Carlton - Super customer service

Discussion in 'Badminton Rackets / Equipment' started by klc28, Feb 7, 2004.

  1. klc28

    klc28 Regular Member

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    Hi All,

    I just want to relay a story of service excellence on this board.

    About 2 years ago, I bought myself a Carlton Yong Hock Kin. I had tried to get it restrung about 2 weeks ago after a long period away from the game. Unfortunately, the racket cracked during the restring.

    When the restinger called me, I was so shocked, I didn't remember much of what he had told me during the call. It was my favourite racket for doubles, and I had only wanted it restrung at 22lbs.

    Luckily, I had bought Carlton. They tried to locate another YHK for me but none could be found. Today, I am holding a replacement racket that Carlton passed to me. A new Carlton Superlight. Whilst I am happy with the replacement, the story does not end there.

    Carlton also sent my YHK back to me because I wanted to hang it in my room (it is a limited edition afterall!). To top this off, they also put a new Carlton grip on it.

    With customer service such as this, I shall always buy Carlton.

    My bag today holds an AS1 (bought after the breakage) and a MF F1 Ti. After the replacement came, I bought an MF F4 and MF F3 for other members of my family. But perhaps more importantly, I shall be relaying this story to the clubs I go to, and to other players I know.

    Well done Carlton!

    I wish to add that I have no connections to Carlton other than as a very happy customer.
     
  2. Wizbit

    Wizbit Regular Member

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    That's a great story. Very unusual and out of character for a modern day business. Let alone by a struggling company like Carlton.

    Who was your stringer? did you send it off to Carlton?
     
  3. bluejeff

    bluejeff Regular Member

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    I don't understand why they would put a new grip on a broken racket?:confused: :confused:

    Carlton.....I don't think TW got it......(at least I have never seen one in TW). It would be nice to try one though. (Some of its rackets look really good to me)
     
  4. cappy75

    cappy75 Regular Member

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    Is Carlton struggling? Isn't Carlton a popular brand in England and parts of Europe? They make pretty good racquets, and I am glad to hear about their good customer services:).
     
    #4 cappy75, Feb 7, 2004
    Last edited: Feb 7, 2004
  5. bluejeff

    bluejeff Regular Member

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    http://www.carltonsports.com/contact/index.asp

    From the contacts of Carlton, I don't see TW in it, and that explains why I don't see Carlton in TW.

    Also, there are many good rackets on the web site that I would like to try, such as the megaflex series. :)
     
  6. Wizbit

    Wizbit Regular Member

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    Comparing with say 20 years ago, Carlton has lost a lot of its market share, mostly to Yonex. Watch tournament videos for proof.

    Most of the English team are sponsored by Carlton, but not all. Peter Rasmussen is on/off sponsorship with Carlton.

    Yong Hock Kin used to be sponsored by Carlton, as did a lot of the Malaysian players many years ago.

    Carlton is still quite popular in the UK badminton club scene and among social players, where the £20 racquet price range is the best seller! It is the most available brand throughout retail sports stores. It doesn't seem to have much of a market in Asia and the rest of the world.

    They are now a part of the Dunlop Slazenger group, which make for other racquet sports. Maybe I should rephrase, they are a struggling brand but not yet a struggling company. Compare the rate of releases of Yonex compared to Carlton...

    Anyhow, if the service is really as good as depicted in the first post, I would consider buying more Carltons in the future.
     
  7. klc28

    klc28 Regular Member

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    That's just it!

    Why would you put a nice grip, for free, onto a broken racket? The only thing I can think of is that since the old one was rather grotty, and as they knew it was to be returned for display purposes, they might as well make it look nice.

    But Wizbit is right, when I was a kid Carlton was king. Nowadays, almost everywhere you look in badminton is YY. However, is it possible that Carlton has spotted a weakness that could allow them to reclaim some of that lost market share?

    With some other companies, I find myself writing to MDs and CCing people before anything is even done to MEET our satisfaction (and that's if we're lucky!). Here is a company that has forced me to do the opposite, and sing its praises.

    This company has exceeded my expectations of a quality customer experience. A subject I am very passionate about. Funnily enough, I had posted about this subject on the chit-chat board not long ago talking about buying home theatre systems.

    Here's a pic of my broken heart. It cracked at the 9 o'clock position.

    [​IMG]

    and here's my new grip. You can easily tell I didn't put the grip on as it's too evenly done :p

    [​IMG]
     
  8. huijun

    huijun Regular Member

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    Yes! I asked this question to the owners of some sport stories. I got the same answer. About three or four years ago, Carlton try to sold their stuffs in Taiwan.
    Carlton is not as famous as Yonex in Taiwan, but the price is even the same. Comparing to other brands in Taiwan including victor, winex, mmoa, sosan, fleet and
    flypower, Carlton is very expensive. For the high prices market, Carlton is not as famous as Yonex, and for the low prices market, Carlton is not as cheap as other brands in Taiwan. So the sport stories decided not to sell their stuffs anymore. But you still can find Carlton rackets in some stories. I have AirBlade 2000, AirBlade Rasmussen and Airblade Kelvar Hi-T .
     
  9. bluejeff

    bluejeff Regular Member

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    Exactly, that's what I heard as a rumor, now that just confirms it.

    Also, Taiwan people tend to like Victor and Fleet a lot (besides Yonex.)
    So, Carlton definetely will have a tough time if they decided to come back.
     
  10. parker

    parker New Member

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    check your private messages Klc28, hopefully it may be of interest to you.
     
    #10 parker, May 18, 2005
    Last edited: May 18, 2005
  11. forrestyung

    forrestyung Regular Member

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    Hong Kong is a very good place because we can enjoy Carltons' product in the same price level as per Fleet, Winnex, Victor...............

    In the years of Boron Classic, Kelvar Classic (around 1988), most Carlton rackets were made in Taiwan. Carlton missed a golden period to promote her rackets.

    I just wonder Babolat can work very good in Taiwan at this moment, but why Carlton cannot??
     
  12. forrestyung

    forrestyung Regular Member

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    Carlton's Boron Classic is my first "Pro" rackets. :D In fact, other than the base cap, IMO Carlton's product is as good as Yonex. She just loses in marketing strategies.
     
  13. cappy75

    cappy75 Regular Member

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    I guess you pay for more than their racquets at their price range: Rock solid warranty and excellent customer service. When's the last time you hear of someone getting good service from Yonex? Things might be better in Asia but in North America market, going through the Yonex distributors for warranty issues is alot harder than going through a root canal:(. Then again, Yonex quality control is pretty high. I have yet to undergo both experience:D. *knock on wood*
     

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