Is AltairAstro in Norwich out of Business?

[ginandtonic]

I have been trying to order various bits from Altair Astro.

I have sent several messages from their website contact form + various emails.

No joy.

Does anyone know if they are still trading?

[Adreneline]

I've tried several times in the past and never got a response - I tried ringing and never got an answer!

I took my business elsewhere

Good luck.

[wetwalker]

I recently had a reply from this email address on the 10/11/18 regarding some items I had ordered. 

info@altairastro.com

Maybe worth a try.

Ian

[Davey-T]

In my experience if you wish to purchase any Altair Astro gear you're better off buying from one of the astro' shops that sell it as they seem able to communicate better with AA, perhaps they have a hot line to them 

 

Dave

[souls33k3r]

I guess i might be the lucky ones then. Whenever i've called them, there was almost always someone on the other end of the phone. I've emailed them and have had a timely response as well. I don't know, maybe they're just busy?

[jjosefsen]

Nick is very active on facebook as well, so maybe check them out there.

[geoflewis]

I spoke to Ian at AA last week and they were certainly still trading then ?. I live about 40 min drive from their shop, so I do pop in from time to time as it's generally easier to get a quick answer that way. It's a small shop usually with just Ian working there and from my experience their phone never stops ringing, so I can well understand the difficulty getting through - I have waited well over half an hour in the shop whilst Ian was on the phone to a single caller (possibly another astro shop checking on products). I think the advice to purchase from one of the other astro shops that sell their gear is good, but that is not to say that you won't get a reply from AA direct, as Ian has always got back to me, just sometimes it takes a while.

Good luck, Geof

[Stu]

It doesn’t seem unusual for it to be difficult to get hold of them. Dave’s answer seems to be the best option.

[Z3roCool]

Had to wait a few times on info but always really helpful. Had a problem with a delivery recently (Not AA's fault) and sorted it very well. Just very busy I think!

[carastro]

I think they are too busy to answer the phone and E mails, which is not really good customer service and very frustrating for us.  I have had the same experience in the past, but on other occasions, to my surprise they replied quite quickly. 

It might be easier to see if you can find a dealer that supplies their equipment.

Carole 

[barkis]

It is bad practice to ignore the telephone if you are running a business.
Any potential customer trying to contact in order to possibly buy from you, will
very soon get frustrated, if not angry, and probably go elsewhere for the desired item
It takes very little time to pick up the phone and ask a caller to leave their number, and be called back later, as we are at present extremely busy.  We will ring you back just as soon as we possibly can.
Surely a much better option than just ignoring someone altogether.

[Knighty2112]

AA are not the best to get hold of with general queries. 

[Jkulin]

I have used Ian and his partner Nick at AA for quite sometime, they are a victim of their own success, indeed calling can be a problem and I usually get a quicker reply via email.

I suppose with the Astro trade being still very much a cottage industry what can you expect, at least Ian does reply to emails, without knocking FLO you can't even call them by phone and have to reply on emails, usual responses are anything from 1-8 hours with them as well, so it's not only AA.

Niche market retailers are never going to have massive staffing, you either accept that or you don't, I recognise in my other interests that the customer base is massive and thus so are the retailers so I expect quicker responses, but in Astronomy I bet most retailers know 80% of their client database.

It is what it is, both Ian at AA and Martin at FLO have always solved my queries by emails and the occasional phone calls.

[Space Hopper]

Why don't you shop at FLO instead.......??

[tooth_dr]

Just now, Tubby Bear said:

Why don't you shop at FLO instead.......??

Flo don’t sell Altair Astro adapters for example. 

[Beammeup]

4 hours ago, Adreneline said:

I've tried several times in the past and never got a response - I tried ringing and never got an answer!

I took my business elsewhere

Good luck.

Yes, well, I've been waiting since Monday, so I think I'll follow suite and will also shop elsewhere. A bit of a waste of time really...

Teleskop-express.de will cost a little more in transport, but at least they get on with it!

[Adreneline]

9 hours ago, Beammeup said:

Yes, well, I've been waiting since Monday

It wouldn't be so bad if you eventually got a reply to the emails but I've never had a reply.

Communication with existing or new customers is key at the end of the day.

Good luck

 

[michaelmorris]

My experience has always been that they are really helpful folk if (not when) you can get hold of them.  As a result, I'm afraid I would be unlikely to buy from them direct.