Polecat Aerospace - Whats up

I noticed that there have been some recent post's on the Black Brant III that were purchased from Polecat Aerospace.
I have sent several emails and have left numerous messages with this company and have not heard back from anybody.
Not even a confirmation that they received my messages.Appears Leading Edge rocketry may have purchased them.

Are they open for business? Really disappointed in the lack of any communication. Just trying to drop a couple of hundred bucks on their product
I guess that's not important to them.

Any insight appreciated.

thanks

Kevin

From what I have been told they are basically unresponsive to email. They don't send any kind of email to let you know that your order has been received or what the delivery timeframe will be. They DO ship the product, but you may have to wait a few weeks before it shows up.

Apparently they do answer email from retailers though.

I placed an order on Aug16. Because I paid via PayPal, I got a confirmation from them, but not from Polecat. Six days later, I got a confirmation that my order had been shipped.

WOW pretty scary doing business that way. Was looking at the Brant but may just go with the AMRAAM from Public missiles at least they respond.

Thanks for the info

As with so many others, I don't believe the rockets are his day job... i.e. it's something done on the side. Also, I have been told that the owner's primary job is requiring overseas travel with some regularity these days.

However, in my experience they've been very good about returning phone calls, and the number can be found on their web page under the section titled "replacement parts". YMMV.

I will try that spare parts number.

Thank you

Polecat Aerospace Black Brant update.
Hey what do you know, never heard back from Polecat after numerous emails and voicemails but my rocket
did show up.

So that is good.

I'm glad you got your rocket. In today's world, vendors really need to respond to email, or at the least send shipping notifications with tracking info. There are even some good automated setups for doing that. I get that people are busy, but email is far less time consuming than phone calls and you can do it anytime that is convenient. And if people have a tracking link they can check, they generally won't bother you, using up more of your valuable time. In addition, people need to be able to track packages, as theft of packages is getting way too common. If I can track them, I can make arrangements to get them indoors quickly.

ttabbal said:

I'm glad you got your rocket. In today's world, vendors really need to respond to email, or at the least send shipping notifications with tracking info. There are even some good automated setups for doing that. I get that people are busy, but email is far less time consuming than phone calls and you can do it anytime that is convenient. And if people have a tracking link they can check, they generally won't bother you, using up more of your valuable time. In addition, people need to be able to track packages, as theft of packages is getting way too common. If I can track them, I can make arrangements to get them indoors quickly.

Click to expand...

+100 on this. It's been discussed on so many other threads, but it's not 1994 anymore. Even if this isn't your full time job, stepping up your game is not rocket science (couldn't resist, sorry).

soopirV said:

+100 on this. It's been discussed on so many other threads, but it's not 1994 anymore. Even if this isn't your full time job, stepping up your game is not rocket science (couldn't resist, sorry).

Click to expand...

oint:

Why are you picking on 1994 imparticular?

Lowpuller said:

Why are you picking on 1994 imparticular?

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Lol, have particular affinity for it? I'm just relating to the point that many feel the internet took off in '93-'94, but didn't become part of most every-day life (and therefore also developed best practices that are discussed) until early 2000's.

A lot of these places are one man shops on a shoestring budget.
Yes there are programs that will do automated email but they cost and take time and knowledge to set up and keep running. A vendor may be really good at fiberglass work but have not a clue about computers.
Answering the phone kills a ton of time, people want to chat, they have nothing better to do.
A rocket parts vendor is not Amazon. If everyone demands that kind of service they will just go out of business and then you have nothing.

I work for a gunsmith. He has never used a computer, we do not have one in the shop, (his wife responds to emails with the one at the house). We never listen to phone messages. It says to call back later if we don't answer.

M

M,

We are caught right now between the old school way of doing business (which worked for 200 years) and the obvious way forward, which is Internet and home delivery. Eventually, folks who can't modernize and meet contemporary expectations will go out of business. It is inevitable. Retail methods are consumer-driven.

My wife and I don't have smart phones. Don't really see the need for them, and don't want to pay for them or for the service. But we know that within our lifetimes, we will real the place where having a smartphone is mandatory. They are becoming so powerful and pervasive that eventually, we will need to get them just to be able to survive in this world.

Technology changes, and those who hold out eventually either have to conform, or give up. It's why we don't live in castles any more.

No offense intended. I think I am just stating historical fact.

There are some platforms that handle most of the work and maintenance for you. Paypal's shopping cart and shipping system, ebay, etsy, and a few others. I'm sure there are some costs involved, but they are pretty minimal. And they don't require a lot of setup. But you could satisfy most people just emailing them a tracking number. Just print the label at home, copy-paste the tracking, and send it. It's likely even faster than taking things to the post office, UPS store, etc... And most of the services will even come pick up the packages from you.

Another option is to use a retailer. It eats some of the profits, but you don't have to deal with the customers and their demands directly.

Could also pay some kid $50 here and there to manage some of the tech if you don't want to learn how.

I don't mean to pick on Polecat here, I know the thread is initially about them, but they aren't the only ones doing things like that. For example, RCS not only didn't send me tracking, I didn't get an email at all until the day the package delivered. I don't think anyone here expects small shops to compete with Amazon's service. But as a good example, Dan Patel is a one man shop using etsy. I got a near instant email verifying my order and payment, and tracking info the next day. I certainly don't want to see any vendors go out of business, that's kind of the point of mentioning issues. I'm not going to stop doing business with RCS or avoid Polecat, I've been eyeballing some of Polecat's kits. But you can't improve if people don't mention things they would like to see improved.

MClark said:

A lot of these places are one man shops on a shoestring budget.
Yes there are programs that will do automated email but they cost and take time and knowledge to set up and keep running. A vendor may be really good at fiberglass work but have not a clue about computers.
Answering the phone kills a ton of time, people want to chat, they have nothing better to do.
A rocket parts vendor is not Amazon. If everyone demands that kind of service they will just go out of business and then you have nothing.

I work for a gunsmith. He has never used a computer, we do not have one in the shop, (his wife responds to emails with the one at the house). We never listen to phone messages. It says to call back later if we don't answer.

M

Click to expand...

Gotta disagree. A reputation for not responding to customers is a great way to lose orders and go out of business.