Whew, I think I managed to snag all the pertinent quotes so here goes...
That's a bummer, Ellie! But I suppose that's just how it is. Perhaps it not too much to hope that a guy can request some of the darker handles from the darker batches? when he orders a 5.1? (3 more days if you guys keep to your production schedule!)
Besides, I'm sure that people love all the shades the brown comes in. I'm just some weirdo with an eye toward darker shaded handles....(what is the world coming to!?)
I know that it seems like a simple request but there is a lot more to it. Sometimes there is variation within a model but usually the GSO-5.1 handles will all be one shade and then the next model handles will all be a completely different shade. We also get the handles still covered in production dust, so if I make a note to search for a darker shade, Christian has to go digging through the entire batch of handles with an oiled up rag and still maybe find nothing. Even if he does find a darker one, there have been so many different shades that it is very unlikely that it will actually be the exact one you are looking for. So when we get that request we just try to politely say no and apologize for the inconvenience. Sorry :/
Howdy 5.1ers,
Quick question and check in. Anyone else still waiting on their Starter preorder 5.1 or is it just me? Thought I'd check here first before worrying and unnecessarily bugging Survive Knives themselves. This was supposed to be the week the final orders shipped out.
Later
Guy should have the last of those sharpened by the end of the day Monday. It's Presidents Day so they won't ship until Tuesday, but they should be ready to go out first thing Tuesday morning.
Finally received my GSO 5.1. I am very impressed! About as perfect as you could get. The whole package is first class. From the knife structure, blade geometry, sharpness, handle fit and ergos etc...Kydex sheath is excellent too. Box presentation is also a nice touch. When I made my recent post about being dissatisfied with SURVIVE KNIVES I stirred up a hornet's nest. Sorry to do that. Contrary to some opinions though, I did not expect instant gratification. After waiting patiently for 9 months on an order that was paid for up front to help out a relatively young company I became impatient a month after the missed Christmas delivery. This announcement was made by SURVIVE KNIVES not me. They hoped to have them shipped and I hoped they had them shipped. After a couple of non-returned voicemails and an email asking if there was a delay, I was further irritated. What I didn't know was SURVIVE is a three person outfit trying to meet a HUGE demand for their product. I can see why they have such a loyal following. They put together a truly nice package. I Wish SURVIVE the best of luck. However I also wish that they will be able to get better at answering emails a little sooner than they do now.
I am glad to know that you are happy with the knife and were still willing to come back over here to share your input about it. I am also sorry for the delay in getting to your messages, more on that topic below.
Hi bro, that is also my issue here with Survive! not answering emails. I have a big problem with that. Two emails sent and it's been a month and more but none replied. I am fine since those emails are not that important, but in a few months I will be shifting my place of residency and I need to get the address changed. All four of my knives hasn't been done and I foresee it won't be done before I move house. If Survive! remains uncontactable, how am I going to ever get my delivery done right? They did say specifically that we need to inform them personally when there is a change of address. This can't be the way business is running. They will have to think of something better.
When I have limited time to answer emails I do try to scan through them for anything that is pressing, especially address changes.
Hi guys, thanks! I have not shifted my place of residency, at least not in the next few months so I have yet to inform S!K about it. My previous emails was for other unrelated issues.
Silver Needle, in S!K's website it says to inform them personally when there is a change of address. Updating on their website alone is not enough because the shipping address would have been tacked to the original order placed and they won't know there is a change of address. They will have to manually change the address on their end.
HK, I doubt it's in the junk folder. I wrote them via the contact form in the website.
I honestly don't mind paying extra $10 to $20 more per knife if they are willing to employ someone to answer mundane emails. On his free time he can provide us even more updates on here, Facebook and Instagram, and really free up Ellie and Guy's time. I am sure $10 to $20 more per knife would suffice and should be able to cover the additional cost without being too expensive? I am just throwing some suggestions here. As orders and reputation grows, this is a necessity.
It hasn't happened in a while but about a while ago the contact form emails were getting sent to the junk folder, because they looked like spam to the outlook robot. I changed some settings and started keeping a closer eye on the junk folder so that shouldn't be an issue anymore.
The problem with hiring someone is finding the right person. In the past there was someone who would just delete everything when the inbox got too full. Another person who would answer emails but with poor grammar and false information. With both of those people I still ended up having to take considerable time to provide answers that they couldn't look up for themselves.
Pj, I didn't mean to change your address in your account, I meant to go to each order and add a message to it. That message is tied to the item and will let Ellie know to update the address.
Since I haven't experienced any problems, I'm not in favor of a price increase or added staff, I'm just wondering what would satisfy the people who seem frustrated. I don't have a good answer and I'm sure if Guy did he would have done it already.
This is a great idea for address changes because the system shows that there is a message when I'm looking at the order. I will always check an unread message before shipping an order. For other subjects it is not the best way to go. The system just tells me there are messages, I have no idea what order they were sent in so if I don't have time to get to them all one day there may be a few that get left for a long time.
I have a 5.1 on (presale) order since Dec. 2nd. The only thing within that time i was wondering about was the estimated delivery date of all 5.1's before christmas. This seemed quite unreal for me as i read all about waiting and scheduled delivery before i pushed the button and i never imagined receiving that particular knife so quickly. But this message dangled a carrot in front of me and i found myself becoming unpatient despite having no use for the blade (apart from admiring it) up to march, when fishing season is starting over here. Recalls the feeling of waiting for my first iphone in 2008 - cudos s!k, word of mouth marketing works out fine. Even on a global scale.
In my opinion the s!k team could make their life much easier when keeping people informed about schedules only by the first friday update without referring to certain dates like christmas, easter an so on. If you mention a period (e.g. around christmas) you're raising hope and brain fades out the finer points of language fixing the prey. And feed the trolls.
As we all recognize current supplies continue to be rather short and i'm curious about the 15th monday sale. Guy and Ellie - start it when you're ready to and we will be ready to jump in. The communication within this community works quite well, so you don't have to announce (and postpone) the date. If it's on, we will know it in a wink.
Maybe Ellie can think about a weekly order number countdown on their website so that everybody can estimate by himself, discuss it on BF and ask his private cristall ball. Because certainly we need some news and rumors to read and discuss about on this forum.
And if they can improve their services by hiring a back office person, i'm sure they will do so. Because even if Guy intends too keep his business small they're still on the lower limit of small.
But i can imagine it's quite hard for Guy and Ellie to hire new staff meeting their high standards (talking from my own experience in being self employed).
Take your time s!k team. I like the feeling of anticipation. And the folder release is still far away...
We were weary about the "should be done by Christmas" thing but it seemed like an easy thing at the time. We had no idea the blaster would go down, and then the buffer, and then the blaster again, and then Guy himself, and then one of the grinders, and then the buffer again. Also, the CPM-3V blades needing to have their perimeters gone over. We knew there were a few but planned to just pick out the good ones. We didn't realize at the time that there were so few in the 'good' pile. By the way, all of those things require Guy. In the future, we are definitely sticking with the "no guaranteed delivery date" unless the blade is already sharpened and the materials are in house. Lesson learned, again.
The 15th sale probably won't be very big, but neither will the future ones. We have plenty of GSO-4.7 orders to fulfill next.
I actually considered an order number countdown on the Production Schedule page. I didn't do it because it does get weird. Right now, most all of the CPM-20CV orders are done because there were a lot less of them and they didn't need that extra step. Guy was also able to get a head start on them while the 3V was still at heat treating. Sometimes orders get held back because we don't have the handles/sheath for them yet. Also, the order numbers are for all models, so I would definitely get some emails asking why "my GSO-4.1 hasn't shipped yet but your Production Schedule says..."
The next hire will definitely be a customer service person. Unless a very experienced and capable knife sharpener magically appears.
Some good points, but do you know what the issue is? Guy is a PERFECTIONIST to the NTH degree. If it's not perfect it's not shipping. Also he personally inspects AND sharpens all the knives. This is something he loves to do and it takes time. It's an art form. I've read about other manufactures personally, meaning 1 person, hand sharpen hundreds or even a thousand knives in a day or two to get them out. I bet it takes Guy 10x that much time because of the time/effort he spends sharpening each knife.
Yeah there's a gigantic wait time, compared to going to web site and ordering a knife and maybe waiting 3 weeks because it's in back order, but, as you allude to, the end result is worth the wait.
It's true. He can't just do the job. He takes pride in every knife that leaves here. He is slow. He is also necessary for the all of the various finishing and sharpening tasks. Which is exactly why we are moving to a finish and sharpen first, sell later way of doing things.
Btw - what angle is the factory edge of the 5.1 sharpened by Guy?
Right around 20 degrees per side.
More on the emails thing... I am not a customer service rep. I have started calling myself the general manager. Meaning I do everything Guy doesn't have time to do, except what Christian has learned to do. He is a hard worker and I am training him to do anything and everything he has the potential to excel at. Customer service is something he has zero interest in and if I try to put him on it he would hate coming to work. The guy moved across the country for us, I'm not going to kill his spirit.
Part of why I get behind on emails is because they can be incredibly frustrating some days. This is not an excuse, just an explanation. I don't have a lot of spare time so it is frustrating that about 90% of our emails can be answered by looking at the FAQ and/or Production Schedule. I put a lot of time into setting those up so people could have as much information as possible at any given moment. I also use every opportunity I can think of to encourage everyone to sign up for the newsletter and follow us on social media so they can get regular updates delivered directly to them. But still, the emails just keep on coming in. Sometimes they are even pretty mean.
I know that you guys mostly understand, but that is because this is a form of social media. I use BFs to get the word out to more people in one go. You all take the time to be here so you can be informed and don't have to wait for an email response. You guys are also nicer, so I like being here a lot more.
