Smoky Mountain Knife Works? Good or Bad?

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Lock1454

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Jan 4, 2009
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Hi all,

I was looking into picking up a couple of Moras and maybe a few cheap Rough Rider knives and this site was mentioned to have both brands in stock by a few posters in a couple of threads I posted. Was about to place an order with them when I decided to check the BBB and see if they were on there, sadly they have an F (http://knoxville.bbb.org/WWWRoot/Report.aspx?site=57&bbb=0533&firm=20117). I'm a bit unsure as to whether I should do business with them or not; on one hand the site was mentioned a couple of times by people on BF while on the other the BBB has a rather poor report on them :\

Has anyone done business with them before? Maybe had to deal with the customer service and can speak to that?
 
I have done business with them at least a dozen times and never had a problem. Things have changed over the years though and they have become more of a discount store now. I have returned things without a problem.
 
I've ordered from them many times over the years with never a problem. The one time I spoke with CS (I had a question about my order) they were polite and helpful. I also visited them years ago (when I could get around) and it was mind blowing! No worries ordering from them. Enjoy!
 
Sadly, I put no credit in a BBB "rating". It's often a shake down scheme they use to get money out of people, and if you notice, SMKW's didn't pay them; ie, they are not a member.

If you look down the page they have 8 complaints against them with 5 resolved (not that the other 3 weren't resolved just that the person didn't let the BBB know they were resolved). 8 complaints out the the number of orders they fill daily is NOTHING.

Also, I have done business with them, no issues at all. I plan on stopping in one last time as I move out of the area to pick up many more knives from before I move.
 
SMKW is very, very good in my experience.

I've also dealt with them on eBay (their eBay username is mvpknife) and found them to be throughly professional and a real pleasure to do business with.
 
ohen cepel said:
8 complaints out of the number of orders they fill daily is NOTHING.
Click to expand...

I have to agree. I've only ordered from them a couple times, but I didn't have any trouble. One thing I like about them is that they show clearly on their website if an item is in stock or not. I hate placing an order, waiting for it, and getting an email a week later saying "oh yeah, we don't have that" :rolleyes:
 
I think I must have put several of their employees' kids through college, back in the mid 1990s. Never a problem, not ever.
 
I bought both from them on the bay and at the store, can't find many any nicer. As for customer service, I won a couple of items on the bay, but was due to be up there on vacation. They held the items and refunded the shipping, plus no sales tax. Really nice folks to deal with.
Jim
 
They won't rip you off, but I prefer a few other dealers for price and availability of what I commonly buy.
 
I have had good luck and have ordered from them several times. My orders have always been correct and the shipping has been fast. :thumbup:
 
ohen cepel said:
Sadly, I put no credit in a BBB "rating". It's often a shake down scheme they use to get money out of people, and if you notice, SMKW's didn't pay them; ie, they are not a member.

If you look down the page they have 8 complaints against them with 5 resolved (not that the other 3 weren't resolved just that the person didn't let the BBB know they were resolved). 8 complaints out the the number of orders they fill daily is NOTHING.
Click to expand...

Thanks for putting that in perspective. As a small business man myself, I have been self employed for for almost 30 years, and have started 4 successful companies. (Some more than others, of course!!)

They only want the membership fees from small businesses. At our local chapter, if someone files a complaint against your company and you are NOT a member, you never know. If you find out, they give you the cold shoulder towards resolution, unless you join. Once you join, they are very helpful.

I had a cranky older fellow I couldn't make happy when we roofed and repaired his house. Nothing I did would make it right. He filed a complaint with the BBB because he said we left a nail part of the way out of his fascia wrap.
This is one nail, not driven flush over an $8,000 job. We had done a lot of work extra to our contract, and I had talked to this old fart until I was blue in the face. I was done.

We were unable to make him happy. He filed the complaint, I was unaware of it, and it cost me a job. When I called the local BBB told me I would be notified "right away", and be assigned a "complaint manager" to expedite the handling of such issues... if I would just join.

You know... it's just $125 a year... I could display their logo... I got a free sticker for my front door...

But my rating would still be low because the old man refused to respond to them anymore. Hell, he may have died. So with literally thousands of happy clients over all the years, all of my work is from word of mouth alone, all I get from them is a "use caution" rating.

I see them as extortionist assholes.

Robert
 
ive used them alot over the years never had a problem and the one time i contacted CS with a question the responded promptly and politely, i've had nothing but good experiences with them.
if i was buying knives, i wouldnt hesitate to buy from them again
ivan
 
Alrighty, thanks guy. Just wanted to make sure it was all good. I know the BBB can be a not so great judge, but I'd rather make double sure and ask than get screwed over because I was too lazy to bother.
 
I have been dealing with them for over 20 years. All I can say is that I have never had a problem in any aspect.
 
Been there several times in person and have placed many online orders over the years, never let me down. The one or two times I did call CS to check on an order or edit an order, they were very polite and helpful. Their prices are great and selection unbeatable, some of their employees are hit or miss, but it doesn't pay well. I reccomend them and would like to meet Kevin Pipes someday, he has to be the luckiest man alive.
 
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