Parker No Longer Repairs Their Pens!

[Estycollector]

Two years ago my 20 year old refrigerator and microwave oven failed. GE no longer made the needed part in both incidences which required the junking of both appliances. While the new refrigerator is supposed to be more energy efficient, I doubt either unit is recyclable.

 

I am going to attempt to maintain my '99 Tahoe as long as possible including replacing the engine or transmission. It is probably not work $1500 on the market, but the value to me is what it would cost to replace.

 

I almost replaced the Subaru last month until I went to the dealer. The only difference would be more electronics (touch screen apps)which does not appeal. I hope the CVT holds long term, but it would be better to replace the tranny than go in debt. Today is new tire day....yea!!

 

There is a certain enjoyment in old things for me. My desk clock is a mid '50's Westclox Big Ben. Yes, I have to adjust the fast or slow occasionally and remember to wind, but it is consistent and reliable. The mid '80 GE radios on the desk and night stand are wonderful reminders that things can last. Both of the them from eBay.

 

Someone said the most rare Autopoint pencil is the one that does not work. As long as Anderson's exist, the Esterbrooks can be in use. As long as the great repair repair folks are alive and breathing, our Parker 51's can work.

[bluebellrose]

Wow. Good to know. I had bloody war with Parker over "the Parker Urban from H*ll" but that was a few years ago and they had me send the pen to Janesville under the extended warranty both times. The second time the chick in France I dealt with the first time got a snotty letter saying that they should be more concerned about one mouthy American broad with access to an internationally read pen forum than their entire potential market in China... and they sent me a Priority Mail box to ship it in (I still had to pay the insurance). I also told her that the brand name USED to stand for quality.... The second time they just replaced the pen with a cryptic note saying "defective barrel" but the replacement pen leaked like a sieve -- no matter how many times I flushed and soaked the nib unit, I still got ink coming from the feed collar over the top of the nib. I think I eventually tossed the pen in the trash for the junker it was. Other than a Vector, I would not buy a modern Parker pen. But the vintage ones? I love those.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

i would have chucked it in the staples bin and made them dispose of their garbage

[inkstainedruth]

There is the old story about HM the Queen and her pens, she gives a Royal Warrant to Parker, for those that don't know that is quite a big deal. The Queen, it is said, uses a Parker 51 for her personal letters and has a bespoke Parker ink.

 

The story goes that a man calls Parker and asks for his 51 to be repaired, he is told by Parker that they do not do repairs to the 51.

 

His response:

 

'If the Queen wanted her 51 to be repaired, what would you do?'

 

'Well, we would have to find someone to do the work'

 

'Tell him that the Queen's 51 is working fine, as he has nothing to do I wil put mine in the mail'.

Read that to my husband just now and he thought it was as funny as I did. And I think I've read the joke before and it's still funny.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

ETA: Yeah, I also thought it was "Carterhaugh". Now I want to know if there's actually a place that is or was KNOWN as Carterhaugh, just because of the song.... One of the versions that Child published has different lyrics, but it also says "Carterhaugh"; although, according to this site: https://tam-lin.org/versions/39A.html some variant texts say "Chester (Chaster) Wood" or "Charteris" and one version collected by Child gives it as something like "Kerrtooma" (sp?). I haven't gone through all the other links on the site, like Bronson.

[Fermata]

Read that to my husband just now and he thought it was as funny as I did. And I think I've read the joke before and it's still funny.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

ETA: Yeah, I also thought it was "Carterhaugh". Now I want to know if there's actually a place that is or was KNOWN as Carterhaugh, just because of the song.... One of the versions that Child published has different lyrics, but it also says "Carterhaugh"; although, according to this site: https://tam-lin.org/versions/39A.html some variant texts say "Chester (Chaster) Wood" or "Charteris" and one version collected by Child gives it as something like "Kerrtooma" (sp?). I haven't gone through all the other links on the site, like Bronson.

 

 

Carterhaugh is a farm near Selkirk in the Scottish Borders

[Beechwood]

Picture of Carterhaugh Farm

 

 

[inkstainedruth]

Yes, but how long has the farm been there/had the name? I could easily see someone who is a fan of the original ballad thinking that would be a good name for a place (while it's more a UK thing than here in the US, I can see my house being called "Three Magnolias" for the ones we planted in the front yard that I got different years at the Phipps Conservatory "Great Plants " (which is better than some of the old timers in town calling it "the old Schreiber place" (after the former owners) or (what some of the neighborhood kids called it at one point "the haunted house".... ).

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

 

ETA: Okay, I actually looked it up just now, and Carterhaugh is a wood as well as the farmstead.

Edited July 10, 2020 by inkstainedruth

[FarmBoy]

Interesting discussion. It is not my understanding that Parker has stopped warranty repairs but I wouldn't need Parker to repair a pen for me. Do we know what was wrong with the pen? Broken mechanism, missing part, sprung clip, cracked barrel, etc. I can certainly believe parts are not available and right now I can believe Parker isn't repairing anything because Parker is likely closed for all repair work due to COVID19.

 

A few thoughts on this. Parker (or any manufacturer) can not keep a parts supply for old models indefinitely. Laminated Celluloid in the Vacumatic series hasn't been available for something like 7 decades. Even during the 51 product run at one point Dove Gray Lucite became unavailable and Parker substituted Navy Grey and that was while the 51 was still in production. Speaking of parts, I'm confident I can name 10 people that have more parts supply for 51s, original Duofolds, 75s, or Vacumatics than Parker has.

 

When it comes to repairing the modern Duofolds many of the materials especially from the early runs are no longer available so Parker couldn't even make the parts if necessary. Predicting what parts may fail isn't always easy. Duofolds have a habit of the cap lips breaking due to dropping and over zealous posting. The configuration of the caps has changed from year to year and when the parts are gone they are gone.

I don't believe the story about the Queen but am open to more information on when this happened and documentation that it did indeed occur.

 

 

Lets try and help the OP's friend that has a broken pen. What pen is it and what is broken. Some basic details would certainly help further the understanding. If nothing else, I'll contact Parker and find out what is going on.

 

Enjoy your pens.

There are more than a few sources for original parts and repairs to vintage and even modern pens. Many of those sources post here and/or monitor such threads. I'm confident that manufacturers know what is and isn't going on

[Fermata]

Interesting discussion. It is not my understanding that Parker has stopped warranty repairs but I wouldn't need Parker to repair a pen for me. Do we know what was wrong with the pen? Broken mechanism, missing part, sprung clip, cracked barrel, etc. I can certainly believe parts are not available and right now I can believe Parker isn't repairing anything because Parker is likely closed for all repair work due to COVID19.

 

A few thoughts on this. Parker (or any manufacturer) can not keep a parts supply for old models indefinitely. Laminated Celluloid in the Vacumatic series hasn't been available for something like 7 decades. Even during the 51 product run at one point Dove Gray Lucite became unavailable and Parker substituted Navy Grey and that was while the 51 was still in production. Speaking of parts, I'm confident I can name 10 people that have more parts supply for 51s, original Duofolds, 75s, or Vacumatics than Parker has.

 

When it comes to repairing the modern Duofolds many of the materials especially from the early runs are no longer available so Parker couldn't even make the parts if necessary. Predicting what parts may fail isn't always easy. Duofolds have a habit of the cap lips breaking due to dropping and over zealous posting. The configuration of the caps has changed from year to year and when the parts are gone they are gone.

I don't believe the story about the Queen but am open to more information on when this happened and documentation that it did indeed occur.

 

 

Lets try and help the OP's friend that has a broken pen. What pen is it and what is broken. Some basic details would certainly help further the understanding. If nothing else, I'll contact Parker and find out what is going on.

 

Enjoy your pens.

There are more than a few sources for original parts and repairs to vintage and even modern pens. Many of those sources post here and/or monitor such threads. I'm confident that manufacturers know what is and isn't going on

 

 

Thank you for your thoughts FB.

 

I cannot speak for others but my thinking is not 'can they' but 'should they'.

 

You are not the average Parker buyer in that you have special skills when it comes to pen maintenance, probably better than most Parker employees.

 

A typical owner of a Duoflod may have been given a $500 pen, 18 months into ownership the pen is dropped, the cap is broken, the pen is taken to Parker who say, 'the pen is out of Warranty and accidental breakage would not be a Warranty item anyway, we don't repair it.'

 

The pen means something to the owner and now has very limited choices, replacing the cap will be difficult, repair of the cap doesn't look possible and who would do it anyway, the best placed people to do a repair have just said get lost.

 

You can imagine that the owner may be thinking, $500 spent on this pen and now it is useless, one of the best known and trusted brands and they treat their customers this way. The owner does not want a discount voucher, the owner wants their own pen because it was a gift and it means something, and if this is the way they treat their customers the they would not be buying another Parker.

 

Agree your point on parts availability, no one can expect NOS plastics to remain on the parts shelf for 70 years, that would be unreasonable, however I would expect a manufacturer such as Parker to keep a stock of parts for the more expensive current production models, especially Sonnet and Duofold.

 

This is the trouble when you allow accountants to run companies, there is more to running a 120+ year old business than figures on a balance sheet.

[max dog]

I presume then Waterman would fall under same policy?

[MoriartyR]

What does it say about a company when they decide their product is not worth repairing under any circumstances and that it should instead be tossed in the trash and replaced (and they will throw you another one for free within their short warranty period, or half-price beyond that if you still want another one)?

 

As we all know, a good quality fountain pen can be enjoyed for a lifetime or longer. When we buy an expensive fountain pen this is our expectation and it is part of what we are paying for. Apparently it is not an expectation that Parker has for their products.

 

I can see that, from Parker’s point of view, it might be more economical to replace or offer half-price pens instead of maintaining a repair service and storing spare parts. But what does this say to customers about the worth and longevity of their product? What are Parker really selling now if they do not consider it to be an item worth repairing? And why is the price of a Duofold more than $100?

Edited July 11, 2020 by MoriartyR

[IThinkIHaveAProblem]

Found this interesting:

 

https://www.parkerpen.com/fountain-pens-writing-type

 

https://www.parkerpen.com/faqs

 

Maintained for LIFE Eh? ... You'll pardon me if i don't believe you.

Unless of course you mean "the life of the product" which in the case of a AA Battery is a few hours of operation, in the case of a piece of paper towel is the duration of wiping down a counter and in the apparent case of a new parker pen is "until it breaks or stops working or requires repairs of any kind" Which at $500 seems ... disgustingly greedy.

 

Also, Thank you to the people who more eloquently explained why it is i think this policy of "to us, it's so worthless/cheap we can just throw it away" is BAD for the brand.

 

I know Parker doesn't care. No one there probably has any idea that this forum exists. And if they do, they don't care what we think. At least not in the executive team who make decisions. That's why in 10 years, they won't exist. By then the Chinese manufacturers will have raised their quality control standards (hello wing sung 601!) and parker will be gone. I hope the stock holders and company executives with their golden parachutes are happy then. Short sighted and selfish idiots. It would bother me a lot less if they didn't have stuff like this on the website:

 

I hate being treated like I'm stupid/a sucker. It's insulting and belittling.

 

meanwhile, for an example of how to PROPERLY build brand prestige and loyalty:

https://www.mbusa.com/en/classic-center

[Fermata]

Good point well made ITIHAP

 

I think back and imagine the Parker employee in 1930, assembling the streamline Duofold and doing a good job, proud that they are still working when many are not, doing the best they can and knowing that if they make a good pen that works well then they will have a repeat customer and that they may go on to buy a Parker as a gift for someone, Parker stood behind their product and even produced service kits including parts so that their pens would last. they knew that the pens had no moving parts and minimal wearing parts. I think those Parker employees in Janesville would be very pleased to think that the pen that they made has lasted for almost 100 years.

[BaronWulfraed]

ETA: Yeah, I also thought it was "Carterhaugh". Now I want to know if there's actually a place that is or was KNOWN as Carterhaugh, just because of the song.... One of the versions that Child published has different lyrics, but it also says "Carterhaugh"; although, according to this site: https://tam-lin.org/versions/39A.html some variant texts say "Chester (Chaster) Wood" or "Charteris" and one version collected by Child gives it as something like "Kerrtooma" (sp?). I haven't gone through all the other links on the site, like Bronson.

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/haugh

 

EtymologyFrom Scots haugh, from Old English healh (“corner, nook”).

 

Noun

haugh (plural haughs)

(Scotland, Northern England) A low-lying meadow by the side of a river.

[inkstainedruth]

I know Parker doesn't care. No one there probably has any idea that this forum exists. And if they do, they don't care what we think.

meanwhile, for an example of how to PROPERLY build brand prestige and loyalty:

https://www.mbusa.com/en/classic-center

Well, they know that SOME pen forum exists. Or at least the chick in France that I dealt with when I had problems with the Urban knows, because I told her point blank what I thought of Parker's customer service and that I had access to an "internationally read pen forum"; I didn't say which one, but let's be real -- how many are there out there that fall into that category?

But I'll agree with you on the "not caring" part -- I had a heck of time even finding the information on where to send the Urban off to the FIRST time because their website was too busy running videos of pens writing, which, with my old computer and my old internet provider, slowed things to a crawl so badly I could barely navigate their site; you think Facebook is bad? That would be running laps around the Parker website in comparison, even with all the ads in the sidebar you can't get rid of.... And the second time I had to send that pen back, the only reason that they sent me a priority mail container is because I bitched at them (and the two pen sleeve is probably just a sop to shut me up.

Like I said before -- other than the Vectors, my opinion of most modern Parker pens is that they suck. Vintage of course is a completely different story.... Back from a time where the company actually stood behind their products and cared about their brandname.

Ruth Morrisson aka inkstainedruth

[pajaro]

What Parker is really interested in is selling. Buy our pen, and, if it fails, just buy another. Disposable society. Who fixes stuff? Not profitable, probably.

[Wahl]

Two of my Parkers are now 97 years old, and doing great.

 

But you won´t catch me buying a new Parker.

Edited July 29, 2020 by Wahl