Nordic Outdoor Avis 

I ordered a Gränsfors Bruk Scandinavian forest axe. A company known for superior quality. The grain orientation is not perfect, the curve on the edge is too straight and the hole is asymmetrical. This makes me think that Nordic outdoor purchased a second grade axe from GFB and sold it as a first. Either it was that or they didn’t inspect the quality of the axe themselves before shipping it to the customer. Not entirely impressed to be honest. I also ordered an Opinel no.8 knife which was loose in the box and as a result knocked a couple of dents in the axe handle. Normally I wouldn’t mind but the axe cost £130 and all they needed to do was put a little bit of cardboard on the knife and it would have been fine. Anyway the delivery was quicker than expected though at least so for that I give it 2/5.

I purchased online and believed we had a contract but the shop then called me to say the price was a mistake that their website was having problems. Under their terms they can refuse to sell to me but oh my goodness the guy John who called was the most rude man I have ever dealt with.

Since they crafted their terms well the law is on their side but what about PR or ongoing customer engagement. He treated me like a common criminal as if I had changed the tags in the shop. Not that it was their mistake.

There was no common ground or empathy at all. Initial response should have been please take your money back and have a discount code for our mistake. No they sent me an invoice for the increased value!!

Never shop again I have many other choices to buy online and they do not give a thought to customer service. Just get lost or give me more money for our mistake, charming. Off to Findra or Icebreaker to buy my base layers in a real sale with a trusted company.

I would warn people not to deal with this shop if there is any possibility you might need to return an item.

Like others who have left reviews on other sites, my partner and I thought this was a great shop having both bought a number of coats and other items over the years, but on the one and only occasion on which we have had to return something, my partner found that they have no interest in after sales service or ensuring customers are happy once they have your money. Her specific experience was that she was strongly encouraged by a staff member to buy a Didriksons coat in a smaller size than she usually buys, as they had sold out of her size, and when she said she was doubtful, she was assured that she could bring it back if, once she tried it on again at home, she was unhappy with the size. When she did, indeed, decide to return it - unworn and with all labels attached - we were told the shop would only provide an exchange (in the form of a gift card) not a refund - the assistant had made no mention of this policy when she made the purchase and she had told her it would be no problem to bring the coat back.

She raised this with the company’s customer services staff, who checked with the store manager and came back and said they wouldn’t stand by the commitment made by the assistant and referred me to their returns policy on the receipt - this is the receipt that you get after you have made a purchase and handed over your money, by which time it is too late. She explained that a gift receipt was no use as she already had plenty of summer coats and the new winter stock will not be in the shop for some time, by which time she will be living overseas and unable to try any coats on to ensure she has the right size and would incur significant postage, goods and services taxes and import duties to purchase from there. She explained this (which she agrees is not the shop's responsibility) but also the fact that she’d been misled by the shop assistant (which is the shop's responsibility), and asked the company to reconsider in the light of this - but they confirmed that they wouldn’t honour their shop assistant’s commitment. We were astonished that such a high end shop would have such a terrible attitude, and it is such a contrast to our always positive experiences with Tiso and Cotswolds, also in Edinburgh, over the years, as well as many outdoor shops in Keswick where we’ve also shopped regularly.

We don’t normally leave negative reviews, and asked both the shop assistant and the Head Office twice to reconsider, but given they refused to, we feel that others should be warned that this shop is just interested in taking your money and happy to mislead you in the process - there are plenty of other shops and lots of online retailers with much better after sales and customer service and attitude that you can go to for these brands. My partner has had to use the gift voucher to buy an item that she doesn't really need as she wasn’t prepared to let the shop keep her money (nearly £200) but she would recommend that others browse in this shop but buy elsewhere until they improve their policy and attitude to customers.

Recommended. Buy with confidence.