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About Customer Service #pauto #powertrip #SOG

Jan. 1, 2000

My recent customer service experiences with Powertrip and SOG are lessons we all need to learn.

A good long while ago, at an Emerson Process Management function, I received one of the best tschotchkes I ever have gotten. It was a POWERTRIP(tm) iPad/iPod/cellphone charger. It has enough charge to run my iPad all the way to Europe, is solar assisted, has 4 Gb of memory and can charge two things at once. This is a very cool thing.

Unfortunately, overuse brings problems and since I had had it for a while, I figured that it was certainly out of warranty. Especially since it was an Emerson giveaway. 

So I called powerstick.com in Canada, the manufacturer and asked how much it would cost to fix it. I was honest, and said that it said Emerson Process Management  on the side. The nice woman asked me to send her a pic of the device so they could be sure it was a branded Emerson Powertrip. 

I did. I fully expected her to come back to me and tell me that since it was an Emerson thing, they couldn't warranty it. I knew how much a new one cost, since I gave one to my wife last Yule as a present. I steeled myself to shell out over a hundred bucks.

She called back and assured me that it was covered by the LIFETIME warranty and would I please ship it back to them?

I got it back earlier this week. Not only did they fully repair it, but it came in a new box with all new accessories.

After the latest time the TSA grabbed my multitool because I forgot to pack it in my checked baggage, I decided to try another brand. I had had SOG Knives recommended to me, so I bought an SOG Powerassist EOD multitool (it was expensive, but I promised myself I wouldn't lose it to the TSA ever again...). It came and I liked it. I especially liked the way they used a "piano lock" to lock the specialty blades in.

Unfortunately, very quickly, like almost immediately, the piano lock started to get very loose, and when I tried to use, say the Phillips blade, it wouldn't stay locked. So I quit using it...warranties being what they are, and I picked up a nice and much cheaper Leatherman at the Leatherman outlet store near Ft. Leonard Wood in Missouri. 

But it bugged me that I'd spent so much for a multitool that had basically had an infant failure. So I called SOG. They said, here's our address, send it back. 

I got it back yesterday, with a no charge invoice...it said, "Your multitool has been repaired. Please accept our apologies for the inconvenience."

Now it should be obvious what the application of these two little tales is to the automation industry. If you have any questions about what they mean, come to the ISA Marketing and Sales Summit in New Orleans in two weeks, and I'll explain it all to you.