I seen this thread for a while now and just kinda stayed clear of it. I do find it kinda sad how buda2006 cant spell at all and he is the one with the potty mouth, you just lost a good customer take care.

I have built several Nitro's and electric cars/trucks and spent many hours at both CD and Eliminator. Shadrack, it's so simple. The owners of Eliminator are NOT retail trained people (I managed several retail stores in my 20's so have the experience). They sure as hell dont appear to enjoy their job lmao. My wife just got me something there for my birthday, had never been there before and came home a little put off because when she asked about returning it if I didnt like it the staff member was a total prick to her. She will never go back... so yeah Eliminator, you definately have obvious PR problems and losing customers out your a$$ because of the attitudes there.

When I was amature, Ryan sold me so many items that were not what I needed and the wrong parts, and so did Laurie (although Laurie has always been pretty helpful). I know they do that on purpose, because they need to move items with high mark up that hobby pro's wouldn't buy cause it's garbage. BUT, they also KNOW you will realize it's crap and come back to buy an upgrade. Example? When I bought my first truck they sold me the worst battery and charger they had, telling me they were "not bad". Well of course they sucked, and I had to upgrade. Smart, but dishonest and sneaky. And I bought them on Ebay because I had 14 day 100% satisfaction guarantee.

Staff? There is a few (i think the daughter as well as a newer guy) that are very nice. I have, mind you, heard staff swear at customers who said they would go to CD b/c they didnt like the service, so that goes both ways. The ones that are nice don't know about the product lol. I have also heard some E staff several times telling customers, "I will help you with ____ but it will cost you. did you buy it here?" I had an issue with a controller so brought it to E and explained the problem to Ryan and his first Q? "did you buy it here?" I dont bother to keep the receipt because you dont take anything back dip$hit. Anyways it took him 25-30 seconds, literally, to help me. Who gives a fudge where I bought it, it's not the first most important question needed to be asked. Your the biggest hobby store anywhere near here so suck it up and give me 30 seconds of your life after I drove all the way there to seek your "expertise" (you should have been flattered but instead arrogant) to keep me happy and maybe consider buying more stuff there. Clueless. Ryan is so smug and thinks he knows everything, but more times than not he has sold me the wrong part, so your not as much of an RC god as you think you are Ryan.

Laurie (i think thats her name) is usually really nice but can be quite abrasive and moody at times. I was looking at a display truck and turned the steering once to view a part I needed while explaining an issue and she snapped " Hey... dont turn the wheels it will damage the servo!" She snapped he he he. Really? transporting my cars from the garage to the basement to the car to the track...... checking suspension....... wd40-ing bearings..... I have done that HUNDREDS of times and NEVER EVER had to replace a servo yet in years (except Hi-Tech servo's that came with a used truck). I did it ONCE and you snap at me? That was the last time I was there and it actually really pissed me off!! Dont you dare talk to me in that tone of voice, I have ALWAYS been very very nice to all the staff, and I am what you call a customer, I help pay your rent weather I spend thousands of dollars there or just a few bucks for parts. again common sense.



CD has ok staff, always helpful but dont know much at all about trucks/cars and dont have too much stock. But they do everything they can to give you the right information. I have found myself turned away from CD many times only to have to go to Eliminator to find the part in stock. I ordered RPM parts and they took much longer (2-3 weeks) than advised, but got them eventually and was not too happy about waiting. I could have easily bought them cheaper on ebay but want to support my LHS and thats what I got for it. I have kind of given up on CD because they seem to be more into planes than trucks and they dont have much stock. But I have always found them friendly and very willing to sort out a problem so will check there first. I have returned an item there and although they werent thrilled they did take it back.

As for margins? Everything I sold when in retail had at least 100% mark up. If I sold it for $100 I paid $50 for it. 4%? no freakin way not even a common sense guess. they would have been out of business years ago and would not afford to pay any staff I guarantee you that.

So, if it were up to me I wouldnt go to either store. I buy 80% of my stuff on ebay and RC Universe,and I have a couple thousand invested over the years so I know my stuff. Both stores are losing my business to the internet, mostly because most parts are easily half the price. Both stores have advantages and disadvantages. If you are serious enough about the hobby, research what your buying before hand and dont ask for the advice of E staff. A good friend of mine says CD guys have excellent product knowledge and expertise with flying things so if its planes your after go there.

I dont want to trash E because they have all the stuff I need and I kind have grown to like a few of them lol. But I always go with a part number and research it before hand. They have become more like a grumpy supplier that a retail store.

Without a doubt.
Was in there last week to look at some NiMh packs for a boat that I have and listen to how they talk to people who don't have all the answers. If you are a beginner, then they talk nice but convince you to take stuff that is older stock or that they are trying to get rid of. Saying things like "It is a good starter XXXXX" for example. Beginners don't know if something is good or bad and last week I told a kid and his dad not to take their advice. They were looking at a plane that was overpriced for a beginner and I told them to go to CD as they would give better service and help when it is needed.
You have the people pegged that work there. The son is an arrogant kid who tries to belittle people. He should look in a mirror and have a little more respect as he isn't all that. Actually about a bushel of hammers less than "all that".
And who owns it? The mother? Laurel or something? Never talk to her as I have heard her talk to people before and she can be nasty.
They obviously didn't come from retail. I would guess maybe farming. Or a family mushroom farm. Maybe mining? Something that doesn't involve a lot of social interaction.
Too bad as they do have a lot of stock, but the internet is the great equalizer. If I want no service or bad service I will deal with a calling center instead of idiots in person.

I am new in the RC plane hobby. I have been to Cellar Dwellar and Eliminator and have found both of them to be a disappointment in different ways.

Cellar Dwellar has very nice people and willing to help however they don't necessarily guide you to buy the right stuff. I went in wanting a parkflyer trainer and they suggested an intermediate plane that wasn't a trainer at all. I'm glad I did some homework and decided not to buy it. Another time I went in wanting some props, control horns etc for a small micro plane. They sold me parts made for a larger plane and said it would fit my plane. No way these parts fit but it wasn't worth the $15 in gas to go back to return $10 worth of parts. I ended up buying them online for less money (including shipping from China). Nice friendly people but you better go in there knowing exactly what you need. I have been there 6 times in the past year. Jim seems to be the only guy there who knows where anything is. There is another guy (don't know his name) who needs to ask Jim about everything. I asked him for a 6x4 prop and he looked at Jim who then got the prop. I then asked for shrink tubing and again he looked at Jim who got the tubing. I'm not sure what his role is but you would think he would know some basics of the hobby. Prices are on average lower than Eliminator for planes but choices are limited. Not a bad place to go if you need something now and can't wait for an online order. I don't understand why they don't have at least some of their most popular products or specials available online with pricing. They are on the other side of the city and perhaps it would entice me to go there more often if they showed some of their stuff online. They seem to be stuck in the "little shop" era with no potential for growth.

Eliminator has lots of RC planes in stock however they seem to be more expensive than Cellar Dwellar for the same items. I find it annoying that I am constantly followed around the aisles while I look at what they have. Somewhat friendly but I feel that some of the staff don't know much about RC planes other than what it says on the box. One time I was interested in buying a 2.4 transmitter and wanted to know the difference between Futaba and Spectrum. I wanted to learn a little about them but I wasn't ready to buy on that particular day. They weren't too interested as soon as they knew I wasn't buying that day. Had they spent the time with me I would have gone back and bought one a week later but decided not to buy it from them because of the bad feeling I got. The same thing has happened with lipo batteries.

I wish I had the money to start my own hobby shop. I honestly don't think it would take much to put both local hobby stores out of business. Both shops are lacking business sense in their own way. I bet whichever shop takes the first initiative to teach staff about their products, customer service, and proper advertising techniques would quickly take the lead over the other.

There is limits to how much time you can spend helping a customer and when it is actually cheaper for a store to give the customer a replacement even if it turns out to be an unauthorised replacement. Believe it or not, time is money even in retail... Though the helicopter would require an inquiry with the mfg... or a refund, maybe not a full refund. But I am sure you guys could have worked things out better than this if you tried.

The 'golden rule' of retail; "the customer is always right" isn't totally true... I think the rule must have been missinterprated by some customers... I thought it meant that the customer can buy what ever they want even if it is unappropriate for them to buy. Like the dude that bought an R/C P-51 as his first model... Not that the customer is always 'in the right'....

I don't know how I would handle the situation that is described in the beginning of this thread as I don't know exactly what attitude the customer and retailer actually had ( I know how they describe each other )
If I was the retailer I might not flat out give you a new helicopter right away. I would try to fix it while you were there and call the mfg to help me fix it if I couldn't do it on my own. If you didn't have time to wait, I'd ask you to come back later when you had time. If all the ways to fix the helicopter were exhausted I would take it back and give you a new one or give you a refund... If nothing else, I would learn something in the process and be better prepaired the next time someone is having trouble.

I sometimes do some extra work in a yacht-supply store, mainly because it is so different from my day-job and not so much for the extra cash. I am not a very outgoing person socially but this type of work 'forces' me to be just that.
The most fun about the job is customer satisfaction. I don't know everything about boats, but when ever I am unsure about something, I'll be honest about it and direct the customer to some of the other staff in the store to get the info they need.
When ever I have difficulty finding something in the store, I explain to the customer why, they are usually undertstanding. Then I ask the others that work there...
If you don't take any pleasure in helping the customer and make them satisfied you are clearly in the wrong line of work. Every body can have a bad day, but you don't want others to have a bad day as well, so you try to have a possitive attitude anyway. If you can't do that there are probably other things to keep you occupied until you get in a propper mood...
I usually don't handle warranties when I work there as it is part time for me, I won't be there when the mfg etc are open for bussiness, so I let one of the regular staff take over, to insure some continuity in handling the warrantee. I think that is more convenient for both the customer and the regular staff... But when there is no doubt about a deffective item that we don't need to aks the mfg about replacing I just handle the whole thing myself. That makes the customer happy and they will not hesitate to come back. It is more work for me than just telling the customer to deal with the mfg directly, but I choose to work there so why should I shy away from WORKING???

Most of the people writing on here are correct in their statements.
Does Eliminator have more product? Absolutely. They have a huge amount of stock. The problem is that they don't always bring in the right product so they end up trying to pawn stuff off on unknowing customers. I go there at least once a week, buy parts that I don't want to wait for getting shipped for my trucks but won't buy much else there.
As to the helicopter incident in the beginning, problem with Eliminator is that they really don't know planes and heli's. Besides that, they just are a different type of person than your traditional retail people. I managed retail for 20 years and know quite well how to deal with people, and trust me, these people don't know how.
I will give them some points for trying, but at the base, they are rude, and it is about the dollar for them. To be in retail you need to love people. They owners and their kid don't. I have watched them talk down to people. I have watched them lie to people. I have watched them rip people off. If you were to stand their and observe how they are with people when they are busy, it is like they are ticked off because they are busy so they try to rush things. They don't realize that this hobby costs a lot of money.
To Weekend Flyer.
Did you call and talk to Kerri at Cellar about the problem? He and his father own it and I have never seen them not be responsible for mistakes. Even though it was a lot of gas for you to go back, Kerri would have compensated you in some way. That is the way he is. Does he have a new guy who probably doesn't know where everything is, I think I saw someone new there, but at least the guy knew to ask Jim which is better than searching around wasting your time, right?
I know they are trying to get all inventory, etc online but they don't want to do a hack job like Eliminator. Come on guys, do you really find their site helpful? It has that old 80's look kind of like the staff. Yes, at least it has product on it, I agree, but the chain background is dated and the structure could use some help.

I have seriously been entertaining the thought of opening an RC store here as well. I have several years retail experince, but don't have any schooling in businees admin which would really help. I have a career in public service which keeps me busy but would love to open one anyways because I know it would do well. I just need mo money LMAO!!!!

I would love to write up a proposal and approach some investors. I agree with earlier posts that it would be EASY to put Eliminator out of business . Where would you rather go to pick up RC stuff? Near the heart of Point Douglass where the trannys and drunks hang out, or somewhere in sunny St.Vital say for example where you can park and take your kids?

If someone beats me to it, they will have my business guaranteed.

By the way, I went by the Eliminator track on Sutherland Ave yesterday. It looks like the back yard of a lazy, junk collecting, run down horder. It's so North end. Ever heard of paint and Round-up? Like I would pay a penny to step foot on that disgusting peice of S#@$ property!! It's actually quite embarrasing ha ha ha!!

I am right there with you.
I have always said that a store that backs out onto a field would be great. Look at some of the stores down in the states.
Eliminator is where it is at due to cheap rent and property taxes. Surprised ownership doesn't have a trailer and a still setup out back.
This city is dying for a great store. If Cellar Dwellar had more space he would do well as they do get the customer service part where as Eliminator doesn't.
Doesn't that track use stacks of junk as part of the course? First one past the rusted pile of junk and back wins? No?

Hey Shadrack, I totally agree with you! And everyone else on here that says eliminator sucks.
I'm new to rc and have only been there twice. The first time I was browsing and they followed me around the store. Which made it extremely uncomfortable for me to even look at anything. Sheesh if they are so afraid they could get those door detectors like other retail stores.
Anyway the second time I was there was just today, I was asking some questions about the gears for a car I bought from ebay. The woman was so snobby she was acting like I was wasting her time. And I asked if they had some electric motor cleaner spray that I wanted to get, all she said was "yup." She didn't go get it or tell me anything about it. I just kinda decided then that I wasnt going to buy anything there ever again.
Ya it's true its like they act like they're pissed off to have to help you with anything yet they want your money.
The whole experience left me feeling so angry I decided to seek out a place to rant and warn others, so I'm soo glad I found this thread. After reading the whole thing and finding that I'm not the only one who feels this way is really kinda diffusing me.
Thats ok, they won't ever get my business again. Even if you don't get customer service online it would still be better because thats what you would expect. Not snobby beaches.
Its funny the owner hasn't been on here in awhile to defend himself. I think they should have been thanking you by now for all this insight your giving into they're customer's feelings toward them. And they could be doing so much better if they just invested in a customer service coach or something like that.
I was at CD once, I didn't buy anything, but the guy had a lot of patience and answered all my noob questions. I cant wait to go down there tomorrow to buy that spray I wanted and bad mouth eliminator. It's gonna feel pretty good.
It's too bad that E has all that inventory going for them, I hope nobody buys it, and I was going to go check out their track but not after reading the above post.
Thanks for reading my rant, and F! Eliminator!

Hi there, I bought a Blade 120 SR from CELLAR DWELLAR in Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada On Jan.4th 2012. I am an avid R/C Helicopter pilot and was very excited to begin flying the Blade 120. Well I got it home and tried to fly it but the heli was defective as I could not even get the Heli to fly so I took it back to the store where I bought it the next day and they told me it was defective and replaced it with another Blade 120 SR. The replacement seemed to work ok on my first flight, I was happy. When I tried to do a second flight the heli got a bit of height then started to spin oddly in the air and dropped. I tried to get it into the air again and it just spun in circles on the floor. I believe it is a tail motor issue.
I am VERY UNHAPPY WITH THIS PRODUCT!!! I want my money back or a different heli model as a replacement, replacing or fixing the current one I have is not an option, I do not want this same heli IF THIS PROBLEM WILL OCCUR AGAIN AND AGAIN!!...I have tried to get my money back they refused..the products they sell at this store is garbage..they should be standing behind the product that they have in CELLAR DWELLAR...

ADVICE TO ANYONE .... BLADE 120 SR SUCKS!!

You are an experienced heli pilot and had problems with the blade 120?
Why would you buy an entry level training heli if you are experienced?
That is a newbie heli.
So they took care of your issues right away and gave you a new one?
All I can say is that the Blade series of heli's are the most popular ones world wide and they have the best support.
I will talk to the owner of Cellar tomorrow when they are open and ask about this. This problem will not occur again and again. If it does, sorry to say, the problem is you.
If the problem was the blade 120, you would be hearing about it all over the net, and you don't.
What if it isn't defective, and you sound like a child in your ranting above?
If that is the attitude you take, I wouldn't want you as a customer.
So they refused to give you your money back you say? I am sure they will give you store credit if it was really defective, and was the second one. When was this?
Funny thing is that I have a 6 blade heli's.
I have the 120SR.
It doesn't suck, it is a beginner heli and flies like one.
I have 3 friends who learned on that same heli.
They never had any issues.
And this is your first post? You joined an RC forum and your first post, as an experienced heli pilot, is the one above?
Sounds like a shill to me.

Originally Posted by Shadrack

You are an experienced heli pilot and had problems with the blade 120?
Why would you buy an entry level training heli if you are experienced?
That is a newbie heli.
So they took care of your issues right away and gave you a new one?
All I can say is that the Blade series of heli's are the most popular ones world wide and they have the best support.
I will talk to the owner of Cellar tomorrow when they are open and ask about this. This problem will not occur again and again. If it does, sorry to say, the problem is you.
If the problem was the blade 120, you would be hearing about it all over the net, and you don't.
It isn't defective, and you sound like a child in your ranting above.
If that is the attitude you take, I wouldn't want you as a customer.
So they refused to give you your money back you say? I am sure they will give you store credit if it was really defective, and was the second one. When was this?
Funny thing is that I have a 6 blade heli's.
I have the 120SR.
It doesn't suck, it is a beginner heli and flies like one.
I have 3 friends who learned on that same heli.
They never had any issues.
And this is your first post? You joined an RC forum and your first post, as an experienced heli pilot, is the one above?
Sounds like a shill to me.

First of all if you could read properly, you would see that I did NOT say that i was experienced, I said I was an AVID r/c heli flyer...I am no pro but I am no rookie either...
I have now had 2 of these Heli's and I have never in my life had this much trouble with any heli, EVER! I have never seen such a crap product in my life, can't even fly the thing because of all the issues. I must have gotten 2 defective heli's.

Yes you must have.
Well then you really want to get into it. My mistake, sorry for that.
You want to see crap product, there are a few others that would fit the bill better than any of the blade product.
If you aren't experienced though, how do you know what is crap and what isn't?
If you aren't experienced, then it sounds like you have never had any problems with any heli before EVER as you put it.
Do you think you pick up a full collective heli and just fly it?
If you are a novice, then you should have been taking it easy on it.
I have never seen a crap product from Blade before.
I have never had one defective, let alone two in a row.
I would imagine you can't fly the thing because as you put it, you are not experienced.

Originally Posted by Shadrack

Yes you must have.
Well then you really want to get into it. My mistake, sorry for that.
You want to see crap product, there are a few others that would fit the bill better than any of the blade product.
If you aren't experienced though, how do you know what is crap and what isn't?
If you aren't experienced, then it sounds like you have never had any problems with any heli before EVER as you put it.
Do you think you pick up a full collective heli and just fly it?
If you are a novice, then you should have been taking it easy on it.
I have never seen a crap product from Blade before.
I have never had one defective, let alone two in a row.
I would imagine you can't fly the thing because as you put it, you are not experienced.

Well Shadrack, I guess since you still can't read properly, you totally missed it when I said I wasn't a PRO, but no rookie, I made no mention that I was not experienced!! LEARN TO READ!!!! You may not have experienced what I have with this particular heli and just because you never heard of any problems with them, doesn't mean it nobody else did! GOOGLE it and you will see there is a plethora of people who have had nothing but problems with the blade 120!!! But no, apparently you would prefer to offer only put downs instead of any real solutions. Do some research before you shoot off your big mouth!

The way you act on your forum post, first one on here by the way, is of a spoiled child.
One who always blames the equipment.
Look at your posts.
Read them over.
Maybe you should have done your research then BEFORE YOU BOUGHT THE BLADE 120SR! Seems like you did your "googling" after you made the purchase. One of those people that tries to depend a bad buying decision (in your case due to skill level) on the product or that it is defective.
Google "Windows Problems" smart ass and see how many come up. You going to blame all your windows problems on Microsoft?
What are you....maybe 16 or 17 trying to act a little older?
There are a "plethora" of people with problems with the Trex 450 as well. Nothing wrong with that heli.
I suggest you stop by future shop. In the front, they had some helicopters. Those....those are meant for people like you.