How much do we care about Customer Service really?

Just wondering if when buying a new torch if customer service ever comes into the equation? and if so how much?

I imagine for some people, the knowledge that they are going to get good service is little comfort when their primary light has just died and they are stuck in the middle of nowhere, or even worse in a combat situation (or a dark dark cave), with either their backup or no light at all...

To be honest, whenever I am buying a torch, customer service never really comes into the equation at all, and I am never in any combat situations of any sort and rarely any situation if my light died i would be in much trouble at all..

Additionally, even if a company has good customer service, its still a PITA to ship it back, and wait a week or 2 for a replacement or repair... so I read reviews about its reliability long long before I start worrying about customer service..

All that said, it is nice when something breaks, and you send it back, to have a replacement sent to you straight away, no questions asked.

I recently had a hard drive die on me, sent it back to WD and they replaced it for me. Only issue was I had to pay for shipping to Singapore or wherever it was, that annoyed me a little bit (it was about $20, to get a HDD worth by then about $60 replaced).

So what are peoples thoughts?

Oh, and I don't want the thread hijacked by people saying "Company X has good customer service" or "Company X has bad customer service".... I'm just interested in if we factor it in when buying a new torch?

Not at all as long as the light gets to me in a timely manner and it works flawlessly.

However...
These don't always happen, so then it becomes very important to me. Funny how that works isn't it. :laughing:

(New Guy here)

I personally care quite a bit about overall CS. If the company is known for good overall CS, usually it follows with good overall quality of product.

I've seen more than one thing come out of the box working like a juggernaut only to have it conk out on me two weeks into it. Usually these were from 3rd party, no name sort of companies that were a pain to even get in contact with, while if I was buying from a more well rounded company with a consistent idea to stand behind their product, that sort of thing tends to happen less often.

CS is very very important. It's also an added value in today's market of homogeneous products.

I see CS as an litmus test for a brand and its products in general. If you're not prepared to answer to your customers in a direct way then I end up asking why not?

If your product is good, then it shouldn't cost much more to offer it and consequently if it's average, then the end user should have recourse... But good CS and a bad product is no answer either.

Kilroy Higgins said:

(New Guy here)

I personally care quite a bit about overall CS. If the company is known for good overall CS, usually it follows with good overall quality of product.

I've seen more than one thing come out of the box working like a juggernaut only to have it conk out on me two weeks into it. Usually these were from 3rd party, no name sort of companies that were a pain to even get in contact with, while if I was buying from a more well rounded company with a consistent idea to stand behind their product, that sort of thing tends to happen less often.

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+1

My thoughts is that knowledge of this doesn't significantly affect my initial purchase, but if I have a good or bad experience with the company (specifically, their efforts in resolving any issues that may come up), it has a huge influence whether or not I will do repeat business with them. My two lumens,

Customer service ranks very high as to where I purchase a item whatever it is.

Here's how I see it. Customer service is not free, you are paying for it one way or another. For me it depends on the individual product/circumstance and how much the vendor charges for whatever level of CS they provide.

For example, I can get a Surefire 6PL for $100 (including sales tax). With this purchase, you get the Surefire's CS and if something breaks you know what level of support you can expect.

For the same amount of money, I can get 4 Solarforce L2's (free shipping @ $25 each). Sure, one cannot expect the same type/level of CS at that price. But with 4 lights, I have received my CS up front - whether I need it or not. Should there be any issues, I have 3 complete lights to backup the one I purchased my needs - no need to call the vendor, send stuff back and forth, wait for parts, etc. The fact that the L2's have higher output, multiple modes, take 18650 cells, etc., are just icing on the cake.

I WORK at building a relationship with a dealer or manufacturer. CS is very important to me. It's a loyality thing. In fact now that I think about CS plays into most of my dining,vehicle service,clothing,flashlights and just about every other purchasing decision.

I am a very loyal buyer.

With the internet there are literally hundreds of places to purchase from with regards to lights and accesories. However, 4sevens, Unique Titanium, Battery Junction, Battery Station, AW & Lighthound are THE only places I buy from - all because of their amazing customer service.

Ra, Surefire and Malkoff will have my business for life due to wonderful CS.

On knives, I have pretty much switched exclusively to Rat Cutlery all because of their customer service.

On bags, Kifaru gets all my money because of the customer service.

In short, CS is a MAJOR factor in where I shop.

Good CS is paramount IMO without it your down a creek without a paddle,especially if you buy on-line and overseas and you find it faulty or even the wrong product,good luck to all if the CS is bad in that situation






[edit]Coming to think about it,maybe this would be better suited in the Cafe as doesn't just relate to flashlights :shrug:

i usually think about the dealer's cs more than the manufacturer.

Wow, i must say i am surprised by the replies so far. I was expecting to hear a lot more "i read reviews of the torch being reliable, then get it, because customer services will do me no good stuck in a cave without a light" type thing..

I guess i am the only one lol.

AusKipper said:

Wow, i must say i am surprised by the replies so far. I was expecting to hear a lot more "i read reviews of the torch being reliable, then get it, because customer services will do me no good stuck in a cave without a light" type thing..

I guess i am the only one lol.

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Even "reliable" lights will fail. Either a slip in QC or through wear and tear.
Of course an unbeatable customer service will involve sending someone to the cave to replace your light.

I have a pelican 7060 and the tailcap cracked 2 weeks ago. Pelicans have a lifetime warranty. I called and the customer service rep took my information and I had a new tailcap in 4 days!!! They didn't even ask for the old one back. I am now a believer that customer service is very important. It's nice to not get a head ache dealing with a company. Many of us are spending a lot of money on our lights and it's nice to know we will betaken care of!!!

Kilroy Higgins said:

If the company is known for good overall CS, usually it follows with good overall quality of product.

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That's the reason it can matter to me, because if the company has great customer service and deals with returns quickly and painlessly, they're less likely to ship defective goods in the first place.

Sometimes shipping speed is also important to me.

I'm not overly concerned about lifetime guarantees and friendliness as such, but it reinforces point one. I'm in the UK and have no idea how I'd go about returning a Surefire light or how long it would take, but their almost legendary lifetime guarantee and customer service was a factor when it came to buying them, because I don't expect to have to return them anytime soon.

So, I guess it matters to me when I'm spending any significant amount of money.

Kestrel said:

My thoughts is that knowledge of this doesn't significantly affect my initial purchase, but if I have a good or bad experience with the company (specifically, their efforts in resolving any issues that may come up), it has a huge influence whether or not I will do repeat business with them. My two lumens,

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+1. Of the many flashlight retailers on CPF, the web and bricks & mortar, I tend to stick with the ones who have resolved any issues quickly and efficiently. I will purchase from them again based on the experience and continue to recommend them to others.

What also comes into consideration is CS when asking for expert advice with first purchases; as an example that's not related to lights but relevant to thread, the chain on my road bike was skipping and I took it to a local shop which was supposedly very customer oriented. Without even putting the bike on a workbench, they looked at the bike, told me what they thought was wrong, reached down and began doing haphazard adjustments to my bike, then proceeded to say it was fixed. Well, it wasn't. After trying to fix it twice, the chain was still skipping. Took it to a 2nd shop, they put it on a workbench, assessed it, performed the fix in 10 minutes, tested it and told me exactly what the problem was (derailleur was slightly out of alignment). I will take my business to the 2nd bike shop because they didn't jump to conclusions, they did a thorough exam first and fixed the issue.

Having expertise and CS upfront on your first visit can often spare you from wasted time, money and problems later on. I look for the same expertise and CS also when purchasing my lights.

C.S. ? HHMMMM Where shall I start? Let me relate a little story....ordered a torch from a US web-merchant prior to the Holidays last year ('08). The site said it was "in-stock," clicked "add-to-cart," and anxiously awaited for confirmation that my order was placed, packed, and shipped. Unfortunately, they were out of stock of that particular torch and did not get a "Sorry, but...." e-mail until 5 days (business days, 7 calendar days) later telling me that they were out of stock. I opted to allow the back order process to take it's course, and didn't get confirmation for close to 3 weeks later that my item was back in stock and was being prepared for shipping.

I guess my beef is, why did it take 2 phone calls to C.S. during the 3 weeks I waited for ANY sort of response from them for an update on my order status?!?!?:mecry:

I've had 99% sucess rate ordering from the web-site in question and will continue to order from them in future, but, the 1% non-happy sucess rate I've had with them has prompted me to reply to this thread.

I really, really don't mean this to be a "jeer" to the web-merchant, and I fully understand about holiday-rush period for a retail business. I should know, my 19+ year career in retail has (had) given me respect and understanding for both retailers and customers in similar situations as me, but can't understand why some retailers drop-the-C.S.-ball and allow me (and I' sure others) to "hang." A quick e-mail or voice-mail letting me know that the order will be delayed 2-3 weeks would have "cooled-my-jets." Knowledge is a powerful thing.

Sorry if this is a rant, MOD's, if this needs to be moved to the "Cheers n Jeers" forum, please move it to the appropriate forum.

On a positive note, most of my purchases on the web, and all my dealings here on CPF and CPF MP forums, I have had a 110% sucess rate feeding my ever-growing "flash-a-holism!!!" lovecpf