A Very Positive Experience:

The night before I was to head out with a friend for an all day fly fishing excursion (translation: wake up at 3:15am), I was doing the usual last minute preparations.  As I went to gather my rods though, I found that my 10-foot 5 wt Amundson Wind Warrior (WWSFP4-1005) had the tip broken off – not nice to find at 10 pm.  Well, better at home than on the water.  So I grabbed a spare rod.

A couple of days after I got back from the fishing, I decided it was time to get the rod tip fixed.  Knowing that Amundson was in Burnaby (only 30-40 minutes away), rather than mailing the rod section in, I decided I would stop by the Warranty Office, as it happened to be right on the way to a job site I was to be visiting that day.  I figured I’d drop the rod tip off, sign whatever forms were needed, then arrange to pick it up some time later when I would eventually be nearby again.  Or, I'd just let them ship it back to my home if that was more convenient for them.

When I visited Amundson, I explained my story, and asked if it was ok to drop the rod off for warranty replacement (normal procedure was to mail the section in, and I wanted to make sure I wasn’t complicating matters by hand delivering the rod – some companies are very strict about return and warranty procedures, and this was my first time dealing with Amundson).  I was quite surprised when the individual not only said it was not a problem, but actually went right to the supply room carrying my tip section and returned minutes later with a new replacement piece!  Wow – I really didn’t expect to get the replacement tip immediately.  I was only hoping to speed up the process (and save us some shipping charges) by dropping the rod tip off.  I would have been happy to wait perhaps a week or two for the tip section to be mailed to me.  This was much more than I expected.

Then the individual (I didn’t get her name - sorry), while I was packing away the fly rod (after we tested the tip section for fitment), noticed the rod sock I was placing the fly rod in and asked me to wait a moment.  After disappearing for a few minutes, she returned with a nice new green rod sock to replace my worn sock.  Almost too happy and surprised to answer, I thanked the Amundson Staffer with almost a stunned look on my face! 

When I left, I couldn’t help but think that was beyond what I expected (from ANY manufacturer!) – the rod tip replaced in 10 minutes, and a new rod sock provided without me even thinking that it should be replaced.  That person, in my opinion, was thinking quite a bit beyond what I even thought I needed or wanted.  And to me that’s the mark of excellent customer service – giving the customer more than they expect.

That being said, would I expect that degree of attention to detail every time I had to get a tip section replaced?  I don’t think that would be fair to any manufacturer.  Just to get the tip sectioned replaced without taking a month to do so is all I ever hope for!  However, having seen such great service, it left me feeling very impressed.

At Amundson, what I found was a company going a few steps beyond what I expected.  In fact, demonstrating perfect customer service.  And to know that Amundson IS capable of treating me (Average Joe) with that level of concern instills in me a lot of faith about the company.  I was so pleased with the service that the next rod I need (and I am in the market – aren’t we always?), I’m surely going with Amundson again. 

A replacement warranty is good, but what I found at Amundson was absolutely excellent.

From
Chris Puchniak  
now Amundson Prostaffer