Lucky Craft Question

[buzzed bait]

surely hope this is not seen as a "i have a dispute with company X" thread and get locked. just looking for any actual experiences (positive experiences i should say) with their customer service.

I just have a question for anyone that may have tried to contact Lucky Craft USA before....  I recently bought a pointer 78sp that was a bit of a dud out of the package.  it sits with the back down rather than nose down and sinks at about 1 feet per 3 seconds rather than actually suspending.  I sent them an email explaining and asking if i could return or replace or anything of that like.  just wondering if anyone else has contacted them with a similar quality issue and if so, did you receive any resolution to your problem.

 

[aavery2]

I have never had to use their customer service. I hope and bet that they will handle it well. Let us know how it goes.

[gulfcaptain]

I had an issue with something similar to what you're talking about.  But it was a different company. I bought my item from TW, let them know the issue I was having with the bait.  They said no problem, sent me another one (although the color wasn't the same but didn't care) and asked I return the other in the box I recieved with the prepaid packing list and mark the back item as defective.  But haven't gone through the manufacture.

[A-Jay]

Perhaps you should return it to the vendor for replacement.

 

Like any item purchased, if it's defective you'll probably get quicker results.

 

Let the vendor deal with it.

 

If it was an on line purchase, contact them for the replacement.

 

A-Jay

[Crestliner2008]

Just one additional comment on "suspending" type jerkbaits. The rate of suspension is determined, in great part, by the temperature of the water. I usually carry a small spool of thin lead solder with me (to wrap around the front treble), so that I can adjust it, according to the conditions I'm facing.

 

Suspension is usually best when water is the coldest (and "thickest", from a technical standpoint). This family of baits actually has a tendency to sink the warmer ("thinner") the water is. To many fishermen I know, a very slow sink is actually preferable, allowing the bait to kept more precisely in the water column between active twitches. No bait company can predict, with accuracy, just how the bait will perform each and every time. I've tried a lot of them and found this to be case. A slight variation is not necessarily a bad thing. JMO!

[buzzed bait]

Just one additional comment on "suspending" type jerkbaits. The rate of suspension is determined, in great part, by the temperature of the water. I usually carry a small spool of thin lead solder with me (to wrap around the front treble), so that I can adjust it, according to the conditions I'm facing.

 

Suspension is usually best when water is the coldest (and "thickest", from a technical standpoint). This family of baits actually has a tendency to sink the warmer ("thinner") the water is. To many fishermen I know, a very slow sink is actually preferable, allowing the bait to kept more precisely in the water column between active twitches. No bait company can predict, with accuracy, just how the bait will perform each and every time. I've tried a lot of them and found this to be case. A slight variation is not necessarily a bad thing. JMO!

 

i would almost agree with you, but in order for me to get the bait to sit nose down, it would need weight in the front.  this would now take it from a slow sinker to a moderately fast sinker.....  furthermore, i'm just the type to feel like for that kind of $ the bait should just be tuned and run right straight from the package.

[buzzed bait]

and while i likely would get a quicker response from the vendor, it isn't the vendor's fault that the lure isn't functioning properly.  however, if i receive no response or an inadequate response from LC i will likely end up going through the vendor.

thanks guys.

[gulfcaptain]

The vendor will get a quicker response and rembursed for the defective bait.  Unless it's a warranty issue your best bet is the vendor you bought it from honestly.  They would rather you be a happy customer and make you whole then you be a bit disgruntled.  And Lucky Craft being such a big company odds are they probably have it set up to replace baits through the vendor.  Just my opinion.  The longer you wait the less options you are going to have.

[Munkin]

You did buy a Pointer Sp and not S right? Some LC pointers are sinking (thought I had a bad one myself).

 

Allen

[buzzed bait]

You did buy a Pointer Sp and not S right? Some LC pointers are sinking (thought I had a bad one myself).

 

Allen

 

yeah, certain it was an SP.  i've bought and used at least a dozen pointers all SP and never had an issue with one like this particular bait. 

[gardnerjigman]

Like others are saying... Go to the vendor you got it from. That is the fastest way to get your optimum results.

If you buy a gallon of milk at your local store and find out later on it's bad, do you return it to the store or call the dairy? Both will get ya what you want.... However the store will do it immediately..

[JT Bagwell]

So did you ever get a response?

[buzzed bait]

So did you ever get a response?

No sir. but the vendor replaced it without question.

[JT Bagwell]

Glad you got it replaced but that is pretty lame that you never got a response.

 

I have had some issues with other company's customer service lately as well.

 

Looks like it might be a crappy new trend in the U.S. business philosophy.

 

Not really my cup of tea though.

[buzzed bait]

--UPDATE--

Just received a reply a week later and this is what they said.  I can't really do any of that because I already sent it back to the vendor who took care of it right away.  Nevertheless, I received a response and they were willing to take care of the issue!

 

Thank you for the inquiry.

If any of our product in question will need to go through an inspection to
determine whether the product is a defective or not.

Please send the product to the address below along with a copy of a receipt
and a note explaining what happened, we will take care of this right away.
Without a receipt, please allow four to six weeks for processing.

In case of any out of stock item(s) being returned, it may take longer than
four to six weeks.

We apologize for the inconvenience.

Sincerely,

 

Lucky Craft, Inc.

[gardnerjigman]

--UPDATE--

Just received a reply a week later and this is what they said. I can't really do any of that because I already sent it back to the vendor who took care of it right away. Nevertheless, I received a response and they were willing to take care of the issue!

Thank you for the inquiry.

If any of our product in question will need to go through an inspection to

determine whether the product is a defective or not.

Please send the product to the address below along with a copy of a receipt

and a note explaining what happened, we will take care of this right away.

Without a receipt, please allow four to six weeks for processing.

In case of any out of stock item(s) being returned, it may take longer than

four to six weeks.

We apologize for the inconvenience.

Sincerely,

Lucky Craft, Inc.

Glad you got a response, though not a very good one, but a response none the less.

Perfect explanation why it's easier to just go back to the vendor you purchased it from. Let them wait 4-6 weeks. Bet they don't have to wait that long.

[lavbasser]

Over the years I returned a few lures to Lucky Craft. Eventually they did replace all of them. In one case I returned a Pointer that was purchased a year or longer in the past. In that situation I did not want to ask the vendor about a return even though I had done a lot of business with. The Pointer was purchased as a back up in the event I lost my original. My original lasted over a year and my replacement was never used until that point. It was brand new but purchased over a year earlier.

Fortunately many companies make returns or exchanges very easy. I do take these things into consideration when buying tackle. On the other hand, I don't have an equal for a Pointer 78 so I still but them.

[primetime]

I am loyal to Okuma as much as possible since they have been more than generous over the years and have gone well above what I expect from a company. I am also loyal to Culprit and Fenwick because when I was 11 my friend and I sent letters to all companies to ask for decals for our new aluminum boat, we thought it would look cool at the time, and Fenwick sent 2 spinning rods, hats, shirts, and tackle boxes...Culprit also sent a ton of worms and they were in packages, not seconds, and Harrison Hodge-Panther Martin, sent us each a dozen spinners which we used to love back then.....

 

Wow, I have not even heard the name Panther Martin since moving to Florida years ago, I guess inline are more trout and panfish, but I used to like them for bass as a kid. I wonder if they still make the Sea Eagle boats or bass Hunters, Those were top prize for Long Island Bass Tournaments back in the day, Thanks to my brother we had a few...Going to check them out, I want an inflatable kayak actually, but I buy Fenwick and Culprit as often as I can....Not all companies are good, I won't name them since I hate when people blame the brand if 1 employee was rude. It takes alot of courage and money to start a tackle company and with all the competition these days, it is impressive when you see small companies grow and not evaporate these days. I would hate to see Culprit go away but imagine Strike King, and Zoom and eating every companies lunch for the most part, Gambler as well.

[BobP]

Ha!  One of my favorite bait mods is to tail weight a jerkbait until it falls slowly backward through the water when paused.  It's a great simulation of a dying shad and is killer in the late fall when shad are beginning to die off due to falling temperatures.

[JT Bagwell]

I had an issue with a different brand of crankbait over the summer. The lip broke off within the first 30 minutes of taking it out of the package.

 

I shot them a quick email with pictures (I could tell it was going to break before it did so I snapped a picture of that too). They sent me the same

type of response, "send it to us for inspection."

 

So I asked them if they would cover the shipping costs because they were over 50% of the cost of the bait and they said no. We got into a lot of

back and forth with me giving them a lecture about bad customer service and treating the angler right.

 

At the end of the day, I ended up just taking it back to the retailer and they switched it out without question.