Negative experience w/ Spyderco @ Blade

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moonwilson

moonwilson

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I spent the weekend at Blade and had a really great time (and spent a lot of money!) However, my experience at the Spyderco booth was less than pleasant, and bordered on actively hostile at one point. I've worked trade shows before and I totally understand that you can't roll out the red carpet for everyone that stops by your booth, but I also know that it's not a good idea to alienate your potential customers. Following is text from a couple of my posts in the Busse forum:

"I walked over to the Spyderco table and hung around for a bit, hoping to talk to Sal, but he was really busy (again). I ended up getting bitched at and vibed until I left because I took a picture of the knives in one of the cases. Why would you take knives to a show and put them on display in front of thousands of people if you don't want people to take pictures of them? The knives I took the picture of were prototypes, apparently. I would have been happy to delete the image if the lady had been a little cooler about it (I honestly didn't see the tiny "no pictures" sign- about 1" x 2" in the crowded case) But she pissed me off so much that I kept the file and I'm seriously contemplating posting it. The folks at the Spyderco table were nowhere near as cool and friendly as the Busse folks."

and later, after cooling down a bit:

"Yeah, I'm not going to post the pic. I was just irritated. I really do respect Sal and his company. I'm a big Spyderco fan and collector and won't do anything that the company thinks is not in their best interests. I went to the Spyderco table a few times though and I really didn't get a good vibe from anyone there. Maybe it's just me, though. On one of my earlier visits to the table I was asking some questions about some of the newer models and the guy was really kind of condescending.

And I don't understand what all the fuss about not taking pictures of the prototypes. If the idea is that they don't want their competitors to see what they have in development, um, all of their competitors were there in the room and probably already saw the knives anyway. I just was really taken aback by the attitude when I simply took what I thought was an innocent picture. You know how many thousands of dollars I've spent on Spyderco products over the years? How many posts I've made in the Spyderco forum? I've even emailed back and forth with Sal and some of the other Spyderco designers a couple times. As a fan I was really kind of hurt. Although I'm sure they had no idea how big a Spyderco enthusiast I am and have been for years."

I have since deleted the single picture I took of the prototypes. It would have been highly irresponsible and poor form for me to have posted it, even though I have seen images of Spyderco protos taken at shows posted here before. I stopped by the Spyderco table several times at the show, hoping to simply say "hi" to Sal and shake his hand. He's a great guy who I've long admired. Having spent a lot of time walking around the show, talking to people and having a great time, I'm sorry to say that the folks at the Spyderco booth were the least friendly and helpful people I met. Whenever I asked to see a model in the case, the person helping me would be very condescending, insisting on explaining features of the knife I was trying to examine, and wouldn't let me get a word in edgewise. I know what a wave feature is. I know how a ball bearing lock works. I just wanted to chat a bit about the knives but was treated instead like an eight-year old who didn't know the pointy end of a knife from the handle. I was interested in buying a P'kal so I asked if I could buy one and was told that the show was a "show and tell only". Fair enough. I then asked if there was anywhere at the show where I might pick one up, to which I received a shoulder shrug in response. I then asked if they knew of anywhere online where they might be in stock, to which I received another shrug.

When I took the picture of the prototypes, I honestly had no idea that I was in the wrong. I totally understood, once the little "no pictures, please" sign was pointed out to me, and actually lifted up the camera to delete the file. But the lady, who I have to assume must be pretty high up in the company, was so nasty about it that I lowered my camera and kept the image out of spite. She then proceeded to turn away from me and start talking smack about me, right in front of my face, to another fanboy standing at the table, until I became so uncomfortable that I left.

I'm writing this just so Sal knows about my experience. I'm a big fan and supporter of Spyderco, and the behaviour of the reps at the Blade booth was so out of character with the company as I know it that I thought I should say something about it.
 
Whether there's a "no pictures" sign or not, I was taught that it's just good common courtesy to ask permission before taking a photo...and not just at knife shows, this is a good rule for anywhere and anytime.
I think one of the reasons that nobody respects media photgraphers is because of their rudeness of shoving cameras in the faces of others.

Still, there's no excuse for those representing a company at a knife show to display equal rudeness.
They get paid to "be the better man" and rise above rude potential customers.
That's just part of customer service.
 
It's pretty hard to ask a display case permission to take a picture of it. And it's pretty hard to ask permission of people working in a booth that are so busy talking to other people that they won't give you the time of day, even if you're standing there for several minutes, obviously waiting to talk to someone. I took the picture mainly out of boredom, because I was standing around waiting to talk to Sal, nobody else was interested in talking to me and what else was there to do? I don't stick my camera in anyone's face without their permission. I have a little teeny digital camera and I had the flash turned off during the show so as not to bother anyone. It's pretty silly to insist that someone ask to take a picture of an inanimate object at a trade show. Objects are on display at trade shows for people to see. You go to a car show and everyone there has a camera, taking pictures of the cars. Ditto for every other trade show or convention I've ever been to. There were people all over the place taking pictures at Blade. It's a public event, everything is on display. If you want to keep something a secret, you don't put it in a well-lit display case in front of thousands of people.

Once I was "informed" of the no-pictures policy, I put my camera away, and as I said, was fully prepared to delete the file. As I have subsequently done. I am not objecting to the policy against taking pictures. I am objecting to being called stupid and ridiculed right in front of my face by a sales representative, standing at a table at a trade show. A sales representative for a company I have supported with my hard earned dollars for years, and had nothing but kind words and respect for.
 
I can comment only on a couple of things. The no pictures of prototypes thing has come up in the past, but if you haven't hung around the Spyderco forum you might not have known that going in.

Also, I went to blade last year, I had to stop by many times or hang out at booths for a long time before getting to talk to someone. Unfortunately that's just part of it.
 
sorry about your experience. I know getting 'snubbed' really turns someone off the entire experience/interest. I have had that feeling from some knifemakers and I immediately ceased my interest/collection....

Sal has always been friendly and helpful. He must have been very very busy then. There can be a thousand valid reasons but it's all about perception and your experience. Sal is a real gentleman - I know many would've said that you should probably have emailed him about this offline first, but I can sense that you are hurt and disappointed, so posting this seems fair from your perspective.

I know Sal treasures every one of his customers...just look at how he bent backwards for the guy with the abused harpy once.

Hope it is resolved to everyone's satisfaction.
 
I can understand the policy, but in light of it, I cannot understand this thread at all. Almost every single prototype that was at Blade can be viewed here.

http://spyderco.com/forums/showthread.php?t=26699

That said, I have really enjoyed the Amsterdam thread and the glimpses of forthcoming knives.

I will say that my experience was very positive. I went by twice and was going to talk to Sal both times, but he was always chatting with someone, and I didn't want to butt in.

Mainly though, I went to look at H1 protos, and the Spyderco rep with whom I spoke, a very nice lady, let me handle every single one of them. She actually struck up a conversation with me as I was lingering and looking, and when she got the knives out of the display case, she was extremely knowledgeable about design and specs. However, I didn't try to take a pic of them. :p
 
I am so sorry to hear about your negative experience :( I am sure it was a misunderstanding. The Spyderco guys are usually very kind and solicitous and Sal is a true gentleman. As you said, their booth was pretty crowded and in some cases, things go out of control. Of course it is a bummer what happened to you and I feel quite uncomfortable myself to hear that one of my very favorite brands reveals sometimes a darker side, yet I dare to say it wasn't a general issue, just an incident.
 
Guyon said:
I can understand the policy, but in light of it, I cannot understand this thread at all. Almost every single prototype that was at Blade can be viewed here.

http://spyderco.com/forums/showthread.php?t=26699
Click to expand...

There were a few protos at Blade that aren't in the Amsterdam thread. A couple of which looked really cool! I assume those are the ones they didn't want me taking pictures of. I actually was more interested in the historic Spydercos at the top of the case than the upcoming model protos. I was just taken aback by the severity of the reaction and subsequent insults at the table, as well as the general lack of respect I perceived during my several visits. I only mention the incident because it was so out of character with the rest of my experience with other manufacturers at Blade and with Spyderco in the past. Just because I wasn't wearing a VIP badge doesn't mean that I'm not worth treating cordially. I don't think I'll be buying any more Spydercos for a while. Blade really left a bad taste in my mouth. I don't mean to drag the company through the mud over this. By all accounts and from past personal experience, Spyderco is a great company, I'm sure this was just an isolated incident. It really ticked me off, though.
 
Moon, I wonder what you would do if some guy wanders up and starts taking pictures of prototypes in a case clearly marked about not taking pictures. How many knives you've bought in the past doesn't change the fact that you were wrong taking those pictures. There's no point in you having your feelings hurt because you were wrong.

We have sat here and read post after post about how nice and gracious the staff there were yet you , who happened to be taking pictures of things you shouldn't have been, tell us they were rude. Joe
 
Whatever, Mastiff. I said that I didn't see the sign until after it was pointed out to me. It was very small. Once I realized I wasn't supposed to take pictures I stopped immediately and apologized. I had taken a single picture, which was a shot of the whole case from several feet away. The lady at the booth turned to somebody else at the table and started calling me stupid right in front of my face. You wouldn't be irritated if someone did that to you after you made an honest mistake?
 
moonwilson said:
Whatever, Mastiff. I said that I didn't see the sign until after it was pointed out to me. It was very small. Once I realized I wasn't supposed to take pictures I stopped immediately and apologized. I had taken a single picture, which was a shot of the whole case from several feet away. The lady at the booth turned to somebody else at the table and started calling me stupid right in front of my face. You wouldn't be irritated if someone did that to you after you made an honest mistake?
Click to expand...

:thumbup: You have every right to be offended, despite what any diehard Spyderco zealots may say.

I only hope you can let it go and treat it for what it was, an isolated incident.
 
That is pretty lame. I would be upset too if it had happened to me. I think some of you guys just dont want to believe that some of the people at Spyderco are not polite. Just because Sal is a great guy doesnt necessarily mean that everyone working for him is. In every group there are some people who are rude for the sake of being rude.

This goes the other way around as well, just because some of the employees of a company are rude doesnt mean that the whole company is the same way. You wouldnt stop purchasing gas at Conoco because once upon a time the cashier treated you poorly.

As for the picture, if they didnt want pictures taken they should have put more than a 1x2 sign by it. Again if it was that big of a deal maybe they shouldnt have had them on display for the world to see. I mean honestly how many people took pictures that they didnt catch? Probably a lot.

I am in no way attacking Spyderco, I am just saying that some of you have the opinion that it is a flawless company when it is obviously not the case.
 
I too was at Blade. I dealt with 3 or 4 rude people throughout the 3 day event. A couple dealers unwilling to discuss or price their wares and the others were your average "I've got nothing to do so I'll go to the knife show- OH JEEZ, I could buy six or eight knives at WallyWorld or Target for what they're asking- types." Blissfully ignorant of the reality of owning and using a quality blade.

That being said, the Spyder crew were among the most approachable, friendly and knowledgeable in the show. Sal, Eric, Joyce, Kristi, Ed and the rest of them were incredibly busy, but tried to accomidate everyones questions.

As a veteran of hundreds of trade and industry shows (predominantly firearms, knives and accessories aimed at Gov't. contracts) I can tell you that the
" No Pictures " policy is prevelent in most shows unless a manufacturer is trying to launch a new product, then it is ok for that product only for photographers. Period.

Face it, Spyderco products sell. And we all know that there are people and companies out there that would try to capitalize on their fame and design innovation. They have to display protos to show new designs and growth of intellectual property. Some may never get past design stage, or the inovative parts may be used to upgrade existing designs, or bloom new ones.

You see a whole proto of a new design, they (and those that wish to pirate ideas from them) see a sum of several ideas compiled into that knife. Each part could lead to a copromised patent and a huge capital loss. As well as other problems. Things you would not know about or probably care about.

When you are dealing with someones livelyhood, something they built from nothing, THEY MAKE THE RULES. And we owe it to them to follow those rules. Mastiff had it right, be courteous and at least ask. It usually saves the grief and drama.

Bigk6 out
 
moonwilson said:
Whatever, Mastiff. I said that I didn't see the sign until after it was pointed out to me. It was very small. Once I realized I wasn't supposed to take pictures I stopped immediately and apologized. I had taken a single picture, which was a shot of the whole case from several feet away. The lady at the booth turned to somebody else at the table and started calling me stupid right in front of my face. You wouldn't be irritated if someone did that to you after you made an honest mistake?
Click to expand...

I think that, if someone had actually called me "stupid" within earshot, I would have found time to talk to Sal about this employee.
 
Guyon said:
I think that, if someone had actually called me "stupid" within earshot, I would have found time to talk to Sal about this employee.
Click to expand...

That's basically what I'm doing here. I didn't want to interrupt Sal at the time and I was a bit embarassed. I tried to hang around but I got ticked and walked away when the Spyderco employee and another show attendee started having a conversation about how "stupid people can't read signs" right next to me. I was obviously in the wrong, though I did apologize. I wasn't going to make a big fuss at the show.
 
Hi Moonwilson,

Sorry for your bad experience. I must say it is not our way. We have an excellent crew that is friendly and helpful.

The staff that was there was: Kelly, our sales manager, Joyce, Spyderco's marketing & Public Relations manager, Kristi ("Tazkristi"), Ed Schempp, my wife Gail, my son Eric and me. Hard to imagine who might have been rude?

We spoke with hundreds of people at the show. As far I know, they were all positive experiences.

The no picture policy is for "concept models". When people want to take pictures of prototypes, we usually take them out of the case and put them on the counter so they can be shot.

We don't like to permit pics of "concept models" because there is no assurance that the model will be built or that it will look the same if they are built. Often there are modifications we make as a result of input at shows.

If pics of "concept models" do get out, we get phone calls and questions our sales staff do not have answers for. We also have competitors that like to copy our designs and so we keep our concept models under wraps.

If anyone was rude to you, you have my, and everyone elses apology. I'm sure there was no negative intention.

Perhaps we will have opportunity to make amends in the future.

sal
 
I'm sorry if the experience was negative for anyone. I was fortunate enough to talk to Sal, but I did wait for a few minutes- and I didn't get a chance to see at least half the displays at the show. Priorities...When I spoke to the reps at the booth, I was shown the courtesy typical of Spyderco.

The P'Kals were selling for $175 at Deepak Chopra's booth.
 
Moonwilson,

I'm sorry to read you received the rude reception and got a small replay in this thread as well. Very rough when the only face of a company you meet is spitting venom at yours and you've been a die-hard supporter. Here's to hoping it's a one-time event and not an actively anti-customer attitude.

Sal,

Certain shoes; often bearing an ANSI 42 marking; can improve customer service. ;)
 
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