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So did Sears. Their inability to modernize turned them into Spirit Halloween.

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Personally I don't care about a paper catalog but a web site that is easy to navigate with good descriptions and dimensions is critical for me; I spend little or no time on sites that are poorly built. The StewMac site is pretty good. I agree that there need to be improvements to navigating the wood selection.

I've been a customer for over 10 years and didn't know about the forever guarantee - that's a great selling point.

I agree that being able to contact a human on the phone is a primary requirement for good customer service.


Off subject: Sear's failed to modernize but I think their biggest problem was poor management in an attempt to increase profit at the expense of quality of products sold as well as quality customer service. They cruised for a short time on their reputation until people started realizing they weren't the same anymore then everyone quit buying their stuff.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

I love paper catalogs. They make great perusing in "the reading room". Please don't tell me to use their website - I hate the way it's configured, and besides - I don't own a smartphone. The only internet device I own and want to own is my desktop. And you can't beat talking to a real live person on the phone if you have questions.

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"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

I would be curious to see the ROI data on catalogs. I’ll ask the marketing folks at work.

I can give one data point - any catalog that lands in my mailbox ends up in the recycle bin before even making it in the front door. It also leaves a negative impression for me thinking about the waste associated with it. Maybe I could use the second R, and reuse it for something, but I don’t.

My point about Sears was more that businesses that built an empire aren’t beholden to stay that way. They can and should reevaluate business practices continually and modernize as needed.

I work for Microsoft. I work on more Linux and Azure projects than Windows. Stock is at an all time high. Go figure.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

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Don't know if it would be cost effective (Brian's ROI) but maybe a paper catalog could be made available by request. No idea how many folks might want one.

"... businesses that built an empire aren’t beholden to stay that way" Very true and I guess that's the bottom line.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

What I have appreciated about StewMac is the blueprint drawings with measurements for many of their parts (tuners and bridges in particular). So very important for a person who does custom instruments.

I also loved the catalog, but can see that they are wasteful in this day and age. I used to cut out the tech tips and fun little feature articles. Gems of knowledge in there!

Maybe a downloadable PDF catalog--If you like it in the "reading room," you can print out a copy. Producing a PDF catalog still takes time and effort, but maybe it's an option. Other companies do that.

Dave

Catalogues are something people either love or hate.

I’m in the camp that prefers the website - while at the bench, I can look up the SM site, see a totally up to date listing of products, see whether the thing I need is currently in stock and order the part needed. This whole process could take under 30 seconds.

Brock, count me as another customer who had ordered from SM for over a decade and had no idea at all there was a lifetime guarantee on SM tools. Learning this fact from this thread caused me to order several more of your tools today. So it’s definitely something you could stand to increase your messaging on.

Appreciate you engaging with us on all of these issues. And I appreciate that SM isn’t offshoring manufacturing on their premium items like tuners.

I’ve learned a lot from this thread.

I used to have a StewMac catalog in my favorite bathroom here. On-line is not always... the best solution.

Regardless of what the all-business wunderkinder at Stew-Mac use to justify diminished customer service and convenience, I think they'd be well served to learn the age of their customers. Not everybody cherishes spending quality time chasing down miniature catalog entries on their phone.

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Peter Havriluk