Why does First Lite Customer Service suck?

[danny6172]

I put in a Black Friday order for over $500 and didn’t see the email about a free tag cuff beanie with purchases over $150. I tried calling to see if there was any way I could get the free beanie and got told to kick rocks twice. I was told the only way was to cancel the order and place it again and get charged $10 for refunding discounted merchandise and put another order in to get the beanie. Even the rep I spoke to said he hates that they even offered the promo which has to say something about them.

I know it’s a measly $30 for the beanie but you’re telling me one of the biggest technical hunting clothing companies can’t go above and beyond and ship out a $30 beanie to a customer that has been ordering their stuff since they offered Asat?

Sorry for the rant but today’s experience really pissed me off and I’m never giving them another one of my hard earned dollars.

 

[Spoonbill]

Did you order before the offer for a hat? It looks like it is automatically added once you get over the minimum order so you may end up with a hat.

 

[ManyBullets]

welcome to the party pal.
They cost themselves a fortune with crappy service. I couldn't even get a response on defective products so I quit buying their defective shit.

 

[bojangles808]

Love a good customer service rant thread. Bump

 

[danny6172]

Did you order before the offer for a hat? It looks like it is automatically added once you get over the minimum order so you may end up with a hat.

I ordered on Friday and didn’t see they had emailed me the promo until afterwards. It never automatically added the beanie.

welcome to the party pal.
They cost themselves a fortune with crappy service. I couldn't even get a response on defective products so I quit buying their defective shit.

It sucks, I really like their gear but I’ve had it with the shit service. I very much preferred them when they offered things via retail and not just direct to consumer.

 

[Bubblehide]

To answer your question, it's because they don't really care about customers. That is why many have stoped purchasing their products.

 

[pirogue]

They’ve never got a dollar from me. Good customer service isn’t that hard to find.

 

[Spoonbill]

I ordered on Friday and didn’t see they had emailed me the promo until afterwards. It never automatically added the beanie.

It sucks, I really like their gear but I’ve had it with the shit service. I very much preferred them when they offered things via retail and not just direct to consumer.

That sucks, only issue I have had was taken care of but that was years ago before the ownership change when they were still a small company.
Hopefully someone in the warehouse throws in a beanie for you.

 

[pirogue]

They can’t even come close to intelligently answering a question on thier website. It’s like a copy and paste from a first day intern, who’s never been in the woods.

 

[The Guide]

I gave up on them a while ago. Bought 2 pairs of the wool cargo style pants with suspenders (don't remember the silly name) and had both blow out in the crotch. Bought 1 from a retail store and 1 directly from them. The first pair I put on me as I was climbing over logs and got my foot hung up and did the splits which tore out the crotch. The second pair, ordered direct with about $600 worth of gear total. Those split the crotch in the same place getting into a RZR. I called customer service and was given the run around and they suggested I was "too big" for their gear. They wouldn't give me credit or let me return them for a new pair so I said forget this "performance gear" craze and went back to Carhartt jeans and base layers. I was all in until their shitty design/workmanship couldn't hold up.

Jay

 

[Bowhunter50]

Also had a bad experience with their customer service a few years ago. Now I stick with other brands

 

[Pramo]

I went into their Idaho retail story last season while I was killing some time after a hunt, 3 uppity employees were working and not one even acknowledged my existence in the store with even a simple hello or while I looked at gear. There is much better gear one can buy anyways.

 

[NDGuy]

Good customer service isn’t that hard to find.

Debateable

Most CS reps at these companies probably are interns or do it part time for $12 an hour

 

[Dexter Grayson]

Customer service is the quickest way to gain or lose my business. Clothing wise Sitka has yet to let me down.

 

[Formidilosus]

I put in a Black Friday order for over $500 and didn’t see the email about a free tag cuff beanie with purchases over $150. I tried calling to see if there was any way I could get the free beanie and got told to kick rocks twice. I was told the only way was to cancel the order and place it again and get charged $10 for refunding discounted merchandise and put another order in to get the beanie. Even the rep I spoke to said he hates that they even offered the promo which has to say something about them.

I know it’s a measly $30 for the beanie but you’re telling me one of the biggest technical hunting clothing companies can’t go above and beyond and ship out a $30 beanie to a customer that has been ordering their stuff since they offered Asat?

Sorry for the rant but today’s experience really pissed me off and I’m never giving them another one of my hard earned dollars.

FL has lots of issues, however I want to make sure I have it correct-

You made a deal, paid for items (in effect handshook on a deal), then later find out you could have gotten a better deal, and now you are upset they are honoring the deal you made, and won’t give free items?

At any point do you stop and think that you are complaining about a company not giving free things you didn’t buy?

 

[danny6172]

FL has lots of issues, however I want to make sure I have it correct-

You made a deal, paid for items (in effect handshook on a deal), then later find out you could have gotten a better deal, and now you are upset they are honoring the deal you made, and won’t give free items?

At any point do you stop and think that you are complaining about a company not giving free things you didn’t buy?

Most good companies that sell you a product will happily refund you the difference if there is a sale a couple of days later and the product in question is cheaper.

Although not the same situation, hopefully you understand what I mean. In my situation, I had placed the order on Friday and did not realize I had earlier that same day received a First Lite promo for a free beanie that I was eligible for when I placed my order.

What pisses me off is that they couldn’t throw the free beanie in even though my order had not shipped yet. And you’re telling me nobody in Idaho could call down or send an email to their distribution center down in Utah to say “Hey, this guy could have gotten a free beanie but didn’t know, please throw the beanie in there.” Because I asked them if they could do that and they simply told me no, wouldn’t even try to make an effort.

On top of that, you can’t cancel the order and place another one. You have to wait for it to ship and then cancel it and ship the order back and then get charged for cancelling it.

I understand I made a deal and the company only has to hold up to their end of the deal. I understand workers have to follow company guidelines that are put in place. But the response I received by their customer service team after the order was placed was not one anybody would be happy to hear, especially since this was over a ******* beanie they were giving away for free to begin with.

 

[Desk Jockey]

I have been after them for years for those semi nude photos of ole cal they promised me. Nada. Nothing.

 

[Spoonbill]

Most good companies that sell you a product will happily refund you the difference if there is a sale a couple of days later and the product in question is cheaper.

Although not the same situation, hopefully you understand what I mean. In my situation, I had placed the order on Friday and did not realize I had earlier that same day received a First Lite promo for a free beanie that I was eligible for when I placed my order.

What pisses me off is that they couldn’t throw the free beanie in even though my order had not shipped yet. And you’re telling me nobody in Idaho could call down or send an email to their distribution center down in Utah to say “Hey, this guy could have gotten a free beanie but didn’t know, please throw the beanie in there.” Because I asked them if they could do that and they simply told me no, wouldn’t even try to make an effort.

On top of that, you can’t cancel the order and place another one. You have to wait for it to ship and then cancel it and ship the order back and then get charged for cancelling it.

I understand I made a deal and the company only has to hold up to their end of the deal. I understand workers have to follow company guidelines that are put in place. But the response I received by their customer service team after the order was placed was not one anybody would be happy to hear, especially since this was over a ******* beanie they were giving away for free to begin with.

Sorry if I missed this but did the email say spend X amount of dollars and get a free beanie or did you have to enter a promo code? Chances are if it said you had to spend X for a beanie, you will probably get the hat.

 

[TSAMP]

FL has lots of issues, however I want to make sure I have it correct-

You made a deal, paid for items (in effect handshook on a deal), then later find out you could have gotten a better deal, and now you are upset they are honoring the deal you made, and won’t give free items?

At any point do you stop and think that you are complaining about a company not giving free things you didn’t buy?

This is a stretch. He didn't sign the deal in blood and promise his first born. Give me a break.

This sort of instance is a great example of a big company with procedures not bending to be helpful for the little man. It all happend the same day.

Once a company acts like this. It's best to move on. Lot of options out there.

The fact they only refund store credit should be the first red flag.

 

[danny6172]

Sorry if I missed this but did the email say spend X amount of dollars and get a free beanie or did you have to enter a promo code? Chances are if it said you had to spend X for a beanie, you will probably get the hat.