first lite disappointing service

[Robertsj22]

received my order early august, product wasn't what i wanted so i called for a return. First i wanted credit so i could just order something else and they said there system wasn't allowing that and i could get a refund. I shipped august 8th and it was received there august 11th. I emailed the other day and asked for the status of the refund. They stated they never received it. I provided tracking for them and they said oh we will try to get your refund out within ten business days. It shouldn't take a company that long to get your money back. Less than thrilled with them

 

[chicoredneck]

We had a bad experience as well. Ordered some product (not on sale) that didn’t fit. We went to exchange it for the correct size and we’re told we had to pay for return shipping, even though their website advertises return costs are covered. We asked why and we’re told because the items were discounted. We showed Firstlite that they were not discounted, then we’re told we had to pay for return shipping because it was an exchange and not a return. All this after multiple attempts to reach someone without a response on how to return. Overall I’m very disappointed.

 

[HuskerHunter97]

Thats unfortunate, my experiences with FL customer service have been phenomenal. I haven't used FLCS since before MeatEater acquired FL, maybe that is the cause of the decline.

I ordered a puffy and damaged it in my excitement opening the package, and called them to order another/see what a repair would cost. They sent me a new one no questions asked, and sent me a return label to ship the damaged puffy back. That was back in 2019 I believe, sad to hear that CS has gone down hill.

 

[Bubblehide]

Many companies have one person doing several jobs. So it is not uncommon that say refunds are handles once a week. So to me, the 10 days is completely understandable. However, them saying they never received it is absolutely not okay; and you having to prove they received it is also not ok in my book. Personally, I would have ended the call when they told me they never received it, and utilized my consumer protections of my credit card and been done with the issue.

 

[Desk Jockey]

FL fit for me has become binary like kuiu. Either I like it or hate it.

On returns, They have been good to me. However, I am starting to develop a bit of a bias against companies that only sell online and charge me for returns. If I am buying a new, unknown and in cases expensive piece of gear online, especially something like clothing where there is a fit and feel element, there is some uncertainty until I get it and try it on. If I don’t like it and want to send it back - new unused and with tags - I think the company should cover that cost as a price of being an internet only business. Recently went through a half dozen puffies looking for the right fit. Loved the experience with moosejaw returning ones I didn’t like. Other companies were painful and charge me for returns. Definitely becoming more of a consideration for me in terms of who i will and won’t shop with.

 

[Robertsj22]

still have yet to recieve my money for this.

 

[bohica17]

Iv been wanting to get some of there stuff for about three years now. More I read the more I’m turned away. Sucks.

 

[PvilleMac]

We had a bad experience as well. Ordered some product (not on sale) that didn’t fit. We went to exchange it for the correct size and we’re told we had to pay for return shipping, even though their website advertises return costs are covered. We asked why and we’re told because the items were discounted. We showed Firstlite that they were not discounted, then we’re told we had to pay for return shipping because it was an exchange and not a return. All this after multiple attempts to reach someone without a response on how to return. Overall I’m very disappointed.

This is when you say, “okay nevermind, i just want to return this”. Then you get the free return shipping, then just order what you wanted on a totally separate transaction….if you still want to do business with them

 

[Whaledriver]

Run a charge back through your bank. That usually wakes people up.

 

[starsfan989]

I've owned many of their flagship items for backcountry hunting. Fit is good, light, but not very durable. Particularly, the pants develop lots of pulls and are super susceptible to ember burns. The inner thighs also wear down super quickly. Similarly on their shirts and jackets, high friction areas wear down (i.e. form holes) and often fray. I give them some lee way because it's supposed to be lightweight and geared towards backpacking, but it just doesn't hold up very well. I also haven't had this problem with other brands (such as Kuiu).

I've sent them emails about it and often just get these vague responses. Their product line has changed much over the 4 years I've been using them and they've added several other lines, however. I guess they are just focused on expanding and not too concerned with improving their existing products.

And it bugs me to no end that their stuff isn't manufactured here in the US.

 

[Zcmathews91]

No issues for me with them. Unfortunately, this happens with companies every so often and you happened to be the unlucky one. Hope they got it resolved for you!

 

[RuggedYogi]

I've owned many of their flagship items for backcountry hunting. Fit is good, light, but not very durable. Particularly, the pants develop lots of pulls and are super susceptible to ember burns. The inner thighs also wear down super quickly. Similarly on their shirts and jackets, high friction areas wear down (i.e. form holes) and often fray. I give them some lee way because it's supposed to be lightweight and geared towards backpacking, but it just doesn't hold up very well. I also haven't had this problem with other brands (such as Kuiu).

I've sent them emails about it and often just get these vague responses. Their product line has changed much over the 4 years I've been using them and they've added several other lines, however. I guess they are just focused on expanding and not too concerned with improving their existing products.

And it bugs me to no end that their stuff isn't manufactured here in the US.

Same here… I have had nothing but problems with their pants. Paying top-tier prices, I expect top quality. I have been happy with their base layers, though.

 

[AdamLewis]

This seems to be the arc that a lot of companies take.

I was buying FL back when they were one of the few companies making hunting specific clothing with merino. At least when I discovered it it was them and Core 4 Element. They must have grown up quite a bit and followed the path of least resistance. It is probably difficult to grow a company but maintain some passion and connection to the customer across the whole team.

 

[three5x5s]

Was thinking about trying the Obsidian pants. Read the reviews on "their" web site. Out of 1251 reviews, Only 36% of responders would recommend them to a friend. Yes 36%.. How could you be proud of that. and still asking full price.

 

[beignet]

I’ve been doing the return dance with First Lite since early September. Ordered a load of stuff, some at a discount. Didn’t like a lot of what I received (quality, fit, etc). Been through a series of exchanges to try and find about $500 worth of their stuff that was quality and fit well (as some of the originals were discounted, per their policy). Every single time I’ve sent something for exchange I get an email for a $0.00 gift card. I then have had to pester CS for a store credit number. Finally thought I had things all wrapped. Ordered a pair of pants with part of the return credit and another size with a credit card to compare the two. I called in advance to make sure I could return the ones I didn’t want for a refund. “Sure!” They said. It’s been over two weeks since the refund was supposedly issued and the responses I get are just “It’s been issued. We’ll check with accounting.”

A flub or two on an exchange or refund is understandable. But there has been a problem and delay with absolutely every single refund or exchange I’ve done with them. We’re on about round five now. Would be hard for me to recommend dealing with them to anyone.

They really need to step up their game if the business model is direct to customer retail with a lot of exchanges assumed.

 

[brandr67]

Disappointed to hear this about FL. I was looking at purchasing some stuff from them, but that makes me more hesitant hearing about all the return/exchange issues. The issues with returns are happening with full priced equipment? Not some discounted gear they don't do returns for?

 

[TheBootBowhunting]

Ive been buying FL and FHF stuff since before meateater bought them. There was a night and day difference in both after the buyout. I still use some FL wick baselayer stuff, and at this point i dont believe Ill ever like a harness as much as FHF, but because of customer service issues, my FHF harness has Marsupial straps and a marsupial zippered pouch.

Ive bought a couple of Kuiu ultra merino 120 pieces and they are a bit more comfortable than the FL stuff, mostly because they dont have 300 seams like the FL wick tops.

 

[khart_6882]

Thats unfortunate, my experiences with FL customer service have been phenomenal. I haven't used FLCS since before MeatEater acquired FL, maybe that is the cause of the decline.

I ordered a puffy and damaged it in my excitement opening the package, and called them to order another/see what a repair would cost. They sent me a new one no questions asked, and sent me a return label to ship the damaged puffy back. That was back in 2019 I believe, sad to hear that CS has gone down hill.

I had a similar experience this summer. I bought some of their zip off merino long John bottoms. I keep all my hunting clothes in rubbermade totes in my shop, I forgot to put the lid on tight and a mouse got in there and chewed up one part of those long Johns. I contacted them just to try and get a chunk of material so I could patch over the chewed up section. They replaced them for free, all I paid for was the return shipping on the chewed up pair.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[beignet]

FWIW they switched to using a return/shipping processing company in Utah sometime in late September that seems to be the source of a lot of their problems, from what I can tell.

 

[ManyBullets]

FL service sucks in my experiences. No one answers or returns calls and e-mails were never returned. Sorry but if I pay over 150 for some pants I expect to be able to use the zippers and not have stitching falling apart after 1-2 wears and 1 wash.
Then they go throwing sh*t up on sale today and totally try to tempt me to gamble on their quality.
If Sitka would just make pants with zip vents I wouldn't be typing here. . . Never had a quality issue with Sitka - EVER.

Here's a review I copied from FL on their catlyst foundry pants:
I am a Elk hunting guide in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. I have a standard for durability in hunting gear, and the catalyst foundry pant does not make the cut. At first the pants seemed very durable, but after 11 days of hunting I tore a good size hole on the right leg at the zipper seam while packing out meat in 15 degrees. I am beyond annoyed at how weak the durability is on all first lite gear, and yes I own a ton of it! Customer service has always been somewhat of a pain and am steering towards trying competitors hunting apparel if these issue aren't resolved!