Busse Combat Knives, Where are you?!?!

not2sharp

not2sharp

Platinum Member
Joined
Jun 29, 1999
Messages
20,417
O.k. here we go again.

Last week Andy Prisco was good enough to inform us that the Busse Combat Knife company was having some problems with its E-mail account.

I had placed an order on June 30, 1999 which was suppose to ship no later than January 14th. Susan Howard (customer service Busse)confirm this for me via on December 12th. Her email read in part:
===========================================
Your order will ship between January 7th and 14th. We will charge your card
sometime after the first of the year, if our credit card machine is still
working :-)

Sincerely,
Susan Howard
Busse Combat Knife Co.
============================================

Well its well after the 14th, and I have yet to receive my package, nor have I been able to get an update from Busse. Over the last 10 days I have sent 3 e-mails to Busse@bright.net with no results. At least two of those notes included my telephone number.

At this point I am not concerned, but I am irritated by the poor customer service that this vendor continues to provide. If Busse has gotten TOO Important to service his customers then I think he has a real problem.

About the only thing that has happened on schedule so far is the debit of my credit card for a deposite of $150.00.

Is it just me or that this guy have a real problem?



[This message has been edited by not2sharp (edited 01-26-2000).]
 
Not2Sharp,

I just left Busse Combat two voice mails regarding this post and your legitimate level of annoyance. I feel confident you will be contacted tomorrow and will take a personal interest in seeing this resolved, despite my having nothing to do with your transaction.

Rest assured, you will definitely have your Busse knife and be added to the growing list of countless satisfied customers around the world. You can count on it.

------------------
Andy Prisco, Manager
Sharper Instinct, LLC
Phone: 1-201-493-2469
Orders-Toll Free: 1-877-557-5200
Visa & Mastercard Accepted

Authorized Dealers:
Busse Combat Knives and Big East Traditional Bows

Professional Shooting Svcs: Corporate Training and Stress Mgmt.
 
hey not2sharp and andy,
i've been having a similar experience with busse. I placed an order back in sept. and was quoted a 3 month wait. Then I emailed and was returned a dec. 15 shipping date. Then I called on dec. 27 and talked to
dave and was told my bm would ship by the 31st. now, just two days ago, after a few messages and emails, I got a hold of jerry. But he didn’t have much to say.
Just that there have been a lot of military orders lately and I(we) got bumped. He said dave has been out of town at a convention and that he would have one of the
girls look into it. Haven’t heard anything yet. I’m a patient guy, but I don’t like being led around. I’m sure busse makes
a great knife, it’s all I’ve heard, I’d just like to find out for myself. Well I’ve said my piece, I wish you luck not2sharp,
hopefully we’ll receive our knives soon,
-matt
ps I’m sure this will be moved to tgtbtu forum,
see ya there!!!!


------------------
------------------------
-matt

"you see that mountain over there? near as i can figure, that's where we are!"
 
...just left a voice mail for you too Matt.
I'll help all I can. Jerry has told you the the real deal.

As I told Not2Sharp, your concern is legitimate and you will have your knife if you ordered it.

------------------
Andy Prisco, Manager
Sharper Instinct, LLC
Phone: 1-201-493-2469
Orders-Toll Free: 1-877-557-5200
Visa & Mastercard Accepted

Authorized Dealers:
Busse Combat Knives and Big East Traditional Bows

Professional Shooting Svcs: Corporate Training and Stress Mgmt.
 
thanx andy,
you seem to go above and beyond.
it's appreciated.
now if you only worked for busse....
wink.gif

-matt

------------------
------------------------
-matt

"you see that mountain over there? near as i can figure, that's where we are!"
 
Hi Andy,
Do you know when they'll update their website? I think its so long overdue the website would've grown a beard by now. I was told November '99, then lastest Dec, then definitely before 2000, and its now coming to the end of January.

Pang
 
Thanks Andy,

Around the same time I placed my order with Busse I called Randall Knives to place a similar order. On the Randall order I was able to ask for some optional features; and it was nice to be able to reach Gary Randall on the first ring. Within two days I had a written statement from Randall confirming the details of my order along with a charge for a $25 deposit.

I am very happy with the level of service provided by Randall. With Busse it took almost 3 months accomplish what I was able to resolve with Randall in 2 days (get a clear feedback on my order), I had ZERO options available - they were purely standard knives - and I was hit with a $150 deposit for an order of the same dollar value.

I am less then impress with Busse's Customer Service; and I can only imagine what his "warranty" might be worth.
 
Not2Sharp...

You've made your point already, so please take it easy now.

Busse Combat's warranty is the best in the business. Most of the folks here at BF already know this. Busse Combat has never welched on their performance claims or their warranty...EVER.

I suggest you be a little more careful in your written statements about Busse Combat or any other resource with which you are disgruntled. You have'nt been wronged Not2Sharp...your knife is just running late.




------------------
Andy Prisco, Manager
Sharper Instinct, LLC
Phone: 1-201-493-2469
Orders-Toll Free: 1-877-557-5200
Visa & Mastercard Accepted

Authorized Dealers:
Busse Combat Knives and Big East Traditional Bows

Professional Shooting Svcs: Corporate Training and Stress Mgmt.
 
...just two more important points.

1) Busse Combat is completely clear on the presentation of its product line...you knew what you were buying when you placed the order and why you wanted it...and still do I suppose. It seems unnecessary to point out you were given a lack of custom options.

2) You'll probably wait longer for the Randall than you are the Busse.



------------------
Andy Prisco, Manager
Sharper Instinct, LLC
Phone: 1-201-493-2469
Orders-Toll Free: 1-877-557-5200
Visa & Mastercard Accepted

Authorized Dealers:
Busse Combat Knives and Big East Traditional Bows

Professional Shooting Svcs: Corporate Training and Stress Mgmt.
 
Andy,

I have stated my position clearly. If I have been blunt with this it is in the hope that someone on this forum can facilitate a fair resolution of this issue.

It is not my intention to continue this discussion on the forum (I have too much respect for this site and the fine people participate here).

And you are right Both vendors differ in their product mix - but then again the issue was customer service.

Again, I am very grateful for your help.
 
Andy, Not2Sharp:

Hope you don't mind my adding my 2 cents.
I thinks my Busses are incredible knives and I'm thrilled with them. I've spoken with Jerry a few times and I think he's a great guy. Susan and the others I've dealt with are unfailingly polite and helpful. I have no doubt at all the Jerry and the company will stand 100% behind the warranty and the knives. I also accept that the delays etc are due to large military orders etc and not due to any bad faith whatever; and because of Jerry's injury and his meticulous attention to quality, only so many knives can be made, hence the long and unpredictable waits. I also admire Andy's prompt, eager and genuine offers of assistance. Indeed, Andy lately is best [if not the only] source of current info on Busse. I've always expressed support for Busse in these forums, and there have been many questions and complaints from many different people. And I have no business connection to Jerry or Busse at all.
Having said that... Not2Sharp, in my judgement, didn't say anything to warrant a caution or admonition. Best of intentions and quality of product notwithstanding, Busse's customer service is, by any reasonable standard, very bad. Promised shipping dates are not met - it isn't even close. Communications, telephone and now apparently email too, are not answered. At least on several ocassions, me included, the balance of price was taken before shipping, which isn't appropriate. I'm also not so thrilled with the sheath and inflexible, unilateral design change and prehistoric web site. Not2Sharp isn't unfair on these points. Now, personally, I never drew the conclusion from any of this that Busse could not be trusted and frankly I regard them only as minor irritations: I trust Jerry and his company and I think the knives are worth all these aggravations. But you can't blame someone else for coming to a different conclusion or at least noting the problems, complaining about the aggravation and expressing doubt. Heroic efforts on Andy's part, and I'm not being ironic - I'm being appreciative, are not a sufficient solution. Just today a new member used his first post to complain about the same thing as Not2Sharp. Busse has to make changes. He's got to give more realistic time estimates. We'll wait for these knives. I've waited longer for customs, but I got fair time estimates. And, although I didn't complain, it doesn't impress me much to say I've been bumped for more important customers. The emails at least must be answered. If the estimates are reasonable the volume of complaints and therefore email is likely to be more manageable. Any small decrease in demand might be more than compensated for by updating the bloody web site. Having an updated site would give customers the satisfaction or impression of being kept current, reducing the incredible frustration of being completely in the dark about your order/knives. It's just common sense, and common courtesy.
Even if Busse wants to focus more on selling through dealers, which might not be a bad thing, what I'm saying still applies. If Busse loses my confidence, a great dealer won't vitiate the problem. Let Busse hyperlink to his best dealers on his site. Let him subcontract the maintenance of the site to a dealer. But Geez, let him do something to improve customer service.
Anyway, I love my knives. Now if only I had some decent sheaths...
 
Kudos to Andy for helping out. Thanks bud.

OK As far as the Busse web site being old, it is. Jennifer is building a new one and right now they are waiting on the pictures of the new "ergo" handles. I host the site but I am not building it. I am building Andy's site, Spark is making logos and so forth so look for his site soon. Here is Andy's new business card and a link to his logo
smile.gif

businesscard.jpg

www.wowinc.com/andy/logo.jpg

Anyway Busse has had many set backs which has held up production. I know you are all tired of hearing this and I agree communication is the key to solving most problems. It is a good rulle of thumb to back up any email with a phone call. If you leave a message, refer to your email so they do not have to respond to both. That gets confusing.

------------------
Best Regards,
Mike Turber
BladeForums Site Owner and Administrator
Do it! Do it right! Do it right NOW!
CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW RIGHT NOW! YOU WILL BE GLAD YOU DID!
www.bladeforums.com/ubb/Forum8/HTML/001202.html
 
Hi guys,

Sorry if you’re having trouble and yes I am aware that this is not the first time that I’ve heard customers remark about the difficulty of getting through to us on the phone. I had hoped that email would alleviate some of these problems but we seem to be operating on the only computer in the world to have suffered a mild case of the Y2K bug. We are rectifying the problem and are being told now that the problem is on our server’s end and not ours. . . still doesn’t help.

As far as our warranty is concerned, I don’t think it is appropriate to try and get something going on an issue that has never been questioned by any customer. . . ever! I am always amused when I hear Johnny-come-lately manufacturers spout about their “lifetime warranty”. How long have they been in business? What is their track record with warranty issues? I’ve been making knives since 1982. We incorporated in 1983. In 18 years of knifemaking I have never had a dissatisfied customer concerning a warranty issue. We cover everything on the knife. Our warranty can be summed up in two words, “For Life!” No fine print, no “workmanship and materials” clause, no “warranty void if you abuse” clause. Perhaps I should correct myself, we do have the “acetylene torch clause” that states that if you intentionally cut your Busse Combat knife into little pieces with an acetylene torch, we are probably not going to be too excited about it, however, if it turns out that some escaped felon attacked you with an acetylene torch. . .well then, of course, we will happily replace the knife.

We do have a problem at Busse Combat. . . Excessive demand! In spite of the fact that we pulled all advertising for the past six months and have a web site that dates back to the Stone Age, the demand has steadily increased. In fact, Busse Combat sales have nearly doubled over last year. We cancelled the SHOT show this year in order to give ourselves a chance to catch up on backorders and slow the flood of incoming orders. Projected delivery dates have been inaccurate in some cases and receiving 200 - 400 phone calls a day has made “keeping up” with return calls rather difficult. We are scrambling to cure these problems.

You will see our salesmen at various shows across the country selling knives that they personally ordered and paid for more than 10–18 months ago. Many other manufacturers have their salesmen set up on consignment where the salesman doesn’t pay for the knives he sells until after they are sold. They have more product than demand. We are in the other boat. . . Way too much demand. All Busse Combat salesmen are set up on pre-pay only.

Note that we are catching up and soon the waiting period will be cut down into single digit weeks (9 is a single digit right?) and not double digit months.

You will ultimately get your knife and life will be good. Our warranty will be there and you will most assuredly want to order another one because of the unbelievable performance.

Thanks for your patience and understanding,
Jerry Busse, Combat Knife Co.
 
Mr. Busse

All the sites that "Sell" your products also backorder them - so getting an email reply isn't helping when you can't get the knife.

Will you back a knife bought second hand? This seems to be the only way to buy a Busse these days and if you warrant it - then it is a viable option.

 
I just wanted to thank Andy and Jerry for acting so fast on my request for info on my order. On Andy's prompting, I left a voicemail message for Jerry, and received a call back the same day from Jerry himself. He apologized for the delayed shipping, and mentioned there was a big military order that had pushed all other knife orders back. My Battle Mistress was supposed to ship on November 29, 1999. I still don't know when I'll get my knife, but at least I know why it hasn't shown up yet. Any additional info would, of course, be appreciated, but not necessary. Thanks guys!

------------------
"They sicken of the calm, who know the storm."
RFrost5746@excite.com or Robert_Frost@risknetworldwide.com

[This message has been edited by rfrost (edited 01-27-2000).]
 
Jerry, good to hear your catching up with the demand. I can only imagine what it must be like to get 200-400 calls a day from people ordering knives, and wanting to know where there knives are. Plus e-mail. I for one have a Battle Mistress on order that is past due. I was able to contact Dave and he told me the knife was finished but we were waiting on the sheaths to get in. I don't mind the wait too much as long as I get a first rate product at the end. Which I am sure I will. Thanks Jeff
 
I'm glad to see that Mr. Busse took the time to answer some questions about our orders. I would still appreciate a response to my question on my particular order. I placed my order back in March of last year, my credit card was charged for $150 and have not had been contacted since. I have tried the voice mail and email to no avail. I wish someone from Busse would respond and give me an approximate date of delivery. I posted a similar post to NoToSharp yesterday, and did not here from Mr. Busse. Must have been the fact that it was my first post. How can someone that ordered their knife way after I did already have a delivery date and I don't? If anyone from Busse does read this post my work number is (956) 984-4920 my home number is (956) 968-2760.
Thanks.

------------------

Marlo A. Reyna
 
Marlo...I've read your posts here and on the other thread.

I'm on it and will escalate your matter to Jerry personally.

Thanks for your patience.




------------------
Andy Prisco, Manager
Sharper Instinct, LLC
Phone: 1-201-493-2469
Orders-Toll Free: 1-877-557-5200
Visa & Mastercard Accepted

Authorized Dealers:
Busse Combat Knives and Big East Traditional Bows

Professional Shooting Svcs: Corporate Training and Stress Mgmt.
 
Andy,
Thanks for your interest in mine and others in my situation. You have been a great help. In fact, Jerry called me yesterday at work and as luck would have it I was in a meeting. He left me a voice mail message that I did not get too until early evening. On my way home I called him on my cell phone and left him another voice mail message. I gave him my cell number and will have the cell phone with me all weekend just in case he calls. I feel alot better just knowing that he took the time to call. I can only speak for myself when I say that I now feel better. I still want a delivery date though. Thanks again Andy and Mr. Busse.

------------------

Marlo A. Reyna
 
Jerry's warranty is for the life of the knife and he doesn't give a rats ass who owns it or owned it. If it says Busse on it, you can bet your ass Jerry will take care of it.

Most of the communication problems with Busse's company started when he released the Basic line. The overwhelming responce was probably a lot more than anticipated. Then the injury to his hand did not help either.

As soon as the backorders get caught up I am sure things will be back to normal.

------------------
Best Regards,
Mike Turber
BladeForums Site Owner and Administrator
Do it! Do it right! Do it right NOW!
CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW RIGHT NOW! YOU WILL BE GLAD YOU DID!
www.bladeforums.com/ubb/Forum8/HTML/001202.html
 
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