What is wrong with Spyderco customer service?

[Murat_Cyp]

Hi,

I have contacted Spyderco customer service using the "contact" page of the website right after successfully ordering the latest Mule. I have kindly asked if it is possible to keep my order until the 22nd before sending it out as I will be moving to a new address on the 22nd. This is my first-time overseas purchase from Spyderco so I do not know how long would it take, there will be some time required for customs clearance as well. So, I thought it will be better to be late than sorry, as I will not able to collect the item if it goes to the wrong address. I did not receive a response in few hours and then replies to the e-mail confirming my order just to be sure they notice my concern before sending it out. Today I got a notification saying my order is shipped!!! It is quite likely that I will not able to get it! I also tried to contact Spyderco during the factory second, but back then did not get a response to my question. So, in total, the customer service responded to my questions/concerns ZERO out of THREE times. I have always thought Spyderco was a professional company, respected them and supported them by buying their products. So needless to say I am quite upset about this!

[ladybug93]

i've not had very good luck contacting them via email. your best bet is usually to call during their business hours. i know that can be terribly inconvenient when you're overseas, but it's really the only way i've been able to interact with them. i've even sent a knife back in to them to check if it was up to spec and i had to call to ask about it because i didn't get emails regarding the status.

[Sumdumguy]

Did you ever try to call them?

They are extremely backed up right now. Your best bet for getting prompt customer service, is over the phone.

[Murat_Cyp]

No, I have not tried to call them. I have no means of making international calls.

[Murat_Cyp]

I can not believe they do not respond to customers if they do not call. They sell knives all over the world. Surely, they should know not all of their customers able to call them.

[bearfacedkiller]

Most warranty departments won’t respond to emails within hours. That is an unrealistic expectation in my opinion. I expect at least a couple days.

You shipping it to the wrong address or just shipping it while in the middle of a move really isn’t their problem.

Fast shipping also isn’t a fault.

Sorry you are upset but they have done nothing wrong. Take some deep breathes and try to find a solution.

I once ordered from Knifecenter after moving and realized that my old address was still saved. I didn’t even notice until I saw on the tracking that it was in a state I used to live in. I contacted the local branch of the Post Office and had them stop delivery and return to sender. They were unwilling to forward to my new address for obvious fraud reasons but they were very willing to return it to KC. After KC received it they then sent it to the correct address. Hopefully you can work something out with either Spyderco or the carrier.

[JacksonKnives]

Is the parcel going through a courier? (It's been a while since I ordered from the SFO, but I'm assuming that's your only option.)

Once you have a tracking number, try to get ahold of the local office for the courier that will handle delivery, and ask them about leaving a forwarding address or f you can pick up the parcel at their office instead of having it delivered.

[kennethsime]

It sounds like you're mad that department A didn't reach department B in time to update your order, because department B worked so fast - most folks would be quite pleased with that.

Have you tried supplying a forwarding address to your country's mail service, or perhaps the courier service used by Spyderco?

[Murat_Cyp]

Is the parcel going through a courier? (It's been a while since I ordered from the SFO, but I'm assuming that's your only option.)

Once you have a tracking number, try to get ahold of the local office for the courier that will handle delivery, and ask them about leaving a forwarding address or f you can pick up the parcel at their office instead of having it delivered.

Thanks for the advice. I will try to do that.

[Murat_Cyp]

I do not know why some of the response seems to be hostile... I was not trying to step on anyone toes!

I am sorry if expecting a response to a question within a day or two is too much!

As I have said, I had never got a response to my question during the factory seconds, and how long was that ago? Still no answer :)

Thanks to those who provided useful advice regarding sorting the problem.

I think there is not much else to say for me in this thread that will bring productive results.

[nerdlock]

Hi,

As an international customer myself I can understand your sentiment regarding how hard it is to follow up on customer service. One thing I have tried with some amount of success, is to download an app that allows you to call to the US via the Internet, like RebTel. It has allowed me so far to contact landline numbers in the US for free. I have called BladeOps and Knifejoy using this app. Maybe it will help you contact SFO?

[The Mastiff]

I think there is not much else to say for me in this thread that will bring productive results.

This is the internet. When you go public with a tantrum you should expect some pushback. You don't really expect everyone here to agree with the way you see things do you?

They get every free person involved on days like yesterday getting orders serviced and shipped. They did an amazing job and should be commended for it.

If you need immediate action you should call. The world can't revolve around your needs and situation. If you want to do business internationally have a way to make a phone call if you need last minute changes to your order.

[Murat_Cyp]

Hi,

As an international customer myself I can understand your sentiment regarding how hard it is to follow up on customer service. One thing I have tried with some amount of success, is to download an app that allows you to call to the US via the Internet, like RebTel. It has allowed me so far to contact landline numbers in the US for free. I have called BladeOps and Knifejoy using this app. Maybe it will help you contact SFO?

That's good advice. Thanks! It is a bit late for this occasion to do that, but perhaps next time.

[bearfacedkiller]

Sorry if I was one who seemed hostile. I was just being blunt. I also offered what useful advice I could.

You came in saying you were upset, using lots of exclamation points and the thread title is inflammatory. You followed that up with passive aggressive comments. I think considering the tone you started the conversation with most of us are being very helpful. This is a good group of people who will help when they can. I hope you can work something out.

[bearfacedkiller]

Keep in mind that often when an item says shipped in reality all that has been done is printing the shipping label. It may not have left Spyderco yet. I wouldn’t give up on calling them directly.

[JRinFL]

Let's remember that English may not be the OPs first or even second language, so please make allowances for that.

Every business in the 21 Century needs to be using a CRM package of some kind. Auto responses of "We have received your email..." are in fact useful. The customer knows the email made it through and will be responded to in a timely manner. The CRM will notify the correct department and will age the tickets so they don't get forgotten. Relying on the same person to do the support job and answer the phone/email is no longer sufficient nor efficient.

[The Mastiff]

Every business in the 21 Century needs to be using a CRM package of some kind. Auto responses of "We have received your email..." are in fact useful. The customer knows the email made it through and will be responded to in a timely manner. The CRM will notify the correct department and will age the tickets so they don't get forgotten. Relying on the same person to do the support job and answer the phone/email is no longer sufficient nor efficient.

It's easy to spend other peoples money eh? :D

By the way how is Fla treating you? My brother is moving down there soon.

[Murat_Cyp]

I am sorry if I offended anyone in the forum. That was not my intention, although I expected the message to be somewhat hard to take for the customer service team. I was seeking out an answer (hoepfully from someone in customer service team, since I can not reach them through the contact page) to understand why Spyderco does not respond to customers. The response time is not the issue here. They have not responded to my question that I have asked months ago. And I do not think I will recieve a response for my concern this time as well.

I was (am) upset and It was my intention my message to reflect that. But I was never meant to come out as passive aggressive or inflammatory. If that is the case, apologies, this could be due to the language barrier.

I got some usefull advices and I am grateful for that. But I still would like to know WHY (the reason I have started this thread) the customer service does not reply to messages and e-mails.

[Danke]

Let's remember that English may not be the OPs first or even second language, so please make allowances for that.

Every business in the 21 Century needs to be using a CRM package of some kind. Auto responses of "We have received your email..." are in fact useful. The customer knows the email made it through and will be responded to in a timely manner. The CRM will notify the correct department and will age the tickets so they don't get forgotten. Relying on the same person to do the support job and answer the phone/email is no longer sufficient nor efficient.

Yeah we have auto-replies on all our mail I get minim one freak out response every week from someone who doesn't understand "We will contact you during our normal business hours"; next thing you know they're headed for a bridge with someone in the trunk like that Eminem song.

[bearfacedkiller]

I don’t think anyone is offended and I don’t think the customer service team reads the forum.

I realize you are upset but keep in mind that with a friendlier tone you often get better responses. “You catch more flies with honey than vinegar”.

I have had good luck communicating with Spyderco but I always call. I find that getting email responses from most companies is difficult.