Seems like if he was here and dealt with it, even by just being a reassuring presence, "this" wouldn't have happened.
All That Is Survive! Knives, Post Here Reopened
- Thread starter crazyfingers
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Seems like if he was here and dealt with it, even by just being a reassuring presence, "this" wouldn't have happened.
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This. Even on their facebook page which Guy actually posts on people are starting to show their frustration with the way he handles his customer service. And the Survive Knives facebook page was/is a Guy Seifert love-fest.
As an impartial observer who has been turned off to Survive by the issues people have raised here, a simple "Hey, I understand your concerns BF members, I am working as hard as I can to get these knives out, and sorry for the delay." would have left me with an entirely different taste in my mouth. Whats stopping him? He's still a member. It would take 2 minutes to make the post.
Simple, free move would have created a ton of good will among exactly the crowd here at BF who buys (or maybe, after reading this thread, wouldn't buy) his stuff.
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His product, the variety of steels, his market potential to succeed, combined with the significance of his price-point, are MUCH too large to fail. I firmly believe this. If he needs money to expand and can't find it, there will be a hungry venture capitalist in his future.
...and I'm too darned old-fashioned to be interested in social media. So if you guys hear something over on Facebook, please let it be known here also.
Friends, these knives are coming. Yes, they are slow to get here. But it's a matter of WHEN, not IF...
Sonny
...and I'm too darned old-fashioned to be interested in social media. So if you guys hear something over on Facebook, please let it be known here also.
Friends, these knives are coming. Yes, they are slow to get here. But it's a matter of WHEN, not IF...
Sonny
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Hey Everyone. I have been busy here in the shop and getting caught up on production but this thread was brought to my attention by a customer and I thought maybe I should take a few minutes on my lunch break, to address some of your concerns/questions/vents.
Firstly, There are only 3 of us here in the shop right now and I am currently the only one grinding knives. I'm working 7 days a week, many hours a day, to get caught up. The staff reduction is in preparation of our move to Idaho in a month or so and only the people who are moving with us are here now. On that note, YES, we are moving to Idaho soon. The only reason we are moving is because it makes sense for our growing business. The area we are moving to is beautiful(important to me personally), the state of Idaho is more business friendly than Pennsylvania, and we got a phenomenal deal on a building. The move will allow us to reduce our fixed costs and expand operations in a permanent location. All of the GSO-3.5 preorders will be delivered BEFORE we move. We are trying to time the move so it takes place after the Necker II production, right before the next batch of GSO-5.1s finish up. Nobody should notice any delays on orders.
On to some things I'm reading about business practices. I've always believed in transparency, so I'll just go ahead and air out my own dirty laundry and get this over with. I was going to just suck it up and press on but it has become apparent to me that this person just won't let that happen. Completely overwhelmed and knowing I could no longer handle all of the business responsibilities myself, I took on a partner who was with the company from early to mid 2013. This person, presenting themselves as a business and marketing "professional", quite frankly almost ran my business into the ground. Lots of bad decisions were made, which got me dug into a pretty deep financial hole, with absolutely nothing to show for it. Long story short, in spite of their slick talking and big promises, their mistakes and instances of self dealing eventually just became too obvious to hide from me. None of their answers or explanations made sense and they had no plan to fix it, other than going into more debt and attempting to force dealers and valued customers to immediately pay for future products, that were nowhere near completion. I had no choice but to fire them if my company was to make it.
It has also recently come to my attention that a behind the scenes smear campaign has been going on, saying that we are going out of business. All I can say right now is that despite any rumors or high school locker room type chatter, the facts are on our side here. SURVIVE! will be just fine, even in spite of the screaming child in the corner, trying to throw the game pieces on the floor because they aren't getting their way. I won't mention them here, as they are quite sue happy and are still actively seeking a payoff, trying any angle they can to get a free ride. For those who have been following us awhile, you can probably put the rest of the pieces together.
Moving along to right now. We are getting on top of things and quickly. Our old site wouldn't allow us to properly track assembly components, which led to some overselling of one handle color or another. This has caused some delays but we are days away from launching a new site platform, which deals with those problems. We had some trouble with a batch of orange G10 and ran a few handles short on some of the last GSO-10 preorders. The last few will be built and shipped out by tomorrow.
The GSO-3.5 blades are all finished and awaiting final assembly and sharpening. My handle guy just needs some time to get caught up and we need to get sheaths made. They will be delivering as soon as humanly possible.
Last year was one hell of a year, one whose lessons I'll never forget. For those of you who are frustrated, just know that I feel your pain. All I want is for you to have high quality tools, that you can use and enjoy for a lifetime, not wait a lifetime to get them. If you choose to not support me for whatever reason, I don't blame you and that is certainly your right. For those who have stuck by us, I thank you. This is a new year and we're putting our best foot forward. I'm not saying that we won't experience growing pains in the future but the worst is certainly behind us. We have lots of exciting stuff on the production schedule and we're kicking the standard up even higher.
Beginning with the new site launch, you will only be able to order things on the site that are in the shop and ready for immediate build or finished items that are boxed and ready to ship. We aren't doing any more preorder promotions of any kind. Ever. Production delays should be our frustration, not yours.
I don't get over here all that much any more but you can always swing by Facebook, Twitter or even Instagram for very frequent news and photo updates. We also do our best to answer all customer emails directed to info@surviveknives.com.
Thanks,
Guy
https://www.facebook.com/SurviveKnives
https://www.youtube.com/user/surviveguy?feature=watch
http://instagram.com/surviveknives#
https://twitter.com/SurviveKnives
http://www.pinterest.com/surviveknives/
Monster stacks of GSO-4.1s and GSO-3.5s, available shortly.
[video=youtube_share;lNfkY0QHPm4]http://youtu.be/lNfkY0QHPm4[/video]
[video=youtube_share;bNo2YUe-mbQ]http://youtu.be/bNo2YUe-mbQ[/video]
Firstly, There are only 3 of us here in the shop right now and I am currently the only one grinding knives. I'm working 7 days a week, many hours a day, to get caught up. The staff reduction is in preparation of our move to Idaho in a month or so and only the people who are moving with us are here now. On that note, YES, we are moving to Idaho soon. The only reason we are moving is because it makes sense for our growing business. The area we are moving to is beautiful(important to me personally), the state of Idaho is more business friendly than Pennsylvania, and we got a phenomenal deal on a building. The move will allow us to reduce our fixed costs and expand operations in a permanent location. All of the GSO-3.5 preorders will be delivered BEFORE we move. We are trying to time the move so it takes place after the Necker II production, right before the next batch of GSO-5.1s finish up. Nobody should notice any delays on orders.
On to some things I'm reading about business practices. I've always believed in transparency, so I'll just go ahead and air out my own dirty laundry and get this over with. I was going to just suck it up and press on but it has become apparent to me that this person just won't let that happen. Completely overwhelmed and knowing I could no longer handle all of the business responsibilities myself, I took on a partner who was with the company from early to mid 2013. This person, presenting themselves as a business and marketing "professional", quite frankly almost ran my business into the ground. Lots of bad decisions were made, which got me dug into a pretty deep financial hole, with absolutely nothing to show for it. Long story short, in spite of their slick talking and big promises, their mistakes and instances of self dealing eventually just became too obvious to hide from me. None of their answers or explanations made sense and they had no plan to fix it, other than going into more debt and attempting to force dealers and valued customers to immediately pay for future products, that were nowhere near completion. I had no choice but to fire them if my company was to make it.
It has also recently come to my attention that a behind the scenes smear campaign has been going on, saying that we are going out of business. All I can say right now is that despite any rumors or high school locker room type chatter, the facts are on our side here. SURVIVE! will be just fine, even in spite of the screaming child in the corner, trying to throw the game pieces on the floor because they aren't getting their way. I won't mention them here, as they are quite sue happy and are still actively seeking a payoff, trying any angle they can to get a free ride. For those who have been following us awhile, you can probably put the rest of the pieces together.
Moving along to right now. We are getting on top of things and quickly. Our old site wouldn't allow us to properly track assembly components, which led to some overselling of one handle color or another. This has caused some delays but we are days away from launching a new site platform, which deals with those problems. We had some trouble with a batch of orange G10 and ran a few handles short on some of the last GSO-10 preorders. The last few will be built and shipped out by tomorrow.
The GSO-3.5 blades are all finished and awaiting final assembly and sharpening. My handle guy just needs some time to get caught up and we need to get sheaths made. They will be delivering as soon as humanly possible.
Last year was one hell of a year, one whose lessons I'll never forget. For those of you who are frustrated, just know that I feel your pain. All I want is for you to have high quality tools, that you can use and enjoy for a lifetime, not wait a lifetime to get them. If you choose to not support me for whatever reason, I don't blame you and that is certainly your right. For those who have stuck by us, I thank you. This is a new year and we're putting our best foot forward. I'm not saying that we won't experience growing pains in the future but the worst is certainly behind us. We have lots of exciting stuff on the production schedule and we're kicking the standard up even higher.
Beginning with the new site launch, you will only be able to order things on the site that are in the shop and ready for immediate build or finished items that are boxed and ready to ship. We aren't doing any more preorder promotions of any kind. Ever. Production delays should be our frustration, not yours.
I don't get over here all that much any more but you can always swing by Facebook, Twitter or even Instagram for very frequent news and photo updates. We also do our best to answer all customer emails directed to info@surviveknives.com.
Thanks,
Guy
https://www.facebook.com/SurviveKnives
https://www.youtube.com/user/surviveguy?feature=watch
http://instagram.com/surviveknives#
https://twitter.com/SurviveKnives
http://www.pinterest.com/surviveknives/
Monster stacks of GSO-4.1s and GSO-3.5s, available shortly.
[video=youtube_share;lNfkY0QHPm4]http://youtu.be/lNfkY0QHPm4[/video]
[video=youtube_share;bNo2YUe-mbQ]http://youtu.be/bNo2YUe-mbQ[/video]
Last edited:
james terrio
Sharpest Knife in the Light Socket
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Great to hear from you Guy! Thank you for your time, and all the best in your endeavors.
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Guy, I want to thank you for coming on here and filling us in on some things that are going on... I was in on your original GSO-10 order and have followed along since but knew nothing of the partner troubles you have had. I like the fact of being able to order what is immediately available and would continue to do business with you for sure if that turns out to be the case... As many know, I have been very critical of the lack of communication between yourself and paying customers but this is an important first step in repairing this relationship, at least here on BF. Kudos to you for this update and taking a few minutes in the future to give us updates would be great as well.
Well done. :thumbup:
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Sonny, I am not a member of facebook either but you can go on to Survive's page and see his updates without being a member. Hope this helps.
Thanks for you reply and letting us know what's happening. It is much appreciated. It sounds like your headed in a positive direction. I'm sure that most of the people here want nothing more than for your business to succeed and do well. All the best in your future endeavours. All the best to you and your team.
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Perfect.
Guy,
Thank you for the response. I have been reading this thread every day and have marveled at the amount of people pontificating about business plans and practices of which they know nothing about, other than their own perception of how things should/do work. I know from experience that owning/operating a small business is often overwhelming and frustrating. The lesson you have learned in the last year will someday be looked at as growing pains and will make you and your business stronger going forward.
Thank you for the response. I have been reading this thread every day and have marveled at the amount of people pontificating about business plans and practices of which they know nothing about, other than their own perception of how things should/do work. I know from experience that owning/operating a small business is often overwhelming and frustrating. The lesson you have learned in the last year will someday be looked at as growing pains and will make you and your business stronger going forward.
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I know that I said that I was refraining from further discussion, but I think that this is a bit of a game changer.
Thanks for coming buy Guy, and it sounds like it has been a very trying year for you. Good luck on the move, and I cannot wait to see what you have coming out the other side. I wish you and your team the very best of luck, and I am very sorry for the troubles that you had with your partnership, et. al. Keep the faith that justice will prevail.
I want to point out that the GSO 5.1 just beneath the TNP one is number 15. I also owned number 17, but gave this one to my son for his birthday.
Thanks for coming buy Guy, and it sounds like it has been a very trying year for you. Good luck on the move, and I cannot wait to see what you have coming out the other side. I wish you and your team the very best of luck, and I am very sorry for the troubles that you had with your partnership, et. al. Keep the faith that justice will prevail.
I want to point out that the GSO 5.1 just beneath the TNP one is number 15. I also owned number 17, but gave this one to my son for his birthday.
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Man I just wish I had the money back I sent Survive for them pre orders so I could buy me some more Bark Rivers
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Thanks for jumping in here Guy and clearing things up. It is much appreciated. As a fan of your knives, I'm glad to hear the company ain't goin' anywhere. 
Sorry to hear about your troubles, but I hope everything works out for you. Here's wishing you a prosperous (and less painful) New Year!
Sorry to hear about your troubles, but I hope everything works out for you. Here's wishing you a prosperous (and less painful) New Year!
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Thanks for the replies you guys. We would be nowhere without those who stand by us. I'll do my best to swing by here more often, to keep everyone on the forum up to date. Things get busy and months melt off the calendar, seemingly like minutes and I too often take the low road and use the social media outlets where I can snap a photo that I can just add a line of text to. lol
-Guy
-Guy
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Sooo, why can't you have your money back? If you have a preorder that hasn't delivered and you wanted a refund, you can certainly do that. Nobody is being held hostage here and we've issued refunds to the few people who've asked. Just email workshop@surviveknives.com if you have an open order and Ellie or Josh will promptly get you squared away.
-Guy
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You beat me to the punch an took the words right out of my mouth Guy!!
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