(Following the request for installed tubs pictures for a TV program. Tub shipped feb/2008)
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Happy to help. We have enjoyed our bathtub tremendously. Attached are 4 photos for your use. We give you complete rights to use these images as you see fit. Please let us know if there is anything else we can do to help. Best wishes, G&K from California |
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The house of a client in Switzerland will be published in an architectural magazine and – yes – the japanese hinoki bathtub also received a nice shot!
I am looking forward to browsing the actual magazine!
We just received the beautiful pictures and kind comment of a client from the West Coast:
Happy New Year! I hope that all is going well for you in Japan.
Here are a few photos of our hinoki tub installed. It is a joy to use!!! Now you need to make a journey to this part of the world to see it in person!
Thank you so much to you, Wada-san, and anyone else who assisted in making or getting it ready to ship. It was a long journey to get it in place and I am very happy we did it.
All my best,
J.
To hear that the client is satisfied and enjoying the tub is is for us the most important thing and is the source of more energy and enthusiasm in continuing our mission of introducing the art of japanese soaking baths Worldwide!
We received the bath accessories today. Shipping was so quick! My wife loves them! The items are very well made and remind us very much of the time we spent in a ryokan in Kyoto 3 yrs ago on holiday.
FT
Thanks Iacopo,
for the fast reply.
(…)
It has been a pleasure working with you,and we are so looking forward to enjoying these special tubs.
We will be mentioning you to all our friends that will see tubs your company makes!
Wishing you peace,
(sign)
Dear Mr. Torrini,
I can not thank you enough for taking the time to respond to my e-mail. I will use the information that you have provided to repair my friends tub. If I am unsuccessful, I will be coming to Bartok Design for a new tub. I will let you know how my endeavors turn out.
You have been very helpful, and YES, I would be pleased if you placed my question and your answer on your website. I have spent many hours looking over your site and I’m sure that I will spend many more. It reminds me of the time I spent in Kyoto working with carpenters building tea rooms (chashitsu).
Thanks again for your help and professionalism.
Sincerely,
T J S
The shipping company phoned, and our Bathtub has arrived ! it will be delivered next week on 14th of July! French national day, but the swiss do not care…. 😉 For us, this week would be too early as there are still some work to be done in the house; they were OK to delay teh delivery, but I hope it’s no problem for the tub…?
Hello Iacopo !
Yes, on July 14th, our bathtub was delivered as planned, and on July 15th we moved in our newly renovated house (an ancient barn), and our moving people installed it in its pit ! :-))
“Unfortunately”, they had to remove the plastic cover, overwise they wouldn’t have been able to carry it (too slippy…) and set it properly in place.
I say “unfortunately”, because our tap has not been installed yet, so that we cannot take a bath! Anyway, to follow the instructions, we filled it with water from the garden, and empied it a few hours later. In addition, we’ve been using the nearby shower every night, and I suppose it brings humidity arround (?).
Otherwise, we are very happy with our Bathtub and the meantime, we simply enjoy its beauty and its good smell !!! As for the accessories, they are also very nice indeed!
Dear sirs at Bartok!
The badtub was delivered to us on Monday. Following your instructions we haven’t opened yet, but the size and form is perfect for us. We are looking forward to have it installed and enjoy it.
I thank you again for your help and good service!
Best regards,
F G D
I am happy with the tub and the service at your end.
What does not work well however is the transportation. I think that if you could sort out deliveries to Europe you would provide a much better service. I had to deal with customs authorities and a very difficult/unreasonable
transport company (which I assume is the one you used) and wait for weeks when the tub was already in Rotterdam.
There must be a simpler way to offer to the clients, e.g. DHL or another courier that would take care of all the formalities themselves and would then invoice the customer.
Just a friendly suggestion.
Kind regards
K F
Reply:
Thank you for your comment and friendly suggestion.
I am really sorry you had so much trouble with the delivery.
We use two couriers: YUSEN (japanese) and H&Friends (Korean).
Their service and fare vary considerably depending if they have a direct branch in the destination country or not.
We always try to choose taking in consideration this issue.
Both forwarders do not have a branch in Holland and I think that the delay was caused by bad communication between the customs agent and the shipper and between them and the client (you).
Unfortunately we cannot take in consideration DHL because it is too expensive.
In the past we were taking care of the customs formalities as well, but the local costs vary and are quite unpredictable.
We were ending up in overbilling some clients (we were sending a reimbursement) or in losing money (and not being reimbursed).
So we decided to use the formula DDU. (Delivered, duties unpaied).
I know it is an additional issue for the customer to take care of, but could not expect it would be so unconvenient like in your case.
Again we sincerely apologise for the trouble and will continue to look for better options for the shipping.
With Best Regards,
Iacopo Torrini
I can recommend Bartok Design without reservation. Although the relevant construction project is still underway and I have not used the recently-ordered tub, I have seen it and the workmanship looks excellent. Having lived in Japan, I believe that your client is best served by a hinoki tub, instead of a locally sourced alternative. In our experience, Bartok Design were very co-operative, communicative and easy to work with. Let me know if you require any further information.
Regards,