McHardy's

[salmondan]

Thanks for all the advice and recommendations from everyone

I placed an order on Tuesday night for some tying materials and got ALL of my stuff Thursday morning. The WAC is the path to evil, McHardy's give me the strength to carry on ....(tying)... ALLELUJAH. I have seen the light. Amen.


Ah, the joy of wine ;D

[robbie]

I visited McHardys on Tuesday 19th June where I bought some flies and paid in advance for 6 Temple dogs that I was assured would be posted to me before that Friday the 22nd in time for my trip to Norway.
Saturday 23rd - No Flies
Wednesday 4th July - No Flies - Rang shop told would be with me for w/End
Wednesday 11th July - No flies - Rang Shop told would be with me for w/end
Tuesday 17th July - No flies - Rang shop, no apologies given, no reason given, just a bovine voice saying they would be with me for w/end
Sunday 22nd (today) Still no flies
And they wonder why we buy off the internet, Guess where I will be going in person on Monday ?
Guess who I will NEVER recommend or buy from again.

[robbie]

UPDATE. I sent an e-mail to McHardys on Sunday demanding my money back or flies immediately. Guess what ? no response. Rang today demanded money back. Told me delay was because "they tie in batches" when I asked him why he lied to me on several occasions, he did not answer. Have been told that a cheque is on its way. I will not hold my breath.

[robbie]

UPDATE : Refund cheque arrived this a.m. (Friday) 1 month, 1 week after order placed. Customer service at its best !!! NOT.

[macmad]

Clearly not a good experience. So far they've been fine for me, I've bought quite a lot of material off them recently. The big plus for me is being able to talk to someone on the phone who knows their stuff - there are no good tackle shops where I live.

[rpsalmon]

McHardy's mail order service is known to be dodgy. Unless they have something in stock when you speak to John, and they state they will set it aside immediately, then don't order it.

Another company selling the same products and yet offering a first class mail ordering system would promptly put McHardy's out of business. The problem is that John has such a unique range of tackle, much of which can't be sourced elsewhere, much isn't in their catalog, that it would be a disaster for the place to close. It is one of the few "real" fishing tackle shops in the country.

[ibm59]

Is Mchardys a shop or a mail order retail outlet ?
I'm down that way quite often and was less than impressed with their competitor a few miles down the road the last time I visited.
I should mention that it was purely stock level that disappointed and not staff.

[robbie]

Mc Hardys is a retail shop in a back street of Carlisle that will sell mail order. The sad fact about my recent experience is that the flies sold are beautifully tied and worth the money.

[ibm59]

robbie said:

Mc Hardys is a retail shop in a back street of Carlisle that will sell mail order. The sad fact about my recent experience is that the flies sold are beautifully tied and worth the money.

They must be doing something right as they've been on the go for a very long time.
Got my first "real" fly rod , a Hardy RW Superlight , from them 30 years ago.
I'll give them a go next time south of the Demarkation Line.

[ibrox]

I can't comment on there mail order service as I've never used it, but I've used McHardy's for several years. I find there service very friendly and very helpful, they have a vast range of fly-tying materials and fishing tackle. All at a reasonable price and well worth a visit IMO.

Mike

[robbie]

A.A. Up until my recent spat with them I would totally agree with you. I have bought rods and fly tying stuff here and as you say it was a good experience. That is why I was amazed and later on angry at the way they dealt with my order. If they had told me it was going to take a month I would have dealt with that, however to be misled not once but 4 times, got my back up. When no real explanation or apology was forthcoming it prompted me to start this post. In hindsight it was written in a temper and may appear petty, but it was an accurate description of what happened.

[ibrox]

Robbie I wasn't having a go at your post I was just commenting on my experiences and I'm sure if I was treated the way you have been treated I would have had something to say as well. Let's hope there mail order service gets better as it would be a shame if that spoiled there good reputation .

[robbie]

Mike , Not for one moment did I think you were having a go!! Thanx anyway

[salmondan]

Robbie, your experience with McH was an example of the worst customer service outside of the WAC.

My experience was the exact opposite.

Somewhere in between the two we should find the norm.

As an alternative to your above experience, and sincerely not wishing to offend, perhaps you may not have considered tying your own flies. It's a very satisfying way to spend an evening or few, if a little expensive when just starting out. Once you get the hang of it (hope I'm not digging a hole for meself here), it gets relatively easy to produce something that you can be happy with and have confidence in. Tying your own is also (IMO) cheaper than buying from shops/mail order, so long as you don't charge yourself the time it takes to tie them . You also know exactly what quality of hook you have underneath all those fluffy bits, another confidence booster. But the best reason to roll your own is to get the satisfaction that must surely come from catching a fish on a flee that you have tied. There's tons of advice in the fly tying section, with loads of step by step tyings, more than enough to get you started on the path to no return.. ;D

If you don't fancy that, try putting a request in the classified section of this forum. There are some top quality fly tyers on this site who may part with one or two flees if you offer cash or some form of alchohol based incentive .

Either way, have fun and tight lines.

[ibrox]

Talking of fly's, Dan when are you going to show us an update on your progress mate?

I would realy like to see how your doing

ATB Mike

[salmondan]

Good call Mike .

My latest offerings to be posted in pic form by late Sunday afternoon, 5th August 2007.

To be found in fly tying section under the heading of....ach you'll find 'em whatever I call it.

Now, where do I find the soft focus button on my camera? ;D

Achtung.

[ibrox]

Looking forward to seeing them mate