Mont Blanc - dreadful warranty service

[nick h]

my Mont Blanc Starwalker Red Gold resin pen

without warning or being dropped the red gold ring on the cap sheared off about 1mm from the cap end

it was a jagged break

i contacted Mont Blanc London and was told it had to be returned directly to Germany - they did not accept repairs/returns in the UK

went to Post Office and to send to Germany with insurance the cost was over £35

fortunately i had a quick look at another forum who said Mont Blanc products could be returned through any AD free of charge - why did Mont Blanc not tell me this?

so pen sent though local AD and received yesterday - repaired

BUT

i would have expected a note saying something along the lines 'we are sorry you experienced a problem with your Mont Blanc pen which has now been fully repaired - etc etc'

and to add insult to injury they refitted the same part used fineliner refill!

not being happy i just rang Mont Blanc UK

got through to a French sounding female of outstanding arrogance (the French 'do' arrogance like nobody else on earth)

when i asked why no note and why refitting old refill?

the reply

WHY SHOULD WE?

i just mentioned the small thing of customer service in the luxury goods market and goodwill?

no reply so i told her i would write this up on forum

i have also mailed Mont Blanc UK with my concerns

but i will never ever buy Mont Blanc again - i have two pens and a money clip

i'd sooner use a pencil than a Mont Blanc pen

[jar]

Okay. Does sound like an earth shattering problem far bigger than say, Brexit.

People often don't do what we expect. Fortunately most slights are not life threatening.

Fortunately today there are many, many, many, many even better choices out there in Fountainpenland than Montblanc. Maybe this is an opportunity for you to explore and see what's there.

[paulh69]

surprised anyone would bother to fix a broken pen these days?

[nick h]

Originally Posted by paulh69

surprised anyone would bother to fix a broken pen these days?

really?

just throw away a £340 pen?

[nick h]

Originally Posted by jar

Okay. Does sound like an earth shattering problem far bigger than say, Brexit.

People often don't do what we expect. Fortunately most slights are not life threatening.

Fortunately today there are many, many, many, many even better choices out there in Fountainpenland than Montblanc. Maybe this is an opportunity for you to explore and see what's there.

what the heck does Brexit have to do with this - or are you trying and failing to be funny?

so, maybe i'm old fashioned in that i am appalled at the lack of service from a premium marque?

or are Mont Blanc a victim of their own success and feel they no longer have to try?

there may be 'better' pens than Mont Blanc in your opinion - however i like the styling and red gold of the Starwalker and the pens/fineliners suit my writing style

and i do know a fair bit about writing being a retired architect from the days when notes on architectural drawing were always handwritten

[jar]

Originally Posted by nick h

what the heck does Brexit have to do with this - or are you trying and failing to be funny?

so, maybe i'm old fashioned in that i am appalled at the lack of service from a premium marque?

or are Mont Blanc a victim of their own success and feel they no longer have to try?

there may be 'better' pens than Mont Blanc in your opinion - however i like the styling and red gold of the Starwalker and the pens/fineliners suit my writing style

and i do know a fair bit about writing being a retired architect from the days when notes on architectural drawing were always handwritten

I understand that people do not always behave as we might wish.

And did you know there is a special nib grind called an Architect nib designed to replicate the printing style found on Frank Llyod Wright drawn plans?

For Montblanc fountain pens and fountain pen customers are simply a side line. Today Montblanc is about leather goods, perfume and jewelry. The fact you did not get a note when the repair was done really does seem like a pretty picayune complaint and we should consider our lives very blessed if that rises to the level of an issue.

[1William]

Great pen and a bad customer service story. I can not speak to anyone's experience but mine and I have always been very satisfied with MB USA. I have used them twice and each time it was good.

[beer]

there are instances of this with many brands that have grown large.. louis vuitton, rolex...

i put it down to the size of the business

a smaller boutique brand with only a few hundred employees, many of whom dont even have contact with customers, is easier to manage, a larger brand it is inevitable that a few bad apples will make it through

not saying this justifies it but just something to think about

[Formulansx]

I think this is officially the most confrontational thread I've seen on the pen forums since I've been here That's like every 5 minutes back on the general Rolex discussion What ever you do, do not ask how people store their pens at night!!

[jar]

Originally Posted by Formulansx

I think this is officially the most confrontational thread I've seen on the pen forums since I've been here That's like every 5 minutes back on the general Rolex discussion What ever you do, do not ask how people store their pens at night!!

I've often wondered how the pens get stoned at night but then I fall asleep and have no idea what they do.

[Carrera997]

I have used Mont Blanc service twice here in the US for dropped and broken pens. I believe they are in NY, NY. I received outstanding service however this was several years ago.

[artschool]

interestingly i have had similar problems with mont blanc. the same starwalker model.

the lid has cracked twice through normal use, and i found mont blanc customer service difficult to deal with and IMO fell totally short of where they should be compared to other luxury goods companies.

i still use the pen but i could never buy another one. which is a shame as i like the shape and design.

[Formulansx]

Speaking of customer service, I would like to comment that Coles Of London for Visconti has been fantastic! Therefore you should all abandon Montblanc and buy more Visconti's............and drive the price of mine up through unrivaled demand

[jmiicustomz]

The purpose of the thread baffles me. The op had a broken pen. The pen company fixed it. What more was needed? Sorry they didn't offer the bedside manner that you expected but to expect it is the problem for me. One should not expect such things and that way when they do happen, there is true joy in that the extra mile was walked. If you expect or feel entitled to it because you bought a $400 pen then you are depriving yourself the joy that comes with out of this world customer service. Not to mention that we are lucky that we can buy $400 pens but we need not forget that $400 is cheap to many people that have and use multi-thousand Dollar pens.

To know the future is to be trapped by it

[Formulansx]

Originally Posted by jmiicustomz

The purpose of the thread baffles me. The op had a broken pen. The pen company fixed it. What more was needed? Sorry they didn't offer the bedside manner that you expected but to expect it is the problem for me. One should not expect such things and that way when they do happen, there is true joy in that the extra mile was walked. If you expect or feel entitled to it because you bought a $400 pen then you are depriving yourself the joy that comes with out of this world customer service. Not to mention that we are lucky that we can buy $400 pens but we need not forget that $400 is cheap to many people that have and use multi-thousand Dollar pens.

To know the future is to be trapped by it

I always look for rock bottom prices on any item as long as I'm not sacrificing quality and I'm getting what I want i.e. used or gray market. No frills in the buying experience etc etc since, in the end, that experience is rolled into the cost of the item in some form or another. I'm not used to being coddled when I buy things so it would be new to me.

[Bisquitlips]

Originally Posted by nick h

my Mont Blanc Starwalker Red Gold resin pen

without warning or being dropped the red gold ring on the cap sheared off about 1mm from the cap end

it was a jagged break

i contacted Mont Blanc London and was told it had to be returned directly to Germany - they did not accept repairs/returns in the UK

went to Post Office and to send to Germany with insurance the cost was over £35

fortunately i had a quick look at another forum who said Mont Blanc products could be returned through any AD free of charge - why did Mont Blanc not tell me this?

so pen sent though local AD and received yesterday - repaired

BUT

i would have expected a note saying something along the lines 'we are sorry you experienced a problem with your Mont Blanc pen which has now been fully repaired - etc etc'

and to add insult to injury they refitted the same part used fineliner refill!

not being happy i just rang Mont Blanc UK

got through to a French sounding female of outstanding arrogance (the French 'do' arrogance like nobody else on earth)

when i asked why no note and why refitting old refill?

the reply

WHY SHOULD WE?

i just mentioned the small thing of customer service in the luxury goods market and goodwill?

no reply so i told her i would write this up on forum

i have also mailed Mont Blanc UK with my concerns

but i will never ever buy Mont Blanc again - i have two pens and a money clip

i'd sooner use a pencil than a Mont Blanc pen

YES! Gone are the days when you can "expect" satisfactory customer service! They just do not really care and are the "Snowflake" generation. Don't you dare try to extract anything that is close to fair. That would be "offensive".

So then you take a chance, but with a world class maker the chance isn't all that profound.

It's not such a big deal when you know who you are dealing with. But then again, it is all an education!

[jmiicustomz]

Originally Posted by Formulansx

I always look for rock bottom prices on any item as long as I'm not sacrificing quality and I'm getting what I want i.e. used or gray market. No frills in the buying experience etc etc since, in the end, that experience is rolled into the cost of the item in some form or another. I'm not used to being coddled when I buy things so it would be new to me.

Same here, growing up with a single mother of 2 and father who didn't pay child support, I was never used to the frills. I experienced them when I saw my father's family as they were stupid wealthy but I only saw them a few times in my life. That said, my wife and I both try to go the extra mile in our respective businesses for our clients. I believe in strong customer service, but in this case it seems more like a whine than an issue. The pen is fixed and returned, they did what they said and there are certainly companies out there that will deny an issue to the Nth degree so they won't have to face reality, see vw, eotech, etc.

To know the future is to be trapped by it

[Formulansx]

Originally Posted by jmiicustomz

Same here, growing up with a single mother of 2 and father who didn't pay child support, I was never used to the frills. I experienced them when I saw my father's family as they were stupid wealthy but I only saw them a few times in my life. That said, my wife and I both try to go the extra mile in our respective businesses for our clients. I believe in strong customer service, but in this case it seems more like a whine than an issue. The pen is fixed and returned, they did what they said and there are certainly companies out there that will deny an issue to the Nth degree so they won't have to face reality, see vw, eotech, etc.

To know the future is to be trapped by it

I hear you my friend. 3 rear diffs in my Golf R and a corroded battery compartment in an Eotech 552

[jmiicustomz]

Originally Posted by Formulansx

I hear you my friend. 3 rear diffs in my Golf R and a corroded battery compartment in an Eotech 552

Sorry to hear that! You got hit by both! My eotechs (4 of them) never had issues but I sent them back once things came to light so as not to ever need to worry about it and never owned a vw just worked on a few and that was enough for me.

To know the future is to be trapped by it

[OmegaJJH]

I've just received my MB Le Grand back from Germany too. (Cracked the resin).

Was charged £90 but was impressed with the 2 week turnaround time.

Frustrated that pen was returned looking rather grubby / fingers prints etc all over it (not how it was handed over to them).

Just got "We wish you the greatest of pleasure with your Montblanc product in the future"

[Fleetlord]

MB service is fine

[cda555]

From what I read, you are unhappy because they gave you your same refill and they didn't include a note? As long as the pen was fixed, I wouldn't have really cared about anything else. Full disclosure, I am used to dealing with knife makers in my other hobby, and they tend to be gruff and to the point about things. Case in point, I needed some new screws and emailed the company. I never got a response, but a week later the screws showed up in my mail box. Cool with me. Oh, the product was over $500.