Bad customer service experience with Fixe Hardware

I had a terrible experience with Kevin Daniels at Fixe hardware today, so I wanted to share it so that others may avoid a similar fate.

I had been debating about ordering some Alien cams for a while now after hearing that they were being manufactured again. I had doubts about the purchase for a while due to the high price, but finally bit the bullet as I know from using them that they're one-of-a-kind in certain situations. So I went ahead and ordered them at full price ($79.95 each + $14.95 shipping). They arrived in the mail today, and coincidentally a Mountain Gear ad also arrived showing the Aliens at a discounted price of $59.95 each (also note free shipping). I contacted Kevin to see if he would honor the discounted price on the cams, as this is commonly done in my experience with reputable retailers. Not only did he not honor the discounted price... He treated me like a total piece of shit. Below is the email exchange.

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

Kevin,

I got the aliens in the mail today. I also got a MountainGear catalog that has them on sale for $59.99 each! DOH! Will you honor this discount? If so, I'd like to use the difference ($20 each on 3 cams = $60) to get the yellow alien. So maybe you can just send that one my way as well? Hate to be a pain but that's a huge savings, so I'm hoping you'll honor it.

Thanks very much,
Eric

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

No

Sorry but I cant honor that or I will be honoring something every darn day.

kevin

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

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

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

I have a no return policy that is clearly stated on the website. You know, you saw it.

It also states that returns will be honored on a case by case basis AND a 20% restocking fee applies IF the return is accepted.

So

Send them back for our inspection and I will contact you with my decision.

IF I refund your order a 20% fee will be deducted and a refund check will be sent to you.

Fixehardware
381 east line street
Bishop, ca 93514

Kevin Daniels

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

Kevin,

Actually, I didn't see the return policy anywhere on the web site. I went there just now and still can't find it. I assumed that a company that was backing a product with a good reputation like the Aliens would have a customer satisfaction guarantee. Obviously I was wrong.

In my experience, reputable companies will always honor sales or coupons for their products found elsewhere. I'm truly shocked at how you've decided to handle this and the tone of your email correspondence to me.

Well, don't worry... I won't be returning them. I also won't ever consider purchasing another product from Fixe hardware. And I'll make sure that I share my experience with everyone I know.

Good luck in your business endeavor.

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

Sorry you feel that way

Thanks for the business

Kevin Daniels

-----------------------

So... I felt compelled to share the story. Neglecting to honor a discounted price on one's product is no big deal in itself. If he would have said that politely, I would have said "ok" and moved on. But he treated me like a total piece of shit, telling me that "I know, I saw" a non-existent return policy, and that he would charge me a 20% restocking fee *IF* he graciously decided to accept my return on a product that he knows I received TODAY (he had delivery confirmation).

Well, that qualifies in my book as horrific customer service and a terrible way to do business. So buyer beware. Aliens may be great, but the company that's now backing them has no concept of customer service.

-Eric
(a.k.a. kenan on mp)

07/18/2012 - 14:03PM MDT - Edited subject line

Shitty... I agree, it doesn't hurt to ask for the discount, and wow what an arrogant response.

I recently purchased a full set of Totem cams and a few Totem basics and could not be happier. In fact, I also have a grey fixe alien and I think the Totem basics are of higher build quality. Totem ships FREE from Portland, OR and their standard price for the basics is 59.95. If you order 5 or more cams they're 10% off too.

I was impressed with their excellent customer service. They had a small supply chain error and shipped my cams a couple days late - the technical manager Mikel (I believe he posts here under Mapeze?) personally emailed me to notify me of the problem and was very polite. Can't really see any reason why someone would buy Fixe aliens at this point. The totems are bomber as well.

Thanks for sharing.

I truly get pretty razzled with bad customer service from any business.

I would agree that the rep was definitely being a bit of an ass.

WILL NOT be buying direct from them.

Burghschred wrote:Shitty... I agree, it doesn't hurt to ask for the discount, and wow what an arrogant response. I recently purchased a full set of Totem cams and a few Totem basics and could not be happier. In fact, I also have a grey fixe alien and I think the Totem basics are of higher build quality. Totem ships FREE from Portland, OR and their standard price for the basics is 59.95. If you order 5 or more cams they're 10% off too. I was impressed with their excellent customer service. They had a small supply chain error and shipped my cams a couple days late - the technical manager Mikel (I believe he posts here under Mapeze?) personally emailed me to notify me of the problem and was very polite. Can't really see any reason why someone would buy Fixe aliens at this point. The totems are bomber as well.

+1

Really???

It doesn't seem that "terrible". He said if he honored deals he would be doing it all the time. Perhaps he should have been more diplomatic but you kept pushing. Also, it's rare for anybody to accept a return. Maybe they are an awful company but this certainly isn't an example of it.

GLD

Honestly, Kevin's reply was pretty snarky right away. Your original inquiry seemed innocent and light-hearted enough, and there was no need for his attitude. Fuck him. He's not the only one out there selling these, and I definitely won't buy them from him if he treats people like that.

As much as it can hurt the bottom line sometimes, outdoor retailers really do have to bow to pretty much anything the customer wants. I see it on a daily basis where I work. However, it keeps people coming back, and with the proliferation of customer reviews and blogs, word of mouth can really damage your reputation.

Keep the tags on them, buy a second set from Mountain Gear at discount, and then sell the first set you ordered after their sale ends?

I don't see why Fixe is obligated to honor someone else's sale price and I also don't see why you're shocked. If you wanted a low price guaranty you should have selected a known retailer with such a policy.

Kevin needs to work on his bedside manners. I bet if he was a little more diplomatic about the situation you wouldn't have gotten upset. I don't disagree with declining to honor the sale but Kevin is largely responsible for why you had a negative experience.

The return policy is on the Contact Us page. It wasn't hard to find but it wasn't exactly made clear either. From my experience, companies with similar policies make them known up front to avoid these situations. fixehardware.com/contact.htm

Some of you people are rediculous. He isn't angry with te price, but the customer service. Absolutely horrible.

You should take this up the chain and if they do nothing fire that email everywhere. Regardless of whether they should have accepted the return, their response was atrocious and I surely wouldn't take it laying down.

This post violated Rule #1. It has been removed by Mountain Project.

Tony T. wrote:He's not the only one out there selling these, and I definitely won't buy them from him if he treats people like that.

Kevin Daniels is the US Distributor of Fixe.

Kenan wrote: You're right... Fixe isn't obligated to honor someone else's sale price on their products. He could have said that politely and I would have gone along my merry way. But in my experience, a solid company that cares about their customers would honor the sale price. If the retailer can afford to sell the products at that price, the manufacturer can afford to honor the sale price to me. The good customer service and its impact would have been worth its weight in gold. The bad customer service left a terrible taste in my mouth and I intend to make it worth its weight in platinum. ;-)

I don't know what Fixe-USA's business agreement is with its retailers but many manufacturers/distributors that sell direct won't lower their price below retail to avoid competing with their retailers. If I were a retailer and the place I bought my gear sold direct at wholesale prices to anyone that asked nicely I'd stop carrying their products.

Again, the real problem here is how he told you "no".

Ray Pin........Kevin Daniels/Fixe maybe the US distributor for Aliens, but other retailers are selling them. Mountain Gear has a 25% discount on Aliens in their current catalog.

Kenan wrote:I had a terrible experience with Kevin Daniels at Fixe hardware today, so I wanted to share it so that others may avoid a similar fate.

Oh the humanity! Thanks for looking out for all us consumers eagle-eyeing the cupon code for 25 % off aliens. Sounds like the rep had a bad day explaining to X amount of savvy discount seekers that they actually need to make money sometimes, and that time may not always correspond to MountainGear's fiscal whimsy, and he was out of patience. I doubt Mr. Daniels handles all correspondence in this manner, and now instead of shaking off a bad day with a scotch and a little dinner complements of Mrs. Daniels, he gets to see the one guy he let slip through his professional filter got offended and broadcast his umbrage across the land.
I hope if it is ever my accursed fate to encounter less than shining, happy, and slave-master customer service I will shrug it off and be psyched when my new greenie works in a shitty scar and saves my ass.

matt davies wrote: I doubt Mr. Daniels handles all correspondence in this manner,

Actually, he was quite unfriendly when I contacted him to ask if Fixe can pull test some recall era aliens.

matt davies wrote: Oh the humanity! Thanks for looking out for all us consumers eagle-eyeing the cupon code for 25 % off aliens. Sounds like the rep had a bad day explaining to X amount of savvy discount seekers that they actually need to make money sometimes, and that time may not always correspond to MountainGear's fiscal whimsy, and he was out of patience. I doubt Mr. Daniels handles all correspondence in this manner, and now instead of shaking off a bad day with a scotch and a little dinner complements of Mrs. Daniels, he gets to see the one guy he let slip through his professional filter got offended and broadcast his umbrage across the land. I hope if it is ever my accursed fate to encounter less than shining, happy, and slave-master customer service I will shrug it off and be psyched when my new greenie works in a shitty scar and saves my ass.

Exactly! Thank you Matt for summing it all up so nicely. Kenan, Kevin doesn't owe you shit except perhaps an apology for letting his impatience get the best of him. Before you go spraying a bunch of BS on the interweb maybe do some basic research on how sales work. If mgear has X product on sale, what makes you think the manufacturer of X product should honor the sale price via a direct order from them? Sales are designed to be special deals for a limited time, from a specific supplier...not from every supplier of that product. Your train of thought is what is causing local businesses to fail and places like Walmart and Backcountry.com to thrive.

Try to step in his shoes. You basically emailed him saying I found a better price on your aliens so go ahead and send me a free one...that should make everything swell.

This is not an isolated incident, I also had a negative email exchance with Kevin regarding carrying FIXE in my shop. His customer service skills suck and I won't bother to try and purchase FIXE in the future.

The OPs inquriy was a legit and any sane business person would gladly extend the deal.

And hence is the danger of being an impatient, undiplomatic sort via e-mail as it is all there for later viewing. A lesson for Kevin I'm sure. The expectations of the OP were a bit loony, which was explained later quite well I think. You can't just go ask for everyone's little sliver of profit or ask them to discount things to the detriment of their wholesale customers.

Anyway, fun reading. I will buy from Fixe if I feel like it, or not. I may even use Ripstop Repairs as well if I can get Princess® rates.

Michael Urban wrote: I agree. If one of Fixe's retailers could offer a 25% discount I think Fixe could have as well. Again - no excuse for being a dick.

FIXE only sells a certain type of product, while mountain gear sells a lot more. Mountain gear can take a lost or just break even on certain items to attract buyers on other high profit margin items (the same way Amazon does it).

OP asks for a free cam, and got shut down immediately with a tough response, he then threaten to return the gear which not a lot of retailers do anyway. I don't see what he's pissed off about.

OK,
I read and re-read this thread....

I do agree that it was a little 'tacky' for OP to expect Fixe themselves to honor Mountain gear's SALE. Fixe or any other manufacturer isn't responsible for a retailer having any sale - UNLESS it is one that Fizxe themselves is sanctioning. And I do feel that it was out of line asking them to honor a discount of one of their retailers, asking for a free cam, or wanting to return the items so-as to go purchase them on sale from another retailer. So yeah - that was 'balsy' I have to admit.

However, in his defense - and I can understand Kevin being upset - Kevin could hav acted more actfully in his response merely stating that Fix isn't responsible for any sale(s) or promotions that their retailers choose to offer.

Kenan:
What kind of business are you in?
Will you still get paid if your company sells everything you do/produce at 25% off normal rate?
How well would you respond to your client asking you to fork over a 25% refund after completing the transaction?

Sense of entitlement is right. You did not act with diligence and expect others to bail you out of a bad decision. No retailer is required to offer "beat any price" or 100% refund policies. The ones who do that do so as a marketing tool only.

I had a similar experience dealing with him. I was inquiring on some gear I ordered that was out of stock and I needed for a trip. His attitude/personality is not condusive to good customer service. It's too bad because he has excellent gear. The next time I needed hangers I ended up buying them from Metolius instead.