Costumer service when addressing Avet - have things changed there recently?

[Jon_Kol]

Hi all!

Inspired by all the help I recieved when dealing with the pinion bearing that was stuck in my Avet LX 6/3, I'd like to hear what others have to say about Avet these days.

First of all: As mentioned in the topic regarding the pinion bearing, I am a big fan of the Avet reels. Not too fond about the bearings failing in various models, but at least now I know a bit more about why and how they fail etc. So this topic is not an attempt to complain/attack a well know brand, I just want to hear what people have to say, regarding their own experiences with Avet over the last.. say half a year/year.

The thing is, there is a case which is causing some headache.. A friend of mine, whom I fish with a great deal, ordered several T-bar handles from Avet via Charkbait. This was in February. The money was withdrawn from his account, and he was told that the order had been sent to Avet.

Seeing that it then took quite some time without any updates, he asked Charkbait if the handles had arrived. Long story short, many e-mails back and forth: Charkbait does not seem to get in contact with Avet - none of the e-mails tell of conversations with someone at Avet, Avet responding to e-mails etc. All he (we) is told, is that they are hoping to get the items soon and if it's been too long a wait, he can get a re-fund. Latest update was that the person at Charkbait had re-submitted the order and that they hope to get the T-bar handles real soon. For the record: Charkbait have apologized several times for the delay and back-and-forth regarding this order.

I also e-mailed Avet myself quite some time ago regarding this order, using their contact form on their website. I have not heard from them.

I find this strange, cos I have read several places that people are very happy with Avet's costumer service.

So the reason I'm writing this, is to ask if people in the US still experience quick replies from Avet?

I of course understand that a big company cannot answer every single e-mail that they may recieve, but I'm curious as to why nobody can give a clear answer on what is going on.

However, a fairly big company supplying fishing gear here in Norway have now removed Avet from their selection of brands, following a lot of trouble getting the reels they ordered, not getting in touch with anyone at Avet etc.. it all sounds like something has changed there recently.

Any ideas? I really like the reels, but it's not comforting to wonder if I will ever be able to get a spare part to one of my reels, should something happen to one of them.

Hope I'm coming across as someone who's just curious here, once again I'm not out to give someone a bad name and/or reputation.

Thanks for your time.


-Jon-

[alantani]

not sure what's going on with them.  my relationship with avet has never been that good because of the criticisms i've had about their product.  the relationship has been cordial and professional, but not as positive as with okuma, penn, shimano or daiwa. 

i do know that they changed the way they accept parts orders last year.  you have to submit an on line order, and then THEY will call you. i'm not sure how well that works. 

[Bucktail]

I've not had any problems with their customer service.  In fact, I ordered some bearings from them last year and they sent me the wrong size.  When I called them about it, they shipped the new correct ones and told me to keep the other ones.  I thought that was pretty good service.

On another positive note, I was speaking with the east coast distributor last week.  He told me, that because of all the problems they were having with the bearings, they now have a new supplier for them.  They should be of a higher quality now.

[Keta]

I had the opportunity to talk to Scott at Avet this morning and mentioned this problem.  He said that several people have been sick and the girl that takes care of foreign service has been gone for 2 weeks.   

My issue was promptly addressed like Avet has always done for me.

[Bryan Young]

For customers that call and reach their customer service, I believe has received great customer service.  Others means, not so good based on my observation.

[Keta]

When I order online Eliza (sp?) usualy calls me the next day.

[Jon_Kol]

Good to hear that there is communication regarding both bearings and the reels in general. When people get sick and noone has the chance to fill in their work while they're gone, it's perfectly understandable that there will be a delay. What I'm curious about, is why there's still no clear answer about an order placed, and paid for, in February - through a US company such as Charkbait.

There was talk about a delay following a merchandise tradeshow that Avet had attended, it could of course be something like that - maybe the T-bar handles are made pr. request and that they have no such thing as a stock of this item? If so, it would be nice to know before ordering.

Nothing would be better than if Avet not only replace the weak bearings, but also catch up with orders that are still not completed.

[Bryan Young]

By the way, what are you ordering?

[Jon_Kol]

By the way, what are you ordering?

If this question was addressed to me, the order is for several T-bar powerhandles for the LX 6/3 reel.

[gstours]

I have to agree you have to deal with them(avet) differently, but they pick up the phone take a message then call you back the next day with availability and pricing....I.ve dealt with avet twice in the last 3 months for ex-4/0 parts, they shipped promptly and had the parts as the reel is discontinued....so maybee someone had a bad day, plus the parts needed , clips, springs, clicker parts, screws, etc were less expensive than comparitive brands,,,,,,, they gotter done!!!!i'm happy....gst6814...

[Keta]

What I'm curious about, is why there's still no clear answer about an order placed, and paid for, in February - through a US company such as Charkbait.

I'm not mentioning company names or specifics but you aren't the only one having problems with Mark.

[Bucktail]

I was thinking along the same lines as Keta.  It sounds like your problem is with Charkbait, not Avet.

[Bryan Young]

Jon,

are you lookinf for only the aluminum handles as in


Or the entire assembly including handles and arms?

[Alto Mare]

I was thinking along the same lines as Keta.  It sounds like your problem is with Charkbait, not Avet.

Charkbait has always been great with me, but I haven't done business for over a year

[Jon_Kol]

Jon,

are you lookinf for only the aluminum handles as in

http://alantani.com/gallery/0/1_02_01_09_12_34_37_1.jpeg

Or the entire assembly including handles and arms?

The entire, as all I/we could find except an entire assembly seemed to include drilling out the original handle, and doing quite a bit to install a new one. Neither of us are comfortable with that, plus we'd like to keep the original handle + arm intact. I also looked at eBay for T-bar solutions, but could only find drill-and-install there as well.

As for Charkbait, there's been only one person answering the e-mails my friend (who placed and paid for the order) has sent. I'm not comfortable giving out names here, as I'm trying to avoid misunderstandings etc, in case someone involved reads this. I guess it's ok to say that it's a female who has answered all of the e-mails (now it's just a Google away for those interested, I guess) and, as mentioned in my first post here, she's answered that they are trying to get things sorted out. There have been many apologies following the long wait/no updates on the purchase.

For instance, on the 14th of March it was informed that both companies had been at a trade show for a week and a half,  which had disturbed Avet's production a bit - meaning that they were backed up with orders at that time, but Charkbait would inform as soon as the handles arrived.

And it's been that way ever since. There's been talk of calling Avet to find out what's going on, but there's never any solid info regarding IF they reached someone at Avet, what they talked about and what the conclusion was, regarding the order.

After all, it was via Charkbait's website that my friend found the T-bar handles that they confirmed fit the LX 6/3, and they said they could take care of the order with Avet.

This is what's bothering us - there's never anything being said about Avet's response. Which is why I'm careful not to throw rocks at anybody, I don't know exactly what is going on here. I find it strange that an order is placed, the amount withdrawn from the bank account, and then it's up to the person ordering the items to keep on e-mailing a business to ask what is happening..