www.knifeoutlet.com - BAD EXPERIENCE

[WVwalkingstick]

BEGIN EDIT:

Today upon arriving home from my office, I discover a package in my mailbox. Of course it was the Spyderco Paramilitary 2 S35VN which I ordered from www.knifeoutlet.com. I am very grateful for everything I have in this life and this turn of events is no exception. I can only guess that this morning when I spoke with Fred that he didn't think I was one of the folks that ordered early enough to get one. I have always been the first person to admit when I am wrong, having been raised by some of the finest folks in the hills of WV, and have no problem doing so regarding this. I only wish this morning when I spoke with Fred that he would have taken the time to actually check my order to see that my order was fulfilled and this could have been avoided. I appreciate the replies to this post and respect their content, but if a moderator could please remove this negative feedback, I will promptly post an appropriate review of my experience with Fred and his business www.knifeoutlet.com

ORIGINAL POST:
Just wanted to post about my experience with www.knifeoutlet.com. First, I am not bitching and complaining regarding not getting what I want. I'm a 35 year old man and already have a lot of things (knives primarily) that I honestly do not "need" but of course keep buying.

What I am going to bitch and complain about is poor business practices. I have been an online seller of many things for a long time, through Amazon, etsy, eBay and on forums. My grandparents were rural a business owners (groceries, propane and hardware). One of my best friends is an entrepreneur of the first caliber and has a very successful online business buying, selling and repairing iPhones which is hugely competitive in this day and time. I say all of this so that the folks on the forum don't think I'm just some pissed off, entitled prick who is mad because he didn't get his toy.

I made an order for a product that was clearly available for sale and in stock at www.knifeoutlet.com Specifically, a Spyderco Paramilitary 2 S35V. My card was charged and the order was placed. I asked in the comment section that, if they wouldn't mind, to send an email letting me know when the item shipped so I could plan to work from my home office to receive it.

Five days pass and I think to myself that I should maybe call and see if it had shipped since I had heard NOTHING from the company since I placed my order and was emailed (very promptly) the receipt where my card was charged.

I spoke with Fred, a member here on the forums and the owner I assume of the business, who informed me that I would not be receiving the item. It was out of stock and sold out over the weekend. He further stated that my credit was refunded and that an email had been sent. I was a little surprised since I had received no email in 3 business days which had passed and the charges were most certainly still on my card. I was fairly surprised and asked if there was anything to be done about the predicament and he just bluntly stated, "it's just not going to happen." I was polite and thanked him for his time. Not sure if he heard me or not since I'm fairly sure he had already hung up.

All I can say is that this was 4 hours ago and I still have not gotten an email that my order was canceled, my card is still charged and the only thing that has changed is that he has removed the item from www.knifeoutlet.com website. This tells me that the priority here was not to spend any time letting paying customer know that there was a major issue with their orders, but to update the website...which was obviously not a priority before today.

Folks, whether you like this retailer or not, you cannot tell me that in this day and time that this is acceptable business standards, especially around here. In the economy today, customer service is something that we all appreciate. For me, it determines if I am a recurring customer. In this case, I'll be taking my future business elsewhere and not because I didn't get what I ordered but because customer satisfaction is clearly not a priority here.

 

[GCG199]

I too, recently put in an order with them and didn't receive a shipping notice email message either.

This was the third time I had ordered from them in the past year or so too.

I waited a week and was about to contact them when the package came in after all.

They have some great deals from time-to-time that is in their monthly specials email message.

This time they had a great price on a Zero Tolerance 0770.

I have to agree that this is a bad way to do things, but my best educated guess for this is that they are a small business with a few people working there compared to some of the other online knife dealers.

 

[Marko3]

OP you are right . In today's economy customer service should be top priority. Not just in this business but any business. Being self employed as a contractor I know all about it. That's why I have been in business for twenty years plus.

I have had two incidents regarding knife purchases recently . In both instances it was due to either laziness or just trying to dump inventory and hoping the person on the receiving end was going got let inspection period lapse . I also felt like you that the person was less than enthusiastic in there response to problem . I have shortened my vender list by two in just the past week . However I did meet another custom knife retailer that was happy to take there place. Keep looking there are a few great dealers out there.

 

[crhodge42]

Unfortunately I had a similar experience with www.knifeoutlet.com. I was not going to comment being a new member. I did not want to be seen as a trouble maker/complainer. That being said after reading your comment I thought I would post my experience as well. In my instance, I did receive an email saying that the knife was out of stock and the order would be cancelled. My biggest complaint was, like you, it clearly said in stock when I placed my order. I emailed back and asked for an explanation but did not get a response. I felt like at a minimum they could have given some type of explanation. The charge is still pending on my credit card but with my previous experiences I expect it to go away in a few days. Seeing that I was not the only person to potentially have this happen to I would advise calling first to verify stock before ordering through www.knifeoutlet.com.

Glad that the OP received their knife!
Chris

 

[JohnQTaxpayer]

After 5 weeks, 3-4 emails that they ignored, one email that they responded to my question about the status of my order "No change since our last email. The product is still not available." (I never received a "last email" In my inbox or spam filter) and one phone call that they essentially blew me off, I called to cancel an order for a Zero Tolerance knife. They now state that they "just got the knife in this morning" and will ship it after the weekend. I am skeptical. This has been one of the worst interactions with a company that I have had in the last 5-10 years.