Saddler #1
I contacted the first saddler in mid-March (I won't mention names), or went to their shop in town, as I was in the area. I don't know what it was but when they spoke to me, as I explained why I thought I needed a saddle check, etc., their tone was quite forceful, and something gave me a feeling of almost being talked down to, which instantly put my back up. My default mode, when talking to strangers, is polite and calm, but something about the way they instantly lectured me about how I should have had the saddle checked then and then, and how this and that, that I just retorted back, 'Well, this is my first horse and first saddle, I am doing my best!', after which they toned their all-knowing attitude down a bit. Still, it left a bad taste in my mouth. However, it happened that one of my stable friends was having her saddle checked the next week by them, so I did book a shared appointment, for convenience...But after the weekend (which was Easter weekend, another bank holiday Monday), I was forced to phone them first thing on the Tuesday - after the bank hols - to cancel as I had agreed to go work in-house at a client's. I realise it was a short notice to cancel, but they had told me explicitly that they would go and see my friend first and, if they had time, they would see me on the same visit. This had been agreed in the shop on the previous week, so their visit to see me wasn't absolutely 100% certain anyway. The lady on the phone,when I phoned to cancel was again quite brusque with me and said it's really a bit too late to cancel. I said, I am very sorry but my work situation has suddenly changed and I would have phoned them earlier but it was the holiday weekend, so assumed they were closed. They were closed, so she couldn't say much. Then she went on to say how they have a long queue of people trying to get an appointment, so cancelling wasn't really wise or fair on those who are trying to get an appointment. I pointed out that they had told me they weren't even sure if they had time to see me, as I was kind of an additional appointment alongside my stable friend's appointment, so from my point of view, I wasn't even sure of if they'd see me.
Also, having spoken to others in the yard, I now hear that the same saddlers have upset quite a few people there and they regularly talk down to people and are a bit rude, and to top it off, the friend who has used them, isn't very happy with her saddle at all and feels that they have sold her an expensive saddle that still isn't suitable for her horse despite having been checked and improved.
Anyway, needless to say, I am not going to be using them. I never phoned back to make a new appointment.
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