Postby BigSmelly » Tue Apr 29, 2003 11:09 pm
OK, lets get the facts straight about the "broken" board at Beit Yannai.
1 It was sold as second hand.
2 It was in such good condition that there was not even a single scratch on it.
3 Up until then, I used it, and took care not to scratch it or damage it, by simply doing the normal things that most people do to take care of their boards. The buyer surfed up onto the sand - and anyone who surfs at Beit Yannai knows that the sand at the shoreline is not only sand, but full of little stones and pebbles, so the board is completely scratched, and clearly not well taken care of.
4 Then the board got a bump, which happened to open up a crack in between the layers of sandwiched Epoxy / Carbon / Glass. Because of continued use, the crack got larger, and is now a 4 - 5 cm opening, seperating one of the layers, approximately 2 - 3 cm deep.
5 I was contacted and told about the problem. I said that I would have a look at it as soon as possible, and take the appropriate action, which is either to repair the board, or replace it. The buyer was apparently not happy with the word "repair"and DEMANDED, even though I had not even had a chance to see the board, a new one.
6 Unfortunately, due to my being over-seas, it took a little over 1 week until I got back to Israel and came to see the board, but I did offer him to bring it to Ronen to look at, and photograph.
7 The state of the board: The underside is very scratched up. The fins are half worn through from grinding up on sand and stones. And the heel side edge is getting eaten away. It had never been cleaned once from the salt water, and the crack, the complaint, the problem.
8 It is very easy to see that the cause of the crack is a bump or hit, which started the opening, as there is a clear point of impact at the point where the crack is. Now, if the board was scratch free and in good appearance, it would be difficult to think that the crack was due to rider fault, but because it is clear that the board was not treated well, and there are clear points of impact, the crack is unfortunately due to rider negligence, and therefore cannot be replaced by a new one.
BUT, I did not leave the situation like this...
I took pictures, sent them to the manufacturer (who said the same as I did - damage caused by impact, they explained me how to repair it),I offered to repair it (not by myself, but by someone who has more experience with surf boards and windsurfing boards), for free.
Bottom line. I acted, EXACTLY as any self respecting shop would. I did the most I could, even offered to repair the board, free of charge!
The fact that I did not replace the board, has made the buyer angry, and so he is lashing out at me on the forums. I am not concerned with these messages, bacause I know that I have done, and am doing nothing wrong. I have every responsibilty to act and provide guarantees as any other dealer would.
Finally, the previous poster, should mind his own business and not write things about other peoples business that he has no idea about. The only difference between myself and the other dealers is that I have no overhead costs, no rent and no salaries to pay. All other aspects function like any other business.
Andi