Poor customer service

[irishsquid]

There are a couple of people on this board that I might actively target (uh, i mean market) the bags to...

Nice! On a side note, I have Akona boots and gloves and love 'em.

 

[redacted]

This is pretty enlightening. First, as others have pointed out, a car and a piece of luggage are pretty different products. Second, if I have a problem with my car, under warranty, recall, or normal wear & tear, I don't take it back to the dealer I bought it from. That dealer is in Tennessee. I take it to the dealer down the road who is in Illinois.

The difference is that auto manufacturers compensate the dealer for warranty service. So your local car dealer is not only willing to deal with products sold by another dealer because the manufacturer (or customer if not under warranty) will pay them.

 

[vondo]

The difference is that auto manufacturers compensate the dealer for warranty service. So your local car dealer is not only willing to deal with products sold by another dealer because the manufacturer (or customer if not under warranty) will pay them.

a) A good company would compensate it's dealers the same way
b) Not the end consumer's problem. If "that's the way it is" everyone comes out stinking in this transaction, the new dealer and the manufacturer. Both have a reason to, you know, serve the customer.

 

[GrumpyOldGuy]

The thing I don't understand is companies spend huge amount of money to advertise their brand and create an image that people will buy into. Then they allow their image to get smashed to bits in front of a concentrated audience of active customers by not stepping up when there is a problem. Seems like they are stepping over dollars to save a few pennies. Seems like the same lesson Toyota is learning the hard way.

 

[vondo]

The thing I don't understand is companies spend huge amount of money to advertise their brand and create an image that people will buy into. Then they allow their image to get smashed to bits in front of a concentrated audience of active customers by not stepping up when there is a problem. Seems like they are stepping over dollars to save a few pennies. Seems like the same lesson Toyota is learning the hard way.

No kidding. If they'd decided not to have a forum here, then all the bitching in the world wouldn't matter much. Or if they'd just ignored it, it wouldn't be so bad. But to come here and show the attitude this rep does? Amazing.

I had no opinion of Akona one way or the other. That changed in the last hour.

 

[redacted]

I am not one to wave the flag of the manufacturer and his authorized retailer, but I do like to be fair and look at all the facts and circumstances. I imagine, at this point, the "Sherwood SCUBA rep" is stuck between a rock and a hard place. He seems to be pitching his company's policy which we have seen in a few threads now. I get the impression that it is Sherwood policy to avoid dealing directly with divers. In stead they insist the diver work through the Sherwood authorized dealer who can then work with Sherwood. Futhermore, it would appear that Sherwood refrains from getting between a diver and the authorized dealer.

Here are a couple similar threads relating to Sherwood customer service and discussing Sherwood policy:

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/sherwood-scuba/321936-sherwood-bc-warranty-service.html

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/sh...-stage-service-authorized-service-center.html

At this point, I would hope that Sherwood might be rethinking their customer service policiy.

 

[tregrrr]

edit**sorry for the overlap guys... i type slow

This is pretty enlightening. First, as others have pointed out, a car and a piece of luggage are pretty different products. Second, if I have a problem with my car, under warranty, recall, or normal wear & tear, I don't take it back to the dealer I bought it from. That dealer is in Tennessee. I take it to the dealer down the road who is in Illinois.

+1


sorry akona the dealership analogy you want to use don't hunt


Automotive Dealerships are all equally authorized to help you with your car. I can take my Canadian Purchased Chrysler into any AMERICAN dealer and get a fried whatchucallit fixed quickly and free of charge (other than the 10 miles of driving to get there) ..why?? because there is incentive for them to do so!

Every automotive dealership has an open account for billing the mfr to do warranty repair work. I have yet to see the incentive for Jimbo's Dive to fix any Sherwood/Akona item sold anywhere except Jimbo's... Please tell me I am wrong,

If you want to use this analogy, the csr model you are beating your disappointed customers with will have to change somewhat. According to the model, in which you liken speaking to you here with trying to fed-ex a car back to to detroit, our disappointed people would have the ability to take their bags to any local Scuba Shop down the street instead of only Jimbo's where they originally purchased from but who they are equally disappointed with.

 

[Sherwood SCUBA rep.]

Couv,

You are absolutely correct. Since our dealer didn't do what they were supposed to do, it is ABSOLUTELY OUR PROBLEM. No questions about it. I completely accept that responsibility.

And we are stepping in to try and resolve the issue. I have contacted them to do just that. But initially, I do need to ask the consumer and dealer to get together and work it out the details.

First, how about sending the OP a new bag….one of the good ones, not one of the defective ones. Secondly, YOU deal with the people who sold him the bad bag. That is YOUR end of it. He has already said he got no satisfaction from them, it now becomes YOUR problem.

As for my comments about other vendors... I see some of the comments being made on this forum, but I know from experience AKONA does a very good job handling the issues that do come up. I belive just about every dive shop out there in the US that sells AKONA will tell you that they stand behind their products. We have tens of thousands of very satisfied customers.

My comment was to the individual that has had no problem with his AKONA bags, but is now going to sell them because this single situation where an individual has not had the service he expected from a dealer.

I was not trying to indicate that the disappointed consumers should just deal with it or accept it. I am sorry you misunderstood me.

So that's your answer? What if you are correct and every other vendor had worse service than you, would that make it ok? I don't think so.

 

[Sherwood SCUBA rep.]

Awap,

Thank you for pointing these out to everyone. These are two instances where we have worked closely with the consumer and retailer to solve the problem.

It is not the idea of avoiding in the interaction with the divers. It is for the purpose of trying to build stronger relationships between the Retailer and the Diver. If the retailer does a great job servicing the diver, you will go back to them again and again. That is what we want to have the diver support their retailer, whomever that is.

Maybe we will consider an alternative to this policy in the future...

I am not one to wave the flag of the manufacturer and his authorized retailer, but I do like to be fair and look at all the facts and circumstances. I imagine, at this point, the "Sherwood SCUBA rep" is stuck between a rock and a hard place. He seems to be pitching his company's policy which we have seen in a few threads now. I get the impression that it is Sherwood policy to avoid dealing directly with divers. In stead they insist the diver work through the Sherwood authorized dealer who can then work with Sherwood. Futhermore, it would appear that Sherwood refrains from getting between a diver and the authorized dealer.

Here are a couple similar threads relating to Sherwood customer service and discussing Sherwood policy:

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/sherwood-scuba/321936-sherwood-bc-warranty-service.html

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/sh...-stage-service-authorized-service-center.html

At this point, I would hope that Sherwood might be rethinking their customer service policiy.

 

[bilsant]

Awap,

Thank you for pointing these out to everyone.

So does Awap get a free bag, too?