My experience with ESEE Knives Customer Service.

I understand your points Cory, but there have been reports from more whiny entitled brats about the 'good' companies you listed. They also had unrealistic expectations.
Thing that gets me in this instance is why not leave a message the first time he called Mike???
I'll tell you why. He wanted his horrible defect taken care of NOW. He wanted the earth to stand still until he was taken care of.
if he called Spydie and no one answered the call, could they have done anything to quiet his tantrum if he didn't leave a message?
That's the problem, as I see it. Unrealistic expectations.
I have many customers like this. Do a repair on their AC and they expect me to take care of leaky faucets, dead outlets etc AND not charge them anything. This garbage happens more than you'd think.
Unrealistic expectations.
This kid spent $150 with Mike and feels he is owed something besides a decent knife.
Joe

How funny is this??? Hard to believe, but true.
As soon as I posted this response my phone rang.
Store owner with a full 12' deli case has an emergency. Temperature in the case is 60*, please help.
I say of course, I'll be there in 30 minutes. 8:00 Friday night. Been working since 5:00 this morning. Store owner gets loud and says I MUST get there sooner. Don't I realize how terrible his situation is??
I calmly tell him to get bent, and to call someone else.
Unrealistic expectations.

Cory Hess said:
Joe, I'm reading his posts. I just have a different takeaway than you, and that's OK. The way I see it there are two kinds of companies. There are companies like Buck, Spyderco, KnivesShipFree, DLT, GEC, Queen, LT Wright, Battle Horse, etc. etc. etc. that will bend over backwards to take care of their customers. They don't care who's at fault or what caused the problem. Their focus is on making the customer happy regardless of the issue. Then there are other companies like ESEE, Hinderer, Bark River, etc. that have stipulations on when and how they're going to take care of their customers. They care more about covering their own butts than making the customer happy. Some of these companies make unique products and if you want that product you make the decision to take the bad with the good. Others, like ESEE, do absolutely nothing unique and therefore there's no reason to accept the second rate customer service.

Whether you think that the OP handled things properly or not is inconsequential. The fact is that if he had chosen to buy a product from a company that was better run he would have been taken care of regardless of how he handled it. We have options. I chose to deal with people that will bend over backwards for me. You can choose to deal with people that will bend you over once they get your money. Both are fine, but it's ridiculous to pretend that there's not a difference.
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Joe, I fire customers as well. I actually turn down more work than I take. I just have more work than I want, so if somebody isn't happy with what I can do for them or doesn't cooperate with me I let them know that it's probably not going to work out. I get that. I fully admit that I may be putting too much stock in the OP's plight. It's also possible that I am biased against ESEE based on past stories, the fact that they won't warranty their scales, or because their website uses the word idiot three times when referring to customers that might need warranty work. These things all combine to paint the picture of a company that isn't very interested in standing behind their product. I will happily turn down work, but I would never insult somebody after I've taken their money regardless of the situation. I will refuse future work, but I stand behind my past work even if I believe that a problem was caused by the customer after the fact. To me it's a matter of integrity and pride.

I can see how people would side with ESEE, especially if you've been happy with your own personal interactions with them. Like I said, I've considered their knives several times and stumbled on this thread because I was considering recommending them to somebody that asked me about a knife for messing around with in the woods. I directed them to BK and LT Wright after reading Mike's post. Whether ESEE is in the right or not, they've lost business from me several times due to their flippant attitude when it comes to customer service. Oh well, I'm sure that they're not losing sleep over it and I won't either. It's just a matter of GBU doing it's job and helping us avoid doing business with people that probably won't be a good fit.
 
I have learned through the years, that it's best to just return an item to the seller, if it there are some immediate issues with it. The longer that you keep it, an exchange becomes more difficult.
Most warranty issues are almost always on a case by case basis, with many manufacturers, and sometimes warranty service is declined. By being patient, polite, and using friendly conversation, I have had much success in getting warranties extended, and broken items replaced, but not always.
I'm sure that the warranty system gets abused, and here in the USA, people expect more guarantees, than in other countries. In South America, once you use and break something, there is no going back, so I have learned to fix many things on my own.
While I don't believe that we are entitled to get an item replaced, that we break through hard use, it certainly doesn't hurt to try and explore the limits of the warranty. If manufacturers advertise an open arms policy on replacing broken items, then they really have to add that cost in somewhere else, since nothing is really free. When a manufacturer is less than encouraging about their warranty policy, they aren't necessarily being villainous. Perhaps they are just trying to weed out the more frivolous claims.
 
Cory Hess said:
Joe, I fire customers as well. I actually turn down more work than I take. I just have more work than I want, so if somebody isn't happy with what I can do for them or doesn't cooperate with me I let them know that it's probably not going to work out. I get that. I fully admit that I may be putting too much stock in the OP's plight. It's also possible that I am biased against ESEE based on past stories, the fact that they won't warranty their scales, or because their website uses the word idiot three times when referring to customers that might need warranty work. These things all combine to paint the picture of a company that isn't very interested in standing behind their product. I will happily turn down work, but I would never insult somebody after I've taken their money regardless of the situation. I will refuse future work, but I stand behind my past work even if I believe that a problem was caused by the customer after the fact. To me it's a matter of integrity and pride.

I can see how people would side with ESEE, especially if you've been happy with your own personal interactions with them. Like I said, I've considered their knives several times and stumbled on this thread because I was considering recommending them to somebody that asked me about a knife for messing around with in the woods. I directed them to BK and LT Wright after reading Mike's post. Whether ESEE is in the right or not, they've lost business from me several times due to their flippant attitude when it comes to customer service. Oh well, I'm sure that they're not losing sleep over it and I won't either. It's just a matter of GBU doing it's job and helping us avoid doing business with people that probably won't be a good fit.
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Esee isn't for everybody. Just like anything, do your research before you buy.
 
I Hope your dog goes peacefully, and glad it sounds like you got the matter dealt with.

I don't have a side to pick in this, but reading the response from the business owner did kind irritate me for some reason, and of some reviewers here, along with if they really do refer to customers as " idiots " that's more than enough for me to steer clear!

If I have to deal with some surly person I'm certainly not going to pay for the pleasure.

I am too grumpy myself to deal with grumpy people, regardless of age, rhyme or reasoning, and regardless of how the community views the OPs handling of the matter. The Business should always be the bigger " man " in this regard.
 
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