Glenn Goodlett
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Same for me.
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The BladeForums.com 2024 Traditional Knife is ready to order! See this thread for details: https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/bladeforums-2024-traditional-knife.2003187/
Price is$300$250 ea (shipped within CONUS). If you live outside the US, I will contact you after your order for extra shipping charges.
Order here: https://www.bladeforums.com/help/2024-traditional/ - Order as many as you like, we have plenty.
How important is customer service?
- Thread starter XtianAus
- Start date
Defects I’ve had: Benchmade: burnt edge, loose blade in auto, broken spring / William Henry: broken button lock spring / Buck: loose liner lock & blade, needs a new pivot but not made anymore / Puma: worn lockback no longer secure / Microtech: blade won’t lock open or closed / Case: cracked scale / Custom: scale cracked at thong hole / Custom: pivot assembly weak blade became loose / Spyderco: loose pivot took 2 fixes / Spyderco: design flaw in clip attachment / Camiillus Remington: cracked scale / Spyderco: scale screw fell out 2x / Queen: way too tight blade / Northwoods: obtuse blade angle that would have been hell to reprofile by hand / Sog: plastic thumbstud died / Hubertus: broken leverlock spring.
That adds up to ~20 returns. Never sent in a knife for a fluff and buff and sharpen my own knives when they get dull, except for the Northwoods that was shite outa da box.
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King of the Cheese
Stillborn!
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Why would I talk to customer service at a knife manufacturer if I’m not getting a repair? That’s what retailers/distributors are for.
The OP didn’t state only a manufacturer, but rather a company which could include a dealer/distributor. My point is that customer service entails much more than ‘just’ repairs. Being accessible is huge.
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Poor customer service often isn't enough to stop me from buying a knife (although, if it's bad enough, it might prevent me from buying any more knives in the future. I'm looking at you CRK)... But great customer service can make me a loyal customer. I imagine that I'll be a fan of Spartan Blades and Olamic Cutlery for the foreseeable future because of the stellar level of customer service I've received from both companies. On a dealer level, the vast, vast majority of my knife purchases are from DLT Trading and Collector Knives because they go above and beyond for their customers in my experience.
To be honest it seems to me that some people are mistaking good CS with getting free stuff. You can have a good experience with a company and pay for a repair. Which is what happened with my Emerson. I paid for a blade swap and they were with me from step one of the process. Email after email to make sure I got my knife back just how I wanted. Just because a company says that they will stand by their product 100% doesn't mean it will be a great experience. What good is getting a free knife or repair if they fight you for it or worse don't even acknowledge you have an issue.
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I’ll try to offer my perspective as someone from southeast Asia. 
IMO, the farther away you are from the US (or the country of origin of the knifemaker), the more difficult it is to benefit from that brand’s customer service. At that point, it simply boils down to the customer service of your retail store/authorized dealer. Unless the western knifemaker offers free or decent international shipping costs for that one screw or pocket clip, I don’t think it’s worth it to pay for the ridiculous costs.
Looking back though, I don’t think I’ve ever needed customer service that urgently. Most of mine and Dad’s knives have held up rather well, and we don’t have anything particularly expensive in our collection.
This aside though, I think that the more premium the knives, the higher our expectations should be regarding the aspect of customer service.
IMO, the farther away you are from the US (or the country of origin of the knifemaker), the more difficult it is to benefit from that brand’s customer service. At that point, it simply boils down to the customer service of your retail store/authorized dealer. Unless the western knifemaker offers free or decent international shipping costs for that one screw or pocket clip, I don’t think it’s worth it to pay for the ridiculous costs.
Looking back though, I don’t think I’ve ever needed customer service that urgently. Most of mine and Dad’s knives have held up rather well, and we don’t have anything particularly expensive in our collection.
This aside though, I think that the more premium the knives, the higher our expectations should be regarding the aspect of customer service.
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Agreed. I don’t mind paying a few bucks or so for a specific knife part as long as the customer service is polite and efficient.
The apparently absent customer service of Cold Steel for the past few months is a no-no. But having a rep in the Cold Steel subforum is a small step in the right direction. I hope they get it right moving forward.
strategy9
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Customer service doesn't mean a thing.... Until you gotta use it.
That said, my wife is a top notch CS manager covering all of N.America *(for a major international company might I add), and CS is a major selling point for me once the prices start getting into that 3 digit range. Real hard sell for me spending over $100 on a product that has poor CS. Even $50+ is tough, but the higher the price the more I not only expect but demand for my money. THAT is part of the price.
If I'm spending <$50 though I consider it a beater anyhow, and CS isn't near as important, as the lower price range for me is also disposable.
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King of the Cheese
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Not really. 100% of my transactions are over the internet and unless I have a return or warranty work, I don’t want to talk to anyone.. and honestly I’d prefer if all that was automated as well. Less chance for human error. Return? Fill out RMA request and send back the knife. Warranty? Fill out form explaining the issue.
I don’t need to talk to or email some person. It’s a waste of time and I don’t need to have my hand held when something comes up.
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fixing your knife would be easy on the grinder.....Poor customer service will absolutely move me away from a maker, brand, dealer etc. I had an experience with Bradford Knives that will likely surprise many on this forum, but it was an experience that has caused them to be a “no go” brand for me.
During 2020 I purchased 2 Guardian 3.0 knives after spotting a sweet deal. They were pretty nice knives, Bradford Knives is local to me so I was interested in supporting their business. During 2021 I purchased a Guardian 4.5 direct from their site. When I received the knife I noticed on the tang it looked like the grinder got away from whoever was finishing the knife as there were pretty deep and uneven grooves in the tang. To be fair, this in no way affects the performance of the knife, but for a knife in the mid $200s I expected better fit and finish. I went back and forth with the owner for a bit, and at the end of the day was told the knife was within their specifications. I had intentions of buying a 5.5 and 6.5 eventually, but needless to say I won’t be buying any knives from Bradford in the future. The experience soured me to the point that I really don’t get any joy carrying these knives, and I have absolutely zero pride in ownership of any of the 3 now. When I see someone posting their Bradford Knives in the various threads on this forum I just can’t hit that. (I know it‘s petty). To top it off, the standard leather belt sheath that came with the knife fell apart after carrying for 1/2 day. Not an exaggeration…1/2 day. I paid extra for a custom sheath that was offered through their website, so at least I have a sheath that works but it also means I dumped more money into a system that really doesn’t interest me any longer.
Pictures for effect:
The 2 G 3.0s that got me started. These ones were ok - no complaints.
This is the knife in question.
Pictures of the “issue”:
Again: 1/2 day use and this was the condition of the standard leather belt sheath:
I don’t think my expectation for a better fit and finish were unreasonable. I don’t think many here would accept this as “within specifications”. (Am I wrong)? Had the owner taken care of it I wouldn’t have given it a second thought - just a one off that got through QC. I’d probably have picked up a G 5.5 by now too. It was the lack of customer service that has made this brand a “hard no” for me.
Ok, rant over.
in fact I generally prefer the butts more rounded....haha
I'm sure many of us could help you if you wanted.
Obviously your idea of customer service is different than mine, and that is fine. I like to buy knives/products from makers who I can discuss the product if I have questions, prior to buying (customer service). I recently reached out to a dealer/distributor by email to ask if I could change the scales on a pre-order. They responded within a few hours (customer service). The makers and sheath builders who participate in these forums which allow for folks to ask questions about products or ability to tweak things are all customer service.
Just my opinions and how I prefer to do business. The knife company that has not responded to my order inquiries has terrible customer service and I will not order another knife from them as a result.
Have a good New Year.
JOELSM
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Appreciate the offer, but I’m going to let it ride. I shouldn’t have to spend my time or someone else’s fixing a poor quality control issue from the manufacturer. My original post was just my example of poor customer service and the importance of customer service from my perspective. I was actually a Bradford Knife advocate on this forum prior to this experience.
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I understand, I just think it's a shame not liking a knife because of That.....
Id do it if you covered shipping. Probably take just a few minutes.
Idk if you mentioned, or tried to return it from where you bought?
JOELSM
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Bought it direct from Bradford off their website. Tried to have it replaced, but they said it was within their specifications after looking at the pictures.
In the scheme of things the defect is cosmetic and small, but the price of the knife was ~$250. I personally expect better at the price, and I would have thought the manufacturer would have expected better of themselves.
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Richard338
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Simply buying or returning an item is one thing and can usually be done online. An example of good CS for me was when I messed up one side of a set of scales and wasn't sure which exact color the liner was. The lady at Jantz spent at least 5 minutes on the phone describing the difference between brick, fire engine, and cherry red. The liner sheet was only $1.75, but once we figured it out they rush shipped me a few sheets.