A trifecta of great rocketry customer service experiences! SEMROC, ESTES, EXCELSIOR

Just like the title says:

1. SEMROC accidentally left off one item in my order. A replacement was en route within hours, no questions asked.

2. An ESTES Magician kit had defective fins (sheet of balsa oddly joined from two different pieces, fins had a 10 degree angle in them!). Customer service form got response within a day, whole new kit to me within a week. No questions asked. Now what to do with all the extra parts...?

3. Excelsior: got my order of beautiful decals as usual, speedy service from a friendly Sandman. When I botched one of the wraps (purely my fault), he offered to replace it for free. But I didn't have to take him up on it, because he foresaw my trouble and had included an extra wrap free of charge in the original order. Woo hoo!

What a great hobby rocketry is, to have such excellent vendors taking care of us!

Marc

I have not had much problem with kits or supplies, but when I do, I have found the few contacts to customer service to be very supportive and worthwhile.

In one instance, mis-matched tube connectors were packed in the kit, and so I was stopped from finishing my two-stage rocket. A single email with a photo of the parts and a ruler for scale, and they IMMEDIATELY shipped TWO replacement parts to me... only one of which I needed, but now I have a spare and a very pleasant memory of how quickly they responded!

In a second separate instance, I puzzled over some overly-complicated printed instructions with pictures that did not match. Despite the approach of the holidays, I eventually connected with the R&D man who was acting as customer service, and he answered ALL of my questions, gave me a few tips and confirmed that the instructions had numerous deficencies that were going to be caught in the next printing. He spend almost a half an hour on the phone, holding my hand, answering my questions and providing tips on how to proceed. I will always remember his courtesy and enthusiasm, as I had to end the call to leave for work, but I also admired his frankness to admit the problem with the instructions, and clear exact description of how to circumvent it.

So, my experience was the sweetness of great customer service lasts far longer than the brief bitterness of a problem with a mass-produced kit. In both instances, they serviced me well. I will not forget that, and I will give them both repeat business because of how promptly I was handled!