Backcountry.com: Excellent Customer Service!

[riverc0il]

Hi All,

Just wanted to report back about some exceptional service I received from Backcountry.com. I whole heartedly recommend ordering from them if you are considering purchasing equipment they have in stock. Their prices are decent, and they have great clearence items, but more importantly, as I found out, they stand behind their business and provide excellent service which I find more important than getting the lowest price.

I recently received an order from which I thought I had been shipped the wrong product. These were the elbow pads I ordered so I could go skiing during my recovery from the elbow injury. The product said in big bold letters on the front "KNEE PADS." I was dismayed and contacted backcountry.com requesting a re-ship of the correct item. I let them know that if I did not receive the product within two days, I wouldn't be skiing that weekend after a three month injury period. Every ski day has become very important to me and was the reason for my order.

I received a Next Day Air Saturday delivery package two days later. They got the product out to me before my scheduled ski day. Turns out, it was the same identical product with "KNEE PADS" on the packaging. This go around I decided to take them out of the package and sure enough, they actually were Elbow Pads! After some fumbling around, I noticed a small sticker on the back of the package that indicated they actually were Elbow Pads and not Knee Pads.

So long story short, Backcountry.com ended shipping me the same item twice Next Day Air at their expense and issues a call tag for the supposed wrong item. I feel really bad about the mistake, especially for Backcountry.com who provided such great service. However, they vendor they obtained the padding from should have provided better and more conscise packaging. I really feel that Backcountry.com and I were both victimized by packaging that was mis-leading.

Any ways, just wanted to report I on a case of GREAT service and recommend this vendor for your needs. Peace.

 

[NHpowderhound]

IMO a company that stands behind it's products and is that concerned with customer satisfaction is worth spending a few more bucks. I do it with LL Bean products when I can.
((*
*))NHPH

 

[JimG.]

Backcountry.com is well run...I've had nothing but good experiences.
Blackdiamondequipment.com is another customer friendly purveyor of products used in the mountains.

 

[bvibert]

Thanks for the post Steve, its always nice to hear when someone has a good experience with a vendor instead of the bad like we usually hear about! :beer:

 

[roark]

Gald to hear about your good experience Steve, I'm having a not so great one with them right now. Purchased some Elan M666 (while I loved by the way, and scored a great price on) but the laminate started to crack off in several places after 2 days of skiing. They no longer had them in my length so they had me call the Elan US warehouse, who said they had them. So I ship them back to be exchanged and hear nothing. Call and find that they've been recieved, but are with the returns dept., no word yet. Am told warranty issues take forever. A couple weeks later I see they've refunded my credit card. Have called a couple times since, they say they'll find out what's up from the returns department and get back to me by the end of the day, still no word. I guess I have to stop being nice when I call.

 

[riverc0il]

perhaps they are having a hard time dealing with elan? warrenty issues are definitely a pain. keep us posted. the m666 is quite a nice ski.

 

[roark]

perhaps they are having a hard time dealing with elan? warrenty issues are definitely a pain. keep us posted. the m666 is quite a nice ski.

Talked to them today. Yes, they were having a hard time with elan. I really wanted to have the skis this season so they gave me a discount on the 176 length with the integrated binding system- which I guess is just a plate, doesn't include bindings. (the previous ones were flats- which most people seem to prefer to IBS: better flex, pop). The deal still wasn't nearly as good as my initial purchase (about $150 more), but they did take off 10% and are sending it overnight so I can't really complain. I really liked the ski and would have intitially chosen the 176 length (but all they had at that time/price was 168 ) so hopefully that will be a bigger factor than the IBS.

So my verdict is that I would have liked to have had better communication from them during the process, but in the end the customer service was good.

 

[Bumpsis]

So, this got me thinking - I was wondering if anywone here has been ordering form Sierra Trading Post and if so, what's it like to deal with those folks?

 

[Catul]

I was wondering if anywone here has been ordering form Sierra Trading Post and if so, what's it like to deal with those folks?

I've bought some base layers and socks from them, everything was as expected; on my second order, I decided to return a couple of small things - they enclose a return label so you just slap it on the box and send the stuff back (they do deduct ~$5 from your refund for the shipping charge). Did that just a few days ago so no credit yet; I do think they're fine to deal with, and have some nice deals.

 

[Greg]

So what you're all saying is that Backcountry.com is the site I should partner with for the Gear store? Kind of ironic. Stay tuned!

 

[roark]

So what you're all saying is that Backcountry.com is the site I should partner with for the Gear store? Kind of ironic. Stay tuned!

AZ member discounts?

 

[roark]

The final resolution of my backcountry.com experience

So the new pair came today… 176 FLATS. Not the integrated binding system as advertised and ordered. EXACTLY the ski I wanted! Just got off the phone with customer service, they're refunding the difference between this and my original purhcase.

So, in summary (hopefully): great customer service. Communication between the warehouse and rest of the operation perhaps not so great for this product. But I'm thrilled to get exactly what I wanted at a great price. Bindings get mounted tomorrow.

 

[Catul]

So what you're all saying is that Backcountry.com is the site I should partner with for the Gear store? Kind of ironic. Stay tuned!

Hmm, how about AZ member special/pre-access to the daily SteepAndCheap.com deals?

 

[tekweezle]

BackCountry.com is awesome. also checkout the outlet store for other stuff. they also run Steep and Cheap

got a pair Tyrolia LD12 bindings from them for 74.95 with no tax and no shipping. they sent me the mounting plate to mount on regular skis free of charge.

 

[Greg]

AZ member discounts?

Indeed!

http://forums.alpinezone.com/backcountry.php

Of course some brands and sale items are exempt from the code, but hey, something is better than nothing, right?

I'm going to sticky this thread so any members that use the promo code to order can provide feedback here.

 

[awf170]

Also if anyone is interested heres a code for 20% off.(expires May 1, 2006)
SW-1-GC9FA

 

[Greg]

Also if anyone is interested heres a code for 20% off.(expires May 1, 2006)
SW-1-GC9FA

Sheesh. :-? Kinda stole my thunder...

 

[awf170]

Yep. BC.com is awsome. I bought some boots a few days ago from them and then the next day found out about a discount code. Called up and got the discount with no questions asked.

 

[riverc0il]

boots, huh?

 

[awf170]

boots, huh?

boots, yes. I got these:
http://www.backcountry.com/store/ALP0143/c1/s3/Crispi-Diablo-Free-Ride-AT-Ski-Boot.html

I really have no idea if they will fit. But I have heard that they are the skinniest fitting AT boot out, were 50% off, and they had my size, so I grabbed them. If they fit awsome, if they don't I'll just ship them back for like 6 bucks.