Called St Croix Today...

[Virtuoso]

My loaner rod Broke a legend tournament mhxf. Spoke to a lady who kept pushing me to upgrade. Felt she was rude. I told her I wanted my rod replaced. So she keeps telling me I should spend all this money for an extreme when the tournament was already tip heavy and insensitive.

Anyways, she told me to ship it in pieces to save money. Thought that was strange. Why won't they pay for my shipping I asked. She got real snobby and said that I have to pay for something. So I asked if she could send me a rod tube because I'd have to buy that too. But no they dont do that.

Anyways im just going to chalk this rod up as broke. Im disgusted with how rude she was. Its not worth it to me. I'll buy a different rod. Sucks because I own so many croixs.

Anyways rant over

[roadwarrior]

I have never had a bad experience with St. Croix. Send a "business" style complaint

to Customer Service in an e-mail. I'm VERY confident this will be resolved to your satisfaction.

[iabass8]

st. croix has arguably the best customer service in the industry. i will say with complete confidence that they customer service woman you spoke with did not tell you that the LTB was tip heavy and "insensitive". Why would St. Croix pay for the shipping for your rod when you broke it? it doesn't matter if it's a complete accident or not. and then you are done because they won't send you a rob tube? seriously, you broke the rod, go get a 25 cent tube from any home improvement store. most will just give them away from carpet rolls. St. Croix asks you to pay the shipping of a broken rod, they fix or replace it for most likely free(which is why you pay shipping) and then they ship it back free or for 10$. and you're complaining that paying up to a possible 30$ for a 240$ rod you broke is unreasonable?

[Maxximus Redneckus]

Ya at least it wasn't gloomis...send us 50 we send you a new rod. And u just paid 300$ for it so u just bought the same rod for 350$ lol

[MarkH024]

How'd you break it?

[flyfisher]

Ya at least it wasn't gloomis...send us 50 we send you a new rod. And u just paid 300$ for it so u just bought the same rod for 350$ lol

No it is you bought two $300 rods for $350 but you broke one.

 

I find it odd that was your experience and I also have no problem with them asking you to pay for shipping especially since this is not a warranty claim.  

[bmlum415]

She had the right idea with telling you to ship it in pieces. I've heard dobyns say that. You cut the rod up and put it into an envelope which is a lot cheaper than shipping a rod tube. Btw if you really want a rod tube, go to your local hardware store and buy a PVC pipe.

[Virtuoso]

The rep did not say the rod was insensitive or tip heavy. That was my opinion. I dont find it unreasonable for a prepaid shipping label. Id have to spend $20 in gas to get to a store and whatever the tube and shipping costs.

Amazon sends prepaid shipping labels. What's the big deal if their customer service is so good.

My friend broke the rod on a hookset. I watched as it happened. A few inches of the tip snapped. My biggest issue was the lady was rude and not helpful and was persistenly trying to make me buy this upgraded rod. I called for customer service not a rude saleswoman. I have a combination of 7 croixs. All legend tournament or higher. I let my buddies use them on my boat because I don't care for them. This bothers me.

I got her name and I plan on taking it to her boss.

[flyfisher]

Sorry but 99.9% of "warranty claims" are not really warranty claims.  If a rod is bad you will know early in it's life, probably the first day you fish with it.  After that, breaks occur because of something they you did to the rod.  So in essence it is not a warranty but an insurance policy where you pay your deductible and get a new rod.

 

Now if the sales lady was pushy that is one thing but to blame St Croix seems kind of odd.

 

Also comparing St. Croix to Amazon isn't really a fair comparison.

 

Also, how far do you live from a post office to spend $20 in gas to get there?  You can always set up a home pick up from either fed ex or UPS which is generally cheaper than your $20 in gas spend.

[WRB]

They want you to cut in shorter lengths to save money shipping it back. Shipping a rod 7' long tube is more expensive, than a 24" tube, this is standard practice with broken rod returns.

You fold a piece of cardboard into a 3" shape triangle X 24" long, tape it, put in the short cut up pieces, letter with your return address, etc. and mail it for under $7 at your local post office.

Tom

[fishindad]

Virtuoso,

 

Apologies in advance but you've really opened yourself up to a reality check with that rant. This whole "lifetime warranty" thing has been beat to death over many years on many websites. Your "friend" broke the rod on a hookset? In the past 40+ years (I'm 55) I've broken rods in car windows, door jambs, on a boat cleat, grabbing it too far up the blank, stepping on them, in a rod locker, you name it. I have never broken a rod on a hookset. I've used St. Croix LE and LT, Loomis IMX and GLX, Falcon, Shimano, Lamiglas, Fenwick Techna AV, just about every rod manufacturer out there. I've never had a bad experience speaking to St. Croix's or Falcon's or Loomis' CS people (all US companies) and I've spoken to many as noted. 

 

I'm admittedly old school and it is so sad how entitled and arrogant people are nowadays. They expect a "free" replacement for abusing (yes, abusing) their product. Go talk to a Cabela's CS person and ask how many people return used goods and expect full refunds because "they didn't like the item". Do you expect auto makers to replace your front bumper should you accidentally ding it in a parking garage? Do you expect them to reimburse you for the fuel it takes to get to the repair shop? You state that you "own many Croixs" There must be a reason. You love their rods but hate on their customer service. Based on your post I'll assume this was your first time speaking to St. Croix's CS people? Something doesn't make sense.

[Capt.Bob]

I have to question who is the problem here and where the rude attitudes started with. I have dealt with ST. Croix for over 50 years from a commercial standpoint to a consumer standpoint, I have never been anything but thrilled with their willingness to stand behind anything thrown at them, and with no hassle.  It is obvious as so many have never had a problem and so few do???? Makes one think maybe they are handling things wrong on their end or maybe expecting way to much for NOTHING,,,,  I am sorry but this does seem to be what is happening here, like others have tried to explain,,,,the hook set may not have been what broke it, maybe it was the yanks and drops, or bumps it has received since it was new, they do add up. I have abused their rods from premiers to Extremes for years and once in a while they don't take it anymore, and now being used normally and not abusing,,,,that last strain shows the abuse finally.

 

I won't even ask which LTB it is, I am going to do you a favor and make you a better offer, you send it to me and I will double the price of shipping back to you, beats throwing it away and getting nothing!! But I would seriously ask myself should I really expect everything for nothing,,,,,take a little responsibility for the abuse we all give our equipment from time to time, MAN UP and except their gracious offer to replace it,,,,or take advantage of their offer to upgrade to a better piece of equipment at a ridiculously low bargain price!!!  I will assure you a 240 dollar LTB is know where near as sweet a rod as the Elite or the Extreme, I own all three and you do get what you pay for, the LTB is a very nice rod but nowhere as nice as my extremes or elites!

[Mr_Scrogg]

I have dealt with St. Coix before on a broke Avid. Used the Gold Star Plan and got a new rod. Yea, I paid shipping. I got a call 5 days later from a rep saying they got my rod, and they will replace it. Asked if I wanted to upgrade to a Legend. I declined and that was that. Got my rod back about a week later.

Try calling back, speak with someone else, explain what happened.

Or I'll pm you my addy and you can give me the broken rod. Ill even pay for shipping.

[Virtuoso]

Lets see what we've concluded here. All rods that break are due to personal abuse. So basically all rods are indestructible while fishing, unless one "abuses" it. I am arrogant and I need to "man up". Hard for a rod to take so much abuse being fished 3 times since I bought it August 6th. Sits neatly in a rod locker, and gets the same treatment as all my other rods. Not cheap one's either.

 

Its amazing how well you all know how I treat my rods. I guess if a customer service representative, who represents the company is rude, its the customers fault. Thanks for the input.

[S Hovanec]

How long have you had this rod? If it was the first or second outing, I'd believe possibly a manufacturing defect. If you've had it for any length of time, I'd lean more towards the rod was damaged at some point from use and abuse. Judging from where you said it broke, I'd bet it was impacted on something, fracturing the graphite under the paint. I have a custom SCv spinning that I'm waiting for to explode cause I whacked it on the gunnel earlier this year. When it does, I'll strip off the guides and build another. My fault, no reason to even try a warranty claim. It has been fished hard for 5 years. There are NO manufacturing defects in it.

[rockchalk06]

Lets see what we've concluded here. All rods that break are due to personal abuse. So basically all rods are indestructible while fishing, unless one "abuses" it. I am arrogant and I need to "man up". Hard for a rod to take so much abuse being fished 3 times since I bought it August 6th. Sits neatly in a rod locker, and gets the same treatment as all my other rods. Not cheap one's either.

Its amazing how well you all know how I treat my rods. I guess if a customer service representative, who represents the company is rude, its the customers fault. Thanks for the input.

Once again a member here mistakes what people have said, twists it around and gets their panties in a wad.

One word of advice, never text, tweet, call, FB or post when your mad. Give it 24 hours and replay the entire situation. Call again and ask to speak to a manager. Being in the customer service line of work all my life has taught me one thing. You get more with sweet honey than a bitter yard bird attitude.

[Lewi]

Personally, I don't care how it broke.  The saleswoman was rude you say, okay, great.  There is no way to get around the fact that it is their right and anyone else's to charge shipping with a warranty product.  They are giving a warranty on the "product" not the shipping charge.  Great that Amazon will send a prepaid label.  I rec'd a prepaid label from Ruger when I had an issue but that is the choice of the mfgr.  Simply you need to get over that and send the rod back and you will get a brand new one for a fraction of the cost of a new one.

 

S!*t happens and that is the way it is.............I'll send you a prepaid label for the rod and the recipt if you want and then I'll send it in and give it to some youngster who could use it if you want.......just a thought.

 

-Lewi

[Virtuoso]

Rockchalk...I'll help you out

 

 

Virtuoso,

 

 

 

I'm admittedly old school and it is so sad how entitled and arrogant people are nowadays. They expect a "free" replacement for abusing (yes, abusing) their product. Go talk to a Cabela's CS person and ask how many people return used goods and expect full refunds because "they didn't like the item". Do you expect auto makers to replace your front bumper should you accidentally ding it in a parking garage? Do you expect them to reimburse you for the fuel it takes to get to the repair shop? You state that you "own many Croixs" There must be a reason. You love their rods but hate on their customer service. Based on your post I'll assume this was your first time speaking to St. Croix's CS people? Something doesn't make sense.

 

The rod broke on a hookset. Your analogies are farce. I bought the rod with a "warranty". The rod broke while fishing it, yes fishing it. How about taking a brand new car out for the third time and it breaks down for good during normal operation. Guess it was abused.

 

I have to question who is the problem here and where the rude attitudes started with. I have dealt with ST. Croix for over 50 years from a commercial standpoint to a consumer standpoint, I have never been anything but thrilled with their willingness to stand behind anything thrown at them, and with no hassle.  It is obvious as so many have never had a problem and so few do???? Makes one think maybe they are handling things wrong on their end or maybe expecting way to much for NOTHING,,,,  I am sorry but this does seem to be what is happening here, like others have tried to explain,,,,the hook set may not have been what broke it, maybe it was the yanks and drops, or bumps it has received since it was new, they do add up. I have abused their rods from premiers to Extremes for years and once in a while they don't take it anymore, and now being used normally and not abusing,,,,that last strain shows the abuse finally.

 

I won't even ask which LTB it is, I am going to do you a favor and make you a better offer, you send it to me and I will double the price of shipping back to you, beats throwing it away and getting nothing!! But I would seriously ask myself should I really expect everything for nothing,,,,,take a little responsibility for the abuse we all give our equipment from time to time, MAN UP and except their gracious offer to replace it,,,,or take advantage of their offer to upgrade to a better piece of equipment at a ridiculously low bargain price!!!  I will assure you a 240 dollar LTB is know where near as sweet a rod as the Elite or the Extreme, I own all three and you do get what you pay for, the LTB is a very nice rod but nowhere as nice as my extremes or elites!

 

Do you work for St. Croix? That offer is far from gracious. Buy a rod from wally world, if it breaks, bring back in your receipt and get a new one. I bought the rod in august of this year. Used 3 trips I am sure you know how my rod was treated better than I do.

 

Sorry but 99.9% of "warranty claims" are not really warranty claims.  If a rod is bad you will know early in it's life, probably the first day you fish with it.  After that, breaks occur because of something they you did to the rod.  So in essence it is not a warranty but an insurance policy where you pay your deductible and get a new rod.

 

Now if the sales lady was pushy that is one thing but to blame St Croix seems kind of odd.

 

Also comparing St. Croix to Amazon isn't really a fair comparison.

 

Also, how far do you live from a post office to spend $20 in gas to get there?  You can always set up a home pick up from either fed ex or UPS which is generally cheaper than your $20 in gas spend.

 

Why not. Amazon sells rods with Prime shipping. That includes prepaid shipping labels to send it back. The nearest fedex is 30 miles away. My truck isn't good on gas, do the math.

 

Also, I would like to know where you recieved your data? 99.9% are the users fault? How would you even know the first day if it was bad. I guess if it broke then that would be an indication. A microscopic fracture from manufacturer error or from how the mfg. decides to handle and package the product could lead to damage. This could grow overtime and cause a rod to break. That would not be the users fault.

[bmlum415]

Lets see what we've concluded here. All rods that break are due to personal abuse. So basically all rods are indestructible while fishing, unless one "abuses" it. I am arrogant and I need to "man up". Hard for a rod to take so much abuse being fished 3 times since I bought it August 6th. Sits neatly in a rod locker, and gets the same treatment as all my other rods. Not cheap one's either.

Its amazing how well you all know how I treat my rods. I guess if a customer service representative, who represents the company is rude, its the customers fault. Thanks for the input.

we have been asking how long you have had that rod up until now and you finally say you just recently got it and as stated above if one will break due to manufacturing defects it will likely be shortly after you buy it. So it makes sense now of why it probably broke. Also to add you don't have to ship a rod through fed ex, try usps they're probably more convenient and why are you buying a $200+ rod if you can't afford to spend gas money to get it replaced.

[JeziHogg]

I'm calling BS on this post, just for the fact that St croix isn't even open on the weekend. But I made a phone call to a friend of mine which happens to be the customer service manager at St croix and he told me that there isn't even a female that deals in customer service. Go back to your cave, troll.

[MarkH024]

I'm calling BS on this post, just for the fact that St croix isn't even open on the weekend. But I made a phone call to a friend of mine which happens to be the customer service manager at St croix and he told me that there isn't even a female that deals in customer service. Go back to your cave, troll.

Lol. Hook a brother up!

[tomustang]

Go on. I'm enjoying this thread

[MarkH024]

Go on. I'm enjoying this thread

Beer? Ill grab some popcorn.

[Virtuoso]

I'm calling BS on this post, just for the fact that St croix isn't even open on the weekend. But I made a phone call to a friend of mine which happens to be the customer service manager at St croix and he told me that there isn't even a female that deals in customer service. Go back to your cave, troll.

 

Hey Jizzy.

Try sending an email through their system explaining you work Monday to Friday during their hours of operation. Explain your problem and leave your contact information saying you would like to talk to someone. Got a voicemail this morning from a lady representing herself as St. Croix. Called back and here we are.

 

Maybe if you were off St. Croix's pole you'd realize people actually work during normal operating hours and there are ways to contact a company outside of mon-fri.

 

I'd like to know the contact information of the customer service manager. I'd like an explanation for their representative.

[Long Mike]

Go on. I'm enjoying this thread

 

I'm not.  This has gone too far.  Goodnight, Irene.