How important is customer service?

[Vlade]

I have many spydercos and like them but their customer service is lackluster. They refuse to offer any internal parts even if you send it in and their excuse is always because of cqi. They almost treat their knives as if they are disposable. No blades, no parts. Zero tolerance/kershaw is the polar opposite, they will send you just about anything at a very minimal cost, and will even reblade your knife for $20/$40 dollars. KAI knows how to conduct business and treat their customers.

You got that right. Kai Industries knows how to treat their customers. Over the years they've sent me plenty of parts at no charge. Some people don't like that company and that's their privilege, but I think they're a great company to do business with and I like their knives the USA made ones at least.

 

[Vlade]

Why work hard when the rewards are distributed based on gender and ethnicity rather than performance and merit?

n2s

I worked for the largest boiler manufacturers Millwright and steam fitter companies in the world. This is how they set up their promotion system. Everybody would get trained on every job you would have to fill out a book to prove you knew what you were doing. Supposed to guys were up for promotion, and they both finished their books. It didn't matter what color they were it didn't matter where they came from all that mattered was they qualified. So if two people were competing for the same job with the same qualifications it would go to seniority. It was the senior most qualified person got the promotion. It was a good system and nobody ever complained about it. And everybody that started their new, started as a laborer. You had to work hard to get promoted. I started there when I was 18 for 5:50 an hour. I worked my way up to $42 an hour. And then I got promoted to management. And that's where I went wrong. I would never ask one of my men to do something I wouldn't do myself. So we had a big problem one day I took it upon myself to get the job moving and got myself hurt bad. But thinking back I'm glad it was me and not one of my guys.

 

[Delgadonine]

I'll know if it's my mistake or product failure. If it's the latter, I will call and talk to someone BEFORE I begin the CS process. I can be patient as I have many knives. I'll mention that I have knives from other makers and I can use them instead...

 

[Lansa]

Customer satisfaction should be number one task for every single business, only this way business can achieve the great success

I agree. A company's reputation depends on how well you serve customers at every step of their journey. Good customer service demonstrates your brand's reliability. It is important for any client to deal with an experienced customer service consultant like those here who can answer the questions, help to make the choice, solve the issues, etc.

 

[vjb.knife]

On one hand I would rather support companies that are honest, hard working and fair to customers. But to be honest I will buy almost any knife if I like it. I try to stay away from Chinese makers for political reasons, but I do own a few. In over 50 years at this hobby of collecting, buying, selling, trading, using and abusing knives, I can count on one hand the number of times that I have had enough of a problem with a knife to send it back to the maker. In fact the only negative one I can remember is Strider and their CS sucks. Even one of the notoriously bad makers on this forum did right by me once and I have no complaint with them (Bark River). So CS is not a major factor in my decision making process for knives.

 

[jc57]

Customer service is completely unimportant unless you need to use it. Then it becomes very important.

I had occasion to call Benchmade customer service about a new knife I had purchased. This was 8-9 years ago. An actual human answered the phone. She did not transfer me or put me on hold. I explained the issue to her, and she gave me the exact instructions over the phone on how to fix the problem. She was friendly, polite, and understanding in addition to having the technical knowledge required, so I did not end up feeling like an idiot. No issues with the knife ever since. That was good customer service.

I have never needed to call Zero Tolerance/Kershaw, Buck, Case, Spyderco, Victorinox, GEC, or the other manufacturers whose knives I have purchased. I have asked Case a couple of informational questions via their "contact us" web form and received adequate responses via e-mail each time. So those are all makers for whom it has not (yet) mattered to me if they have good customer service or not.

 

[Jma1]

Hello,

I would like to ask about Spyderco service , how much time they need to replace knife or repair it? I sent my Siren due to issue with back lock. Shipping from Poland to USA takes around 10 days, 30 June , knife has been delivered into Spyderco office in Golden ( based on US mail tracking system) . Now is 25 of July and ….nothing. No any info, no any answer . Is this normal ? What is going on ? I know, Poland is far away from North America but i suppose this is not professional approach.

 

[CyberRacer]

Buck = A+
I bought a knife that looked like it was off-center. Turned out to be a bent blade. I explained over the phone and they replaced it no questions.

Microtech = A+
Had a Marfione custom with slack action. I tried to adjust myself with no luck and buggered the hardware. Told them what was going on and they fixed the action and replaced the hardware without charging me.

Hinderer (through Monkeyedge) = A
I recieved an XM-18 with an unfinished/unsharpened blade. I let ME know and they worked with Hinderer and got it fixed. Turned the whole thing around in about a week.

Medford = B+
They really don't want you disassembling your own knife, but are still willing to work with you if you haven't pimped it, or buggered it up yourself in some way. Very friendly over the phone and email.

 

[tony281sc2]

Microtech = A+
Received a BNIB Socom Elite and it developed lock rock rather quickly, before I could even carry it. Everything was tight. Sent it in, and they replaced the lock bar free of charge. Had my knife back in about a week (was supposed to take 2-4 weeks).
Very nice folks, quick to respond to emails and the turnaround time was way better than I expected.
It is now % Solid!
Zero Tolerance & DLT = A+
. Received a brand new 0808 and it had what looked like corrosion on the pivot. The action was also gritty. Didn’t bother taking it apart... Sent it right back and the replacement was perfect. Shipping was quick and they had no problem doing the exchange for me.