Dovo and Merkur Customer Service doesn't impress.

[xraygun]

I've dealt with Dovo/Merkur for warranty before. I had no receipt and couldn't verify how old the product was. She arranged for it to be sent to germany and fixed it at their cost. I also got replacement parts for other products, where they didn't believe their was anything wrong (and were later proven right), but provided said parts in the name of customer service. Such service is often provided with discretion, usually based on how you deal with people.

Having emailed her before, she has a number of roles in that small company and is out of the office regularly, and often away. To assume she's sitting there ignoring your emails, is just that. I thought she was very polite, given your subsequent responses.

You comment certainly has a different tone than the one from yesterday.


I thought I was very cordial in my first email. I asked for her help.
My second email was direct and in no way rude.

I waited 9 days with no response before I sent the third.

Taking 13 days to respond to a customer without a "sorry I was on vacation, etc" is just plain rude.

If you look here you'll see that I am not making up the 10 year warranty. That's an email from her to B&B member confirming what the retailer told me when I bought the item.

When she started in with the Oxidized Steel nonsense I could see I was getting nowhere and let her have it.

I'm glad they helped you. I hope they do again.

 

[noctilux]

no offense, but i think you should have kept a polite tone all the way through your exchanges. that said, this is a pretty massive product fail and the company should be bending over backwards to take care of it. the matter should never have gone beyond the first message/pictures. i had a similar issue with the handle of a henckels knife a few years ago and the company didn't make me explain or ask for anything--they simply replaced the product with a new one.


v.

 

[memoryleak]

"I was told" does NOT constitute a contract between you and the manufacturer.
Cut yourself some slack, stop the Don Quixote routine and move on.

 

[michiganlover]

no offense, but i think you should have kept a polite tone all the way through your exchanges. that said, this is a pretty massive product fail and the company should be bending over backwards to take care of it. the matter should never have gone beyond the first message/pictures. i had a similar issue with the handle of a henckels knife a few years ago and the company didn't make me explain or ask for anything--they simply replaced the product with a new one.


v.

+1

Dovo's explanation of the failure here (and in other razor threads, where they indicate exposure to water causes plating failure; hello!! It's a razor, it gets constant exposure to water!) is absurd. I am convinced they must think their customer's are total, and complete buffoons. I think you feel rightly insulted!! The recent responses I have seen from Dovo Customer Service, show a total lack of respect for their customer's, and are the exact opposite of what customer service should be.

Their responses are absurd. They need to find a new customer service rep immediately!!

 

[michiganlover]

Further, she indicates in one of her responses that the photos are not good enough, but doesn't request additional photos. A pretty solid indication that she has no intent to honor a request for replacement.

To imply that such a catastrophic failure is a normal end of product life occurrence is beyond absurd. Would she be singing the same crazy tune if he had suffered grave bodily harm from the exploding clippers, rather than the shower door taking the abuse?

 

[El-a-Menthol]

Further, she indicates in one of her responses that the photos are not good enough, but doesn't request additional photos. A pretty solid indication that she has no intent to honor a request for replacement.

​

 

[Den]

Dovo's explanation of the failure here (and in other razor threads, where they indicate exposure to water causes plating failure; hello!! It's a razor, it gets constant exposure to water!) is absurd. I am convinced they must think their customer's are total, and complete buffoons. I think you feel rightly insulted!! The recent responses I have seen from Dovo Customer Service, show a total lack of respect for their customer's, and are the exact opposite of what customer service should be.

Their responses are absurd. They need to find a new customer service rep immediately!!

+1

Further, she indicates in one of her responses that the photos are not good enough, but doesn't request additional photos. A pretty solid indication that she has no intent to honor a request for replacement.

To imply that such a catastrophic failure is a normal end of product life occurrence is beyond absurd. Would she be singing the same crazy tune if he had suffered grave bodily harm from the exploding clippers, rather than the shower door taking the abuse?

+1

 

[73mountaineer]

I'm actually a little surprised at the number of people that are taking the position that the OP should just write it off and move on. If they did indeed offer a 10 year warranty when he purchased the product, and the product failed (massively, I might add) after 8 years of light use, why shouldn't he be upset? Just because it is a pair of clippers instead of something else? In another unrelated thread we see a direct quote from the very same Dovo rep. stating that they had a 10 year warranty in force in 2006, so I don't think it unreasonable to give him the benefit of the doubt that his product did as well. And it isn't like this is the first time that any of us has seen a Dovo/Merkur product suffer a complete failure due to some defect in the metal

So, let me get this straight, say one of you buys a new car that has a 10 year, 100,000 mile powertrain warranty. 8 years and 80,000 miles later it suffers a catastrophic engine failure, but the vehicle is paid for and you have plenty of money to buy another if you choose to do so. Customer service at the manufacturer says they only offer a 7 year, 75,000 mile warranty now and you are SOL. That's ok by you?

Obviously, a car and a pair of clippers are two very different things, but does that change the principle of the matter?

Maybe he should have been more polite while they were being so dismissive and unresponsive to his claim, not that I am sure I would have been, but that really isn't the issue at hand. Their communications to him pretty clearly imply that they never intended to honor his warranty, no matter what he said. The burden of proof was placed squarely on him from the get-go, and that is poor customer service no matter how you look at it.

Just my $.02.

 

[talibeard]

I have read stories about great service by Merkur/Dovo on this board but also that a heavily corroded razor couldn't be replaced since it had been in contact with water; warranty drops when you get your razor wet which is a very interesting point of view from the maker but somehow doesn't make sense to me.

It seems that customer service by Merkur/Dovo is about as good as their QC; all over the place!

 

[El-a-Menthol]

If push comes to shove, if a warranty was giving in the past, then it is still active in the future. Newer purchases with, say, 2 years warranty are only that, but the warranty stands from when it was purchased. A judge would rule in your favor IF you can show a proof of purchase (any kind, does not have to be a receipt). And it is not between you and the store you bought it, ultimately it is between you and the manufacturer. The store can act as a middle man. At least that is how the law is here.

 

[Go West Young Man]

From the tone of Anne's latest messages (here and in other cases), it sounds like she's been told from higher up to crack down on all the freebies they used to send out.
A few years ago I complained that the cap on my HD had some discoloration, without any further questions, free of charge, she mailed a new one out to me the same day.
I can't imagine that looks very good on their financial reports.

 

[Rogier D.]

As a student in Elektromechanics, I dare say (dare, but cautious) that this failure could never have been from corrosion. Corrosion does not have the tendency to form a flat fault line. If it would have been for corrosion, there would be LOTS of it visible, because corrosion does not start from within the steel. Also, this probably IS carbon steel, though it HAS got rustproofing. The black "coating" looks like gunblack. I happened to have asked my professor what gunblack was. He told me it's also a oxide, like rust, BUT it isn't as brittle. The thing with rust is: it actually would be harmless, if it wouldn't pulverize.

In the pictures, one can deffinitely not see any rust at all. So summed up: it is BOGUS that that would be the origin of the fault.

Much MORE likely is that this workpiece wasn't heat treated properly. There is an obvious irregular fault line which indicates a brittle breach(like when you drop a block of alum, the pieces won't break into even parts). Brittle steel mostly is caused by a carbon deposit within the steel. For those who are interested, I will elaborate. Carbon steel is composed of both hard and brittle ironcarbide and soft and though ferrite(basically, pure iron). In high quality steel, the ironcarbide and ferrite are configured in a lammellar or crystal structure(depends on the steel at hand) so that the carbide formes a strong structure and the ferrite fills the spaces in between, so the carbide layers don't break. When the carbon steel is hardend, the configuration is changed to an optimal condition, however it leaves a lot of innner tension, because the carbide crystals are too big. So the steel is tempered at a lower temperature. If this process isn't preformed correctly, there will still be a larger carbide crystal and that causes inner tension and makes the steel brittle. When stressed repeatedly, this will be the breaking point of the steel. This assumption is also backed up by the steel shattering instead of just cracking.

Being a Solinger company, Dovo actually cannot afford to produce improperly treated steel products. German steel is known for its standardized quality and consistency. Dovo really defiles the name of Solingen and that is a real shame.

Though playing devils advocate: I don't see the insult in the tough toenails. Personally, I once stepped on a cut-off toenail of my own and it made a pretty nasty cut... Toenails are tough, that's why you don't clip them with a regulair nail clipper. And it doesn't matter how angry you are or how bad people treat you, in business communication, one always has to remain polite. He who is impolite, shows he isn't right.(That's what my teacher would say.)

ps: Alright stop! Badger time !

 

[gegarrenton]

ps: Alright stop! Badger time !

As a new guy here, this may have been the funniest thing I have ever seen.

 

[mmack66]

I'm actually a little surprised at the number of people that are taking the position that the OP should just write it off and move on. If they did indeed offer a 10 year warranty when he purchased the product, and the product failed (massively, I might add) after 8 years of light use, why shouldn't he be upset? Just because it is a pair of clippers instead of something else? In another unrelated thread we see a direct quote from the very same Dovo rep. stating that they had a 10 year warranty in force in 2006, so I don't think it unreasonable to give him the benefit of the doubt that his product did as well. And it isn't like this is the first time that any of us has seen a Dovo/Merkur product suffer a complete failure due to some defect in the metal

So, let me get this straight, say one of you buys a new car that has a 10 year, 100,000 mile powertrain warranty. 8 years and 80,000 miles later it suffers a catastrophic engine failure, but the vehicle is paid for and you have plenty of money to buy another if you choose to do so. Customer service at the manufacturer says they only offer a 7 year, 75,000 mile warranty now and you are SOL. That's ok by you?

Obviously, a car and a pair of clippers are two very different things, but does that change the principle of the matter?

Maybe he should have been more polite while they were being so dismissive and unresponsive to his claim, not that I am sure I would have been, but that really isn't the issue at hand. Their communications to him pretty clearly imply that they never intended to honor his warranty, no matter what he said. The burden of proof was placed squarely on him from the get-go, and that is poor customer service no matter how you look at it.

Just my $.02.

The burden of proof should be squarely placed on the consumer. She offered to take a look at the cutters if the OP could produce proof of the warranty and proof of purchase. If I bring a 2006 Kia into the dealer with a blown engine, I would expect that I would have to provide some proof that I owned that car since it was new.

 

[doug1066]

In the above referenced thread, Annie clearly states that the 10 year warranty applies to Merkur RAZORS not Dovo nail clippers. You may have a claim based on a claim that the product did not perform the function for which it was designed, but after eight years of use I doubt it. Unless you have a warranty card or some form of written ten year warranty, you are out of luck because the oral statement of the seller is only valid for two years.

 

[Rossmeister]

You're being a total a** in your emails. I know you're frustrated, but to a German woman you're coming off as a loudmouth American douchebag, and that probably won't get you anywhere.

That said, I think you should get a replacement. But if you can't show proof of purchase, you're pretty much screwed a lot of the time.

 

[Baloosh]

If you (OP) think you didn't make any mistakes in this transaction, and that you are 100% faultless for the way it ended up, then you've still got a lot to learn about the old saying, "You can catch more files with honey than with vinegar."

Her first reply to your initial email was prime opportunity to turn it into a positive outcome for you. I know you think you were still courteous and professional in your first response to her, but nothing could be further from the truth.

You didn't prove the warranty was 10 years, so she was under no obligation to take you at your word, especially with how you behaved in subsequent emails.

 

[xraygun]

Does anyone actually have anything that says "warranty" that came with a DOVO purchase?

 

[Bigsurprise]

You're being a total a** in your emails. I know you're frustrated, but to a German woman you're coming off as a loudmouth American douchebag, and that probably won't get you anywhere.

That said, I think you should get a replacement. But if you can't show proof of purchase, you're pretty much screwed a lot of the time.

+1

If you (OP) think you didn't make any mistakes in this transaction, and that you are 100% faultless for the way it ended up, then you've still got a lot to learn about the old saying, "You can catch more files with honey than with vinegar."

Her first reply to your initial email was prime opportunity to turn it into a positive outcome for you. I know you think you were still courteous and professional in your first response to her, but nothing could be further from the truth.

You didn't prove the warranty was 10 years, so she was under no obligation to take you at your word, especially with how you behaved in subsequent emails.

+1

It looks like you just wanted a quick and easy replacement. When the opportunity arises for you to show actual proof, you just demanded that they replace them.

With that said, it is unclear whether she actually looked at your pictures. They are clearly stainless. Often times, companies will just send a replacement anyways because they would rather have good customer relations instead of being right. Sorry that didn't happen to you.

 

[mars]

Are you basing the whole 10 year warranty on that one email to another person written in 2006? Why do you keep saying there is a ten year warranty when you have nothing that says that?

I agree those shouldn't have broken and if there is a warranty they should honor it. But, as others have said, you have no proof of any warranty or as to when you bought it.

I'm also completely blown away that anyone would spend that amount of money on a pair of frigging nail clippers.

Finally, I think you acted like a child/adolescent in those communications. How old are you?