A shout out to some great companies, updated Oct 28, 2015.

Another guest blog entry by SD: Silent Dave

Sometimes you run into such good customer service you just have to say something.  I think the old adage is that if someone gets bad service they tell 10 people, when they get great service they only tell 3-4 people.  I think that ought to change and when we get great service we need to tell at least 10 people.  After 2 months on the road here's my hall of fame for customer service.  All of these companies when above and beyond what I reasonably expected.  As a result I am now a customer for life of these companies and highly recommend you give them a try.

LL Bean.  A New England favorite for a good reason.  When my tent wore out after more than a decade of use they offered me a full refund.  I decided not to take them up on it, after all I had gotten good use of it.  A well deserved hall of fame for customer service member. http://www.llbean.com/





REI.  Kelly bought a new pair of hiking shoes.  The next day we went for a 6 mile hike.  They didn't work out and we went in to get a new pair of boots for her.  Even though they were worn on the trail, they took them back and gave her a full refund.   Another well deserved hall of fame for customer service member.     http://www.rei.com/






Allen's Pharmacy in Manchester, MA.  Kelly had trouble getting the local pharmacy of a big name national drug store chain to get a prescription filled.  It took weeks for them to try to get it right, and in the end they just couldn't figure it out.  This was an every day drug, not something exotic.  Kelly had used Allen's in the past and with one phone call to them they took charge and figured it all out and sent her the prescription.  Another well deserved hall of fame for customer service member.



Reliance Products.  I bought a water carrier and the spout leaked a bit.  All I had to do was make one phone call to request a new spout.  They promised one would be in the mail in days.  They actually sent me a whole new water carrier.   Another well deserved hall of fame for customer service member.  https://relianceproducts.com/






Yakima.  In 2005 or so I bought a trunk mounted bike carrier.  A decade later I learned that this carrier had been subject to a recall in 2006.  Now here's a product I had been using for a decade with no problems at all and it's recalled.  I sent the company an e-mail asking what to do.  They sent me a packet explaining what to do and send in parts of the old rack.  They then sent me a brand new rack, and not only sent me a new rack, they paid all the postage both ways and sent me a check for $25 on top of it all.   Another well deserved hall of fame for customer service member.  https://www.yakima.com



All of these companies did me right as far as quality of their products and follow up customer service.  I highly recommend you deal with them if they have anything you could use.  If my experience holds true, if it doesn't work out they will take good care of you.

Update, Oct. 28, 2015

I'm adding another company who has shown to be a well deserved hall of fame for customer service member.

Cascade Designs, doing business as MSR.  A few years ago Kelly bought a backpacking tent from MSR, a Hubba Hubba.  Earlier this year we took it out and discovered the rain fly's inner coating had broken down.  We called them and they told us to send it in, if it was a manufacturing defect they would replace it.  In a week or two, no questions asked, we had a new fly.  It's nice to find a company who stands by their gear. Another well deserved hall of fame for customer service member. http://www.cascadedesigns.com/msr/