I bought a pair of SpecialFin carbon blades last November from the Asian representative in Phuket. By February, they had started to crack. Two colleagues of mine also had the same problem in that their blades cracked very soon with only regular use.
The Asian rep, Richard Wonka of We Freedive repeatedly contacted Karmo, head of SpecialFins. The response, after quite some delay, was that SpecialFins had produced a bad batch of carbon blades and would be sending replacements.
I needed replacements within 3 months since I was moving elsewhere. Repeated inquiries to the Asian rep were met with the reply that SpecialFins was not responding to simple e-mail status requests. Not the best way to treat someone who wants to open up a major market for you.
SpecialFins’ carbon fins, if manufactured properly, may be good but its customer service is severely flawed. Inquiries were made for over three months and ignored.
Delays in delivering the new batch might be acceptable if the manufacturer would contact his Asian representative to at least give a reason for the delay. Perhaps the company does not have the capacity to produce the volume or the quality at that volume. A simple explanation or apology seems an expected and appropriate response. Maybe there is a language problem which could delay the reply, but the SpecialFins website is in English.
Admitting to this, being accountable and giving transparency to the issue is an expected business practice, but ignoring customer requests is equivalent to telling customers to go hang themselves.
SpecialFins, there are 2 ways to handle this situation:
1) step up to your responsibilities, or
2) admit you can’t deliver what you promise.
Does anybody have any similar experience with this company?
The Asian rep, Richard Wonka of We Freedive repeatedly contacted Karmo, head of SpecialFins. The response, after quite some delay, was that SpecialFins had produced a bad batch of carbon blades and would be sending replacements.
I needed replacements within 3 months since I was moving elsewhere. Repeated inquiries to the Asian rep were met with the reply that SpecialFins was not responding to simple e-mail status requests. Not the best way to treat someone who wants to open up a major market for you.
SpecialFins’ carbon fins, if manufactured properly, may be good but its customer service is severely flawed. Inquiries were made for over three months and ignored.
Delays in delivering the new batch might be acceptable if the manufacturer would contact his Asian representative to at least give a reason for the delay. Perhaps the company does not have the capacity to produce the volume or the quality at that volume. A simple explanation or apology seems an expected and appropriate response. Maybe there is a language problem which could delay the reply, but the SpecialFins website is in English.
Admitting to this, being accountable and giving transparency to the issue is an expected business practice, but ignoring customer requests is equivalent to telling customers to go hang themselves.
SpecialFins, there are 2 ways to handle this situation:
1) step up to your responsibilities, or
2) admit you can’t deliver what you promise.
Does anybody have any similar experience with this company?
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