Old School Customer Service Orvis

[coyoterahn]

A little over a year ago I sent Orvis a CFO reel for repair. I ran across the note they sent back with my reel after the repair and thought I would post it to give a little shout out to Orvis and their great customer service. (My opinion) I believe it cost me $30. Well worth it.
If anyone else has an opinion on their customer service, I’d be interested in hearing about it.

 

[dryflyguy]

Orvis has always been great with me too.
I've always felt confident buying anything from them

 

[Skeet6]

I am a customer for life. They have repaired stuff I broke, stuff I bought second hand for low money, and most impressively, numerous Orvis bamboo restorations for embarassingly low money. Good as new, absolute perfection.
Mike B

 

[tomb]

I too am a customer for life. I broke an Orvis rod 3 months after the 25 year warranty had expired. I sent the rod to Orvis to be repaired. Orvis replied that the particular material needed to repair was no longer available, They sent me a new rod for free as a replacement. That HLS rod had been broken twice before,and was repaired ,no charge. Instant repair or replacement. Cant ask for better service. I think Orvis is the greatest.

 

[foxfire]

A little over a year ago I sent Orvis a CFO reel for repair. I ran across the note they sent back with my reel after the repair and thought I would post it to give a little shout out to Orvis and their great customer service. (My opinion) I believe it cost me $30. Well worth it.
If anyone else has an opinion on their customer service, I’d be interested in hearing about it.

The “note” speaks volumes as to their customer service. Nice to see in todays planned obsolescence/disposable world. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Bamboozle]

I have been dealing with Orvis since the days when they were one of the only options for quality gear. I have purchased from them with confidence for decades because of their exemplary customer service.

I too have sent in more than a few bamboo rods for repair for next to nothing, (some repaired or restored for no charge) and they one once sent me reel foot screws for my 1970's CFO II and $40 worth of spare parts for their Rip Cord Wading Staff at no charge. They also reply to email questions promptly.

Whether you are fan of their tackle or not, Orvis is a class act!!

 

[AngryViking]

Orvis are always quick to reply to an email and prompt at repairing any of my mistakes. I often order through them and they are fast with submitting my order and getting it shipped right out. I recommend Orvis products to everyone based on two things, good quality products and great customer service in the event you do need them.

 

[jgish92]

I am an Orvis customer for life also! Now, if they could just cut back on the almost daily catalogs that are mailed to me.......

 

[DomR]

Orvis gets a fair amount of hate, nice to see them getting some love! Their products are pricey but they also are quality. I'm on year 25 of hard use on one of their vests and a few of their rods.

 

[Bamboozle]

I am an Orvis customer for life also! Now, if they could just cut back on the almost daily catalogs that are mailed to me.......

I've called a LOT of companies (including Orvis) and asked to take me off of their catalog lists as I really don't want them.

I use to save them for a year and would end up throwing away about 50 pounds of stuff I never looked at. I'd much rather look at a webpage.

 

[Canoetripper]

I have had great success with Orvis customer service. The first time was when I went on my dream vacation to Alaska, I ordered a rod/reel/line combo and they sent me the wrong fly rod action. They then sent me the correct one and told me to take both fly rods to Alaska and then send back the one that I really didn't want.

I ended up accidently backing over that fly rod on a canoe trip. 100% my fault. Orvis said the rod was discontinued but they would upgrade me if I could live with a 9' rod instead of a 8'6". That worked for me.

I broke my Helios fly rod which I am sure was my fault and they replaced the section that I broke.

The last fly rod that I broke was my Recon. What happened was that the Amish women that I hire to clean my home were vacuuming and got the leader dangling off of the bed caught up in the vacuum cleaner snapping the tip four times. They don't know what a fly rod is so that was 100% my fault.

Orvis wanted to see if they could repair the damage. There was no way with the rods I broke.

A couple of years ago I was at a booth that sold Orvis products at the Lancaster fly fishing show and told them about my Orvis Battenkill vintage 1964 bamboo fly rod, They said that Orvis does great work but it would be a long wait. They recommended Art Weiler, who did a great job.

I have no reason not to remain a loyal Orvis customer.

 

[kbobb]

FYI - Orvis does not warrant their rod blanks if you build on it yourself - even if you buy it at an Orvis store, have the receipt, and the rod has the Orvis logo on it.

Canoetripper - remind me not to loan you any rods!! LOL

 

[dryflyguy]

I too am a customer for life. I broke an Orvis rod 3 months after the 25 year warranty had expired. I sent the rod to Orvis to be repaired. Orvis replied that the particular material needed to repair was no longer available, They sent me a new rod for free as a replacement. That HLS rod had been broken twice before,and was repaired ,no charge. Instant repair or replacement. Cant ask for better service. I think Orvis is the greatest.

I also returned an HLS rod that I had a problem with.
That line of rods had been discontinued for at least several years prior to that.
I figured if they didn't repair it, they would offer me a similar model.
To my surprise, they sent me the same rod, brand new.
Guess they had some stashed away, even though they weren't selling them anymore

 

[Sylvaneous]

Yes, I'd say Orvis has at least as good customer service as anyone and better than most. They don't tout their policies as much as L. L. Bean, but they are every bit as good. I "daisied" a Helios trying to haul a bass out of grass cover. (in 2 places none the less. Hey, get your money's worth!) It only cost me shipping to them but that's not an unusual practice for any manufacturer.

 

[Sylvaneous]

Orvis gets a fair amount of hate, nice to see them getting some love! Their products are pricey but they also are quality. I'm on year 25 of hard use on one of their vests and a few of their rods.

They have some really *cringy* advertising slogan and I guess what is called 'copy'. "Imagine being in in the best place with exclusive blah blah blah" that kind of hagiography (one of my favorite new words. It means sickeningly salutory.) They used to be seen as stuffy , stogy and arrogant; for entitled old white guys who believe their own press. (there's that hagiography thing again) It was expensive stuff. Now-a-days, they aren't more expensive than Sage, Patagonia, Fishpond, Simms and the like. And they make great rods and reels that perform right up there with the best. (however, the plastic reel spacers and hard winding check and lack of hook keeper says cheap! cheap!. The rods are great, though)

 

[dano]

Their reel repair shop is great.
I sent in a couple of 25 yr old wobbly reels and spools for repair. A week later a package shows up with my repaired reels and a bill for $14.50 for the parts they used.

 

[CRB]

Makes me come back and purchase the brand.