Bad customer service experience with Fixe Hardware

mapeze wrote: Kevin, just to clarify: Totem is not receiving subsidies. We get the capital needed to start with the manufacturing and commercialization of Totem Cams from various sources: - Our pocket. - Venture capital investment group. This group is government dependent. They invest on our project with a certain conditions that can be or not be profitable for them. The time will say. - Three loans guaranteed by our patent. We are now paying back the loans and we will need to pay to the venture capital investment group an amount fixed by the conditions we firmed. We sell our products in US at a given price to compete with another brands. Our price is not lower than our competitors price excepting Fixe, and in the case of Basic Cams the price is the same as Aliens price when they were made by CCH. And to be clear: our first goal is to get a job where we will be happy, trying to improve climbing gear. Many times is not easy nor comfortable. I hope I earn your respect.

Now THIS is how you conduct yourself when representing your business. The guys at Totem make an equivalent product for a better price and at the same time manage to avoid being egotistical cockbags on the internet. Plus, totem cams are probably the biggest innovation to hit the market in several years...and when people on MP wonder how they work, mapeze goes and posts up a document on the Totem website explaining it all. Total class act on all levels.

Mapeze, will you ever be releasing basic cams in all the original alien sizes? While you're at it, can you send me a couple dozen totem cams for free? ;) Just kidding, but seriously...I want them so bad.

Wait jake jones jokes? What? Dude I thought you were serious all this time.

Horse not dead quite yet.. [drags carcass over for closer inspection]

So this entire thing is because of this??

----------------------
From: Kevin Daniels @ Fixe Hardware
To: Me

No,
Sorry but I cant honor that or I will be honoring something every darn day.
kevin


THAT is offensive?? Even if i had never dealt with Kevin/Fixe before, if that was the first email I had ever received from him, I think I would have to force myself to find that offensive, rude, or anything less than someone treating me like a person and not insulting me by putting me on some superficial pedestal just to cuddle and pamper me.

Unreal.. "move along"

Daryl Allan wrote:Horse not dead quite yet.. [drags carcass over for closer inspection] So this entire thing is because of this?? ...

FWIW, my opinion was that the OP was making a mountain out of a mole-hill. The original reply from Fixe was "C-" customers service, but nothing "horrific." It was Fixe's subsequent bashing on Totem and their other comments in that post that I found very unprofessional. We can argue all day long about what is rude and what constitutes good customer service. I believe that bashing your competition and making questionable accusations against them in a public forum sucks. That is what makes me see Fixe in a very unfavorable light.

I ordered a guide book from Kevin Daniels Publishing and it came quick and was cheap. Thanks for the great service KD!

kdanielspublishing.pinnacle…

Daryl Allan wrote: So this entire thing is because of this?? ---------------------- From: Kevin Daniels @ Fixe Hardware To: Me No, Sorry but I cant honor that or I will be honoring something every darn day. kevin

No, it wasn't just that. Did you read the post? It was his subsequent message that I felt was over-the-top. Then his posts on the forum didn't seem to help his cause.

It was the follow-up posts by the peanut gallery that made a mountain out of a mole hill, with several people making personal attacks and judgments against both me and Kevin. But that's the way of the Internet forum.

This started (and should have ended) as a thread about my experience with his customer service (or lack thereof). Yes, I felt that his interaction with me constituted horrific customer service. Some people disagree, and that's fine. Did I claim that it was a horrific world event? Of course not. Does it mean that he doesn't contribute to his community or is an evil person? Of course not. Does it even f'ing matter? ... Only in this context: If you care about getting good customer service and you feel like his wasn't, then don't buy from him. If you don't care about customer service or if you feel like his was a shining example of it, then buy from him.

It's a gear review forum. I posted my experience about a gear purchase.

What's done is done. Let the dead horse be dead.

Sorry if I came across as attacking you; that wasn't my intention. I did read the posts and I even put the entire thing as a hypothetical situation to a coworker who actually sided with you in the sense that he would have asked for the discount and would have been offended by his response. That being said, he also stated that posting the private emails up was a bit over the top but that's bridge/water at this point (well, it all kinda is).

Agreed, it's dead. I just felt like Kevin has earned the few of us that feel like I do to post up and share our thoughts. I just can't bring myself to find any offense in his tone. There's certainly no grounds for concluding that anyone was "treated like a total piece of shit" and I just don't see anything that can be construed as "horrific". I've seen horrific customer service.. and THIS aint it! :)

If your post was to genuinely warn people of a possible malevolent merchant, I see your OP as genuine and with good intent. However if you feel that Fixe or Kevin specifically should incur a loss of business due to your experience then I believe your emotions have driven you too far in the wrong direction. Only you know which it was. Either way, you seem upset and although I wouldn't be, I (and others as well) understand and perhaps that's all you needed to hear from the beginning.

Daryl Allan wrote:So this entire thing is because of this?? ---------------------- From: Kevin Daniels @ Fixe Hardware To: Me No, Sorry but I cant honor that or I will be honoring something every darn day. kevin THAT is offensive?? Even if i had never dealt with Kevin/Fixe before, if that was the first email I had ever received from him, I think I would have to force myself to find that offensive, rude, or anything less than someone treating me like a person and not insulting me by putting me on some superficial pedestal just to cuddle and pamper me. Unreal.. "move along"

+1000

Additionally, the all-caps title and the use of the adjective "horrific" hardly fits the situation. At worst he was a little bit blunt.

And yes, I read the whole thread.

(Edit to add that I see that Daryl has posted again as I wrote this, another +1)

Many folks are talking about using other companies or rather NOT buying from FIXE because of Kenan's experience. I, personally, don't think that any large company would do this:

Re: Your FixeHardware Order
6 messages
Daryl Wed, Jan 21, 2009 at 9:01 PM
To: sales@fixehardware.com
Hi guys,
Somehow the shipping rate went through as the "3 Day Select"
($29.80) and i intended for it to be the "UPS Ground" ($19.53) option.
I selected it but maybe i clicked wrong or something. Is it possible
to change that before billing/shipping?

Thanks,
Daryl

FIXE Hardware Wed, Jan 21, 2009 at 11:14 PM
To: Daryl
howdy

yes i will send it ground and refund you the diffrence

do you need anything else ?

kevin

Daryl Thu, Jan 22, 2009 at 7:30 AM
To: FIXE Hardware
A new drill... lol.. just kidding. No, that will do it this time. How much longer do you think you'll have the hanger special? Just till these are gone? Are there allot left? I wanted to stock up.

Thanks,
Daryl

FIXE Hardware Thu, Jan 22, 2009 at 8:49 AM
To: Daryl
i would get them now

kevin

Just thought I would post something positive..
d

Geir wrote: +1000 Additionally, the all-caps title and the use of the adjective "horrific" hardly fits the situation. At worst he was a little bit blunt. And yes, I read the whole thread. (Edit to add that I see that Daryl has posted again as I wrote this, another +1)

Alright. I concede that the subject line of the post was dramatic and has probably added unnecessary fuel to the fire. I have edited it in hopes of helping this come to an end. I still feel strongly about what happened, but enough is enough.

Kenan wrote: No, it wasn't just that. Did you read the post? It was his subsequent message that I felt was over-the-top.

Right, but there is a reason that his subsequent one escalated. It's because you were rude in your response:

Wow, I must say that I'm a bit shocked by your response. Could I not just return them and buy them at the discounted price from Mountain Gear?

-Eric

What are you supposed to say to someone that says that they want to buy them from a different company because they failed to compare prices? That's just downright insulting on your part, yet you act like his response is out of the blue.

+1 Daryl, Spri, and Geir.
Kenan, you're overreacting.

Geir wrote: Additionally, the all-caps title and the use of the adjective "horrific" hardly fits the situation. At worst he was a little bit blunt.

At least he adjusted that.

Sounds like you need an attorney.

Russ Walling wrote:You want HORRIFIC????? Wait till that a-hole at FISH Products drops a steamer in your inbox! That dude is a bastard!! (Hi Kevin!)

Hahahaha Russ!

I always buy bolts from FIXE and still will but please beat me with a baseball bat if I ever buy one of those POS aliens from them. Mythos and Aliens, there should be a club.

I had a great experience ordering Aliens from Kevin. They were delivered fast and he helped me out when I messed up and forgot to order expedited shipping online (I needed them for an upcoming trip).

Dave M Snyder wrote:Kenan, there wasn't anything rude about his response and he didn't treat you like a "piece of shit" as you said. I'd delete the thread, it's silly.

I don't know what century you guys are living in but that kind of customer service is not what it takes to compete in today's market place.

While I agree it wasn't horrific customer service his attitude was certainly bad enough that I'd never give him any more business if I was Kenan.

His follow up in this thread and his attempt to trash the competition with unsubstantiated claims is enough for ME to never buy another piece of Fixe hardware.

It takes more than just being part of the good old boys club to make it these days and Kevin's attitude is one that I see often in brick and mortar gear shops. You notice how well most of those are doing these days. You either compete in the new market place or you spend the rest of your life bitching about how the internet ran you out of business.

+1 for Kevin Daniels. So what if he's a little rough around the edges, the man still delivers.

+1 here, too. Ordered some anchors from this guy last year - and when i called to check on the status of the order he was a total a**hole to me as well. Never again.

Fixe has good gear - but they need a new distributor.