Subject:
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Re: The Knight Bus problem
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.color
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Date:
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Thu, 13 May 2004 15:43:36 GMT
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Viewed:
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1511 times
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In lugnet.color, Martin Bruun wrote:
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In lugnet.color, Benjamin Medinets wrote:
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Thanks for the info and taking the time to post this.
I put together mine yesterday night and I was very upset at the contrast
of pieces. As for the story, I don’t really buy that considering that
the same part is in 2 different shades.
I might have to see what Lego can do for me. However, I will only
“trade my knight bus in” for one that is ok. If they can’t replace mine
then I’ll make due with the messed up one that I have.
Ben M.
ps. Alfred, you saved me time from having to begin a senseless rant.
Thanks for saving me time!!! :)
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Today we got some further information about this on our Danish LUG’s forum.
Our contact from TLC, Bjarke H. Nielsen, asked quality management on our
behalfes and got this answer:
The Harry Potter Knight Bus
We would like to stress that the colour variance of the bricks for the bus is
within our specified tolerances. We realize that many LEGO enthusiasts
consider this bad quality, but to our core consumers, who for this set are
boys and girls aged 7-12 the play experience is in focus. The fact that the
colour variation does not play an important role to children is also
reflected in the consumer feed back that our Consumer Service department has
captured regarding the bus so far.
We find it important to note that the colour deviation is not an error as it
is still within our specifications, but we have been dealing with a sensitive
colour regarding visibility of deviations.
1. The purple color is extremely difficult to manage from a production
perspective and at the same time a new colour to the color palette of LEGO
Company.
2. For the production of the launch quantity LEGO Company used 2 different
suppliers of raw material that produces the raw material in two different
ways – pre-colored and compounded. Some of the color changes might occur due
to these deliveries.
3. The purple color changes significantly dependent on which type of light
it is seen in. In bright daylight the variance is much less than in e.g.
office neon light.
4. Opposite to most other LEGO models the same color is used on a
relatively large flat surface which makes the color variance even more
visible to the human eye.
Based on the above, we have decided to use a raw material for future
production for which the colour tolerance is considerably narrower than what
we usually require from our raw materials.
Just thougth I would share,
Martin
http://www.byggepladen.dk/
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Spotlighted! I hope this gets stoplighted enough so that people outside of the
.color group can see it. It is sad to me that, basically, TLC is saying that
the color variation is fine and that the bus is meant to be played with and the
mismatched colors don’t matter so much.
It is also interesting to me that Consumer Service has not heard about the
problem much. For all the ranting that goes on here, I guess it doesn’t really
get to TLC unless it is pursued through channels that they have established. I
would call in a complaint myself, but I am never going to buy this set based on
the negative reviews and pictures that people have posted about the colors.
On the other hand, I am not convinced that Consumer Affairs really listens and
records complaints properly. Maybe this is just paranoia on my part, but I
never have gotten a sense of them listening to my messages. For instance, I
recently went through my white and blue bricks and picked out the ones that had
yellowed signigicantly. I sent Consumer Affairs two e-mails about possible
replacement of the parts and the associated cost. The first reply was very
generic and didn’t even seem to address the question I had. I sent another
e-mail, again asking the question and noting that the first response was not
related to my questions. The second reply asked me to call and speak to someone
directly. Rather than do that, I sent a longish letter (along with my previous
e-mails and bricks) to Consumer Affairs. I asked that they recycle my bricks if
they were not able to be replaced.
I got my package back (bricks and all), along with a letter that told me about
the bulk service packs program that CA/S@H offers. Of course, I already knew
about the bulk packs - I had mentioned it in my first e-mail and subsequent
letter. It seemed that CA didn’t read my correspondence because they kept
mentioning the bulk pack program that I was aware of and did not mention my
request to recycle the bricks at all (I eventually donated the bricks to
Goodwill - I suppose thinking that someone to whom the color variance wouldn’t
prevent enjoyment of the toy might pick them up).
Anyway, I am not sure if I will write or call CA for anything anymore. My
experiences with them have been a waste of time at best. Last year, I bought
something at the LEGO Outlet that was missing parts and after calling CA I got
the parts replaced, but at a price of $10 (it was a $20 set missing 7-8 pieces -
damaged box). The set was widely available for $10 at the time and the only
reason I paid CA for the parts versus buying it again elsewhere was that I felt
guilty for keeping someone on the phone going through which parts were missing
before they stated the cost. I would have felt bad for going through that and
then saying, “well, I’ll just go to Wal*mart and buy another copy for that
price.”
So, my solution from now on is to depend on reviews and opinions on LUGNET and
leave CA out of it.
--
Thomas Main
thomasmain@myrealbox.com
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Message has 1 Reply:
 | | Re: The Knight Bus problem
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| (...) I don't understand why they charged you for the missing parts. In the past, I've received missing parts for free. In fact, each time they've been quite apologetic about the situation. Is this a new policy? Or, does it have something to do with (...) (20 years ago, 13-May-04, to lugnet.color, FTX)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | Re: The Knight Bus problem
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| (...) Today we got some further information about this on our Danish LUG's forum. Our contact from TLC, Bjarke H. Nielsen, asked quality management on our behalfes and got this answer: The Harry Potter Knight Bus We would like to stress that the (...) (20 years ago, 13-May-04, to lugnet.color, FTX) !!
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