Poor Schnees customer service

[Birddog1]

I had a very disappointing experience with Schnees customer service. A week ago Friday I received a pair of Beartooth 200 gr boots. As soon as I received them I noticed two issues - first, they were very squeaky, second the lace hook on the tongue was attached too high on the tongue to be of any use. Within an hour of receiving them I called Schnees and explained the issues and was sent a UPS return label, my wife dropped the boots off at the UPS store on Saturday.

The poor customer service was after Schnees received the return last Thursday. I called to discuss options to get the boots faster to start breaking them in and was told they would go out expedited this past Friday. I didn’t receive any tracking info so I called yesterday morning and spoke to one individual who assured me he would send me the tracking info within minutes. Several hours later I still hadn’t received tracking info so I called again, this time speaking to another person who assured me she would I would send it last night. Fast forward to today, no tracking info yet. So another call to Schnees today, this time leaving a voicemail but I didn’t get a call back so I had to call again. This time I spoke to the same young lady I spoke with last Thursday and yesterday. After some hesitation she admitted she was busy and didn’t send them but would move them to the top of the list. I’m sorry but after being told things would happen that never did, I instead cancelled the order. One positive is that I did receive the refund notification immediately.

I know everyone is busy and I’m sure this is a busy time for Schnees. But being told that something would happen on 3 occasions but it not happening is frustrating. if you can’t do something at least be honest, don’t lie to me and make empty promises. The boots fit well but the problems on the exchange with customer service will force me to look elsewhere for insulated boots.

 

[Schnee's]

I had a very disappointing experience with Schnees customer service...

Hello there. First I'd like to sincerely apologize for your experience with us so far. We really do strive to provide the best customer service possible to every customer, but nobody bats a 1000 and it looks as though we missed our mark here. As you stated in your post (and most folks realize), it is an extremely busy time of year for us. As you can imagine there are a LOT of boots coming and going right now as everyone gears up for hunting season. Exchanges, returns, rebuilds, etc.. I'm not one for excuses. Unfortunately with all of the chaos, some things inevitably slip through the cracks and I think that is what happened here. Again, I sincerely apologize for this on behalf of the Schnee's team.

Our website says that we're from Montana and if theres ever an issue, we'll make it right. Those are words we live by. If there is anything I can do to help make things right, please feel free to PM me!

thanks
Matt

 

[Birddog1]

Hello there. First I'd like to sincerely apologize for your experience with us so far. We really do strive to provide the best customer service possible to every customer, but nobody bats a 1000 and it looks as though we missed our mark here. As you stated in your post (and most folks realize), it is an extremely busy time of year for us. As you can imagine there are a LOT of boots coming and going right now as everyone gears up for hunting season. Exchanges, returns, rebuilds, etc.. I'm not one for excuses. Unfortunately with all of the chaos, some things inevitably slip through the cracks and I think that is what happened here. Again, I sincerely apologize for this on behalf of the Schnee's team.

Our website says that we're from Montana and if theres ever an issue, we'll make it right. Those are words we live by. If there is anything I can do to help make things right, please feel free to PM me!

thanks
Matt

Matt
I appreciate your reply but there’s a huge difference between batting 1.000 and .000 which is what happened here. I work as a sales rep in a customer service oriented business myself, no products sold, just the service provided. If I dealt with my customers the way this was handled I wouldn’t have them as customers and I may not have a job. Now in no way, shape or form do I want anyone to lose their job over something like this but customers like me are the lifeblood of your business as well and Schnees has gotten negative publicity over something that could have been easily avoided. I guess I expect a certain level of honesty and professionalism when spending my hard earned money on something that isn’t inexpensive. But I will PM you though to see if there is something that can be done.

 

[Michael54]

Sounds like you may have had a bit unreasonable expectations. Every customer is valuable but if you have a couple hundred customers wanting something different at the same time, its only a matter of time before one slips through the cracks. Also the girl fessed up to her mistake and got you your refund immediately. You also got a public apology from the company representative on here very quickly and still don't seem to be content. If you have experience in sales you should know that eventually there will be a customer you can't please no matter what....

 

[Birddog1]

Sounds like you may have had a bit unreasonable expectations. Every customer is valuable but if you have a couple hundred customers wanting something different at the same time, its only a matter of time before one slips through the cracks. Also the girl fessed up to her mistake and got you your refund immediately. You also got a public apology from the company representative on here very quickly and still don't seem to be content. If you have experience in sales you should know that eventually there will be a customer you can't please no matter what....

What’s unreasonable about expecting a company to follow through on their commitment? I asked if the exchange shipment could be expedited and was told yes. If it couldn’t be done than don’t say it can, it’s that simple. Also, I’m not sure I would consider it fessing up when I called, it’s hard to deny what the situation is when asked if there is a tracking # and why wouldn’t a refund be issued upon cancellation? As for the apology, I said I appreciated Matt’s reply and stated what is true, also sending a PM to see what can be done, so I’m willing to give it another try. Finally, to your point about customers you can’t please - when I called twice Monday, speaking to two people, and was told the tracking # would be forthcoming, what should my expectation be? You and I obviously have a different opinion on unreasonable expectations.

 

[2ski]

I didn't hear anyone lie. I hear some people forgot to do what they told you they would do. Lie is such a harsh word.

 

[Two Roads]

At this point, exactly what is your point?

Mistakes were made, fessed up to and once recognized quickly apologized for with an offer to make it right. Take the hand extended, your feet will thank you later.

Beartooths are great boots, break in quickly.

 

[doverpack12]

5 phone calls in two days with 4 answers by real people working hard is pretty good if you ask me. Most other boot companies you would be lucky to get a single answer or returned phone call in that timeframe. When things are busy and season's approaching it's easy to loose track of the efforts made when you need something. Sorry this didn't work out for you but I've had nothing but good experiences with Schnees and their customer service and I think the scenario above reinforces their customer service.
I work extremely hard in my own profession to make sure I follow through with what I said I would do, but inevitably after a frantic string of phone calls and "emergencies" I do forget something from the middle of the barrage once in awhile.

 

[wildcat33]

That’s a quite a bash for two minor issues.

 

[rclouse79]

Interesting. Were you ordering the same boots again hoping the second pair wouldn’t be squeaky? Was the placement of the lace hook by design or was there a manufacturing defect where something was misplaced?

 

[TSAMP]

Alright so they missed the mark and over promised. Still got you a refund promptly. Being a person who has aired a grievance with a manf/sponsor on here myself, I must say in my opinion and as it appears many others, you are overreacting. In a perfect world your request would have been accommodated easily, however you buying a boot the same month as the season opens for many of us has played a factor as stated.
Once again, in my opinion these kind of posts are for getting the attention of the manf who is not responding, or pointing out an issue that would be a future risk for other customers.

 

[Bubblehide]

I had such a bad experience a few years back I wrote Schnees off. And yes, I got the same type of response from Matt with zero action. I swore I would never do business with them again, and I haven't. Birddog1 I feel for you.

 

[Birddog1]

Interesting. Were you ordering the same boots again hoping the second pair wouldn’t be squeaky? Was the placement of the lace hook by design or was there a manufacturing defect where something was misplaced?

Yes I was hoping they wouldn’t be as noisy. My initial call was to find out if these things were normal and was immediately instructed to send them back. When discussing the lace hook I was also told it appeared to be too high on the tongue.

However you want to word what happened is entirely a matter of opinion. I know the conversations I had, I know what was stated would happen and those things didn’t happen. As far as the quality, I’m sure they are great boots and yes once in a awhile a bad product slips through. As mentioned they fit very well in the short time I had them. I didn’t expect to get everyone to agree with me nor does it matter if you do. This was MY experience with Schnees over the last few days. Your experiences are probably different and I hope they are. Schnees is a well liked and respected company obviously but my experience with them isn’t at that level right now.

 

[slowelk]

Proper planning prevents piss poor performance. Schnee's is not a big company, and at this point in the year I'm not surprised they got swamped. Plan ahead, order new gear well ahead of season, don't put yourself in the position of relying on others in crunch time.

I have consistently had great customer service from Schnee's. They always answer the phone, and follow through when expectations are reasonable.

 

[ElectricJellyfish]

So, you recognize this is a very busy time of year for them yet you won't show any empathy? You go the opposite route and post on a forum using the term "bad publicity" when most of the people who have viewed this thread disagree with your reaction to the situation. Also, using the "customers like me" line wreaks of entitlement. I'm sorry you fell into the small percentage of bad experiences with Schnees, but good lord be a human. A sometimes mistake making human.

 

[Birddog1]

Proper planning prevents piss poor performance. Schnee's is not a big company, and at this point in the year I'm not surprised they got swamped. Plan ahead, order new gear well ahead of season, don't put yourself in the position of relying on others in crunch time.

I have consistently had great customer service from Schnee's. They always answer the phone, and follow through when expectations are reasonable.

That’s good, I’m happy to know most experiences are positive. Mine wasn’t. The original order shipped and received in a timely manner. Again, opinions vary on what reasonable is. Let me put it this way, if it couldn’t be done tell me that. Then we’re not having this discussion. It’s a simple as that. I didn’t demand anything, I asked if it could be done and was told yes then subsequent conversations led me to believe they had shipped but tracking had to be retrieved from the warehouse/shipping dept. Again, if it hadn’t shipped yet, tell me that and once again, we’re not having this conversation. It’s really that simple. If we can post positive comments about a company than the opposite should be true when it happens. I’m glad they have a loyal following. All the positive comments on here are what lead to the purchase in the first place.

 

[Birddog1]

So, you recognize this is a very busy time of year for them yet you won't show any empathy? You go the opposite route and post on a forum using the term "bad publicity" when most of the people who have viewed this thread disagree with your reaction to the situation. Also, using the "customers like me" line wreaks of entitlement. I'm sorry you fell into the small percentage of bad experiences with Schnees, but good lord be a human. A sometimes mistake making human.

read my post before this and where I stated earlier that I would PM Matt to discuss, which I did. It has nothing to do with entitlement. It has to do with the message conveyed to me in my conversations with them. Customers like me simply means those who spend hard earned money. Yes mistakes happen but be up front about it from the beginning. Look, I posted an experience I had that’s it. I’m not looking for approval on here or anyone to agree with me. My opinion is just that, mine. We agree to disagree and we can just leave it at that.

 

[Birddog1]

Alright, let’s let this die. I just received a PM from Matt and he is going above my expectations to make this right and I am going to purchase another pair. As I’ve stated all along, my initial experience was poor but Matt has changed my opinion based on his fast reply and willingness to help. I’m sure, based on the loyal following they have, this was a one-off situation and just as I started this thread I will gladly start another praising them for making it right when I get the boots. Matt, I replied to your PM as well.

 

[Schnee's]

I had such a bad experience a few years back I wrote Schnees off. And yes, I got the same type of response from Matt with zero action. I swore I would never do business with them again, and I haven't. Birddog1 I feel for you.

Please feel free to PM me as well. I do not recall seeing any PM's from you in the past, but I'm always happy to help in any way.

- Matt

 

[wildcat33]

For perspective I had a mfg defect on a pair of high end "mountain" boots from another brand that are often talked about on this forum. I got NO response from them when I contacted them via email. A call resulted in "sorry we cant do anything about it, try a local cobbler". On top of that they have never once come on this forum to answer questions, help members, or address issues.