EPIC MISTAKE

Congratulations to Epic Australia on the Appointment of there new GM- Miss Management. Cheers for Not returning my "refundable deposit"when my ski failed to arrive after 3 delays in delivery. This is a warning to those looking to purchase a new ski- buyer beware!!!Justin Farrelly

Hi Justin
I am ordering a new ski, a Custom Kayak Synergy, from our local dealer (great guy!). As you might have heard?, our U.S. economy is not going great guns. Bruce Gibson, my dealer, needs to fill a container before he orders the boats (that's a lot of boats). I have been put off until March/April. Oh well, I'm old and time goes fast and I will get my boat.
I have a spit swapping thing with Patrick at ONNO. I paid him in advance for his awesome custom made wing. Patrick makes great thinks, they are custom and are cheap. BUT he is very popular and sometimes it takes a while. I am not a squeaky wheel. Ten months later, during one of our quarterly spit swapping emails, I asked Patrick how my paddle was coming. Patrick was appalled, he had totally forgotten. I got my paddle soon after.
The guys at Epic ARE honest and great people. They WILL NOT hurt you. Epic is having a few issues right now. If you, for what ever reason, can't wait any longer, email Chris at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. You WILL get your money back. These are great guys.
I have owned three of their boats and there are ten in the club I belong.
It will work out!
Best regards
Franklin Dickinson

Another aussie miss-managment experience, welcome to the club Justin

Epic took care of me when I had issues with my midwing - far exceeding my expectations. Every person I spoke with and emailed was friendly, competent, and professional - and anxious to please. I wouldn't hesitate buying another Epic product. Good luck to you!

Jeff

Is it an Epic mistake or is it a problem with the shipper? It seems a bit premature to ask for a refund after only three days. It is an imperfect world we live in.

Hi Justin,
Yes i am a Fenn guy...but i heard of this issue with you!!
Seems you order a ski to have by a certain date so you can race it, ski never turns up until 3 weeks later so you make other arangements, being over 6 weeks late. The company tells you they will return the deposit....then never do!! I understand you had this in writing also??
This is not a go at Epic (Corporate) but at who ever runs Epic Australia its a disgrace!!
I also heard of another guy this mop took for 1k.
Its bad for the Epic name and leaves a bad taste in peoples mouth, pity you didnt see the same side as Jeff did, the distributor in the US must be a good guy with good business ethic!!
Justin i hope they see fit to do the right thing...be very interested to see where this goes!!
Ash

I contacted Epic Kayaks Australia about this post and here's what they had to say:

"Mr Farrelly paid his deposit to the previous distributors of Epic products in Australia. The previous distributors lost the license to distribute and we attempted to deliver the ski to Mr Farrelly when we took over . This involved freighting the ski, at our expense, from Sydney to Perth.

"Mr Farrelly did not collect the ski nor did he return a series of emails and phone calls. The point is that Epic Kayaks Australia did not receive a cent from Mr Farrelly but we did, in good faith, attempt to fulfil his order. We are still happy to fulfil his order.

"When he emailed us several months ago to ask for his deposit back we explained this to him and referred him to the previous distributor for a refund.

"As far as the comment 'heard we took a guy for $1000' this is completely false."

Come guys, Justin may or may not have been justified in his post - but unfounded allegations from other people are not on.

"My doctor's cousin told me that her sister's boyfriend heard of someone who was ripped off by Epic" Please! Sounds to me as though someone saw the bandwagon and just couldn't resist jumping on it.

Hi Rob
Merry Christmas and/or Happy Hanuka!
Good response.
You know, it's funny, what one man says seems right...until the other man speaks.
The problem with life sometimes is the human factor, humans are flawed. Even in the best we are prone to mistakes.
Problems in life are not the problems, it's how we handle the problems that are the problems.
BUT, and here is the problem, IF you are dealing with honest men of character, it usually always works out. The real "whooping" accures when you/we misjudge people. That can get ugly. Don't want to do it more than once!
The Epic guys are great folks. I am sure this story will have a happy ending. I just hope that we get to hear it!
Ho ho ho and/or dreidel dreidel dreidel
Franklin Dickinson
Florida, USA

Even in the best we are prone to mistakes.

Yep, that's exactly it. At Surfski.info we're in the unique situation where we get to hear these kinds of stories about ALL the manufacturers, bar none. You name a manufacturer (or distributor, or dealer) someone will have a story about how their ski was built badly, how they were ripped off, who copied whose ski, whatever.

If this forum can act as a means of communication when other direct means don't work, then great - let the aggrieved person vent and the other party respond. Usually someone has misunderstood, has lost an email, forgot to respond and all it needs is a kick in the ass to get things moving.

But mud-slinging and catfighting is just negative and boring!

And yep - happy holidays & happy paddling!

Personally I have found Epic NSW extremely professional, having been kind enough to replace a delivery damaged elite ski without question. They have also been very proactive in addressing some minor hatch issues, which are really out of their sphere of control.
Unavailability of skis, paddles and accessories are justifiably areas that is bound to create stress. It is certainly embarrassing to the ski representative and is not just evident in one manufacturer / supplier. We are seeing this currently here given the popularity of the sport.

Date: Mon, 15 Sep 2008 23:01:56 +1000
Subject: Re: refund
From: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
To: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Hi Justin

We will refund it ? thought it was worth a try with David.

Can you send me your bank account details.

Cheers
Jacqui

Rob thanks for looking into it for me. the above is mail from Epic offering refund after all avenues were exhausted.

I would like to state I have no problem with Epic or Epic products, my problem was with Australian Epic agents.

My ski was promised for Aug/sep last year as i needed it for the world cup here in perth, this was understood at time of order, i was told in late Aug that there would be a 2 week delay. I was fine with this for the first 3 times i heard it. No skis arrived in Dec even for the Cup so i got a Fenn! I was given the run around more times than I care to remember.
Again please let me reiterate that I have no problem with the fine folks of Epic overseas, just here in Aus.

Kind Regards
Justin Farrelly

Justin who was promising you the delivery dates?

Rob using the past owner/licencee as an excuse is the usual corporate cop out, happens everywhere. When you take over a company, you take over everything (profit, debt, policy).

Rob using the past owner/licencee as an excuse is the usual corporate cop out

Seems a pretty harsh comment to me - it wasn't as if they ignored the situation completely; they apparently did TRY to fulfil the order. In my experience there are always two sides to a dispute - and there definitely seems to have been some lack of communcation in this case which could have contributed to the issue!

Still, the situation is apparently resolved, so that's great.

Let's get back to paddling!

I have been paddling ocean skis for the past two years, prior to that I was paddling spec skis and K1's, all numerous brands. Every time I purchased a new spec ski or K1 it was always delivered weeks or months later than the promised date, and that was after being placed on a very long waiting list, sometimes a waiting list of up to 16 weeks. There was no point whingeing or being negative about it, because thats how it was.
.
As for Jacqui from Epic NSW, I purchased two new skis from her recently and had no problems whatsoever. She was professional, didn't do the hard sell, didn't bag or knock other brands, she was simply up front and honest regarding the product she sells.
.
Rob

I took delivery of a V10 Sport a couple of months ago and found Jacqui and Tony at Epic to be friendly, helpful and professional throughout the enquiry, ordering, delivery and post-delivery process. I can only imagine that there was some kind of communication issue in Justin's case.

Venting one's frustration by flaming people on the net really doesn't achieve anything. As Rob says, there are two sides to every story and this one is resolved. Let's get on the water, or in my case, under it

Rob, the attachment i sent suggests that the matter was resolved,however two weeks after Epic agreed to refund my money they changed there mind. In short the matter has not been resolved.

I am now on my second Epic boat and recommend them to all.

I smashed my rudder ( my fault) just before the anaconda at lorne and Jacqui expressed post one to me...and a hat
My experience was great !

I have been buying surfboards, kayaks and skis for years off different suppliers all around the world. If I get a delivery date I always add +/- 3 months on the delivery date no matter where I am in the world. I received my latest Fenn 3 weeks late and was stoked. My Hayden Ski and Board is true to form 3 months late. I think I have lowered my expectations sufficiently to deal with the industry. I think it must be something to do with the fumes from the fiberglass that makes the suppliers quite laid back. Loss of Money is another thing and possibly the overall Epic people have to deal with because that would damage the Brand worldwide and is a responsibility for selection of licening suppliers of the product. If one of their licenced suppliers goes weird they should be in their helping out any affected customers.

For what its worth.......

Epic make a great ski, but being a WA paddler, I also experienced a similar situation before the World Cup race here last year.

From what I was told the original Epic Aus dealer used a slower freight shipper and the container had to go via an extra stop over somewhere??????

Yes I waited 3 months also, but managed to borrow a ski from my local agent here and then purchased a V10 after the World Cup was over.

end of the day......worth the wait and since then I have dealt with the new Aus Epic agent and have had no problems.

'One has to roll with the punches when something becomes popular so fast I guess.

HO HO HO!