Zpacks

I have transacted with a number of cottage industry and *** companies, and ZPacks has been, by far, the most customer service oriented company I've ever worked with.

Absolutely stunning company.

Most solid and long standing ***'s have excellent shopping experiences, offer reasonable and fair shipping options, deliver consistently high quality products. And while those that do these things very very well are uncommon, they are not completely rare.

Zpacks definitely falls into the upper echelon category of ***s for the above services and business operations.

But in addition to having great products, great consistent quality, great sales operations, what truly sets Zpacks apart is their customer service.

Beyond exceptional.

I had a tent that was damaged on the trail by a horse that got tangled in the guy lines. The damage was pretty severe and it wasn't on the inexpensive parts of the tent, it was at one of the more expensive, critical stress points of the tent, tearing the DCF material at the corner, where material is doubled up and reinforced.

After contacting Zpacks, they asked no questions, required no verification, nothing. They didn't even ask for a receipt. I was expecting to have to dig through my emails to find it. But nope. They told me that the cost of repair was a mere $35, and then sent me a return shipping label.

They fixed it and returned it to me in less than 3 weeks.

I am dumbfounded at the sheer simplicity and speed of the customer service process. That is just crazy, and I love Zpacks for it.

I have purchased more tents from them and have just recently grabbed their newest tent, and am expecting to buy a zpacks backpack soon as well.

When customer service is this exceptional for a company that makes such great and desirable products, it needs to be noted. Rock on.

The problem is about non-compliance of warranty policy. The product is a 600 USD hiking tent. I had a material defect in the fabric of the tent. I was sending back the product, after sending the business some pictures of the problem, but my tent got stolen before I was able to send it. The business solved this within their warranty (up to them if it is included or not as stated in their policy) and asked for a criminal report to support my claim, which I got from my police department and sent the business. They told me they will send a replacement for the tent. I received the replacement but was not able to test it until long later, but still within the warranty period (2 years). I found out that they had sent me: A. An old version of the tent B. The tent had been used C. The tent had been used roughly and was filthy D. There were substantial damages to the tent's construction due to extensive abuse E. Considering it all the tent was not safe to use nor would hold up to its qualities such as waterproofness or wind resistance. Some of the seams were ripped open. Later the business denied it had ever been a warranty exchange, but rather a "handout" which I was never informed of, as I started by making a warranty claim and followed the process, and was never informed otherwise. There was some odd talk about this being a gift or something that just needed a little seam tape and such, yet there was none provided with it and that would not have made it any more usable due to other damages. I asked the business for an exchange to a tent that would hold up. They denied many times. I also had an ongoing warranty claim on a backpack with them, and with it they first tried saying I was out of the warranty period with them about that too, even though that was because they ignored my earlier messages. They agreed to repair the backpack, but denied any warranty repair or exchange on the tent. I do need to admit I am a craftsperson and an outdoor gear designer myself, and the tent is beyond reasonable repair. Would you see grounds for a favorable resolution in a matter such as this? Now, this is an oversimplification of this case of course.