Leatherman Warranty Experience

ejames13

ejames13

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Hi all,

I recently sent my Leatherman Wave in for warranty repair. The tool is about 15 years old and somewhere along the way the frame got bent/torqued such that the serrated blade did not open easily. The screw was rotating with the blade when deploying, like the blade was pinched between the frame and the screw. So I filled out their warranty form describing the issue and sent the tool in.

A few days later I received my tool back in the mail. I was a little surprised that I hadn't heard anything from them (email stating they received the tool, etc.), as I have read other folks saying they received some type of communication after sending theirs in. But no big deal. I opened up the package and started to examine my knife. They did indeed fix the issue of the serrated blade not rotating easily, but in the process they created an even worse problem. Now the plain edge and the file on one side of the tool are bowed outward and rub the outer liner when opening/closing. It looks like the top of the frame has been "pinched", causing the blade to now outward instead of being parallel. What the heck?

I emailed them on Wednesday (4/1/15) explaining what happened, and I still haven't heard anything back. I'm really disappointed, especially since I've heard so much praise of Leatherman's warranty.

Thoughts? Suggestions? Thanks in advance!
 
I hate to hear this. Leatherman's warranty service used to be top notch, but over the last year or two I have been hearing more and more complaints about the warranty service. You would think if they are doing warranty work they would check the entire tool after fixing it to make sure everything is functioning properly.

Screw the emails and call them. It is the best and most effective way to contact them. Explain what happened and request a paid shipping label (nicely) to send the tool back in for repair/replacement.

Its a real shame you even have to do this though. Their products are getting more expensive in price while the quality of the tool and service have been dropping consistently. Wake up Leatherman! Their are other multitool companies out their and when your customers get fed up they will stop buying your tools!
 
yep, give them a call, and let them know what happened. Sometimes things that seem like an easy fix turn out to not be, and perhaps there was a difficulty. Since its the older one, that might be why they tried to go for a fix over a replace, but if you have a polite chat, they should sort it out.

Emails can be tough, I always get an auto-responce then a regular one, but maybe your emails are not getting there? it sometimes happens.
 
Capt. Spaulding said:
I hate to hear this. Leatherman's warranty service used to be top notch, but over the last year or two I have been hearing more and more complaints about the warranty service. You would think if they are doing warranty work they would check the entire tool after fixing it to make sure everything is functioning properly.

Screw the emails and call them. It is the best and most effective way to contact them. Explain what happened and request a paid shipping label (nicely) to send the tool back in for repair/replacement.

Its a real shame you even have to do this though. Their products are getting more expensive in price while the quality of the tool and service have been dropping consistently. Wake up Leatherman! Their are other multitool companies out their and when your customers get fed up they will stop buying your tools!
Click to expand...

I certainly agree with the advice, but somewhat puzzled about your comments on Leatherman quality and service. Over 15+ years I have had a few Warranty dealings with Leatherman, all but one* involving misuse and gross abuse of their products, not manufacturing flaws. In every case, they fixed or replaced whatever perfectly and got them back to me from 6 to 14 days, communicating by phone or email promptly when necessary. I am concerned that this level of customer service is being considered in decline. I slouch around the internet knife/m-t sites a fair share and have encountered some gripes about Leatherman quality, but almost none on their service. May I ask, where have you found those complaints?


*The one instance of product failure was of a Style PS in which the scissors spring had snapped without even being unfolded. There was some back and forth discussion by phone and email, resulting in them sending me a Squirt PS4 as a replacement. Okay by me! :thumbup:
 
znapschatz said:
I certainly agree with the advice, but somewhat puzzled about your comments on Leatherman quality and service. Over 15+ years I have had a few Warranty dealings with Leatherman, all but one* involving misuse and gross abuse of their products, not manufacturing flaws. In every case, they fixed or replaced whatever perfectly and got them back to me from 6 to 14 days, communicating by phone or email promptly when necessary. I am concerned that this level of customer service is being considered in decline. I slouch around the internet knife/m-t sites a fair share and have encountered some gripes about Leatherman quality, but almost none on their service. May I ask, where have you found those complaints?


*The one instance of product failure was of a Style PS in which the scissors spring had snapped without even being unfolded. There was some back and forth discussion by phone and email, resulting in them sending me a Squirt PS4 as a replacement. Okay by me! :thumbup:
Click to expand...


I have seen many complaints about quality and some about customer service at a few different forums. I do not think it is allowed to link anything, but I believe you are a member at one of the forums I am speaking about.
 
I'm curious when I read these type of threads about whether the repair person does a through test and check before calling it good and sending it. In the last couple years it seems to me I'm seeing more of these type of threads cropping up. And not just Lestherman, but other makers as well.

Kinda disheartening. Maybe now days they just would rather you toss it and buy a new one, the way our electronics are.
 
So I got a hold of Lia Woolf from the warranty department on Monday, and she was very helpful. Apparently she did reply to the email I sent last Wednesday offering to send me a return shipping label so they could sort of the situation (must have overlooked this in my email somehow). She sent the label just a few minutes after we got of the phone, and as soon as I notified her that I had shipped the tool, she went ahead and sent out a replacement!

The strange thing is that she mentioned the one they originally sent back to me was a new replacement. Now unless they have some 15 year old refurbs lying around, this was not the case. The tool I received back was the exact same 15 year old model I had sent in. It almost sounds like they meant to send me a replacement, but ended up accidentally sending back my original tool. Strange.

In any case, I should have a brand new replacement Wave in just a few days!
 
Capt. Spaulding said:
I have seen many complaints about quality and some about customer service at a few different forums. I do not think it is allowed to link anything, but I believe you are a member at one of the forums I am speaking about.
Click to expand...

Yes, for several years, and although there have been a few more complaints about the products lately, I haven't noticed any increase of gripes about customer service on any group I'm subscribed to. I haven't been counting, so this is only an impression.
 
Glad it worked out. It makes sense, just a simple goof to drop the wrong tool in the packing envelope, especially if its been on the repair bench.
 
This is about a customer service issue so it belongs in Feedback.
 
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