Al Mar customer service

J

J_Roc

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Back in December I broke a pocket clip for an Al Mar Mini SERE. The clip became loose so I tried to bend it so it would hold tight; I bent it a little too much and it snapped.

I emailed Al Mar explaining what had happened and inquiring if/how I could get a replacement, a few weeks went by without a response so I emailed them again. Another couple of weeks went by without a response so I tried yet another email...again no response. :(

So I tried calling them instead, someone took my name and number and said that I would get a call back right away...no call. So I called them a couple of weeks later and ask if it had been mailed out - nope, never heard of me! I would let a couple of weeks go by, then I would phone to check in for an update, each time I would call it was like starting all over again! No one was aware of my previous calls, they would take my name and number and tell me that I would get a call back right away. To date I have never received a return phone call or e-mail.

And now for some light at the end of the tunnel:

I received the pocket clip this past Thursday! I think 4 months is a little extreme for something as simple as a replacement pocket clip. :thumbdn:
 
Hey, at least you got it. ;)

Several years ago I asked for a replacement clip while at the Blade Show visiting with their brass. They promised to send it out the following week and took all my particulars.

I followed up afterward with emails and phone call.

Never got the replacement clip. Sold the knife to another forum member years ago.

Still waiting for the clip... :p
 
Me too with a clip on an Ultra-lite. Lost the knife after giving up on the clip.--KV
 
After looking again at the other Al Mar thread I find it really odd that it gets resurrected every few years - started in 2002, then pops up again in 2006 and then again in 2011 (this week)

To "The Government" - what gives? You bring up a thread that was started 7 years before you joined BF?

I also notice that there seems to be a lot of broken clips out there...
 
To be honest, mine wasn't broken. I was replacing my chrome style version with a black model.
(I was still an LEO back then and wanted the stealthier black clip so that it wouldn't be so reflective when the knife was clipped to my pocket or a load bearing vest on tactical entries.)
I offered to purchase one but I was assured they would take care of it gratis as they had just come out (at the time) with the blackened clips as an alternative.
 
Wow! Forgive me for missing this thread everyone! My mistake really, as hard as that may be to believe -and what a coincidence. I really thought I had the most recent thread about al mar, pocket clips, and CS. Again, sorry for that.

On Topic:

It is odd that I received such a quick reply and that they kept leading you on like that.

I just received that email yesterday, so obviously I don't have the pocket clip yet. I was just happy that they responded so quickly and positively.

I still need to wait to get the clip before my experience is over, but I am not expecting to wait months -that would be disappointing.

Im not sure how large of a company Al Mar is, but if it were small enough then maybe your experience prompted them to be more responsive to their customers problems??? Maybe?

Again guys, I apologize for missing this thread.
 
Well, it has been a long time now and no pocket clip. Customer service is not so good. :rolleyes: I got way too excited from their first response.

I know that a pocket clip might be low priority, but if Al Mar tells me they are sending me one, then I would think that meant something.

I just sent them a reply to see what is up, and I received an automated response saying,

"Thank you for you inquiry; we are out of the office until Monday, May 23rd. and cannot respond to your email - Please re-send your email on or after May 23rd. and we will respond as quickly as possible.

Thank you for your patience,

Al Mar Knives"

Definitely past May 23rd...

Maybe they have the week of memorial day off, IDK. I'll try again later.
 
is al mar really the company it once was when the real AL MAR (actual human being) was alive? should we expect it to be? didnt the heirs sell it to the highest bidder once good ole al died? just sayin ;-)
 
My SLB's lock bar snapped in transit on an overseas trip (very strange).
I sent it to Al Mar 3 months ago.
2 Months ago I called them to see if they had received it.
They had received my knife and promised to send me a brand new one within 20 days.
It's been two months now.
No knife.
My several emails have gone unanswered.
Useless.
That's the last Al Mar I'll buy (and I've been buying them since the late 80's).
It really hacks me off, 'cos I loved that knife.

I'm looking for a replacement knife for the SLB.
Maybe a Spyderco Dragonfly 2.
 
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yeah, i had a problem too. i bought a sere back in 98' after reading about the history behind that knife. i joined the army in 06' and started carrying that knife. the blade started rusting in the corner of the bayonet/false edge on the spine of the blade, and behind the thumb stud. i emailed them to get it resharpened and after not getting a response i decided to call. i talked to gary as well, and i told him i needed a sharpening and reported the two rusting spots. he told me that it was impossible due to the type of steel (vg10), and told me it would cost $15 dollars to resharpen the sere. i told him that was a little much, considering companies like cold steel resharpened my ghurka kukri for free. i asked him if the rusting was covered in their warranty (lifetime guarantee) and he told me that its not. so i asked if he would send me the warranty so that i had one at least, and he refused to send me one. we argued for about ten minutes then he hung up on me. that knife was made for operators and military personnel alike, i myself graduated sere before mobing, and i expected that knife along with the company to be excellent. i do not buy al mar knives anymore.
 
Interesting. About five years ago I had a Sere that developed vertical blade play; I contacted the factory, sent the knife in for repair and waited about a month
for its return. All seemed well for about a week and then the blade started to loosen up again--I wound up selling it to a buddy who has some knifemaking
skills and he couldn't fix it either. I figured I just got a lemon but I have not purchased another Al Mar knife.
 
I'm a charter member here on BF and I rarely post but Al Mar's customer service is one of the company's weakest assets.

I bought a new large SERE 2000 years ago and the clip was very flawed. I e-mailed them over and over but finally received an answer and they finally replaced the clip.

A few years later I bought a MINI SERE and it also had a clip problem. I again e-mailed them over and over but to no avail. I finally gave up.

A company that makes such quality knives but gives such terrible CS should be ashamed especially since at least half of their business comes from forums such as BF!

In these days of depressed economic times, a a company that doesn't provide excellent CS should be shunned!

As an aside, years ago I had a problem with a Benchmade clip, I e-mailed the company and they immediately sent me a bag of a half dozen clips in case I had another problem.

Al Mar must be turning over in his grave!
 
Wow, a lot of pocket clips with issues, maybe time for them to change their desgn. It really is too bad that something that should be simple to address is more like pulling teeth with Al Mar.

Gene, totally agree re: Benchmade, one simple phone call is all it takes to get new clips.
 
There are way too many companies producing great knives and offering top quality customer service (Kershaw/ZT, Spyderco, Benchmade, Emerson, etc) to risk dealing with Al Mar. I like many of their knives, but customer testimonials such as these have convinced me never to buy Al Mar products. I suspect it is a company whose days are numbered.
 
I have given up on Al Mar. They are utterly USELESS! In January 2011 my 2-yr old SLB's lock bar snapped for no apparent reason.
Every three months I emailed them and their answer was the same, "Waiting for stock, you'll get your new knife in 20 days".
Now they don't even reply to my emails. No knife either. Punks.
I can't be bothered anymore. Which is a pity because I've always loved Al Mar (since the 80's). And I particularly like the SLB for EDC.
I'll never touch an Al Mar with a barge pole. I doubt they're even still in business.

Oh, here's the sales schpeel from the Al Mar website:

Warranty

All of our new knife models manufactured since January 1998 carry our limited lifetime warranty.
This warranty covers materials and workmanship for the life of the knife.
 
I've also had problems with the flimsy pocket clips on the SERE models. Both the regular and the mini broke and Al Mar customer service have not even responded to my emails.
 
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