Whats your policy on rod breakages?

[bucky2]

Hi all,

Ive not long finished a build for a customer and he tells me the rod broke just above stripper guide.
How do we know customers are telling the truth when they break a rod?
Whats protecting us from this and what policies do some of you have in place?
I do trust this guy because i know he's a damn good fisherman and takes good care of his gear, but its got me thinking now. Clearly labour is on me and i can re-use most of the components. Than hopefully the blank has warranty by the manufacturer. Otherwise im up for 300$ just for the blank.

cheers
Bucky2

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[Almako]

G'day Bucky2,

I just had a rod replaced under what they call an expeditor warranty.
From what the tackle store advised me is that most manufacturers have moved to these types of warranties as they can't guarantee it wasn't broken accidentally (unless of course proven otherwise 'good luck').

The expeditor warranty is that the moment you pay for the rod, if it is broken then you pay half price for a new one.
This particular warranty lasts for 3 years. My rod was roughly 2 years 8 months old and that particular model had been superseded so I got the new model.

Not sure this sort of warranty suits your business, I'll leave that up to you.

http://www.samurairods.com.au/warranty/

[Feral]

There will always be lowlifes who try it on, as a business, you need to factor in to your prices what your costs are. Lowlifes being one of them - if you replace broken rods and figure 1 in 10 claims will be bogus and you wont get any support from the blank manufacturer, then you need to boost your rod prices by 1/10th of the cost of a blank - make sense?

[SkullJug]

Honestly, unless there are defects in the blank like dry weave or something obvious, it's very, very difficult to break a blank if it's cared for. With the newer, lighter thinner blanks, just because they bust while under load from a fish or a cast does NOT mean that's what broke it. Hit a rod against something the wrong way and it won't break straight away, it will however, explode at some point in the future.

It's up to you how you want to handle it. You can offer warranty and put your prices up to cover the costs like Feral said, OR you can make it very clear to your customers at purchase that the only warranty you offer is if there is an obvious defect in the glass, if the blank manufacturer does not accept fault on the blank, neither will you.

I think you might have to cop this one though.

P.S I'd love to see some pics of your rods... Am doing some building at the moment and love checking out how the Pro's do it!

[astro66]

mate...i bought a sumaki catana not long ago ....tip dead set snapped off between top and second runner about 5th cast......took it back and got no sorry you must have done it and they glued on a tip 10 times to big for the rod because thats all they had....no replacement....do you think i will ever go into that shop ever again????

[bucky2]

Here's the break. Everyone seems to think it looks like a crush break.

http://cloud.tapatalk.com/s/57a519c4...0-54-10-1.png?


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[bucky2]

They are sending me a new blank and i plan to just rebuild the rod with as many as the other components as i can hassle free. Not worth getting in a dispute over. But i definitely didn't factor into the price breakages which I'll definitely be doing from now on. Thanks guys.

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[astro66]

thats what everyone ive had go looks like ....cleanish break on the opposite side of the force they shatter and split on the side the force is from....only takes the smallest nick or fault on the rod and bang ....should see them go when you have them in a rod holder with the drag cranked up lol ...

[Rodman]

I make them buy the blank and then give it to you for manufacture. They can then take any broken rods to whom they purchased it from. I also give them a warning about what can happen if it is handled roughly or if banged against the gunnels of a boat as the impact can cause the blank to be damaged internally and will only take pressure of catching a fish for it To
break.

Hi all,

Ive not long finished a build for a customer and he tells me the rod broke just above stripper guide.
How do we know customers are telling the truth when they break a rod?
Whats protecting us from this and what policies do some of you have in place?
I do trust this guy because i know he's a damn good fisherman and takes good care of his gear, but its got me thinking now. Clearly labour is on me and i can re-use most of the components. Than hopefully the blank has warranty by the manufacturer. Otherwise im up for 300$ just for the blank.

cheers
Bucky2

Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk

[tunaticer]

Sinker injury during transport, then overloaded would be my bet.

Make up some cards showing how to transport your rods where the sinker is at the reel. Hand them out with every sale.

Seen sinkers damage rods a hundred times, yet the operator always blames the blank until you ask them to show how they transport the rigged rod. Invariably the sinker is free to hit the rod midriff.

[Stuart]

Bucky

That’s the risk you take on when you start selling rods. Unless you have the experience to look at the broken section of blank and determine what has caused the rod to brake, then it would be a guessing game as to whether it’s a manufacturers fault or angler error. No angler likes to be told they were the cause, they will immediately say “offcourse you would say that”. I have been building rods full time for well over 20 years and I have had to deal with a few of these. The best outcome is to explain to your customer in detail why you will or won’t replace the rod. If you can show good will and agree on some type of arrangement that suits both then that is a good outcome.

Expedited warranty is a total scam IMO. It can also be deemed as illegal and many anglers have legitimate claims where they still have to pay for another rod, all be it discounted. Sometimes you need to way up what potential outcome will occur if you choose either to replace or not replace the rod. If you expect to stay in business because that exactly what you’re doing then you must expect this drama at some stage. It wont be your last time either.

Stu

Precision Rods

[Dignity]

I've had a couple of rods break, where it has been quite clean I've taken them back for a replacement but the odd one like the photo posted is not clean at any stage and I've accepted it as an issue from either myself or others handling my rods and have worn it. I think most anglers don't even come close to looking after their rods as they should, just putting them in the boat is fraught with danger. I haven't even thought about sinkers causing damage but now will look to securing them better, thanks tunaticer.

[Stuart]

Bucky

I just looked at the photo, that brake is 100% from user error. A blank will brake below the curve when or if overloaded. This is a classic example of either high sticking or over load. The blank has fractured in many places, I would not in a million years replace this under warranty.

[astro66]

So you dont honor the 12 months you are suppose to give ? its impossible to 100 % say how that rod broke ....

[Stuart]

In this case, no I wouldn't. Based on my experience, I can say with 100% certainty that rod broke due to user error.