Not so great customer service?

[Dekz]

I whined a bit on here lately about my Spyderco S having quite bad vertical blade play and at least one person said I should send it in to Spyderco and they would take care of me.

So I e-mailed Spyderco about the issue and the main points of the reply are as follows:

"When you send your knife in please include a check or money order for $5 S&H fee"

"If your knife is determined not to be covered by warranty and can be repaired, there is a $20. repair fee"

I'm certainly not about to spend $30 to fix a $40 knife. Is this typical?

 

[NoFair]

It says that if you have damaged it and it isn't covered by warranty you have to pay $20 to get it repaired..

If you are covered it doesn't cost anything for the repair..

Don't see the problem.

 

[coop1957]

It says that if you have damaged it and it isn't covered by warranty you have to pay $20 to get it repaired..

If you are covered it doesn't cost anything for the repair..

Don't see the problem.

Same here.

 

[spyken]

read their warranty. I think bladeplay OTTB or through normal use is covered under the warranty. bladeplay due to prying with the blade probably isn't.

 

[Dekz]

My problem is that I have to send it to them to even see if I am covered. I don't want to spend $10 to have them say "nope, sorry" and then send it back.

 

[FLymon]

My problem is that I have to send it to them to even see if I am covered. I don't want to spend $10 to have them say "no, sorry" and then send it back.

Then get the dealer you bought it from to cover your costs.

 

[spyken]

Dekz, I know what you mean, but that's the deal with doing online / cross border deals. I've had to send many custom knives back for various issues, and I've had to bear considerable shipping costs...sometimes I really feel it's unfair, but, well...unless I want to buy it at a local brick and mortar, that is the cost to me.

I remember sending a knife in to Benchmade once...it came with a dull edge. They resharpened it, and sent it back to me on their dime. That is a nice feeling, especially for an overseas customer.

I think Spyderco once did this, but guess, a lot of people abused the policy.

 

[Dekz]

Dekz, I know what you mean, but that's the deal with doing online / cross border deals. I've had to send many custom knives back for various issues, and I've had to bear considerable shipping costs...sometimes I really feel it's unfair, but, well...unless I want to buy it at a local brick and mortar, that is the cost to me.

Kershaw for example I would pay to ship it to them and that's it. They would fix/replace it with pretty much no questions asked, and then send it back on their dime.

I was under the impression that Spyderco CS would be similar.

 

[BlazenGem]

in my opinion thats asking too much of spyderco in such a recession.

Because the knife in question is only $40 new, spending more than 25% of what its worth might seem over the edge . However, if it was a more expensive model it would be worth it.

 

[Murdoc370]

Chances are that if your knife is really defect, that your $5 cheque will still be enclosed in the return parcel when it comes back.

Give it a try. Alternatively, buy a new one. But sending it in is cheaper...


Dennis

 

[Josh K]

I whined a bit on here lately about my Spyderco S having quite bad vertical blade play and at least one person said I should send it in to Spyderco and they would take care of me.

So I e-mailed Spyderco about the issue and the main points of the reply are as follows:

"When you send your knife in please include a check or money order for $5 S&H fee"

"If your knife is determined not to be covered by warranty and can be repaired, there is a $20. repair fee"

I'm certainly not about to spend $30 to fix a $40 knife. Is this typical?

Where do you get $30 from? $20+$5 = $25 first of all.

Second, why are you assuming that a defective knife wouldn't be covered under warranty? Did you even talk to someone at Spyderco?

 

[anti-torsion]

Where do you get $30 from? $20+$5 = $25 first of all.

Second, why are you assuming that a defective knife wouldn't be covered under warranty? Did you even talk to someone at Spyderco?

Agreed, send the knife in, buy a new one or deal with it.

 

[kirko]

They have to put that to cover their asses for abused knives. Its a standard thing among a lot of warranties. Have I ever had to pay that fee when sending in a knife? no. I also do not use a knife for anything else than its intended purpose.

 

[vitekboi]

Where do you get $30 from? $20+$5 = $25 first of all.

I think $30 includes the $5 it cost to send the knife, $5 to include with the knife, $20 to repair.

 

[marthinus]

Kershaw for example I would pay to ship it to them and that's it. They would fix/replace it with pretty much no questions asked, and then send it back on their dime.

I was under the impression that Spyderco CS would be similar.

Spyderco pretty much also.

 

[Joshua J.]

Kershaw for example I would pay to ship it to them and that's it. They would fix/replace it with pretty much no questions asked, and then send it back on their dime.

I was under the impression that Spyderco CS would be similar.

Unfortunately, not all companies can do business like Kershaw. It would be great if they could, but reality isn't so gracious sometimes.

The reality is that Kershaw has a multi-billion dollar parent company, and produces masses upon masses of knives every year. They are much more mainstream than Spyderco. Even Benchmade is significantly larger in scope. Spyderco does what they have to in order to run a business. They are not particularly mainstream, more of a specialty shop amongst manufacturers.

 

[Dekz]

Where do you get $30 from? $20+$5 = $25 first of all.

Because I have to pay to send it there genius.

Second, why are you assuming that a defective knife wouldn't be covered under warranty? Did you even talk to someone at Spyderco?

See the parts in quotes that are from the actual e-mail from Spyderco?

I'm not assuming that it won't be covered, but it is obviously a possibility.

Agreed, send the knife in, buy a new one or deal with it.

Why on earth would I buy a new one if this is the kind of quality and support I am going to receive? :thumbdn:

Unfortunately, not all companies can do business like Kershaw. It would be great if they could, but reality isn't so gracious sometimes.

The reality is that Kershaw has a multi-billion dollar parent company, and produces masses upon masses of knives every year. They are much more mainstream than Spyderco. Even Benchmade is significantly larger in scope. Spyderco does what they have to in order to run a business. They are not particularly mainstream, more of a specialty shop amongst manufacturers.

Fair enough I guess. I just wanted to know if this was the usual and apparently it is. I will keep this in mind when considering future purchases.

 

[The Deacon]

While I have seldom needed to avail myself of it, it has been my experience that Spyderco customer service is excellent. Here's my understanding of how things work...

• If it's a warranty issue, and can be fixed, it will be repaired and returned at no charge to you.
  
• If it's a warranty issue, and cannot be fixed, it will be replaced and returned at no charge to you. The only exception to that would be an out of production model, in which case you would receive an credit, redeemable at SFO, for the knife's MSRP in its last year of production.
  
• If you want the knife sharpened, it costs you $5 for return shipping.
  
• If there is some minor non-warranty issue which can be corrected, for example a missing screw, it cost you $5 for return shipping.
  
• If there is some more substantial non-warranty issue which can be corrected, it can cost you up to $20 for the repair and return shipping.
  
• If they determine there is nothing wrong, that the knife is within normal tolerances, it will be returned.

In the case of your S, assuming you have not tinkered with it, the most likely scenarios would be the first, the second, or the last.

Paul

My Personal Website - - - - - - A Beginners Guide to Spyderco Collecting - - - - - - Kiwimania
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Spyderco Collector # 043 - - WTC # 1458 - 1504 - 1508 - Never Forget, Never Forgive!
It's easy to grin when your ship comes in and good fortune and fame are your lot, but the man worthwhile is the man who can smile with his shorts twsited up in a knot. - Morey Amsterdam

 

[Condition 1]

I learned this one the hard way. Now I’m happy to enclose a check for $5. You always get more than your money’s worth. But your point is valid. Kershaw is the most lenient. Benchmade asks that you send them $5 and Spyderco requires it.

The last time I did not include the $5 was a knife or two (from another maker) that required sharpening right out of the box.
If I called them they would even cover the shipping charges from my door.
Some of the problems that exist are.

1. I’m buying online.
2. I ask my online dealer to check for blade play and centering but not sharpness.
3. My last purchase from a dealer I do less business with than others, did not even check as requested.
4. If I don’t like the huge savings I get online, I’m free to drive to my local dealers and ask them to order it for me. I’ll pay full price, wait for a week or 2 before I see it and then it may have the same issue anyway. Which I am free to decline but may have paid a down payment with issues getting ugly.
5. Local distributors stock NOTHING. Maybe an Endura/Delica with a price tag GLUED on blade. I have no intentions of dealing with any of that.
6. $5 doesn’t look so bad anymore.

C1

 

[Josh K]

Because I have to pay to send it there genius.

Yeah, but you're also assuming right off the bat Spyderco is out to get your money.

See the parts in quotes that are from the actual e-mail from Spyderco?

CALL. People depend too much on electronic mail and the like, person to person or a phone call goes over so much better.

I'm not assuming that it won't be covered, but it is obviously a possibility.

Yeah, if you abused the knife it probably is. If not, why are you worried?

Why on earth would I buy a new one if this is the kind of quality and support I am going to receive? :thumbdn:

So far you haven't received any, just whined about how they handle people who may or may not be abusing the warranty.

Fair enough I guess. I just wanted to know if this was the usual and apparently it is. I will keep this in mind when considering future purchases.

The usual is a canned email saying "Send it in, here are some approx. charges. We charge return shipping."

Phone call buddy.