reliability vs warranty?

[hardheart]

[Youtube]vCM_Cp-u8Ls[/youtube]

At times when someone posts that they have an issue with a new knife, there are replies stating to not be disappointed because the warranty/customer service of the company is great. Do you feel the performance of the warranty department is enough to overshadow instances when a problem is reported by multiple owners of a particular knife model? And is it always a reasonable response?

For an edc in the pocket o a light user, an issue popping up means using something else at the moment or grabbing something else from the knife drawer. But for heavy use on the job, a mechanical issue that compromises function or comfort in long term use, is it enough to tell the owner "just send it in and you can use it to complete your task in 4 to 6 weeks, when it will be good as new." When new wasn't quite good enough.

 

[unit]

At times when someone posts that they have an issue with a new knife, there are replies stating to not be disappointed because the warranty/customer service of the company is great. Do you feel the performance of the warranty department is enough to overshadow instances when a problem is reported by multiple owners of a particular knife model? And is it always a reasonable response?

For an edc in the pocket o a light user, an issue popping up means using something else at the moment or grabbing something else from the knife drawer. But for heavy use on the job, a mechanical issue that compromises function or comfort in long term use, is it enough to tell the owner "just send it in and you can use it to complete your task in 4 to 6 weeks, when it will be good as new." When new wasn't quite good enough.

I rarely concern myself with problems reported by "multiple owners" on the web. I used to look at complaint threads (and still do sometimes), but so frequently there is something really fishy about the whole deal.

Forums are a great place to share knowledge, too frequently (IMO) people try to use them to leverage a deal.

I buy from a few dealers, and a few makers...I KNOW that I will be taken care of if there is a real problem...so I guess my answer to you is reliability is most important to me...that is, reliability of the PEOPLE I deal with.

 

[Jesse B.]

At times when someone posts that they have an issue with a new knife, there are replies stating to not be disappointed because the warranty/customer service of the company is great. Do you feel the performance of the warranty department is enough to overshadow instances when a problem is reported by multiple owners of a particular knife model?

That's tricky, since it depends on whether or not the reported issue is frequent enough for it to be considered statistically significant (or outside the "acceptable" range)--which on the internet is more often than not difficult or impossible to determine. Too often I've seen people disparage a model or even an entire company based on one bad personal experience and a half-dozen or fewer bad reports which appear to confirm some fundamental flaw in the design or manufacturing process. It's not that that's never the case, but one has to take into account simple facts like:
- A person is far more likely to report a bad experience than a neutral or positive one
- If a company mass produces 100,000 knives which for some reason have a 0.0005% failure rate, then 50 people are going to get lemons

So in instances where a very small minority of people (relative to the total quantity of knives produced) are reporting the same problem, which is covered by warranty and the warranty service rectifies the problem with a high enough level of efficiency, then to me it's forgivable.
On the other hand, in cases where you have a sufficiently large enough proportion of people reporting the same problem, then it's little comfort to hear: "Just send the knife in at your own expense and wait X weeks for it to be fixed." That's an indication of poor quality control (or possibly a design flaw), and at that point it's fair to indict the model and the company that produced it.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[338375]

I buy from a few dealers, and a few makers...I KNOW that I will be taken care of if there is a real problem...so I guess my answer to you is reliability is most important to me...that is, reliability of the PEOPLE I deal with.

Well said Ken. I tired long ago of the response, " They have great CS. Send it in and they will take care of you ". Like anything, a knife company can have a few bad ones get out the door. Things happen when they are pushing 100's of knives out the door every day.
When a person buys a knife, the last thing they want to do is box it up , and spend 5-10 dollars shipping it back, and not have the knife for a few weeks.
However, its not a perfect world. Fortunately the companies I buy from, do have great service if its needed, but even better is the fact that it is rarely needed

 

[medcommander]

That's tricky, since it depends on whether or not the reported issue is frequent enough for it to be considered statistically significant (or outside the "acceptable" range)--which on the internet is more often than not difficult or impossible to determine. Too often I've seen people disparage a model or even an entire company based on one bad personal experience and a half-dozen or fewer bad reports which appear to confirm some fundamental flaw in the design or manufacturing process. It's not that that's never the case, but one has to take into account simple facts like:
- A person is far more likely to report a bad experience than a neutral or positive one
- If a company mass produces 100,000 knives which for some reason have a 0.0005% failure rate, then 50 people are going to get lemons

Just my 2 cents.

+1

I really think Jesse hit the nail on the head. Out of the thousands of a certain design that may be shipped out you often only hear about 5-10 cases of people with legitimate blade issues (not stemming from abuse/misuse). Personally I've found that my problems stem more from poor design execution and manufacturing then from QC. I mean some of the problems you here people complaining about are hard to detenct without actually using the knife. My problem is when they release knives with designs or obvious flaws which would naturally cause them to fail.

So in my opinion while a good warranty is important to correct unforseen issues it is much more important to create a good design which will be able to prevent those problems from occuring. I don't mean reliability when I say this either, for every knife has it's uses and building one like a tank just adds unnecessary weight. I just want them to create simple, mechanically efficient, well thought out designs that they can give to testers who's feedback will help them make the necessary adjustments to the product.

 

[mley1]

I hate having to send off a knife to customer service for repair. I hate it even worse when it's an expensive knife(for me anything over 100 dollars is expensive). While I hate using customer service, it means a lot that a knife company has a lifetime warranty, and good customer service.

 

[kreole]

I feel like reliability is an airplane flight and the warranty is a parachute. Ideally the plane is all you need, but in the rare case something goes wrong, you want a parachute you can count on. In the other direction, I don't want to have to strap on a parachute and take that jump every time I get on a flight.

So, in the end I say both are important. I don't want to buy from a brand if I could be burnt by their customer service even if they get it right 99.99...% of the time, nor do I want to buy from a company known for having issues even if they have great support .

 

[Franciscomv]

In my case, since I'm a few thousand kilometers away from the US, warranties are usually quite useless. Unless it's a very expensive knife, the cost of sending it back and having it shipped to me again would probably cost as much as just getting a new one. My country's postal service employees aren't big fans of the whole private property concept, so stuff goes missing quite often. That means I've got to use FedEx or DHL if I don't want to risk it, thus spending even more money.

So I tend to stay away from knives and guns that have just hit the market, I'd rather play it safe and get things that have been out for a while.

 

[mrdeus]

Reliability! Sending a knife back means 30% (taxes and duties) of the value + expensive return shipping down the drain.

 

[Zidfeldts]

Even in Canada warranties would be useless. Once I get a knife across the border I would never take a chance on sending it back. That said, I have never had an issue with a knife that would warrant return. I did break a tip on a Buck knife and sent it back to be reground with good results.

 

[AussieKnifeNut]

When anything is produced in mass production there is a chance that the odd procduct will slip through. But the warranty policy by a campany will reflect their quality. A company wont provide a lifetime warranty, no questions asked replacement policy (without loop holes) if they are producing bad quality knives.

 

[bean_sips]

To me, reliability is a much bigger factor than warranty. A warranty isn't exactly helpful if my knife has a failure in the middle of a task. Besides, if the knife is reliable enough, I'll never need to use the warranty.

 

[Chris "Anagarika"]

In my case, since I'm a few thousand kilometers away from the US, warranties are usually quite useless. Unless it's a very expensive knife, the cost of sending it back and having it shipped to me again would probably cost as much as just getting a new one. My country's postal service employees aren't big fans of the whole private property concept, so stuff goes missing quite often. That means I've got to use FedEx or DHL if I don't want to risk it, thus spending even more money.

So I tend to stay away from knives and guns that have just hit the market, I'd rather play it safe and get things that have been out for a while.

Same situation here. Bought a Resilience at 40$, shipping is about 27$. I can't afford to send it back for warranty (same postal service issue, stuff goes missing).

Back to topic, both are important. Getting it right in the first place builds customer satidfaction & perhaps loyalty. Good warranty to cover unforeseen defect (like steel micro fracture, from within) is needed.

Things like the 'chewed up' clip of brand new Ti Military (Spyderco subforum) and the MCusta rubbing liner (this subforum) should never happen IMHO as both manufacturer & dealer (especially dealer) had chance to inspect prior to sending it out of the door. Just a quick check: open the knife, wiggle the blade to test lockup, close it, visual inspection (blade clear from handle slab). Put back & ship.

It's call responsible business practice. IMO, the two particular incidents were mostly dealer's responsibility to return it for service, not End User.