Shame on me for replying of Christmas, but I needed to say something to enjoy the day. I offer a no questions asked money back guarantee on all my knives under one condition -- you send the knife back. That's all that needed to happen here. From my experience this is the guiding rule for custom makes. I would have given a full refund instantly, adjusted the knives, SENT THEM NEW ONES ... basically whatever that was needed to make sure the customer was 100% satisfied. If I do not get the knives back there is not much I can do besides thank them for their feedback, which is exactly what I did.
I am surprised this "unconditional warranty" is after-the-fact, and was never reflected in your emails. Not a single email from you even remotely hinted that we could send the knives back to you and get them fixed. Only when I realized you never mentioned it, I asked for a refund. Sorry - I am not a mind reader to automagically know a maker's policy. I feel the maker is in a position to offer a suggestion for addressing the issue, which was never made.
This continued emails from this customer never dealt with the core issue and only confused me - I never got my knives back. Did I mention the customer's friends, who apparently hate the knives, call them "The Wasp"?
My friends decided to make peace with the knife (not the maker), and named the knife (this was told to you in the very first email that my friend sent about poor fit and finish). And it has nothing to do with the current discussion.
The decision to ship them to India was not my decision and the fact they were sent to India tells you everything you need to know about this story.
Again, this whole thing is suspicious to say the least. I will never know what happened, but I can assure everyone that Quest Knives loves their customers and would do anything for them. And I DO STAND BEHIND THE QUALITY OF MY PRODUCT and I will focus on my happy customers and not this customer. Please, please please do not use this example as to what you can expect from me.
My only last request from this customer is to not quote me falsely as they did in their recent post. If you want to pull quotes from my emails, it is a free country, but I noticed you putting words in my mouth and creating your own quotes. We don't do that here and I do not appreciate it.
Merry Christmas.
Please be clear, and let me know what false words did I put in your mouth. I have been ample open and honest about what I felt, and you are not offering anything that goes towards building my confidence in you, apart from repeatedly calling me a liar (and also probably what may be called a racist remark). Hence, I am posting all our communication out in the open...
Here is an email that I sent you upon receipt of the knives (including the photo I sent). This was before I shipped the knives to India.
Hi,
Glad you liked the grip and I appreciate the feedback on the finish.* I will keep that in mind for the future.*
Thank you for your business,
Greg
On Nov 21, 2013 8:46 AM, "Amarendra Godbole" <xxx> wrote:
Hi Greg,
I received the knives yesterday and they have a fantastic grip for the size.
Wanted to share an observation - edged on all three have burrs or slight *dings - they aren't very smooth. You may want to correct this for other knives you make... Attached is a photo - towards the base, center and tip you can see some non-uniformity.
Thanks!
-ag
--
sent via 100% recycled electrons from my mobile command center.
I then sent these knives to India, but did share this observation with you upon receipt of the knives. At this point, I did not find it necessary returning the knives back to you though I made the blade condition clear.
When my friend received the knife, he sent you a separate email:
-------- Original message --------
From: Greg <xxx>
Date:
To: Xerxes <xxx>
Subject: Re: [www.questknives.com] quest small skinner
Thx for your feedback.
I will continue to build custom knives the best my hands can achieve.
Happy Holidays!!!
Sincerely
Greg Goeckel
www.questknives.com
> On Dec 12, 2013, at 2:59 AM, Xerxes<xxx> wrote:
>
> dear Sir,
> four of us friends, one in the US and three of us in India, bought the quest small skinner. we are very happy with the ergonimics of this little knife and we had christened it the Wasp.
> however when the package came we were more than disappointed at the fit and finish of the knives. two specific complaints.
> 1. the factory edge is really terrible, in fact it is chipped and uneven.
> 2. the powder coating on the back of the knife near the thumb jimping is badly cracked and peeling.
> if you send me an email id, I would happily send you photos of these complaints.
> we are in India and the cost of getting it here is huge and so we are particularly disappointed.
> you may want to ensure that you do not ruin the ergonomics of a wonderful knife with such a poor finish.
> regards
> Xerxes
You did not mention anywhere about your return policy. And we were not interested in returns anyways. What we did not see if your offer to help fix the issues. Here is the exchange we had...
From: Amarendra Godbole <xxx>
To: Greg <xxx>
Subject: Re: Chipped edge on the small knives!
Date: Sat, 14 Dec 2013 07:50:37 -0800
Hello Greg,
Thanks for your reply.
1. The chips were not present when you sent me the knives, though the edge was not strictly up to my standards of evenness. So returning it then was out of question. However they were there when the knives reached India. Considering there was no postal damage (we have confirmed that), the only reason I can think of was incorrect bevel leading to weak edge strength, that was damaged due to the snug/tight fitting sheath.
2. I personally consider "Best of abilities" a lame excuse to cover for poor work, as well as non existent customer service. I gave you benefit of doubt since you are new, but you bluntly told me that you don't care about your customers nor stand behind your products.
3. Your cost is not a factor in the decision to making things right - I never argued about your cost, and actually you gave me no discount for 3 knives, when you could easily have (doing the math, see below).
Let's see - the same knife was being sold at $50 on bladeforums, including shipping and PayPal fees. Now I purchased 3, so you could have easily discounted a few more bucks (and remember that's what I had asked for) since you combined shipping. You made it sound as if you are giving me discount by PayPal fees (fees are sellers responsibility), and free shipping. I was fine with that, and paid you in full (typically only half is paid out if knives are not ready).
So how much it cost you makes no difference - I could have easily accepted your $65 price as well had there been a guarantee that you'd stand behind your product. You never did kind service, you are new and discounted knives just list any new business does. Don't make it sound something it is not.
4. Let's not even go to argument about who hassled whom considering your and my time is equally important.
Anyways, I am taking my business elsewhere. At this point, I am burnt by a poor quality product, and lost trust my friends had for me. For the record you did not even offer resharpenin (assuming I can get those knives here again somehow). Shows me how much you really care for your customers.
And yes, this will go to the bladeforums feedback forum. I will send you the link so you can respond. This way the knife community can make an informed choice and you can respond as well.
Thank you.
-Amarendra
--
sent via 100% recycled electrons from my mobile command center.
> On Dec 14, 2013, at 6:02 AM, "Greg" <xxx> wrote:
>
> Hello
> I'm not refunding any money. If you weren't happy with knives you should have sent them back before they were shipped to India. The knives were hand sharpened to my best abilities.
>
> Additional for your information the total material cost for knife steel, belts, cutting tools, powder coat paint, and heatreat is $65. (not counting my labor)
>
> So selling the knives to you and your friends I personally lost $15 per knife. Not including my time and hassles from you and your group.
> I was doing a kind service by giving knife enthusiasts a special price.
>
> Happy holidays.
>
> Sincerely
> Greg Goeckel
> www.questknives.com
>
>
>> On Dec 13, 2013, at 9:00 PM, Amarendra Godbole <xxx> wrote:
>>
>> Hi Greg,
>>
>> The knives I sent to India have badly chipped edges and peeling finish, when they reached. The package was intact and each knife was carefully bubble wrapped in its sheath, so it does not look like postal damage (but edges should not chip anyways).
>>
>> I am disappointed a bit - since my friends trust my instincts for knives and $50 is a lot of money when converted to Indian Rupee (each was Rs. 4000, after adding shipping).
>>
>> I have no idea what could have happened, so I leave it to you to let me know. Attached are the photos of the chipped edge, and last photo has the peeling paint.
>>
>> Additionally, I would request you to partially refund the amount, as the tool failed on the primary function it was designed to handle, so I can refund those charges back to them. Sharpening tools are not easy to come by in India, and as of now only one edge has been restored. I know you will improve, and I would have sent the knives back if I could have - but we can't do that as getting them from India is not economically viable.
>>
>> Thanks, and happy holidays.
>>
>> -Amarendra
>>
>> --
>> sent via 100% recycled electrons from my mobile command center.
And the last email where I notified you of this feedback:
From: Amarendra Godbole <xxx>
To: Greg <xxx>
Subject: Re: Chipped edge on the small knives!
Date: Mon, 16 Dec 2013 10:51:25 -0800
user-agent: Microsoft-MacOutlook/14.3.9.131030
Mr. Goeckel, I have posted my feedback on blade forums, since you conduct
business there. The link is
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1136051-Greg-Goeckel-of-Qu
est-Knives-won-t-stand-behind-his-product! You may want to respond, and
let people know your side of the story. Thank you, and good luck!
-Amarendra
All in all, we never received an offer to have any issue fixed/addressed. And calling me a liar and making a racist remark (yes, that's how I interpret it) isn't helping you either. Thanks bladeforums for helping me vent my anger, and good luck to the maker.
