Last week, I ordered a 14*12 brood body "in the flat". I laid out the bits of wood - 4 flat bits for the walls, and 4 struts for reinforcements - and I noticed that one of the struts was a good deal heavier than the others. It was also a different colour and texture - very much smoother to the touch.
It's clear which is the odd one out in that photo.
I weighed the struts to compare. Three of them were between 150 and 160g, the odd one was about 270g. My immediate thought was that it was pine rather than the much more desirable Western red cedar which was as advertised. "No matter," thought I, "I'll assemble it anyway."
Except it did matter. When I nailed the box together, the odd strut split quite badly, and so did the sidewall that it was slotted into.
I was pretty pissed off with this, as you can imagine, and I sent photos to the company, E. H. Thorne, a very long established beekeeping equipment co. I exchanged a couple of emails in which I was assured that Thorne only sell hives made of Canadian Western red cedar, but they couldn't account for the different qualities of the bit of wood concerned. I expressed disappointment, but that was all. I didn't demand refunds, replacements or discounts off future purchases. The box is useable and I've bunged a load of "Gorilla glue" along the cracks.
However, yesterday I received another email from (presumably) a more senior bod asking me to pack up and return the box and they will send me a replacement. I've named the day for the replacement arriving as Tuesday. This was backed up by a phone call this morning. I think that is excellent customer service - above and beyond.
