Shimano "service"????

A friend of mine just sent two Shimano spinning reels away to be serviced before their trip down to the canals.
Anyway.... went to collect them from the local shop only to be told that Shimano didn't think they were worth servicing and sent them back in pieces!!!!!!
Said they would have to charge if they were to reassemble them!!!!!!
Really????
For a brand that is supposed to be top of the heap this surely is just shit on so many levels.
I don't know the models of reels but I do know that they were in working order when they were sent away. To firstly say that their product was not worth servicing is one thing but to send them back in a plastic bag in bits is unbelievable.

Ratshit

Were they sent back to Douglas Johnson in Auckland or just to a local reel guy. Some shops will send them local once they are out of warranty. My shed is dripping in Shimano gear and I have DJ services my game reels every season and have never had an issue with them but what you had done is crappy to say the least.

Have seen this in the past when the reels are absolutely stuffed . Most makers do the same when the cost of the parts needed exceed the value of the reel

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Originally Posted by Clint Ruin

Have seen this in the past when the reels are absolutely stuffed . Most makers do the same when the cost of the parts needed exceed the value of the reel

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This may well be the case if the reels were not functional when they were sent, but they were and were sent back like this. There was no consultation to see what the owner would like to do either.
Attachment 90210
The only issue was that the anti reverse on one didn't work, and that should not have been a big issue to fix.

The reels in the photo do look past it can see corrosion etc
However they should call you and ask you what you want them to do
Doesn’t sound like shimano to me more a local reel repair guy? Shimano customer service is normally pretty good would say if they deemed you reel to be beyond economical repair and it wasn’t covered by the 10 year warranty they would call to Discuss

What model reels are they if they?
The thing is just a service costs arround $70 plus any parts needed
If they are only $120 new they aren’t worth serviceing

Still doesn’t make it ok to send them back in parts without a phone call to Discuss though

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Originally Posted by rambo-6mmrem

The reels in the photo do look past it can see corrosion etc
However they should call you and ask you what you want them to do
Doesn’t sound like shimano to me more a local reel repair guy? Shimano customer service is normally pretty good would say if they deemed you reel to be beyond economical repair and it wasn’t covered by the 10 year warranty they would call to Discuss

What model reels are they if they?
The thing is just a service costs arround $70 plus any parts needed
If they are only $120 new they aren’t worth serviceing

Still doesn’t make it ok to send them back in parts without a phone call to Discuss though

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It was Shimano they were sent back to from a Nelson retailer.
They are not expensive reels but they were in working order (apart from the anti reverse on one) when they were sent away. If Shimano deemed them to not be worthy of servicing then fair enough, but to send them back as a bag of parts? They could have returned them (as received) with a nice note perhaps suggesting other suitable reel options even if it did cost them an hours labour for the service monkey to put them back together. (Why they needed to be totally disassembled to decide they couldn't be serviced seems strange anyway).
People buy Shimano (and other brands) because they perceive they are getting a better quality product (and service) than they would from a lesser brand for the same money. They will tell you that if you buy the "cheap" brand you won't be able to get parts and will have no back up. Apparently this is the case with them too.
Anyway, my friend has gone out and bought a new Okuma soft bait set and a Daiwa reel. I don't think Shimano have done themselves any favours.

Now he can buy some quality Daiwa spins

All my gear is Shimano......the only reason for that is I knew the name from biking when I used to do a bit so got a couple of cheap arse rod reel combos, they as bottom of the range gear lasted around 5 odd years of total abuse and neglect so I bought some slightly better gear going on that experience and actually try to look after it however it all still gets salt water blasted on my boat as its unavoidable but they all rinsed off every time and maybe some saltaway and crc marine.
Even if the reel price is getting close to 4-5 hundy I still dont see the value in getting it serviced if bottom of the range gear will last 5 years of total abuse.

Now if you had dropped 10 grand or more on a fleet of Stellars that are in regular use maybe a 70 dollar service annually is warranted BUT I put forward the proposition that if one is in such a position then one most likely also has a boat with room to store rods out of the spray and are also not likely to even keep the reels more than a couple of years before you sell them and trade up to the latest models and hence once again not really need or see any benifit from a service.

I could well be wrong.....I dont own any Stellars but that is how it looks to me from the outside looking in.

About the only case I do see for servicing is if a charter operation actually ran decent reels then with the use they would get and the money they generate it would be worth it.

Fair point VC. These friends are not in a position to own Stellas but they don't abuse or neglect their gear so I guess they thought an ounce of protection may make it last twice as long.
Personally I have never had a reel professionally serviced but do maintain my own. I own 4 Shimano reels (2 from the 1980s still going strong) and a few rods and I rate their gear. I was just really pissed to see Shimano basically tell these people their (Shimano) gear was shit and wasn't worth using, even in the condition they sent it to them in. They could have at least returned them in the same condition.

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Originally Posted by Shearer

Fair point VC. These friends are not in a position to own Stellas but they don't abuse or neglect their gear so I guess they thought an ounce of protection may make it last twice as long.
Personally I have never had a reel professionally serviced but do maintain my own. I own 4 Shimano reels (2 from the 1980s still going strong) and a few rods and I rate their gear. I was just really pissed to see Shimano basically tell these people their (Shimano) gear was shit and wasn't worth using, even in the condition they sent it to them in. They could have at least returned them in the same condition.

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It is a fair point you make.....Ideally they should have contacted the customer on arrival or on beginning of stripdown if they thought it not worth going any further...
I strike it quite often where a customer wants to fix things that are economically not viable to fix but they want to do it anyway then get the shits with the bill.

Sent from my SM-A320Y using Tapatalk

Apart from the anti-reverse, there was nothing to "fix" on these reels. There is now though.

I would be returning them or asking the retailer to return them to the distributor to be returned to the condition they sent to them in.
I don't think that would be unreasonable to request. Time to call the distributor and be firm but polite methinks

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Originally Posted by mikee

I would be returning them or asking the retailer to return them to the distributor to be returned to the condition they sent to them in.
I don't think that would be unreasonable to request. Time to call the distributor and be firm but polite methinks

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The owner is polite but not firm. He has already moved on and is counting the sleeps until Twizel.

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Originally Posted by Shearer

Apart from the anti-reverse, there was nothing to "fix" on these reels. There is now though.

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Yea I get that and it is unfortunate, tho if they thought that there were parts that were past it and just chucked some fresh lube in there and reassembled and they shit themselves 6 months later while your mate had the trophy fish of a lifetime on then their name really would be mud.
If they lubed em up and reassembled with a note to say they are on the way out bud we wont warrenty our work then their name is mud.
If they got in parts and reassembled and the cost was within half of a new reel their name is mud
They HAD to disassemble them to ascertain condition.

The way I see it the only real failing here is a lack of communication with the customer, That is a failing of a great many company's.