Orvis warrantee story

[duckdog]

One of my favorite lines in the movie Forrest Gump is when he states " i'm not a smart main". I guess that the reason for that is that i'm not one either. Case in point--- my friend Kurt calls me and suggests that we hit a local pond for a spoon full of humiliation via the bass population of said pond. Sooo we get there and I rigg up 2 rods, a 7 wt. with a mouse pattern and an 8 wt( an Orvis silver lable) with a streamer. Sooo I launch my tube and set the 8 wt next to me so that the rod is sticking out behind me and the reel and handle are strapped to the side pocket. As I am working that mouse up against the weeds I get hung up so I turn my back to the hang up and kick over to it , unhook it ( I know , you can all see whats about to happen can't you, "I'm not a smart main") and I try to turn away and kick out of there...Hmmm, why can't I turn this thing around, must be hung up on something, a couple of good strong kicks SNAP , i'm free OH LOOK THERE'S HALF A FLY ROD IN THE WATER , AND IT LOOK'S JUST LIKE MINE ! Yes folk's I am that dumb. All I could do was laugh and keep fishing. Kurt picked up a couple of really nice bass and I got skunked. Icing on the cake I suppose. So I call orvis and they tell me that there will be no charge for the repair so I gratefully send it off. 5 weeks later a new Orvis tls come's to the house, my rod was not fixable so they replaced it. An upgrade at that. That silver label had to be at least 16 or17 years old, it was in great shape but still very old . THANK YOU ORVIS.

Mike

[fish-on-bro]

Dohhhhh! I hate when that happens. Mike, I like Gump's other line, "Stupid is as stupid does" Well at least you got an upgrade, that's nice. Reminds me when I was up in the sierra's and my truck door just would shut, on the third slam 12 inches of fly rod tip falls out to the ground. Sounds like Orvis stands behing their product.

Chuck....

[beachbum]

They have been great with me. I broke my 9 ft zero g on the Firehole River this spring. My backcast hooked a tree on the edge of the bear bog, and when I came forward..snap! They replaced it with a new Helios. I have nothing but good things to say about Orvis customer service!

[WanderingBlues]

It's nice to see customer service being a priority. Everytime I put together one of my rods, I wonder if this will be the day that I snap it? They are so durably delicate!

[lucfish]

Well good doctor, I need to tell you an Orvis story. The owner of the shop where I got my start was Riverside Ski&Sport in Riverside. Bob Slamal was the owner (since has retired, *) and we became very good friends over the years and would fish quite often together for bass and local trout. We hit one of the streams and he brings out a bamboo rod that hasn't seen a stream in 30 years and is 60 years old, made by Orvis. I didn't even know they made bamboo flyrods. Well you know what going to happen, after a few hours he hooks an 8 inch trout lifts on it and snap right at the ferrel (sp) He is pretty discussted this rod is an heirloom and worth thousands. He sends it to Orvis, they make the repair by giving him a new tip no charge. We were all surprised and he was grateful. Now that rod is in the gun rack and will never see a stream again. They do have good customer service, you just were unlucky. Happens from time to time.

[NorcalBob]

"Maybe things have changed with the times???"
Nope, no real changes in Orvis' wader policy. The only time Orvis customer service sucks is in wader warranty/repair. In all the other departments, Orvis customer service is top notch. Basically, Orvis' wader policy is: any problem with a wader is the fault of the wearer, not Orvis. Not good, IMNSHO.
And for all you people who know my background, take a look at pics of me wearing waders and see what brand they are!!!
And here's a little hint (note the boots are Orvis though)!!!

[Artin]

They've been good to me with my broken rod. I also got a CFO reel replaced by them no questions asked and got an additional spool!. Pretty respectable company if you ask me. I like their rods as well.

Artin

[unskunkable]

Orvis is awesome!


Just Sayin'

[charlie]

I know the buyer in charge of waders at Orvis. He's been there for years, except for a brief stint when he left. I think his numbers (profit/prophet margin) is good , so they don't question him. It's always amazed me that the lack of customer satisfaction with regard to waders has'nt sunk in. They do sell Simms in the Flagship store. They do have a 2.6 replacement ratio on pricing set in, so it gives them good leeway to provide customer service. Other companys do the same, so that's not unique to the flyfishing industry.
Orvis has been good with charities and helping out locals. The trout pond in the store has a coin feed dispenser. The money goes directly to the local food pantry. In my area they are one of the largest employers. I have several old silver labels. They were good rods, I'm pretty careful with mine- I 'm not the sharpest knife either. I have some horror stories, but, I also have some very positive tales, too. They do feed many families in Vt. in an economically depressed area that just got nailed good by Hurricane Irene.

Charlie

[Artin]

I have yet to see a company that has a 100% customer satisfaction badge to wear. Not all consumers will be happy with any given company. It is impossible given the variables. Also, how far does a company have to go without going bust in the name of customer satisfaction?. All in all most of the fly fishing companies are ok in my book. Some pricing adjustment is called for on some of the products that they offer, ie: $700+ rods, but that's just a personal opinion of mine and probably does not reflect most fly fishers. I guess there are leaner options to go for. But then again they try their best in the end. One thing none of the major fly fishing companies need is bad pr due to customer satisfaction. In our sport it is a tight knit community and word like that would spread like wildfire. So I do think that they are doing their best to provide us with good products and customer service.

With that said, I still think that a mass produced rod shouldn't cost 700... (personal opinion) But who am I to say.....

Artin

[NorcalBob]

"I still think that a mass produced rod shouldn't cost 700"
What an item sells for in the FF industry has no direct relationship as to what it costs the manufacturer to produce. Every FF companies major products are all price pointed to a specific price. It's all about what a consumer is willing to pay, and cash flow to the business. A $700 rod doesn't cost all that much more to manufacture than a $350 rod (minus R&D costs). The cash flow realized from the higher margins of high end goods basically funds most of the R&D and operating costs of the company. And in the case of high end rods, also funds a big chunk of the replacement/warranty costs for all fly rods, which likely would not sell near as many units if they didn't have unconditional warranties. It's going to be interesting to see what happens to Loomis (one of the best fly rods out there IMNSHO) with their new "one and done" warranty policy on all their fly rods.

[briansII]

It's going to be interesting to see what happens to Loomis (one of the best fly rods out there IMNSHO) with their new "one and done" warranty policy on all their fly rods.

It's hard to get a feel for what that's going to do, since Loomis isn't as popular out west, as it is back east. Still, it seems pretty simple to me. If they do not adjust their price point, "one and done" warranty is going to hurt their sales. We are already hearing of guys getting rid of the Loomis rods. I've been very tempted to snatch a couple Crosscurrents up, but I doubt I will.

Not to send this too far off topic. Orvis has been very good to me.

briansII

[NorcalBob]

"I've been very tempted to snatch a couple Crosscurrents up, but I doubt I will"
Me too. I fished my buddies Crosscurrent 10 WT on my 'poon trip a whole bunch (ALMOST as much as my beloved Helios'! ) and was very impressed. It's a fantastic SW rod, one of the best out there. It did everything I wanted it to do even in poor weather conditions. But, when I came back to the "one & done" warranty issue, coupled with the fact that breakage of SW rods is a real issue for me (fish turns an unexpected way and say snap!), it was an easy decision to make. No way Loomis, not with that warranty.

[RSetina]

Nice! Orvis is a great company. I lost the tip section of my 4wt trout bum superfine and I just got the call that my replacement is in ready for pick up. I lost it out of my backpack coming back to the car. I wasn't even fishing with it that day. You can't go wrong with an Orvis rod.

[madonafly]

Hi all,
New to this site, but not Orvis. I had a pair of Pro Guides that split NEXT to the sewn seam. Like right along the weld. Split from knee to neoprene. They were two years old and get used a fair amount. They did replace them.

Recently, I too broke the tip off my Zero and it was totally my fault. Sent it back. Just got a card saying the could no longer fix it and I too am receiving a Helios. Cool, but set to arrive Oct 15th???? So I called to find out why 54 days. The gentleman was very nice and put me on hold to check all the shops...none to be had in the 9' 6 wt mid flex four.
Okay, I will survive, but I mention too bad as I have a week long trip on trophy waters coming up. He then offered to connect me with the rod dept. about getting a loaner for the trip! Right on, I could deal with the shipping price back, but I let him know a big thanks, but I am covered.
But, that was way cool!!!