Bantam1

The spinnerbait model is an extra fast action. The rod is correct, our website is not. I will make sure we get that corrected today.

We still have them in stock. Give us a call at 877-577-0600. RD 8050 is the pat number.

American Legacy is well aware of the changes. It just appears they forgot to add this to their email blast. I thought I covered all the changes pretty well the first time. Guess not.

Lake El Salto- Sunset

The Crucial and Cumara are covered by our lifetime warranty. I'll have someone look into that page problem.

I actually replied to his email today that came through the Shimano webiste. Those circular marks are normal from the milling process. Send the reel in and we wil take a look at it. I'm not sure what TW's policy is, but they may just replace the reel for you. I would rather see the reel. I bet the cast control is a little loose allowing the spool to walk making the noise you are hearing. Either way we will address the problem and make sure your reel is right.

Shimano Canada customer service number: 800-361-4215

There are still 3 people taking calls in WA. I am the only person that handles emails and work on the boards. I do not deal with any of the warranty or Xpeditor processes. I am simply the messanger and lately the whipping boy. We are aware of damage at the dealer level as well. Typically if the rod is damaged then it will fail the first time out. 2 years from now cannot be considered damage in shipping or at the dealer level. The inspectors can see the signs of a new rod. The cork will still look good and the filler in the cork will still be present too.

In a situation where the rod is new and fails right away we can tell the rod is still new. We are also aware that damage can happen in shipping and that people in the tackle shop before you could have damaged the rod. Normally shipping damage is caught when the dealer receives the rods from us. They will see obvious scratches to the finish or broken rods. The dealer will call us and we will send a replacement right away. Typically in cases where a rod has been used for a while and suddenly fails can be from any number of things. I remember the customer that was a jewler. Unfortunately I am not the one that looks at the rods. I do nto want to go into that again. He spoke with several people here and at GLoomis. I do not know what the final result was. I do know that we go with our rod inspectors decision. GLoomis has this fancy machine that the sole purpose is to break rods. They have learned a lot from this machine and about rod failures. This is why I said I trust the rod inspectors. They look at rods all day. Now if they went to your job and told you that you did it wrong, what would you think about that? Yes you are correct we can't be in the boat with you to see what happened. We have your word and what our inspectors find to be the cause. Since I am located in So-Cal and they are in WA it makes it tough for me to make a call anyways. The one time replacement thing will be hard to keep track of. There are no serial numbers on the rods. You did not have to register the rod either. We are aware that several customers may have multiple rods of the same model. This will be something taken as a case by case basis.

The people that inspect the rods at GLoomis have been doing so for 18-20 years now. They have seen more rod failures than all of us combined. This along with the facy machine that was developed to break rods will tell them quite a bit. A simpe ding to the graphite can cause a rod to fail. The outer sheet of graphite may show no signs of impact. This is especially true with the painted rods. We use a fex agent in the paint to allow it to bend and flex so that it will not flake off. It can be easily dinged and return to the original shape. The inner sheet may be cracked making the blank weak in this area. The end result is a rod failure once it loads to that correct spot. Typically a bad rod or a legitimate failure will look funnel shaped, or the rod will break into 3+ pieces. If the rod looks like it broke clean, with one side looking like a razor cut it, will typically be something that happened due to impact damage. We don't just deny warranty claims because we fell like it. I know there have been some upset people because they couldn't physically see the damage. I have to place my faith in the people that inspect the rods. This is their job and they are the best at doing it.

We need to remember that this is a business. Say you have a discontinued rod and the new model comes out 2 years from now. You break the rod to get the new one through the Xpeditor. Now you have the new one, and you break it in your car door a year later. You pay the fee and get another one. Now exactly where do we make money? This is why we changed this to a one time policy, and no longer allow discontinued rods in the program. That pretty much sums up what was happening with the old program. Then add the people selling broken rods on ebay on top of that. The goal is to sell rods not give them away. The old program was like giving rods away and then paying the customer to take them. Not only were we losing but the dealers lose too. Now you get a one time "oops" service instead of unlimited.

There is just a loss of accountability in this country in general. Look at the woman that sued McDonalds because she burned herself with hot coffee. The same concept seems to be running rampant in this country. I'm not sure if the economy is driving it, or if its something else. Either way it seems that some people just refuse to accept responsibility for their actions. Now I am not saying this is every person, or customer. This is just an observation from all the emails I receive and websites I visit. I wasn't trying to turn this political, just an opinion that I have and not that of my employer.

Bassn- Sorry the 50MG's are long gone now. I still have one, but the Core 50 quickly replaced it. Check out the Curado 50E too. I really like that reel jeb2- There are three people at GLoomis doing customer service as well. They handle GLoomis, Shimano and Power Pro calls just like our people here. The customer service people are all linked to take calls out of the same place. I'm always here even if I am not posting. I have helped many through PM's and I always check posts. The past few months have been hectic for me with ICAST, travel and daily duties. I think I surprised roadwarrior when I answered his email through our customer service inbox. I want to thank everyone for being very civil about this. One of the other sites I visit was not as cordial. I had to wear body armor and dodge rocks ;D

I'm sure we will come up with something for the future. I have heard all sorts of ideas. Just nothing has been decided yet.

Of course this is still a normal BCR803. It just would not have the Ranger logo on the replacement. We are willing to work with people. That has always been the case. We all know that people have abused the program in the past. Look how many broken rods were being sold on ebay alone! GLoomis still appreciates the customers and will go out of their way to help out. Yes many failures are do to the fault of the rod owner. Bouncing fish for example is very bad for any rod and probably the leading cause of failures. This and rod locker damage. Some rod lockers are just brutal on rods. Typically a true defective rod will shatter into multiple pieces, not just the tip section. Sometimes a rod can get dinged by contact with something. You or I may never notice it until the rod loads to that exact spot then it will fail. If the break looks funnel shaped, or in multiple pieces, then this is a good indication that the rod failed under a normal condition. If it is a clean break like it was cut with a knife then it made contact at some point.