Problems dealing with a notable manufacturer
My dad sent me this interesting personal story via an e-mail titled "No wonder nobody buys Wilson clubs anymore." I am wondering if other readers have had similar customer service problems with Wilson or other major manufacturers:
A couple of days ago I bought a new set of Wilson Staff CI7 irons. They had received a great review in a golf magazine and after hitting them and a little research I took the plunge.
I am a 6 handicap and my warm up or practice iron is a 7 iron. Perhaps this is why the steel shaft on my 7 iron of my previous set, Callaway X-14's, had on two separate occasions broken during normal swings. I then discovered it was not possible to get exact replacement shafts since they were no longer made. Because of this I thought I would be smart to get replacement shafts now, so if I were to break a shaft on my new Wilson clubs I would have a replacement.
First I checked the usual sources, Golfsmith, Golf Works, the internet and discovered no one had the shaft on my clubs. So I called Wilson who told me the shaft was proprietary and only they had it. O.K. I said, I would like to buy two of them. I was told I could only return a club if it was broken.
When I explained I was a competitive golfer and could not afford to be without a club for a few weeks, I was told there was nothing I could do but send the club back to them. Further I was told they couldn't guarantee that they would have the same shaft when if and when I sent the club back to them. I asked to speak to a supervisor who might be able to help me out, to no avail. This is ridiculous. What ever happened to customer service? Guess I won't be buying or recommending Wilson clubs to anyone.
Labels: equipment
6 Comments:
I guess I don't see the problem. When you break your club, send it to Wilson for repair. Wilson wants to insure that if a club has a Wilson shaft in it, they installed it and it met their standards. Although these clubs are not prime candidates for counterfeiting I can see where other club companies would protect their proprietary shafts where a counterfeiter might try to insert a genuine shaft in counterfeit head to make for a better copy. I don't think you can fault Wilson's customer service until they refuse to fix your club when it does break.
I can appreciate both sides of the situation. Like Kevin was saying, Wilson may take pride in the quality of their clubs and want to ensure only "certified" Wilson club specialists work on them but I think it's probably more protecting their proprietary property. It puts your old man in a poor situation because like you were saying, he's an avid and competitive golfer who can't be without a club for a few weeks. They should have been more sensitive to the situation and offered to send him a replacement club instead of making him wait for the repair. I think across the board in most places there are very few employees who really take their job seriously and aim to give top notch customer service...
Dave
Orlando Golf Blogger
I definitely agree that this is a problem across the board with golf club manufacturers. The golf club industry is the most un-service oriented industry I've ever come across. They always seem to react as though they're doing you a favor by allowing you to purchase their clubs.
I've dealt with a few of them. very uninspiring.
Having the company supply the shaft, or even fix it is no guarantee it will come close to matching the rest of your set. As the owner of a custom club company, we find that roughly 80% of all clubs we receive from the OEM's does not match the specs they say they do. Having a relationship with a quality custom club builder is the only way to insure your set matches. In fact, don't be surprised if the shaft that says stiff on it, is actually a senior or even a ladies shaft. It's amazing!
Most manufacturers won't be able to match up the new shaft with the old equipment anyway. I own a custom club company, and we find approximately 80% of the clubs we receive from OEM's don't match the specs they say they will. Don't be too upset with the service rep, they probably don't even play golf, so it's tough for them to help you with a question requiring any form of precision.
Tough call on this one. You can see both sides of the story. I would probably lean toward Wilson showing abit of "compassion" and siding with you on this one since you did after all purchase their clubs. I dont really see why they wouldn'tsend you the shaft. If you have someone who can fit it for you and you are happy with the end result then so be it. You are the one who will be swinging the club after all and not them.
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