Clam Customer Service

[MNCPRGUY]

I sold my old Fish Trap Guide and purchased Clam's Jason Mitchell Thermal X from Thorne Bros on Monday (they were sold out at the ice show). It arrived Tuesday and by yesterday I was putting on the canvas. Unfortunately, the velcro that attaches it to the roof poles is clearly sewn in the wrong location! I e-mailed pictures to customer service and followed up with a phone call. I am less than impressed with the e-mail response that I received.

Clam has asked me to cut off the logos and a section of the zippers, photograph them, and send them the picture at which time they will mail me a new canvas. "Please allow 1-2 weeks for shipping." So here I sit watching Mother Nature make ice with a partially assembled shack eating up one stall of my garage!

Clam has already acknowledged the error and agreed to replace it. Am I alone in feeling that I am being penalized for Clam's lack of quality control? I have read about previous issues they had with hardware but am curious if anyone has had other issues with their fabrics and/or customer service? Definately not the way I was hoping to start a new season!

[nocturnalmotors]

I had an issue last year with a Voyager TCX. The bolt heads were popping off. It took what seemed like forever to get a response out of them, but once they did get in touch, I received a box of hardware pretty quick.

[Sutty]

if you are close to the cities you could just stop by. I think they are NE Metro Big Lake I think.

[CAMAN]

What are they supposed to do? Stop everything and hand deliver the canvas? I say 1-2 weeks is pretty reasonable, and will probably be less than 1 week.

And in regards to a half finished house taking up half the garage, fold it up and set it aside. It takes up no more space disassembled than it does fully assembled.

[MNCPRGUY]

What are they supposed to do? Stop everything and hand deliver the canvas? I say 1-2 weeks is pretty reasonable.

Overnight shipping sounds even more reasonable!!!

[Chode2235]

I would take it back to Thorne and get a different one.

[Jarrid Houston]

In my experience Clam has treated me good, but I have been fortunate enough to not run into any problems. My old flip over is ripping at the seems now though. Any idea if I can just buy a new canvas>? A Yukon?

[Ice_Fishin07]

I had a issue with light I baught at the ice show. They had to send me 3 lights before I got the one that works. On my third light I had to tell them to open the light package and make sure it works before you send it to me.

My ice armor gloves fell apart in few outings.

Clam's quality is really poor now. I'll just stay away from their products in future.

[Mike Stark]

They were supposedly working on their quality control for this year...

[dmpalm]

Have you tried contacting Jason Mitchell? I've had better luck getting results going through him than Clam customer service.

[CAMAN]

Overnight shipping sounds even more reasonable!!!

Yes it does, BUT did you ask for it? Did you complain about it?(other than on an anonymous message board) And if you did complain did you ask to talk with a manager? Overnight shipping is quite expensive so some CS Reps might not have authority to overnight a package. If you didn't complain that it would take so long then they have no idea you are mad that it would take 1-2 weeks.

[muc33]

I think in one way or another many of us have had a "not to our liking" customer service issue. Fact of the matter is that although this one isn't to your liking, Clam didn't get to where they are now by slighting their customers. As much as we all know that we could likely come up with a better situation, we do not know protocol or inventory or one of many possible situations. Some of them, will likely result in not so happy days, but then some may be just fine as well. I am sure that you will be taken care of. I can almost guarantee it. It may not be as fast as you would wish, or for that fact even possible as fast as you'd like it, but I assure you it will be addressed, Clam is who they are from many experiences over the years. If anyone thinks running and maintaining a business that large in the industry is easy, you couldn't even imagine. It isn't a mom and pop shop, but it is very reputable.

[gonehunting]

Most of these places are very busy this time of year. I just called Otter to order 8- $.39 nylon blocks for inside my Otter Lodge poles and they told me to expect them in 3-5 business days. I should've dug the house out three weeks ago and my project would be done.

[401TE]

Take it back to Thornes and see if they'll deal with it for you.

[ozzie]

I had a similar issue with my house when I purchased it a couple years ago...they had me do something similar with destroying the canvas and sending it in and then they sent one back to me...wasn't a big deal for me as it was towards the end of the season and they told me to just use it till I was done ice fishing then send it in and they would send me a new one which they did. They were very helpful and I thought it was great customer service...now in your case it does suck having something new and have a problem from the start but 1 to 2 weeks isn't the end of the world and like mentioned it could be there in less than a week...the season is long and by the time you get the canvas the ice will probably be just thick enough for you to get that big of a house out....good luck and hopefully things will go better for your season.

[CAMAN]

we do not know protocol or inventory or one of many possible situations.

I totally forgot about inventory! I'm sure it could be low right now also, being the beginning of the season and all.

[magnum mike]

I started my claim with Clam last April over broken windows on a brand new Command Post hub style shelter. I emailed back and forth. I remembered this isue last week and emailed them again. I too was told to cut up my house and send the photos of the logos & zipper. The email said the same 1-2 weeks. I called them to ask about the time line. Since they are located in Medina she said it would be more like a few days. I hope to see the new house today.

[Matt Johnson]

First off, thanks for bringing some of these issues to our attention. I work at Thorne Brothers full-time and I'm also on Clam's Pro Staff, so I'm not trying to hide anything here and I want to see this situation resolved since it involves two companies very close to my heart.

I'm sorry to hear you've had a bad experience with your purchase of the Jason Mitchell Thermal X and in no way am I here to make up excuses. I am here however, to let you know that Clam will stand behind you 100% on this situation and make sure your canvas gets replaced. I can also tell you that if you bring your canvas back to Thorne Bros that you will get a new one as soon as possible. I know Thorne Bros is sold out of JM Thermal X houses but I personally had a talk with the offices at Clam this morning about this situation and a new canvas can be sent over to replace the one that you have as soon as you bring the old one back. The staff at Thorne Bros will also understand the situation and are always willing to work with you, so you're dealing with two companies here who want to make the situation right.

The issue of quality control with Clam products is fast-becoming a distant past. Most of the issues ice anglers are facing are with older products, as the new line-up for this season is rock solid with very few issues. All of the major issues addressed to Clam over the past couple years have been resolved and Clam is moving forward with continuing to provide the best products for ice anglers. Again, I'm not here trying to make excuses or deny any accusations, as Clam knows there were problems and they took the necessary efforts to correct them and will continue to help with any problems that occur.

The bottom line here is that every manufacturer out there has quality control issues, I've seen it working the retail side of things. Problems are going to arise and each company puts forth a lot of effort to correct those situations.

If any other situations arise concerning Clam products please don't hesitate to contact Clam through the following resources...

Phone: 763-231-4120

Fax: 763-231-4121

Email: [email protected]

Clam Parts and Services

Otherwise if you purchase anything from Thorne Bros you can always contact Thorne Bros to get the situation resolved as well... 763-572-3782.

Thanks.

[MNCPRGUY]

UPDATE: Despite the runaround yesterday, I just received a phone call from Clam and I believe the issue has been resolved. A new canvas is being shipped via UPS immediately. Furthermore, they are asking that I return the defective canvas to them using their prepaid UPS label so they can better address this engineering flaw.

+1 Clam and thanks to all for the feedback.

[harvey lee]

Well said Matt.

There is not a company out there that does not have some quality issues from time to time.

As stated above, there is no doubt that Clam will address these concerns.

I know that does not get one on the ice tomorrow but I guess one should be happy that they will replace it asap.

I would rather read about a company that did not get it to the customer the next day than a company that would not address the issue at all as that does happen in todays market.

[magnum mike]

It took longer than they said but I got the new house last night. The carry bag is better than my old one and the house appears to be better as well. It took time but Clam did stand behind their product.