work myself. This was my first order with this company, something you would think would be flagged to ensure it all goes smoothly, and unfortunately it will be my last.
my overall view is one of distinct failings and as a result I would like to give Wayland 1 star out of 10 because at least they gave me my refund, it would be harsh to give them 0 but the temptation is there. I will say now I will never recommend them again and can see now why there are threads complaining. I’m sorry for the whinge but I feel their poor service needs flagging up as I cannot believe the hassles this order has faced and the lack of ownership the vendor has shown.
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Please Note:
Secret Weapon are in my mind not at fault here and this should not reflect on them, this is purely down to Wayland not handling customer expectations. Once again I can only recommend Justin and his products as an exemplary party to deal with, I need to contact Justin about this and to query one of the products received from Wayland but again if you want Secret Weapon Products please go direct and support Justin J