Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

The Gold Standard of Customer Service: A review of Cascade Mountain Tech in Snoqualmie, WA Debbie wanted a pair of trekking poles for our recent vacation. We agreed it would help her navigate the terrain changes on trails, given her unpredictable condition with Lupus and RA. So, we purchased a pair from Cascade - a mid-line pair, nothing fancy. During our vacation, one of the poles snapped at a telescoping joint while Debbie descended a slope and she slipped and scraped her leg. No reason to fret - we cleaned her scrapes and applied antiseptic and she was fine. Also, Cascade offers a warranty. Debbie requested a warranty replacement via Cascade's website two weeks later. This is where Cascade earned a customer for life and gave us top-notch, world-class, elite customer service which should be a marketing/support wake-up call for all companies. We expected a standard, cold, apathetic, canned e-mail reply with a statement about sending us a return label for the broken pole and Cascade would send a new pole. Okay, we can accept it if that's how it works, now. It's not friendly, but we'll get a new pole. Well, within a couple hours, Cascade's CEO/owner, Rick Wood, called Debbie. She spoke with him for 15 minutes. He was interested in how and where on the pole the failure occurred and concerned about her scraped leg and that she still enjoyed her vacation. Debbie talked to him about geocaching, also. In the end, Rick told Debbie he'd send her TWO pair of Cascade's top-end, carbon-fiber trekking poles and some extra swag - all free of charge! We received the poles and swag, along with a wonderful hand-written card from Rick, not one of his minions, but the owner. In my opinion, Cascade's customer service model is how a company attracts and retains customers. The CEO/owner took 30 minutes of his busy day to make Debbie feel special and deliver excellent customer service. This should be the norm, however, many owners/managers don't subscribe to this philosophy and prefer an antagonistic, arrogant, harsh, brittle approach to their customers. The world lacks the sense of servitude we all once possessed, expected from others and were happy to give, also. Rick didn't have to go beyond what has become today's impersonal way of dealing with customer service, but he did because it's good for the seller, and the buyers - the actual people making his company profitable. The customer is still always right at Cascade. That's important to us. I can say anytime I intend to empty my wallet to an outdoor equipment vendor, it will always be Cascade. Thankfully, Rick understands his going above and beyond for a few minutes, is not only beneficial to Cascade for a lifetime, but makes me WANT to buy more of his product. Bravo, Cascade Mountain Tech!