Emerson Customer Service

Lou Castle said:
Perhaps my tone has changed. I must admit that I'm human and sometimes respond in kind when treated poorly. It appeared to me, based on his replies that the "friendly advice" from stabman was anything but friendly. I did not reply in the same tone as the unfriendly one that I perceived, rather I simply asked, "And can anyone tell me why some people think they can give others orders on the Net?" Stabman replied with name calling. If you think it's "pissy" to reply to such rudeness with sarcasm, I wonder how you'd characterize the name calling? Interesting that you made no such comment to anyone else who engaged in rude behavior in the thread!



It seems that you missed the part where I wrote, "I've found that some knife makers don't want any money up−front for a custom, some want a deposit and some want it fully paid up−front." Back then Mr. Emerson said that he wanted to be paid up front and so I agreed. That's not "bad on" anyone. It's a simple business agreement. In fact it's the way that business is USUALLY DONE! Does Amazon ship you a book BEFORE you pay for it? Does Ralph's let you carry the groceries out to your car BEFORE you pay for them? If you ordered a production knife from Emerson Specwar Knives, Inc. today, would they ship it BEFORE you paid for it? The only difference with this order was the time that was to have elapsed between first payment and delivery. In fact, the way that I worked out the payments, it was paid−in−full at exactly the time that Mr. Emerson told me that it would be ready.



Had Mr. Emerson simply explained what was going on with the development of his new business I might still be waiting and happy to do so. The main issue were the lack of responses to my phone calls and the constant run−around I got from his employees and Mr. Emerson as well. At one point the man looked me right in the eye and lied to me! That seems to be OK with you. My standards are somewhat different.



No, you're wrong, he didn't reply. Not until I threatened legal action via certified mail. And then there was no explanation, only a refund of the money that I'd sent him. It seems that you've missed quite a bit here.



I don't know about "sav[ing]" anyone. People have been told of one incident. As expected some fan boys have jumped on their usual wagon. Some folks have said that they'd prefer not to do business with someone who treats a customer as he treated me. Everyone has more information than they did before, some are pissed off, some are happy they've received the information and some have been entertained by the silliness of some posts.



I took it as one. All that it would have taken to change my mind was an explanation of how it was intended. That didn't come until a few more exchanges.

But NDJeep, I've read my responses to stabman a few times now and still can't find what you refer to as "the name−calling in return." Can you please show me where I've called him any names?



I knew when I started out that I'd get varied responses from people. I really don't care that you are "done caring about my plight." But thanks for contributing; it resulted allowed me to clear up a few of your misconceptions and some things that you'd gotten dead wrong.

As far as "let[ing] it go" ... I'm over the ill feelings I used to harbor towards Mr. Emerson. (I’m sure he's greatly relieved. lol) But I'll never forget how I was treated. I doubt that anyone else would either. You and some others have taken time out of your busy schedules (I'm guessing here) to read this thread and then to write your thoughts about the incident, my response to it, some responses to my responses (and so on). The least I can do is correct your errors and mistaken beliefs by responding to your posts.
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Wow. That's alot of words, Lou. LOL:D

You can keep on a 'postin'' and es'plainin' if ya want....but I think we get it.
 
Lou,

I do feel for ya over your regrettable incident. I'm not trying to minimize its significance as board worthy info. No one's denying that you had a right to inform.

I do think it's been hashed and re-hashed to near its end....hopefully.

Have a good holiday season.:thumbup:
 
Lou,

I am not posting this to stir the pot, I am only curios to know the answer to
two questions, if you wouldn't mind.

Who's idea was it for you to pay up front? You or Mr. Emersons?

Did you pay at at once, or did you send in payments over many weeks?

I don't want to get in the middle of this poo storm, I am just curious.

Best wishes. :)
 
rjd said:
Lou,

I am not posting this to stir the pot, I am only curios to know the answer to
two questions, if you wouldn't mind.

Who's idea was it for you to pay up front? You or Mr. Emersons?

Did you pay at at once, or did you send in payments over many weeks?

I don't want to get in the middle of this poo storm, I am just curious.

Best wishes. :)
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Read the beginning of the thread to find out that info. Why should he have to rehash it because you are too lazy to read the earlier posts?
 
NDJeep said:
Wow. That's alot of words, Lou. LOL
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Yeah, I know that brevity has never been my strong suit. Luckily for me, I've not exceeded my quota.

NDJeep said:
You can keep on a 'postin'' and es'plainin' if ya want....but I think we get it.
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First, thanks for the OK to keep on. Second, fact is some do and some don't get it. In fact you fall into the latter group on one point that you mentioned in an earlier post. Luckily I was here to correct you.
 
NDJeep said:
Lou,

I do feel for ya over your regrettable incident. I'm not trying to minimize its significance as board worthy info. No one's denying that you had a right to inform.
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Thanks for this.

NDJeep said:
I do think it's been hashed and re-hashed to near its end....hopefully.
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I've been on your side of issues like this one before, as an observer from the sidelines. I've felt many times that discussions have run their course, only for something new to crop up and refresh the thread. It's already happened with this thread a couple of times. I don't know if it will happen again or if we're done. Please notice that several times, when there's another sparring match like the ones that we've had and a couple of others, some new people chime in. Sometimes with support for me, sometimes with "Enough already" and sometimes disagreeing with me.

If I think that a thread had outlived its usefulness that means "only as far as I'm concerned." If I've lost interest in a thread, if I'm tired of it, if I'm hating it, or if I think it's a waste of my time; then I simply stop reading it. Often some are interested in continuing and I'd never inflict my feelings on them. It's not like it's stopping the rest of the world from spinning on. If the OP, or anyone else is still interested in discussing it, who am I to say when their conversation is over?

NDJeep said:
Have a good holiday season.
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Thanks. And to you.
 
stabman said:
At first, I was supportive of Lou's position.
However, after seeing the way in which he became exceptionally rude and pissy over friendly advice, I can only imagine the things he e-mailed to Emerson which we are not being shown.
I'm certain they were not pleasant though, given the way in which he has interacted with people in this thread.
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Ok, even if what you said is true (and I bet its not considering the very tame email the OP posted) thats not an excuse for Emersons behavior. You can't just keep someones money for years because they hurt your feelings.

Some people have a lot of growing up to do. This kind of thing happens far too often, in both the production and custom world and cannot be rationalized by saying someone was rude so it's ok to break a contract.

That being said, Emerson has had his name smeared well enough IMO, lots of people have scene this thread and it should be moved to feedback and closed. The money emerson should have paid you in interest is dwarfed by a the loss of sales from members and lurkers who will not support such a practice. In a situation like this nobody wins, but Emerson has certainly lost more.
 
imho the deposit was wanted because it was a leftie, he doesnt make a lot of them, but thats my opinion only.

i was on the waiting list at one time, i tried to pay some $$ up front to speed up the process and they refused to accept it, this was ~ '00 or '01, IIRC. i wanted just a std '6 though, RH.

must say it sounds like it sucked, once ya take someones $$ it changes the whole thing, then imho it outta be fast tracked/delivered as promised, i waited a long time too but since i didnt have any $$ in it i felt didnt have a legit bitch and still dont feel any regrets/etc.

FWIW & its been said dozens (if not hundreds) of times dont pay up front for customs, not in full, a small deposit (ie 10% or maybe 20% tops) to show your intentions are serious is ok IF ya want something special/outta the ordinary (ie gold or diamonds, damascus, ivory, etc) but other than that dont do it, i've bought a lotta customs & no one has ever asked me to anyway (well no one legit lol), if the do ask it throws up a big red flag to me & i simply wont do it, even if i really want something, i will find something else to want lol.
 
mat_890 said:
The money emerson should have paid you in interest is dwarfed by a the loss of sales from members and lurkers who will not support such a practice. In a situation like this nobody wins, but Emerson has certainly lost more.
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Personally, I was looking through the Emerson forum because I was interested in buying a Commander (to start with) and now I will not be (nor will any of my Martial Arts students). I'm sure Emerson Knives are excellent quality, but on principle I'd rather not give my money to someone with such poor business practices and lack of regard for their customers.

Instead the money I was going to spend on a Commander will now go to some stand up guys who seem to go that extra mile for their customers, like Jeff Randall and Mike Perrin or Ethan Becker.
 
Thank you to the couple of guys saying they will vote with their $ and not buy Emerson. All I can think is good more for us good guys :) Most runs sell out so quickly I am all for anyone on the fence abstaining. Those of us who love Emerson knives and all the Emerson family stands for will keep buying and buying all we can get our hands on.
Merry Chrismas to all and let me wish you (those who know quality and respect a great American like Ernest Emerson) a Emerson box under your tree.
 
I was seriously considering buying a Gentleman Jim, But now rethinking it.
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That refusal will have a staggering effect on Emerson sales for a whopping second or two, until someone else snaps that knife up.

Personally, I was looking through the Emerson forum because I was interested in buying a Commander (to start with) and now I will not be (nor will any of my Martial Arts students).
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Another painful dent in sales.

Not.
 
skorpyd said:
I was seriously considering buying a Gentleman Jim, But now rethinking it.
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I bought a GJ straight from the Emerson website. Everything went ultra smooth.

I for one will not boycot a good product, like Emerson knives are, because of the (awful) experience of one person. I am sure that if your policy would be applied to all companies that have ever had an unsatisfied client, you probably wouldn't purchase anything from anyone anymore.

Perfection is NOT of this world.
 
SIFU1A said:
imho the deposit was wanted because it was a leftie, he doesnt make a lot of them, but thats my opinion only.

i was on the waiting list at one time, i tried to pay some $$ up front to speed up the process and they refused to accept it, this was ~ '00 or '01, IIRC. i wanted just a std '6 though, RH.

must say it sounds like it sucked, once ya take someones $$ it changes the whole thing, then imho it outta be fast tracked/delivered as promised, i waited a long time too but since i didnt have any $$ in it i felt didnt have a legit bitch and still dont feel any regrets/etc.

FWIW & its been said dozens (if not hundreds) of times dont pay up front for customs, not in full, a small deposit (ie 10% or maybe 20% tops) to show your intentions are serious is ok IF ya want something special/outta the ordinary (ie gold or diamonds, damascus, ivory, etc) but other than that dont do it, i've bought a lotta customs & no one has ever asked me to anyway (well no one legit lol), if the do ask it throws up a big red flag to me & i simply wont do it, even if i really want something, i will find something else to want lol.
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I read on the greener forum that back in the early days, a 10% deposit was mandatory for all Emerson customs.
 
Sorry for your negative experience with EKI. I haven't had a negative experience with them. Then again, my Emerson's have never failed me. As I consider where to spend/invest my assets, I consider performance of the product based on my personal experience. Of course, I read reviews which lead me to "try" or personally evaluate a particular brand. However, after I carry or use a brand, I formulate and build a reputation with the manufacturer. I won't hesitate to carry or purchase another Emerson. From my experience, they just work. I realize the OP put his cash down on a custom that never materialized. I've never had that experience with any manufacturer. However, if the manufacturer reneged on a deal then returned the invested dollars-I'm wouldn't be looking for the return of the utility of the lost purchasing power over the years. I mean trying to calculate the lost opportunity cost over a specified period of time-not worth my time. For those who are arguing from "it's the principal"-not worth my time.
 
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