I wonder why Kershaw won't answer my question

[stabman]

I lived in Canada for 4 years in the late 70,s to early '80s, and am happy to be back in the USA, where businesses (not the government) usually try to be responsive to consumers.
In the US, this is a major part of running a good business.

What part of this furthers the conversation?
Do you just enjoy being mildly unpleasant as a hobby?

 

[Shawn B.]

Somebody, Please close this thread.

 

[Kohai999]

That's a poor way to do business and promote your products to the consumer.

All that needed to happen is to get the quesion in the right peron's hands - I agree that shouldn't have been Thomas but someone at KAI could have helped a prospective customer with some questions that are theirs to answer and it started with whomever answered the phone when folderguy called.

There simply are not that many people at Kershaw that can answer the question knowledgeably or are authorized to speak freely with the public.

Kershaw is a good sized company, but they run a very lean crew. Emphasis is on sales and manufacturing, and if you want "Made in the USA", that is the way you have to do it these days.

Thomas and I used to speak about once a week before he became Sales Director, and now, it might be once a month. His wife told me they spoke for 30 seconds yesterday before he got home from work....late.

Kershaw really does the best that they can do, and they are always trying to get better.

Best Regards,

STeven Garsson

 

[somber]

Somebody, Please close this thread.

+1

"But I want it NOoooww!"

 

[J.Davey]

+1

"But I want it NOoooww!"

Okay, that is hilarious!

 

[Folderguy]

What part of this furthers the conversation?
Do you just enjoy being mildly unpleasant as a hobby?

Oh, not as a hobby, of course not. It was simply a 'dig' at a Canuck who as a government worker apparently thinks that as the government does, so too should the private sector. That is a particularly Canadian mentality, perhaps a socialist one as I experienced it when I lived there, and from which I am thankfully free in the US.

If someone were to make a similar argument, say from a country in the European Union, it might evince a similar mentality, which I would also disagree with, not to be disagreeable, but because I think it's incorrect.

So, anytime makes an argument along the lines of, well, let's see what the government thinks about something, as if, a priori, that's the way something should be, I speak up, not always, but if circumstances seem to warrant it.

I mean no offense.

 

[Smash05]

My issue is, Kershaw has an excellent reputation for prompt and above the call of duty customer service. This reputation is well known on this forum. A simple search would have shown you all the anecdotal evidence you would need to develop a reasonable opinion of Kershaw. However, you chose to use a very limited circumstance to claim that their CS was bad, or in need of improvement. Your opinion is simply not informed by enough facts.

 

[Thalestin]

I lived in Canada for 4 years in the late 70,s to early '80s, and am happy to be back in the USA, where businesses (not the government) usually try to be responsive to consumers. I would never compare the private sector to the government. It's an apples and oranges thing. One thing that can be said for the private sector is that squeaky wheels usually get the grease... The good thing about this thread is that I've come to appreciate that Kershaw does believe customer service is important, and that has finally become clear to me. I'm glad they were responsive, if belatedly. You mention best practices. I doubt they had given much thought before now about acknowledging satisfied customer's inquiries. I seriously doubt they ever brought in an outside expert to see how they could be more responsive to inquiries like mine. In the US, this is a major part of running a good business. I hope they improve in this important area of best practices. At this point, I'm satisfied how they've responded.

For one, I think that squeaky wheels may get the grease but I do not think this is really a great thing.

Two, most companies can't afford "experts" to improve customer service. This would raise the cost of their knives and honestly, getting rid of certain customers can be a good thing.

 

[Folderguy]

My issue is, Kershaw has an excellent reputation for prompt and above the call of duty customer service. This reputation is well known on this forum. A simple search would have shown you all the anecdotal evidence you would need to develop a reasonable opinion of Kershaw. However, you chose to use a very limited circumstance to claim that their CS was bad, or in need of improvement. Your opinion is simply not informed by enough facts.

I enjoy quite a few Kershaw products. I am well aware of their good reputation, not only on here but from people who have had to deal with them. What can I say but that when I contacted them the service I received wasn't very good. That's the truth. Your opinion about my opinion is an opinion formed without enough facts of my understanding of many things, including my prior experience with being ignored by corporations, and how to deal effectively with it.

Hopefully, someone at Kershaw, probably not Thomas W, will speak with whoever gets the email and handles the phone to avoid these difficulties in the future. That's an idea we all can appreciate.

 

[grumpyxtremes10]

Here is their answer its just hard to convey a look over the phone. Although you might be able to hear their palm hitting their face.

 

[Folderguy]

For one, I think that squeaky wheels may get the grease but I do not think this is really a great thing.

Two, most companies can't afford "experts" to improve customer service. This would raise the cost of their knives and honestly, getting rid of certain customers can be a good thing.

Where I come from, squeaky wheels are viewed as an inevitable part of life. They help improve things. That's why they can ultimately be very helpful. Once a squeaky wheel is properly lubricated, things tend to go well, which is a good thing.

If Kershaw has reached the size of a mid-sized company, they may reap some benefits of having someone from the outside take a look at their operations. Many companies will follow up a simple email inquiry with an outside firm's customer service questionnaire. I get them all the time, from motel chains, to oil changes, to any customer service department that was contacted with a problem. Why?? To improve the way they do business.

To shoot the messenger is not the proper way to deal with bad news.

If you think the way to get rid of bad customers is to ignore them, you're sadly mistaken, especially in the internet age.

The best thing a company can do is to fix what's wrong and move on. I bet it would have taken Thomas W all of one minute to call or email the response he wrote in this thread. As he is a very busy man these days, perhaps he could delegate that task to another person.

I assure you that had he or someone else at Kershaw simply responded to my simple email I'd be here letting everybody know how smoothly they ran their operation.

 

[somber]

*snip*

I'm sorry, you have unrealistic expectations.

You said so yourself that Thomas W had responded to your post where you originally asked your question about the MIM process they use, but you weren't satisfied with the answer because it contained information from several years ago.

Secondly, if you had asked anyone here, I'm sure they would have told you that a KNIFE is for cutting and a PRY TOOL is for prying. And no matter how light you say it is, your definition of "light" prying is subjective, and no company (besides Strider - shoot, CRK says you can't even flick their knives open "hard") is going to say it's okay to improperly use their tool.

 

[Thomas W]

Thought I should keep an eye on this thread.

The best thing a company can do is to fix what's wrong and move on. I bet it would have taken Thomas W all of one minute to call or email the response he wrote in this thread. As he is a very busy man these days, perhaps he could delegate that task to another person.

Did you receive what you needed here or is more necessary?

It may be important (or not) for you as a customer seeing me from the perspective of my week at work adding up to 69 hours, and having another 25+ to go starting tomorrow morning at 6:30 am. I'm planning on working 12 straight days, and will be a tad behind at the end of it due to the Warehouse Sale, and extended travel outside of the office. Additionally I spend countless hours online on multiple forums promoting brands and directly connecting with customers. Prioritizes can be challenging, and that can flow to even delegating.

Currently it is 9:55 PM, and I just got home. My wife broke her foot this morning, and my kids finished up finals this week. Yet here I am, just for you, my valued customer. I miss out regularly on worship, family, hobbies, time off, all for the job, and sometimes, when I get called out for not being perfect in someones eyes, I can face palm.

I trust you understand my dedication to our brand. You should know this dedication runs down to every member of our team. I don't feel you would get this personal attention and direct communication many places, if any. Of course all this wouldn't happen if I didn't enjoy it, and take it all in (the good and bad).

Back to the thread, I'm confused by your posts, as you were unsatisfied, satisfied, considering buying the Offset, not buying the Offset, and I guess you're still needing a reply back?

I assure you that had he or someone else at Kershaw simply responded to my simple email I'd be here letting everybody know how smoothly they ran their operation.

A simple response on MIM would have been smoother, yes, and a little patience and understanding that technology questions for just anybody to answer is not always readily available.

Again I apologize, and hopefully you're ok with all of this, and will be a continued fan of our brands.

I'd really like to go on forum vacation now, hope you all understand.

 

[Scott Neelan]

I think someone in this thread has unrealistic and unwarranted expectations. HINT: it's the OP!

Seriously, with everything that's going on currently, I think you've gotten a better answer from Thomas than you probably deserve or should've expected. Why rip on Kershaw's CS so quickly, anyway, when they have an absolutely solid reputation? Consider the time of year, the responsibilites of the person involved, the relative importance of your question compared to those responsibilities, etc. Where on the scale did your question, which WAS answered previously if I understood you correctly, really fall?

Again I apologize, and hopefully you're ok with all of this, and will be a continued fan of our brands.

I'd really like to go on forum vacation now, hope you all understand.

Man, you've given him a lot more than I would have in your shoes. Considering the circumstances, I can't believe you stuck around the forums this long right now. If anyone EVER tries comment negatively about you, or Kershaw's CS in general, I'm throwing this post in their face.

 

[nevermind35]

Just to let you know how crazy it gets during the annual wharehouse sale, which is going on right now, last year I stood in line from 6 am until 10 am just to get inside the door of the Kershaw facility. When I left the building at around 11 am there was a line for about two blocks and each person in that line waited, in the very least, an hour at that point.

Edit: I'm sorry to hear that your leaving for a while Thomas. I have really enjoyed your keeping us up to date on new products and endevours. With only a couple exceptions, nobody representing a knife company has spent so much time satisfying our urge for knife info. I hope you'll still visit that other place and keep the regulars up to date.

 

[knif3buy3r]

interesting

 

[midnight flyer]

The thing that pisses me off is that Thomas will be leaving us for a while. No telling how long. He frequents this forum as his time permits to answer questions about his knives. It is a courtesy to the members here, extended out of generosity, not of responsibility.

He has been a tremendous asset to this forum.

If it were me, I would leave it altogether. What a load of crap this is to be broadcasting a silly whine to an international audience and then try to pass it off as an act to better conditions for all of us. How many people are put off to Kershaw because of this silly, inane diatribe?

REALLY... can I use a knife for prying? Are you kidding? Then it is said that the OP doesn't actually want to use it as a prybar, but he would like to know if he can. Huh? If you aren't going to use it as a prybar, why is there a problem? And who cares and who can predict what will work in an emergency situation?

Thomas helped me get my Kershaw stuff straight. It took him a day to answer, not bad for a guy that wears a three or four hats at a mulitimillion dollar company. He responded to me personally, then wrote me a really nice email thanking me for my patience.

I run my own small company and have for years. I work as fast as I can and do as much as possible, but have no tolerance for people that waste my time on silly, hypothetical meanderings they think up. They simply eat up too much productive company time and since they obviously have the time to waste, they don't mind wasting mine as well.

Speaking of time to waste/burn, let's look at squeaky's patient timeline:

Post 1: 7:04 am
Post 2: 9:05 am
Post 3: 9:40 am
Post 4: 9:55 am
Post 5: 10:12 am
Post 6: 11:00 am
Post 7: 11:40 am

Who in the world has that much time to post during the day? Does he think everyone is on vacation with him? SEVEN posts on this thread alone on this forum BEFORE NOON?

When I am covered up, it sometimes takes me a full 24 hours to return an inquiry call.

Thomas responded here at 12:04!!

I have never, ever, seen Thomas dodge a question, fail to reply, or offer to do what it took to make a customer happy. That includes me.

Now it sounds like Folderguy has cost us the generous (and free) personal attention of Thomas because he didn't respond fast enough to a hypothetical question about a discontinued knife he might buy.

Way to go.

I love the personal tolerance, too. Wow... it almost sounds like Thomas has a personal life (although not much) on top of his courtesy presence here, and his professional duties at his job. I wonder... should he be able to do any of that when one valued possible buyer of an old product has a hypothetical question about it?

Was anyone promised a response time on the use of a certain model of a knife as a prying tool, or did someone set up their own set of expectations?

I guess I'm just not that important. And I assume others are as busy as I am in this day and age when all of us are running our businesses as lean as possible. I don't ever stop to think that there are people with plenty of time (that demand mine!) to explore expansive, thought provoking issues such as wondering about using tools being used for purposes they weren't designed for nor in ways they were ever intended to be used.

But, that's just me.

Robert

 

[Mattman888]

Kershaw has fantastic customer service. Thomas, you enjoy your well deserved break from the drama.

 

[ginaz]

i will say i did not appreciate Thomas bludgeoning this "valued customer" over the head with his selfless sacrifice. that's just not a level of professionalism i'm prepared to accept. just examining one particular post among the many thousands he has made. those prior posts set a much higher standard than what i considered that one to meet.

 

[Kohai999]

I think someone in this thread has unrealistic and unwarranted expectations. HINT: it's the OP!

Man, you've given him a lot more than I would have in your shoes. Considering the circumstances, I can't believe you stuck around the forums this long right now. If anyone EVER tries comment negatively about you, or Kershaw's CS in general, I'm throwing this post in their face.

Thomas is a knife guy, through and through.

He took the responsibility to be "the face" of Kershaw on the internet well before it was in his job description because he believes.

Everyone gets burnt out on the drama from time-to-time, and in this Season, He and he have a reason....time for Thomas to get back to what is REALLY important.

It is good to see the support grow, year after year, and I know that nourishes and invigorates his commitment, to the brand, and to those who are at least decent in their approach.

i will say i did not appreciate Thomas bludgeoning this "valued customer" over the head with his selfless sacrifice. that's just not a level of professionalism i'm prepared to accept. just examining one particular post among the many thousands he has made. those prior posts set a much higher standard than what i considered that one to meet.

So don't accept it....pull a plastic bag over your head, and kill yourself because Thomas failed to meet your high expectations.


Best Regards,

STeven Garsson