[dacker]

Well, over on that other forum that we sometimes have some fun poking fun at here, REI-bashing is a very popular pastime. But even they agree that their return policy is the best around. Case-in-point: my altimeter watch that I bought there stopped working well over a year after I bought it and long after the receipt had returned to dust. I took it in and they gave me a full refund...no questions asked. Yeah, sometimes the salespeople are a bit clueless, but whenever I go in there I always know exactly what I want and don't need help. So with a return policy like that, coupled with the dividend, what's to bash?

[Opus]

I have to give two big thumbs up to Sigma for their customer service! I bought a used Sigma 50mm macro from Adorama to use with my 20D. No mention of any problems according to Adorama. I received it more than two weeks later (they initially said it was backordered, despite it being a used lens from their shop ), put it on my 20D and focused on all sorts of tiny things. Very cool! But it didn't work when I clicked the shutter. It only said "error 99". Even after upgrading my firmware and cleaning all the electrical contacts it still did, and only with this lens. Turns out it's an older model meant for 35mm film and has compatibility issues with newer digital SLRs. I emailed Sigma around 6pm and had a response two hours later asking for more details. Another brief exchange and they informed me they will upgrade the lens chip for free with $10 charge for shipping. Very good of them to stand behind their product, even an older design!

[JPH]

[Tom]

Must give a shout out to Southwest Airlines. For a low cost airline they really do treat their customers fairly. I think they are the only US airline still not to charge extra for checked bags, and if you need to change your flights they don't kick you when you are down and tack on additional change penalties (just pay any difference in fare). Today I got an email that my point balance had been adjusted for a new award. I was a bit surprised as I had not booked any award flights recently. I logged in to see this.

At first glance it looked like a NWHiker I had booked travel for needed to change their Thanksgiving return flight and 25K points had been deducted to cover the cost. I was a little surprised Southwest had allowed this without my approval, but I was glad to see the cost was reasonable as last minute changes can be very expensive. I looked up the new flight and it was running $700! Long story short, Southwest didn't charge them *anything* to change their flights. The 25K points deducted was just the original cost of the ticket with a new effective date. As a "holiday courtesy" Southwest allowed them to switch their flight home from Saturday to Sunday (one of the busiest and most expensive travel days of the year). I guess they felt allowing an extra day with family over Thanksgiving took precedence over the bottom line. Kudos to them.

[Navy salad]

I had a very good experience with Osprey today. I have one of their Manta daypacks and on a trip last summer, it was raining, so I put on the rain cover that comes with the pack. Somehow, on the way down, it came loose and I lost it. I emailed Osprey yesterday to ask if I could purchase a replacement and to my surprise, they responded right away and said they had a few extras floating around and would put one in the mail to me for free! Now THAT'S how you earn customer loyalty!

[canadug]

I had an excellent experience with Black Diamond recently. I needed 4 Cams re-slung and one re-swaged. They told me to send them to SLC and they would let me know how much it would cost (Gave me an approx over the phone of $50). Lo and behold 10 days later I received a package at my house from BD with all my cams--They did it all FREE of charge and even paid for shipping.

[BlameTheDogz]

As Tom mentioned above, Southwest Airlines hooked me up over Thanksgiving. Yay! I also recently had another great experience with Arc'Teryx. While their gear is too expensive at retail, I have been able to score a few deals in the past. Last year, I punctured a hole in a sleeve on a snag, and they let me choose a totally different jacket for the warranty replacement. Last week, I had another warranty repair issue on a different shell bc the elastic waistband cord seam failed (this same thing happened on another shell so maybe a manufacturing issue?). I again opted to pay the difference and upgrade jackets. Their customer service has been very accommodating! I have also had great experience with the local Outdoor Research store in SoDo in exchanging failed gear with no questions asked - once gaiters and once gloves. Patagonia, finally, fully replaced an older jacket which delaminated with a brand new jacket. Caveat: I think that having local retail stores may have simplified the processes as I initiated each return/exchange at the respective local outlet and OR and Patagonia had me just grab something off the rack.

[Brucester]

Was at Recycled Cycles the other day. Love that place. Mechanics not hidden in a back room, eager to answer any and all questions. Bought some fenders and Problem Solvers Fender Flute. Met yet another person from Connecticut. Fun chat brought me back home for a little while. Simple things make lasting impressions.