Great Customer Service

[Mark Patenaude]

A couple of weeks ago I sent my Sage XP back to be repaired. I'm sure that Joe O. remembers helping me put the tip top on with super glue after I saw that the top 2" was snapped off when we got to the Deerfield one day. I never bothered to have it repaired because he did such a good job I couldn't tell the difference. Joe wears this vest that isn't bulky or heavy but manages to have every possible thing for every possible situation. He's like the Mr. Haney (Green Acres) of fly fishing.

After taking all my rods out to clean/wax them, I slid the rod out of its case and saw the the guide below the tip top was gone. Just gone.. Some epoxy flakes left on the blank but the guide was gone. I said to myself, here is the reason I was looking for to send it in. So I get out the heavy cardboard tube (that I've used more than once) to send the rod back to Sage. I fill out the form with my info and what I need done, write the check and send it off.

I followed up yesterday to see when I would be getting it back, knowing that its usually about a 2 week turn around. Not only did the woman at Sage, who was exceptionally friendly, tell me the date they got it but also what they did, when it was shipped, looked up the tracking and told me I would be getting it back today via. UPS. I asked them to replace the entire top half of the rod and the did.

Though it seems like she was doing her job and they did what they were supposed to, I still love the little things that separate some companies from others. This is one of them.

I've had similar experiences with Dyna-King when I stripped out the threads on the plastic yoke for my gallows tool, they sent me a replacement at no charge. I accidentally snapped of the plastic "clicker" on my Lamson Litespeed 1.5 and Waterworks sent me 3 of each size (even though I didn't need them) also at no charge. I guess if we are going to pay what we pay for our equipments, these things should be free, but I never expect it and am pleasantly surprised when they offer.

I've also called/emailed most of the major manufacturers of rods, reels, lines, etc... and requested some stickers for my truck; some free advertising for them. Most of them sent me them with no questions asked and some of them who typically charge sent them to me for free.

The little things matter to me.

[bartman]

Hi Mark,

That's great news as I bought a Sage last year as a first rod for my son. He's kept good care of it (so far).

Many years ago I puchased a Fenwick rod and had it for 20 years. It literally fell apart from old age but it had a lifetime warranty. I sent it back with a note not knowing what to expect and a week later I had a brand new replacement rod.

On a non-flyfishing note, my older son (who likes to toss spinner baits for big pike) had purchased some spinner baits from Terminator. We discovered that the split rings were defective and we lost the willow spinners often. At 7 bucks a pop it was a bummer. I e-mailed Terminator and a guy named "Cat" called me back and asked how many spinners I lost. I said about 6. The next week I received a package of about 40 spinners (which are the most expensive part of the lure) and better split rings, along with a personal note and his card.

Little stuff that adds up.

Don't get me going on the bad experiences.

[jskowron]

I had the tip-over butt ferrule (tip part) split on a relatively cheap Cortland GRF rod. I tried to fix it with epoxy and thread. I was totally clueless- it didn't work and made a mess of things. I brought the rod to Dave's Pioneer Sporting good in Northampton, just to see if he knew anybody who could fix it. He said he had a guy he used who would charge about $25. I had it sent to him. I went back a week later, and Dave told me it couldn't be fixed, but the repair contacted Cortland, and they sent a whole new rod. Nobody charged me anything- I actually got an apology for not being able to fix my old rod! Good service, beyond all expecations, from Dave, the repair guy, and Cortland.