Good and Bad Experiences

[briansII]

The Kudos to TFO thread got me thinking about all the good customer service i've gotten on fly fishing gear. It's been rare to get what I consider bad customer service. Wish I could say that for all the places I do business at. Anyway, these are some of my good experiences. While i'm writing this, i'll try and think of some bad experiences.......since TFO started this subject, they'll get top billing.

Good:

Temple Fork Outfitters. Excellent customer service. The folks there are great to talk to. The warranty service is complete, and fast.

Sage. I have had nothing but good customer service from them. I know some folks have complaints, but they have always treated me fairly, and have quick turn around times. They've even gone out of the way to get my rod back to me quickly, so I could use it on an upcoming trip.

Winston. Good people, and very helpful. The one time I used their repair services(non warranty), they were more than fair with their pricing.....it was so good, I don't like to say publicly what they charged for their service.

LL Bean. Hands down, one of the best customer service companies i've dealt with. It's borders on ridiculous, how hard they try to please.

ORVIS. Again, I know some folks have had problems, but they treated me very well, with one issue I had with them. They went beyond being fair with a reel I exchanged.

Cabelas. Never a hint of a problem dealing with warranty issues. I question the quality of the item I had from them, but not their customer service.

Water Works/Lamson. Free parts replacement and a very quick turn around time. Also very helpful on questions.

Rio. Great customer service. Never used their warranty services, but have asked plenty of questions.

Redington. After talking with them about a reel foot issue I had on ONE of the rods I owned, they sent me 2 different reel foots to try, at no charge.

Echo. Replaced a rod I broke. User error.

Powell. Replaced a rod I broke. I don't believe it was user error.

There's more, but I just can't think of them right now. I've broken, or worn out many items that I've never sent back for warranty. Most I felt were my fault, and didn't feel right, or that it was worth sending back for replacement.

I can't think of a bad experience from a manufacturer's customer service, or warranty dept. I can think of bad service from a few shops, but not from the brand names. Pretty amazing.

Hope to hear of other good or bad experiences.

briansII

[strohble]

I haven't really had much need for customer service or returns or repairs but have required them from time to time.

L.L.Bean is stellar. Very friendly and cooperative and take great pains to make the customer happy. Was once on the phone for an hour exchanging waders, the CSR didn't know much about fishing gear and sizes so he went to the other side of the building and got a fly guide who happened to be there too. The guide got me squared away and we ended up b.s.ing for about 30 minutes about fishing. The time was well spent.

Scott Rods is awesome. Sent a rod in last year for repair and was told it would take 6 to 8 weeks for the return. I called every 2-3 days for progress reports, got to know the secretary by name and she expedited the order for me, ended up with my rod in a month. E-notices were regular letting me know which part of the factory my rod was in. I sent her a Christmas card.


Sierra Trading Post is horrible for returns or exchanges. If you buy something from them, just make sure it's exactly what you want and the right size.

Eric

[rayfound]

Bass Pro gets the Thumbs down from me. I sent a nice email to their customer service saying how 8/25 in a pack of hooks broke on me, and that my vest I bought form them is really starting to fall apart after less than a year...

They basically told me " Oh yeah, um, thanks for letting us know" - I had expected to AT LEAST get a replacement box of fly hooks, to replace the crappy ones I had gotten, but no offer of that. no nothing really... seemed like it was par for the course.

[Benny]

Chota gets a big thumbs up as well. My boots were busting at the seems, gave the customers service a call and just paid for shipping and I got them back all nicely stitched up and ready for another season.

I do give Simms customer service a big thumbs down for not exchanging my girlfriends boots. One of the boots was bothering her and something in the construction of the boot was causing her pain on the top of her foot. I called them up and asked if I could send them in to get looked at or exchanged. They said there was nothing they could do with boots. No exchange or not even the common courtesy to say hey don't worry we will take look at them and we'll have you guys back on the water in no time. Have a nice day Simms

[RubiKinda]

I've had both good and bad experiences as well.

Sage- I must say is the worst one I've dealt with. My RPL+ rod lost a fight with my window & paid the "shipping & handling" fee and had to wait 8 weeks for a new tip that was way off on the color and action of the original. Had a reel seat problem on a brand new rod that they sat on for 8 weeks and repaired with what looks to be channel locks. Ended up eating the $50 and doing the real seat myself.

Orvis- Never had a problem or been over-charged for handling.... I broke a rod on a trip once, went to the local Orvis retailer to buy a new one to complete the trip. The owner of the shop called Orvis & they allowed him to give me the rod from his stock...never paid a dime.

Galvan- Never had to have service or warranty on any of my Galvans... and I beat them.

Bob Marriott's- Well I'm back shopping ther (I don't have many other options) & they seem to have their stuff together since I got screwed by them a few years back.

[NorcalBob]

Good:
Loomis: Fastest warranty rod replacement in the business if you use the Expediter Service. Exchanges broken rod for brand new complete rod. Expediter costs the same as Sage's.
Orvis: Second fastest warranty rod replacement in the business. Exchanges broken rod for brand new complete rod.They also waive return/shipping fee if rod is under a year old or if it breaks on/near a ferrule. They are the ONLY rod dealer that does this. Have only had to send one wader in warranty and since they were the old Pro Guide series I opted to wait for the new Pro Guide 3 series that fixed the design flaw found in the previous Pro Guide's (taped seams on inside legs). Waited three months, (but that's when the new ones were released and I got one of the first pairs) and they replaced at no charge.
Redington: Third fastest warranty rod replacement in the business. Exchanges broken rod for brand new complete rod. No issues here.

Bad:
Sage: Slow service. All warranty rod replacements have taken from 1-6 months. The average time has been 3 months. Only replace broken rod section and if they don't have one in stock, prepare to wait!

Ugly:
Scott: By far the slowest for warranty rod replacement. All warranty rod replacements have taken from 3-6 months. Only replace broken rod section and if they don't have one in stock, prepare to wait a very long time!

Don't Know But Going To Find Out Soon:
Simms: Have three years on my G3 waders and they have a few pinhole leaks. Not bad considering how hard I use them. Have not sent them back since they went to their new warranty policy of only one repair/replacement per lifetime and am waiting for them to get really bad leaks for my one shot. We'll see how this one plays out eventually!

[rayfound]

Don't Know But Going To Find Out Soon:
Simms: Have three years on my G3 waders and they have a few pinhole leaks. Not bad considering how hard I use them. Have not sent them back since they went to their new warranty policy of only one repair/replacement per lifetime and am waiting for them to get really bad leaks for my one shot. We'll see how this one plays out eventually!

Not to be a smart-ass here or anything, but isn't this what Aquaseal is for?

I know for me, my (admittedly cheap) wader have gotten a couple little leaks (well, one little, one BIG) from bushes, thorns, etc...I just slap a little aquaseal on and its good as new... am I missing something? Or are the higher-priced waders just held to a higher standard in terms of the abuse they are expected to take?

[Benny]

I have the Simms G3, and I have to say that yes I would hold them to a higher standard. I paid a grip of money for them, 'cause I was told they were the best. I got mine a short time after they came out and have not had any issues with them. I got caught in barbed wire up on the Kings, I surely thought they would leak and to my amazement they did not and they seem to still be going strong.

[strohble]

I dropped the cash for the wicked tough waders from LL Bean & have never looked back, brambles, blackberries, wild roses, hooks, barbed wire, you name it and I've never had one leak. But......last year the entire crotch seam gave out, called em' up, told em' what was wrong and got a brand new pair no questions asked. I mainly used aqua seal for neoprene.

[NorcalBob]

Yep, I used good old Aquaseal to repair the pinholes!
Even with breathable waders I use Aquaseal because putting a small dab on is a whole lot easier than using a breathable patch!
And I sure as heck wasn't going to burn my one time repair/replacement on two tiny pinholes!!!
And while I don't own any LL Bean waders, when I use up my stock of Simms waders I'm gonna go to LL Bean due to their customer service. A zipper broke on my very old LL Bean tent and I contacted them about sending me a replacement zipper that I would install on my own. They said, shoot, just send us the tent back and we'll replace the entire tent. So I did and they sent me a brand new tent!

[Papasequoia]

Sage: I have broken rods from them, uh, once or twice and have always had the section replaced by them no questions asked. Only have to pay shipping and handling. However, it does take them awhile to get the rod back as someone mentioned above.

Redington: A rod I own from them got broken and when I called to talk to them about I asked if I could buy an extra tip (it was a six piece rod) since someone in my house breaks a lot of rods. The woman said she was very sorry, but they didn't sell tip sections to rods. However, when my rod was returned with a new tip, there was a second tip included free of charge. That was pretty cool, I thought. (Especially since somebody broke the new tip on the next trip out).

LL Bean: I haven't bought fishing gear from them, but they are the gold standard when it comes to customer service, satisfaction and treatment. I often phone in orders to them, especially around christmas time, and even if it is 3AM back in Maine the operators are always patient, friendly and courteous. Btw, this is where I get my famous "fluffy slippers"

[midger]

Patagonia. I had a leak develop on my old SST waders after I'd worn them over 5 years and repaired a couple of minor leaks in the booties. Sent them in for inspection and determination on their fixability. Patagonia decided they weren't reparable so sent my a new pair of Watermaster IIs at no charge. I was only out shipping for sending the old ones in. Total turnaround time was about 3 weeks. The SST wading jacket I have from them is 18 years old and still doesn't leak. I purchased it during Desert Storm in 1991.

Sage, They have repaired 3 rod tips for me. Two were replacement tips on custom built rods. The last time was on my VT2 4 weight, where the rod was sent to Sage, tip matched, then forwarded to the original custom builder. Total time took 4 weeks which included shipping to Sage on Bainbridge Island, reforwarding to Minnesota, repair, and return to me. The other tips had turnarounds of about 3 weeks, so I haven't had the negative experiences others have apparently had.

Ross. G2 needed servicing. Ross did it for free and got the reel back to me within two weeks.

Albright. I recently had a problem with a Bugati reel. The company had me send it back and they replaced it for free with their new, improved model. Turn around was around two weeks.

As far as Sierra Trading Post, I haven't experienced any problems returning items to them either, and I have done so 4-5 times in the past 5 years as I'm a frequent flyer/user of their excessed products.

YMMV with all the companies, but my experiences have been good.