I have a Patagonia SST rain jacket (actually, I have 2 of them) that developed leaks this past summer, and I noticed that the tape was coming off many of the interior seams. So, I called Patagonia's customer service and the guy told me to return the jacket to their return center in Reno, NV, which I did several weeks ago.

I hadn't heard a word from them since returning my jacket, although I could see from my Post Office Delivery Confirmation that the package was delivered to them on 10/14.

I called Patagonia's customer service again yesterday to see what the status was of my jacket. The woman I spoke with said that they haven't even opened any incoming cusotmer returns since 10/11, and it would probably be another 6 weeks after that until they determine what to do with my jacket. It could be 3 months or more until, or if, I get my jacket repaired/replaced/returned, or whatever action they decided to take.

I wish I would have known that before sending them my jacket back, becuase I would have returned it to the shop I bought it from for a refund of my purchase price, which is one of their warranty provisions.

Anyway, I told the customer service woman that I spoke with yesterday that this will be the last Patagonia product I ever buy. As an aside, she said they have been having a disproportionate number of problems with their SST's. I own lots of Patagonia products, and this is the first time I've ever returned any of them.

At least with Simms, when I called them this past summer about returning a pair of waders for repair, they told me up front how long the repair would probably take, and when I dropped them off in person in Bozeman, the woman I gave them to offered me my choice of 1 of 3 nice Simms hats for free! Now, that's how to keep longtime customers returning to buy more of their products. My next rain jacket purchase will be from Simms.

John Rhoades