Lost Board
 

Please take a moment and read the lost/found section on this forum.....remember when viewing, this could hadppen to any of us and the same will be considered to help if it happens to you.
PEACE-OUT!

Big G

Even $10 or $20 will be a HUGE help! We already have a good chunk started, hopefully others can contribute to make Erick's loss sting a little bit less... Can't wait to see you all out on the water, pray for wind this upcoming week!!! 8)

Much Thanks to all....

For those that have been able to contribute and help with the cost of replacing Eric's board, a HUGE THANK YOU goes out to you. This drive has been successful because of your help. Eric is registered to compete/complete in this years TampaBayKiteMasters and will still need a few bucks to replace his lost board. This board was brand new by the way which is why the sting of having to replace it this soon is so very painful.


Your help supporting this local kiting community has been positive in many ways. In fact, I’m going out on a limb here and suggest that this year we start a collection drive for any lost or stolen equipment reported this up coming season. Last year I can remember several riders that reported kite equipment that had been taken while they were on the water riding or even from there locked vehicles. Also, discussions of suspicious looking people lurking around our launching areas and our cars means that things will probably continue to come up missing this year.

I suggest a “no rules” agreement to who we will raise these monies for as long as we are contributing and helping to reduce the cost of replacing a missing item. If by no fault of your own, a piece of equipment is lost or stolen while you are at one of our local sites, be sure to post the item in the lost section. The donation/collection process would then begin for you and your items replacement. Please, if you leave an item behind on the beach, concessions for a collection will probably not be considered as this was an avoidable act. The collection should be for and non avoidable loss or theft.

For those that have been riding for some time and have experienced loosing a piece of equipment ,I’m sure you know the pain of having to replace the item assuming you can even afford doing that. Those that are new to this sport, I hope it never happens to you, but lets face it, people take things that do not belong to them!
Any input would be appreciated while keeping in mind, we are currently collecting for a fellow kiter that has lost a board

Post your comments…..your opinion is requested.

Big G

So was Erick's board stolen, lost at sea or what happened? If someone wants to contribute, how would they go about doing so?

I've been very fortunate to have somethings returned/found by other kiters after I left them on the beach, except for one bar and lines. Of course, with the number of kiters out there now, chances of tracking your stuff down diminishes.

I've been trying to get in the habit of taking inventory when I pack up my truck. ...Still had to drive back to the Skyway not too long ago.

Oops. Never mind my first question, I see the story in the lost/stolen section.

Seeing as Gary's board may not be getting warrantied anymore, we now have 2 guys in need of some help. Cmon guys, help out by shelling out a few bucks! I think the grand total raised so far is somewhere in the range of $200-$210. Great and thanks to all who have pitched in but to the rest: Even if all you have to give is a couple of bucks, it WILL make a difference. $200 is not even close to the amount needed to replace 1 board, never mind 2. Help out, it'll be you in need someday and we'll be helping you out!!! 8)

Last chance to help Erick out although Gary needs all the help he can get too. Please post your donation to their cause if interested. Anything you can do will help!!! :D

I'll throw in ten to each of you (Gary and Erick). Just PM me with how I can do it. ...or let me know when you're going out next. If we keep getting wind we can probably meet up at one of the area launch sites in the next few days.

Very cool A-Bomb!!! :D

I do appreciate the kind contributions, however, I've worked out a very fair arrangement to replace my broken Underground FLX152. John and Steve backed the guarantee that Underground would not honor. Props to the local shop!

Thank you Watersports West !!!!

Big G

I do appreciate the kind contributions, however, I've worked out a very fair arrangement to replace my broken Underground FLX152. John and Steve backed the guarantee that Underground would not honor. Props to the local shop!

Thank you Watersports West !!!!

Big G

I do appreciate the kind contributions, however, I've worked out a very fair arrangement to replace my broken Underground FLX152. John and Steve backed the guarantee that Underground would not honor. Props to the local shop!

Thank you Watersports West !!!!

Big G

That's great news Gary, and a definite HUGE thumbs up to Watersports West for stepping up to the plate and helping you out when even the board company's regular warranty had ended!!!

But Erick still does need help so I am sure he appreciates any help he can get!!!

Did underground really not warranty a broken board?? Did you actually talk to underground or is that from WSW? That sounds unlike Underground. Did you actually have to pay for the replacement?

Maybe I won't buy an underground after all.

The board was a 2005 Tom. The warranty is good for one year so it actually has been well over a year on the warranty...Underground boards rock and they ALWAYS honor their warranty and sometimes go above and beyond it...there is a point at which ANY board should not be warrantied, whether this one should have or not is really not the question here. Watersports West just stepped up to the plate, that's all...

Ahh ok I see. Was gonna say I was pretty sure Underground had one of the best warranties around!

Thanks for the details. I've seen a lot of these boards breaking and a lot of people complaining about no warranty.

There are plenty of other boards to choose from. I don't like the FLXs at all anyway. I only ever liked the WT and MC. I'll pass on Underground.. maybe the 666 instead :)

Interesting stuff, for sure.

I have that post in a folder for possible future issues.

Well I'M not buying ANY more Underground products (and both Amber and I have 2 of their boards each) until I hear of better customer service on their end!!! Sorry for the misinfo, didn't mean to upset you Gary... :D

I'm glad to hear that Gary came up with a deal with our local store. All this topic started because of my lost board, which I'm glad to inform you that I've replaced for a 157 custom made UG that i bought from Scott/Donna. So I'm ready to get back in the water again. I've been dry for too long and the waiting has been painful. However, I'm now ready to continue my journey into the blue.

Thanks to all the great kiteboarding community in the bay area who showed their support :P

Erick

All I know is that UG makes great boards.

I still love my custom 137 by 40 wavetray. I ride it in 20 to... you name it.
Donna has one too, its her favorite board.

UG is huge in St. Pete for a reason, their boards rock :)
They are huge here in St. Augustine, too.

Erick, prepare to scream upwind :wink:

Agreed. But they can't just pump out profits and ignore warranties that they PROMISED. You can have the best product in the world of its type and still not be the best in the business because you start to treat your customers like numbers, not people and don't even keep your promises.

It is purely an integrity issue and one of my good friends is involved here. I'm just calling it how I see it Scott. If there is more to this story then please enlighten me but it appears as though they didn't do their customer justice here. They won't be the only company with boards this good for long with the way this sport is progressing. If they want their customers to be loyal to them in the long run, they need to be loyal to those same customers.

The thread has been brought to Adrian's attention.
I start to get pretty sick of he said this, he said that stuff.
He may choose not to respond, but at least he'll see it and have a choice.

Please post UG response
 

Hey Scott, can you please post there response on this matter. I own two UG FLX that I bought this year and I love them. The problem is Toby is right, if they are not going to honor there word these will be the last of UG board I will buy. There are too many other company out there that are comming out with some awesome board that would love the business UG gets. It only takes a few guys to buy some of those Nobile, Aggression, Nomad, etc. Start riding it and loving them as much as there UG. It is amazing what people buy because what they see other people riding. Especially newbies that are wanting to get into the sport. Hopefully there is a good reason for why they did not replace the board.

Thanks Scott.

My personal opinion is that a product by itself might be great. However, what truly makes a great products is how rates on customer satisfaction.

I agree with Toby. I had an UG and I loved it but if it would have been my board the one the broke instead of Gary's then I would have been pissed up too. That's why those boards cost $700 and not $50.

I was on that day riding with Gary so I know how the board broke. The guarantee should have covered that board.

Imagine buying a car and the next day while driving it breaks. I have worked in Quality Control and in isolated cases some products are manufactured defective. Recent recalls on Sony and Dell are some examples. Responsible companies give the customer the benefit of the doubt.

What most companies do is to inspect the product and then determine the cause of the problem. If they can’t determine the cause of the problem then they replace the product. No question asked. I know you sent pictures but Gary did UG asked for the board to examine it? It should be in the best interest for UG to inspect that board. That decision of not covering the guarantee might at the end be more costly for UG.

This thread is a joke.
From what I understand Adrian and UG are helping to sponsor the race and some of you guys trash the company with limited one sided information.
Good going. :roll:
He responded to me. My link I provided him didn't work.
He will probably tell us the real deal on here. I hate one sided attacks.
It never ceases to amaze me how bad press (possibly unsubstantiated) spreads like an illness. Especially in St. Pete where UG is so dominant with happy riders, this is very hard to even relate to.

Well since underground wouldn't honor the warranty, thats great news that Watersports West stepped up to plate and gave you one of their boards off the shelf at a good price. What kind of price did they give you on it?

I have to ask tho, if you are so unhappy with UG why didn't you get a different brand in exchange?

Sheesh I had to edit this 4 times because of typos... that's just rediculous.

Scott,

Chill man.

Noone is attacking anyone. We are just concerned about customer service, that's all. I am sure Adrian will shed some light on the matter and all will be well. I LOVE his product, the best boards in the business in my opinion. No drama needed here. If there is a reasonable explanation then this thread can be deleted and we will all go about our business. But a warranty is a warranty, bottom line and between Amber and I we have about 2,100 tied up in his boards so I think I have reason for concern. Opinions and perceptions, we are all entitled to our own and they are never always the same as everyone elses. This forum just like any other forum covering any other topic is an area for discussions in which opinions and perceptions are and should be shared, good or bad. If we all had the same opinion and/or perception of any given topic, this world would be a pretty dull place, dontchathink?

Me chill? No drama needed? Funny stuff.
Who flew off the handle first and then kept this stuff going?

This is an attack (go f%ck yourself ?) which was followed by more hints at UG not honoring warranties.

Some people should think before posting such negative comments.
The guy/company being attacked now has a chance to speak, if they wish.

Why did you get another UG Gary if you are so unhappy with them?
Weird.

These boards are clearly designed for the style of riding most kite boarders enjoy. I believe that the quality of these boards are superior to other similar brands on the market and that is why I originally bought an Underground. It is the same reason I have decided to replace it with a new Underground model, now given the chance.

Hi All,
Adrian from Underground here. Our warrantee is one year from date of purchase. Warrantees are processed by the shops; they send pictures to me and let me know the board was less than a year old.
We assess the damage and replace boards damaged by riding; we do not cover boards damaged by abuse. After viewing the pictures of the damage to the board mentioned above we concluded it was not possible to damage a board in such a way by normal riding. It was split between the fins down the board? I have never seen a board damaged like this and do not know how it was damaged. We very rarely get broken boards and mostly warrantee them without question.
We like to support Underground riders that have had problems with their boards and often even out of warrantee boards or boards damaged by accidents we offer the riders a new board (often the latest model for a board from a previous season at a token cost. We really appreciate the support from the riders in the US and we have had a huge season this year. We have built almost twice the number of boards we built last season and still had long backorders for delivery.
Thanks for your support! Feel free to email me directly if you have any problems.
Thanks Adrian Roper

I was hoping for pictures of a broken board in here...

I was dissapointed.

**

The "connection" I have Gary is that I have bought the UG boards for over 5 years as a consumer, seen alot of riders in St. Pete fall in love with these boards following a test ride on them, have had my personal boards warrantied by Adrian, and now continue to see the same on the "business side" of it.

I would hate to have one single thread overide in 2 days what I have witnessed over 5 years. Again, there are lots of UGs in St. Pete and elsewhere for a reason. Sorry you had one "bad experience". I would recommend seeing the bigger picture of how many people are PUMPED with UG now and over the years and take that into account.

It's pretty straight forward.

88

Just being factual here. Shipping to NZ is an arm and leg :cry:
I wouldn't have directed this thread to him if I didn't see all the newer guys doubting UG and their integrity. It was like a frenzy or something. You guys should hit some wind :D

Are you STILL calling me a noob??? :shock: :lol:

your the FASTEST noob ive seen (under control that is)

:twisted: