We have has a customer today drive from Carlisle which is 180 miles away from us to collect a Lytton and Brompton Limestone Package from us.
He wanted a Black lytton arched fireplace package for solid fuel use with the 51″ brompton limestone which is an item we keep in stock, when he rang last night around 8 o’clock just before we closed he couldnt believe we had the items in stock and he could collect them today (Saturday).
Anyway as i found out today he has ordered this package from his local fireplace shop and they told him it was going to be delivered monday so he had arranged his own fitter a friend of the family he said (i didn’t ask if he was HETAS registered) to fit it later this week in time to finish decorating for Christmas.
Anyway to cut a long story short and to save you from the excuses the fireplace shop gave him it turns out they can not now deliver it till 3rd week in January, now this presents some bit of a problem as he wants to get large hole filled with a nice new fireplace before the big day.
After phoning all of his local shops he switched to going online and came across us on Google whilst searching for “Gallery Limestone Fireplaces” for which he tells me we are on the 1st page (good seo) and was very pleased he could still have his fireplace and get it fitted.
He arrived around lunchtime and it was promptly loaded after being checked in has Vito Van and off he drove leaving me a bottle of Wolf Blass red wine as a thank you.
Now that really was a nice gesture it really is my job to meet customers and be as helpful as we can but when someone gives you a little present it really is nice so thanks for that i love red wine and yellow label is one of my favorites so im going to have a glass of that with my dinner this evening i cant drink the whole bottle as i normally would im delivering at 4am in the morning and need to be fresh and sober.
Archive for December, 2009
Customer let down by Fireplace shop drives 180 miles to collect from Us
Saturday, December 12th, 2009Another load of fireplaces and stoves delivered again all over North UK
Friday, December 11th, 2009Today has been another very busy day at Castfireplaces we have had two very full vans go out delivering today i have been to March,Peterborough,Lincoln,Market Rasen,Doncaster and Chesterfield and Stu has been to North Wales and all over the North West between us we have delivered to 18 customers and sent out 22 fireplace and stove sets.
At this time of year we are really stretched and Rhian has been in the office all day now shes nearing back to full health taking orders and answering emails and general questions i also returned briefly around 1.30 pm and just in time to catch my sons school play then went straight to the factory to load up my vans for the weekend.
Stuart turned up around 4.30 pm after a 12 hour day delivering and then we loaded his van too.
So we have a day off tomorrow and then out again at 4.30 am sunday morning to deliver again to London and the South.
My 1st call is in Child Okeford Dorset and Stuart is in Shoreham we both have very busy days again and are really fully loaded so much so i had to turn down order today for someone who was in Reading and wanted delivery for Sunday we just could not fit it on.
So remember if you do want a Fireplace or Stove we do have another run on the 20th December planned and we have 4 spaces left for delivery but please be quick Rhian has filled two today theres no stopping her sales mission its a good job she is a Director and not paid on commision id be skint.
Made to Measure Fireplace Surrounds how long do they take
Thursday, December 10th, 2009Today i have been asked if we can do made to measure Bedford Surround unwaxed and delivered to Truro Cornwall by Friday.
Now this is really to much short notice and the Customer seemed surprised when i said it would not get delievered until January they actually said well why can’t you make it Monday and deliver it Tuesday or Wednesday.
Now 1st off do they think we are sat twiddling our thumbs at the busiest time of year waiting for orders to come through and seeing as they are 302 miles way from us too even if we could have made it in time how could we possibly go down there with just one surround.
Now we do try our best to juggle things round to help our customers but this really is a step to far and they honestly did seem annoyed when i told them it could not be done.
So it just goes to show how ever hard we try we just can’t please everyone.
So if ordering a made to measure Timber Surround or Hearth please allow a couple of weeks to get it ready for you and bear this in mind when placing your order.
As i have said before if we can get it done we will just like Peter from a building company in East London who ordered a Valencia 21″ firebasket and gas insert and needed it tomorrow to fit in customers house it is now on a carrier and being delivered before 12 o’clock so they can complete the job. So as you can see we will try and make sure your fireplace items get delivered when you want them most of the time.
Last chance for fireplace delivery to London
Wednesday, December 9th, 2009This weekend (Sunday 13th December) sees what we thought was going to be our last fireplace and stove delivery run to london and surrounding areas but we have now filled both vans to the brim and can not deliver anymore due to weight and actually getting round to everyone to say we have been rushed off our feet would be an understatement this week it has been madness.
If i have been asked or emailed 100 times about when can we have delivery will it be before Christmas i wouldnt be lying.
So what we have decided to do is do another delivery next Sunday which is the 20th of December which gives all you late ordering folk a chance to get something fitted before Santa arrives and as we are only sending 1 van out though we do have around 4-5 spare places left depending on which items people order.
Im sure Stuart will be dressed like Santa Claus and are we are both looking forward to a break and resting our aching backs over christams and the new year.
Fireplaces and stoves are very heavy items and the amount we have been moving recently over the last few months is starting to give us both back ache and a few little twinges.
So if you wish to take adavantage of our last delivery to London and the South please order before Thursday as this when we will plan our final delivery before the big day.
Why the rush on Gallery Fireplace Gas Stoves whats going on
Tuesday, December 8th, 2009We have had a very unusual event happening to us over the last few week we have sold 5 Gas stoves in the last ten days now we dont normally sell that many in 2 months but strangely enough we have now sold 5 in just over a week.
We have sold 3 Firefox 5 Gas Stoves, 1 Tiger and 1 Firefox 8 all for coal effect natural gas use, as we do not keep any gas stoves in stock we have had to order them in which arrived from our great suppliers straight away.
Now the vast majority of stoves we sell are for multifuel use it seems strange to me with the price of gas why we have sold so many.
Yes they are very clean and make no mess when using and are 73% efficient so they try there best not to spin your gas meter off the wall to create some heat. Surely the idea of having a stove is to fill it with wood coal etc and sit back and watch and listen to the fire heat your home or am i being nostalgic.
I have said before how much i love fire and watching my Tiger plus stove roar way on a cold winters evening it would seem strange just twisting the gas knob and watch it jump into life.
But hey thats just me im not complaining about sales i must just be getting old and not liking change speaking of fires im now going to fill our wood basket and get the stove lit (still having damp logs problem so coal again for the bed)
We are running low on Lytton and Jubilee Fireplaces and Firefox 5 Stoves
Monday, December 7th, 2009Well what a mad month we are having and the gallery group the people whose range of Fireplaces and Stoves we stock are very busy too.
As always at this time of year we always seem to run short of certain items due to stock shortage us here at Castfireplaces are in a better position than most fireplace shops as we do hold large amounts of stock at our factory.
However this has not proved enough and again we have run out of Firefox 5 Stoves, we also only have 2 Lytton Highlighted fireplaces and 3 Jubilee fireplaces left till after Christmas infact the new year.
Gallery themselves also have none of these items till January so thats it really 1st come 1st served gets the last of thses items.
Im not 100% sure why they have run out im told it is down to order levels and they did not expect to move some many in the Credit crunch crisis.
Well that seems not have hit our trade too hard and as we have seen a large shift again to solid fuel stoves and fireplaces this seems to have carried on right through “Heating Season”
Last week we had hearth deliverys to replace all our sold stock and these arrived just in time as we were down to the last few in stock.
Still only two weeks to go till Party day with the Fireplace Lads looking forward to it again a full day boozing in my home town of Nottingham.
Anyway if we do run out completely of any fireplaces or stoves i will let you know and offer an alternative to the option you have chosen so fingers crossed it wont be too bad but at the rate there going we will be out of lyttons and Jubilees by the end of this week but what can i do about it they are on the way from China.
Mad rush for Fireplaces and Stoves this weekend
Sunday, December 6th, 2009Well what a mad weekend we have had loads of people visit us at the factory to view our Fireplace showroom and some came in vans to collect but not all.
One customer today thought he might be able to collect two Jubilee and Brompton packages in an audi a6 estate now these limestones come in crates that weigh around 100 kg each and like coffin size.
This is just for the surrounds let alone two hearths and cast irons it just wasnt going to happen, the reason for wanting to collect is because he is having oak flooring laid on tuesday and wanted to get them fitted before then.
Now that is leaving it late but he had rang in the week and asked if we did have them in stock and whether we could put him them aside until today as he had seen them on our website and his wife agreed they were perfect.
So after telling him just take the hearths get those fitted Monday and we will deliver the rest to Worcester Early next week you can then relax knowing all your flooring will get done without them having to work round any fireplace fitter.
He replied he had not thought of this and being an old sparky i know tradesmen do not like others working in the same space it just makes the job harder.
So he went away happy with his two hearths ready to fit in the morning before floor layers arrive then the rest of his fireplaces will arrive next week after all the chaos of fitting floors has been done.
Multi fuel stoves have again been very popular and we now have no Firefox 5 stoves left until after christmas but have plenty of Tigers and Firefox 8 in what seems our own little mission to keep houses warm with our multi fuel stoves over the next few cold months.
I am in the office all tis week finishing final website tweaks so hopefully will have some news on that later this week.
Last Few dates available for London Fireplace Delivery on the 13th
Saturday, December 5th, 2009So the time is yet again running away from us and we are so busy here at Castfireplaces i have not had time to finish the final things for website going live but im not complaining i prefer it to sat twidling my thumbs.
As our regular readers know we deliver on Sundays to London and the south and we are hopefully planning to do our last delivery next Sunday which is the 13th of December.
If things are as manic over the next week or so we may send 1 van on the 20th but up to now the 13th is our last chance for people to have items delivered befor Christmas.
We do have a few spaces left for delivery this day but they have been filling fast we have filled four spots today for that delivery so yet again we have 2 vans going and these delivery slots are on a 1st come 1st served basis.
We are taking some well deserved time off over Christmas from the 21st December to the 4th January we will answer phones and take Fireplace and Stove website orders in between but there will be no deliverys or collections available so if you wish to get your fireplace delivered befor Santa arrives please make sure it is ordered this week.
Durrington Gallery Fireplaces Suite Modern Featured Item
Friday, December 4th, 2009The Durrington Modern Fireplace Suite is a fantastically versatile fireplace suite and comes in a variety of finishes
Portuguse Limestone (100% solid limestone)
Mocha Beige (micro marble)
Chiltern (coated marble)
These finishes have been expalined before and exactly what they are so im not going to bore you and repeat myself.
The Durrington is available in two sizes with the widths of
42″ Shelf and Hearth
48″ Shelf and Hearth
The suite comes compete with a panel and hearth to match in your chosen material and can also be used without the panel too so you can use it as a simple surround and hearth to sit a stove on as seen in the photos below with the Firefox 5 Gas Stove and reeded fire chamber.
It can also be used with the panel to fit an electric, gas or convector fire in and comes with the industry standard 22″ x 16″ opening so will fit most fires on the market.
So with this Durrington Fireplace Suite the choices are endless and it can be used with so many different options from a simple surround and hearth to a fully working convector fireplace package with H/E output fire there really is a durrington fireplace suite to fit any chiney breast or flat wall if using for electric use.
We do have this fireplace on show at our factory showroom for anyone wishing to view before purchase
Coronet and Oak Lincoln Fireplace Package
Thursday, December 3rd, 2009The Coronet is basically a smaller version of the Crown arched insert and it is available in Black and Half Polish only a few years ago we used to offer Full polished but that has been discontinued.
The Coronet has a smaller back which requires an opening of
Width 18″
Height 30.5″ (inc hearth height)
Depth 6.3″
This smaller measurement is ideal for chimney breasts that do have a narrow opening so when space is at a premium it is great to move to a smaller cast.
We do sell this fireplace for solid fuel use but as the opening is smaller it does not have the largest area for burning solid fuel but can still fit on 1 decent size log.
When using for gas or electric use we use the standard cast iron back that comes with this fireplace and fit a ng9 insert to it for gas use and pj9 for electric use.
We only supply the Oak Lincoln mantel in a 48″ shelf width to go with Coronet as the opening is smaller on the 48″ surround and is ideally suited to the size of the Coronet.
The oak lincoln is made from 100% solid american oak and finished in the finest Liberon Finishing oil to give it the lovely colour we achieve we do not wax oak as this is not how it should be seen
It really makes a difference to the finish of the surround to see the natural beauty of the timber as nature intended.
So if you want to buy the Coronet and Oak Lincoln which is this months featured fireplace just click on photo below.
