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Customer Service Questions....

Marion David Poff

Marion David Poff

Joined
Oct 8, 1998
Messages
5,403
Howdy,

I just want to bounce some ideas around, and see what you all think.

I bought a knife, this knife comes with a sheath made by a party who is not the seller nor the manufacturer of the knife.

The sheath is not to standard.

I contacted the seller, a well-known reputable online and mail order company for resolution of the 'not to standard' sheath. They referred me to the vendor of the sheath.

This is my first issue, I believe that the seller should have contacted the vendor for me, since I bought the knife and sheath as a package from them, and given that I would imagine that they want my future business, they should do everything in their power, including leveraging their buying power against the vendor to gain resolution.

So, I went to the vendor, and asked for resolution, specifically that a replacement be provided, and as fast as possible, allowing for manufacture time and shipping.

The vendor informed me that a replacement would be provided, but as the production schedule allowed, I would need to wait for other commitments to be met before my replacement would be manufactured.

This is my second issue, I beleive that the manufacturer should provide replacement as soon as possible, meaning halting current production.

Now, I will not say who is who, because this is on-going.

What I am hoping is that there is some overwhelming logic that you can impart to me that will help me understand how my expectations are totally out of the question.

Because, as it stands, with the way this has gone, I feel that to continue to do business with either party is absolutely out of the question. Further, I am feeling that I would have to advocate that others not do business with these parties. And that conviction opens a whole can of worms.

Any ideas?
 
I guess my first question is what is meant by "not to standard". Is it defective, or doesnt fit, etc. I guess knowing whats wrong with it is the first step.

If they are a sheath manufacturer, they likely have military contracts which need to be filled. Also if the style of sheath need by you is different than the style they may be making right now, it makes no sense to change tooling over to make one sheath.

Good luck, I hope it gets taken care of -- Charles
 
I don't know about overwhelming logic, but anyway...

The situation you describe occurs very frequently. Think of a computer store, say. If a consumer has a problem with a PC or whatever, he/she will invariably be referred to the manufacturer.

But that isn't how things stand at law. BOTH the manufacturer and the retailer are subject to warranties implied by statute which cannot be excluded. In other words, it is just as much the retailer's problem and the consumer is not under any obligation to deal with the manufacturer. If appropriate in a given situation, the retailer could seek redress from the manufacturer, down the track.

That's just the law however. In a practical sense, it may be far simpler and quicker for the consumer to deal with the manufacturer, even though he/she doesn't have to. That will depend on the circumstances particular to each case.

As for the time frame - well it should be a reasonable one. I don't agree necessarily that a production schedule should be halted. In these circumstances, I'd say that would be about two weeks, a month tops.

How you are disposed after this experience towards the manufacturer and the retailer in the future is really up to you.
 
Originally posted by Marion David Poff
Resolution with the sheath manufacturer has been found.
Click to expand...

Now that there has been a happy ending, care to elaborate on what happened? What was wrong to begin with?
 
The form-fitted sheath rattles.

It was advertised as being fitted for a Tek-Lok, while in fact it is fitted for a mini Tek Lok.

The fitting thing is pretty small, and the retention is functional if not optimal.

Now, if you are looking at these issues from a triage standpoint, they are minor. As in, was there a knife in the box?

But, if you consider it from a customer service/satisfaction standpoint, it becomes non-trivial.

I look forward to many more transactions with the sheath maker.

The seller and I are still up in the air.

I will post the full details, once the story is complete, I hope to have good things to say about all parties. The seller has good prices, and a pleasant staff, I hope to resolve this to my satisfaction.
 
So in the end the seller wouldn't help you, but the sheath maker did? May I ask was the seller a dealer, maker, or an individual?
 
Seller is a dealer, internet and mail-order sales, been around awhile.

But honestly Steven, I still hope to get resolution, I will be calling the owner tomorrow or so.
 
Hey Guys...

Hey MDP...

I find myself interested in remarking on a few things...

Using one of my dealers as an example, I would expect that the dealer would contact me promptly on a matter such as this. These types of issues I would prefer to handle personally, because a dealer may or may not know the ins and outs of a sheath. I would expect the dealer to put me in touch with the person.

Setting aside the issues of the client/dealer for a minute, as they at this point don't directly effect me, and getting on with the business of the sheath...

In a case like this I would (If possible) replace the sheath at my cost,, Unless the sheath had been modified and or tampered with. I would probably want the sheath returned for inspection (Not because of possible tampering, more of What went wrong).

A replacement like this would go out as soon as possible,even before the original sheath was returned, Time and workload permitting.

Now MDP.. I'll assume that the sheath you are referring to is a synthetic material, and not leather (rattle is more associated with synthetics than leather).

What may be rattle to you, may be a decent fit to a sheath maker. Depending on how much of a rattle is present.Some knives will have it,others won't.

One thing you have to remember is that you sometimes Can't have your cake and eat it too. Some knives will have a rattle , No matter what you do with them. Believe me,, I've sheathed a lot of knives, and some knives just aren't set up to be sheathed in synthetics... If the knife is "Concealex Friendly" you will have a nice smooth fit,draws and lockup are brisk and rock solid..

Other knives, as nice as they are to look at, are things that make sheath makers like myself go screaming into the night...

So a little rattle, may be whats preventing your nice shiny new blade from becoming scratched to $hit.

The more I set up a sheath to prevent scratching, the more it rattles.Theres no two ways around it.

I'm glad you got things worked out with the sheath maker, now get things ironed out with the dealer.. :)

I hope that helps you to understand things a little more from our point of view.It's a Very fine balancing act sometimes.
Good luck..

Eric...
 
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