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News and announcements
are posted frequently, so please visit this area often. Newest
information at the top of the page.
2/6/07: CLOCK REPAIR SERVICE DISCONTINUED:
BellClocks.com has discontinued clock repair and restorative services effective immediately. We apologize for any inconvenience.
10/31/06: Christmas Shopping Online Volume 3:
Christmas Shopping Online Volume 3
Welcome to Volume 3, our last installment of BellClocks Christmas Shopping Online. This volume will focus on "too good to be true" and online security.
10/27/06: Christmas Shopping Online Volume 2:
Christmas Shopping Online Volume 2
Welcome to Volume 2 of BellClocks Christmas shopping online. This volume will focus on policy and service issues. These are especially important if you are shopping online for Christmas gifts and need delivery prior to the big day.
Remember to arm yourself with the information discussed in Volume 1 first, then move into this information.
Customer Service
As you shop online you will notice that nearly every business website boasts of excellent customer service. Since the only meaningful judgement of excellent service is the individual customer, we have some suggestions of easy ways to test these service statements.
1. Send an email or customer service request through the site. This may give you an idea of what to expect. No business is perfect, so be patient but expect a reply. If you're wondering what to say or ask in this message, honestly tell them you are testing their service.
2. Another test could be to contact them by phone. Again, be patient but expect a reply. Many businesses (including BellClocks) utilize voicemail to offer a call back service if you leave your information.
Again, we stress some patience this time of year. Nearly every business gets busy during the holiday shopping season. Patience means allowing a little extra time - not weeks. As you receive replies, you can accurately judge for yourself if the service is acceptable. If not, shop elsewhere.
Business Policies
A business policy is any policy under which a business operates. These include terms of sale, return policies, refunds and exchanges, guarantees, price match, and others. Policy statements are very important to shoppers, as they may obligate a customer to certain conditions, much like a contract.
Like contact information we discussed in volume 1, this information should be located in an easy to find location on any online shopping website, and we strongly recommend a thorough review of posted policies prior to making any purchase. A couple of tips:
1. We would advise shoppers to beware of any shopping site with no published policies.
2. Business policies should be specific to the company you are going to do business with.
To explain policies "specific to the company" - if you are shopping at a site any policy statement should be specific to that site, not a statement that says customers are covered under the policy of a third party or the website host.
As an example, BellClocks.com has policies posted here: ./policies.html and they are accessible from various areas of our site. These policies apply directly to BellClocks.com.
In closing Volume 2 of our Christmas online shopping tips, we would like to again point out that most businesses of which we are aware are honest in their dealings with shoppers and customers, and are committed to customer service.
We invite you to our last installment, Volume 3 which will be published on Monday 10/30/06, which will deal with "too good to be true" and secure webpages.
10/26/06: Christmas Shopping Online Volume 1:
As the Christmas shopping season begins, and shoppers search the web for Christmas and holiday presents, questions of online shopping security become important. It is estimated that online shoppers will spend a record amount in online purchases this year, in the Billions of dollars.
With this in mind, BellClocks.com is going to post some tips over the next few days, to help make online shopping safer for everyone. These tips are not specific to Christmas shopping online, they apply to online shopping throughout the year.
Our first tip will focus on basic credibility of online businesses, and some simple ways shoppers can help protect themselves.
Online shopping online tip Number 1:
Before shopping online at any website, always ask yourself: "Is this a real business?". You can usually answer the question easily and quickly by following these simple tips:
1. Look for the business information, including an address, and phone number. This information is usually
located on the main page (at the very least), normally at the top or bottom of the page. Also check for any "contact us" or "about us" or similar pages, which may contain contact information. These areas of a website are normally accessible via tabs, buttons, or text links located on the main or welcome page.
Most businesses want to be sure their customers are able to contact them in the event of any issues with the product or service, as this is the basic foundation of customer service. This allows the businesses to respond to any issue, and fosters communication with shoppers. It also helps protect businesses and customers from fraud and scams.
We strongly recommend shoppers beware of any site which offers contact by "email only", or does not publish contact information including address and phone number.
As one example of acceptable disclosure of business contact information, BellClocks.com maintains contact information in easy to find locations throughout our site, including our welcome (main) page.
One other thing which bears mentioning - U. S. shoppers should be careful when shopping at any site owned by a foreign company. We do not suggest that foreign companies are dishonest. We merely point out that most online purchases are bound by the laws at the "point of sale", normally that means the country in which the business is located. While credit cards provide some measure of protection, serious disputes requiring legal action could be under the jurisdiction of a foreign court.
In closing Volume 1 of our Christmas online shopping tips, we would like to point out that most businesses of which we are aware are honest in their dealings with shoppers and customers, and are committed to customer service. We also state that none of this is to be considered legal advise in any way.
Watch for Volume 2 tomorrow, which will discuss policies and service issues.
7/30/05: POLICY CHANGES: BellClocks has made
changes to our return and business policies, which are effective
immediately. Please read these changes, and contact us with any
questions.
7/30/05:
6/5/05: CHELSEA
PRICING AND SHIPPING CHANGES: BellClocks has made a
significant price reduction to our Chelsea Clock line, in order to
provide the best pricing possible to our customers. In addion, all
Chelsea Clock prices include FREE shipping.
6/5/05: SITE
UPGRADES: We've completed
site upgrades to deliver a new look and feel to BellClocks. After
several months in the planning stages, and following some great input
from
our customers, some of our upgrades include: easier navigation by
category via
our left menu. Addition of a customer Thank You area, which features
pictures submitted by recent customers with their new BellClocks items
in use. A customer favorites area, which features some of the most
popular customer selections, with links to the items,
and our pricing clearly marked.
Additional upgrades
in the near future will include a "customer
support board", a "clock buying guide", and "clock terms" areas, to
further assist you in making your selection. We anticipate these
upgrades to be completed during June/July 05.
6/5/05: POLICY
UPDATES: BellClocks.com has
made
some great changes, and established 3 new
policies - "Satisfaction
Guarantee", "Privacy
Pledge", and "Shipping
Assurance". We've also
updated
several other policies on our policies page. We will be adjusting
shipping charges to comply with our new policy for the next few weeks,
and hope to have completion by the end of June. We appreciate your
patience as we make BellClocks the best place to shop online!
Past news articles
and announcements:
(PRWEB) May 26, 2005 -- The Chelsea
Clock Company has designated BellClocks.com as an Authorized Agent of
the Chelsea Clock Repair Center. Effective immediately, BellClocks.com,
and its parent Windward Instruments, will offer expert clock repair,
cleaning, and restorative services, which will be performed by the
Clockmakers at the Chelsea Clock Company.
“We’re honored to
be a part of the Chelsea Clock Repair program” said Mike Ratican,
Business Director at Windward Instruments. “We receive dozens of
requests for clock service every year. Our designation allows us to
offer our customers access to the best clockmakers in the world.”
Ratican said. “In the high art of clock restoration and repair,
there’s nothing finer than the Chelsea Clock Company.”
Windward will offer repair
services through its retail website (www.bellclocks.com), company website (www.windwardinstruments.com), and toll-free customer line
(765-356-8417). Service is
available for Chelsea Clock, as well as most other clock makes, with
turn-around times typically running 3-10 weeks dependent upon volume.
All service is rendered in the order received.
For more information, please
contact Windward Instruments or BellClocks.com.
(PRWEB) January 27, 2005 -- The
expansion is necessary to satisfy high customer demand for weather
products over the past two years.
"Our new division will focus
primarily on high quality, commercial grade weather stations, and
instruments" said Windward's Business Director. "We will focus on
helping the customer build a "custom" station tailored to their
individual requirements. Unlike existing retailers, Windward Weather
will specialize in products for customers who rely on weather
information, and require better than average quality, such as the
serious hobbiest, weather spotters, storm chasers, and weather
professionals."
Windward will offer a variety
of high quality weather stations and instruments such as Kestrel,
Maximum Weather, Weather Hawk, LaCrosse Technology, and Chelsea Clock.
Full accessory instrument and sensor packages will be available for
models offering optional anemometers, barometers, hygrometers, wind
direction, and several other sensors for more specialized applications.
Weather software packages are also planned.
Windward Instruments will
update customers regarding live date of it's new weather division
website via it's 2 existing websites, www.windwardinstruments.com and www.bellclocks.com
About Windward Instruments
Established in 1999 as a part
time retail venture, Windward Instruments has become one of the largest
family owned retail and wholesale instrument distributors in the United
States.
Windward has sold thousands of
products to customers around the world. It's websites receive millions
of hits each year from customers in over 100 countries.
For more information, contact
Windward Instruments by email: e-mail protected from spam bots or by
phone 765-356-8417, or visit www.windwardinstruments.com or www.bellclocks.com.
(PRWEB) May 21, 2004 -- Windward
Instruments will partner with Navy Veterans groups, and Navy Ship
Associations, and Ocean Clocks, to develop “ship specific”
commemorative clocks, the company announced on May 15.
Windward’s Co-Owner,
Trudi Ratican, confirmed that the company is currently involved in
pre-release development. “The commemorative clocks will be a
heavy brass porthole design, and quite unique” Ratican said.
"They would be perfect fund raising additions to ship's stores, gift
shops, or reunion raffles".
Details will be released upon
completion of each model, including availability, and pricing, via the
company website at www.windwardinstruments.com . Windward will also assist
Veteran’s groups in the sale of these instruments via e-commerce,
through it’s retail division, www.bellclocks.com and it’s toll free order line, with
a portion of the proceeds being donated to each group.
A veteran owned and operated
company, Windward is committed to providing veterans the quality they
deserve, and the most unique clock available - while maximizing the
amount donated to their group.
Interested veterans are invited
to contact their Group, or Windward Instruments directly at
765-356-8417.
(PRWEB) April 22, 2004 -- Windward
Instruments announced on 4/20/04, that retail dealer solicitation is
underway for the Ocean Clocks Tide Clock and Instrument line. The goal
of the dealer solicitation is to establish a U. S. based retail
network, for distribution of the Ocean Clocks lines to retail customers.
“Ocean Clocks is focused
on quality, with the owner personally involved in the assembly of each
instrument - they are not focused on mass production. This limits
production quantity to around 10 instruments per day. Dealers may
contact us by phone, or email, to receive further information”
according to Mike Ratican, co-owner of Windward Instruments. “The
goal is to establish a select network of retailers, not over saturate
the market”.
“We are also developing a
specialty program, catering to military, veterans groups, cruise lines,
and museums” Ratican said.
Ocean Clocks Tide Instruments
are currently available through Windward’s retail division,
BellClocks.com.
(PRWEB) April 5, 2004--BellClocks.com
will replace Timepieces by The Auction Block effective immediately.
Windward Instruments, owner & operator of both sites, announced the
move in early February, allowing it's existing customer base to make
comments on what changes they would like to see at the new site.
"The move will allow BellClocks.com to expand it's current marine and
nautical product lines, while continuing to focus on customer service"
according to the owners.Expansion during 2004 will include marine and
boating accessories, such as navigational equipment, marine electrics,
cabin hardware and lighting, and marine clothing.
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