Uniform Washable Wool Jacket

[ScoutBox]

http://www.scoutstuff.org/BSASupply/ItemDetail.aspx?cat=01RTL&ctgy=PRODUCTS&c2=NEW&C3=&C4=&LV=2&item=611024-9&prodid=611024-9^8^01RTL&

 

I ordered myself one of these and love the OD color. Still waiting for it to arrive though. But was wondering if this is to become a uniform article or just another jacket they are selling on the side. And if it is a uniform article can we sew the OA Patch on the back?

[gaucho]

It is called "Uniform Washable Wool Jacket" I would assume it is Uniform similar to the red one, so probably yes. I like the traditional red for tradition, but I love the green scheme.

[Eagle92]

You will be waiting a long time as they are not suppose to eb int he wharehouse until Dec. 15th. And with the way things are going, PLUS national doing inventory from 26 Dec to 31 Dec. it will probably be next year before you get the jacket.

 

As for the red jackets, There was a rumor when the CUs came out that the red jackets would be going away and replaced by green ones. I see there are still availble, but again after 15 Dec.

 

Bemiji(sp) Mills has a red jac shirt that is VERY similar to the official BSA one, it just has pockets added to it. Need to find one of those on Ebay.

 

But I love my red jacket. Took me 27 years to get one, and by jingo I'm keeping it

[John-in-KC]

My son is Large Extra Long. Supply Corporation could not fit him for a red jacket.

 

Bemedji Woolen Mills could and did. They are an approved supplier to Northern Tier's trading post:

 

http://www.bemidjiwoolenmills.com/

 

His jacket is better than mine. I unconditionally recommend them.

[Eagle92]

Well it's Bemidji Mills and here is some of their products

 

http://www.bemidjiwoolenmills.com/details/bm07_60/bm07_59.jpg

 

http://www.bemidjiwoolenmills.com/details/bm07_101

 

http://www.bemidjiwoolenmills.com/details/voyscout

 

 

They are a lot pricier than the ones BSA sells.

[ScoutBox]

Getting back to the OD Jac Shirt. On their site they have listed the first batch still on stock, and that's what I ordered. I will call them to see about the delay. I was told by my local Scout shop that the order they just made "and BTW they only learned of the new model due to mail advertisement" would arrive by the end of Dec. or Jan 2011.

 

As for the Red Jac Shirt. I have one although it's the newer model that's not 100% wool, but it's a great light jacket. and it has keep me warm wearing it in the winter here in Europe. Just stands out so much.. But I like very much the Bemedji Woolen Mills model with the hand pockets. But they don't mail to Europe.

[VigilEagle04]

I just want to say, I love you all for introducing me to this company. I am a big supporter of wool products like these, and I am very surprised I had not heard of them before.

[ScoutBox]

Well, after a quick call to Scoutstuff.org, I am more then pissed off. They first tell me that they lost my order. Or should I say that they posted it "now for the third time" to another address. And to make matters worst, The jackets were by mistake listed as on stock when they were first put up on the site, but will not arrive until mid December, just as you said. I cancelled my order, and will no longer order from them. I will continue to find items from other avenues. I do have a very good relationship with my Council Scout Shop, so I will continue to work with them. Firstly they are honest, and second I would rather support them then whoever is running the National Scout Shop. Although I'm sure the same people are getting a leg up anyway. I also sent a letter to the Chief of the section that handles order etc.. Mrs. Barbra Bailey, complaining about the situation. But I'm sure nothing will come of it.. I'm just a small person amongst over 2 million Scouts and Scouters..

 

So, I will try to find the OD Wool jac shirt from Bemidji Mills. But like I said before they don't ship over here, and 160.-- bucks is high for me right now.

 

SB

[Eagle92]

SB,

Having worked for national a few years back, I can tell you that they will take a written letter seriously, esp. one written to a supervisor or higher. You may be surprised with the response.

 

That said, I have found folks at the national scouts shop are more responsive to customer service than Charlotte, have better info than local council and other distributorships, and will ship wherever a customer is located. Heck I remember shipping to Prague, Czech Republic (got a cool CSP from them for helping them out), via UPS. Shipping was high, but what that unit did was order everything they needed for an entire year, so that it was essentially a one time shipping cost. Yes they even ordered rank advancement and submitted paperwork to get it too.

 

PM me if you need contact info.

[ChaiAdventure]

I have always liked my red jacket, but see the allure of the new green one. What I would like to see adopted as a uniform item is the TrekTek TruNorth Waterproof Breathable Jacket that scoutstuff now offers.

 

http://www.scoutstuff.org/BSASupply/ItemDetail.aspx?cat=01RTL&ctgy=products&c2=NEW&C3=&C4=&LV=2&item=TREKTEKJACKET&prodid=TREKTEKJACKET^8^01RTL&

 

It is clearly more practical for outdoor use and the under-stated FDL insignia makes it appropriate for all-purpose wear as well.

[trainerlady]

Check out your local National Supply Scout Shop for these jackets. We all received our initial order of them the day before Thanksgiving. They are a nice weight of material and not itchy like the current red ones. Already sold one at my store.

[Eagle92]

Trainer,

 

#1 Did you but it ?

 

#2 are my comments about Charlotte v national stores right on the money, or are you pleading the 5th ?

[trainerlady]

92,

 

Not quite sure what you meant by question #1. As for #2, we do aim to please in our store and I think we do go the extra mile to get what a customer needs/wants. Charlotte treats phone/web orders as a necessary evil and they don't ususally care if you're happy or not. They sure treat us as an inconvience to their lives. As for anyone ordering for the Holidays do it quick. They aren't shipping to stores after next Friday (12/10/10). The warehouse will be counting starting the following Monday.

[Eagle92]

Trainer,

 

 

Question one should have read Did you BUY ( caps to point out spelling error) it (the first green jacket)

[lone77wulf]

I know when I worked for a National Scout Shop, we did anything and everything we could to help the customer. If we said we couldn't get something, it meant no one anywhere in the country had it, because we had already called each store to try and get one. Territory and Store managers have a network of "go-to" stores, but we would look everywhere we could to find an item. I guess now it's done via e-mail, now that more staff has internal mail.

 

In terms of ordering from the warehouse, we always tried to steer people away from it. Not to "get the sale" as it were, but because we usually had the item in stock, and shipped it cheaper than they could. Since I left, they've changed the shipping rates to standardize them across all stores, which means they are the same as the warehouse, but its still faster to ship within the state, or one state over.

 

One big change that I've chatted with my ex-coworkers about is how stores are stocked. When I left, there was a change to "pushed" orders for new items, where the warehouse shipped certain levels of stock to each store. There were A,B,C and D stores if I remember right, and an "A" got about 4 times what a "D" store did. It was based entirely on total sales, not on any other criteria. So, when a new book series on hiking trails came out, we were sent 6 of each book. The only issue? We were in Ohio, and the closest area covered by the books was TN. So, they sat until another store needed them, or they were discontinuted. In the "old way" a manager would get a newsletter saying "here are next month's new items, place orders ASAP". So now when a Scout Shop that sells the Jac-Shirts like crazy gets their new green jackets, they get what they are "supposed" to get, not what the manager knows they can sell. It probably makes the warehouse's job easier, but it means that the items are shipped all over the country, rather to where they'll sell. If that system is still in place, the southern region stores probably have the same number of jackets they have in the northwest region. Guess who will sell out first?

 

All that said, a letter to a higher up used to work well, I'd assume its the same way now. When our Territory Manager's boss got a letter about an issue, we knew about it for sure, either a memo, a retraining, or more. I've heard a lot of frustration with the web ordering, and I've never personally done it, but I'd say a letter, especially one written directly to a person rather than "head of web ordering, or the like" would at least get a response, if not a good look at what went wrong.