How important is customer service?

I've said it a hundred times on this forum, so here's one hundred and one....

Who we choose to support in this hobby is just as important as the knives themselves. Perhaps more.

When you choose to support immoral and unethical makers and manufacturers, you do everyone who enjoys this hobby a dis-service. And usually, poor customer service goes hand-in-hand with immoral and unethical.

I am not going to list my beefs with certain individuals again in this thread. Those that know me, know exactly who I am speaking of.

As for great customer service, I have 40+ years of stories and I can't begin to list the makers or manufacturers that have been A+ class acts in my dealings with them. The list would be far too long, and I would risk forgetting some of them.
 
Last edited:
Depends on what kind of customer service interaction you're referring to. I have sent knives back to only 3 companies. Benchmade, Spyderco and Emerson. All 3 have been A+ in my book. If ypu are referring to offering replacement parts then ZT/Kershaw have been the hands down best for me. No questions asked just ship free clips, screws and even a complete hardware kit.

To answer the original question there is only one company I have tried and will never buy again. That is because the 2 models of folders literally fell apart in my hand while using. Caused a considerable amount of pain and inconvenience. All other companies I will try at least once as long as they are reputable and ethical.
 
Yeah, but mostly only for higher end stuff. For example:

Had a hinderer half track. Contacted the ranch about getting new screws since a body screw fell out during use and I didnt notice it. I was pretty bummed already that a new half track would have it’s body screw come out after light use. The ranch didnt respond for about 5 days, and when they did they pretty much said it was my fault.

I did end up getting the screw, but ended up also selling the half track.
 
Customer service should be part of of every company’s business plan, one because it is the right to thing to do, second because it does contribute for a successful business. I have heard that if you give good CS, word gets around to 1 or 2 people but if you give bad CS it goes around to 7- 10 people!
 
I ordered a few products from a Colonial period store, two inexpensive knives, one was fine the Other had some issues, so I suggested replacing it with another knife about the same price and thy had no problem doing that and even sent it out to me before I sent the bad one back. I felt they were nice to do so before I even could get it back in the mail. Very nice customer service and I would buy from them again.
 
How important is it?…very.
I’ve been lucky with a couple knives from a company that has a history of crappy CS (looking at you Fallkniven), but there’s so many out there that stand behind their products I doubt I buy a Fallkniven again. It’s a shame because I really like some of their designs.
 
Deal mainly with the big mail order houses on-line. They all have been good.

Ordered a Standard 100 dollar Benchmade Grip did not like it at all. Returned to the dealer and got a g10 model with the better steel. No problem.

Some screws fell out of a folder. MFG sent me some more.

Used the shit out of my Endura at work. Spyderco sharpened it and got out most of scratches out I made when was trying to sharpen it. No Cost.

Now I have a midtech just pulled it out. Has a split in the scales (Red Bent Hex) I need to email the knife maker (bought it direct). Lets see what happens. Most likely will ask if there is anything I can do. Don't expect him to replace them.

Bottom line is Customer Service is Important.

Rich K
 
Never bought a knife based on the quality of the company's customer service rating.

In fact, I've bought every knife assuming that there would be no such service available and that I might have to fend for myself if anything goes wrong.

Bought all of the knives that I ever purchased (over 500 of them) based ONLY on whether I liked/wanted the knife or not and whether I could afford it &/or whether I was willing to pay the asking or negotiated price for it.

-----------------------------------

I've only had to make a customer service request on 5 occasions:

1) KAI - Requested a new clip for a ZT 0562. KAI promptly sent it to for free based on an internal email request. No human contact reqd.

2) Hogue - Wanted an extra pair of scales for a FX-E01. Called in. Excellent response. Took CC payment over the phone & sent the me scales quickly. No charge for shipping and included a missing tool also for free.

3) MT - Wanted to give a Mini-Infidel a spa job. Had to pay a local dealer to send it to MT, for me. Paid MT by phone for "repairs" after estimate was given by email. Then had to pick up the knife at the dealer. No problems but the process was a hassle.

4) Spyderco (twice):

1) Sent in an old Endura w/a broken tip in for a regrind. Took a couple of wks and they did it for $25. $20 for the regrind & $5 for return shipping. Didn't try to remove a stain on the blade as requested and didn't explain why not.

2) Bought a Starmate off the Exchange with a flaw in the blade. Seller agreed to a refund if Spyderco couldn't/wouldn't fix it. Took a couple of wks to find out that they couldn't when they returned the knife w/o explanation why they couldn't/wouldn't do it.

Seller refunded purchase price but not the cost of shipping it to/from Spyderco & back to him; didn't bother to ask him to do so. Considered it a cost of doing business.

-----------------------------------

A few comments about Spyderco customer service based on my experience.

It's nearly impossible to speak w/a person or to get any advance notice by email regarding a knife that you want to send in or have already sent in for service.

Sal says this is because there are only 2 people who do the work and they're too busy to answer the phone &/or respond to emails. So, Spyderco customer service is kind of a "black box" and the letter you send in with the knife needs to be as detailed and specific as possible.

So, you basically have to send in your knife blind w/a ck for the estimated cost of repair, if known, & the $5 return shipping cost.

Unless they need more $ to do the work, you'll NEVER hear from them until the knife is sent back to you w/o any prior notice and, if the work is not done, you'll only receive a terse note saying that they didn't do the work but not explaining why they couldn't/wouldn't do the work requested.

So, while I've purchased over 200 Spydercos and still own over 160, my feeling is that the quality Spyderco's customer service is less than desireable, mainly because of their poor communication skills.

-----------------------------------

"Caveat emptor" applies to anything you buy, including knives.
 
Last edited:
tokerblue said:
It's only important... when you need it. :D
Click to expand...
THIS.

Really, but even still.

In the knife world here, I have a small list of big name companies with Stellar customer service. Really good, fast response to emails, calls, etc.
They address their mistakes quickly......But, they Keep making them!
I get a knot in my stomach ever time I need them

I'd rather not have to deal with any of it in the first place
 
1. I took 3 pearing knives to Case for restoration, not knowing, one wasn’t a Case. They restored it anyway.
2. I also just had dealings with WE for a used $86 Civivi, that turned out to be an adjustment. The Emails between WE and there US repair was roughly 8. It was almost embarrassing.
I never considered myself a fanboy, but it’s hard to ignore red carpet treatment.
 
It’s important, and I’ve come to buy from makers who take pride in their product and stand by it. In random order, I’ve dealt with the following companies.

Spyderco is a hassle to deal with. Dealing with them just to chase down a replacement clip has always always ended up with me buying an after market clip.
KAI is solid, no issues on my end ever.
CRK is also good, I had to wait awhile for a Sebenza to be serviced since I had them doing some extra work on it, but they always answered the phone on the second ring.
 
I suppose if you need it, it is very important.
I've needed it twice. Both for and inexpensive $6.99 offshore Marbles.
My older pre MR number "G.I. Knife" hawkbill suffered a broken back spring while sitting closed in a cigar box, sometime during the 3.5 years it was in said cigar box. I sent SMKW (owner of the brand) an email with a photo of the broken spring.
They sent a post MR number replacement. (MR409) They did not want the one with the broken spring returned.

The second was a new MR278 4 blade "G.I. Utility Knife" (AKA: "Demo Knife") which suffered a broken backspring due to the blister pack packaging. Some "genius" in marketing decided all four blades should be 1/2 to 3/4 opened at the same time. The spring was broked before the knife was taken from the blister pack/hang pack.
An email with pictures (before and after removing it from the package) resulted in a replacement with a no "MR" number Marbles SPORK, despite my telling them I replacement SPORK was unnecessary, as there was nothing wrong with the SPORK; "A boxed MR278 will be fine."

A broken backspring can happen to any slipjoint, regardless of brand and price point, so I wasn't too stressed about it, nor put off the brand. The no MR number MR409 was several years old when the back spring broke. I'd had it for at least 8 years when it went into the cigar box, and the spring wasn't broken at that time.
By design, partially opening two blades (without half stops) on the same spring is asking for a broken spring. Plenty of issue Camillus and other contract brands (Western and Colonial, for two) "Demo Knives" have suffered a broken spring by a grunt partially opening two blades on the same spring while in the field over the decades.

Customer service - or more specifically, the lack thereof - has never affected one of my knife purchases.
 
GmpaJim said:
1. I took 3 pearing knives to Case for restoration, not knowing, one wasn’t a Case. They restored it anyway.
2. I also just had dealings with WE for a used $86 Civivi, that turned out to be an adjustment. The Emails between WE and there US repair was roughly 8. It was almost embarrassing.
I never considered myself a fanboy, but it’s hard to ignore red carpet treatment.
Click to expand...

sgt1372 said:
Never bought a knife based on the quality of the company's customer service rating.

In fact, I've bought every knife assuming that there would be no such service available and that I might have to fend for myself if anything goes wrong.

Bought all of the knives that I ever purchased (over 500 of them) based ONLY on whether I liked the knife or not and whether I could afford it &/or whether I was willing to pay the asking or negotiated price for it.

I've only had to make a customer service request on 5 occasions:

1) KAI - Requested a new clip for a ZT 0562. KAI promptly sent it to for free based on an email request. No human contact reqd.

2) Hogue - Wanted an extra pair of scales for a FX-E01. Called in. Excellent response. Took CC payment over the phone & sent the me scales for free w/a missing tool also for free.

3) MT - Wanted to give a Mini-Infidel a spa job. Had to pay a local dealer to send it to MT, for me. Paid MT by phone for "repairs" after estimate was given by email. Then had to pick up the knife at the dealer. No problems but the process was a hassle.

4) Spyderco (twice):

1) Sent in an old Endura w/a broken tip in for a regrind. Took a couple of wks and they did it for $25. $20 for the regrind & $5 for return shipping.

2) Bought a Starmate off the Exchange with a flaw in the blade. Seller agreed to a refund if Spyderco couldn't/wouldn't fix it. Took a couple of wks to find out that they couldn't & returned knife for $5. Seller refunded purhase price but not the cost of shipping to/from Spyderco.

-----------------------------------

A few comments about Spyderco customer service based on my experience.

It's nearly impossible to speak w/a person or to get any advance notice by email regarding a knife that you want to send or have already sent in for service.

Sal says this is because there are only 2 ppl who do the work and they're too busy to answer the phone &/or respond to emails.

So, Spyderco customer service is kind of a "black box" and the letter you send in with the knife needs to be as detailed and specific as possible.

You have to send in your knife blind w/a ck for the estimated cost of repair, if known, & the $5 return shipping cost.

Unless they need more $ to do the work, you'll never hear from them until the knife is sent back to you w/o any prior notice and, if the work is not done, you'll only receive a terse note saying that they didn't do the work but not explaining why they couldn't/wouldn't do the work requested.

So, while I own over 160 Spydercos, my feeling is that the quality Spyderco's customer service is less than desireable, mainly because of their poor communication skills.

-----------------------------------

"Caveat emptor" applies to anything you buy, including knives.
Click to expand...
I needed a Spyderco pocket clip screw replaced because I messed up the screw head getting it out. It had too much Loctite on it. Spyderco made me buy a $7 pocket clip set to get the screw. Was not happy.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top