- Joined
- Jul 6, 2005
- Messages
- 307
i just got off the phone with them, wow.. what a bunch of ***holes.
after being put on hold for 5 minutes i get a female customer service rep who doesnt introduce herself or even say hi.
i say hi, i am from canada and interested in buying some of their knives. i tell her politely that i sent an email to their international@eknifeworks.com address listed on their website, and it was bounced back - and i suggest that they should check it out because perhaps other customers are trying to contact them via email as well. right away she turns bitchy - as if id just personally insulted her or something - and tells me that the email works perfectly fine. so i confirm the email with her on the phone, and tell her that ive tried sending from two different email addresses and it bounced both times - so perhaps there is something wrong with it. rather than say 'thank you for pointing that out, we will look into it' - which is what i would have expected - she starts snapping at me that it indeed works. (well, i have two bounced emails in my inbox that says it doesnt.)
..so i drop the subject and move on... regretting ever bringing it up in the first place - i was only trying to help.
so they want to charge me $18.50 to ship two small CRKT folders to canada -- the knives were only $14. two full-sized CRKT boxes would fit comfortably in a global priority mail flat rate envelope, which costs $4 to ship, holds up to 4lbs, and is the absolute best, quickest and most trouble-free way to ship to canada. i get it right in my mailbox and never have delays, customs hassles, etc. (not to mention some insist on sending them with fedex/UPS -- courier companies charge an ADDITIONAL $20 border brokering fee on their packages, and each and every one of them always gets stopped and dinged for taxes, duties and a $5 customs handling charge).
so, i figure fine.. its still a reasonably good deal. so i ask if they would please take a moment and tighten the pivot screws on the knives because some over-enthusiastic customs agent may confiscate them if they can be swung open. so she starts literally yelling at me in this sharp bitchy smartass tone on the phone that they are not responsible if customs confiscates them. i told her that i am fine with that, but they most likely wont confiscate them if the pivot screws were tightened. she said that they would not alter the knives in any way because it may 'damage the knife'. i told her that tightening the pivot screw wouldnt damage anything, and i am the customer - i am requesting that this be done so obviously i would have no problem with it, and would take any responsibility for 'damage'. then she just flat out tells me that they are unable to do this.
i told her that considering they are charging me nearly 5x as much as the shipping i requested for a knife, they sure are unwilling to do much for the customer. i also told her that i was merely asking some questions in a polite way and there was no reason to raise her voice and start getting all snappy with me. rather than apologise she keeps rattling on in her bitchy loud tone and i just thanked her for her courteous service and hung up.
in short, im extremely pissed off after just talking to these people on the phone for 5 minutes. what a bunch of dipsh*ts. when are people going to realise that there are many out there who absolutely dont care about saving a couple of bucks on a knife, they just want courteous and friendly customer service, and an ounce of consideration.
so in the end, even though some of their knives are cheaper by a few bucks, 'smoky mountain knife works' can go to hell
. ill just order from new graham - their prices may be a couple bucks higher but they will bend over backwards to work with the customer, and are extremely friendly on the phone. they voluntarily and automatically tighten the pivot screws on all knives shipped to canada, look around for the cheapest shipping method (they automatically use USPS global priority), and do little things like label them as 'cutting tools' (its perfectly legal, and labelling them as 'knives' or even more stupidly 'tactical knives' basically ensures customs delays and package opening). you get the feeling that they actually care about whether or not you receive the knife and are a happy customer, as opposed to just wanting to part you from your money and absolve themselves of responsibility as soon as possible.
ive worked in sales and custom service for years, as well as running my own service business. there are many occasions when an irate customer will start raising their voice and escalating a telephone conversation into an argument. even then, a customer service/sales rep's responsibility is to keep cool, courteous, and defuse the situation. but never, ever should a customer service rep raise her voice in a bitchy tone to a customer, and god forbid to one who is merely calmly, quietly and politely asking a reasonable question. as her boss, i would have fired her ass on the spot. a customer service rep should never initiate an argument, especially not when the customer is just asking questions. wtf ever happened to 'the customer is always right'?
places with snappy, rude customer service and salespeople make me sick. this is why i refuse to order from places like LeBaron as well, even though their prices are better than their competitors. id rather pay a bit more and deal with good friendly people - it absolutely rankles to give your money to a**holes. people like this should just be boycotted out of business, but the problem is that some people see the price as the ultimate selling point and will therefore go to a store that is $5 cheaper, even though after factoring in shipping costs and bad customer service it will ennd up being much more expensive in the long run.
bladematrix is another perfect example. prices $5-6 lower than new graham, but they wanted to charge me $85 US to ship a couple of small folders to canada. $85 for shipping is beyond unfair, its criminal. i understand i am from a foreign country, and listening to my handful of questions may be tying up your precious time, but my money is still money - and whether i ever buy from you again is ultimately determined by how the deal goes down and how fairly and courteously i am treated, not by your prices.
cheers,
-gabriel
after being put on hold for 5 minutes i get a female customer service rep who doesnt introduce herself or even say hi.
i say hi, i am from canada and interested in buying some of their knives. i tell her politely that i sent an email to their international@eknifeworks.com address listed on their website, and it was bounced back - and i suggest that they should check it out because perhaps other customers are trying to contact them via email as well. right away she turns bitchy - as if id just personally insulted her or something - and tells me that the email works perfectly fine. so i confirm the email with her on the phone, and tell her that ive tried sending from two different email addresses and it bounced both times - so perhaps there is something wrong with it. rather than say 'thank you for pointing that out, we will look into it' - which is what i would have expected - she starts snapping at me that it indeed works. (well, i have two bounced emails in my inbox that says it doesnt.)
..so i drop the subject and move on... regretting ever bringing it up in the first place - i was only trying to help.
so they want to charge me $18.50 to ship two small CRKT folders to canada -- the knives were only $14. two full-sized CRKT boxes would fit comfortably in a global priority mail flat rate envelope, which costs $4 to ship, holds up to 4lbs, and is the absolute best, quickest and most trouble-free way to ship to canada. i get it right in my mailbox and never have delays, customs hassles, etc. (not to mention some insist on sending them with fedex/UPS -- courier companies charge an ADDITIONAL $20 border brokering fee on their packages, and each and every one of them always gets stopped and dinged for taxes, duties and a $5 customs handling charge).
so, i figure fine.. its still a reasonably good deal. so i ask if they would please take a moment and tighten the pivot screws on the knives because some over-enthusiastic customs agent may confiscate them if they can be swung open. so she starts literally yelling at me in this sharp bitchy smartass tone on the phone that they are not responsible if customs confiscates them. i told her that i am fine with that, but they most likely wont confiscate them if the pivot screws were tightened. she said that they would not alter the knives in any way because it may 'damage the knife'. i told her that tightening the pivot screw wouldnt damage anything, and i am the customer - i am requesting that this be done so obviously i would have no problem with it, and would take any responsibility for 'damage'. then she just flat out tells me that they are unable to do this.
i told her that considering they are charging me nearly 5x as much as the shipping i requested for a knife, they sure are unwilling to do much for the customer. i also told her that i was merely asking some questions in a polite way and there was no reason to raise her voice and start getting all snappy with me. rather than apologise she keeps rattling on in her bitchy loud tone and i just thanked her for her courteous service and hung up.
in short, im extremely pissed off after just talking to these people on the phone for 5 minutes. what a bunch of dipsh*ts. when are people going to realise that there are many out there who absolutely dont care about saving a couple of bucks on a knife, they just want courteous and friendly customer service, and an ounce of consideration.
so in the end, even though some of their knives are cheaper by a few bucks, 'smoky mountain knife works' can go to hell
. ill just order from new graham - their prices may be a couple bucks higher but they will bend over backwards to work with the customer, and are extremely friendly on the phone. they voluntarily and automatically tighten the pivot screws on all knives shipped to canada, look around for the cheapest shipping method (they automatically use USPS global priority), and do little things like label them as 'cutting tools' (its perfectly legal, and labelling them as 'knives' or even more stupidly 'tactical knives' basically ensures customs delays and package opening). you get the feeling that they actually care about whether or not you receive the knife and are a happy customer, as opposed to just wanting to part you from your money and absolve themselves of responsibility as soon as possible. ive worked in sales and custom service for years, as well as running my own service business. there are many occasions when an irate customer will start raising their voice and escalating a telephone conversation into an argument. even then, a customer service/sales rep's responsibility is to keep cool, courteous, and defuse the situation. but never, ever should a customer service rep raise her voice in a bitchy tone to a customer, and god forbid to one who is merely calmly, quietly and politely asking a reasonable question. as her boss, i would have fired her ass on the spot. a customer service rep should never initiate an argument, especially not when the customer is just asking questions. wtf ever happened to 'the customer is always right'?
places with snappy, rude customer service and salespeople make me sick. this is why i refuse to order from places like LeBaron as well, even though their prices are better than their competitors. id rather pay a bit more and deal with good friendly people - it absolutely rankles to give your money to a**holes. people like this should just be boycotted out of business, but the problem is that some people see the price as the ultimate selling point and will therefore go to a store that is $5 cheaper, even though after factoring in shipping costs and bad customer service it will ennd up being much more expensive in the long run.
bladematrix is another perfect example. prices $5-6 lower than new graham, but they wanted to charge me $85 US to ship a couple of small folders to canada. $85 for shipping is beyond unfair, its criminal. i understand i am from a foreign country, and listening to my handful of questions may be tying up your precious time, but my money is still money - and whether i ever buy from you again is ultimately determined by how the deal goes down and how fairly and courteously i am treated, not by your prices.
cheers,
-gabriel
