Kite Customer Service

[C. Moore]

I am evaluating which kite company has the best customer service. As all of you know Tammy and I ride Flexifoil kites and for those of you that have them you have had the same issue as me with faulty valves on the Leading Edge. Trying to get Flexi to send me a new and improved LE Bladders is like pulling teeth. So post on here what issue you have had with your Kite and how was your customer service. I will post mine below with the out come.

[C. Moore]

Sent: Saturday, August 16, 2008 10:28 AM
To:jeoffrey@flexifoilusa.com; feedback@flexifoil.com; repairs@flexifoil.com; sales@flexifoil.com; peter@flexifoilusa.com
Subject: Please help

Jeoffrey,

I need some major help. I have 5 Flexi's kites and 2 of them, my 9m and 12m have leaking LE bladders. I'm a big advocate of Flexifoils products and I'm always promoting your Kites to people on the beach but now I may tell people to steer clear of your product. I have already replaced both mine and my wife's 15m Atom and Ion bladders because of leaking LE bladders. I have heard from others that fly Flexifoils that they have issues too. What is Flexifoil doing to correct this issue?

My 9m Atom is leaking at the dump valve and as I was pulling it out to repair it with Airtime valve replacements, I inspected the fill valves and they are going to need replaced too.

My 12m Atom is leaking on the LE by the strut fill valve and I am afraid of pulling it out to fix it because I might notice more valves needing to be fixed as well.

I live 45 minutes from my local kite shop and I have already spent $45.00 in Airtime replacement parts but I didn't pickup Fill valves. I shouldn't have to carry multiple replacement parts from Airtime to keep my Flexfoil kites flying. I wouldn't be so upset if this was due to neglect but we treat our Flexifoil kites with care.

We haven't had decent wind in three months and last Wednesday we finally get to ride. It was blowing 20 plus and my wife and I were stoked to finally ride. What a disappointment to see all of our buddies riding because we are stuck with 2 faulty kites.

Please help me restore my confidence in your products.

Thanks

Chris Moore
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As of today I have only received 1 bladder for my 12m kite. My 15m kite needs a valve replacement. My 9m needs a new bridle line and Leading Edge Bladder, I cant order the bridle line from anyone since they do not warehouse parts in the US. I now carry an assortment of Airtime valves in my car just in case the wind blows and a valve starts leaking. The older kites have a plastic clip on the tube that leads from the LE to the strut that wares through the canopy when it folded. Flexi has corrected this issue by placing neoprene socks over their inflation tubes. You can't order these neoprene socks either.

[Danimal8199]

chris, met you when i started riding and rode your 12m atom at lassing park a few times flexis were also recommended to me by someone else. i bought three ion 2s last year and convenced my friend to by 2 as well, so thats 5 kites that can partly be traced to you. i have replaced at least 3 valves between 2 kites and my friend has replaced 2 valves as well. im actually good at fixing them now! i may need to write an email as well. are those the addresses i should use?

[rednunya]

For my small amount of experience kiting, I have been using Freakdog kites and the only problem I have had with mine is the chicken loop line frays and wears out. I called the boys in Daytona to order some more and had trouble getting a return answer but I gave em a chance cause it was during the holidays. A week later I got a returned email and they sent me two more lines for no cost. I also bought another kite from them for a smoking deal and so far they seem great. Sorry about the LE problems with Flexi, must be very frustrating to love a product but have something like this possibly change your direction.

[C. Moore]

im actually good at fixing them now! i may need to write an email as well. are those the addresses i should use?

Danny,
Where have you been? I have sent the person who handles their customer service the link to this post. I will pm you their customer support email address.

I hope it blows this weekend. I'm itching to get out.

-Chris

[Big D]

I am a true believer you get what you pay for.... Ride Cabrinha and solve that problem .......

[Steve-O]

In my few years in the biz.....lots of kites have valve problems. You would think by now that would be a thing of the past. Slingshot had some major issues back in 04-06 but they have used a new technique that has resolved the issue.

When we got Monkey kites in 07, they too had bladder issues, but they also found a solution.

I have heard of GK having some issues as well.

I know the lack of distribution in the US has been the #1 reason we have not carried Flexi in the shop, and to my knowledge, Jeoffrey no longer works for Flexi these days. It sucks because with Parker as one of their team riders, it would be nice to support his cause. But they make it hard to do business.

I feel for you Chris. I talk with Doug regularly and he has also had some issues with his bladders as well.

I hope they find a solution. I hope they get some US distribution setup. Flexi is a great kite, but it seems they are lacking as a company.

We have some kites in the shop that you may use for the weekend to get you on the water until you find a resolution. Let me know.

Good luck.

[C. Moore]

I am a true believer you get what you pay for.... Ride Cabrinha and solve that problem .......


Big D,
I am a believer of that too. I paid a hefty price for some kites and received awesome kites. How ever when it comes customer service you never know what to expect until you call them. In my job when I evaluate software I also evaluate tech support. This is hard to do with Kite companies so that's why I posted this so riders can give feed back and also new riders can plan accordingly before they purchase a specific kite.

Steve,

Thanks for the offer. We need to hit 3 rooker soon. Sucks that we no longer have the jet ski to get out there. See you Saturday to discuss the Race.

-C

[stpetesal]

I bought 3 kites over a year ago two atoms a 12m and 15m and one ion2 8.5m, . I had to contact flexi in the UK, I think it was Wendy who took charge and got some things done, sent the 15 to Jeff in Texas (after taking pics of the problem) but I fixed some myself. Send her this link maybe it will help maybe it wont? No trouble what so ever with my ion2 great kite. The Atoms are good kites as well just the damn leading edge valves.. I had nothing but trouble with both atoms leading edge valves, my finial fix was to take the valves out and use aquaseal and put valve back on top of bladder.

[C. Moore]

I have been in contact with Flexi and I have sent them the link to this post. They are trying to make amends with my problems. Wendy no longer works for Flexi and they are trying to stay on top of warranty items. We will see what happens. Peter Trow who is the West Coast rep is now in communication with me and trying to get everything solved.

By the way I have also become proficient at changing out LE Bladders. I use fish tape to pull the bladder through without any twist.

-Chris

[Big G]

Time for me to chime in....I have a 15m Ion Flexi and, well, the leading edge leaked. I also take care of my kites and never leave them in a hot car which I believe contributes to melting the seals around the valve causing leaks.

Anyway, Chris repaired mine and I thank you for that.

[Ross Bond(blu Swchblde 2)]

yep, me too, i have a flexi ion, and after about 1 year of use, my valve on my smallest strut went and i had to get it replaced with an airtime valve. overall i really like my flexi ion, cabrinha sb 2 combo.

[bryanleighty]

I have rode BEST kites since day 1.

I have had 3 major issues and all have been covered 100%.

Issue 1 - leaky bladder in a new waroo. Best shipped me 2 replacement bladders next day air. I still have 1 thats never been used. This was arranged thru Extreme Kites. They called BEST and BEST direct shipped to me.

Issue 2 - Waroo bar came apart during session. I bypassed Extreme and contacted Simon from BEST via PM on the BEST forum. He contacted me back withing 24 hours with his direct phone number. I called him, he conference in a sales rep and they got me a replacement bar (next years model btw).

Issue 3 - 4 month old Waroo 9m leading edge seam burst while riding. Thru Extreme Kites I got a replacement kite shipped in about 1 week. I had to pay for shipping my old kite back (about 15 bucks).

I would *assume* that any reputable retailer would get the same level of service thru BEST that Extreme Kites does.. I have not had a single bad or slightly annoying episode. I have heard stories about Flexi and North that would make me go postal.

Good luck Chris! and give me a call when you get a chance ...

[Steve-O]

I won't get into tons of detail, but we have been able to offer great customer service with the support of Adventure Sports and Cabrinha at WSW.

I have heard equally good stories with Best and EK.

It goes to show you that having both of these companies distrubition centers in Florida is very helpful when problems arise. Bottom line, if you kite, you are going to have problems. The key is in the resolution.

So it seems a no brainer when you look around and the majority of kites in FL are Best and Cabrinha.

It's all in the service!!!

Let's keep this run of wind coming. Clearly February is here!!!!

[kiter_dude]

my buds and i have had valve problems with north, flexi, slingy, gaastra, rrd, naish and older cab's

have not seen any problems so far with the new fancy schmancy cab valve set-up but have seen lots of cabs (07s and older) tear and come apart too easily, heard that cab has made them tougher since 07

one of our buds has a gk sonic where the factory stitching did not catch for several feet along the LE and he has had major blow-outs, definitely a factory error but factory said "out of warranty" (valves are good though)

so, which is better, i dunno

[LSUkiter]

I've gotta agree with Brian. Best has their haters, and everybody likes the feel of a different kite, so your brand is your brand. But, Best is there for you when you need them. They might not fix the problem, or give you exactly the answer you want but you have so many options to get in touch with them. You can call during normal business hours and always get a live person(at least the multiple times I've called). If you're out of the country you can call via skype over their website(cool touch eventhough I'm not a skype user), and if all else fails, there's SQ(Simon) moderating their forum. He answers questions whenever you direct your question to him in a post. From what I've seen from people complaining about product problems in their forum, if it seems to be a manufacturer error or problem, they try to right it. If its obviously not their issue, they come out and say it.
I ride Best because I'm used to their kites and they fit me. I originally bought Best becuase I saw they were easily reachable if I had an issue my instructor didn't know about.
I know plenty of people don't like the feel of a Best kite, or their history of being an internet retailer, but if you've ever used their support, you'd know what I mean