Here we go again. I have been lurking here for years and have posted a couple times in the past. I will do so here again and will let the flaming begin.
Before anyone here questions how I will qualify my statements- I am very framiliar with CS, its staff, its practices, and its management. I really don't feel comfortable explaining further than that since I still have a relationship with them and I don't want them feeling like I am telling stories out of school.
First- I find it very doubtful that anyone in the CS company took a bribe to sell 2nds as 1sts. 2nds are clearly marked at the factory as such. Most products are inspected upon arrival at the warehouse as well and if needed, are marked as 2nds. I can tell you that if a product does not meet inspected standards, they are either sent back and destroyed or marked as 2nds.
Second- QC- CS does a pretty good job about their QC. Lynn Thompson is commited to selling a quality product. To do so, the company has to take some effort to meet his commitment. Do some knives slip through the cracks. Of course. They are a mass production company and when things are mass produced, occaisional errors occur. I can tell you that the actual return rate is extremely low. Unless a knife has been obviously abused, it is usually taken care of to the customer's satisfaction.
Third- Warranty- Yes, I know that at first galnce the warranty seems a little thin. But let's look at what a warranty actually is. Not a guarantee of quality, but a reflection of the ease and cost of replacement. I use Kia as an example. KIA has a 10 year, 100,000 mile warranty. Wow, there cars must be great, right? Not as such, but the parts and the cars themselves are cheap to replace. CS spends quite a bit on R&D and production. they are also aware that their knives are made to be worked and worked hard. Knives wear out under use. That is a fact and to not accept that is to not accept the laws of physics. CS warranty reflects the notion that if there is a manufacturing flaw, it will become evident within 1 year for folders and 5 years for fixed. And while I cannot say it for the record, I know that the company will do everything it can to keep a customer happy, even beyond the warranty.
Finally- More Proof- Love it or hate it, it has worked brilliantly for the company. I know how much time and effort they spend to produce the videos and their success is the reason the videos are the flagship of their advertising. You think its boring or dumb or repetive, ok. I find that most who berate the videos don't like the company to begin with and if Lynn was handing out dollar bills with every knife you would still think the company sucks. There is nothing they can do to win you over and you are not the market they are going for. They want the new customer, the customer who is really tired of crappy knives, and the fans of CS. Would they like to win over a CS Detractor? Of course they would, but they realize that that fight is, for the most part, a losing one. Just ask a Chevy fan what he thinks of Ford, and vice-versa. As far as the "repeating these tests can void your warranty" issue- please be intellectually honest. If you chip or break you knife where there is something wrong with the manufacture, like a stress fracture, etc., it will be replaced. You bend a knife 60 degrees in a vice or punch it through a steel drum or do 50 tip snaps or do your own weight tests against the locks, then no... that is abuse and why should they cover it. They already did it for you.
My 2 cents. Let the flaming begin.
Before anyone here questions how I will qualify my statements- I am very framiliar with CS, its staff, its practices, and its management. I really don't feel comfortable explaining further than that since I still have a relationship with them and I don't want them feeling like I am telling stories out of school.
First- I find it very doubtful that anyone in the CS company took a bribe to sell 2nds as 1sts. 2nds are clearly marked at the factory as such. Most products are inspected upon arrival at the warehouse as well and if needed, are marked as 2nds. I can tell you that if a product does not meet inspected standards, they are either sent back and destroyed or marked as 2nds.
Second- QC- CS does a pretty good job about their QC. Lynn Thompson is commited to selling a quality product. To do so, the company has to take some effort to meet his commitment. Do some knives slip through the cracks. Of course. They are a mass production company and when things are mass produced, occaisional errors occur. I can tell you that the actual return rate is extremely low. Unless a knife has been obviously abused, it is usually taken care of to the customer's satisfaction.
Third- Warranty- Yes, I know that at first galnce the warranty seems a little thin. But let's look at what a warranty actually is. Not a guarantee of quality, but a reflection of the ease and cost of replacement. I use Kia as an example. KIA has a 10 year, 100,000 mile warranty. Wow, there cars must be great, right? Not as such, but the parts and the cars themselves are cheap to replace. CS spends quite a bit on R&D and production. they are also aware that their knives are made to be worked and worked hard. Knives wear out under use. That is a fact and to not accept that is to not accept the laws of physics. CS warranty reflects the notion that if there is a manufacturing flaw, it will become evident within 1 year for folders and 5 years for fixed. And while I cannot say it for the record, I know that the company will do everything it can to keep a customer happy, even beyond the warranty.
Finally- More Proof- Love it or hate it, it has worked brilliantly for the company. I know how much time and effort they spend to produce the videos and their success is the reason the videos are the flagship of their advertising. You think its boring or dumb or repetive, ok. I find that most who berate the videos don't like the company to begin with and if Lynn was handing out dollar bills with every knife you would still think the company sucks. There is nothing they can do to win you over and you are not the market they are going for. They want the new customer, the customer who is really tired of crappy knives, and the fans of CS. Would they like to win over a CS Detractor? Of course they would, but they realize that that fight is, for the most part, a losing one. Just ask a Chevy fan what he thinks of Ford, and vice-versa. As far as the "repeating these tests can void your warranty" issue- please be intellectually honest. If you chip or break you knife where there is something wrong with the manufacture, like a stress fracture, etc., it will be replaced. You bend a knife 60 degrees in a vice or punch it through a steel drum or do 50 tip snaps or do your own weight tests against the locks, then no... that is abuse and why should they cover it. They already did it for you.
My 2 cents. Let the flaming begin.
They are mind numbingly dull, and that is just a simple observation, not a reflection of pre-established antipathy towards CS. I ordered the DVDs because I was interested in seeing them, but I dont know how anyone could sit and watch one in its entirety.
