My new sails and FXSails

[CaptainScott]

My New Sails and FXSAILS

It is with mixed emotions that I write this. So I'll try and separate my opinions into three distinct areas.

1) The sails themselves
The sails arrived nicely packaged. They each came in a very nice sail bag perfectly flaked. The batons were all taped together so none got lost. Each individual baton was clearly labeled where it goes! Nice! The sails had no stains and no obvious imperfections! All the stitching was very nicely done including the pockets for the batons, crinkles, and various seems. The sails fit perfectly on Lady Jo, my 1975 22. I will however eventually put them on the 1976 22. Nice shiny brass hanks for the jib, all tell tails were in place already and I even received a fist full of sail ties!
Overall I am very pleased with my initial use of the sails. Keep in mind, these sails are not exotic. They are simply replacement originals for the main and the 110 Genoa. They put the Chrysler 22 on the main.The only changes were two reef points put on the main and a loose foot on the main.

2) The people I dealt with.
I only dealt with two people at FXSails. The sales man and the production manager. The salesman was exactly what you'd expect. Nice easy going, happy to accommodate, etc etc. The production manager Ray McKee. He was easy to talk with and deal with. He seamed genuinely concerned about my issues. He also presented himself very professionally with my concerns. He promptly acknowledged there was a problem at FXSails and IMMEDIATELY offered a full refund of my money. Ray did not try and dodge the bullet in any way. He simply admitted FXSails messed up. My sails were shipped overnight to me in an effort to expedite delivery.


3) The purchasing experience from my perspective.
Extremely frustrating. Period. I ordered my sails. FXSails offered a shipping date. I did NOT press in any way to get the sails quickly. FXSails promptly removed from my credit card PAYMENT IN FULL at the time I ordered my sail. Now, in the world I grew up, money is not extracted unless your item was shipped or in the case of custom work, when the work actually began. So I assumed my sails were getting made! MY MISTAKE. I simply trusted FXSails to get the job done.

All the details are in another post Click Here


In short, FXSails failed to notify me that my sails would be late. TWICE. I even have an email after complaining loudly indicating I would get weekly updates. These updates NEVER CAME. The only communication initiated from FXSails was immediately AFTER I called and complained and when the sails actually shipped. It is my firm opinion that FXSails has no process in place to inform customers of delivery date changes. Now mind you, I'm not talking two days late. I'm talking TWICE the original duration promised. Had there been a process in place, I would have been notified. Probably frustrated but no where near as frustrated. Imagine your money has been taken and the company that takes it is months late and does not make ANY attempt to contact YOU first. It again is my personal opinion that if this is BAU for FXSails there is no way they can stay in business terribly long. My order was small. Maybe FXSails caters to larger orders and makes money that way. I really don't know.

The reasons I let the order ride with FXSails is I had already received confirmation from another source that FXSails will make good sails for me. I also had already talked with my Credit Card Company and was ready to reverse the charges to my card had the sails not shipped by the now 3rd promise ship date. Ray seemed genuinely interested in making me happy. Lastly, they kind of had me by the short and curlies if I wanted sails for the summer. You see, it was now full on sailing season and all lofts were busy. My only option was to cancel and start anew or let it ride.


In closing, it is my sincerest hope that my situation was simply a fluke. FXSails did indeed deliver some nice sails to me. When I order my next sets of sails, I will not authorize full payment from my card until the sails ship. Partial payment? Sure, full, NO. I will call once a week confirming my sails are indeed being worked on. I will ask if the date provided is a soft date or a hard date. I well request in advance how the loft will make me whole if they fail to meet a shipping date they pick. If the loft can not deal with my needs prior to order, I will not make the order with the loft. Period.

In fairness to FXSails, I will forward a link to this post just like I did for the last post and give them opportunity to rebuke my comments if they see fit.

Captain Scott Ziegler


PS:

IF you actully need sails and decide to give FXSails a go, ask for Ray prior to order and tell them you have read all about my accounts with them. Hopefully this will make them aware that we as Chrysler sailors are indeed sharing our experiences. Feel free to use my name if you think it will make a difference with them. As consumers we have ALL the power but only if we unite and let the loft know we are united and aware.

Also if you belong to other sailing forums or mailing groups PLEASE FEEL FREE to share a link to my accounts with FXSails. It is best we all make informed choices!!

[EmergencyExit]

Well written - thanks for keeping us up to date on the end result.

Non-Communication - number 1 cause of businesses failing in my book

[NYCSAILOR]

WOW! someone did their yoga today.... you are really calm cool and collected and the loft is lucky to have you as a customer..... you are well reasoned and patient for sure.

BTW I think the law is on your side, according to the UCC when they missed the agreed ship date they had to give you your money back or you had the right of "COVER" to buy your sails (AT WHATEVER COST--even 100% rush at another loft!) and they would have had to pay the difference if any!

I doubt all their customers are such great guys. No wonder we are sailors!

[tgentry]

Thanks for keeping us informed of the good and the bad.

In a similar, but work related situation, I ordered a custom server rack that was to be delivered in 6 weeks. This is week 5 so I called to confirm a ship date and was informed there was an error and my rack had not been built. Like you, they have me by the short and curlies but I did manage to get a 10% refund for agreeing to an early July shipment. Hopefully I will be as pleased with the final product as you seem to be.