Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting Damned irritated at Kuiu customer service

Awhile back--I really don't recall when- I ordered a Kuiu synthetic top--maybe a windshirt, when they brought it out in Verde (and that's new, so it wasn't ancient history). Like many of us, I work 55-65 hours in any given week, and I made the bad mistake of not trying it on immediately. I've spent a lot of money at Kuiu, and everything always fit flawlessly...one of their selling points.

The first weekend in September is our archery elk opener, and it was the first time I wore it...and was dismayed to find out that while it was fine in every other dimension, even a little long in the arms and trunk, it was skin tight in the forearms to the point where I couldn't bend my elbows, let alone pull up the sleeves if I were gutting an animal. I should point out here that I'm 6'0" and 165 lbs--hardly a monster. And every piece of the other dozen Kuiu items , all sized medium, have fit flawlessly.

So, I log on to their website and pull up my account to see the item number, order date, etc., and it's blank, though it's worked fine for me in the past. I called Kuiu. No answer in half a dozen calls. I e-mail, describe the situation, thank Kuiu for its high quality products and support for groups like Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, and wait a few days. A customer service rep responds pleasantly, explains that there has been a change of computer systems, and asks me to to send a photo. I do--and I've articulated now that bow season is open and I to resolve this as soon as possible--and I wait for five days. I send a tickler e-mail, and receive the following from another rep:

Jock,

Thank you for your email. Unfortunately, that is over our 60 day return policy and it also has been worn as you had mentioned, which also does not meet our return policy. I apologize for any inconvenience.

Best Regards,


McCade
KUIU Customer Service

1) It would be pretty tough to know that it didn't fit in one crucial area if I had not worn it for part of a day on one trip, and
2) It's not an arbitrary decision on my part--like I don't like the style or color. The sleeve diameter is inadequate; it would be tight on my young daughter. That hasn't been true of any other Kuiu garment I've owned. It's either a design or a sewing flaw, and I don't see why a company that markets to the top tier of hunters would time-limit returns in that kind of situation.

I guess I'm most irritated because I thought this was a company I thought I could support and find high quality gear at for the rest of my career. After this experience, I find it hard to support them in any way.

Jock, was it the tiburon top? This was a well known issue that the cut and sew facility sewed the sleeves on wrong and the stretch in the shirt was over the length of the arm, not the width.

I had the same issue, it's pretty piss poor that they won't return it as this was a known issue. But, in some respects I can understand the cut-off date from them. Sucks to hear.

Hey, JR--yeah, that sounds right. I can see the cut-off--but not for a clear defect, and not from a premium company. Even LL Bean and Cabela's have better customer service than that.

Nice profile pic! Give a shout the next time you're over this way.

Oct 25th is closing fast.

I'd try and call and speak with Ben over there. I think his email is benbkuiu.com. Remind them that this was a first run of the product and a defect from the manufacturer. They will exchange past the 60 day but not refund. I'm betting you just got the wrong person.

Lee

Yes talk to Ben or Todd. Remember that this is also a very busy time of year for them as well. Give them the chance to make it right.

Thanks for the good advice.

If you are trying to play at the top end of the market, there is no area where your performance can be less than stellar. I know personally that I am a lot less likely to cut a company slack (or pay a premium price) if their service is mediocre or if they fail to employ their own customer base - an area KUIU looses points when they send their production offshore.

Ben came through, and I'm grateful to Ebby and 805 for that suggestion. Here is Ben's response, which came quickly:

Sorry for the confusion there, I have been up in Alaska for the past 10 days hunting Caribou. That was a manufacture and a design flaw in the original Tiburon Zip-T and has been addressed in the next Gen of the Zip-T. I would be more than happy to take that one back and get you on a backorder for the newly designed Ultra Tiburon. It is now a 4-way stretch fabric and coated with a Antimicrobial coating. Let me know if this is something that you would like to do.

Kuiu would do well to standardize its customer service training. It would have been very easy to go medieval online or just shut up, cut them off, badmouth them to my friends, and unleash on Jason the next time I see him.

Glad you got it worked out!

This is something that their customer service should have known about since it was a known manufacturers defect. It should take one of their top level guys to make it right, their customer service people need to be trained a bit better IMO.

Glad it all worked out for you in the end.

Sounds like a great result. However, anytime you have to be smart enough about a company's CS department to know you have to speak to 'Ben' or 'Todd' to get the result that should have been automatic....well that makes me nervous.

The older I get, the less patience I have for those type of companies. That said, I was just about to order a set of attack pants...hhhmmm

I think this discussion also highlights another issue, it is damn hard to find good help these days especially at the lower end of the pay scales....hell probably not just the lower end.

One wouldn't think it's too hard to get everyone aligned to follow a single protocol, but in practice it is quite difficult.

Setch
The attack pants are awesome!!! You will be more than pleased with them.

Kuiu might not have everything ironed out yet but their products are very well thought out and I will continue to support them.

Second the pants.... they rock.

Kuiu's move to China pissed me off, but they make some great gear.

I've sent stuff back in the past, but only because of fit issues, so never dealt with customer service. Glad you got it worked out.

You are right, it is not that hard. It requires strong leadership within the organization. From that point, aligning to a single protocol or CS approach is pretty easy.

I hate to say it but can't fault Kuiu for the first response. You went a really long time without trying it on then used it and expected a full return. You were asking a lot...

Sure he can, it was a known defect and they should have caught it the first go round. SHouldn't matter how long he waited if they knew there were issues with the shirt in the first place. Their customer service is obviously not up to par quite yet.

Their CS is bottom of the barrel. Most likely these would have straight screwed you if you hadn't posted. They intensely monitor hunting forums. They knew every shirt in the first run was defective. If their CS was top notch they would have contacted you through email and recalled the shirt before you even knew there was a problem.

I bought Attack pants that were too tight for the size. They wouldn't let me return them as I had pulled the tags. I sold them at a discount on EBAY.

Not a happy customer experience.