Customer service...

[gaspergou]

In case anyone is thinking about buying a Loomis rod anytime soon...

I got a G.Loomis StreamDance GL3 4-piece 6wt many years back. It caught a LOT of fish across four continents and was generally an awesome rod. A couple weeks back I broke it while fishing deep for river smallmouth. Snagged up in fast current, couldn't get the boat turned in time, the rod hit the gunwale and broke before anything else. The break was just below the first ferrule and I lost the rest of the rod overboard after the leader broke. I sent the remaining section in with a check for the service fee. Obviously they couldn't repair it, but they also apparently didn't want to replace it and rather than calling me or sending me an email, they sat on it (they didn't waste time cashing the check for the service fee, though!). I finally called them and after a lot of "Ohhhh yeah, there was a problem with that..." was offered ~60% off one of their new rods. Thanks guys. Really. Thanks.

I probably got my money's worth out of the rod and the break was my fault, but that's not the point -- if I would have known that I didn't have a replacement in the works I would have put in an order for a rod from a company that fully stands behind their product (which I've subsequently done). I also might not have wasted $50 on shipping, insurance, and the "service" fee...

[MikeA]

This sounds so unlike most fly rod companies. I'm puzzled that 1. They didn't honor the lifetime warranty that you paid for when you bought the rod originally and 2, How they justified charging you anything when clearly they didn't do anything. I get a feeling this needs to be escalated to the local rep.... Try Jim at Fly South he can put you in touch with the rep. I had his info at one time but lost it.

[Steve H]

I am with Mike on this one. Reach out to Jim and he will help out.

[gaspergou]

Fly South came through with the rep info. Thanks.

The rep pointed out that the lifetime warranty is restricted to defects in manufacturing, that treatment of warranty claims is decided by the returns office, and that there's not much if anything that he could do.

I'm not bitter about the rod, it was an awesome stick and it had a great run. The shipping and service fee, though, pisses me off enough that I won't be buying a G.Loomis product, ever again.

[MikeA]

Good to know what several hundred dollars buys you these days....

[Steve H]

Fly South came through with the rep info. Thanks.

The rep pointed out that the lifetime warranty is restricted to defects in manufacturing, that treatment of warranty claims is decided by the returns office, and that there's not much if anything that he could do.

I'm not bitter about the rod, it was an awesome stick and it had a great run. The shipping and service fee, though, pisses me off enough that I won't be buying a G.Loomis product, ever again.

Wow, that is just amazing considering what other manufacturers do. Pretty sad they won't take care of you.

[Bfish]

Shimano (Gloomis) vs. Northfork Composite (where Gary now works).

[BP]

How about the 60% off on one of their new rods? Seems like a reasonable solution? It does make me wonder about the warranty on other rods. I broke an Orvis rod a few years ago and sent it back in to see what would happen. They no longer made that particular rod so they sent me an upgrade at no cost. I thought that was really great on their part.  I broke the tip on a Cabelas rod (their top of the line model at the time) and sent it back. Here is how they worked the deal. I had to purchase another rod and then send the old one back and they credited my credit card??? Kind of a long way around it but it worked out in the end. I guess we all need to clarify the warranty offered before making a purchase no matter what brand rod we choose to fish.

[BP]

 Forgot to mention one thing.....both times I filled out the warranty cards on the rods when I bought them so they had a record of the sale and I didn't have to provide proof of purchase. That seemed to help out quite a bit.....

[bd]

Weird.  I used the G. Loomis warranty more than once - back when I fished out of canoes more I broke a few rod tips.  They were always the best to deal with and I never had a single complaint.

On the other hand, time has passed since then.  I hear rumors that G.Loomis took a real beating financially on that "expeditor" warranty service they tried for a while, and maybe the pain they are still feeling in the warranty department is affecting their judgment.

I lost all but the butt section of a Sage one time when the front section of the rod popped off the ferrule, the fly got hung up, and we couldn't get the drift boat back upstream against the current to get the rod back before the tippet broke off and it was lost.  Sage was pretty reluctant to replace, but Jim at Fly South intervened and they were persuaded to take care of it.  I bought the rod at Jim's shop though - that probably made a lot of difference.

Evidently as long as you have the ENTIRE rod, all the manufacturers are fine with the warranty.  If you are missing a piece, then apparently you are on tougher ground and it just depends on who you talk to.

Regardless, they shouldn't charge you the $50 "service and shipping" fee if they're not sending you a replacement rod.  I'd raise hell about that.

bd

[Aquaholic]

I feel your pain.....but, I can't blame them for not replacing a "lost" rod.  We all want rod manufactures to bend over backwards for us and replace a section every time we break one on a fish, roll it up in the window etc..  $500-700 is a lot of cheese for most of us and if I had to buy a new rod every time I broke one, I wouldn't (read- couldn't afford to) fish.  At some point manufacturers have the draw the line.  My .02.

Now, I would raise holy hell for not refunding my $50.

[gaspergou]

I thought I was clear in the OP that what pissed me off most was bad customer service, namely a) the failure to contact me and b) the "service" fee and shipping charges.

That said, when did manufacturers decide they could charge boo prices for graphite? I don't mind paying primo prices for something that requires hours upon hours of planing and shaping and gluing... but nearly all graphite rods are machine rolled and built. There's nothing about ANY of the graphite rods on the market today that warrant these $700, $800, $1K price tags, other than having warranty and service costs already written into the rod builder's prices. You can't barely even touch a new glass rod from the "premium" manufacturers for less then four bills.

Oh, it's "aerospace-grade" graphite. I see... Let's just take a F-22, a bird with a $150 million price tag. Keep in mind that the majority of that cost is engine and avionics, and a majority of the weight is frame, but just as a thought exercise we'll assume it's made entirely of high grade graphite and epoxy, just like the rod. An empty F22 weighs 43,430 lbs. $1.5M/43,430= $3,453/lb. Blank weight on a Sage One ($363 at Mudhole) 9' 6wt is 1.56 oz. (16/1.56)*363= $3723.1/lb. So... that blank is more expensive by weight than a cutting-edge fighter aircraft!!

Whatever. I'm still not buying another G.Loomis.

[MikeA]

Any rod that breaks after several hours of intended use is caused by the user. Graphite either has a weak spot or it doesn't. It doesn't develop weakness over time.  So to warranty a graphite stick from breakage for a "lifetime" implies that your warranting against user abuse. There's no way to dance around that at all IMO. Also, when that rod was originally sold, the expediter service was a HUGE selling point... This IMO is a case of a company not honoring the warranty sold with a rod because it has become unprofitable to do so. Then to pour salt in the wound they have profited from it by keeping his fees...

There are still plenty of companies that will replace a broken overpriced rod with no questions asked. I honestly wouldn't blame you for shopping elsewhere.

[jarrod white]

I have finally realized the best protection plan for your fly rods is travel baseball and don't use the rods they stay primo

[grumpy]

I have finally realized the best protection plan for your fly rods is travel baseball and don't use the rods they stay primo

That's one way for sure