Contacting GEC?

[dewman]

A couple of months ago, I bought my first GEC knife....a #23 Primitive Bone Trapper. It had several "issues" that weren't acceptable so I sent it back to the factory, addressed personally to Bill Howard with a letter explaining the problems with the knife and respectfully asked that the knife be inspected and, if they agreed with me, the knife be repaired and returned.

Well over a month has passed and still no knife. I've made several calls to GEC at different times of the day and find it impossible to talk to a real human being. NOTHING but answering machines. I've left messages with every call and still no response.

Does anyone know of a different approach to this delima? Perhaps a carrier pigeon? Or send Guido over maybe?

Thanks
Dewman

[justin hosier]

The number I use is 814 827 3411 and just stay on the line rather than try the number tag game. Best time to call is around 9:00 AM Eastern time. I haven't had any trouble getting through.

Justin

[jonet143]

contact gectechman on our site.

[Hukk]

The number I use is 814 827 3411 and just stay on the line rather than try the number tag game. Best time to call is around 9:00 AM Eastern time. I haven't had any trouble getting through.

Justin

That's the number on the tube, I've never had a problem getting through either, BUT that's been since last April , I think.

[Classic Case]

may be someway of contact thought the website. just a thought.http://www.greateasterncutlery.net/contact.html

[jonet143]

what's the poop, dewman?

[dewman]

what's the poop, dewman?

Me thinks I've been shuffled off to Buffalo! I sent the knife back to GEC about two and a half months ago and never heard nary a word from them so I called and left a message on the "ignore" machine. Never had a reply, so I kept at it and FINALLY got to talk to a real live, human bein'.
She said she got my message....(hmmmm....wonder why she said she'd return my call when I left the message?) and they were going to work on my knife the up-coming weekend. That was about 30 days ago and STILL no knife.

Guys, I know many of you here are head over heals in love with this outfit, but from my experience, they've got my last dime. A very sorry product I received and even worse customer service. Like me dear old departed Mom used to say, I don't have to step in cow $hit to know what it is!

They need to take some lessons from Boker USA!

[Hukk]

Yeah, I think they have a few problems to fix. I think the original 2006 set will be a winner in the long run, but those are a hard act to follow. I like the 53M though it seems Moose is more appropriate than Muskrat because of the handle configuration, but Muskrat is more sought after than Moose But what do I know, that's all marketing stuff.

I wonder how many sets of Primitive Bone they have on hand.

[dewman]

Not long ago here on AAPK, I remember a post about one of the members being at the GEC plant and had a primitive bone knife that had some "issues" and viola, the person they were talking to reached into a drawer and pulled one out that was perfect in every respect and handed it to him in place of the defective one. It's crap like that that really gets my goat. In the mean time, I've handed over my $85 to a dealer who should have, in my opinion, stepped up to the plate and offered to replace it. Not only did I suffer that indignity, but then I get this rediculous run-around from the very people who want me to believe that they're producing "the best American made knife on the market".

Horse pucky, I say. The knife I received was a POS. Ray Charles could have told you so. Plain and simple. And, I don't care WHO wants to defend GEC. They haven't lived up to their credo to me. But who am I. Just a lowly, blue-collar guy without any connections "at the top".

My entire experience with them has left an extremely sour taste in my mouth that will never go away. Rant and rave all you want about how wonderful GEC is, but from Garden Valley, Idaho, it will be falling on some very pissed off deaf ears! And to boot, I'll tell anyone who'll listen not to waste their hard earned cash on ANYTHING GEC makes.

I'm hoping my knife will arrive sometime before Christmas, because it was supposed to be a present for my son.....but pardon me if I don't hold my breath. I guess I shouldn't be too impatient though huh? I mean, who in their right mind would expect a defective knife to be repaired in 3 months, eh?

[Hukk]

I agree, they have problems to fix. Not only with customers BUT also with their own dealers and distributers, some of whom are unhappy.

I think there needs to be a house cleaning. The question is that if they clean house, will the right people fall or will nepotism reign?

Not only for customer complaints but for there own dealers and distributors.

Model #10 Please throw out the tooling, 3.5 inch blade and 3.5 inch blade. Kinda suck, IMO. Trying to catch a buck on a quick and easy pattern.

Model #53, I don't like the blade configuration, the clip primarily.

Model 53M, I like it, the clip I hate in the stockman works for the Muskrat.

[Duffy]

I'm glad I found this thread. In Jan. 2008, I was going to try to buy a Case Classic from a store here on AAPK, and a GEC knife (was undecided which model) with my allowence money that the wifey lets me have (I'm in the honey do club). If GEC's products quality is very bad, and their customer service is like trying to call congress, and they do NOT stand behind their product in any way, shape, or form. I don't think I want to buy into anything like that. Now don't get me wrong, I'm at the top of the list when it comes to buying everything I need or want having to be made in the U.S.A. but, if the U.S.A. product is made as bad or as cheap as most imported products are, I don't want no part of it at all..I think I'll wait and see how everything goes with GEC for a while before I buy anything from them. Thanks for the heads up Dewman and Hukk, and please drop us a line as to how everything comes out for you Dewman.

[dewman]

Duffy....I have no doubt my last post will cause a hailstorm of criticism, but to be perfectly honest I don't give a rats behind. Until hell freezes over or someone in authority on AAPK tells me I can't express my opinion, I will continue to do so.

My prediction is, unless some MAJOR changes are made, they'll be history within two years. However their knives will probably be highly collectable only because of the dubious history behind their coming and going. Gee....maybe I should have kept my POS knife. Who knows, maybe it might have been worth more than one that was "as advertised".

[knowtracks]

Duffy....I have no doubt my last post will cause a hailstorm of criticism, but to be perfectly honest I don't give a rats behind. Until hell freezes over or someone in authority on AAPK tells me I can't express my opinion, I will continue to do so.

My prediction is, unless some MAJOR changes are made, they'll be history within two years. However their knives will probably be highly collectable only because of the dubious history behind their coming and going. Gee....maybe I should have kept my POS knife. Who knows, maybe it might have been worth more than one that was "as advertised".

You are not they only one Dewman, GE will NOT get another dime from my corner of Montana either! I received the same treatment that you did. There are other good American knife manufactures out there. After reading alot of posts about GE I know that we 2 aren't the only ones disapointed.

Dave

[Hukk]

Since I made my other statements I should relate my experiece. While it appears some changes MUST be made I need to be fair and mention at first many got their knives back quickly.

I got mine back (2 knives) in a month to the day, pretty reasonable and SHOULD be the MAXIMUM STANDARD GOAL.

3 months is not right and this statement is rather minimalist as far as I'm concerned.

I am very happy with my knives of 2006, but I realize not everyone is. Customer support should be Number 1, ALWAYS!

[gmusic]

Unfortunate you guys are having such trouble with GEC. Like Hukk said, customer service should be TOP priority!

I just received a few knives from their new line, and have seen a big improvement in the finish work. Not to say I haven't got a couple that were...............well, less than perfect. They weren't so bad that I needed to send them back (thank goodness.)

Dewman, I hope that is not the case, them going out of business in two or so years, but, I know they have hurt themselves. Unfortunately today many business owners look at he bottom line before longevity.

Take care....................

[ghbud]

I'm brand new to this forum, but let me throw in my 3 cents worth.

Not sure if you guys with problems are buying directly from Great Eastern or through a dealer or distributor. I know I've sold Great Easterns to a number of you and encourage you to get your dealer/distributor involved.

I'm probably not the largest GEC distributor out there, but I've sold a large enough volume to have a pretty good relationship with GEC and would gladly go to bat for a customer with a legitimate bitch. I've only returned one knife (a stag that was cracked) but my experience was A1.

Before anyone jumps on me for being a GEC apologist, let me say I've had some issues with GEC, but I've found them to be willing to listen.

Our guarantee at http://www.tsaknives.com is 100% customer satisfaction and I probably shouldn't advertise the fact that we just refunded a buyer that didn't like the color of the Cat's Cradle she received (nearly a month ago). To the buyer's credit she was willing to except an exchange but my gut said go with a refund. The point is, a decent dealer/distributor should be willing to work with a customer.

Before you throw the baby out with the bath water, see if your dealer/distributor will help and then take the time to drop a well thought out, courteous letter to Chris Tucker at GEC, explain the circumstances and see what happens.

Just remember, it's easier to get by in life with a little 'pull' as someone's likely to help. But if you'd rather push instead, understand, sure as hell, someone's gonna 'push' back.

ghbud
TSA Knives, LLC

[dewman]

....and there's some bad news. I received my "repaired" Northfield
un-X-ld #23 Primitive Bone knife today. All four of the "issues" with it had been addressed with the exception of the slop at the half stop position on the spey blade. But, WTH? It's too late to return it AGAIN and have it here in time to put under the Christmas tree.

However, in all fairness, I've got to say, I absolutely LOVE the primitive bone scales and the classic lines. It's surely one handful of knife. It's #13 of 250, with the tang marking of 2006/2007. So, I'll just hush up and be glad. Like my Dad used to say, "It's better than a poke in the eye with a stob!".

I also received a nice PM from GECTECMAN that was very warmly received. It did one heck of a lot to smooth my ruffled feathers and will go a long way to nudge me toward buying another GEC knife. But, I think I'll just hide and watch for a while if it's alright with youze guys.

[justold52]

But, I think I'll just hide and watch for a while if it's alright with youze guys.

I can under stand you wanting to watch this tread for a while...

BUT please do not hide from posting in other forums here at AAPK.
I like reading things you say and I even smile some times...
I for one enjoy your company and input.

[knifeswapper]

Welcome ghbud.

Of course I think most of us remember that this is the second thread on the same conversation, and ghbud may not have been privy to a big part of this conversation as well as others on the same lines.

I, and others, who had some QC issues with GEC early on expected that it was better for end customers to send back defective products as to "train" the mentality of the manufacturer. If you send out a defective product it costs much more to take them back one at a time and repair and re-mail. Thus, management gets a better idea of what is leaving in less that acceptable fashion and the cost associated with it. If a dealer sends back several knives at a time it falls into a different class of return in my opinion.

Having said all that, who would have known repair times were going to be so long. These guys are so busy and still in a learning process. They probably should dedicate one craftsman to repairs; but the cost of that then makes every GEC knife go up $1ea. Message may have been well received as I have not had a defect in the last 150-200 GEC's that came through here; and the one in question is the ONLY knife that I have received a customer complaint about since opening my account with GEC.

I sold dewman the knife and by the time he received it and contacted me, I had no more in stock. We discussed it and mutually agreed that returning it to GEC would kill two birds. By the time they received it, they had no more in stock to replace it. I have talked with them several times about this knife and they took it seriously just as they do all repair items.

In hindsight, it would have been better to just get a replacement of some other model instead of all the stress he had to indure. But as our government can attest, hindsight is good for learning but a useless vision (except maybe for the other political party who after the fact tells how it should have been done with no way of ever knowing if that would have been any better).

Thus, at this point in time I agree that dealers should immediately replace/refund GEC defects and work on a more personal level with them to get repairs taken care of. But early on I looked at every knife as it came in and sent many back immediately. The primitive's were a completely different bird and 90% could have been called defective if so inclined. I sold 9 more that were not significantly different than this one and had 9 customers completely satisfied. That is why the factory needs direct customer input instead of just dealers/distributors. But I suspect we won't be seeing any more primitive bone models from GEC.

Sorry for the long version, but just wanted to provide some input from a slightly different perspective.

[ghbud]

You've got a good point and it's well taken. I handled some of the early GEC's also and was fortunate in that I only saw one knife last spring that was a problem (cracked stag around the rivets). I've gone through 150+ GE's since the first of October and I haven't seen another problem. That said, you're right, it is important for consumers to let the mfgr know what's going on.

In 40 years as a manufacturers rep, sales rep and owner of a brick and mortar sporting goods store the one lesson I've learned is that manufacturers don't like customer complaints, but it's an expense that's expected and factored in. What the manufacturers absolutely don't want to hear is a group of distributors/dealers screaming bloody murder and dropping or threatening to drop a line because of problems dumped in the dealers lap. As a distributor or dealer, don't underestimate the power you can wield to implement change. Remington, Ruger and Winchester learned that lesson (albeit too late) in the 80's.

I don't get much time to spend on the forums, but it's interesting and I've got a lot more to learn!!! Thanks!

ghbud
TSA Knives, LLC

[rayban]

I've only been "accumulating" knives for a couple years now and for what it's worth...
I've been burned by a few Case knives I've bought on the internet. I should have sent them back, I just didn't know any better at the time.
Secondly, my first GEC is a #73 Scout, black micarta, from Raisin River Knife Co.and it's a beauty, a keeper, I love it.
I guess my point is, you lose some, you win some.
Thanks for listening.