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ZT Quality Control...
- Thread starter Rubicon_Joey
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Let's address that statement and kind do a quick summary of my dealings with ZT on this particular knife...
1. I received the knife with bent standoffs and nearly no lock up.
2. Initial contact was simply a request for the standoffs that were bent and some screws for them. This was an attempt to fix the problem myself and avoid paying for shipping and the long wait time to get my knife back from warranty. They sent me only the screws. This tells me one of a few things things... A. They didn't bother to read my request and just assumed all I needed was screws... B. They read my request and they don't send out standoffs but, didn't bother to tell me... or C. They forgot to put them in the envelope.
3. The second time I contacted ZT was for the warranty claim. I simply sent the knife in with the appropriate paperwork from their site. They fixed the knife and sent it back with a loose pivot and the blade rubbing the scale.
I would call this a poor effort.... I like ZT and could have been called a fan boy in the past but, dropping the ball three times leaves me to question a lot about ZT. I know they produce lots of knives, but you can't argue that dropping the ball three times doesn't at least suggest some sort of problem. I guess you could argue that I have bad luck and it's all a coincidence. I will probably continue to buy ZT's in the future but, I'll most likely try to buy one that I know doesn't have problems before purchasing.
Rival1314
Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
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^^ To address the above...
You got the knife with an issue and sent an e-mail request for parts. They specifically state what they are able to send on their site regarding their knives, standoffs arent on that list. This doesnt mean they didnt read your request, it means you didnt read their site information. For standoffs yo need to send in the knife. If you want to complain about them not appropriately responding to your request via e-mail.....try calling instead of e-mailing. That way you talk to a live rep, get all the info you need, and can address any follow up questions or concerns as a result. This also provides a swift and efficient means of two way communication.
from the parts request page from ZT:
Parts requests are for warranty replacement (defective parts) only. Please note that we cannot send parts for discontinued models or parts other than those listed here. Please check all that apply:
Handle Screws
Pivot Bolt Set
Safety Lock Pocket Clip
Pocket Clip Screws
Regarding paying for shipping. I have sent several knives into KAI, you pay to send it in. They pay to send it back....thats a pretty fair trade and its no different than any other companied policy. Wanna cry about it, then be sure include all other companies that follow this policy.
the second time you contacted them they did the appropriate work but it came back with a loose pivot. While unfortunate, this takes minimal effort to correct and would not be considered a warranty issue. I hear where you are coming from and at this point it seems like you are looking for things to complain about.
There are companies on this forum that wont even consider sending you any hardware without the knife in hand. Even once they get it, if they feel you disassembled the knife yourself, or made any adjustments your warranty has been voided. IMHO you dont have much to complain about. Hope you enjoy the knife you have, if not sell it.
You got the knife with an issue and sent an e-mail request for parts. They specifically state what they are able to send on their site regarding their knives, standoffs arent on that list. This doesnt mean they didnt read your request, it means you didnt read their site information. For standoffs yo need to send in the knife. If you want to complain about them not appropriately responding to your request via e-mail.....try calling instead of e-mailing. That way you talk to a live rep, get all the info you need, and can address any follow up questions or concerns as a result. This also provides a swift and efficient means of two way communication.
from the parts request page from ZT:
Parts requests are for warranty replacement (defective parts) only. Please note that we cannot send parts for discontinued models or parts other than those listed here. Please check all that apply:
Handle Screws
Pivot Bolt Set
Safety Lock Pocket Clip
Pocket Clip Screws
Regarding paying for shipping. I have sent several knives into KAI, you pay to send it in. They pay to send it back....thats a pretty fair trade and its no different than any other companied policy. Wanna cry about it, then be sure include all other companies that follow this policy.
the second time you contacted them they did the appropriate work but it came back with a loose pivot. While unfortunate, this takes minimal effort to correct and would not be considered a warranty issue. I hear where you are coming from and at this point it seems like you are looking for things to complain about.
There are companies on this forum that wont even consider sending you any hardware without the knife in hand. Even once they get it, if they feel you disassembled the knife yourself, or made any adjustments your warranty has been voided. IMHO you dont have much to complain about. Hope you enjoy the knife you have, if not sell it.
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As you can tell, the fans here will blame and deflect everything back to you. They do not understand that this is General discussion and not the Kai Subforum where negative posts were literally banned (try me... I will cite it). While I am an avid ZT fan myself, I believe that you have the right to share your displeasure and experience much like a guy with glowing remarks about ZT is welcomed. Many things that have been said in defense of KAI are true of course... I do believe that their quality, warranty, etc. are at a very high level from personal experience. It just irks me how people catch feelings around here when something bad surfaces which is rare enough in the first place. We are all here to learn. It would be a waste of time to just sip the kool aid so to speak around here. The irony is, the true trolls that do bash on KAI probably do so out of disdain of their fanboys. Negativity invites the same.
For a knife that costs as much as that one, it should come back from warranty work perfect. It shouldn't have a loose screw. It doesn't matter if that's insignificant to fix. What if the customer doesn't have the proper Wiha T8 or whatever torx screwdriver? Then it's decidedly not insignificant to tighten the screw. At this price point the customer shouldn't have to deal with these QC issues. Why accept this as normal? Why accept this at all? Isn't Made in USA supposed to mean more than that?
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I have five or six ZT knives (I forget), but they are all perfect. The AOs fire hard, the flippers sweep smoothly open. Beautiful products, really. I received them that way from the respect sources I got them from. For that matter, I've never received a Kershaw product that had poor fit/finish, or uncentered blades. So, I don't understand the vitriol over ZT products that I'm seeing here. Also, don't call me a fanboy, I have knives from many companies. Personally, if I'd received a knife that had issues, whatever they were, I'd have sent it back, and they'd have fixed it. If I'd gotten the knife back still with issues, then you'd see a post from me like "These CS people are clearly idiots." But, to post up before you've even given a company a chance to make something right seems a little off. I mean, we're talking about a company that probably ships out boxes filled with thousands of knives every day (or whatever their output is). When you have a company producing a large number of products, and in large quantities, then yes, you may get one of those items that has an issue that was missed by QC. It is what it is. It is then incumbent upon that company's customer service and warranty service/process to square things with the customer (which by nearly all accounts, they do).
However, it's also on the customer not to act like an item not being 100% perfect was somehow a personal attack. "Can you believe this knife?!?! LOOK AT THAT OFFCENTER BLADE!!! HERESY!"
Send the knife back and get it sorted out, man.
However, it's also on the customer not to act like an item not being 100% perfect was somehow a personal attack. "Can you believe this knife?!?! LOOK AT THAT OFFCENTER BLADE!!! HERESY!"
Send the knife back and get it sorted out, man.
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*laughing* There's more denial in this thread than a courtroom.
Pretty good data on ZT's QC falling is right here in these pages for a long time now. Please read my first post to this thread.
Since I've been here, I've probably seen maybe 20-30 threads showing issues with ZT. Mainly about the 056X, 0550, or 0801. I'm sure 5000+ of each of those models have been produced. That would be about one out of every thousand. while I may not have seen every negative thread towards ZT, and while this forum does not represent every negative experience. Wouldn't you agree it's ridiculous to say ZT's quality control is slipping? How manny people post a thread simply saying "my knife is perfect, no problems at all"? The point is no company produces a perfect product every time. Not CRK, Strider, Microtech, Kershaw, Benchmade, Spyderco, Kershaw, ZT, or anyone. Considering I have owned 5 ZT's that were all perfect, I can't say the quality control is slipping, with a straight face at least.
Shouldn't you maybe be putting a bug in the ZT bigwigs' ears that they may have a problem developing instead of decreeing to the unwashed there is no problem? Most of your posts had been very judicious and even handed before this one.
If he can't say it, I can: I feel the QC is falling at ZT.
As I said in an earlier post, I WILL buy my first ZT from you--I've seen that you at least were paying attention to what some are trying to tell you and you showed sincere concern about all this up to now--as soon as I feel like I'm not taking a risk ordering a ZT.
I'm repeating myself, a little, but you're taking a risk no matter who you buy from. No matter what knife you buy. It could have problems out of box, it could have problems a week, a month, a year later. It could get lost while in transit. That's why the warranty department is there. You know what? ZT, Kershaw, BenchMade, CRK, Strider, and dealers such as Dave. Have excellent warranty services. Perhaps you should try one out for yourself, everything you've brought to the table thus far has been second hand experience. I highly recommend the 0566, great knife in my opinion.
in red.
Kershaw will send you a torx tool for free...
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I didn't know KAI gave out torx tools by request. Good for them (and us), cool to know.
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I appreciate you posting both about the original issues and about the problems in the warranty work. KAI dropped the ball on this one incident, and I'm surprised people are defending them on this incident. Overall, I still think they are an excellent company, they just screwed this one up. Hope you get some satisfaction, OP.
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I believe kershaw quality control issues have always been there before zt existed.I have examples in my collestion. I don't anything has fallen or rison.it just the nature of the beast and qq issues will alw ays exist in every company. Is it exceptable? Absulutly not in my opinion. Sometimes in life you end up drawing the shortest straw.life goes on....
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The guy gets a total screwing by ZT...they send him a bad knife, he tries for a repair and they send him another bad knife...and you gloss it over and at the end address him in the diminutive because he complained???
The whole block's laughin' at ya.
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Actually, it's primarily you. Listen, a word of advice. Between this thread, and the "Why Do We Need Custom Dealers?" thread, the tone of your responses make it clear that you're here to argue. Hey, that's awesome. I myself enjoy arguing with people on the Internet. However, a word of friendly advice, the mods have a low tolerance for it here. Me personally, I don't really care one way or the other if you heed this, but I figured I'd clue you in before the mods (who I've come to respect) come in and clue you in with a red-card.
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You must read like you think then. And you're not ready for prime time in the arguing game.
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You must read like you think then. And you're not ready for prime time in the arguing game.
Yeah, I see you're clearly not that bright. I retract the bit of help I was trying to give you, I'm pretty sure you won't be here long. :thumbup:
Bad logic trolls never seem to stick around.
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