Yes... another refund request

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I was sick over this last weekend so I haven't been very active on here, but here is an update. Following my post and email last Thursday, I received an email from Jordyn the same day stating the following:

"I apologize for the delay. Ellie has been out of the office and busy in the workshop lately. I have your refund information submitted to her and she is going to make a point to get caught up on issuing refund this weekend. Again, I apologize for the delay. I will send you a message when your refund has been processed."

In response to this I politely replied "Thank you for the update, I will await your message this weekend."

As I type this message I have received no further emails from Survive!, nor have I received my requested refund. It is now 3 weeks to the date since I have requested a refund from Survive!, and I have been plenty patient until now.

The customer service at this so-called "company" is appalling, and I am tired of being strung along with outright lies that my money is "on the way." WHERE IS MY REFUND SURVIVE?!?! With all these new "exciting" changes occurring within your company I find it hard to believe you are completely insolvent, and I don't believe that my slurry of emails have simply slipped through the cracks and been forgotten because you are all so "busy in the workshop." I am beginning to think my funds are being withheld on purpose in an attempt to disprove that these threads work, and that refund issuance is prioritized when company reputation is threatened.

A word of advice to Survive! Knives: It doesn't matter if your steel is the stuff of legends with a dragon's fire heat treat, your customers aren't going to stick around if you can't keep your promises.

EDIT: Before I finished this post, I stopped and sent another email stating the following:

"It has now been 3 weeks since I requested a refund on order #9986. According to your last email, my refund was supposed to have been submitted this last weekend. Now I feel I have been plenty patient with regards to this situation but I am outraged by how this situation has been handled, and I feel I deserve an explanation as to what is going on."

My refund was issued shortly after this email was sent, without explanation. Regardless, I stand by what I have written above. I would again like to thank everyone who supported my attempts to obtain what I was owed, this seems like a good community of people. I hope my sharing this experience has at the very least been informative.
 
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I concur SN.

@SURVIVE! Ellie: FWIW, I have always tried to be reasonable and remain cautiously optimistic regarding your business snafus. In fact, I have been taking much beating from your detractors and nemesis because of these type of threads and as you know, I don't even have any skin in this current Survive! I stick up mostly for people on here whom I have befriended for being called out by the bevvy of bullies as brainless, mindless, shills, idiots, other expletives and superlatives. I don't need guidance to stay out of the trouble's path, suggestion to refrain from debating nefarious sh*t stirring types, pat on the back, ata boy, free knife, none of this type of "accolades".

Edited to add: if / when you straighten out your acts and conduct business in a professional manner, I will be willing to purchase some S!K patterns as long as the lead wait time does not contrast with my impatience, and of course also assuming that you still would want to sell me some knives when things get back on track. I do not wish for your demise.

For the sake of the remaining forumites whose spirits get trampled on by these types of threads and the ensuing dispiriting / disturbing comments which ensue from the Forums peanut gallery attendants, please speed up the refund processes and deal with them in a very timely manner, no more than 72 business hours. To let matters end up here on your subforum in form of refund shaming threads is tantamount to letting down everyone concerned who happen to be some of your most ardent customers, not just yourselves. I sincerely hope that you heed.
 
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redbeardrob said:
It is now 3 weeks to the date since I have requested a refund from Survive!, and I have been plenty patient until now.
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You have absolutely been plenty patient RBR. I don't think that you and I have ever interacted on the forum, but I've ready many of your posts, enough to know that you are both a knowledgeable and reasonable person. I am exceedingly glad that your refund is processed at last.
 
Probably not the smartest move, but I'm going to jump into this "sh!tstorm". Yes, this is my first post here, but I am no troll. For lack of any other option to leave real feedback about my experience with Survive (no Facebook, Google, Yelp, etc.), this thread seems like the best option.

I've been spending an increasing amount of time over the past couple of years pushing further into the backcountry fastpacking or trail running. This winter I started looking for a solid knife to bring with me, so I signed up for BF to do research. Survive kept coming up for what seemed to be the perfect balance of price and durability, plus I really liked the designs. This past February 8th I jumped on an F2 4.1 when the opportunity came up on their site. I knew from reading here and elsewhere of the problems with delays with order fulfillment, but with the combination of posts here reassuring that the production kinks were getting worked out and the order page stating "up to 90 days", I took the plunge. Fast forward to Monday of last week, 131 days since ordering. After no shipping updates and seeing other posts here about people who can't even get a refund, I reached out to Survive through Paypal's dispute option for items not received. I mentioned that if my knife wasn't going to ship within the next couple of weeks, I would like a refund. Shortly after that email they posted an Instagram update showing a bunch of 4.1s ready for assembly. No worries I thought, I will shortly get an email saying we are finishing things up and your knife should be out to you shortly. No such luck. Not a peep from Survive. After waiting a week, I escalated the dispute with Paypal yesterday. In my message I mentioned that I really wanted the knife still, but have lost faith that the order will be fulfilled and if it's not ready I would like a refund. As with last week, right after I escalated my dispute, an Instagram update appeared with 4.1s all assembled. Again I thought, no worries, I should get an email saying that they are just finishing them up and it will be going out shortly. Nothing, not a peep again. Having spent my whole professional career in customer service, including hotel management and a corporate trainer, it is unfathomable to me how a business can operate like this and still stay in business. Anyway, a short while later I get a notice that my order has been cancelled and a Paypal receipt for a refund. No explanation. No sorry, no nothing. Quite frankly, this is a really sad way to run any business. I am thoroughly disappointed and it has completely soured me on pre-ordering anything. So, for the next person in line that ordered an F2 4.1 with black micarta and black sheath, congratulations, you have just moved ahead a spot. Survive, you have lost this customer and a half dozen of the avid hunters I work with who were also eagerly waiting see this knife and place orders of their own.
 
xia_ke said:
Probably not the smartest move, but I'm going to jump into this "sh!tstorm". Yes, this is my first post here, but I am no troll. For lack of any other option to leave real feedback about my experience with Survive (no Facebook, Google, Yelp, etc.), this thread seems like the best option.

I've been spending an increasing amount of time over the past couple of years pushing further into the backcountry fastpacking or trail running. This winter I started looking for a solid knife to bring with me, so I signed up for BF to do research. Survive kept coming up for what seemed to be the perfect balance of price and durability, plus I really liked the designs. This past February 8th I jumped on an F2 4.1 when the opportunity came up on their site. I knew from reading here and elsewhere of the problems with delays with order fulfillment, but with the combination of posts here reassuring that the production kinks were getting worked out and the order page stating "up to 90 days", I took the plunge. Fast forward to Monday of last week, 131 days since ordering. After no shipping updates and seeing other posts here about people who can't even get a refund, I reached out to Survive through Paypal's dispute option for items not received. I mentioned that if my knife wasn't going to ship within the next couple of weeks, I would like a refund. Shortly after that email they posted an Instagram update showing a bunch of 4.1s ready for assembly. No worries I thought, I will shortly get an email saying we are finishing things up and your knife should be out to you shortly. No such luck. Not a peep from Survive. After waiting a week, I escalated the dispute with Paypal yesterday. In my message I mentioned that I really wanted the knife still, but have lost faith that the order will be fulfilled and if it's not ready I would like a refund. As with last week, right after I escalated my dispute, an Instagram update appeared with 4.1s all assembled. Again I thought, no worries, I should get an email saying that they are just finishing them up and it will be going out shortly. Nothing, not a peep again. Having spent my whole professional career in customer service, including hotel management and a corporate trainer, it is unfathomable to me how a business can operate like this and still stay in business. Anyway, a short while later I get a notice that my order has been cancelled and a Paypal receipt for a refund. No explanation. No sorry, no nothing. Quite frankly, this is a really sad way to run any business. I am thoroughly disappointed and it has completely soured me on pre-ordering anything. So, for the next person in line that ordered an F2 4.1 with black micarta and black sheath, congratulations, you have just moved ahead a spot. Survive, you have lost this customer and a half dozen of the avid hunters I work with who were also eagerly waiting see this knife and place orders of their own.
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To the gentlemen with their panties in a twist ignoring redbeardrob and calling him a troll: Get real. Ellie herself would approve of his OP, and would agree the S!K team would like to increase refund times (along with production, hence the business restructure), and would probably also explain why they're so busy.
 
I have two 4.7s which I really like, but ended up cancelling 3 other preorders last year as well a factory 2nd order this year. It took over a month for them to process the refund for the 2nd, and it occurred a few days after I mentioned it here in one of the previous refund request threads (coincidence?). I was pleasantly surprised when I noticed that I was refunded the entire amount, even though they state that all orders placed after the 1st of Jan will incur a 10% restocking fee. I do wonder if they've been doing the same for all other refund requests or only for those of us who raise the issue on this forum.

Edit: S!K sure has a catch 22 on their hands with these particular threads. They don't want customers to think they'll receive a refund soon after complaining here, but if they take even longer to process it, then the complaints and damage to repution just gets worse....
 
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I mean, they're likely just robbing Peter to pay Paul. They have to constantly raise money through selling an ever increasing amount of "Factory 2nds" (an obvious loophole to raise more cash before getting the existing orders out) and now re-opening Preorders as part of their "exciting new business model" just to keep up with the burgeoning refund requests. And they have to save enough to buy the steel and contractors' fees to make the knives. I think this is generally known, and at the same times S!K has a lot of supporters that want to see the fledgling craftsman succeed. I unwittingly became an investor over 2 years ago, still waiting on a dividend.

Guy isn't the first person good at his trade but less skilled at running a business. I think all reactions to this situation are normal, from unwavering support to contempt.
 
Its a shame if they could speed up production they have the potential to be a huge company and make a nice profit. I was really hoping the big news was we hired more people for the shop.
 
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