Grats on your new acquisition again.
Karve not responding
- Thread starter Constantino
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Grats on your new acquisition again.
I placed an order on Mar 22 and the auto generated completion estimate was Apr 19. I was well aware of the communication issues and backlog, so I just put it out of mind and didn’t think much about it until I saw the social media post about his travel plans for the meetup. On April 16 I sent an email asking about the status knowing it would be at least a few days before any response due to the travel. On April 27 - Saturday evening - he responded and told me he’d just finished my razor, packed it and it would be shipped Monday. He apologized for the backlog and lack of communication and thanked me for bearing with all of it. The package was indeed shipped yesterday. I don’t feel any apology was necessary as I knew exactly what to expect.
Obviously ignoring customer emails isnt a good way to run a business, but in the situation he finds himself he can choose to push products out while maintaining a level of QC that by all accounts is very high or he can reply to emails and deliver fewer razors. Anyone who has ever had to deal with support emails knows how time consuming it is. Chris has been very up front and has admitted he is in over his head and needs customer support staff. At this point I’m not sure what more he can do. In this particular case there is enough written on this forum about Karve to give me confidence that a fine product would eventually be delivered and I may or may not ever hear from him. I was ok with that. Honestly I’ve dealt with artisans making custom products that were much worse about this stuff. I avoided Karve for a long time because of it, but decided I really wanted a brass Overlander with G-Tech handle. It was priced fairly and I was willing to wait. Anyone who desires frequent communication from their vendors should just avoid Karve until he has CS person in place or order one of the offerings available at other retailers.
Obviously ignoring customer emails isnt a good way to run a business, but in the situation he finds himself he can choose to push products out while maintaining a level of QC that by all accounts is very high or he can reply to emails and deliver fewer razors. Anyone who has ever had to deal with support emails knows how time consuming it is. Chris has been very up front and has admitted he is in over his head and needs customer support staff. At this point I’m not sure what more he can do. In this particular case there is enough written on this forum about Karve to give me confidence that a fine product would eventually be delivered and I may or may not ever hear from him. I was ok with that. Honestly I’ve dealt with artisans making custom products that were much worse about this stuff. I avoided Karve for a long time because of it, but decided I really wanted a brass Overlander with G-Tech handle. It was priced fairly and I was willing to wait. Anyone who desires frequent communication from their vendors should just avoid Karve until he has CS person in place or order one of the offerings available at other retailers.
If you've read this or other threads here, you know what to expect if you choose to order. Also keep in mind that if Karve hires more people, then the prices will likely go up too.
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I still want to try a Bison… for what it’s worth
Got my Overlander a few weeks ago on BST, new in box, great price, super-fast delivery. BONUS: frequent, clear, and timely communication from the seller. Stellar experience.
In fairness, beating a dead horse is de rigueur here.Can we consider this dead horse to be beaten well enough yet?
If you've read this or other threads here, you know what to expect if you choose to order. Also keep in mind that if Karve hires more people, then the prices will likely go up too.
With that in mind, folks have as much right to comment about shoddy and unsatisfactory customer service as folks have to rave about a superb razor.
Your right about breathing dead pony, I reported back in February talking to Kaves Owner at AZ Wet Shave Meetup.
First thing I said to Chris was he was not good at replying to email.
Answer was he said he was not, building, shipping, and being final QC was what filled his day.
Unlike lowing skunk politician, man was honest. He is 2.5 person operation.
With no one beating down door for job.
So that is that, email is back burner priority.
And that's ok. If his customer base sustains his business model, that's all he has to worry about!
Beaten, pulverized, buried, exhumed, and ground up for ingredients at a fast food joint ;-)
Taking what @spacemonkey42 said to its logical end point, my problem with a fair number of objections here is that these are the same people (you know who you are) who will be up in arms if Chris decides to take on help and raise the price of an s-s Overlander by $50 USD.
Chris makes a first-rate product, delivers eventually, and is terrible with communications. What else do y'all expect to learn from this?
^^^ yup ^^^
Patronize him or not ... it's your choice, but you have no right to make business decisions for him.
... Thom
True enough!
But they have every right to whine about HIS decisions if they want!
I think many can deal with less communication if the website or process has a cadence that seems repeatable.
I think many deal with Karve’s current process just fine.
People pay him for a specific order, you get a sales receipt in return. When the product is made and done, he puts into a box and the buyer get a shipping confirmation with tracking number. Seems pretty straightforward, just like his website says. Also, key words like “Made to order” are hints for buyers that need to ingest the fact that what you’re buying does not yet exist. And with that, come added variables.
Im assuming most people order razors from Karve because they want the razor. I never would assumed they were anxious to test if his online “estimate” was accurate or not by ordering a razor to test his “estimation” capabilities.
And… Karve has acknowledged they are behind - And…. digging out of that isn’t to simply take a week off production and plow through all the requested email updates… it would be to keep at it in the shop.
Placed an order on March 24 including a clear Bison, saw it released Glacier handle on April 5 and sent a mail that day to inquiry if I can pay the price difference and change my order to the Glacier version.
I received his reply on yesterday (May 8) that my order is ready with Glacier Bison
Sure his reply is way too slow, but I understand that customer service (i.e. reply to messages) really costs time and mental effort, and probably would not be sustainable if he hire additional personnel while keeping his current pricing structure. But he mentioned that he's dealing with some unexpected issues at his shop that disrupted his workflow so this could be temporary.
I received his reply on yesterday (May 8) that my order is ready with Glacier Bison
Sure his reply is way too slow, but I understand that customer service (i.e. reply to messages) really costs time and mental effort, and probably would not be sustainable if he hire additional personnel while keeping his current pricing structure. But he mentioned that he's dealing with some unexpected issues at his shop that disrupted his workflow so this could be temporary.
I was lucky enough to get one from a friend so no wait, no communication with Chris. The Bison (for me) shaves so similar to the Overlander I’m not sure I can tell much of a difference. It is definitely the most mild razor I have now.
I have to come clean. After 3 shaves I find the Bison no more efficient than the Overlander. For me the razor doesn’t work unfortunately. In 2 weeks when I can list on BST I probably will.
Did you expect it to be significantly different from an Overlander? It's been documented here as being too close to call.
... Thom
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