The devil to pay......

[T.A.DAVISON]

Impending trouble or other bad consequences following from one's actions. .
Is what the title means.

THIS IS FOR ALL KNIFE MAKERS HERE.
If you do not make knives, please refrain from responding.
I would like to here from knife makers only.
One post pure maker, you can change - edit your original post if you like?
NO discussion please, put all you want in your original post.
And NO names please.


My question here is.......
I know any one who has made knives for a period of time, has run into a customer(s) that you have had a problem with.

By problem, I'm not saying you had a dissatisfied customer, but maybe an issue with the knife? - How did you handle it?
And it can also be about a dissatisfied customer, that had issues, for what ever reason?- How did you handle it?

I have had some, and this is NOT about any one in particular.
This is about business as a maker, and how we deal with it.
I'm posting this for all the newbies here to get some ideas from.
Because if they keep making knives for a period of time, I guarantee it will happen to them too.
I will post my comment on this later.
AND AGAIN NO NAMES PLEASE! So who's up to it?

Good start - Thanks!
I wanted it this way so the ideas do not get lost in a bunch of chatter.
Like I said feel free to add to or edit your post for additional views and comments.
Keeping this thread simple. If you want to discus this back and forth please start a new thread.



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[kc custom]

I guess if I ever had a customer that wasn't happy, I'd offer a full refund and if that wouldn't do it I'd have serious suspicions about someone just trying to cause trouble.
With the above being said I just wouldn't feed into it. Don't know of much else one can do.
Ken.

 

[Redrummd]

It happens. I have had one knife returned and I wrote a check for the entire amount they paid with the shipping and send it to them as soon as they return the knife. The good thing is the concern was not my stonework but with the knife I used.

Early on I also had couple of complaints about some aspect of my work but they did not want to return the knife. Those were worse than the returned one for me. The good thing about those two is they drove me to find a way to "fix" the concern and improved my work a lot.

So, 300+ knives out there with one returned and two complaints so I do not think I am doing too bad.

 

[T.A.DAVISON]

Some advice? - I'm in no way trying to make fun of any one here.

I did not start this thread to cause problems, or to put any one down. I thought if we all came together as a group with our experiences and ideas, we could all learn to avoid some of the problems and mistakes that do come up? When making and selling knives.

Here are some of my thoughts, ideas and examples on this. We are not Gods, we are human beings, men trying to make knives. We all make mistakes. How we deal them is what matters, it's what separates the men from the boys. There are some problems and issue's that can not be solved. When they come up, one must just walk away from it and carry on. Do not throw a fit or get all mad, that will not make it any better. And it usually just makes things worse.

Well if you make and sale enough knives, you will find out that you can not please everyone. But we do try our very best, and we want folks to be satisfied. No one is perfect, and no one has made the perfect knife yet. That I know of, maybe you can be the first? To me if a maker says he has never had a problem at all. I have to think that he has not made and sold enough knives yet? Show me a maker that has made knives for a period of time, and has never had a problem. And I'll show you the king of knife making.

It's your business, you will need to decide what your policies will be? What your guarantee will be? None? What will be guaranteed? How long of a guarantee? One week? A month? A year? Some will say, as long as I'm alive and able to make knives. There are all kinds of problems, mistakes and issue's, that can happen to a maker and his knives. From being stolen or lost. And from badly damaged to minor scratches and scuffs. Than there's handle material issues, like cracking, fading and shrinkage. There can be edge problems? Like not being sharp enough, the profile is off. As far as the maker, things like payment problems. Or folks backing out or canceling an order. Wanting to return a knife and get a refund for various reasons? What is your policy, guarantee on that?

A big help now days for a maker is the web. If he can get a web site? It will help him a lot. He can let folks know about him self and his knives. Who he is? Were he's from? How they are made? How to contact him? Payment methods? And publicity, photos and what not? Show schedule? Shop tour? If he chooses? Some thing I see here, are makers with out their name posted. I have to go look hard, to see who they are?

Posting and selling on the web. If you are listing a knife on the web, and it is not done, finished ready to be shipped as advertised? To me you are not selling a knife you are taking an order. You list a knife for sale make sure it's done, and ready to go out. I would have to say any sheath also. Communicating and honesty are big parts of the knife business.

Get some one to help back you up. By this I mean, if some thing were to happen to you. They could send a knife order out, make a phone call to customers. Letting them know what's up? Do you take orders? They could call and see if the customer wanted to wait for you to get back at it or cancel. And you shouldn't take deposits, in case something like this did happen? You would not be in a jamb, to refund moneys owed.

OK - Here is what happened to me, with one of my knives, and what I had to deal with.
A few years back when I first started making folders. I sold one to a guy, well he sends it right back. And it is split a part at the joint,like he had used it for a pry bar? There was an eighth inch gap on both sides of the liners. No phone call, no email, just a note inside saying the knife does not work right. So I call the guy, to find out what happened? Maybe it got screwed up by the post man, I don't know? Anyway I call him and he flips out, like I'm accusing him of not knowing how to use a knife? He was older guy, from what I could tell? I was being very nice, but he's like don't fix the dam thing just send it back - click hangs up? Well I fix the knife and it was good as new honest and send it back to him. Again no thank you, nothing, zilch. A month or so later, I see the knife for sale on a dealers web site. And I know it was fine because this dealer would not sale junk, and it did sale for more than what I sold it to him for. Like I said you can not please everyone.

Stuff will happen, deal with the best you can, and move on.

Any moderators want to move this, edit it or delete it. Or make it a sticky thread I do not care. Just trying to give a little in site advice to the new guy.

Todd Davison

 

[Rob!]

100% customer staisfaction. Short of fraud, that's what it's all about.

Rob!

 

[richard j]

i have never had a problem with anyone. i work with my customers to their satisfaction. i sold a knife that was put in a dishwasher by the buyers daughter and the heat softened the epoxy which made the scales loosen up. i told the customer to send me the knife and i would fix it free of charge even though it wasnt anything i done in making the knife. he didint send it for quite some time and i actually had to get on him to send it to me several times. he now has the knife back and was pleased with what i had done. if someone wants a custom made knife from their pattern, i make sure its what they want by sending pictures of the progress. if its not what they want, i ask them what needs changed and make thoes changes, that way you avoid sending a knife out that is no way near what the customer wants which will avoid any problems from the start. i have heard of makers promising to make a knife to a customers pattern only to deliver nothing even close to what the customer wanted. i try my best to please the customer. another thing to do in order to avoid problems is actually talk to the customer if possible which is what i like to do. be up front with what kind of knife you are willing to make or wont make.

 

[trentu]

I have had to touch up a couple but no refunds yet. I am open that they are hand made and might have a few character attributes. I have a 100% satisfaction policy.

 

[John M Cohea]

I have been lucky that in 10 years I have never had one come back, I did have one customer ask for a little bit of a re-grind on the tip of one once back in my early days of grinding, but that was it. I ground the tip a little thinner and he was happy as could be.
If there are ever any major issues i would do my best to resolve the issues with the piece. If I could'nt fix it I would either build a new knife or offer a full refund. This of course would be in the case of something I did wrong. If it it was something the customer did due to abuse, I would still try to fix it, but might would have to charge a little depending on what had to be done.