1 year ago, Canal Street Cutlery received a knife I sent to them for warranty service. The knife, a Half Moon Trapper, was purchased new from knivesshipfree.com. When I received it from the dealer, it had an extraordinarily weak back spring. It literally had zero tension on the blade. I have found out in this past year, that this is a common issue with this knife, to the point that CSC actually redesigned it. Anyway, I contacted knivesshipfree.com and was told to send it to CSC and that they would take care of me. Well, they haven't.
I figured that this repair might take a while, so in mid October 2013, I called to inquire about the status. The person I talked to said that a new knife was going to be made for me but that production wouldn't begin until January. I figured, hey that's great!
I kind of forgot about the knife until the beginning of June 2014. I called again to check on its whereabouts. Apparently nothing had been done, but when they realized how long I had been waiting, the person I spoke with said they were going to take the same knife earmarked for someone else, and send it to me instead. Considering how long it had been, I said fine, even though it didn't seem right to me. They promised that the knife would be sent by the next day at the latest.
On July 1st, 2014, I still hadn't received anything....... I called again. This time Wally Gardiner, an owner, actually answered. I told him the story and he asked to call me back, which he did promptly. Apparently they had waited 4 months for my antique bone handle material to come from the manufacturer. He also made a comment about summer being a good time to catch up on repairs, but never an apology for letting me wait nearly a year. He also told me that unfortunately, they don't have a system to contact customers who are the victim of extremely long wait times. After all of this, he told me that he had the new knife right there in his hands and that it would be sent to me by the end of the following day at the very latest.
A week later, I mentioned here on BF that I had been waiting nearly a year for a CSC Warranty issue in another thread. One of their cutlers actually contacted me and within the following week, made a knife for me and even sent me a picture of it via email. 2 weeks went by and I asked him if he knew the whereabouts, but he didnt. He thought it had been sent out. I cannot place blame on him... if anything, I am grateful that he tried to help me.
Something is seriously wrong with this company's policies, culture, what have you. If a warranty is offered, then we, the customer, expect it to be upheld. Especially when it comes to knives that are advertised as 'heirloom quality'. I'm not exactly in a pinch to get the knife back so that I can use it.... I own 18 other knives from them.. in fact, CSC is the company that sparked my interest in traditional knives. However, when not just an employee, but an owner, makes a promise to send a repaired knife to me and completely fails to deliver, multiple times, I have to second guess.
I suppose I could hope that they might send me an additional engraved knife like they did to this fellow http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...anal-Street-customer-service-problem-resolved
But to be completely honest, I just want the knife I purchased back. At this point, I have to doubt that I will ever get it back though. Be advised that if you send an email, it will be sent into a black hole and nothing will ever come of it. I'm sure that many people have had fine dealings with CSC, but you have to admit, that when there is more than one horror story posted here, it is affecting more people than those who post.
If you can help me, I would be grateful, but my advice is to demand a replacement or a refund from the dealer because the manufacturer isn't going to do anything but string you along forever.
I figured that this repair might take a while, so in mid October 2013, I called to inquire about the status. The person I talked to said that a new knife was going to be made for me but that production wouldn't begin until January. I figured, hey that's great!
I kind of forgot about the knife until the beginning of June 2014. I called again to check on its whereabouts. Apparently nothing had been done, but when they realized how long I had been waiting, the person I spoke with said they were going to take the same knife earmarked for someone else, and send it to me instead. Considering how long it had been, I said fine, even though it didn't seem right to me. They promised that the knife would be sent by the next day at the latest.
On July 1st, 2014, I still hadn't received anything....... I called again. This time Wally Gardiner, an owner, actually answered. I told him the story and he asked to call me back, which he did promptly. Apparently they had waited 4 months for my antique bone handle material to come from the manufacturer. He also made a comment about summer being a good time to catch up on repairs, but never an apology for letting me wait nearly a year. He also told me that unfortunately, they don't have a system to contact customers who are the victim of extremely long wait times. After all of this, he told me that he had the new knife right there in his hands and that it would be sent to me by the end of the following day at the very latest.
A week later, I mentioned here on BF that I had been waiting nearly a year for a CSC Warranty issue in another thread. One of their cutlers actually contacted me and within the following week, made a knife for me and even sent me a picture of it via email. 2 weeks went by and I asked him if he knew the whereabouts, but he didnt. He thought it had been sent out. I cannot place blame on him... if anything, I am grateful that he tried to help me.
Something is seriously wrong with this company's policies, culture, what have you. If a warranty is offered, then we, the customer, expect it to be upheld. Especially when it comes to knives that are advertised as 'heirloom quality'. I'm not exactly in a pinch to get the knife back so that I can use it.... I own 18 other knives from them.. in fact, CSC is the company that sparked my interest in traditional knives. However, when not just an employee, but an owner, makes a promise to send a repaired knife to me and completely fails to deliver, multiple times, I have to second guess.
I suppose I could hope that they might send me an additional engraved knife like they did to this fellow http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...anal-Street-customer-service-problem-resolved
But to be completely honest, I just want the knife I purchased back. At this point, I have to doubt that I will ever get it back though. Be advised that if you send an email, it will be sent into a black hole and nothing will ever come of it. I'm sure that many people have had fine dealings with CSC, but you have to admit, that when there is more than one horror story posted here, it is affecting more people than those who post.
If you can help me, I would be grateful, but my advice is to demand a replacement or a refund from the dealer because the manufacturer isn't going to do anything but string you along forever.
