|
|
| I've been in the basement for a few years, but this year I really feel that people are taking advantage of my kind nature by doing things that they wouldn't get away with if they were dealing with bigger companies.
I have always repaired lures that went bad for some reason, or replaced them or refunded the money......which ever the guy who bought the lure wanted. We all want to have a good rep, right?
Well, this year I got back 4 lures from 3 different guys who all said that the clear coat went bad, or something was wrong with the way that I made the lure. What was wrong was obvious. On two of them, they hit a rock on the cast. Large chunks of clear coat were busted off and cracks radiated out from the point of impact. On the other two, the guy obviously was trying to run the lures in shallow rock or gravel bottom. The front 1/3 of the lure's belly was rubbed down to bare wood on one and the other even showed impact areas on the screw eyes in the nose and on the bottom.
When the clear coat cracks, it's plain to see. When you have paint or clearcoat issues, it shows.
These were definite instances of the lures making contact, or repeated contact with rocks. Where do you draw the line, and how do you politely say, "No, I'm not replacing it because the lures aren't supposed to be bounced off of rocks." |
|
| |
|
Posts: 786
Location: Minnesota | I know I have put some of my personal lures to the test. I have a few Believers that are ground down to a nub on the nose because I run them into rocks and sand all day. These baits are only a few water hours old! I would never think of taking them back to Thorne or Rollie to get a refund and if a bait came back to me like that I would expect the guy who abused it to think the same way... Now, if my bait was a defect and did not run right I would of course refund or return a new bait. If your customers can't understand that then they don't need to be your customers anymore. This is just my opinion and I would hope people will still buy my baits because they are tough but not indestructible. To add, I don't have this problem much as my baits are ran in open water most of the time. I did have one destroyed on a rock last year and I did replace it but, that was because I thought the screws came out. Once I got the bait I could see what the problem was BUT I told the guy I would send him a new one and I lived up to my word. I have only gotten two emails of "bad" baits since and when I request a picture to discuss I have not gotten a reply on either bait. Not sure if this is the best "customer" response or not but I hope it helps.
James
PS-I have another business and I am the complete opposite but, that is because if people do not like my product I have a 100% return policy no questions asked. I also make about 75% margin on those products and I can afford to return 1 out of every 200 to be nice and again, live up to my guarantee...
|
|
| |
|
Posts: 680
Location: Muskoka Ontario,Canada | I've replaced a few baits over two years but only because there seemed to be a genuine flaw in the epoxy. It does happen on rare occasions and I've always taken care of it right away. So far I haven't had anyone try to have me fix up baits that were abused so I've been lucky so far. I'd politely explain that normal wear from rocks and fish teeth over time is just a fact of fishing life. |
|
| |
|
| I should have added that the lures in question are all at least 2 seasons old. Some of them even have teeth marks on them. We all know that fish chew up lures, is there a lifetime warranty implied?
My original question was...do you feel that BBM's are expected to do more or be held to a higher standard? I had one guy send me a lure to repaint that was severely damaged by numerous fish , mainly pike, up in Canada. He said he would pay me to repaint it in exactly the same pattern, and he would pay me. I did another one for him and he paid me, but I returned the beat up one and told him to retire it and hang it in a place of pride.
|
|
| |
|
Posts: 1530
| its the nature of the beast gents. broken lips ground down baits. i re-placed 1 with tire tread marks. it was because we were amused.. had one returned that had 21 fish under its belt. re-placed that one also. baits realisticlly do have a shelf life.. the largest factor is torque when they twist in the net. |
|
| |
