Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Customer Disservice

I said very nice things about the people who make Stake N'Rake. I may have spoke too soon.

I had a problem with the product and I went online and found their web site and with a little looking found their Contact Us! link and I sent them an email detailing my problem while lavishly praising their product, their broken product, their product that broke the second time I used it.

In the products defence, I have no idea how long it had sat on the shelf or how many shelves it sat on before I rescued it from Tuesday Morning last spring, but still after one use it snapped? That can't really be normal and does not speak to quality.

I didn't hear back from them as quickly as I had thought I might, so I called them and greased the wheels a bit. A day or so later I got a phone call from a flustered man in Ohio who admitted the roll out of the product had not gone as well as they had expected and from what I understood, they get very few emails from customers praising it or asking for replacement widgets for that matter. Perhaps if the widget had not broken, the few people who did buy it might have told their friends and word of mouth might have made the roll out more successful ans spawned more positive emails. I fear I know what word of mouth was spread about the Stake N' Rake and it was not a positive word. I didn't get into this with the gentleman, but he did promise to send another widget when he got back from a trip.  I am beginning to wonder if perhaps he did not die in route.

But. I like the product, the one time I was able to successful use it, it worked great and made a big job very small and very fast. So, with autumn approaching and the leaves turning and falling I need this product to work and work now - which it could if they would do as they told me they would, and send me my widget. Soon. I didn't expect to see it the next day, which would have been very nice but not necessary, but now, weeks later? I am expecting it and not receiving it.

I feel another email is in order.

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