Has Paul Chen been taking Uncle Bill Lessons?

[jmings]

SFI Scary Katana Pics Thread
To make a long story short, a man bought a $189 sword from Cheness (a different Paul Chen than the more famous one) and it snapped at the sholder of the tang. No one was hurt, but it could have so easly been another sword fatality.
Here is Paul Chen's reply

Thank you for your support Eugene... and thank you for your patience Anousack.

I have already found the cause of the problem and have confirmed that it is indeed an isolated incident. I have also taken measure to make sure that this will not happen again.

As soon as the day started in China, I contacted the forge. A few questions later, they were able to identify themselves that a finished Onibasu was damaged at the nakago during assembly, and the assembler tried to salvage the damaged blade by welding it without letting the manager know about this. The reason I received was that the individual did not want to waste a finished blade... Needless to say that I severly reprimanded the manager who will be issuing a warning and imposing a penalty to the worker. Additionally, there will be a new policy which severly penalize both the forge and the individual workers for any future deviations from the production procedure.

I will also take another trip to China in a couple of months to reinforce the concept of maintaining production standards for reasons of safety to the individual workers as well as the manager and to let them know that I take this very seriously. (not to mention that I need to go there to address issues with quality of the ito and tsuka ho).

Again, my sincere apology to Anousack and everyone about the regrettable incident and I am deeply embarassed.

As for the damaged sword, I will immediately refund the full cost of purchase and shipping and return shipping to Anousack within the next few minutes... plus I will send out a free replacement Onibasu when the new production arrives in late May as a token of my apology.

This problem would have been easily caught if the tsuka was removed for a visual inspection before the sword is used... as the weld marks would have been blatant... I know this is no excuse for the singular incident, but I would still like to use this opportunity to urge for a full inspection before using any production blades. Please don't be hesitant to disassemble my swords prior to use... even if it is difficult to do so or you think you may damage the mekugi or tsuba/tsuka/seppa during the process. I will gladly send out replacement parts to anyone who damages these components during the disassembly/assembly of the inspection process.

Again, my sincerest apologies... Please feel free to post/pm/email/call me directly if anyone should have any questions or issues with this.

__________________
Paul Chen
Of Cheness Cutlery (not Hanwei)

 

[JimmyJimenez]

Hopefully this does not become a problem that happens again. He has been building a nice reputation with his swords, and I'm sure that if careless employees in China start making it a habit of cutting such corners, it could ruin the perfect start he has had. He offers them in many different steels, including the tough (very resilient) 9260 steel in both differentially heat treated and through hardened blade styles. His most durable/usable models are made of monosteel (a single steel). All of his swords are known for good hand forging, hand finishing, and heat treatment.

Though he offers damascus, differentially heat treated swords, etc, his through hardened mono steel versions are his toughest versions (but not his most traditional in manuafacturing methods).

 

[Skyler R.]

When I first saw his post about that sword over at SFI I thought of HI. I hope his company continues to grow, and based on his morals I think that it will.

 

[jmings]

When I first saw his post about that sword over at SFI I thought of HI. I hope his company continues to grow, and based on his morals I think that it will.

Well said, Skyler.

 

[Bill Marsh]

Well said apology!

I have found a three step apology works well when a customer has a problem and the quicker the follwoing is said, the better.

1. Apologise -- ASAP "I am sorry." Goes a long way.

2. What can I do to make you happy? Usually # 1 is enough. Be aware that they may ask you to do something that you just can't do, but I have found that usually they will ask for less than you imagine IF you apologise quickly.

3. Make sure that they know you are implementing procedures so it will not happen again to someone else. This stops the "avenging angel" mode.

Paul Chen did a marvelous job of this, however I would have asked "What can I do to make you happy?" Before sending a refund and a new sword. Gives the customer a chance to be part of the process. The refund and sword. Nice Gesture!

I am very pleased that this manufaturer takes such a stand. Very powerful. I predict that he will go far.

 

[Steely_Gunz]

Well said apology!

I have found a three step apology works well when a customer has a problem and the quicker the follwoing is said, the better.

1. Apologise -- ASAP "I am sorry." Goes a long way.

2. What can I do to make you happy? Usually # 1 is enough. Be aware that they may ask you to do something that you just can't do, but I have found that usually they will ask for less than you imagine IF you apologise quickly.

3. Make sure that they know you are implementing procedures so it will not happen again to someone else. This stops the "avenging angel" mode.

Paul Chen did a marvelous job of this, however I would have asked "What can I do to make you happy?" Before sending a refund and a new sword. Gives the customer a chance to be part of the process. The refund and sword. Nice Gesture!

I am very pleased that this manufaturer takes such a stand. Very powerful. I predict that he will go far.

Bill, I'm printing that out and hanging it up for my employees to see it. This is how i handle my customers, and this is EXACTLY as they should be handled when I'm not the one taking the call. thanks

Jake

 

[jmings]

Well said apology!

I have found a three step apology works well when a customer has a problem and the quicker the follwoing is said, the better.

1. Apologise -- ASAP "I am sorry." Goes a long way.

2. What can I do to make you happy? Usually # 1 is enough. Be aware that they may ask you to do something that you just can't do, but I have found that usually they will ask for less than you imagine IF you apologise quickly.

3. Make sure that they know you are implementing procedures so it will not happen again to someone else. This stops the "avenging angel" mode.

Paul Chen did a marvelous job of this, however I would have asked "What can I do to make you happy?" Before sending a refund and a new sword. Gives the customer a chance to be part of the process. The refund and sword. Nice Gesture!

I am very pleased that this manufaturer takes such a stand. Very powerful. I predict that he will go far.

Bravo, Bill.

I am reminded about a couple of points:

When they escalate their complaint they're not complaning about the product. They're complaining about you.

Most malpractice suits are really about the doctor's attitude. An admission and apology could head off a lot of these.
...
The worst doctors get suied the least because they've built their practice on their personality and bedside manner.

 

[Kismet]

As marvelous as Bill M. was, and H.I. is, there are a lot,the majority I think, of knifemakers and vendors of knives/swords who are people of great integrity and honor.

It is nice to see public validation of Paul, but for whatever reason, most of the reports I've seen show the same respect for the customer, and for the product as reported here. It may be that honorable people are drawn to the honesty of steel.