Outstanding Customer & Product Service

[Sputnik]

We see a lot of stories about bad service etc, well I have a good one for a change:

In 2010 based on my own research and a tip from Thumper of this forum I decided to buy a used 2006 Hobie Mirage Outback kayak from Gordon Silverthorne who owns and operates the Kootenay Fly Shop & Guiding Co. Ltd out of Fernie, BC.

I brought the kayak home on 19 March 2010, after a couple of floats I noticed it taking on a bit of water, but being new to kayaking I thought not much of it. In April 2011 I attended the Outdoor Adventure Show in Calgary and Gord had an exhibit setup with his products and a Hobie company rep. in attendance. I posed the question asking how much water should I take on in a typical float and Gord said not much more than a cup, I said I was taking on about a litre and he said that is way too much.

Knowing it was a used kayak when I bought it I asked what I could do to repair it, Gord suggested that I take pictures of the leak and told me that he would take care of me, the Hobie rep said not to worry they would ensure I was helped out. I subsequently sent the pictures and was asked for the serial number off the kayak to pass the info onto Hobie.

A while passed and then Gord informed me that Hobie was replacing the hull as they considered this a warranty issue. They honoured the warranty to a second owner of a 5 year old kayak. That ladies and gentlemen is outstanding customer service both on the part of Gord and Hobie.

To top it off, when I asked if I should bring the old kayak with me to swap for the new unit, Gord told me that Hobie said it is not worth the cost of them shipping the old one back, so just keep it. If I wanted to try to fix it myself no issue. (They now have the serial number written off so nobody can do this twice.)

So I picked up my new hull today and purchased a bunch of new upgraded accessories to outfit it, now I have two kayaks. One leaks a bit, but definitely not enough to sink it, you just have to bail a bit at the end of the day. I’ll probably sell it as I don’t need two boats.

So if you want a kayak, buy a Hobie a company that stands by their products, and buy it from Gord a man who stands by his customers.

Of by the way Gord’s having a tryout weekend coming up for Hobie products, so if you’re in Fernie, or nearby drop in and have a tryout/look at the goods.