Romera's January sale.

I haven't visited this thread for a long time but when I last posted I had received my repaired Rustic Barber from Gustavo. Within a week the same flaking of the wood finish began again. I contacted him regarding this in July of 2016 and he asked me to return it for yet another repair , I did not agree to this and instead requested a new brush and I would send this defective brush back once the replacement arrived as the first repair job took nearly 2 months. He agreed and ever since , when he has bothered to reply to any emails I have sent he has given me excuse after excuse ranging from blaming family members for poor workmanship while helping him out in his shop , family relatives being in hospital and finally accusing me of tampering with the finish myself , presumably so I could wait months for the pleasure of a refund or replacement and in the meantime not have the use of the brush since every time it touched water more and more finish came off.

That was in July 2016 having initially ordered in March and receiving in May and here I am in nearly April 2017 and still no replacement and he ignores all emails except to occasionally insult me by giving me vague responses like "I will send soon" and more months pass by. The last time we spoke via email he said he could maybe make my brush when he gets his new supply of knots in , but he "doesn't know when that will be". All the while he is advertising new brushes on his website with the same spec knots that are required for my brush and he's advertising new individual knots and quoting when they will arrive! Does he think I'm stupid?
These are on the same social media platforms I have communicated with him on and he thinks I can't see the deceit in what he says to me privately compared to what he posts on public forums etc. He also claims that the emails I send him , the one's he doesn't answer are the reason the brush promised to be replaced in July for a 2nd time still isn't even on the lathe yet!

I think his intention is to string people along with excuses to then simply allow the PayPal claim expiry to run out and not resolve any issues and keep the money. It's basically theft. However I'm compiling what can only be described as a dossier on him and my experience and on Tuesday on the 1 year anniversary of ordering the brush I will post it online on all forums or communities I'm a member of to warn others who are considering giving their money to him in the future. I won't include the email evidence that paints Gustavo in a horrendous light and exposes him as a liar and a common thief but he is more than welcome to dispute any of my claims , which an honest man with nothing to hide would be demanded by his professional pride to do so but I doubt it because if he does I'll just post the timeline of emails that are irrefutable.

I told Gustavo I would not let this go and I won't until it is resolved to my satisfaction . I will post my experience with him after every public post he sends advertising his brushes so everyone knows what kind of "business" he is running.
*This is a copy/paste from my post on a thread on TSN today.

Thanks for the heads up, I had thought about having a custom brush from him as I had heard good things about his brushes but after your experience with him there's no chance I would go ahead and order anything from him.
 
No problems guys, I'm sure others will have had good experience with him and will have a different opinion but I can only warn people, like some others have so people in the future can make an informed opinion.

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk
 
No problems guys, I'm sure others will have had good experience with him and will have a different opinion but I can only warn people, like some others have so people in the future can make an informed opinion.

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk
I have just read your terrible experience with that artisan and I can only express my heaviest solidarity with you and my support... This reminds me a lot to my painful experience with a Vietnamese brush horn artisan known for his cheap prices called Kimson... Defective brush, months of wait, dozens of excuses (some of them simply hilarious) but really quick to get my money...

I can't simply stand with people who can't manage their businesses and invent excuses for it... At least in my case that artisan was finally banned from the forum I was participating after Moderators saw my evidence and many people were warmed about him

So don't hesitate in going on, this is a small market with heavy competence in which reputation is all.. And it's good that people with bad business behaviour take advantage of this fact.

Regards

Enviado desde Mi engendro de espionaje y geolocalizacion chino que hace llamadas...
 
Thanks for those kind words. I do believe I remember you or someone else posting about that particular "Artisan" in Southeast Asia. I have given Gustavo until Monday night to respond and resolve matters but I'm not holding my breath. I do believe there is enough horror stories out there that would warrant a ban for such a poor business being able to advertise on the forum. Believe me what I have divulged until this point is not the half of the farce I've endured.
 
I applaud your actions 1morepasswill. Any artisan/vendor worth his salt should sort out problems as soon as they arise. He has taken your money time to give you the fit for purpose product you ordered. If not then get on to Paypal and let others know about your problems. In business there is a saying something like A satisfied customer will tell 5 people of their experience. An unsatisfied one will tell 50.
 
Last edited:
I agree, this was something that would have been easily sorted but he obviously decided to write me off as a customer but I'm not going to stay quite anymore about it as he is obviously not going to do the decent thing and resolve matters.

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk
 
Sorry I wrote the wrong name. I seem to remember Dipesh having trouble with Romera too. What actions? Telling everyone what experience you have had on a forum. This is the best way to inform people of the kind of service you have received from a vendor. Good or bad.
 
Sorry I wrote the wrong name. I seem to remember Dipesh having trouble with Romera too. What actions? Telling everyone what experience you have had on a forum. This is the best way to inform people of the kind of service you have received from a vendor. Good or bad.
I thought that might be what you meant or I thought perhaps Dipesh had commented elsewhere on the forum regarding this. I've held off and held off allowing him as much time (too much) to resolve this but enough is enough. You are right , sometimes we can hear glowing reports about artisans but if there is a genuine reason to complain I feel that's just as valuable as all the positive reports. I've bought dozens of custom brushes over the years and I've never encountered someone as poor as Gustavo and he still remains in business. What is really telling about this and a huge alarm bell is the fact that in my last email correspondence (I email him almost daily now with a copy/paste email) he made it known to me he was watching this thread and noted my "threats" but he has never once refuted anything I or anyone else has said about him on here or anywhere else which as you can see are so damming. Thanks again for your comments and support.

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk
 
I thought that might be what you meant or I thought perhaps Dipesh had commented elsewhere on the forum regarding this. I've held off and held off allowing him as much time (too much) to resolve this but enough is enough. You are right , sometimes we can hear glowing reports about artisans but if there is a genuine reason to complain I feel that's just as valuable as all the positive reports. I've bought dozens of custom brushes over the years and I've never encountered someone as poor as Gustavo and he still remains in business. What is really telling about this and a huge alarm bell is the fact that in my last email correspondence (I email him almost daily now with a copy/paste email) he made it known to me he was watching this thread and noted my "threats" but he has never once refuted anything I or anyone else has said about him on here or anywhere else which as you can see are so damming. Thanks again for your comments and support.

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk
I'm pleased he is watching and maybe he will understand the ramifications of his extremely poor customer service, it's not only myself that will not be placing an order but many others too.
Sort it out Gustavo, shame on you for your actions!
 
Cheers, I'm pleased people are choosing to listen to my story and I'm not seeing people doing that thing whereby if they had a good experience they seem to think it trumps mine.

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk
I think there are a good number of people who did eventually receive their brushes but only after many emails and threats of contacting PayPal, so even for the lucky ones it was not as it should be. Has anyone had a truly fantastic experience with this guy?
 
The fact that others seem to have had good service and good products only makes your experience all the worse. If he can do it for one then why can't he do it for all. When I first saw the Rustic Chubby I fell in love with the design. It is quite lovely but hearing about the problems with it such as the stain washing off and poor communication and problem solving means sadly I'll never own one.
 
I've heard a few people have been happy enough, mainly people who have went for resin over wood. What really astounds me are people who order "in stock " brushes and have had to wait 5 months or more to get them and that's with eventually threatening a PayPal claim!

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk
 
I have a new post up in the Brushes section of the forum with a full and detailed account of my experience with Gustavo. i have posted it on DFS, TSR, Facebook , Instagram. The Shavenook deleted it and banned me within seconds of it being posted. I suppose the vendors advertising money is more important than it's members possibly being ripped off.
 
Back
Top Bottom