Visited Preston Trading Post ... Idiots Over There

StoveTech1 wrote: Some of the best coal stove ever made are gone forever and the big players are not interested in resurrecting them.

Yes Sir. In fact, it's been over 100 years!

Hahahahahahahahaha

You mean 1 or 2 out of the 1000's of 503's that are in use? Yep, a little better.

davidmcbeth3 wrote:

freetown fred wrote:I think it's a friggin shame that certain individuals will go to any length just to stir the pot--ANY POT --facts huh???

You know, if it was just me, you may have won the day....but its not. So it looks like you will have to find another thread wherein to make such a claim.

Looks like you're feeling a little bit better ! Yea!

This forum is an interesting place. The people who post here are opinionated, and occasionally a bit...rough. However, I like to think that the level of candor here is a constructive thing. If you put out bad info, you will get caught and called on it. There are just too many eyes on every thread for bologna to hold up long. By the same token, the level of backup that you will get here will save your kiester from making some expensive mistakes. I know that I've gotten slapped down for saying something silly on here before. Doesn't faze me much, we acted the same way in the USN...

So StoveTech1 you can take all this as valuable (free) marketing research or you can be butthurt. Nobody here is out to get you...well maybe DavidMcBeth. Though sometimes I think Dave is the reincarnation of Braxton Bragg.

Though sometimes I think Dave is the reincarnation of Braxton Bragg.

I was thinking Devil505 or Stockinful had slipped back in and were stirring things up as a fellow conservative type.....

Kevin

My thoughts exactly Kevin.

StoveTech1 wrote:Just pointing out that the market has been declining. I like coal stoves and wish it weren't so. Some of the best coal stove ever made are gone forever and the big players are not interested in resurrecting them.

Actually the demand in the residential coal market has and is on the rise. That is why Chubby's are now being made again. I highly doubt AHS would have poured millions into taking over the Harman line if their "bean counters" didn't agree as well. The outlook for residential coal heating appliances is strong and growing. Many of our customer are new to the idea of having a stove. Any kind of stove. Others are saying "goodbye" to the world of pellets and firewood.

During the transition from Harman to AHS, I got pretty confused till GT explained exactly what they were doing.

confedsailor wrote:

StoveTech1 wrote:I have only recently discovered this forum and am an advocate of coal heating and have 40 years in the hearth industry. I have taught many people how to properly build their coal fires; sometimes very ornery equipment. BTW, I own Preston Trading Post and I am truly disappointed that several commenters on this thread have taken the low road to slander our employee's and store's attitudes about coal (I'm sure you really don't know them). To set the record straight, we continue to sell Blaschack bagged coal and have for decades. We also sell coal stoves from Hitzer, Morso, and used Coalbrookdales (when available). We have not abandoned coal, the large scale stove industry has. Whether we like it or not, I can list a lengthy number of coal stove lines we have supported over the years but are now gone. You may have noticed, the Harman coal stove line is now gone... their central heat systems are gone, too. We have pleaded with manufacturers to make a coal model in their lines (which ought to be lower cost since they are EPA exempt) but they shake their heads because they claim sales volumes would be too low. I was at Harman's plant this past week and to see one of the last venerable coal stove producers, in the heart of PA, making everything but coal equipment speaks volumes. Blame it on what you will, but the trend line is obvious... fewer coal stoves on the market mean fewer choices on the retail shelves leading to diminishing returns which is a self-fulfilling prophesy. Don't kill the messenger!

1. Fix your employees. This whole thing about no coal? ITS DOWN THE ROAD AT FLEMING'S!!! You know that, and I know that, but your minion didn't. Is that a failure in his training?
2. You have not sold coal for decades, I asked about coal on multiple occasions in 2012-2013. Your employees told me that coal had stopped being carried a few years back and they were selling off the last Hitzer (John B's Hitzer) you had on the floor.
3. No stoves? Bollocks, I said it once and I stand by it bucko, that's a load of horse apples. Then why does CSM up in mass have multiple lines in stock, why is Long Pond Hearth and Home looking at becoming a Leisure Line dealer, why are there a wide selection of stoves in Woonsocket?

Run your business the way you like, no one here is telling you what to do. However, past practices at your establishment have left a foul taste with quite a few people.

Oh and the people who posted on this thread are the nice ones...the Pennsiltuckians would eat you alive...

Correction please. If you were told that we didn't carry coal anymore you were misinformed. Check with Blaschak, we certainly have not gone a year without multiple shipments of coal. We have had episodes of very slow delivery to us (delays of months), possibly causing some of the furor people have responded to here. Oh, I forgot... we have also carried wood/coal furnaces from Energy King (still do - but that will go away with new EPA regs.) and Harman until they recently jettisoned that business. As to other dealers that offer or wish to offer more coal stoves... that's their business. It's just not where the market is at. They may well be benefiting from the scarcity of coal products at "A" level dealers... meaning no insult. They may be well positioned for a resurgence in coal stove business, and at least (one would assume), have a large enough group of coal appliance customers that it is a good business decision for them. And, would I correct / train the employee(s) you said told you we were getting out of the coal / stove business? Yes, if I heard them say that! But, I never have. And I do defend my employees - they are amongst the most elite stove pros in the business. You may choose not to believe it, and I suppose you will remain unconvinced, or just bored and argumentative - it's just the truth. BTW, our current stove dept. manager is from PA, sold & installed in that market, before becoming an HHT factory rep. (Harman, etc.) before coming here. The person he replaced was born into the business and is now factory rep for SBI and Olympia. The Jotul rep, our ex-sales person. The other sales team members are guys that have at least 10 and 5 years respectively in sales, installation, and service and strong tech backgrounds. People easily make assumptions that are incorrect, and some pile on, but I have to say it the way it is and has been. Whether you, or other some of the other persons on this board choose to do business with us or not is your/their decision. I'm not here to drum up business. I'm here to respond to an insult to our company and staff that is based on not much more that a staffer opinion which itself was probably based on the slow supply of fuel. Any decision to do business here should be based on the recognition that our clout in the industry, strength of product lines, deep levels of parts and commitments to customer service are a better cost/benefit than offered by competitors. If you feel we let you down or don't like us, you are entitled to your opinion. Calling a store/staff with an enviable reputation in the industry idiots based on a difference of opinion about the coal marketplace is just plain wrong.

StoveTech1 wrote: Correction please. If you were told that we didn't carry coal anymore you were misinformed. Check with Blaschak, we certainly have not gone a year without multiple shipments of coal. We have had episodes of very slow delivery to us (delays of months), possibly causing some of the furor people have responded to here. Oh, I forgot... we have also carried wood/coal furnaces from Energy King (still do - but that will go away with new EPA regs.) and Harman until they recently jettisoned that business. As to other dealers that offer or wish to offer more coal stoves... that's their business. It's just not where the market is at. They may well be benefiting from the scarcity of coal products at "A" level dealers... meaning no insult. They may be well positioned for a resurgence in coal stove business, and at least (one would assume), have a large enough group of coal appliance customers that it is a good business decision for them. And, would I correct / train the employee(s) you said told you we were getting out of the coal / stove business? Yes, if I heard them say that! But, I never have. And I do defend my employees - they are amongst the most elite stove pros in the business. You may choose not to believe it, and I suppose you will remain unconvinced, or just bored and argumentative - it's just the truth. BTW, our current stove dept. manager is from PA, sold & installed in that market, before becoming an HHT factory rep. (Harman, etc.) before coming here. The person he replaced was born into the business and is now factory rep for SBI and Olympia. The Jotul rep, our ex-sales person. The other sales team members are guys that have at least 10 and 5 years respectively in sales, installation, and service and strong tech backgrounds. People easily make assumptions that are incorrect, and some pile on, but I have to say it the way it is and has been. Whether you, or other some of the other persons on this board choose to do business with us or not is your/their decision. I'm not here to drum up business. I'm here to respond to an insult to our company and staff that is based on not much more that a staffer opinion which itself was probably based on the slow supply of fuel. Any decision to do business here should be based on the recognition that our clout in the industry, strength of product lines, deep levels of parts and commitments to customer service are a better cost/benefit than offered by competitors. If you feel we let you down or don't like us, you are entitled to your opinion. Calling a store/staff with an enviable reputation in the industry idiots based on a difference of opinion about the coal marketplace is just plain wrong.

First and foremost......The person you quoted 'confedsailor' did not call your employees 'idiots'.

Second, YOU'VE been informed as to what the problem at YOUR establishment is. It's YOUR employees.
They are costing YOU business, and until YOU correct that problem, YOU will still have THAT problem.

Third, if YOU think coming into a forum, and bashing customers that had a bad experience at YOUR establishment is going to fix ANY problems for YOU, YOU are sadly mistaken. All this will do is cost YOU even more business.

And I personally don't care if YOUR employees had 50 years experience. If they tell a customer that YOU don't carry coal, or coal stoves (but you do), YOU have a problem.

Keep in mind, most of the words I just posted is YOU and YOURS. If you are truly the owner of the Preston Trading Post, you need to think carefully before you type.

Fair enough.

I think everyone needs to pay attention to what we post--the OP in my opinion has a history of posting some pretty bizarre stuff--based on HIS facts which I question quite often. Just sayin.

Wish I'd had an owner/employer that stuck up for me like this, right or wrong. And I hope they deserved it. Most Ive had would just throw me to the sharks!

warminmn wrote:Wish I'd had an owner/employer that stuck up for me like this, right or wrong. And I hope they deserved it. Most Ive had would just throw me to the sharks!

Thank you! I appreciate your thoughts on this.

Curious Stovetech... In December of 2014 I sent you an email letting you know of this topic on Nepacrossroads.com. In that email I included the link to this thread. Did you get the email?

ONEDOLLAR wrote:Curious Stovetech... In December of 2014 I sent you an email letting you know of this topic on Nepacrossroads.com. In that email I included the link to this thread. Did you get the email?

I'm not aware of the email, but it may have hit another desk (we distribute the email loads to three desks). I do seem to recall some discussion that sounds like it could have been related but at the busy time of the year, there's always a crisis or brush fire to put out, or some complaint that needs to be addressed. So, my apologies to you and all of us for not catching it sooner. I do appreciate your effort to make us aware of the discussion. Being new to the site, I have only a brief sense of members attitudes, and I'm happy to address legitimate issues; even with critics. Certainly, we're not out to offend anyone, but we will not hesitate to state our objections to name calling, and we do operate with candor and have opinions which are based on many years in the industry. Our position provides access to key players and insights and we constantly analyze the marketplace for guidance and perspective as to market direction within the dynamic regulatory structure. The comments made by members is important to us. I hope we can help share information, history, and solutions with members. People need to remember, we are all in this canoe together.