I Need Some Advice

[JustDucky1970]

Everywhere I looked that it is for sale it’s stated the instructions are awful. I went to rite farm directly and linked their contact info if you haven’t called them.
http://www.ritefarm.com/contact-us.html

Yes, I contacted them because their text said that they could provide better instructions. In fact, the text said they'd email the better instructions when you purchased the product. Well, there are no "better instructions" for this particular product.

 

[JustDucky1970]

Well, at the very worst anyone thinking of buying this may be able to stumble upon what I've written here and then at least be more informed. I'm going to try again tomorrow to figure out a way to put the thing together. My handyman-friend will be here, too. If together we can't figure a way to get the panels in AND fast it all together, then I'll post that result, because that's a design-problem, not just really super-duper bad instructions.

 

[Chick or Treat]

I don’t think it will cause any harm if you tell others what you thought of the product. As long as everything you said was true( which I bet it was) , nobody will get upset. Also, I hope you’re back heals soon!!!

 

[JustDucky1970]

Well, here's the almost-final chapter in this saga. My handyman DID get most of the little pen together yesterday. My daughter reported to me that about every other sentence contained a colorful word or two, but he DID get it mostly together. There is still 1 panel in the roof that we can't get in, and he'll work on that today. He said it would have been much easier to assemble if they had used regular bolts rather than the bolts that had to slide into tracks, because you're trying to work with the panels AND deal with those bolts at the same time.

The crazy thing is that this really IS a nice item once it's together. I put some young Buff Orpingtons in there last night with a piece of plywood over the open panel-place. I needed a place for them to go, and that's why I bought this little coop to begin with.

So, a word to the wise. If you DO buy this item, be prepared for serious frustration getting it together, but it IS a nice little pen once complete. I'll just wait and see how it holds up to the weather here.

 

[PetesChicks]

I just hope your daughter is old enough to know when she can & can’t use her new vocabulary! You can learn some interesting words from tradesmen!

 

[New2Chicks97]

Hello Everyone,

This may not exactly fit here, but I thought this might be the place to get some advice. I recently bought a small mobile metal chicken-tractor ($300+ with shipping). I was planning to put some young pullets in it out in my now-bare garden. I won't give the pen's brand here, but I feel like the company was not up-front in the fact that the instructions for the pen are both incomplete and incorrect.

I'm pretty handy at assembling things, but after following the instructions I've discovered (after 3 hours of work) that I'm going to have to take the thing apart to make things go together as they should. Even then I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to make everything work. Again, the company indicated that the instructions were "vague" and said they could supply additional instructions, but they really can't for this model.

What leaves another bad taste in my mouth is the fact that the company has this in their text: "If you receive a run from us and thought it would be a different size you will be responsible to pay for expensive return shipping and any shipping damage that may occur from shipping it twice." When I read this at first, I thought that was a strange thing to say. Who wouldn't understand the size of a chicken-tractor? Now I'm wondering if it's more that people might get this pen, not be able to assemble it, and then can't return it (or have to pay $$$ to ship it.) I'm beginning to suspect that that might be more the case.

The representative that I talked with on the phone was very nice, and offered to help with questions. I hate to leave bad feedback for small businesses that cater to agriculture, but I also don't want to support a business that can't even provide the most basic instructions for its products. It makes me wonder if there is a problem with the assembly that they don't want to have to deal with. However, I also don't want other chicken-people and small-farmers to have the trouble that I'm having. (Wasting a lot of time out in the heat and possibly wasting money.)

As other chicken people, what do you think about this situation? Would you leave a negative review about this product? Or am I just hot, aggravated, and mad because I hurt my back? Thanks for your honest opinion. (After working on this I need to go out and just listen to my baby chicks peep for a while...they're so soothing.)

Leaving honest feedback is the only way to go IMO. It is the only way other consumers can be forewarned about potential problems. Plus it is the only way the company knows they need to improve their business.

I left very honest feedback on the coop kit we bought on TSC’s website. The coop we bought was advertised as having 6 nesting bays when in fact it had 3. They have since changed their advertising of the product to reflect the correct number. I also posted pictures of the inside of the coop because there were none supplied by the manufacturer. The funny thing is now the manufacturer tells anyone that asks for inside photos to see the pictures on TSC’s website under the reviews. To me this speaks to their laziness and lack of customer service so i doubt I would buy another of their products.

 

[JustDucky1970]

My daughter's 16, and apparently she found it pretty funny, as "Mr. M" is VERY easy-going most of the time. I HAVE had to caution her that sometimes what men (and women!) say when they're working on cars, hot water-heaters, lawnmowers, etc. shouldn't necessarily be repeated by young ladies in polite company.

 

[JustDucky1970]

I think we the consumers can keep businesses on their toes by politely but firmly making them correct errors like that. I know there's such as push to provide cheap products, but if a cheap product doesn't work, or (like your experience) is 1/2 the size represented, then it's no bargain.

 

[PirateGirl]

What might be helpful to others is if you can list Pros and Cons, then your review isn't totally one-sided. Perhaps the price was good, or the materials were good, or the color in real life looks just like the picture online, or the product arrived in the mail quicker than you expected, the fact that you were able to talk to a live person on the phone is good... I don't know, but think on it and maybe you can write a balanced review while being completely honest.

 

[Noellereagan]

Hello Everyone,

This may not exactly fit here, but I thought this might be the place to get some advice. I recently bought a small mobile metal chicken-tractor ($300+ with shipping). I was planning to put some young pullets in it out in my now-bare garden. I won't give the pen's brand here, but I feel like the company was not up-front in the fact that the instructions for the pen are both incomplete and incorrect.

I'm pretty handy at assembling things, but after following the instructions I've discovered (after 3 hours of work) that I'm going to have to take the thing apart to make things go together as they should. Even then I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to make everything work. Again, the company indicated that the instructions were "vague" and said they could supply additional instructions, but they really can't for this model.

What leaves another bad taste in my mouth is the fact that the company has this in their text: "If you receive a run from us and thought it would be a different size you will be responsible to pay for expensive return shipping and any shipping damage that may occur from shipping it twice." When I read this at first, I thought that was a strange thing to say. Who wouldn't understand the size of a chicken-tractor? Now I'm wondering if it's more that people might get this pen, not be able to assemble it, and then can't return it (or have to pay $$$ to ship it.) I'm beginning to suspect that that might be more the case.

The representative that I talked with on the phone was very nice, and offered to help with questions. I hate to leave bad feedback for small businesses that cater to agriculture, but I also don't want to support a business that can't even provide the most basic instructions for its products. It makes me wonder if there is a problem with the assembly that they don't want to have to deal with. However, I also don't want other chicken-people and small-farmers to have the trouble that I'm having. (Wasting a lot of time out in the heat and possibly wasting money.)

As other chicken people, what do you think about this situation? Would you leave a negative review about this product? Or am I just hot, aggravated, and mad because I hurt my back? Thanks for your honest opinion. (After working on this I need to go out and just listen to my baby chicks peep for a while...they're so soothing.)

I think you should leave a review. So no more of us chicken owners go spend our hard earned money on ... Well... A BS product to be quite frank. You reap what you sew in life. And as a business owner of a company who provides cleaning service and realizes that reviews are the barometer to ones success- I say leave the bad review. It's moreowners see provides
Do they have a lot of bad reviews already? AnD I bet you’re right about the ad disclaimer. I urged you to divulge where you purchased this on this thread so other buyers can be where. It may not stop someone from patronizing this business but at least they can make the conditions of the purchase very clear to the company at the point of ordering. For example, they could indicate at the point of purchase that if they do not receive exactly what they are ordering that a full refund plus return shipping is covered by the company. Just a thought. What a bummer that happened