Karve Diem

[glm38]

Regarding the lack of communication i do get it. I'm betting its simply a time factor. In small operations like this company's there just aren't enough time or resources for everything.

I bought a brass Karve probably a couple of years ago. I remember back then being frustrated by the wait and lack of communication. Then the razor arrived and for me at least all was forgiven.

 

[DSR]

I bought a brass Karve probably a couple of years ago. I remember back then being frustrated by the wait and lack of communication. Then the razor arrived and for me at least all was forgiven.

Yes, I guess it was the same for me last year, and probably for lots of other people, because it is such a good razor.
And I suspect that’s what he’s hoping for again this time, that “all will be forgiven” once customers get and enjoy their SS razors.

I do not buy the time factor being the reason for the lack of communication though.
There’s no doubt he’s busy, but it would literally take him 20-30 min to send an email or newsletter to all customers.
Plus that’s the reason he got Jack (who lives in US, so not able to help in the shop), to manage his PR and communications with customers....
When you have lots of frustrated and angry customers repeatedly asking you for information, and some starting to cancel their orders, not being able or willing to find half an hour to reply seems strange to me.

 

[muzichead]

Did it ever occur to anyone that maybe Chris lacks the skills necessary to communicate with people or is at a loss when it comes to social media? There are those types of people in todays society that just don't get it and never will. Maybe this is why he brought Jack on to help with his PR, but it would seem as though Jack doesn't possess the skills either or else he would've done something already!! I really had a hard time watching his shave video with the SS razor and he just looked lost in general and that would be the last person I'd want to be the face of my company!!

One thing is for sure though if history has taught us anything.... As soon as these razors get into the hands of the buyers, all will be forgiven as @glm38 pointed out and CB will be a god in the eyes of everyone again and can do no wrong!! Sad really when you think about it!!

 

[DSR]

Did it ever occur to anyone that maybe Chris lacks the skills necessary to communicate with people or is at a loss when it comes to social media? There are those types of people in todays society that just don't get it and never will. Maybe this is why he brought Jack on to help with his PR, but it would seem as though Jack doesn't possess the skills either or else he would've done something already!! I really had a hard time watching his shave video with the SS razor and he just looked lost in general and that would be the last person I'd want to be the face of my company!!

One thing is for sure though if history has taught us anything.... As soon as these razors get into the hands of the buyers, all will be forgiven as @glm38 pointed out and CB will be a god in the eyes of everyone again and can do no wrong!! Sad really when you think about it!!

I guess we don’t really know what the dynamic and interactions are between Chris and Jack, but it’s pretty obvious that, at least so far, Jack hasn’t really done anything significant to improve Karve’s PR and communications with customers.

 

[mozartman]

“Stakeholders” refers to the multiple constituencies that are impacted by business entities, including owners/shareholders, customers, suppliers, employees, managers, creditors, government, and local communities. It’s not necessary to have made a payment to be a stakeholder.

It’s more of a business concept than a legal one, but I’m a little surprised you wouldn’t have come across it in your field of law.

Yes, of course I am familiar with that concept, it's a very important one in corporations law, for example. And I didn't mean to start such a ruckus. And I'm not saying that Chris is doing such a great job here. He needs to learn that not making promises you can't keep is a basic principle of customer relations. But Yojimbo1968 is exactly right. He's just a small businessman with typical product launch difficulties. Any contract here can only be a unilateral one: pay me my price, and I promise either to deliver you my razor as soon as I can, or if it's taking unreasonably long, give you a refund. His customer relations mistake is stringing people along with promises about when he'll be able to start delivering razors. That's a big mistake that will cost him customers, but it doesn't bother me too much, because to me his product launch problems and delays were all too predictable, his promises not credible, and his refund always available. Still, any of you who find the delay just too annoying to put up with, I more than understand.

 

[ackvil]

Why communicate on Instagram and other social media and not on your website where orders were placed?

 

[DSR]

Unfortunately, with or without Chris’ promises that he’s learned from previous mistakes and will get better, with or without Jack’s addition to the team as PR person, I no longer see Karve’s communication and customer service significantly improving anytime soon.
And that is a real shame, as it will affect his business....

So it ultimately comes down to each customer making his/ her own decision.
You can either accept that there will be long delays, change in deadlines and no or poor communication throughout, but you will get your SS razor in the end. Which will probably be a very good razor, considering people’s experiences with the brass one.
Or you could decide you’ve had enough and pull out, remove yourself from the wait list, or ask for a refund if you’ve already paid. And, as far as I know, he has always honoured the refund requests, nobody lost any money so far.
But it will leave people with a bitter taste... shame...

 

[Bakker1964]

Already paid . . . waiting for a ship notice which, if yesterday's IG interaction holds true, I should receive Monday. Funny coincidence, that.

I am expecting a razor of superlative quality. Would that the service matched the product.

 

[Earcutter]

Already paid . . . waiting for a ship notice which, if yesterday's IG interaction holds true, I should receive Monday. Funny coincidence, that.

I am expecting a razor of superlative quality. Would that the service matched the product.

I’m not going to lie, I’m jealous.

 

[Bakker1964]

Don't be . . . by the time it arrives it will have been three weeks plus, since the time of my order confirmation. I quite literally could have driven the 6,600 km round trip to pick it up in person, by now. Hell, I could even have stopped off at Mount Rushmore for some touristy stuff on the way.

 

[Earcutter]

Don't be . . . by the time it arrives it will have been three weeks plus, since the time of my order confirmation.

Will all be forgotten in a month, or will the horror linger and forever taint the razor? That’s an actual question. I wonder.

 

[Scorpion508]

Still waiting for delivery

 

[AJSharp]

As we all are ...

 

[SaddleSC]

Why communicate on Instagram and other social media and not on your website where orders were placed?

Exactly...1000%
Seems like common sense to me.

 

[Bakker1964]

Will all be forgotten in a month, or will the horror linger and forever taint the razor? That’s an actual question. I wonder.

I am sure the razor will be of top-notch quality and I will enjoy using it just as much as the brass versions I can put together. Thing is, I am not likely to forget this nonsense and thus be very wary of bothering with any of the hinted at "future developments". This purchase was right about my "limit" for what I am willing to pay for a razor that is not named Wolfman. So, a copper version with different specs, or a titanium build would cause me to look at my inventory and ask, "am I willing to sell one of these pieces to finance a new one?" If the answer was "yes", I would then follow the release of said item to determine if a similar clusterf**k happened.

In short, still a fan, but Karve no longer has carte blanche from me.

 

[AQU]

With so many quality razor options out there in the same price range, you should be careful of how you treat your customers. There’s too many options out there for us right now.

I cancelled and took my money elsewhere.

 

[gsurko]

I will never buy another thing from this sham outfit.

 

[trashcanmagic]

Will all be forgotten in a month, or will the horror linger and forever taint the razor? That’s an actual question. I wonder.

I mean it definitely will temper how many people will ever pre-order from Karve again.

I still want one but I had held off to buy some other toys instead (and then, frankly, forgot that the release was coming up). Not feeling sore about that decision and I think in the future not only will that be how I treat this company (which is not my usual MO; I will *absolutely* preorder, kickstarter, etc.) but many others which sadly will probably make life harder for Karve.

But then, I have limited sympathy for people who can't manage a product launch in 2019. Sit down and work out your contingency planning and subsequent communication ahead of time. I've seen plenty of tiny, tiny, tiny businesses do that and Karve explicitly hired a comms person so again limited (but not zero) sympathy.

 

[mozartman]

I mean it definitely will temper how many people will ever pre-order from Karve again.

I still want one but I had held off to buy some other toys instead (and then, frankly, forgot that the release was coming up). Not feeling sore about that decision and I think in the future not only will that be how I treat this company (which is not my usual MO; I will *absolutely* preorder, kickstarter, etc.) but many others which sadly will probably make life harder for Karve.

But then, I have limited sympathy for people who can't manage a product launch in 2019. Sit down and work out your contingency planning and subsequent communication ahead of time. I've seen plenty of tiny, tiny, tiny businesses do that and Karve explicitly hired a comms person so again limited (but not zero) sympathy.

OK, fair enough. But my wife has a cousin who headed up the returns and refunds (i.e., the customer relations) department for a very well-known and successful brand of clothing and accessories that all of you would instantly recognize. She headed a department of 11 people who spent pretty much all day every day dealing with calls and e-mails from frustrated or even angry customers who didn't get what they wanted, or got it but it wasn't what they expected, or got it but not quickly enough, or returned it but hadn't received the exchange or refund, or got a refund but not in the amount they were expecting, etc., etc., etc., etc., and etc. Their job was to turn a customer's negative experience into a positive one, and that is hard, time consuming work. I think in the age of the internet and (seemingly) instantaneous communication, our expectations have risen greatly in this area, especially as to the providing of timely and accurate information, but when you talk with someone who works in this field, you learn that those high expectations can be tough to meet.

Ideally, Chris would perfect his steel razor, have his manufacturing process fully set, have his distribution system fully in place, and build up a large inventory before saying anything about it to anyone. Then maybe he wouldn't need a customer relations department. But in my experience, that isn't realistic, even for a larger and deeper-pocketed company. Anyway, peace to all.

 

[garyg]

OK, fair enough. But my wife has a cousin who headed up the returns and refunds (i.e., the customer relations) department for a very well-known and successful brand of clothing and accessories that all of you would instantly recognize. She headed a department of 11 people who spent pretty much all day every day dealing with calls and e-mails from frustrated or even angry customers who didn't get what they wanted, or got it but it wasn't what they expected, or got it but not quickly enough, or returned it but hadn't received the exchange or refund, or got a refund but not in the amount they were expecting, etc., etc., etc., etc., and etc. Their job was to turn a customer's negative experience into a positive one, and that is hard, time consuming work. I think in the age of the internet and (seemingly) instantaneous communication, our expectations have risen greatly in this area, especially as to the providing of timely and accurate information, but when you talk with someone who works in this field, you learn that those high expectations can be tough to meet.

Ideally, Chris would perfect his steel razor, have his manufacturing process fully set, have his distribution system fully in place, and build up a large inventory before saying anything about it to anyone. Then maybe he wouldn't need a customer relations department. But in my experience, that isn't realistic, even for a larger and deeper-pocketed company. Anyway, peace to all.

+1 The internet has spawned a bunch of whiners that want it now, and can post here about their discontent. If they weren't busy whining, they might discover that a firm has a sole proprietor, and also isn't into making emails instead of razors, and if they had any sense would factor that into their decision. And, having made that decision, not cry about it