Winston Customer Service Sucked!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Goduster]

Why do you think Winston is gouging on rod repairs? The Boron blanks by themselves sell for 400 to 550. If your blank sells for 400 and is a 4 piece then you buy the section you need for 100. Then, Winston needs to put the guides on. If they only charged you 132 for the tip section consider yourself lucky. They could have just told you no since you are not the original buyer. Companies loose thousands of dollars a year when you offer to do this. If you bought a used LCD TV on tried to get that manufacture to offer warranty work you have lost your mind. So why would you expect this company to do so? As far as shipping cost, every thing cost to ship now. Sure they could have shipped it cheaper if they want to shop around and do it for cost. But they need to make money also.

Everyone thinks these big Name fishing companies need to warranty everything thing. Even when they forget there rod is hanging out the bed of their pick up when they close the door and break the rod. Or you are walking though the woods with rod ready to fish and drop the tip by carelessness and break the tip. People really need to wake up and get realistic. Rods today really do not need to come with warranties because the companies test the rods and put them through the works without any breaks. But, if they did not warranty the rods and someone breaks there rod somehow, they blame the company, when it was there fault the rod broke.

Mike P.

They have no more than 50 to 60 dollars in manufacturing that blank, the additional cost for it are marketing, hype, and warranty etc.

[chewydog]

They have no more than 50 to 60 dollars in manufacturing that blank, the additional cost for it are marketing, hype, and warranty etc.

I dissagree...hype is absolutely free.

[Trigg]

At the risk of having tomatos thrown at me...

If one buys a rod with a warranty, why should it matter the "original owner" part? The company got their money when the shop bought the rod, before it was sold to you. Why should it matter if the problem occurs to a second, third or eighth owner? Companies with these warranties charge a premium up front for them, and then charge again when one sends them back, in many cases.

It matters to them because the cost of providing a warranty for an unlimited period to an unlimited number of owners is greater than the cost of providing the warranty to only the first owner for presumably a shorter period of time.

[John_N]

I looked in on this thread briefly this morning but am just sitting back down to the computer. At that time, I guess I read the Winston email more thoroughly than I had before and reached the same conclusion already posted by Utah David. It appears to be a bit of "form email" with a section where the person on Winston's end is supposed to type in the number of sections of each type, as applicable, that they're replacing. That being said, if that's the entirety of the email, I'll agree with Hap and say that it's definitely cryptic. While I've defended Winston's actions to some degree with this, I'll also say they get low marks on several counts in my opinion for how they apparently handled this, and I think it's representative of how companies often don't realize the impact of little things like these on customers' perceptions. Weeks without response is poor. A very brief, impersonal, very poorly laid out email is also asking for trouble and isn't going to do a thing to generate any goodwill. If they can't take the time to generate an entirely original email, which I understand, how about at least adding a little more clarity and maybe just a touch of feigned kindness to the text they're currently using? Hopefully there was at least some "Dear Valued Winston Customer" stuff at the beginning, but when it came to the line in question, they'd do themselves a favor by preceeding it with something like "Sections repaired/replaced (no number indicates no repairs to that section): "

We've probably all experienced companies from time to time that get little things like this right and gain goodwill for stuff that didn't take much more time to send out than what Winston did. I've read plenty over the years that suggests Winston is a smaller shop than one might expect, and I'm sure they're not rolling in the dough any more than other fly fishing manufacturers, but these kinds of details are really more about a difference in approach than they are about additional resources. It's their option whether they want to handle out-of-warranty repairs with a TFO-type benevolence toward the consumer or whether they want to load up on the pricing of those repairs, but little and/or poor communication on the subject is not as easily dismissed. I have rods from a variety of manufacturers and I'm such a fan of my 6 wt. BIIX that it will probably end up being one of those "pry it from my cold, dead hands" rods, but this story will make even me a bit more wary if I wind up having to deal with the company for any repairs. Too bad.

[zaxaca]

My experience with Winston customer service has never exactly made my socks roll up and down, particularly since the company restructured and got rid of the bamboo guys. They do their job and not much more. Not what I expect from a company selling at the price point they do. I love my 3 green sticks (especially my BIIx 5 wt), but will doubtfully buy from them again unless they can give the impression that they are not a company in decline. I hope they can stabilize the ship.

[bgreer]

I'm not one to say who is right and who is wrong.

I agree with what John N said. A company should provide 'better' customer service. Not replying to e-mails, not notifying customers, etc is just bad service.

I've sent fishing related items back to manufacturers for repairs to Simms and to Orvis and had wonderful results. I've even received phone calls from each of those companies, letting me know of my options about repairs/replacement. That sort of thing gets an 'A' in my book.

I did mail order a Winston rod that was damaged in transit. I sent it back to the shop I ordered it from and they took care of sending it to Winston for the repair. I think shops may get better treatment from manufacturers.

Brian

[loufly]

I own St. Croix rods for many reasons, but their customer service tops the list. I have sent just about every St. Croix back for repairs. Never any hassle. It is only $30 for a new tip for their rods (regardless of model) shipping included. I wouldn't take Winston's cs personal. They have been in the business for a long time and know the value of every customer. Contact them again and let them know your let down and give them a chance to regain your support.

Loufly

[Byron haugh]

Why would you have had so many rods which needed to be sent back?

[hap]

Why would you have had so many rods which needed to be sent back?

I, for one, would like to ban car doors... While guiding I had clients do everything from high-sticking, to dropping rods in the gravel, to grabbing the rod way up high to "help" the fish come in, to doors... And I am certain I am missing lots...

[Prairieschooner]

Did you pick up the phone and talk to them? IMO e-mail is a lousy communication tool, especially if you want personal service. Personally I've had great service from Winston, but I understand that customer service can be a case-by-case thing; you'll likely find as many that are unhappy as those who are happy with any company. I also agree that $50 to ship a rod is ridiculous, but it seems that fees like that are the going rate these days with many companies. I would call them and discuss the problem; personal contact goes a long way in getting what you want. Hope you get some satisfaction!