Sorry in advance about the length of this post.
For those of you that haven't heard of Nunatak, it is a small company
based in Twisp, WA specializing in premium lightweight down climbing
gear: sleeping bags, jackets, pants, booties. My boyfriend and I are
planning a 3.5 week climbing expedition to the Brooks Range Alaska which leaves in a few days. 1.5 months ago, we ordered a dual alpinist sleeping bag from Tom at Nunatak, with the guarantee that it would be recieved in time for our
trip. Being a bit of an anal person, I checked in with Tom
periodically between then and now, inquiring about the status of the
bag. I was repeatedly assured that all was well, and that I would be
getting the bag with time to spare.
Then earlier today I get the following message from Tom:
"Ilona. Just received the package that was to contain your bag. it was
not
included after speaking with Seattle sewing again, looks like it did
not get
sewn by her for some reason or another. as none of this matters to
you, ill
be crediting your card this afternoon. I cant believe I dropped the
ball on
this for you, you have my most sincere and regrettable apologies. I
hope
your trip is going to proceed with a backup. nonetheless, I do not
blame you
for not recommending Nunatak to your associates.
good luck,
tom"
So, since he has given me permission to not recommend Nunatak to my
associates, here I am, posting to the greater climbing community.
Here was my response to Tom, sent just a few minutes ago:
"Tom -- I am shocked. What a surprise... I almost don't know where to
start.
In spite of the numerous emails back and forth, the numerous times I
have asked on the status of the bag and you have confirmed to me that
all is going well and I "should have one fine bag" in the next little
while, 1.5 months after the order was placed I find out that the bag
wasn't even sewn???? That means that every time you said that all was
going well, you were not telling the truth. You probably did not have
a chance to actually check on status of the bag in person, and just
assumed that your "sew-er" was doing his or her job. But that leaves
me in a very awkward position. We were, as I have said before,
counting on the bag and therefore counting on your word and your
company's name to provide us with what I thought would be the perfect
product for our trip to Alaska. We will find an alternative, but we
would have been much more able to find a better alternative had you
told us 3 weeks ago that you would not be able to get us the product.
As it is now, we have 5.5 days. Completely unacceptable.
One of the most appealing things to me about your company (in addition
to your fine products) was the personal attention from someone who was
(I thought) clearly in touch with needs of mountaineers and climbers,
and therefore aware of the time and design constraints involved. Every
ounce is counted, every piece of equipment is optimized on a trip like
we will be taking in a few days. Your product was an important element
to the whole equation. I think you need to fire "Seattle sewing" as a
first step, and secondly you need to reevaluate your statements and
priorities. If you cannot do something for someone, give them time to
come up with alternatives. Double check everything you do before you
make commitments to people.
I have no doubt that your products are high quality and well designed.
We obviously made a mistake in not ordering the sleeping bag from you
2 months in advance, instead of 1.5 months. But you said it could be
done, and 3 weeks ago you said that all was going well.
As I said before, I'm shocked.
Ilona"
Take from this what you will...
