After deciding upon my next knife purchase I went in search of a dealer. Cost was important, but definitely not my top consideration I was mainly looking for reliability and customer service. I am not a veteran at purchasing knives online. I did quite a bit of research (including BladeForums) and narrowed the choice to three possible dealers.
Among those three dealers, I started with the one that was geographically closest.
I sent the dealer a simple e-mail asking if they had the knife that I was looking for. After 3 days I had no response so I sent them another e-mail. Finally, 7 days after my original e-mail, they responded. This didn't seem like a good harbinger of things to come.
I went to the next dealer on my list. It has now been 12 days and they have NEVER responded to my e-mail.
Next, I tried Bayou Lafourche Knife Works (www.knifeworks.com). I sent them an e-mail and Kristi responded WITHIN 2 HOURS. I followed up with a phone call to add a special request. They handled everything, including the special request, with no problem. They were great to deal with and my knife is on the way. I am very happy with them
I gave up on the first two companies. I figured that if an on-line company cannot respond to e-mail when I want to make a PURCHASE that I would sure not want to deal with them for future Customer Support. I should add that I was looking for was a quality production knife nothing exotic.
The other GOOD in my search was Shootist16. I talked with him on the phone and he was very helpful even though he did not have what I was looking for. Before starting my search I had never heard of Bayou Lafourche or Shootist16. However, for my next purchases I will definitely be talking with both of them.
Among those three dealers, I started with the one that was geographically closest.
I sent the dealer a simple e-mail asking if they had the knife that I was looking for. After 3 days I had no response so I sent them another e-mail. Finally, 7 days after my original e-mail, they responded. This didn't seem like a good harbinger of things to come.
I went to the next dealer on my list. It has now been 12 days and they have NEVER responded to my e-mail.
Next, I tried Bayou Lafourche Knife Works (www.knifeworks.com). I sent them an e-mail and Kristi responded WITHIN 2 HOURS. I followed up with a phone call to add a special request. They handled everything, including the special request, with no problem. They were great to deal with and my knife is on the way. I am very happy with them
I gave up on the first two companies. I figured that if an on-line company cannot respond to e-mail when I want to make a PURCHASE that I would sure not want to deal with them for future Customer Support. I should add that I was looking for was a quality production knife nothing exotic.
The other GOOD in my search was Shootist16. I talked with him on the phone and he was very helpful even though he did not have what I was looking for. Before starting my search I had never heard of Bayou Lafourche or Shootist16. However, for my next purchases I will definitely be talking with both of them.
