Legendary Customer Service

Everyone bitches about bad customer service.

I'd like to take this opportunity to tell you about a company with absolutely superb service.

GERBER LEGENDARY BLADES.

I'd long carried their model LST as my daily pocket knife.  Not too expensive, very lightweight, and with a good 400 series stainless blade that (razor) sharpens easily, holds an edge, and really is stainless!  I know this, as mine had once spent three weeks at the bottom of the Clear Lake marina where I'd lived on the boat before moving to Galveston. 

One expense for a saltwater hull is a good bottom cleaning every few months.  A recurring, quarterly expense for a boat owner, you pay a diver to spend an hour or so beneath the hull, gently wiping the algae and such off the hull with soft, green nylon scrubs.  They'll also change the zincs on the prop shaft, and when they're done, give you a good written report about the hull's condition, barnacles, blisters and the progress of aging on the bottom paint.  And yes, they'll keep your boat from needing a bottom job for a good extra year beyond the standard life of the paint.

Well, I'd dropped my LST over the side while doing some wiring work, and as Galveston Bay has basically zero to three feet of visibilty, I wasn't able to find it on the bottom at thirteen feet.  As I'm not SCUBA trained or certified, I had to free dive in my fruitless search.   

Hull cleaner to the rescue...  once I'd described the knife, he found it in about three minutes.

When he handed it to me, I was pleasantly surprised to find it didn't have even one speck of rust on it!

I finally lost it one more time; I know not where.

Having devoloped an affinity for the blade, I tried to find one in any given store that carried GERBER knives, but to no avail.  In fact, most of the stores ended up telling me that the LST had been discontinued, but I kept hoping to find one in "old stock" or such, somewhere.

Segue to the National Rifle Association convention here in Houston in April.

Lo and Behold, there in all it's glory, was the GERBER LEGENDARY BLADES booth, where I met their most courteous and knowledgable representative, Ms. Laura Buckingham, Brand Marketing Manager.

Upon describing my long lost LST to Ms. Buckingham, she immediately advised me that the knife was in fact, still in production at GERBER, and that the jobber in the adjacent booth had one in stock.  Excusing myself, I ducked over to said jobber, only to find out that some dirty low down knife stealing rat had bought it out from under me, a mere hour before.  So, I re-visited Ms. Buckingham and related my sad tale of woe.  She graciously invited me to call after the convention, and that she would find a referal to retailer in my area who could get an LST for me.

Making that call two weeks later, I left a voice message for Ms. Buckingham, reminding her of our visit and my quest.  The very next day, I received a phone call from Ms. Buckingham's assistant, one Ms. Dalani Sugino.  And, once again, related my woes and my quest.

What happened next, simply floored me.  Ms. Sugino told me they had an LST ready to send to me, and of course, I told her I had my Visa number, ready at hand.............. when she told me  "No.  GERBER is sending you the LST to you for free, in appreciation for your being such a dedicated customer".  Of course, I objected, restating my being more than willing to pay for it....hell, I was looking to buy it, not mooch it!  But, she was politely insistent.  So who am I to quibble with a delightful lady who's trying to give me a free knife?  Mailing information duly given, we concluded the call with a nice conversation about the sporting market, customer service and of course, the reiteration of my sincere appreciation for GERBER's generous gift.

About a week later, I found a small box from Portland, Oregon in my P.O. Box.  Once home, I eagerly tore into it like a six year old at Christmas, looking forward to meeting a new clone of an old friend.

GERBER hadn't just sent me one blade...they'd sent three!

1.  LST Serrated.  The same knife as my LST, but with a serrated edge from the hilt to about 1/2 the blade length, with the forward half being the standard, fine edge.

2.  Ultralight LST.  A smaller, exact scale rendition of the LST.  This one's gonna be my new "dress slacks" pocketknife from now on!  So light and handy, I won't notice it's even there.  And with no imprint through the pocket, neither will anyone else.  Yet, it's still enough blade to get the job done.

3.  Microlight LST.  This is a true Keychain knife.  Closed, it's as short, if not shorter than most normal keys, and it weighs virtually nothing.  Almost "cute", it's still a weapon if needed, and otherwise, the world's handiest fingernail cleaner and letter opener!

But, the knives weren't all that was in that box.  This, from Ms. Sugino:

"Jim,

It is always a pleasure to speak with true GERBER fans face to face!  I'm sorry that you have had such a difficult time finding the knife you really wanted.

Enclosed you wll find a small token of our gratitude.

Best wishes,

Dalani Sugino."

I know a bit about knives, owning three handmade gems which were made by Mr. Tommy McKissack, a Knifemaker's Guild member in Sonora, Texas.  The two folders have genuine ivory handles, one has a hand-laid Damascus blade.  (I'll get pictures when I can get my hands on a digital camera).  I know good kives from bad, junk from jewelry.

A GERBER knife isn't a guild member's benchmade masterpiece.  But I defy you to get more knife for less money.  You're simply not going to find a better value in an American Made Knife, period.

Everything else being equal, I will strongly suggest you give a GERBER LEGENDARY BLADE more than a little consideration for your next knife.

American made, great quality and unbeatable service.

Oh...and next payday, I'm ordering a regular, fine-edge LST, just to round out the series.  This one I'll pay for, ordered directly from GERBER'S website.

I'll put my money on 'em.  Maybe you should, too.

Comments

[Dana]

Those are some damn fine knives...I have bought several over the years for my hubby!! Glad that you, too, had a great experience with them!

[TJIC]

That sort of customer support sounds like Dillon Precision.

I was a bonehead, and broke a part on my 1050 reloader. I called up and tried to order a new one; they refused my money, and sent the part.

A week later, I was the same bonehead and broke the SAME PART.

Another free replacement.

[lgude]

About 6 years ago I bought a Gerber - a folder between 5 and 6 inches closed - for a friend in Zimbabwe who had a Gerber years before that he had treasured but lost. He had somehow gotten a Gerber catalog sheet and showed me the knife he wanted. He worked on a gold mine and worked it hard and was so pleased when I gave it to him that I couldn't bear to let him pay for it. On a subsequent trip he told me with some embarrassment that it had broken. It wasn't the blade but the spring mechanism that holds it closed and locks it open. It had simply broken. You could see what looked like a fault in the broken metal. I brought it back to the cutlery store in Australia where I had bought it and had paid around A$200 for it expecting problems, but I had a new knife no questions asked in weeks. My friend is Zimbabwe was over the moon when I brought it to him. I too was impressed with Gerber;s fast and efficient and CHEERFUL service.

[freddyboomboom]

I had an LST years ago, and my girlfriend of the time appropriated it from me. When I ordered the replacement, I mistakenly ordered the Microlight LST. It's been on my keychain ever since.

[Da Goddess]

The only thing (other than debt) that my former boyfriend left me when he moved out was a beautiful Gerber, perfect for everyday use. Gotta love chickenhearted men who have relatives working at Gerber!

[Jim]

Freddyboomboom, meet Da Goddess... Da Goddess, meet Freddyboomboom!

Matchmaking.

Only one of the many fine services I offer. *grin*

[/snark, off]

Jim
Sloop New Dawn
Galveston, TX

[marcus]

Pimp me, dude!

[patrick]

My father gave me a Gerber Magnum Hunter about 30 years ago. I was heartbroken when I lost it about 8 years later. About 2 years after that my father stripped the decking from his boat and found my Magnum Hunter in the bilge, the brass corroded so badly that it looked and felt like a moldy piece of bread, the walnut scales rotted off, the STAINLESS blade rusted and pitted.
I sent it back to Gerber on a teenage whim, just to see how they’d fly off the handle when I asked about their guarantee. I expected an indignant letter and a quote for several times the new purchase price of the knife, if anything at all. I wasn’t surprised when I didn’t hear back from them. Low and behold a box shows up in my mailbox about 3 months later. Not a new knife, no, but my original knife re-conditioned (still had a slight ding where I’d dropped it and deeply gouged the brass bolster). Inside was a note I’ll never forget:
Dear Pat:
Our knives are designed to last a lifetime, in air or under water.
(s)
Pete Gerber

I don’t buy any other brand.

[catfish]

Zippo and Cross pens will do the same. I have some Gerber's dating back 40 years, when all of them were made in Portland, Cat

[Russ]

I still have (and use) my old Gerber Parabellum, that I originally bought to use as a field knife when I was in the Army. It's in amazingly good shape, though the nylon sheath has seen better days. And somewhere, buried in a box in my attic, I still have a Gerber boot knife. Both are approaching 20 years old.

Excellent gear, never let me down. I'm glad to know their service & support is as good as their product, though I never expect to need to use it.

[freddyboomboom]

Sorry Jim, I'm married...

And sorry Da Goddess, I'm hapily married. :)

Back on topic the other two knives I constantly carry are a Gerber Magnum LST and a Kershaw Ken Onion Chive. The Gerbers have been in my pockets for years, but the Kershaw is a recent addition. It's a pretty nice addition, too...

Isn't it interesting that Gerber and Kershaw's offices are less than 4 miles apart, according to Mapquest? I could go to both of them this afternoon... :)

[DAVID MCGUIRE]

I HAVE A GERBER MULTI TOOL AS A GIFT. IT BROKE QUICKLY. I CANNOT FIND A PHONE # OR WEB SITE FOR GERBER KNIVES CUSTOMER SERVICE THANKS DAVE

[Wyatt]

I carried a Gerber the entire time I was in Iraq. Concur with most all reliability statements. About a month ago I bought a yard tool set. It included a fold out saw and a pruner all packed into a nice little pouch. The pruner handle did not last 10 minutes, hand saw is outstanding. And NO, th pruner was NOT abused. It broke on a 1/4 inch live pear branch. I looked at the broken tool in amazement. First tought. Don't worry, it's covered. No "customer service center" seems to be available, at
least that I can find. Thoughts?

Semper Fi,
Wyatt

[stuart upchurch]

Can someone find me a new Gerber 5302 clip lock rivermaster? Sure would appreciate it. Stuart