Customer service issues with Blackhawk and I want a Surefire Kroma to replace it with

Have an early model Gladius purchsed from UK stockist who no longer deals with Blackhawk

Long story short - tail cap gone wrong and needs new one - Blackhawk answers my e-mails no problms and has told me to expect new tail cap in around 7-10 days. Problem is that was over a month ago and yet no new tail cap.

Guys at Blackhawk pretty good but to date I have no tail cap. I paid a lot of money for a good operational unit which I thought would be backed up with quality service.

Torch not working and no new tail cap in sight - so beware before buying a Gladius - I am now thinking of replacing with a Surefire Kroma Mil-spec if I can get one in the UK. Can anyone help me out with this????

Have asked most US dealers but they are not allowed to ship to UK - why the hell not??? Are we brits not allowed these units

Re: Customer service issues with Blackhawk and I want a Surefire Kroma to replace it with

SF has very strict rules that their US dealers have to follow as far as shipping out of the US. My understanding is that they are not allowed to.

Someone here may be able to purchase one for you and forward it to you...after the military gets theirs...if there's any left over. Last I heard, they are backordered and will not be available for quite some time.

JM-99

Edgar Brothers in Macclesfield are the official UK importer / distributor for the Gladius. They only sell to the trade, not retail, but they're are a good crowd and all the dealings I've had with them in the last couple of years on some special group buys have been excellent.

If your dealer was supplied by EB it could be worth getting in touch. It will be obvious - they put a big gold sticker on everything that they distribute


BTW the standard answer to your question about why US dealers are restricted from supplying some products direct to the UK is simply down to commercial arrangements.

Say I'm a US manufacturer of a new product and want to start selling my product into the UK.
I know that most people still don't like buying mail order from overseas, will not under any circumstances buy over the web, and don't want the hassle of mailing faulty products to the US in case of warranty problems (it costs $150 dollars equivalent to mail something broken to the states that only cost $30 to send to us in the first place).

So I find a well established UK company that has established contacts with retail outlets all over the country, can persuade the retailers to stock my product, can manage warrantly issues for me locally, and knows the right trade and retail magazines to advertise in for me to develop the market. I give them an exclusive distribution deal for say 5 years as an incentive to build the market, subject to them hitting a set of sales targets.

Lastly, I make it quite clear to my US dealers that I don't want them trying to make a fast buck on the back of the work done by my UK distributor - otherwise they'll be breaking the terms of the agreements they'll have been given in the US and they'll be dropped.

Once a product's become widely known the manufacturer will often evolve the deals to get their product to market by any and every channel possible, but while trying to get a product into a new market, the manufacturer needs local help and the quid pro quo is that the importer / distributor will insist on exclusivity in return for their risk of investing time and money in market development.
Cheers.

If I was after a SureFire I'd look to Supremeco or surefirekorea.com or similar Asian Dealer as they ship to the UK I believe.

Edited to add: If you can get in with Edgar Bros its a great way to support the market here in the UK that Edgar Bros supply cool gear to. I feel that Edgar Bros and its Dealership network here in the UK does not make it easy to buy SureFires in the UK because the cost is too high compared to buying on the 'grey' market.

Sometimes there are very good reasons for buying imported goods from a UK retailer (for example: I buy my 5.11 gear from Niton999 because they have stock, its fast and simple) even though the price is a lot higher compare with buying from a US Dealer the service makes up for it.

One of the issues is that UK retalers are too expensive as well as not having the stock quickly enough to be able offer a service too good to refuse.

Re: Customer service issues with Blackhawk and I want a Surefire Kroma to replace it with

The new Gladius tailcaps are problem-free. Try emailing Blackhawk again. The Gladius is worth your time, and you shouldn't give up on something you paid so much for.

I just received my new Gladius tailcap today after a little over three weeks-in the U.S.!

So, if you double that, you can expect it in a couple of more weeks!:huh2:

I was starting to wonder myself, so don't give up on the tailcap.

Re: Customer service issues with Blackhawk and I want a Surefire Kroma to replace it with

Nice one guys and thanks for all the advice.

1. I can see why SF would not want in deal in the UK given current exchange rates and such - but that does not help me in getting hold of a mil-spec Kroma (appreciate your reply though vandrecken )

2. Latest update from Blackhawk is that they have posted a new tail cap and should be with me in about 7 days

3. I like the Gladius loads and it really suits my needs but it got to me that I paid so much and the thing let me down when I needed it most

4. Thanks for your help size15s, I will be researching your info tonight

I guess that I was probably a bit harsh on Blackhawk but it did need more than several e-mails to get it sorted and at the time i was pis**d that the thing stopped working when I thought it was supposed to be good quality.

Thanks for keeping me calm guys and hopefully the tail cap will arrive soon

Jakpro said:

I just received my new Gladius tailcap today after a little over three weeks-in the U.S.!

So, if you double that, you can expect it in a couple of more weeks!:huh2:

I was starting to wonder myself, so don't give up on the tailcap.

Click to expand...

Did you have a problem with your tailcap? Are they just sending you a new one, or did you have to send yours back first? I 'need' a new one and am curious as to what to expect. Waiting for a call back from them.

Re: Customer service issues with Blackhawk and I want a Surefire Kroma to replace it with

I just went through that. They sent me a new tailcap, but it didnt fix anything, so i had to mail them my Gladius last week, and just got it today (replacement one). It works perfectly

Englishbob said:

Blackhawk answers my e-mails no problms and has told me to expect new tail cap in around 7-10 days. Problem is that was over a month ago and yet no new tail cap.

Click to expand...

Why not switch to surefire and wait TEN WEEKS for a replacement tailcap?

Re: Customer service issues with Blackhawk and I want a Surefire Kroma to replace it with

Well I finally got the cap today in the post - however I have left the damed thing at work so wont be able to test until next Monday. I will post agin to let you know if it fixed the thing.

Re: Customer service issues with Blackhawk and I want a Surefire Kroma to replace it with

The Gladius is/was cutting edge when released and there were unfortunately some issues with the surface finish and tail cap. The finish 'issue', if you can call it that, has been resolved by substituting HA111 for the original ceramic finish. The tail cap has had a couple of issues including intermittent electrical contact and breaking whilst in lockout mode. The problem with ham fisted operators forcing the tail cap on without ensuring the pin in the tail cap was correctly located in rebate in the Gladius body was resolved by better written instructions and now appears to be little talked about.

Customer service issues are not confined to Blackhawk and Surefire has had it's share of dissatisfied customers as well! However, in my dealings with both companies I've found that a little research will enable you to contact the right person to deal with your problem more quickly.

Although perhaps more expensive a phone call to Surefire CS is recognized to be far more productive than emails. I've no doubt that if you were to have tried to speak to Blackhawk CS or even emailed Ken Good about your difficulties you would have had a quicker resolution to your problem. The Gladius is a fine light and my very early example bought from Edgar Brothers has (apart from a minor problem with the tailcap) performed brilliantly for well over a year without any other problems.

The Kroma is without doubt a fantastic light but the US military have (and IMO deserve) first call on any being produced at the moment and so I wouldn't get too excited about a quick purchase in the near future.

Doug

Fingers crossed for you Bob,
All the best,

Vandrecken

Re: Customer service issues with Blackhawk and I want a Surefire Kroma to replace it with

Bob,

If any issues releated to the Gladius are not resolved to your satisfaction, email me and I will personally address it.

[email protected]

Re: Customer service issues with Blackhawk and I want a Surefire Kroma to replace it with

Bob,

I hope that Ken's posting is proof of how seriously Night-Ops take CS and demonstrates that Ken takes a personal interest in ensuring that those who use and own Gladius flashlights are happy with their lights?

Doug