Concerns About Survive! Business and Misleading Lead Time Estimates

Status
Not open for further replies.
silver needle said:
the instagram and facebook thread was getting steered in a different direction and i wanted to move the conversation back here.

Random people popping in here to complain about wait times has been a bane of this subforum since it started. Lately there have been knowledgeable and invested people with real concerns about how things are going.

Do i think s!k needs to continue their damage control and keep working to improve business practices? Yes.
Do customers deserve to trust in what the company tells them? Also yes.
Have i seen any amount of complaints result in desired action? No.
Has our community here taken a big hit and suffered the consequences of widespread discontent? Sadly yes.
Did i see a massive change in november? No
are we starting to see better forecasting? It seems like.

I'm really hoping that the current time frame issues are from before november and the hard moving forward, we'll see a lot better.

Paying customers deserve accurate communication, but too many complaints hurt this group more than they "stick it to the man". Turning on eachother won't get us anywhere either.

As for the felony garbage, there was a super sleuth who brought that up in the most recent gbu thread. That seemed unnecessary to say the very least. I don't see why it needs to be brought up again.

I'm not in favor of downplaying polite and legitimate concerns, but if it has to be discussed in this subforum, i think it is best to keep it in an appropriate threads. If it gets too far spread it just turns off any enjoyable conversations and really won't get you the knife or refund you're after any sooner.
Click to expand...

grogimus said:
you're too good of a dude silver. People don't want their money back. They don't want their knives. They want drama. Here's the thread for it.

Does survive! Sell knives that are absolutely out of this world in bang for the buck? Yep, i bought and received 6 from the site this year. No gimmicks, just jumping in when they were for sale. 3 of those knives are out for good people to check out, i trust those people and i trust survive!.
Click to expand...

grogimus said:
in the interest of full disclosure, i'm pursuing interest in a survive!knives forum, separate from bladeforums. No clue if people would be interested, but i'd like a place to talk about these knives without people trolling every productive conversation.
Click to expand...

grogimus said:
oh, and i hope it goes without saying, but i'm just speaking for myself. Guy, ellie, jordyn, etc. None of them have signed off on this.
Click to expand...

Thank you!!!!
 
Silver Needle said:
The instagram and Facebook thread was getting steered in a different direction and I wanted to move the conversation back here.

Random people popping in here to complain about wait times has been a bane of this subforum since it started. Lately there have been knowledgeable and invested people with real concerns about how things are going.

Do I think S!K needs to continue their damage control and keep working to improve business practices? Yes.
Do customers deserve to trust in what the company tells them? Also yes.
Have I seen any amount of complaints result in desired action? No.
Has our community here taken a big hit and suffered the consequences of widespread discontent? Sadly yes.
Did I see a massive change in November? No
Are we starting to see better forecasting? It seems like.

I'm really hoping that the current time frame issues are from before November and the hard moving forward, we'll see a lot better.

Paying customers deserve accurate communication, but too many complaints hurt this group more than they "stick it to the man". Turning on eachother won't get us anywhere either.

As for the felony garbage, there was a super sleuth who brought that up in the most recent GBU thread. That seemed unnecessary to say the very least. I don't see why it needs to be brought up again.

I'm not in favor of downplaying polite and legitimate concerns, but if it has to be discussed in this subforum, I think it is best to keep it in an appropriate threads. If it gets too far spread it just turns off any enjoyable conversations and really won't get you the knife or refund you're after any sooner.
Click to expand...

Thanks for attempting to move this to the appropriate thread Silver. We have had a few folks mention that they just don't come to this forum anymore because of the mood but it does seem like it is starting to improve. We do tend to send a lot of folks to here when they have questions, so I am hopeful that things can get turned around.

I do want to address a couple of your points there though.

There have definitely been some actions taken to help resolve complaints. We have stopped taking orders for models that haven’t started production yet. We are doing our best to extend quoted wait times, as you can see from more recent listings. Language has been updated on the website and in newsletters. We are continuing to provide regular updates, which are based on the information we have at the time. We have brought in an extra person to improve response times. We are always looking out for ways to improve and better serve our customers. The difficulty is the wide range of people who purchase from us. While some folks think the preordering is absurd, we still receive several calls/emails per week from people don't understand why we aren't still offering preordering. Many of them say how it is so easy and that they just want to know they are on the list, guaranteed to get one. We are still looking for the balance there.

Additionally, we shipped over 100% more knives in both October and November than we had for September. There isn’t going to be a magic button where we suddenly have all of the preorders fulfilled, but I think that still counts as a massive change. There are still a few other changes we are starting to implement which will continue to improve output.
 
I want to offer my apologies for the breach of decorum with my post in the "Information from Instagram and Facebook!" thread.

If I have any concerns in the future they will be posted here where they belong.
 
SURVIVE! Ellie said:
We have had a few folks mention that they just don't come to this forum anymore because of the mood

There have definitely been some actions taken to help resolve complaints.
We are still looking for the balance there.

Additionally, we shipped over 100% more knives in both October and November than we had for September. There isn’t going to be a magic button where we suddenly have all of the preorders fulfilled, but I think that still counts as a massive change. There are still a few other changes we are starting to implement which will continue to improve output.
Click to expand...
Thank you! Rereading my post, it was more of a downer than I intended. The loss of several really good guys here weighs on me. I'm glad you are recognizing the compromised atmosphere in here and I hope you take the legitimate concerns to heart. When good customers and enthusiastic posters are turned away to other companies, it ends up being a lose/lose here. I don't doubt you're all working really hard and that things are improving on your end. There hasn't been a huge boom here or elsewhere in cyberspace yet with knives flying out of the shop (that I have seen), but I realize there's no magic button and I trust things will keep improving. Being through all those 4.7's has to feel pretty amazing. I have noticed the improved wording on the website and that is a very positive step. Looking forward to what's in store for 2017!
 
Hopefully 2017 is the year for you guys.
A lot of us are hoping that things smooth out because all of the negativity over here blows.
 
Agrred the negativivity really is stifling. Hopefully the new year brings some light back into the Survive! Subforum
 
I have not posted in any of the Survive! threads due to all the negativity. I have missed seeing great input about a knife company I Love. Got tired of being called a Fan Boy if I said anything positive. I figured if you even come to any Survive threads you are a Fan of the knife, otherwise why are you here?

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk
 
Unfortunately I have to say I have not posted in a long time( for that matter visited) due to the incessant bad mouthing and accusations. I'm with you TNVOL I'm no fan boy, but I like what I like and come here to speak to people that feel the same. If you don't like what is being sold, or said why are you here. I'm to old to deal with the constant high school behavior. My wish for the new year is people to just be happy or move on. Merry Christmas and a happy and prosperous new year.
 
The first best decision I made regarding survive was to buy a great assortment of their world class outstanding knives.
The second best Decision I ever made regarding Survive was to get refunds on all my pre-orders. No more stress, trying to read between the lines, theorizing on viability etc.

I can't speak for others, but for me the money by itself is was not an issue. Money PLUS uncertainty PLUS time was the issue. Lets call it for what it is, buying an assortment of $250 knives is a luxury not a necessity, 250$ Knives are a self indulgence. And for myself and other other buyers like me, "indulgence" and waiting around for months and years just don't go together. Call it instant gratification if you will, but yes, when I have indulgence money I want my indulgence item reward sooner then much later.

I have since taken my SK Refund money and bought other knives and indulgent items that I have and enjoy NOW. Beauty is, when the next GSO kife comes out I really want, I will have a NEW wad of Indulgent money to spend and will just buy it on the spot on a secondary market.

So that is the reality SK is facing. For many, the knives are indulgent luxury items bought with burning whole in pants money-- and that kind of purchase flies in the face of months and years wait. SK are not custom and not one offs which makes the wait even less justifiable for a luxury purchase. Still, they have a customer base that looks at the buys as long term investments. I love SK knives, and I hope there will always be enough of those Niche buyers to keep SK going.
 
Well said! I think you, more than anyone, deserve a nice, long respite from this forum and the stress and disappointment you've found here. I'm sure the new brands you've moved on to have communities you could get involved with along with sales models and craftsmen you can stand behind. Now leave this place far behind and go enjoy those new knives and indulgences!
 
Silver Needle said:
Well said! I think you, more than anyone, deserve a nice, long respite from this forum and the stress and disappointment you've found here. I'm sure the new brands you've moved on to have communities you could get involved with along with sales models and craftsmen you can stand behind. Now leave this place far behind and go enjoy those new knives and indulgences!
Click to expand...

Thanks Silver!
My knife collection is looking pretty good until I can snag a gso12 or a 154... so I used most of preorder money for something a little different
Here is what I indulged in.. It's not a knife, but cuts fast!

K4cVUA.jpg
 
Last edited:
Silver Needle said:
Well said! I think you, more than anyone, deserve a nice, long respite from this forum and the stress and disappointment you've found here. I'm sure the new brands you've moved on to have communities you could get involved with along with sales models and craftsmen you can stand behind. Now leave this place far behind and go enjoy those new knives and indulgences!
Click to expand...

LOL!!!! Sarcasm, thy name is Silver Needle!

Cheers, my friend. I hope you and your family have a great New Year. You are a great guy, and I look forward to chatting with you in 2017.
 
mlmcasual said:
Thanks! But not going anywhere that I know of. Just burned up all my vacation time and Don't get much vacation time at work unfortunately.
Click to expand...

I was getting more at getting out into the world of new and exciting knife brands and leaving this tired place behind. Enjoy that sweet crossbow!
 
Just a note that my CFV 4.7, promised to ship in October, has yet to ship.

The excuse offered in November was that a subcontractor went hunting. The web site was updated at some point to indicate they would ship in December which was changed sometime in the last few days to read "soon". Whether or not one believes the excuse it is clear the Survive crew is still not able to accurately forecast lead times. Such things have been corrected in far larger enterprises with far more complex supply chains in far less time. I know this, because I've done it.

I'm happy there is a thriving secondary market as I do enjoy the knives but I could not possibly reward these people with any more of my business.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top