Customer service, it's for real!

#1

:thumbsup:
In September I got my Denise needles and have been using them a lot. I like them. Then the extenders that connect the cables to lengthen them started separating and what a mess that can make. :gah: Thinking (censored)… I emailed the company today and guess what. Minutes later I got an email saying they’ll send me new ones, no charge. I’m impressed. :woohoo: Things can go wrong sometimes and that’s just the way it is, but to have the company replace them at no charge and respond so quickly, I think that’s great.

Anyone else have something like this happen? Or customer [I]dis[/I]service you’d like to complain about?

#2

I’d like to put in a good word for Strauch Fiber Equipment Co., makers of my yarn-ball winder.

In August, the number of unwound hanks I had acquired from store-closing sales and yard sales as well as donated yarn for the community service group I crochet and knit with had reached alarming proportions. Sure, I could “bleed off” a hank or two every now and then at the LYS, if it was for a specific project and in good shape, but a lot of the donated yarn was pretty hopeless, and the yard-sale yarn was often questionable–big tangles, what looked like one ball actually being three or more, and so on.

It was becoming clear that I needed my own yarn ball winder. A member of the crochet forum I’m active in was creating plans on a slow basis for us to build our own winders, but he seemed to have “stalled out” in late May. (Sadly, he hasn’t made any further progress even now since late May.) The ubiquitous plastic ball winders break under heavy use, so I knew that I’d need something of better quality, but the professional ones were way too much, both physically and fiscally. :wink:

At that very moment (cosmically speaking), I opened a magazine and saw The Ad. I couldn’t tell whether it was an ad aimed at retail shops or individual buyers, but there was a website!

There was no order form at the website, though. :?? There I was, looking at this amazing winder with no way to order it. Aieee! So, at something like 6:00 p.m. Pacific time (9:00 p.m. Eastern time), I picked up the phone and called Strauch’s phone number. My plan was to leave a message asking them to call me for my order.

The owner of the business answered the phone in person! He told me to just go ahead and mail him a check and he’d make sure that the winder was ready to go.

I think he must have sent the winder the very next day, before he even received my check. Either that, or the winder made very good connections on its way west from Virginia, because it was in my hot little hands within a week! :cheering:

DCM

#3

Ooohhhh, I just looked at the Strauch Fiber Equipment Co. site. Cool stuff. I’d like to have just about one of each, even though I’ve absolutely no use for most of it, it just looks so cool. There is a real beauty in well-made tools like those. Unfortunately, I can’t possibly afford one of their ball winders so I’m glad I don’t really need it. I’m glad you got yours as you do need it, they sound like absolutely terrific people to deal with.

These days, it can be so hard to find anyone who knows anything and phone menus :tap: make me want to scream. :gah: I felt like it would nice to not-complain for a change. I am glad you a good experience to share too.

Once when my daughter was in middle school I got the feeling I should call her block teacher one afternoon, just to say I thought he was doing a great job. When he returned my call, I could tell by his voice he was having a rough afternoon. The poor man was so relieved when I told him I had nothing to complain about, my daughter thought he was the best teacher she’d ever had (she still does) and he was grateful. He’d had one of those days where everything went wrong and he’d had to talk to a lot of unhappy parents.

#4

Knitpicks has always had wonderful customer service, too. :thumbsup:

#5

I have to try ordering from Knitpicks, I’m thinking of getting some small tip circulars for things like socks, long so I can do two at the same time. People seem to like the Knitpicks needles for circular knitting. The cable on the Denise needles is not as skinny as on the Knitpicks needles so I don’t think they’d work really well even if I had the small size tips.

#6

I started with Denise and didn’t care for the fat cable. The needles were nice enough and I liked the join, but after I tried the Options it was all over with. :teehee: I mostly use the nickle plated, but I have a few Harmonys, too.

#7

This is awesome. I did have some cables break on my knitpicks needles that I had for over a year. . .and they sent me replacements really quickly. . .:slight_smile: I love great customer service. In fact, I’d pay more for it. . .:slight_smile:

#8

I also love The Loopy Ewe. Nothing but excellent excellent service there. The owner emails you herself if there is an error. I can’t speak highly enough of her.

#9

Knitpicks kneedles are beginning to look like a knecessity!

#10

When I got my first set of Knit Picks Try it Set, I broke the very tip off one of the acrylic needles and I emailed Knit Picks about it. I said the needle was still usable but had a flat spot where the sharp tip had broken off. They emailed me back and said they were sending a new set of the same size acrylic needles, no questions asked. I call the great customer service. I got an order today from them that I made last Sat night. I bought size 5 and 4 Harmony tips since I do not have those sizes, and I bought 3 balls of the Swish wool in black and two in the Gulfstream color. The black is for me to make some mittens for myself(to use as part of my uniform as a crossing guard), The Gulfstream color is for my grandson who is in Va.

#11

My replacement pieces just arrived, I don’t know yet if they’ll hold together any better. I have decided Knitpicks are something I need. Those square circs in a thread on General Knitting (I think) look good.

#12

I suggest you buy a try it set of either one (or both!) and test them out. If you like them then consider buying the set. It never hurts to have extras so the try it sets are worth it. I have the original set and probably another whole set that I’ve bought piecemeal plus tons of extra cables. :wink: