Dovo and Merkur Customer Service doesn't impress.

For anyone who cares, or wonders about a recent or future purchase, here's what you have to look forward to when dealing with the kind folk at Dovo:

(sorry about the length but I felt full disclosure would enable all to judge for themselves.)

-- On Mon, 9/5/11, raygunwrote:

Subject: Dovo nail nipper failure
To: [email protected]
Date: Monday, September 5, 2011, 11:41 AM
Hello Ms. Rothstein,

I hope this email finds you well.

I was surprised today by the failure of my wonderful Dovo nail nippers model 158.
While cutting my toe nails, they exploded like a grenade!
Like many Badger and Blade razor aficionados, I big fan of Mekur/Dovo products ( I have a 38C, a 1904 OC, a gold Futur and an a straight 5/8)

I was very suprised that they would self destruct this way. I have attached photos.

I purchased them about 8 years ago and have been very happy with them up till today.

I believe they are covered under warranty.

Is they anything you can do to help me?


Regards,

Ray Henderson



--- On Fri, 9/9/11, A. Rothstein <[email protected]> wrote:

From: A. Rothstein <[email protected]>
Subject: AW: Dovo nail nipper failure
To: "'raygun'"
Date: Friday, September 9, 2011, 5:46 AM
Dear Mr. Henderson,

Thank you very for your email.

I am very sorry that the nail nipper gave out on you after 8 years of service. However, our warranty is for 2 years from date of purchase, so I am afraid I cannot help you.
Nail nippers undergo a lot of stress during usage, especially when cutting very tough toe nails, and yours seem to just have reached the end of their life span.

Unfortunately I cannot give you any better news.

Best regards,
Anne Rothstein
DOVO/MERKUR

--- On Tue, 9/13/11, raygun wrote:

From: raygun
Subject: Re: AW: Dovo nail nipper failure (second attempt)
To: "A. Rothstein" <[email protected]>
Cc: [email protected]
Date: Tuesday, September 13, 2011, 10:07 PM
Dear Ms. Rothstein,

Thank you for your kind response.

While I understand your new products carry a 2 year warranty, when I purchased these clippers Dovo offered a 10 year warranty. Some of my older Dovo nail nippers came with a lifetime warranty. I'm aware that in this day and age, global companies such as Dovo have to go with the times and turn a profit, which is why the warranty periods have been reduced.

I wouldn't think that Dovo would invalidate warranties currently in force.

The warranty offered at the time of purchase is still in force.

In addition, my issue is a manufacuring defect, not end of life use. These were here at my second home and lightly used. They are still extremely sharp. The steel failed, not the cutting edges. To say that steel snapping in half is a result of my toenails is a little insulting and prima facie absurd. Upon inspection it appears that there was a rare (for a Dovo product) defect in the steel.

Please examine the pictures again to see their condition.
If you would like any additonal photos I will be happy to oblige.

I look forward to hearing from you again soon.

Sincerely,

Ray Henderson

22. September 2011 00:36
An: [email protected]
Cc: [email protected]
Betreff: Fw: Re: AW: Dovo nail nipper failure (third attempt)Ms. Rothstein,

Is it truly your intention to ignore my response to your email?
I assumed as a valued, long time Dovo consumer I would receive more courteous treatment.
Please review and respond to the email below.

Sincerely,
Ray Henderson

--- On Mon, 9/26/11, A. Rothstein <[email protected]> wrote:

From: A. Rothstein <[email protected]>
Subject: AW: Re: AW: Dovo nail nipper failure (third attempt)
To: "'raygun'"
Date: Monday, September 26, 2011, 4:56 AM
Mr. Henderson,

Thank you for your email.

I do not know about a lifetime warranty (we come across that quite often, and in all cases it was made up by the retailer).

However that may be, our warranty covers material and production defects. After 8 years of use, neither is applicable. The nipper you have purchased was made of oxidized carbon steel. There is no rust protection at all on them, so my guess would be that corrosion set in (your photographs do not show clearly what the material looks like at the breaking point, but it shows the surface, and you can see that the corrosion process has started there, too).

Therefore, I am afraid we cannot acknowledge any claim from your side.

Best regards,
Anne Rothstein
DOVO

Von: raygun
Gesendet: Dienstag, 27. September 2011 07:38
An: A. Rothstein
Betreff: WHAT ABOUT MY 10 YEAR WARRANTY?

Ms. Rothstein:

How nice of you to respond to my email.

It would have been much nicer if you had read it before replying.

You completely ignored any mention of the 10 year warranty.

You refer to "Oxidized Steel" and lack of "rust protection" as if I constructed these myself and left them in a ditch. There is no rust on these clippers. They appear to have a black coating of some sort. They are still extremely sharp.

MANUFACTURING DEFECTS would cover steel that snaps in half when using for the intended purpose.

YOU MADE THEM. YOU SOLD THEM WITH A 10 YEAR WARRANTY. THEY SNAPPED IN HALF AND ALMOST SHATTERED MY BATHROOM SHOWER DOOR. THEY ARE 8 YEARS OLD WITH OCCASIONAL INTENDED USE. THEY HAVE NO CORROSION OF ANY SORT FROM MISUSE.

PLEASE SEND A REPLACEMENT PAIR IMMEDIATELY.



THE WORDS MANUFACTURING DEFECT COULDN'T BE MORE CLEAR.

--- On Tue, 9/27/11, A. Rothstein <[email protected]> wrote:

From: A. Rothstein <[email protected]>
Subject: AW: WHAT ABOUT MY 10 YEAR WARRANTY?
To: "'raygun'"
Date: Tuesday, September 27, 2011, 5:18 AM
Mr. Henderson,

I did not ignore your mention of a 10 year or life time warranty. I tried to explain that it was not a warranty issue, be it a 2, 10 year of lifetime warranty.

And I tried to explain that corrosion will happen in carbon steel more easily than in stainless steel.

However, if you can show us proof of our 10 year warranty in writing, plus produce a sales receipt showing when the nipper was bought, we will gladly have you send us the nipper along with those documents so we can decide here whether it is a warranty issue or not.

Anne Rothstein
DOVO

Final response cc:'d to everyone at DOVO:

Re: Schrecklicher Kundenservice

Ms. Rothstein:

Thank you so much for taking the time to respond to my email.

I am so pleased with your condescending response. I know it is always best to treat loyal customers like badger feces.

I was delighted to find upon review of the materials packaged with my most recent DOVO product purchases (Merkur 37G, Merkur 38C, Merkur gold Futur, Merkur 1904OC, DOVO 5/8 straight, countless Merkur blades) that NO WARRANTY CARD is included with purchase. How helpful to the consumer. This enables your retailers to offer a wonderful selection of warranties that you will never honor.

Having seen your highly automated factory on television's "How it's Made" I can understand that the cost of replacing an obviously defective product greatly outweighs satisfying a loyal customer. Who on earth would spend a few dollars to foster goodwill and positive brand reinforcement when you can just tell the customer he has tough toenails?

That is priceless marketing. I assure you that I will do my very best to convey your commitment to customer satisfaction to everyone I know and my pals on the Badger and Blade forum. Nothing like word of mouth!

I wish you all the best in your endeavor to provide the world with your defective products. You see, I thought my particular pair was just a rare manufacturing defect, but you have successfully convinced me that this is the quality of your goods.

Congratulations, I will never buy another DOVO product.

I will replace them with a quality brand such as Eloi, MADE IN FRANCE.


All the best,

Ray Henderson

No response from that.

The only items I know of that carry a lifetime warranty are Craftsman, SnapOn and MAC tools and Tilley Hats. After eight years, buy another pair and move on.

doug1066 said:

The only items I know of that carry a lifetime warranty are Craftsman, SnapOn and MAC tools and Tilley Hats. After eight years, buy another pair and move on.

Click to expand...

I ordered a pair of Eloi nippers. I don't expect any response from my sarcastic final email to Dovo.

xraygun said:

I don't expect any response from my sarcastic final email to Dovo.

Click to expand...

Really? I'd cut my losses and I'd stick to another brand in future.

Honestly - I think you got a pretty good answer on your first email. I am actually quite surprised that they took their time answering you. Any warranty issues with any product is allways a matter between seller and buyer - and not the manufacturer.

I do not think any better or worse of Dovo after seeing this.

Donkey said:

Honestly - I think you got a pretty good answer on your first email. I am actually quite surprised that they took their time answering you. Any warranty issues with any product is allways a matter between seller and buyer - and not the manufacturer.

Click to expand...

Donkey-
I truly do not know if it is different in Denmark (no sarcasm intended here folks) but in the USA a manufacturer's warranty is usually serviced directly by the manufacturer.

As a previous poster (auto-deleted as it was in response to a self-redacted member's comment) said, "If the company are selling things without warranty cards how are customers (who purchase from 3rd party vendors) supposed to claim on faulty goods?"

I'm just sharing this. I found it odd to be treated this way.

Seriously, if these clippers were dull from use, had a loose joint or I dropped them, I wouldn't have given a darn. I've owned a LOT of tools. I've never had a pair of any pliers or wire dykes or nail clippers snap right at the jaws.

Cheers,

xraygun said:

Donkey-
I truly do not know if it is different in Denmark (no sarcasm intended here folks) but in the USA a manufacturer's warranty is usually serviced directly by the manufacturer.

As a previous poster (auto-deleted as it was in response to a self-redacted member's comment) said, "If the company are selling things without warranty cards how are customers (who purchase from 3rd party vendors) supposed to claim on faulty goods?"

I'm just sharing this. I found it odd to be treated this way.

Seriously, if these clippers were dull from use, had a loose joint or I dropped them, I wouldn't have given a darn. I've owned a LOT of tools. I've never had a pair of any pliers or wire dykes or nail clippers snap right at the jaws.

Cheers,

Click to expand...

Ray,

I have had pliers, multi-tools, wire cutters, tin snips and wrenches all snap at the jaws at one time or another. Unless it is Craftsman, SnapOn or MAC, I usually just buy a replacement.

doug1066 said:

Ray,

I have had pliers, multi-tools, wire cutters, tin snips and wrenches all snap at the jaws at one time or another. Unless it is Craftsman, SnapOn or MAC, I usually just buy a replacement.

Click to expand...

I've never had a pair of Craftsman, SnapOn, MAC or Matco jawed anythings snap like that. Bend, strip, twist yes. Instantly replaced. $4 pliers sure. But I was told I was buying that quality when I paid $85 dollars for a pair of nail nippers. I was told I had a 10 year warranty. Dovo did have a lifetime warranty, the reduced it to 10 and recently to 2. But they don't put a tiny slip of paper with it in their product packaging?

Did you let them know you would be publishing this email exchange?

In either case, I'm sorry, but it does not reflect very well on you.

Threads are an opportunity to share information, not engage in axe-grinding. This one veered pretty far to the wrong side, IMO.

I had, what many would consider a successful career with 2 Fortune 500 companies, mainly in sales, but also in manufacturing and distribution. Normally our product warranty was 30 days; however my decision on issuing a refund was based on customer perception. If I felt a customer believed my product did not deliver as they felt it should, I made it right, even years later. My "defect" rate was less than 1 in 1,000. No excuse for their actions in my book. If you cannot honor a loyal customer, you are sitting at the wrong desk
ken

FWIW, I had 2 instances where my Merkur Vision had mechanical difficulties. First time was just after I bought it. Contacted Dovo/Merkur, they had me send it back and they replaced it. Next time was a couple of years later. I emailed them again, and again they had me send it back, and this time they replaced it with the newer improved version. I did have to pay for the shipping going to them each time but I thought their response was very good. It seemed that it mattered to them that I was happy with their product.

Hmmm, OP certainly came off as very aggressive, but proof of warranty is just that: no proof, no pay. Back when I hand built road bikes for a living, I sold an old, low-quality build to a customer for a very low price, no warranty offered. When the chain snapped, he called back, angry as the dickens, but I refused to take it back or fix it for free. Sellers have to stick to their guns and play it fair. Unless it's clearly the manufacturer's fault, I see no need for them to offer a refund without the warranty card presented. Very fair treatment on their part.

Yeah, but they aren't providing warranty cards with their products. They are letting the retailers make up whatever they want.

franz said:

Did you let them know you would be publishing this email exchange?

In either case, I'm sorry, but it does not reflect very well on you.

Threads are an opportunity to share information, not engage in axe-grinding. This one veered pretty far to the wrong side, IMO.

Click to expand...

yeah... i think you may actually have had more luck if you had cut the verbosity down a notch and either accepted their reply, then if you still felt sore about it, asked for their superiors contact information. this exchange feels a little sanctimonious on your end. regardless, if you ever want a warranty to be honored you usually need a sales receipt (some companies won't care, but it's still in their guidelines that you need to produce an original sales receipt), which is easier now since most expensive things i tend to buy online, and my email receipts are archived for eternity.

maybe you should have said, look, this was 8 years ago, i don't happen to have the receipt with me anymore, but i'll send some more pictures along to prove this was a defect (no corrosion, etc). perhaps the person who replied to you hasn't been working there long enough to know dovo used to have a 10 year warranty. i think you could have resolved this, but not anymore.

Sebaldian said:

yeah... i think you may actually have had more luck if you had cut the verbosity down a notch and either accepted their reply, then if you still felt sore about it, asked for their superiors contact information. this exchange feels a little sanctimonious on your end. regardless, if you ever want a warranty to be honored you usually need a sales receipt (some companies won't care, but it's still in their guidelines that you need to produce an original sales receipt), which is easier now since most expensive things i tend to buy online, and my email receipts are archived for eternity.

maybe you should have said, look, this was 8 years ago, i don't happen to have the receipt with me anymore, but i'll send some more pictures along to prove this was a defect (no corrosion, etc). perhaps the person who replied to you hasn't been working there long enough to know dovo used to have a 10 year warranty. i think you could have resolved this, but not anymore.

Click to expand...

I included the pics in my first VERY polite email. I offered to send additional pics in the second one, which I also thought was polite. She ignored that email.
Of course I no longer expect any resolution from them.

xraygun said:

Yeah, but they aren't providing warranty cards with their products. They are letting the retailers make up whatever they want.

Click to expand...

Then you should take it up with the retailer. How is Dovo supposed to know that the clippers aren't 11 years old?

If they had your pictures, it is a little dumb to say that they were made of carbon steel when the clippers are clearly marked as being stainless, assuming that refers to the metal composition of the clippers.

mmack66 said:

Then you should take it up with the retailer. How is Dovo supposed to know that the clippers aren't 11 years old?

If they had your pictures, it is a little dumb to say that they were made of carbon steel when the clippers are clearly marked as being stainless, assuming that refers to the metal composition of the clippers.

Click to expand...

The Tinder Box in Palm Springs is gone. Recession killed them.

And really come on. If i asked for a new pair because they were dull or rusty, yeah I'd want to see a receipt if I were them. These exploded while still super sharp. Solingen steel? Tough toenails make steel go boom? It was just an insult to me that she wasn't polite and danced around my issue.

And the whole oxidized steel thing. Like I should have known better than to buy their product which is marked Stainless Solingen.
Geez.

If the "10 Year Warranty" was offered by the retailer, when that company went out of business your warranty disappeared along with it, sorry.
There's an off chance that someone bought the assets of the company and will honor the warranty, but I'd reckon you're just plain out of luck.

And I understand you're upset, but you did get aggressive with Anne pretty quickly. She's usually very helpful, but scolding and lecturing a customer service person doesn't usually make them give you BETTER service, know what I mean?

Go West Young Man said:

If the "10 Year Warranty" was offered by the retailer, when that company went out of business your warranty disappeared along with it, sorry.
There's an off chance that someone bought the assets of the company and will honor the warranty, but I'd reckon you're just plain out of luck.

And I understand you're upset, but you did get aggressive with Anne pretty quickly. She's usually very helpful, but scolding and lecturing a customer service person doesn't usually make them give you BETTER service, know what I mean?

Click to expand...

The retailer was telling me about the DOVO warranty. Which back when I bought it was apparently very REAL as you can see here Right on B&B! That's where I got her contact info.

So why did it disappear?

I don't think 22 days is quickly.

I've dealt with Dovo/Merkur for warranty before. I had no receipt and couldn't verify how old the product was. She arranged for it to be sent to germany and fixed it at their cost. I also got replacement parts for other products, where they didn't believe their was anything wrong (and were later proven right), but provided said parts in the name of customer service. Such service is often provided with discretion, usually based on how you deal with people.

Having emailed her before, she has a number of roles in that small company and is out of the office regularly, and often away. To assume she's sitting there ignoring your emails, is just that. I thought she was very polite, given your subsequent responses.