Well, that just sucks...

Here is yet another update on the ongoing kayak saga.  If you're not familiar, click on the tab on the left that says kayaking.

Last we heard, I had emailed the manufacturer, and was waiting to hear back.  That was on a Monday (4/27), and the Vice President called me on Friday (5/1).  He was pleasant, was sorry to hear about all of the trouble, and was sympathetic.  He explained that they knew of the problem with that particular model, and had taken the necessary steps to correct it, so it wouldn't happen again.  He offered to replace the kayak, free of charge, and have it sent to the kayak store where I purchased the damaged one.  I could return the old one to the store, and pick up the new one when it was made.  He even went so far as to tell me that they would make if from scratch, and he would inspect it himself to make sure it was right.

Fast forward to today, 5/11.  I get an email from him that simply says:

Hello AMW,
After considering the circumstances, and the fact that the kayak is
now outside of the warranty (3year). We will in good faith offer you a
replacement for 350.00 + shipping.

Thank you,
Xxxx Xxxxxx

XXX Manufacturer 

(Yes, I'll leave his name out of it for now.)

Huh?  What???  You tell me you'll replace it for free, then 11 days later, send me an email.  Telling me it's outside of my warranty???  Really?  Even though I called your company LAST YEAR when it was still in warranty and you sent me a TUBE OF EPOXY to fix it?  That didn't hold.  THEN the warranty expires???

Tell me....  WHY would I want another boat from this company?  They had almost restored my faith in them.  Almost.  But now, not so much.

I emailed them back:

Hi Xxxx - 

It's unfortunate that this is different than what we talked about on the phone.  Although we talked only a few weeks ago, I brought to your attention that the first issue I had with my kayak was last year.  I believe that would have fallen under the 3 year warranty. I contacted Hurricane Aqua Sports at that time (May '08) and your company only offered a tube of epoxy to fix the problem.  This evidently only fixed it temporarily and then the warranty expired.

I'm disappointed in this turn of events.  I'm going to have to decline your offer, and find another company to do business with.

This was much, much nicer than I wanted to be.  And I'm pretty sure I know how this will end.  They'll actually be glad I declined their offer.  They won't have to make me a new boat.  They lose one customer.  End of story.  

And I'll be out a boat.  And that just sucks!

Maybe, just maybe, they'll do the right thing.  We'll see...

AMW