Darrel Ralph customer service

[Los Angeles]

I recieved my knifein April 2012, and have deleted my initial post.

 

[Darrel Ralph]

Mr. Bell,
First, we appreciate your wanting to get your knife repaired.
Please understand that we have different versions of the knife as we evolve the builds.
You just happen to have one of THOSE PARTS that we don’t have on the shelf.
We always complete warranted repairs on our products as fast as we can.
That being said, we will break down a set up that is running other parts currently to build your spring.

For your trouble, we are sending you a HTM Titanium Dirk Pinkerton Neck Knife.
We sincerely apologize for delay.
Thanks for your cooperation.

We will be in touch very soon.

Darrel Ralph

 

[Los Angeles]

Thank you, Mr. Ralph.

I want you to know that this is not about the ease or difficulty of replacing a part. This is about the ease or difficulty of sending an occasional email.

When your company recieves a knife worth the prices you charge for your knives, a simple email notification saying that you recieved it and will inspect it soon goes a long way towards customer satisfaction.

After inspection, when you promise that a project will be complete in 4 weeks, and it is not finished in 4 weeks, once again sending a note saying that you are sorry for not meeting the original estimate and giving a new estimate will go a long way towards customer satisfaction.


I've waited over a year for a custom build. Some makers have waits much longer than that. The makers that keep happy customers are the ones that keep track (perhaps a spreadsheet) of ongoing repairs - complete with a calendar of customer expectations - and keep the communication lines open and active.

 

[Darrel Ralph]

Hi Mr. Bell,

We are sending you a HTM Titanium Dirk Pinkerton Neck Knife today. The tracking number is 9405510200828341744614.

Again, we apologize for the delay on your Madd Maxx repair and will notify you with the tracking number when repairs are complete.

We generally get most repairs out fast. This one just caught us off guard.

You will receive an email with the tracking number when the knife is done.

Thank you.

Lisa

The new MM Alpha

 

[Darrel Ralph]

MM Alpha

 

[Leadfoot2]

Am I the only one who thinks it's tacky to advertize a new knife in a thread, where a customer had to publicly post his months old lack of customer service to get satisfaction?

Leadfoot

 

[wolfmann601]

I am glad this worked out. I have always found DDR to be very responsive and a quick communicator. But Sh*t happens and its the outcome that makes the entire issue good or bad nd communication is the key.........................

 

[jujigatame]

Am I the only one who thinks it's tacky to advertize a new knife in a thread, where a customer had to publicly post his months old lack of customer service to get satisfaction?

Leadfoot

Personally I think it goes past tacky and is headed towards insulting. Probably best suited for discussion in a separate thread though since the OP here seems to be on track to getting his issue resolved.

 

[redhat6161]

Lisa

The new MM Alpha

What the heck was this about? Pretty cool looking knife but announcing it here seems a bit odd....

 

[harkamus]

I'll try to find out the status of things tomorrow. I'll give him a call. Wish I would have known about your warranty issue sooner.

 

[Skimo]

Free advertisement isn't always good advertisement, this is proof. I have just lost a good deal of interest in DDR.

 

[Los Angeles]

In private email exchanges, I have promised to edit my original post if any of my facts are incorrect and also promised to remove my initial post entirely upon receipt of my original knife.

My 1,000 post on Bladeforums is fast approaching, and that means I will follow forum tradition for a giveaway. I'm going to flip a coin between the necker they have very generously offered as a consolation for the delay and a few others I have laying around. I hope that sharing this DDR/HTM necker with the community in this way might bring positive things to the community and to DDR. I hope that might make up for the negative result of making this grievance public.

I want to extend my thanks to both Darrel and Lisa for tending to this matter.

Sincerely,

Kent

 

[Skimo]

I respect that it's your decision, however that doesn't change DDR taking their time (actually your time) with a hardly veiled complaint about having to stop their other previously more important work of fabrication of new knives. Then bombing your frank review with advertisement.

If there's something I'm missing here, I'd like to know...

We always complete warranted repairs on our products as fast as we can.
That being said, we will break down a set up that is running other parts currently to build your spring.


Darrel Ralph

May I ask exactly why the setup wasn't broken down previously?

 

[Los Angeles]

It was never my intention to be a nuisance and it certainly was not my intention to cause a delay in the manufacturing schedule.

The idea that other customers will be delayed because of my need for a repair is kind of a bummer. I just want my knife back. It was expensive for my budget, and I really liked it.

I don't mind the posting of the pictures even though the photos seem less than relevant to the issue at hand. Maybe a photo of the necker they are sending me would have been perfectly appropriate and on topic?

 

[sloth357]

Hi- I had a "problem knife" that I was sent back from a buyer and then I sent to DDR. First off, I too was told things are going to take a while, and if I wanted new scales (for the buyer) it might be a couple months due to other orders. So I asked for the knife to just be fixed, nothing more.

Lisa was a pleasure to talk to on the phone and email was prompt and often... Perhaps they liked me

Anyway, I too am patient, however I made sure they knew I was serious about getting things done. I didn't bomb their emails, but I did email with notes explaining I wanted communication open and to be updated regularly or I would contact for updates.

All went well, knife was fixed and it all happened within a reasonable time frame.

GL on your experience with DDR and hope the knife kicks arse ;]

 

[Skimo]

It would have been more on topic, yes.

Sometimes you have to be a nuisance, I don't think this would have been resolved half so quickly without the use of the internet.

 

[sheathmaker]

Los Angeles, I don't think you have a thing to be apologetic or to feel bad about. I believe it is incumbent upon a business or a businessman to have the wherewithal to satisfy any and all authorized repairs in a VERY timely manner. Not having the part on the shelf is not your fault, it is his fault and if they had to interrupt a line making other parts, then so be it.

I seldom have returns and/or repairs but when I do they go to the front of the line and are shipped back out within 24 hours of receipt, and that's a verifiable fact. (Just ask my customers). Oh, and by the way, 99% of my production is specific custom, so I NEVER have the replacement "parts" on hand, they have to be made also. I feel a real obligation to actually satisfy the customer at the beginning, middle and end.

I hope you end up totally satisfied, but to repeat, you have nothing to apologize for and certainly should not feel you need to remove the initial post.

Paul

 

[Esav Benyamin]

Los Angeles, I don't think you have a thing to be apologetic or to feel bad about. I believe it is incumbent upon a business or a businessman to have the wherewithal to satisfy any and all authorized repairs in a VERY timely manner. Not having the part on the shelf is not your fault, it is his fault and if they had to interrupt a line making other parts, then so be it.

I seldom have returns and/or repairs but when I do they go to the front of the line and are shipped back out within 24 hours of receipt, and that's a verifiable fact. (Just ask my customers). Oh, and by the way, 99% of my production is specific custom, so I NEVER have the replacement "parts" on hand, they have to be made also. I feel a real obligation to actually satisfy the customer at the beginning, middle and end.

I hope you end up totally satisfied, but to repeat, you have nothing to apologize for and certainly should not feel you need to remove the initial post.

Paul

Agree 100%.

 

[IamMatt]

For me, the key takeaway from this thread is the importance of communication. I think the OP would have been more satisfied with DDR's service if they had told him it would take a year and they finished it in 9 months, than if they had promised it in 2 weeks but they sent it in 4 with no other communication. As he said, it's not so much about the time itself, its about the repeated extending of deadlines and lack of communication, which feels to us like lack of respect.

I had an appointment for a teeth cleaning Tuesday at 8am. At 7am, the dentist called me to say that his hygienist had just called in with a back problem and could not do the cleaning today. He was very apologetic for my inconvenience and said his receptionist would call me later to reschedule. She called later that morning and was very apologetic for my inconvenience, and we found an opening on Wednesday. When I went in yesterday for the appointment, the dental assistant was very apologetic for my inconvenience, and set me up for the cleaning. The hygienist was still out, so the dentist himself did the cleaning, after again apologizing for my inconvenience.

I was inconvenienced, but notice that everybody I talked to was solicitous toward me, and they got me in ASAP even though it meant the dentist himself had to do the cleaning. I was very pleased, and had absolutely no hard feelings about missing my first appointment because they showed me that they thought I was important to them. That communication made all the difference.

This is a good lesson for all of us. So many of these GBU threads seem to revolve around one party not being communicative, or communicating in a very one-sided manner that shows no respect for the other party's point of view. Much anguish could be saved with better, more thoughtful communication.

I know BF members who, when they ship a knife, email a scan of the post office documents to the buyer as soon as they get back from the PO. And buyers who email a scan of the money order they just sent to the seller. Or they send their phone numbers, so the other party has a way to reach them immediately if necessary. These are just things that make the other person feel valued and respected, and take away the feelings of concern or hesitation about deals.

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

 

[Skimo]

I'm glad I'm not standing alone in this thread, sheathmaker summed up what I would call exceptional service.