G Loomis Warranty - wait times

[mheichelbech]

Just giving anyone who may find this to be pertinent, the news I just received from Loomis customer service (after a 22 minute wait on the phone).  If you send a rod back for warranty, it will take 3-5 weeks for them to process your claim AFTER receiving the rod.  The rep stated that even after it passes warranty, there is a good chance the replacement rod may not be in stock and would likely not get replaced until after the New Year.  If you are considering purchasing a G Loomis rod...you may want to factor this into your equation.  I bought a Conquest and the tip broke on the very first fish I caught with it.  

 

I don't know if other rod manufacturers are in the same boat or not but this is not what I expected.

[roadwarrior]

We are in a unique situation that creates chaos. Normally there is no wait on replacement. 

You call, they mail the rod the following day with a return label.  Loomis customer service

is second to none.

[BrianMDTX]

My Fenwick lost the last 3” at the tip on 08/02. I was told I may get my replace sometime this month. 

[FishTank]

I know the $175 is steep for the Conquest but sometimes the Xpeditor service is worth it.  They will send you a rod almost immediately and they can tell you what they have on hand. 

[mheichelbech]

55 minutes ago, roadwarrior said:

We are in a unique situation that creates chaos. Normally there is no wait on replacement. 

You call, they mail the rod the following day with a return label.  Loomis customer service

is second to none.

Out of curiosity I called Dobyns and St. Croix with the following results:

 

 - Dobyns - my call was answered immediately - the rep stated that returns are processed typically same day or next day and entire process takes 2 weeks max.

 

 - St. Croix - my call was answered after a 5 minute wait (they do provide a call back option), and stated to be less than a month.  

 

It is not my intention to bash G Loomis here as I have used their rods for the past 25 years or so and always been pleased although I have not had to utilize their warranty program or customer service.

 

COVID has been going on for roughly 6 months now....I understand that companies relying on foreign made materials and construction are not in control of their processes, but not even processing a claim for 3-5 weeks and more than 3 months to replace a popular model is problematic.

4 minutes ago, FishTank said:

I know the $175 is steep for the Conquest but sometimes the Xpeditor service is worth it.  They will send you a rod almost immediately and they can tell you what they have on hand. 

Interesting how that works....if your willing to pay for something your supposed to get as part of the promise when you buy the product, all of sudden everything operates like it should.  

[Zibass]

3 hours ago, FishTank said:

I know the $175 is steep for the Conquest but sometimes the Xpeditor service is worth it.  They will send you a rod almost immediately and they can tell you what they have on hand. 

Same situation. Xpeditor service for NRX replacement  delayed 1 to 2 months. 

[mheichelbech]

52 minutes ago, Zibass said:

Same situation. Xpeditor service for NRX replacement  delayed 1 to 2 months. 

Will be the last time for me.  I wouldn’t buy another Loomis rod if it automatically set the hook.

[FishTank]

2 hours ago, Zibass said:

Same situation. Xpeditor service for NRX replacement  delayed 1 to 2 months. 

I had rod that I broke earlier this year. It was an older CBR series rod.  I was able to use the Xpeditor service and I got an IMX.  It showed up in less than a week.  The NRX though is getting updated.  You may get lucky and get the new version.

[Steveo-1969]

17 hours ago, mheichelbech said:

It is not my intention to bash G Loomis here as I have used their rods for the past 25 years or so and always been pleased although I have not had to utilize their warranty program or customer service.

 

13 hours ago, mheichelbech said:

I wouldn’t buy another Loomis rod if it automatically set the hook.

Hmmmmm..........

[waymont]

19 hours ago, mheichelbech said:

Will be the last time for me.  I wouldn’t buy another Loomis rod if it automatically set the hook.

That's too bad for you. Being understanding of a company during these times is everyone's own deal.

Every company is different, and has different challenges. I have a part from Daiwa that is delayed about three months.

I will still buy Daiwa products.

[mheichelbech]

2 hours ago, waymont said:

That's too bad for you. Being understanding of a company during these times is everyone's own deal.

Every company is different, and has different challenges. I have a part from Daiwa that is delayed about three months.

I will still buy Daiwa products.

I would be more understanding if the customer service part hadn’t been so bad. No email replies, 22 minutes on hold and an extremely indifferent representative who very obviously only cared to get on to the next call is a deal killer for me.  Especially when other companies in the same industry are performing much better.

I am not at all indifferent to the impact of COVID.  I work for a small company with slim margins.  When Florida shut down down the hotel industry for the month of April we worked 18 hour days 5 days straight to refund peoples’ deposits as soon as possible, re-booking. etc.  I cannot see any kind of commitment to the customer by Loomis.  Hopefully others have a different experience.

[mheichelbech]

10 hours ago, Steveo-1969 said:

 

Hmmmmm..........

According to the dictionary that I looked at, bashing involves a level of prejudice.  It is not prejudicial to state the facts of what happened and the results of those actions.

[waymont]

1 hour ago, mheichelbech said:

I would be more understanding if the customer service part hadn’t been so bad. No email replies, 22 minutes on hold and an extremely indifferent representative who very obviously only cared to get on to the next call is a deal killer for me.  Especially when other companies in the same industry are performing much better.

I am not at all indifferent to the impact of COVID.  I work for a small company with slim margins.  When Florida shut down down the hotel industry for the month of April we worked 18 hour days 5 days straight to refund peoples’ deposits as soon as possible, re-booking. etc.  I cannot see any kind of commitment to the customer by Loomis.  Hopefully others have a different experience.

I hear you. It's just been my experience for the last 25 years including up until 8 months ago, every time I've had even the smallest issue it's been taken care of quickly. I've had 10 a year old rod that the reel seat gave out, which was replaced with a new rod, to a broken guide that was sent out the day I called. Every thing in between too.

Maybe you had bad luck with them. my 2 cents.

[mheichelbech]

1 hour ago, waymont said:

I hear you. It's just been my experience for the last 25 years including up until 8 months ago, every time I've had even the smallest issue it's been taken care of quickly. I've had 10 a year old rod that the reel seat gave out, which was replaced with a new rod, to a broken guide that was sent out the day I called. Every thing in between too.

Maybe you had bad luck with them. my 2 cents.

I am glad your experiences were better.  I really don’t like complaining and would much rather post about how great something is.  I actually rarely post bad reviews.  It was as much about the indifferent attitude by the representative. If the guy had even one ounce of care about the deal I would have been more understanding.  
One of the most important lessons from COVID is how much the USA needs to diversify its supply chain away from China and other countries .  We have become too dependent on other countries’ cheap labor pool.

[Junk Fisherman]

There's a good chance the Loomis rod will be sent sooner than they estimate.  I broke a couple Loomis rods this year (not a good year for me in that department) and both were sent within a couple weeks.  The first rod they said 2-3 months and it was less than 3 weeks.

 

By the way, I would never intentionally break a rod to take advantage of a replacement program but breaking my nearly 20 year-old 843 GLX and only paying $110 to replace it with their $450ish upgrade was a helluva deal for me.  I had used that rod heavily over the years and easily got my moneys worth.  The new GLX is a beauty.