Hardy v Orvis customer care.

[Malcolm]

For the third time I snapped a section of my 6 piece Hardy Gem. Not through aerialising 80 ft of competition line as I did with my Sage TCR but straightforward fishing. It just snapped. Not only that but my mate John whose picture is in quite a few of my posts on here also bought one - on my recommendation. His has snapped three times too.

Now I think there is a basic flaw in these rods and for the past three weeks I have been involved in a frank exchange of views with Messrs Hardy on the subject. As a result They have agreed so far to come down from the original replacement cost of £140 to £50.  Now I think this is quite wrong. Indeed I believe they should be recompensing me for the original two breaks which I paid for. However, they play a very hard ball do Messrs Hardy. You would think that a customer who has spent over £3000 on their kit over the past 12 years or so would be worth holding on to!

What a difference to the stories on here of exemplary service from Orvis. 

[Ardbeg]

Seems like the rod is not fit for purpose Malcolm.

I guess you have tried that approach with them, though.

Are you or John a member of Which? magazine?  I think they would likely take up the challenge from Hardy.  Real bad publicity when they get involved.

Ardbeg

[the fachan]

In my dealings with Greys/Hardys I've found them to be unreasonable, obnoxious and more than a little condescending. As long as there's a breath left in me I will never again buy any of their products.

Orvis are the polar opposite - very helpful, gracious and informed.

Vote with your wallet Malcolm and move from the darkside into the light
 

[admin]

Love 'em or loathe 'em - when it comes to customer service American companies know what is required. Any American coming to live in the UK and especially  in Scotland would be appalled at the "if ye dinnae like it then get tae f**k"  attitude so often encountered at every level from pubs upwards.

[col]

ive got greys and hardy rods, i would not buy from them again as when they replace a model the guarantee seems to become defunct as your forced at a reduced price to "upgrade" to the newer model  since they cannot replace it like for like , in any case most of the latest rods coming out of there factory are ugly!

[brian]

i have a wee hardy gem which i bought from their factory shop a good few years ago now, the rod was a second so i got it at a knocked down price but with no guarantee. I've managed to break both the sections since ive owned it and on each occasion i emailed them to find out how much it would cost to replace the section fearing the worst, all i had to do was send them the broken section in bits along with £40, no mention of having the guarantee/warranty or not so i was very pleased with the service.

I wouldn't buy a hardy or greys rod now, i believe the blanks are all rolled in china these days rather than Alnwick. if i had money to spend on a rod it would be another Norwich rather than any of the big brand factory rods.     

[Otter Spotter]

As a comparison I broke a section on a Sage and a section on a Hardy I duly sent off each bit to the respective companies the Sage via the uk rep and the Hardy direct to Hardy. I got the Sage section back quicker than the Hardy section and when I phoned Hardy I was made to feel like I was annoying them by having the cheek to be wondering where my rod section was. As I recall Sage charged me £40 (I bought the rod 2nd hand and it was originally purchased in the US otherwise it would have been £20), Hardy charged me £50.
I would never buy another Hardy rod of the two I have owned I have had problems with them both whereas with Sage the only problems I have had are of my own doing the build quality has been excellent.
I also have a Hardy Demon 7000 reel which kept coming apart. Apparently I was unfortunate enough to be one of the first to purchase one and the built in design flaw was known but not widely acknowledged. I was cursing it one day in Anglers choice in Dundee and Robbie in there took it to bits and fixed it for me rather then going through the pain of sending it back to Hardy. So much for buying 'British'.

[claretbumble]

Orvis every time. Faultless customer service. Too bad thsy didn't make a rod I wanted, and got the Sharpes. I will, however, get another Orvis at some point.

[scotty9]

My broken rod is in the post today, will report back shortly on how I find Orvis customer service.

[Malcolm]

I really like the Hardy copolymer Craig. It's thick for it's stated breaking strain but that's because they rate it for wet, knotted strength rather than dry unknotted as most others do.