Otter - Great Customer Service!!

[stick]

I recently bought the Otter bench seat for my Lodge, and when I went to mount the thing in my house (minimal mounting required), I noticed that the seat brackets were too wide for my sled. I ended up talking to one of their reps at the Ice Fishing Show, and he said that my sides may have drooped in over time, and that I just needed to let him know how much shorter the supports needed to be. So, I took a picture and emailed this information to him, and in less than a week, brand new brackets were sent to my door. I mounted them, and the rig is great.

I just wanted to do a bit of raving about my experience with Otter and what great products and service they offer. I highly recommend Otter.

[TNFL]

I always her people say this company or that co. has great cust service. But if you need to use cust serv it mean thier product is broken or not working properly. The best customer service is not needing customer service!!!

[crappieseeker]

TNFL,

So what you are saying is that every product that every company makes should never fail. Seriously, what are the chances of that! You are also saying that the products should never have wear and tear issues. Have you ever had your cars, boats, etc... serviced? By what you are saying you obviously have not because that would involve some kind of customer service.

If a company is willing to fix any issue that you are having with their product that's great! You will NEVER produce each product perfectly every time. Thats just the facts.

Just my 2 cents.

[schweady]

Yeah, stuff isn't always right, but my customer support dealings with both Otter and Marcum have been nothing short of fabulous. Some companies seem like their service plan is to ignore you long enough to make you give up. Others will say 'tough' and make you pay full price or nearly so for a replacement or repair from the day after you take delivery. The guys at Otter (Rhino Sleds) and Marcum Tech remember you - and we're on a first name basis with some!

[Alex Walleye Fan]

I have had my Otter for quite a few years. A few times the plastic "knob" on the end of my support poles has broken and every time I have contacted Otter they have been very responsive.

[Dan Thiem]

I too would like to comment on this one. I had an issue with my brackets on my seat. I e-mailed them and within one hour they e-mailed me back. They are shipping me a new bracket no charge. Very good service and quick too!

Way to go Otter Outdoors!

[Dave]

TNFL,

If you really think about it, not every company manufactures every product the company sells. And, if the selling company did a 100% quality check on every piece, well, you know how much that would cost the consumer. When a company corrects a problem/defect wiuthout any question, THAT'S customer service!

[stick]

Adding to my original post: There wasn't even anything wrong with their product I bought. The brackets were too long for my sled since my sled's width sagged in about 2" over time. This could be caused by me whith the way I store the sled in the heat of summer, etc. They certainly could have charged me, and I'd have certainly paid, however they just took care of it. That's HUGE in my book, and the reason I am strongly supporting their product.

[Random guy]

I bought my Otter some years ago when they first came around with a shack attached to the sled.

When Otter first came out they had round poles that where lighter in weight and could bend if you didn't handle them gently. The first time in a big wind the house spun on the hitch while I was fishing and slammed into the racks on the wheeler and bent the poles slightly. I couldn't get the the poles to retract and the ones that did go part way stayed there no matter how hard I pushed or pulled on them. More then upset I called Otter and told them what had happened and I figured I needed to buy new poles. The fellow I spoke to at Otter told me he would get back to me in a couple of days. He sure did! In two days I had UPS at my door with a complete set of new poles for my shack. You don't get service like that just anywhere, and that old shack that I bought when Otter first came out with a portable is the same shack I still use today. It has not torn, the zipper still works great no matter how many times I have got tangled up in the door and tried to rip the zipper out. The sled has held up to many many trips across Leech, Red, LOTW and a few interesting portages in Canada. I'm actaully not sure how many years I have into my Otter but I can tell you that they have not been good years for that poor portable tied behind a mad man and his wheeler. Good product, great service and awesome fishability. My next portable will be an Otter if I ever figure out a way to destroy this one.

[Dave]

Stick,

I'll bet you store your Otter Sled with some type of pressure, from ropes or something, on the sides of your sled....? I did that one season while hanging it from the garage ceiling and the combination of summer heat and pressure on the sides of the sled caved the sides in just as yours did. Mine was only pushed in about an inch. So, witrh Otter's advise, I took a heat gun, got the sled side pretty warm and pushed the side back out and held it out with the bench seat supports until it cooled. It worked.

[stick]

Actually, I've always stored it flat on the floor of my enclosed snowmobile trailer. I figured that maybe the tension of my cover may have pulled them in. Long shot, but maybe. Or maybe just the weight of the house portion of the rig. I might try pushing them out next summer with some sort of spreader and let the heat help re-form it.