Goulet Pens Disappointment

April 26, 2016

I don't like plastic bottles. I have two from another company. They are easy to tip over. Plus I think over time the plastic may break down.

April 26, 2016

Thank goodness Noodler's has returned to glass bottles for those who are particular about pkg. Goulet Pen Company does a fantastic job in customer service, and would hate to have them given a critical 'ink stain' because of glass bottle vs plastic bottle availability.

Helen,

I agree about the glass bottles. I don't think this particular case (OP's experience) has to do with availability. It's about respecting a loyal customer. This is clearly a special case, and making an exception to their general policy and look inside the box would cost them very little in terms of labor, but it would make their customer happy.

April 26, 2016

Noodler's plastic ink bottles are truly not easily tipped over. It could be due to the amt of ink in the bottle??? I have several of them, and have never had that problem. I've accidently dropped one on the floor. Thank goodness it was plastic or my kitchen floor would be Ottoman Rose.

Edited April 26, 2016 by Helen350

April 26, 2016

Well, that´s a bummer. Especially coming from a retailer that has built their reputation and acceptance on doing their absolute best to provide excellent service for every single customer and has produced a long emotional video on their values with a big fat ´being flexible´ on top of the list...

April 26, 2016

Hi Chrissy, I'm really sorry to give you such a negative experience. This has been a really frustrating situation for such over the last 7 months when Noodler's first started switching to plastic. I totally understand your desire for glass over plastic and I'm disappointed we've broken your trust. For what it's worth, I just checked our Burma Road Brown and it is glass as of this moment, and if you can email me at brian@gouletpens.com I will personally ensure you get glass BRB. I already set it aside for you in case you change your mind about supporting my company.

So let me share what's going on, it's not an excuse but perhaps an explanation. This is for your sake and everyone else reading this thread. For the sake of everyone's time, I'll cut right to the chase and you can read a more in-depth explanation if you are interested.

The reason we haven't been taking requests for glass bottles is because we're still receiving mixed stock from the Noodler's distributor, and we can't reliably say that glass will or won't be available before it's purchased. That said, we're now discussing taking these requests thanks to your feedback.

Now for the context:

When Noodler's makes ink, it goes to their distributor in Texas, Luxury Brands. LB has stock on their shelves already that they supply to their retailers (like me). I have stock on my shelves that are there waiting to be purchased and shipped out. When Nathan decided to switch over to plastic, it was then sent to Luxury Brands and mixed in with their existing stock. In theory, they could have FIFOed it (sold the older glass bottles first and saved the newer plastic bottles after only all the glass sold out), but there are only 2-3 people working there and at the peak of the holidays, they did not have the time to be able to do that, if enough ink was to be shipped out to make it available at all.

So the stock became mixed, and that's how it was shipping to us ever since the changeover. To make matters more complicated, we had stocked up a lot for the holidays, and Noodler's ink availability is spotty anyway...so with 99 different colors in 3oz bottles with varying levels of stock and availability with mixed shipments of glass and plastic in packaging that all looks the same...it's been very difficult to separate out the two. It would take an incredible amount of time to inventory and separate out the two types of bottles, and my team would be willing to do that...except that we know that we're still getting mixed stock today, even though Noodler's switched back to glass several months ago.

Even if we took the time to check every single bottle we have on our shelves now (which is a lot), we would have to continue checking the thousands of bottles we'll be seeing over the next several months as the plastic bottle stock is turned over from Luxury Brands. It's an incredible task, and one that's been too cumbersome for us to do even though we're normally not ones to shy away from this degree of work.

So that's an explanation as to why we can't say overall what's glass and plastic, but just for some spot-checking it seems to be about 60-40...60% glass and 40% plastic.

As for the individual requests like yours, I'm talking to my team now about how we might be able to do this moving forward. Trust me, we're very willing to, it's just that when we have bottles on the shelf that are mixed and we're being asked about the availability of the bottle type, it's very difficult for us to say what will be available by the time your order is placed, printed, and actually picked off the shelf. We've erred on the side of caution because we didn't want to promise it would be glass if we couldn't guarantee it. What we'll likely do is just check when asked and request that you put it in your order comments when you place the order, but give some disclaimer about it in case the stock changes from the time of the request to the time the order is pulled.

It's been a tough spot we've been in with this for the last 7 months, and we're honestly trying to figure out the best way to work through this as we can. I really appreciate your feedback and giving us the opportunity to serve the community better.

April 26, 2016

I am very sorry to have seen the title of this thread... something I never thought I would see.

In my experience with Goulet, they have proved many times that they are second to none regarding... well, regarding everything! Same top level as, for example, JetPens, and very very very high and away from, let´s say Chatterley (yes, I know that others will disagree... are they USA or Canada residents?).

I am pretty sure there has been some kind of misunderstanding, nothing more.

plumista

PS: a plastic container for any liquid is a bad idea if intended as a permanent, long-term container: plastic will allow water molecules in the ink to escape through its porous walls (like air will eventually escape from a balloon, no matter how tight you make the knot); that´s why you have seen ink level so low in old cartridges; glass is the good idea for general use, and plastic is a better choice only when glass may break, when travelling or you think the bottle may receive some heavy pressure or bangs, like inside a backpack.

Edited April 26, 2016 by plumista

April 26, 2016

I just received a text from a Posse member asking if I have done any analysis to see if the bottle type indicates a different ink with the same name. Unfortunately I don't know the answer and can not reply.

On behalf of the SF Posse, is ink that goes in a plastic bottle the same as it is in a glass bottle or are the formulations different?

April 26, 2016

I am very sorry to have seen the title of this thread... something I never thought I would see.

I do wonder..... did you take the time to read the Goulet pen post just above yours before posting???

April 26, 2016

I do wonder..... did you take the time to read the Goulet pen post just above yours before posting???

Honestly, I think it was a commentary on the fact that someone had to post a whole thread over this issue, not that GP responded with their explanation.

I'm in the same boat here. I stared at the title for a good five minutes before clicking in. And as I read through the posts, I began to lose my faith in the fountain pen community. I mean, get over yourselves, please. I find it absolutely discouraging that so many people have chimed in here that they would rather not do business with Goulet Pens unless they were guaranteed a glass bottle for some of the cheapest inks available. #firstworldproblems doesn't even begin to cover the amount of entitlement I see in this post.

I'm grateful to GouletPens for replying and trying to clear this up. But they shouldn't have to get to that point. There needs to be a level of respect for a retailer's business model, and the fact of the matter is that The Goulet Pen Company exists to sell products and make money. They provide an extraordinary level of customer service already, so to see people griping that they don't get yet another level of service is beyond sad. It's an absolute shame.

April 26, 2016

I just received a text from a Posse member asking if I have done any analysis to see if the bottle type indicates a different ink with the same name. Unfortunately I don't know the answer and can not reply.
On behalf of the SF Posse, is ink that goes in a plastic bottle the same as it is in a glass bottle or are the formulations different?

The ink formulation is exactly the same. I spoke with Nathan on this subject: the only reason he used plastic bottles for a while is that the glass supplier he used stopped making that bottle.

While looking for another manufacturer, all he could do was use plastic bottles. The ink is exactly the same.

Oh, and Nathan does not like plastic bottles at all, but he had no choice. They are only good for one thing, compared to glass bottles, and that is that they weigh so much less, which si great fro international shipping. They also break less easily.

Warm regards, Wim

April 26, 2016

Hi Chrissy, I'm really sorry to give you such a negative experience. This has been a really frustrating situation for such over the last 7 months when Noodler's first started switching to plastic. I totally understand your desire for glass over plastic and I'm disappointed we've broken your trust. For what it's worth, I just checked our Burma Road Brown and it is glass as of this moment, and if you can email me at brian@gouletpens.com I will personally ensure you get glass BRB. I already set it aside for you in case you change your mind about supporting my company.

So let me share what's going on, it's not an excuse but perhaps an explanation. This is for your sake and everyone else reading this thread. For the sake of everyone's time, I'll cut right to the chase and you can read a more in-depth explanation if you are interested.

The reason we haven't been taking requests for glass bottles is because we're still receiving mixed stock from the Noodler's distributor, and we can't reliably say that glass will or won't be available before it's purchased. That said, we're now discussing taking these requests thanks to your feedback.

Now for the context:

When Noodler's makes ink, it goes to their distributor in Texas, Luxury Brands. LB has stock on their shelves already that they supply to their retailers (like me). I have stock on my shelves that are there waiting to be purchased and shipped out. When Nathan decided to switch over to plastic, it was then sent to Luxury Brands and mixed in with their existing stock. In theory, they could have FIFOed it (sold the older glass bottles first and saved the newer plastic bottles after only all the glass sold out), but there are only 2-3 people working there and at the peak of the holidays, they did not have the time to be able to do that, if enough ink was to be shipped out to make it available at all.

So the stock became mixed, and that's how it was shipping to us ever since the changeover. To make matters more complicated, we had stocked up a lot for the holidays, and Noodler's ink availability is spotty anyway...so with 99 different colors in 3oz bottles with varying levels of stock and availability with mixed shipments of glass and plastic in packaging that all looks the same...it's been very difficult to separate out the two. It would take an incredible amount of time to inventory and separate out the two types of bottles, and my team would be willing to do that...except that we know that we're still getting mixed stock today, even though Noodler's switched back to glass several months ago.

Even if we took the time to check every single bottle we have on our shelves now (which is a lot), we would have to continue checking the thousands of bottles we'll be seeing over the next several months as the plastic bottle stock is turned over from Luxury Brands. It's an incredible task, and one that's been too cumbersome for us to do even though we're normally not ones to shy away from this degree of work.

So that's an explanation as to why we can't say overall what's glass and plastic, but just for some spot-checking it seems to be about 60-40...60% glass and 40% plastic.

As for the individual requests like yours, I'm talking to my team now about how we might be able to do this moving forward. Trust me, we're very willing to, it's just that when we have bottles on the shelf that are mixed and we're being asked about the availability of the bottle type, it's very difficult for us to say what will be available by the time your order is placed, printed, and actually picked off the shelf. We've erred on the side of caution because we didn't want to promise it would be glass if we couldn't guarantee it. What we'll likely do is just check when asked and request that you put it in your order comments when you place the order, but give some disclaimer about it in case the stock changes from the time of the request to the time the order is pulled.

It's been a tough spot we've been in with this for the last 7 months, and we're honestly trying to figure out the best way to work through this as we can. I really appreciate your feedback and giving us the opportunity to serve the community better.