I've spent the last 15 minutes or so on the board, and came across a couple of disparate, but interconnected, themes:

One person was complaining about the lack of support he was receiving with a malfunctioning Visconti; A second commented that he had similar issues with his Marlen; Yet another had a Parker about which he had questions, and didn't know where to turn; And, on the Conway Stewart board, there are threads hanging where people have questions, and the answer they consistently receive is that they didn't occur on the incumbent's watch.

The consistent theme is that pen manufacturers absolutely do not care about after-sale support. In fact, that is a term, I daresay, with which they are not familiar. One, perhaps, has no right to complain about something inexpensive or disposable - yet we all know of manufacturers of inexpensive products who take good care of customers - but, in the cases cited above, we are typically speaking of items which cost several hundred dollars each. I don't know about anyone else out there, but I don't have three Franklins I can just toss around.

As a collecting community, we help where we can can, and commisserate where we can't. but it is a shame that companies with which we choose to do business do not care about us.

I don't have an answer - boycott? - but would like to hear why customers don't matter.

While there may be this common problem with some companies, it's not true with ALL of them. For example, Pelikan is known for their above and beyond customer service. Bexley is very good. Winedoc/Danitrio is superb as well.

Yard O Led replaced a third of an elderly silver pen, polished it up and sent it back with a nice letter explaining all the bits they'd had to replace. Interim, I had a postcard to tell me it was so knackered that it was getting a vacation at the factory in the UK. So I knew where it was and when it should be back. And we're talking a well used, battered pen.

Krone did the biz in about 6-8 weeks. Not as great on communicating, but I've got 2 working pens back, albeit not shined up like Yard O Led.

I'd give YOL an A++ for service and Krone a B

I have to dissent from OneRiotOneRanger's conclusion. I think the problem is people rarely note the excellent service they receive. (Haven't we all heard the people who complain that the newspapers only contain 'bad' news.)

I am an inveterate e-Bay bargain hunter who aquired a Visconti Voyager and a Marlen dotCom that each needed repair. (In both cases the pens were sold as new although, in one case, I have doubts.)

After a brief exchange of e-mail, I sent both to their respective manufacturers. Both were returned fixed, immaculately polished, well packed, and without charge. Visconti even sent a nice Visconti bookmark.

If I have any complaint, it is the wait times. International mail speed and repair backlogs make the wait (almost) unbearable.

My review? Two big thumbs up for Visconti and Marlen service.

P.S. Even with the international shipping, both pens were incredible bargains.

There are good and bad companies and we as consumers have the opportunity to 'vote' with our currency. When it comes to service I found Bexley to be the best in class. Pelikan and Sailor are right up there too.

Who did you deal with on the Visconti service?

Kurt

I don't think poor customer support is happening only in the fountain pen industry. Sadly, it's pretty much across the board. But there are exceptions.

I've had happy experiences with Conway Steward, Cross, and Stipula. My only real issue is CS and Stipula took forever, and both on pens that were brand new. But both answered e-mails promptly and with the information I requested regarding my pen. And my 19 day turnaround for refurbishing a Cross Townsend FP/BP set is posted in the Cross sub section. Was extremely happy with that. There are still some that go the extra mile, but as someone mentioned, Pelikan tops the list. They should be the industry benchmark.

My two experiences with Lamy have been excellent.

When I sent a Parker Sonnet to the factory to exchange a medium nib for a fine nib, I had it back in just over a week.

I'll also vouch for Pelikan, though I haven't actually sent my Pelikan in for servicing. When I first received my M805, I thought there was a flaw in the celluloid strips in the barrel. I asked Richard Binder (from whom I purchased the pen) about them, and while I awaited a reply I called up Chartpak to see what my options might be. They were extremely polite and helpful, and offered to replace the pen (apart from the nib, which was a Binderized XF), not because it was actually defective in any way, but merely because I wasn't entirely pleased with it. Then Richard informed me that the color variation and visible seam that had concerned me were perfectly normal (this was my first real fountain pen (not counting a badly defective Mont Blanc which was immediately returned), and I really had no idea what celluloid should look like ), and I noticed the exact same "problems" in the photos used by Pelikan itself, and had a Gilda Radner "never mind" moment. All of which is beside the point: Chartpak were willing to replace a perfectly good pen just to keep a customer happy.

Bexley, on the other hand, confuses me. I hear glowing reviews from people who really know their pens and the pen business, but my one Bexley pen (the FPN LE) was sadly disappointing, and no viable solution to the problems was offered. I'm not sure whether that's a sign of a recent decline in customer support, or an anomaly.

Parker completely fails to impress me. I purchased a number of Parker Frontiers, which I had to purchase from the UK as they weren't available in the US, as gifts. One had a nib that could not be made to write, because the slit had been cut so far off-center that it didn't quite reach the tip. I called Parker customer service, and was told that I'm out of luck, my two options are to contact the seller in the UK (they never responded) or to buy another.

I dare not even contemplate attempting to get customer service from some of the manufacturers of the inexpensive Asian pens in my collection.

From what I have read in the Visconti threads I have seen, I think the far greater issue with them is a lack of consistent quality right out of the box. While the person in the thread mentioned has had some extremely bad luck with a pen that apparently came back more damaged than it went in with, most of the threads I have read indicate that the service is slow but usually effective.

The quality issue really gives me pause. Are these companies banking on mail order sales to move pens that have apparent problems just because the purchaser can't see them before the pen arrives? Is it that they're banking on the sort of collector who won't even ink the pen instead of the user-collector who actually expects more than pretty looks? It is apparent that it's more than just a Visconti issue because even Pelikan users complain of spotty performance. Indeed, that is precisely why everyone appreciates Chartpak so much -- they are so often utilized. I'm not saying that it is easy to make a pen, but there seems to be something going on with the business that should give us all pause.

Would someone from across the Pond answer a question for me? When you experience a fault with a good that you have purchased, do you always contact the manufacturer or distributor? I ask this because, if this is the case, there seems less incentive for the retailer to guarantee that that good is fit for purpose. I also ask this because this is the impression I have gained from reading this board.

Here in the UK (and I assume other countries in the EU), consumer law states that the end customer's contract is with the retailer, whether high street shop or distance seller, and not the manufacturer. Therefore, if a problem arises, it is up to the retailer to put it right (and not the manufacturer or distributor). That same retailer may refer the customer to the manufacturer's repair department but ultimately it is up to the retailer to ensure that the contract to supply a good of "satisfactory quality" is fulfilled. Does the same system operate in the USA and other countries?

Thanks,

Martin

YOu've hit the nail on the head.
I've always felt that buying a new fp online (unless it comes from a nibmeister) is a lot like GAMBLING.
I've also found that some brands, usually those that make their own nibs and test nibs before the pens leave
the factory, give you better odds of a pen writing well straight out of the box.

On the other hand, brands that outsource the heart of the pen, the nib, lose a lot of quality control, and the customer
becomes the first one to test the pen. Case in point, Pelikan. That is why Chartpak is so often used for nib exchanges related to poorly writing nibs. Fortunately, they do a commendable job after one or more tries, although the customer has to go to the P.O., pay for postage and insurance. That is a real pain. So for online purchases, I would only buy brands that outsource their nibs from a nibmeister, or possibly from a dealer who will thoroughly test the pen before it's shipped.

Generally speaking, for most goods, we generally go back to the retailer. Contacting the manufacturer is usually a last resort.
I'm not sure why FPs seem to be an exception to that (I've never had to return one), but I suspect it might be because many of them are mail ordered. Many of us can't walk down to a pen store, buy what we want, and walk back if it isn't working, and sometimes when you're working at a distance, the retailer will just direct you to the manufacturer anyway, and it's faster to cut out the middle man.

In my dealings with faulty pens, need of parts, etc - it has almost always been with the manufacturer. Rarely with the retailer :?
In fact the retailers (department stores and pen stores) always told me to contact the manufacturer.

Whenever I needed new nibs/repairs/spare parts for (modern) Parkers and Watermans, I was told by the pen store to contact Sanford directly. I even got dad to drive me all the way to the Sanford Head Office a few times

Ahh, I miss that Head Office...where the only fountain pens you see are behind a glass cabinet for display, and the office staff have Bic sticks in their pen cups Yup, they know all about pens~ (I couldnt understand why such a big pen corporation wouldn't use their own pens..I mean couldn't they at least use Papermate ballpoints? )

Exactly. I'd LOVE to have a retailer I could walk in, try pens and deal with face to face. I've been fortunate in my online sales that the majority were very good. My Krone with the piston leak, I had the option of returning it to FPH for a refund as they didn't have any more, or gamble on the warranty and have a $475 pen for $185 + some postage. I gambled and won.

I would say anomaly as they did agree to take all of the pens back for repair/ replacement.

Kurt

I find it easy to believe that many of these pen companies don't really care about the customer. It is clear from how they deal with you when you have a problem. But even clearer when you realize that most of the threads here at FPN about sending pens back to the manufacturer are not about worn or damaged pens but are, in fact, about brand new pens that didn't work right out of the box!! Gone are the days when ever widget built got a QC check before it went out. Those that do test seem to just dip the nib, which only tells if it is scratchy, not if it will move ink from the reservoir to the paper! Some folks get upset when they see a little blue ink in their brand new pen, me I'd much rather do a minor flush and know that someone actually checked the pen and saw that it would write! Just one more rant and I'll quit. WHY do we have to flush and clean, flush and clean, etc our brand new pens to get their manufacturing oils out?? Not long ago you got a brand new pen and put ink in and away it went, now don't bother to ink it 'cause it's not going to write right! Flush with soapy water, flush with ammonia water, align the tines, smooth it down and reset the feed and sometimes finish the unfinished feed channels and then ink it and hope for the best!!

My only poor service came from Parker for a Waterman (both part of Sandford) pen. I really wanted to add a Waterman Edson to my collection, but my memory of the service that I had received from Parker for a Waterman that had been bought from a High Street shop made me nervous about buying from a reputable seller on eBay.

A case of the bad smell lingering I suppose.