Wenger Warranty Experience

[Ben X]

I recently acquired a few alox SAKs only to discover the tip was snapped off the SI. I really want a 93mm Alox and obviously Wenger offers a warranty, so I thought I'd give it a shot since Vic is renown for going above and beyond. I figured it would be even more so with Wenger since they automatically make $3 off the money order you have to enclose. So I packaged it up and corssed my fingers, then today I woke up to a call from their service center and they said they can't repair it since the knives are made in Switzerland. Which bades the question, if they'll give ol Roger a press to do layer assembly, why the heck don't they have one at the service centers? Sounds like a bad business model to me; unless you're 1) Victorinox, and you are so generous with simply replacing them you don't need to repair the old one, or 2) You are Wenger, and you plan on just selling the person a new knife anyway so you make money rather than taking the time to save the customer money and just replace the one problematic blade.

So, as you can probably already gess, in their call they generouslyoffered to sell me a new one at a whopping 50% off of retail, which is just what they go for anywhere online. Only, by sending it to the service center, I am out my $1 envelope, the $2 shipping to get it there, and the $3 money order to get it back. I should've just bought a Farmer. I understand they are hurting, and they don't have to replace "abuse" claims, but Vic does it all the time and stays in business just fine because they know winning customers is a bigger score than the $10 profit on that one knife that will be the last $10 they would ever see from customer X (Which in my case, is customer Ben X). And, don't get me wrong, I sent in my Handyman years ago because the backsprings were so degraded and they just gave me a new knife, but even that they could have tried to stick me for. So are they going downhill, is this pretty typical, or are my expectations just too high? By the way, I told them to send it on back, I will just practice modding with it

[Leatherman123]

I sent back my Red SwissGrip quite some time ago; and I call every once and awhile and they still don't have it!

[cliosguy]

I sent back my Red SwissGrip quite some time ago; and I call every once and awhile and they still don't have it!

  you have some courage, i couldnt do that.....to risky for such a rare tool

[Ben X]

I sent back my Red SwissGrip quite some time ago; and I call every once and awhile and they still don't have it!

  you have some courage, i couldnt do that.....to risky for such a rare tool

Haha yeah, +1 on that. Man, I really hope you get it back. I wonder if anyone has had a bad experience with Vic? As I understand it, there is one guy who does all the warranty work, and his secretary/assistant, and that is it. Pretty impressive for servicing an entire country.

[Leatherman123]

I have complete confidence in the warranty. I have a feeling it was shipped to Switzerland because they can't fix them or something.. I'll call tomorrow!

[Mr. Whippy]

...and why won't they send it to Switzerland to get it fixed?  The postal system goes there...

I would:
1. Ask them to send it back to Switzerland for repair.

If they said no, I would ask to have it shipped back.

Then,
2. I would contact Wenger (?AG) in Switzerland and explain the situation and ask if you could return it to Switzerland for repair.

Man! That really sucks if they refuse to fix/replace it.  Seriously.

BTW, they were topnotch with the repair of my S557.  Good luck!

[WH867]

I sent back my Red SwissGrip quite some time ago; and I call every once and awhile and they still don't have it!

  you have some courage, i couldnt do that.....to risky for such a rare tool

I'm sure he has pics to remember it by

[cliosguy]

I sent back my Red SwissGrip quite some time ago; and I call every once and awhile and they still don't have it!

  you have some courage, i couldnt do that.....to risky for such a rare tool

I'm sure he has pics to remember it by

[Ben X]

Has anyone had luck sending one back that was clearly abused and yet Wenger took care of it? And does anyone think they might have been bluffing, er, sorta, and once they realize I'm not gonna pay it when they listen to their voice mail they might just go ahead and do it for free? That's my only hope at this time. I sorta regret my choice of words in the voice mail. I should've said something like "if there's nothing you can do to help me then just send the SI back and I will start shopping for a Soldier. Thanks!"

[american lockpicker]

I can't believe you got such poor customer service from Wenger. 

[Grant Lamontagne]

if they'll give ol Roger a press to do layer assembly

I would seriously doubt that actually happened, at least as described.  Don't believe everything you see on da innernet.

Def

[jzmtl]

Yeah, that guy seems to be full of it quite often.

[eodtech]

I have a Wenger ALOX on my desk wrapped to go to Wenger as the coating on the scales is chipping off.  I'll let you know the outcome when I get it back.

[Ben X]

Yeah, it's funny, they say nice guys finish last and I'm starting to believe it. I thought rather than being a demanding entitled customer I would humbly admit in the note that I understand the warranty is only intended to cover defects, and I said I wold be willing to pay for the repair if it could be repaired at a fraction of the cost. I thought like Victorinox they would just replace it for free anyway, but boy was I wrong! I mean, I could see if they wanted 5 bucks or whatever cost to them is, but they are making money on warranty work.

[american lockpicker]

Can you send it to Vic? They own Wenger.

[Grant Lamontagne]

You can, but they will send it back with a note pointing out that it's not their knife.  The Elsener family owns Wenger, not Victorinox, and both companies are being maintained as separate entities.  Just like Victorinox did with Bear a few years ago, when they saved them from bankruptcy then set them free.

Def

[Ben X]

So does anyone think it helps to just not include a phone number, or any explaination/appeal, and act like you just expect them to fix it? I hate to take the spoiled kid approach, but if it works, I dunno.

[cliosguy]

So does anyone think it helps to just not include a phone number, or any explaination/appeal, and act like you just expect them to fix it? I hate to take the spoiled kid approach, but if it works, I dunno.

im afraid it usually does generally speaking fo course

[Mr. Whippy]

IME, it's best not to volunteer information except as to what is wrong (broken blade, etc).  If they want to figure out how it was broken, they can contact me.  I send it in with the expectation it'll be repaired, not with a note asking if it qualifies for repair.

Just seems to work better this way.

[Swiss Man]

I recently acquired a few alox SAKs only to discover the tip was snapped off the SI. I really want a 93mm Alox and obviously Wenger offers a warranty, so I thought I'd give it a shot since Vic is renown for going above and beyond. I figured it would be even more so with Wenger since they automatically make $3 off the money order you have to enclose. So I packaged it up and corssed my fingers, then today I woke up to a call from their service center and they said they can't repair it since the knives are made in Switzerland. Which bades the question, if they'll give ol Roger a press to do layer assembly, why the heck don't they have one at the service centers? Sounds like a bad business model to me; unless you're 1) Victorinox, and you are so generous with simply replacing them you don't need to repair the old one, or 2) You are Wenger, and you plan on just selling the person a new knife anyway so you make money rather than taking the time to save the customer money and just replace the one problematic blade.

So, as you can probably already gess, in their call they generouslyoffered to sell me a new one at a whopping 50% off of retail, which is just what they go for anywhere online. Only, by sending it to the service center, I am out my $1 envelope, the $2 shipping to get it there, and the $3 money order to get it back. I should've just bought a Farmer. I understand they are hurting, and they don't have to replace "abuse" claims, but Vic does it all the time and stays in business just fine because they know winning customers is a bigger score than the $10 profit on that one knife that will be the last $10 they would ever see from customer X (Which in my case, is customer Ben X). And, don't get me wrong, I sent in my Handyman years ago because the backsprings were so degraded and they just gave me a new knife, but even that they could have tried to stick me for. So are they going downhill, is this pretty typical, or are my expectations just too high? By the way, I told them to send it on back, I will just practice modding with it

Can you send it to Vic? They own Wenger.

I think you hit the nail on the head with that statement "They don't have to replace "abuse" claims.   There are a lot of people that takes advantage of the warranty they buy something knowing that it is broken with the idea "I will just send it in and get a replacement or a new one." (been there done that).

How fair is that to the company?   

As far as "Can you send it to Vic, They own Wenger." The other day I walked into a KFC / Taco Bell they are owned by the same company so if I bought a bad taco I can call up KFC Corp. and complain?  Just because one owns the other doesn't mean they have the same service.

[I'm Still Bison]

 

As far as "Can you send it to Vic, They own Wenger." The other day I walked into a KFC / Taco Bell they are owned by the same company so if I bought a bad taco I can call up KFC Corp. and complain?  Just because one owns the other doesn't mean they have the same service.

Maybe if you got a lousy chicken quesadilla you MIGHT be able to gripe to KFC,otherwise you don't have a drumstick to stand on
Seriously,I could never quite fathom Wenger's North American business model.It was like"here we are,take it or leave it."I can't think of two more different approaches to customer relations than Buck and Wenger,and yet they collaborated on the SwissBucks.

[eodtech]

I have a Wenger ALOX on my desk wrapped to go to Wenger as the coating on the scales is chipping off.  I'll let you know the outcome when I get it back.

May  8, 2009
My Wenger Watchmaker was replaced by Wenger warranty service  and arrived today ( 11 day door to door turn around time - can't beat that ).

Victorinox service was around 3 weeks turn around time. YES they sell a lot more that Wenger and their warranty service is busy.

[papercut]

Anyone have a experience with knives that are clearly way past their original owner?  Vic seems to be pretty good about taking care of folk's family treasures, how about Wenger?

Cheers

[ColoSwiss]

Anyone have a experience with knives that are clearly way past their original owner?  Vic seems to be pretty good about taking care of folk's family treasures, how about Wenger?

Cheers

Had a very old fiber-handled Wenger with a broken back spring. They quoted several hundred dollars to fix it. It was valuable, but not that valuable, so passed.