Clymb On

Monday, April 5, 2010
Usually people go online to complain about shit. But not me! At least, not this time.

My friend Bangs recently sent me an invitation to shop The Clymb and I gratefully accepted. I love outdoor gear. I love sales. I love outdoor gear on sale. And while we buy lots of stuff off of SteepandCheap, I like The Clymb's format - putting up a ton of stuff from one brand at a time. I get an email before the sale and if it's a brand I know or am curious about, I'm all over it. I recently cleaned up at a LOLĂ‹ sale and two weeks ago we bought a new Burley on TC.

Once I got the confirmation email that a HoneyBee had my name on it, I put our old Burley on Craig's List. I was not expecting it to go the day after I posted it for the full amount I was asking (ah, supply and demand!) I was excited to have sold the old Burley but a little nervous about breaking the news to the boys. I explained to E that we had to share with the man who took the old Burley and that we were getting a new one. He reluctantly accepted my story but was fully on board once I told him that the new Burley was going to be faster. Whew. Now to convince his dad that we could live without a bike trailer for a week or two.

"Holy crap. So we rented the old Burley for $50 for three years?"
"Um, yeah. And the new Burley will be even faster."
"Sweet!"
Wow. That was a lot easier than I'd expected.

"Are you tracking the Burley? Has it shipped yet?"
I knew I wasn't getting off that easy. "Yes, hon. It's on it's way. It's in Henderson and should be here tomorrow."
"What time does FedEx get here on Saturdays?"
I gave him the are you serious? look. D smiled sheepishly. E ran around screaming about how he and his dad were going to go for a bike ride to lake park and they were going to go super fast. The boys were already outside waiting at the end of the driveway when FedEx pulled up. It was Christmas in April.

The box had three alarmingly large holes in it. D unpacked the trailer and sure enough, it was all jacked up. It looked like FedEx had tied the box to the back of the truck and dragged it from Portland to our house. The trailer had been rendered unusable and once this sunk in, my heart broke to see D and E both so very disappointed.

"Mom, is Dad sad?"
"Yes, sweetheart, dad is sad. But it's ok. We'll fix it."
"Dad is sad because the Burley's broken?"
"Yup."
"FedEx's mom told him 'be careful' but he was not careful and the Burley is broken. And dad is sad. But that's ok. I'll fix it. I'll get my wrench and dad and I can fix it."
"Oh, sweetheart. A wrench won't fix it. I'll call the store and tell them it's broken and hopefully they'll send us a new one." But I wouldn't count on it.

I called TC and left them a message even though I knew they wouldn't be in till Monday and that I'd be calling as soon they opened. And I did. At 10am mountain time I was on the phone, ready for more disappointment.

10:00ish - Immediately spoke to a cheerful and helpful human being named Paisley who vowed to make things right. I mean, seriously. Even her name is cheerful.
10:21 - Sent Paisley this email with pictures of the damage:
Hey Paisley,

This is in reference of our order #26456. Let me know if you need to send FedEx a picture of my two-and-a-half and my 37 year old little boys crying about the damage. :)

Thanks,
N

11:06am - Received this email from Paisley:
Hey Nanette,

I just spoke with Burley and they have a Honey Bee for you. Yeah! We are going to ship in [sic] via UPS tomorrow for you.
I need to work with my Customer service team to get a return label issued to you. They will follow up shortly.

Can't believe how excessive that damage is. We're definitely having a conversation with Fed ex regarding this. I'm really surprised they even dropped it off looking like that.

And love your comments on your "boys"...your comments hilarious, not that[sic] fact that we made them cry. ;)

Thanks for sending the pictures! That's very helpful for our claim.

Cheers!
Paisley


I mean, really? I called D and he was floored. "So, wait. They're going to send us a new one before we even send the old one back? Wow."

I know! Wow, indeed. The Clymb totally rocks. And if anyone would like an invitation to shop TC, email me and I'd be thrilled to send you one.

Sidenote: Hey FedEx. Listen to your mom. Try and be more careful next time. Because there is nothing sadder than a disappointed 37 2 1/2 year old who can't spend his Saturday morning going fast.

2 comments to Clymb On:

Eric Hanson said...

Hi,

Just want to let you know that your replacement Honey Bee shipped on Tuesday and should arrive today.

Hope you get a chance to use it this weekend! So sorry for the problems with the first one.

Cheers!

Eric Hanson
Burley Design
800-311-5294

nej said...

@Eric - You guys rock. We received our new Burley on Friday. Saturday morning, my son and husband did an all day tour and came back sun-kissed and full of joy.

Post a Comment