# Chef Knives To Go Nigtmare



## agfromdc

Long story short, I paid for a knife from Chef Knives to Go over a week ago and still have not received my knife. I have not gotten any emails or calls returned for the past few days. I am starting to feel ripped off. My first transaction with them went beautifully but this one has been an utter nightmare. I don't feel like I should have to chase down Mark Richmond or whomever and send repeated messages that something is wrong with their service. Has anyone else been ripped off from Chef Knives to Go?


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## chefwriter

Slow down a bit. You paid a week ago and no returns for a couple of days. I realize everything these days is supposed to happen in seconds but give them a chance. your purchase may have gotten misplaced by the Post Office or Fed Ex or whomever. The calls and emails have not gotten returned because the recipients spam filter misdirected it. Or their message machine broke. Or any number of reasons. Remember that they are trying to run a reputable business. Don't take it personally. Keep after it but be nice. The situation will get resolved. It's a bit early to say you got ripped off.


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## agfromdc

Thanks, but I'm good right where I'm at. I've dealt with these people before and, like I've said, I had no problems whatsoever. Every question I had was answered promptly, the even sent additional info upon my request. I sent an email, I got a response in a matter of hours. Things are very different this time. Until I either get what I paid for or at least get some sort of response, I'm going to feel as if I got ripped off. I've sent a package of pictures to San Fransisco, gotten a similar package back from there , received and sent packages from NYC, Charlotte and Ontario (yes, THAT Ontario) all via First Class USPS mail, which while it isn't the most reliable method of shipping, did find a way to send letters and packages( one rather large at that) without any real delay whatsoever. I purchased a jazz LP from the UK on Thursday and, so far,it is on pace to arrive before this knife will. I appreciate you trying to bring rational explanations to mind, but I've been through this already. I have tracking info from USPS that said it should have been delivered by Saturday, and according to the info updated,it is still somewhere in Southern Virginia where it has seemingly been for the past 3-4 days. The state of Virginia is not that big. I would not be worried at all if the communication didnt suddenly stop, as if Im being ignored. I sent messages to about 3 different emails all tied in with CKtG, called their office, called their customer sales line, all to no avail and I have a right to be beyond concerned at this point. This is a small package coming from the Midwest, not the Middle East. It should take 3-4 days tops via first class mail. It did the first time. It took as long when a friend ordered from them as well.

I heard so much positive feedback about them and their customer service, bit Im not getting anything on that so far. Like I've said, It would be different if there was some sort of frequent communication, at least a daily email asking "Hey. Did your knife come yet?" or something, especially when It has been brought to your attention that you have a customer with a problem.. Even if its not a complete financial ripoff, that's crappy customer service to say nothing on top of not communicating at all.

I'm not gonna vent too much more, but I will say this: I just spent another day working a total of 18 hours straight on my feet hour after hour in two hot as hell kitchens. I work hard for my money every single day and few things piss me off more than thinking that I'm not getting what I paid for. If this is the wrong place to spout off, I apologize, moderators. I was just trying to see if this happened to anyone else.


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## agfromdc

Also, I apologize for insulating that they ripped me off. I honestly have no basis to make that claim at this point. I understand that they presumably did their part and sent it off as usual, what I don't get is the complete lack of customer service. I have been reaching out to them for days now. With no response. I really just want my money back. I still need a new knife ASAP


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## petemccracken

Whoa! If the tracking from USPS shows a delay, why are you blaming CKTG?


> ...I have tracking info from USPS that said it should have been delivered by Saturday, and according to the info updated,it is still somewhere in Southern Virginia where it has seemingly been for the past 3-4 days. The state of Virginia is not that big.'''


I'd be talking with USPS and informing CKTG.

Not defending CKTG, but your problem is with USPS if you are reporting the correct facts.


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## davehriver

I agree with Pete if they shipped it and you have a shipping number, you can't blame CKTG.  This sounds like USPS is to blame.  Although very reliable they screw up.  Last year I mailed a box from West Virginia to my son in Colorado 2 months later he got a letter from USPS stating that his box was in Alabama and asking whether he still wanted to receive it.


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## agfromdc

That's my issue. I understand that its out of their hands at this point and if they (USPS) lost it, they lost it.....but I should be able to get in contact with someone at CKtG to be advised on how to proceed (filing a claim, getting a refund,etc.) and haven't been able to do that. That's my issue with them. There is a complete lack of correspondence on their part and that is what's upsetting the most. The last I spoke with someone there was days ago when I alerted them that it should have been here by now, but it wasn't. I got a response similar to " we shipped it and its out if hands now. I hope your knife comes tomorrow." For that to be the last thing I hear from them before everything goes silent is disturbing to say the least. Again, waiting on that famous stellar customer service I myself experienced before to return to make things better and so far, nada...


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## agfromdc

And for the record, I do know how to spell "nightmare". Apparently what I don't know how to do is type on an IPhone.


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## hpross

sorry man to hear that man. but it sounds like your problem is with UPS. i wouldn't expect them to refund anything - did you insure your package... if anyone should be offering customer service at this point it should be UPS no?

Did UPS lose the package, or is it in virginia? They should be able to give you a time line. It has only been a week or so - and UPS clearly has had a problem, maybe it is still enroute...


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## hpross

and google says....

http://www.ups.com/content/us/en/resources/service/claims/hlp/lost_process.html


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## brianshaw

It sounds to me like you ARE getting good customer service.  They shipped your goods, informed you of the status and the limits of their ability to control shippers.  There;'s really not much mroe the merchant can do for you and holding your hand daily is not a reasonable expectation.

What you seem to need more than anything else is patience.  Your expectations may be set a bit too high.  Shipping involves many variables and often it goes quickly and smooth, but other times there are weather delays... or worse.  It happens.

I totally understand wanting to get your money's worth... most of us do too.  But going ballistic in public and blaming the wrong people, then wanting a refund because of a shipping delay is a show of irrational behavior.  Sorry to be so blunt, but maybe the long hours in a hot kitchen is affecting your behavior in a less-than-positive way.


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## himself

Isn't the shipper/vendor the one who files the claim?


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## brianshaw

...


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## brianshaw

Himself said:


> Isn't the shipper/vendor the one who files the claim?


Yes, I believe you are correct but only after it is determined that the pacel is indeed lost. That takes time.

I had a similar experience with an online purchase from a large online store. My package had absolutely no tracking data except "received" and after 3 weeks the company re-shipped the merchandise... only to have both the original and replacement package delivered on the same day. There are many quirks when it comes to mail order buying and patience is a virtue. Politeness is too. I believe that a polite approach is why the merchant replaced my merchandise without question, as well as a promise to return the extra package when/if it arrived. But in my case I just paid for the extra merchandise... but certainly isn't the optimal solution in most situtaitons like this.


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## hpross

as per the UPS website....either one can. though I doubt a shipper/vendor would less than 2 weeks from the date of shipping. however it states you can file one 24hrs after the expected date of delivery.


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## michaelga

crazy kids these days...


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## vic cardenas

LOL  This thread was entertaining.


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## betowess

HPross said:


> sorry man to hear that man. but it sounds like your problem is with UPS. i wouldn't expect them to refund anything - did you insure your package... if anyone should be offering customer service at this point it should be UPS no?
> 
> Did UPS lose the package, or is it in virginia? They should be able to give you a time line. It has only been a week or so - and UPS clearly has had a problem, maybe it is still enroute...


FWIW, I believe it was USPS, not UPS. Not that I disagree with your points.


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## wobelix

Wow, what a hilarious thread.

Here in Europe the mail services have wonderful names, but even Royal Mail of Great Britain loose about 20% of their packages for Mainland Europe.

The postal services in my country -the Netherlands- is 'liberated' as in: anybody can start up a parcel delivery service (not letters, that's restricted, but parcels, yes...)

Waiting a week is nothing, waiting 6 weeks is not that strange, waiting for ever happens way too often.

One week...

Wow.

Many cheerful greetings from cold but sunny Amsterdam !


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## agfromdc

Glad to see that this thread is entertaining folks (not). I guess if I lived in Europe it wouldn't be such a big deal, but I don't, so thanks for that. If asking someone to return numerous emails and phone calls to at least acknowledge this situation, from which I'm told is an extreme rarity, is asking someone to "hold my hand", then by all means hold my hand all the way through the point where I get my goods or my money back. Maybe some are comfortable with a different approach. I'm not. 

I'll say it again,because it keeps popping up, I fully understand that CKtG did everything they were supposed to do as far as shipping went. That I don't have an issue with. My issue came when I thought about the fact that whenever I had a question in the process of purchasing, any and all questions were literally answered in some way by someone within a matter of hours. As soon as I came to them with an issue, it seemed like everyone clamed up. I would like to think that Im a reasonable perso. Who doesn't jump to conclusions often or go to an extreme one way or another, but I didn't like how that went down so whomever thinks Im going off the deep end, I'll respectfully have to ask to agree to disagree. I have never had such an issue with ordering anything online before in over 10 years if doing so. Anything close to this issue and I was notified in a reasonable amount of time. I don't call multiple days with no response reasonable. That's me and my prerogative. Call it what U want, but I don't play with money. Not even a little bit. Now you can chose to agree with that or not, that's on you. The only I asked was for some acknowledgement of the situation, even telling me there was nothing that could have been done until more time passed would have made me feel 15 times better. 

In any case, someone finally did contact me and we are getting to the bottom of it. Still no knife, but at least I know they know about it and are working to find a solution with me and Im good with that.


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## franzb69

good thing i haven't lost anything from overseas yet. and i've bought from all over the world. i mostly blame the local post office's pilfering when it comes to lost packages. =D

but i wouldn't know if it really did get lost on the way.


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## chefknivestogo

Wow.....

Let's set the record straight here. 

Adrian placed an order with us at 10pm on a Friday night with Monday being a Federal holiday. My wife Sue emailed him about a saya request and his order went out on Tuesday via US Mail which was the first available day we could ship the item. Of course I'm just guessing this but I'll bet the US Mail had a few extra packages to deliver since they were off on Monday. He emailed Sue over the weekend and she responded right away telling him that it was taking a little longer than expected but he would probably get it soon. The tracking we sent showed it was en route.

We check phone messages twice daily. There were no messages from him. He later told Sue that his phone was cutting out so maybe the messages didn't go through. We also got a few rude emails saying our free ground shipping sucks. We did respond to these emails and I did call him back and left a message.

Anyway, Sue sent him an email after she contacted the post office and said that tracking showed that the package was scheduled to be delivered yesterday.Adrian responded and apologized to her which was appreciated. She wrote him back again and told him she was sorry it took extra time but that both Fed Ex and USPS occasionally have these things happen. 

Of course I don't know if the knife was delivered since Adrian didn't tell us but I'm guessing it did if the postal carrier scanned it at his door.

Mind you this was for the Free Ground Shipping, not expedited next day air or two day air which costs extra. And despite his poor order timing he still got the knife after 10 days. If he had ordered the knife 10 hours earlier he would have got it a week earlier (my guess).

PS: Nicko, the owner of this website notified me of this thread and asked me to come over to respond.


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## wobelix

FranzB69 said:


> good thing i haven't lost anything from overseas yet. and i've bought from all over the world. i mostly blame the local post office's pilfering when it comes to lost packages. =D
> 
> but i wouldn't know if it really did get lost on the way.


Down here in Amsterdam we (not just me, but quite a lot of people I know) experienced that ordering books and DVD's from Great Britain meant that 95 % (!!!!!!) got lost in the mail... Down here in old Amsterdam itself.

(But Royal Mail - GB is quite crappy, too...)

When I changed my delivery address to that of my parents, living in a small town some 40 kilometers away from Amsterdam, the percentage of stuff going astray went to ... YES INDEED: 0.00%

Incredible.

Here in Amsterdam we never have to fear that packages from the USA will NOT reach us, since it will get taxed to Kingdom Come at the frontier before it gets released, and we have to cough up the dough on delivery.

It's probably the way my government thinks of getting something back out of the crisis, I guess, since parcels from Korea and Japan and Australia do not get taxed at all, ever... so far...

All in all, I reckon' North-America got a pretty good postal service !!

PS: I ordered from Chef's Knives to Go, and in my humble opinion Mark Richmond is FANTASTIC !


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## chefknivestogo

PS here is the US Postal tracking number if you guys are interested in the shipping history.

9400110200883685441169


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## petemccracken

In many situations of whatever nature, facts and perceptions often widely differ.

Before drawing conclusions, remember the words of Jack Webb (Dragnet); "Just the facts, ma'am, just the facts".


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## davezatyowa

chefknivestogo said:


> Wow.....
> 
> Let's set the record straight here.
> 
> ....


Yeah, it was already pretty clear from the tone of the first post that the original poster had _massively overreacted_ to the situation. I expect most of us were mystified that he remained so _p*ssed off _ once he had tracking info in hand and could follow the USPS progress of the package.

Thanks for posting the other side of the story. Maybe in addition to free shipping you should begin offering complementary 'Chill Pills' to some of your customers. Nigtmare indeed... ;-)


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## harlock0083

My order from chef knives to go was a nightmare too, I got it 1 day *ahead *of the scheduled delivery date 9400110200881630392580. Can you BELIEVE that!!!!


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## agfromdc

Wow indeed. Thanks for being the bigger man and doing the mature thing and posting my name and tracking info, (though slightly illegal to do so). Very professional of you . I have NOT received anything as of yet and told your wife (Sue, U believe) that I would let her know when I did. I'll be the first to admit that I over acted, as I stated to her, and put on his thread before. The emails were "rude" because it seems like you had no problem responding to emails when making a sale was involved but as soon as I needed help finding what was up with the package , I got no response for days. That is a fact. I have you and your company all props due to you for the last transaction I had and even recommended your to other chefs, but further amplifying the situation after I apologized to all involved is kind of a dick move. From the reaction I got from most here, trust me, your company's reputation is safe. I had a grievance, I chose to air it out here while still emotional about it, calmed down, apologized for going too far and decided to just exercise more patience and sit on the sideline and wait it out. I don't care what the tracking info says. As of last night I still have nothing. Now you can chose to sit and wait like I have been trying to do or you can keep doing this childish thing broadcasting my private info publicly, that's completely up to you. I'm going to fall back and see if this package comes. When it does, I'll send Sue an email. If it doesn't, I'll go from there. As for the sideways talk poking fun at me an my situation, do what you have to do in the safe confines of the Internet. I'm done here.


chefknivestogo said:


> PS here is the US Postal tracking number if you guys are interested in the shipping history.
> 9400110200883685441169


.


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## himself

Never mind.

Not worth it.


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## agfromdc

Himself said:


> Never mind.
> 
> Not worth it.


 Probably a good idea.


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## brianshaw

AGfromDC said:


> Probably a good idea.


Ya, I agree.


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## harlock0083

AGfromDC said:


> Probably a good idea.


Strange, I thought you "done here".


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## himself

In before the Thread Lock and the Ban Hammer.


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## harlock0083

Posting a rant like you did could cause chefknivestogo to lose some customers. Did it even cross your mind that your immature rant can cause them harm?. It was serious enough for Mr. Richmond to respond and give his side of the story. Your writing and behaviour clearly shows your maturity level and you will not get any sympathy from me.


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## Iceman

_WOW._


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## twyst

I have a problem with chef knives to go as well,  they take entirely too much of my money 

I kind of need a Suji now too, so more money going marks way soon if the stock on Konos ever gets sorted out.


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## Iceman

_My problem is this video: _

*Tojiro White #2 Nakiri*





  








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Iceman


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Mar 2, 2013








To my eyes, this guy has some over-the-top skills. I love this part in the middle when he goes off on an onion-half in slo-mo. My big problem is the music. _I love it,_ but I can't find anyone who knows the performer. A little help here would be nice. *TIA*.


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## twyst

IceMan said:


> My big problem is the music. _I love it,_ but I can't find anyone who knows the performer. A little help here would be nice. *TIA*.


Always There - ronnie laws


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## michaelga

Twyst said:


> Always There - ronnie laws


Ain't this site grand~!


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## hpross

so how about a re-cap?


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## just jim

Never heard of the term "slightly illegal".

Isn't legality black and white?

Either there is a law or there isn't.


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## mostadonte2

There is a grey area which is usually up to judge to decide if its legal or not in each particular case.


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## harlock0083

Whats with the thread necroing.... At this rate the Kiwi knife thread is going to necro'd tomorrow......


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## just jim

mostadonte2 said:


> There is a grey area which is usually up to judge to decide if its legal or not in each particular case.


And at that time it will be either legal or illegal, not slightly illegal.


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## mostadonte2

Just Jim said:


> And at that time it will be either legal or illegal, not slightly illegal.


But at time of the action it can be slightly illegal because there is no judge to decide  I do not mean that this is a legal term. I described the situation where one could use such a word combination.


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## just jim

mostadonte2 said:


> But at time of the action it can be slightly illegal because there is no judge to decide  I do not mean that this is a legal term. I described the situation where one could use such a word combination.


I believe that would be "possibly illegal", open to evaluation.

Slightly illegal assumes the evaluation already took place.

But whatever, hope you have a great day


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## just jim

harlock0083 said:


> Whats with the thread necroing.... At this rate the Kiwi knife thread is going to necro'd tomorrow......


"Why is everyone bringing back old threads?!"

"Why don't you use the search function, this topic has been discussed in the past"

You can't win


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## harlock0083

Just Jim said:


> "Why is everyone bringing back old threads?!"
> 
> "Why don't you use the search function, this topic has been discussed in the past"
> 
> You can't win


Good point.

i'm glad I bought these awesome kiwi knives.

and this t-shirt





  








3wolfmoon.jpg




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harlock0083


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Jul 28, 2013


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## mostadonte2

HAHAHAHAHAHA 3 wolf t-shirt - epic. \m/


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## harlock0083

Women find me irresitable... or think I'm a meth dealer. I can't figure out which tbh.


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## juicy pirate

Wish id seen this sooner, yes I have had problems with Mark Richmond and his rudeness and poor service

This was his response to me after I asked why he had put the incorrect customs declaration on my knives stating the value was $150 when I had paid $400, causing them to be stopped by customs in Australia.

I had waited 5 weeks for my order which was meant to arrive in 10 days and sent several polite emails.

*Congratulations you've made it to level 2 customer support. The way to get to level 2 is by making my wife cry.*

*I read through your email exchanges today and I apologize for the incompetence of your country's postal system. It's their fault you don't have your knives not ours but I'll accept ultimate responsibility.*

*It's been only 5 weeks and the morons at Australian post have taken longer on packages so I still think you will get it. However, I'm not willing to hold your money at this point so I'm going to give you a refund on the
purchase.*

*We're not shipping you anymore knives so you will have your money back to make other arrangements.*

*Kind Regards,
Mark Richmond*

I dont know how politely asking where my order was after 5 weeks upset his wife who had done nothing to track them down.

In another email he mentions our dumb ass postal service. I reckon she was upset cause she is married to you Mark. lol

Pretty insulting considering my father in law and brother are both postal employees, USPS lost 5 billion last year Auspost made 320 million after tax, with record post office closures in the US, I'd back our system anyday.

I dont know why so many people are in love with Mark his knife selection isn't even that good, his o/s postage is outrageous.

Poor poor service especially when you start making racial comments about others home countries

I hope I run into him one day so I can tell him what I really think of his service.

Dont buy knives off CKTG if something goes wrong good luck dealing with Mark! Buyer Beware


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## chefknivestogo

Hi Tim,

Yes I apologize for the problem with your order from 13 months ago. We did give you a full refund and it appears like you did in fact get the free knives even though the mail was delayed.

I also apologize for my somewhat rude response above. I get upset when my wife broke into tears after reading your emails to her. I can publish them all if you want to defend them and see her replies since you only published the last one where I was defending her. 

Anyway sorry to offend the employees of the Australian Postal service. I'm sure they're all nice people. They didn't do too well with your package but actually over the last year they've improved quite a bit in timeliness.

As for your comment about the US Postal service I disagree with you. We love our carriers and they bust their ass for us and do a great job. They make mistakes but in the last 13 months since we shipped your package I can count on 1 hand the number of packages they've completely lost. 

Kind regards,

Mark Richmond

Chefknivestogo

Sue here: I replied to every email you sent. I filed a claim/inquiry with USPS to find your package.You were at times polite but you were also very demanding and unpleasant. I do understand it's frustrating and annoying when packages don't show up as expected. And I was sympathetic to that. You acted as if I had intentionally written "lose this package" on your box or something. There was no invoice in the package--only a packing slip with no pricing so that had nothing to do with it (and I told you that). I was fully prepared to send you all the items again and I told you that too. So yea, you upset me. To say I did "nothing to track them down" is patently false and you know that. 

Thanks,

Sue


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## chefknivestogo

BTW since Tim was nice enough to share one of our emails I'll share his last email to me. Interesting view of Americans... 

Hi Mark
I will be posting your comment and my non offensive email requesting some information on a package i have been waiting a
long time for on every knife and cookery forum i can find
Great now your ripping me off on postage too.
The small effort you could have made to actually find out where my package is could have saved you a lot of hassles
My Blog will be called CKTG Mark Richmond and his poor service.
Considering you run an internet business maybe not a good idea to be so rude to your customers
I work for a large Mulitnational company, in a pretty important role, working with a lot of chefs.
I have recommended to many of my colleagues that they buy knives off you.
No longer the case
I will do as much as i can to let people know how much of a shonky operator you are and how your treat your customers who only want to know the status of there goods
If i made your wife cry over that email she is far to sensitive maybe she could have actually did what she said she was going to do and find out where my knives are.
Hey and before you call my country and it postal service incompetent look at the state of your own bankrupt postal service economy, hows it going?
Least we dont go around killing each other every other week.
I thought our two countries had a bond fighting side by side but obviously American are a bunch of obnoxious wankers.
Get stuffed and put my money in my bank you rip off merchant.


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## kokopuffs

Recently I placed an order with CKTG and had no problem with them.


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## dillbert

this is why one should always put on clean underwear.  it looks better when publicly aired.

the customer is always right.  even when you have to refund the purchase.

as for having nothing to do with declared values, etc and et. al. - it is not possible to dispatch a parcel to a foreign address without a customs form.  USPS, UPS, Fedex, DHL - none of them.

and every stinking one of those pesky forms require a declared value made by the shipper.

so

/quote

only a packing slip with no pricing so that had nothing to do with it

/unquote

has issues.

if a low declared value caused the postal authorities to investigate, oh well.

if a saltie ate some customs officer's first born and he/she was in a really bad mood, oh well.

I've shipped bunches and piles of stuff internationally, and never yet had a customer go ballistic when presented with the evidence the parcel left USA on dd-mmm-yyyy and arrived on dd-mmm-yyyy and it's still in customs. 

nor am I aware on any tracking system that does not make that information available to the shipper.

whether the shipper chooses to look it up and inform the customer in a timely fashion, well - that seems to be an issue.


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## chefknivestogo

All customers get automated tracking email the same day we ship. we also followed up with the customer when he asked about the delay and we emailed him right away that the package was stuck in customs. There was never a scan after it left customs by Australian post to this day.


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## chefknivestogo

Thanks I'm glad you got it without a hitch. /img/vbsmilies/smilies/smile.gif


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## chrismit

I can't make a comment in regards to international shipping but I have ordered from cktg on several occasions with no issues whatsoever. The shipping info is always sent the day it is shipped and I'm able to track my packages online. I understand being upset with customs delays but it seems as though your anger is misguided. It always upsets me when people vent in forums like this without full disclosure. There is little a business can do to stop it and engaging these type of people can be counterproductive. I always make judgements based on my personal experiences and I will repeat, my experience with cktg has been very positive. I will not hesitate to order from them in the future.


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## juicy pirate

Ive read through my emails, I even read them again just now and Ive shown them to other people including Americans and no they weren't rude so go for it.

If my last email was offensive its because you had a go at my country first, if you want to call us morons then what do you expect a thank you note. Seriously Mark you may think because your on the other end of a computer you can be rude to people and get away with it, but your remarks just weren't warranted.

Americans are patriotic too how would you like it if I started slagging your country off not very much.

You quite clearly started this when you acted like a child attacking my country and its workers.

Is this what you call good customer service in America?

So dont even bother with your sarcastic apology its quite clear you need to do a bit of customer service training maybe some anger management, your a bit passive aggressive.

I dont suffer idiots like you and after 5 weeks and maybe 4-5 emails I expected to know where my $400 order was. It would have been good to know they were actually coming instead of being lost.

If you did file a claim with USPS then where are.

Thank you though i have managed to find other suppliers with polite service, and cheaper postage where you order actually gets to you.

If you haven't realised this is the point of internet shopping, I pay, you ship, goods arrive in the specified time. When they don't come yes people start to question you credibility.

Free knives I never received a thing, if you had tracked them down like you said you had, you would obviously know that they were never delivered the order is still in transit, so to say I got a free set of Knives is quite clearly, you and your wife telling lies again.

For the record I said I would post them back if they arrived, i dont appreciate you questioning my integrity I pay for my goods.

Though we all know Im sure you'll just create a fake account or you have a few already, and you'll put a few more glowing reviews in for yourself and cktg

Maybe you can tell us how fantastic the Mark Richmond series of knives are aswell. Its peolpe like you that ruin these forums and the reason your banned from others!!!


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## dillbert

international is without question different than domestic.

>>anger is misguided
quite likely so.  but if the claimed lack of response is true, not really.

even if you send a customer the info, and the customer is too blinkity-blankity lazy to look it up, the onus remains on the shipper to look it up and micro-spoon the info to the customer.

is that right?  seriously...?  the customer is always right regardless of how wrong the customer makes itself.

>>engaging these type of people can be counterproductive
and the proof is currently on display.

>>do business again
no real question in my mind that CKTG is a reputable business; that (perhaps) handled a issue poorly.  dragging a bawling wife into the picture is non-professional beyond measure.

they acquired an unhappy customer; they fixed the situation; tit-for-tat makes both parties utter fools - and the only constant is "the customer is always right"

and the whole dang thread should go in the unwanted bytes locker.


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## kokopuffs

Juicy Pirate said:


> Ive read through my emails, I even read them again just now and Ive shown them to other people including Americans and no they weren't rude so go for it.
> 
> If my last email was offensive its because you had a go at my country first, ...


 Where do you reside, JP??? 8)

And now let's end this thread and sorry for the problems with the shipping. Yes and I know how I'd feel after spending $400. Can we please move on.


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## mike9

This thread is almost a year old - the OP hasn't posted since 3/1/13  Someone stick a fork in this.


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## Iceman

*LOL. Crack me up.*

I think the OP is a _Cutco_ shill. _(that other complaining guy too)_


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## panda

two words, whiny b*tch.


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## lennyd

Have been away from the site for a little, and wow this is the first thing I read. Seems things have been progressing nicely lol.

OK I'll put the sarcasm aside for a bit, but honestly this type of experience is not unusual from all ends. 

Buyers are often concerned or even upset by delays in shipments, and that's understandable since we all are expecting if not excited to get or new toys etc. Unfortunately rash decisions and harsh comments are not unusual. 

Sellers are often understaffed, workers under trained, inexperienced in proper customer service, not prepared to properly handle upset or worse customers, and in my experience this is not exclusive to small mom and pop stores, and even the larger and largest online etailers have their share of problems. Don't even get me started on how to improve Amazon lol.

Shipping companies seem to share many of the problems, are often often at the root cause of the concerns etc, and like many corporations have reduced workforce and pushed much of their customer service onto their customers through implementing online service information etc. 

Personalized service is going the way if the dinosaurs, and we need to relish those who still offer a good personal experience with other human beings. 

Forums have proven (to me at least) to be a great benefit in sharing and locating info specific to your needs. They also can be very informative and helpful, and there is a advantage to corresponding with others who share your interests,hobbies, or trade etc. 

They can also be problematic for the same reasons. People are people etc and this brings along all kinds of personalities, beliefs, ideas, fanaticism, and many things both accurate and inaccurate. 

In just about every forum I have been a member in every area from cooking to high performance engines there is a general theme or group of beliefs that cause a problem when"going against the grain" of popular opinion. Just try and tell a bunch of MD's they would better serve their patients if they spent less time learning optimizing billing and manipulation of insurance codes. 

Additionally when a forum is part of a for profit company there are also other issues that arise from the need to and methods of generating revenue. Doesn't matter if this includes industry specific sponsors, direct sales, or adds plastered across the site it just changes things. 

If you actually tag this far I hope your getting an idea of how just having one of the issues removed would have totally changed the whole story of this thread. 

If shipping was not delayed, buyer not excited, anxious etc, sellers better prepared for handling problems like this, members not fanatical in defending their own thereby escalating things for the buyer, and so many others were just a bit different there would not have been this level of problems or discussion, but also entertainment as well.

Pissed off customers are part of business, turning them into happy customers is part of success, and dropping impossible and non profitable customers is part of survival. 

That all said I have had only positive experiences buying from CKTG, and though I'm not a fan of some of the private labeling and obvious "pushing" that I've seen here Mark had just as good a shot at my future business as any of the others that I have used or considered. 

He has always been straight with me even if I don't agree with everything else etc. 

Then again I have seen excellent forums turned to rubble and trash over less, and am biased to having a good reliable forum to visit. 

Now everyone go work out your problems already lmfao


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## mano

never mind


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## notswedishchef

I don't endorse anyone and hold to what my experience has proven. I have shopped with Mark at CKTG too many times I can count.....every time the order has been handled, packed, and shipped professionally. Shipping delays have popped up and they have always answered my questions like pros. Public flaming is not a pro-move.....and getting into a public pissing match using what should be held as confidential emails between a buyer and seller is in even worse taste.


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## mike9

Mark & Co just fulfilled an order for me last week - all arrived as it should have and in short order *as usual.* As Usual are the operative words here.


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## kokopuffs

Just received a defective Idahone and Mark Richmond of CKTG replaced it with free shipping on my newest order.  Just last week I sent something via USPS 3-DAYS Flat Rate Priority Shipping which arrived 9 days later.  Okay, problems with a contracted shipper me knows not.  There can be problem(s) with an intermediary and international.  Yet I've had great service from CKTG and sometimes the carrier or customs experiences a real slowdown, especially in areas inexperienced with sub-freezing temperatures or whatever.   Alright now and let's put this one to sleep and best.


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## kokopuffs

RIGHTEOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Working with my Idahone, I get aggresive with the angle, 'tween 30 and 45 degrees with my CS Sabatiers and along with some strokes, it shaves.  Really cuts to the skin.  Experiment with yours at various angles and with my CS Sabetiers, the really cut well after a solid definite gray streak has been left on to the 'hone'. 

(EDIT)  I really feel that the IDAHONE IS A RIGHTEOUS ROD FOR FINAL HONING.  You just gotta' get a bit aggressive with it.  Speriment with it.  Thirty to Forty-five degrees held at an angle.  Leaves a definite gray streak on the Idahone.


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## Iceman

I think that example is against a honing rod, not the actual blade angle. 


I could of course be wrong.


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## dillbert

>>Why would one "hone" -- whatever might exactly be meant by that ambiguous term -- at the double of a sharpening angle??

don't feel bad.  somebody posted a utube link touting expert sharpening advise - the dear lady instructed users to hold the knife at 45' to the (quite visible) stone - that's a 90 degree included / cutting angle.

that's gonna work, fer sure.....


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## Iceman

See this: 




  








Image




__
Iceman


__
Feb 5, 2014







It's a *"Idahone Fine Ceramic Rod 10"*.

"This Idahone fine ceramic sharpening *rod* measures 10" on the *rod* and is ideal for keeping your knives *honed*. This is a very fine *hone* with a grit of about 1200. Made in USA."

I'm just going with the idea that you were just joking, you know, playfully cracking wise, in that you didn't know what a honing rod was.


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## kokopuffs

Benuser said:


> 30 to 45 degree per side??


 My bevels are steep.


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## chefknivestogo

There's a good instructional video on the item page if you want to see someone using the rod. Here's a direct link to the youtube video.






Many people use a less acute angle than the actual edge for quick touch ups. This puts a quick micro bevel on the edge.


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## kokopuffs

...using perhaps a less acute angle where the hone barely touches the edge thus allowing for a "finer" honing action!  Fine!   8)


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## kokopuffs

Just try it yourself and see what you get.


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## kurtis staven

I have ordered many knives from them in the past and had great service, but was blown away by a very rude response to a post on the forum. A customer was asking about where to find a "custom leather cleaver sheath". I responded by saying I could build one for them. The thread was removed and the message received read that if I even mention leather sheaths again I would be banned from the forum. I build many custom sheaths and it shocked me on the tone of the response to mentioning I could build one for them. It isn't competition for him as they don't sell any. A rather harsh reply IMHO to a simple response to anothers question.


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## chefknivestogo

Hi Kurtis,

I apologize for the problem you had on our forum.

I'm not sure why one of my moderators would be rude to you. Normally the protocol with chefknivestogoforum.com is that you ask me permission to sell items on our forum and I give you a free sub forum where you can promote your business. Obviously, you didn't do that but I really don't see why you were banned or warned. There are too many posts for me to read on our forum so I didn't see yours at all.

Anyway, please contact me and I'll be happy to set up a sub forum for you and you can post your items and promote your business there. Just please do your promoting in your sub forum and not on the general sections of the site. You're welcome to post anywhere for general chat and you can also put a link to your business in the footer. I'll also look into what was said and ask my volunteer to please be more polite. I'll see if I can get him

I hope that helps.

Mark

P.S. I tried looking up your past orders with us so I could call you this morning but I couldn't find any so this was the only place I could respond.


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## kurtis staven

Hi Mark:

I sent You a reply through the system here and don't know if you received it. Also used your contact email off your site ([email protected]). You handle yourself like a  professional and I really don't understand why your moderator cannot make one reply without adding an insult. I know that people have bad days and that edge can show in replies, but as a representative of your company he could do you a lot of damage. Anything further to this would be best handled via PM here or on your forum IMHO.


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## phaedrus

I agree- the only problem I have with Mark is that he sometimes gets the better part of my paychecks!  CKtG is my go-to vendor.  I never buy anything without checking there first and have placed probably dozens of orders with no issues.


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## lennyd

Kurtis Staven said:


> I have ordered many knives from them in the past and had great service, but was blown away by a very rude response to a post on the forum. A customer was asking about where to find a "custom leather cleaver sheath". I responded by saying I could build one for them. The thread was removed and the message received read that if I even mention leather sheaths again I would be banned from the forum. I build many custom sheaths and it shocked me on the tone of the response to mentioning I could build one for them. It isn't competition for him as they don't sell any. A rather harsh reply IMHO to a simple response to anothers question.


I remember when not too long ago when forums were just starting to become popular, and most all were run by enthusiasts of the hobby, trade or sport etc that when members no matter regular people or even businesses that offered specialty parts, products or services were embraced if not sought after.

Don't get me wrong I have had positive experience with them, like Mark and am still thankful for his advice and help, but there are just going to be differences on a forum that is part of a business.

I know I have said it before but you can't expect a commercial or profit based forum to be completely unbiased.

I have watched two good friends physicaly fighting out the results of how a new forum owner openly supported one of them over the other in their part time side work based solely on money.

It's just not the same anymore


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