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Credit where credit is due. I have had my Lamy Dialog 3 for several years. I like the pen, though its size means that I don't use it all that often. The last time I had used it was a couple of years ago, after which I cleaned it, let it dry and put it back into my pen-case. At that time it worked well and wrote beautifully. When I tried to ink it up a month or so ago, the mechanism wouldn't work at all - it had essentially frozen and I could't rotate the barrel to extend the nib. It was very strange. So I packed it up and sent it to Lamy (I presently live in Germany), asking them to have a look at it and let me know how much it would cost to fix. Just over two weeks after posting it, I received a package with my pen in it, which they had fixed and returned to me at no cost. I have heard that the Dialog now uses a new internal mechanism, so it's possible that there had been a known issue with the old mechanism. Whatever: I now have a fully functional pen again and am very happy. It's really good to see that Lamy stands behind its products. It's good to be able to share a positive experience.

Hi, I have a mid 1980s MB that sat unused for decades. I cleaned out the old ink (which took a while) and refilled it, I wrote without any problems but the next day the pen was dry again. I refilled yet again and had the same issue - lovely ink flow until there wasn't any. Is this normal with a pen coming back into use? I contacted MB by email and the response they sent back wasn't very helpful at all. I'd like to use the pen regularly but I don't know why the ink seems to be evaporating. Has this happened to anyone else? Thanks.

So I bought a pilot 742 in Morita's FP shop, then my hand received an accidental impact while writing, and now it's subtly bent in a way that means very little ink flow despite the tines looking like they should have flow under a loupe. I've tried a little diy, which didn't work, so now I'm thinking of sending it in for service. Of course I'm willing to pay b/c it was my own fault. What is the policy for matters like this? Should I contact the store?

I received excellent customer service from Kevin at FPR yesterday Just wanted to give a shout out and let folks know I had a great experience!

Hey guys, Anyone know what their average wait time was for getting a nib exchanged at the Lamy repair centre in Heidelberg? I sent my Lamy 2000 from the UK (f) in September and got a confirmation email to say it was delivered around the 28th September. It's now towards the end of October but have not had anything in the post yet or an email to say it's on it's way. Is this a usual amount of time to wait for Lamy Germany to send a pen back for a nib exchange only? And what were your experiences with their customer service? The initial interaction I had was pleasant enough but I was just wondering if this was an exception to the otherwise efficient service?

I've been trying to call Delta pens, but every time I get the same message which says office is closed for lunch. This message is played whether it is morning or afternoon from Monday to Friday. Has Delta pens closed? I have been waiting for a replacement fusion nib for 4 months now and it sucks to be stuck with an expensive pen with an ugly nib that has lost it's gold.

So my Safari Dark Lilac arrived in the mail on Monday, and I noticed that the nib slit was to the right of centre and kinda wonky, and that was the reason why it was stuttering and writing like a needle. Well, I got in touch with Notemaker and asked them if I could just send the nib back for a replacement. Well they sent me back an email saying that they're all out of black F nibs, so they just sent me a whole new pen! All I have to do is slap the included postage sticker on the outside of the box and send the old one back. Like I said the other day: they're not always the cheapest, but they are definitely worth that little bit extra.

I'm not sure if this is the right category to put it in so please move it if its not. After Christmas, I decided to treat myself and order something from the Goulets. I got myself a Banditapple Carnet peewee notebook among other things to go into my new Nock Fodderstack XL. Now, since Banditapple seems to be going under some changes according to Goulet, they are not restocking their products at the time. So, I had received an email about my order from Cindy, and she said they were out of stock and sold it to me due to an inventory issue on them, and so offered to replace it with something else along with a free gift. Now, I assumed the free gift was whatever I had asked to replace it with, as when I emailed them back and asked for a stick of J. Herbin sealing wax and pay the $2 difference, Jeremy emailed back (in place of Cindy) and said it was on them. So I waited patiently for my package to arrive. Usually, it takes two days to get here where I live, and they shipped it on the 29th, so I was a bit worried when it didn't come on the 31st, and tracking info didn't update. I thought someone had tampered with my package, but it just turned out they just didn't scan it in their original destination, since I found the tracking info late at night finally in my state. It came today, and I opened it, gladly since I saw that their signature bubble wrap, cling film, Tootsie Pop and all other goodies were here. I opened it and received the J. Herbin sealing wax as promised, but I also saw that they included a full bottle of Private Reserve "Chocolat" (yes not Chocolate) ink! And it was in a fancier looking bottle, not the cylindrical bottle advertised everywhere else. So once again, I'm extremely happy about my order with Goulet Pens, and thrilled how they handled everything. While not necessary, they included a full bottle of ink ASIDE from giving me a replacement item for no extra cost in compensation for something that was out of stock! Thank you Goulet Pens, for another ridiculously wrapped package of amazing pen goodies!

My Lamy 2K (Makrolon) suffered a weird injury: as I was screwing the barrel onto the section, the threaded part of the barrel broke off in the section. Doh! Based on the Lamy USA warranty, I packed up the pen to Texas with a note of explanation. I was concerned that they would consider this pen "abused" in a way that would void the warranty. Fortunately, and to the continuing credit of the company, they did not. They replaced the broken pieces — the barrel and the grip section — and retained the (undamaged) nib, feed, cap, and fill mechanism. Brilliant! I received the pen today, just 2 weeks after shipping it off (the website says to expect 3-4 weeks). Thanks, Lamy! Another satisfied customer.

Christmas evening (Friday, Dec. 25) I ordered paper from Paper for Fountain Pens. Saturday, the next day I got a notice saying it had been shipped, so I expected it would arrive sometime this week. It arrived this morning, Monday, Dec. 28. I wouldn't believe it if I hadn't experienced it!

I recently had two outstanding customer service interactions, and it got me to thinking about customer service in general. We in the fountain pen community often forget how lucky we are in regards to our vendors of choice. Most of the pen vendors that I have come across have customer service that is head and shoulders above anything that you might find anywhere else. They go that extra step to make sure that every interaction that you have with them is outstanding, and that you feel like a VIP no matter how little or much you may spend. It is why we are willing to fork over are hard earned currency on products that we may not have ever even seen in real life. In between my more frequent employment in the government and working for non-profit organizations (usually as a medical professional) I have also worked in retail jobs where commission was a big part of my pay, in sales for various telecommunication companies, and as a supervisor in customer service (if you have ever called into Alltel, AT&T, or Bank of America's credit card department and asked to speak to a supervisor, then there is a slim chance that I have spoken to you). I did well in these jobs partly because I try to put myself in the customer's position and partly due to a certain amount of moral flexibility (you have to have flexible morals to survive for very long in sales). What I learned in these customer driven jobs made me recognize how little is required to provide good customer service. It's not about giving everyone what they want, it's about providing service that you yourself would be happy to receive. Sadly, this trait is becoming a rare thing. It is so rare, in fact, that it is something that needs to be spotlit when it occurs. With that in mind (and with enough exposition to kill a small rhino), I would like to tell you fine folks about two instances of outstanding customer service. The first outstanding customer service event occurred in two pieces. A little while back I had been looking for a new italic nib for my Jinhao X450 when I decided to buy an Anderson Pens two toned 1.1 nib. This is not an expensive nib, and I did not think much of the order at the time, but when the package arrived I was shocked by what I had received. Inside was my nib, nicely presented and securely packed, along with a business card, book mark, a couple of pieces of candy, and a hand written thank you on my order slip. I had spent less than $20, including shipping, and they had thrown in all of these extra touches just because I was their customer. None of the things that they added were terribly expensive or even that big of a deal, but it was the thought that had gone into this tiny order that blew me away. They didn't care that I had only spent a small amount of money on a small item, they cared that I was their customer. It was because of this great service that when I was looking for a specific and difficult to find nib unit for another pen that I went to Anderson Pens first. The unit that I needed was not listed, but they had similar units, so i decided to contact them to see if anything could be ordered or arranged. I was sent a reply less than an hour later and the unit that I needed was specially pulled for me, in spite of the fact that it was not currently listed for sale on their site. The speed of the reply and sincere desire to help was something that I never expected. It made me feel like they were my partner and not just a store, and that is something worth talking about. The second event took a bit more effort from both myself and the retailer to fully resolve. I recently ordered a TWSBI Eco from JetPens, but when I received the pen I saw that the fins on the feed were bent and broken. Naturally I was upset, but I had been a JetPens customer for some time and had never had any problems with their service, so they deserved some slack. I contacted them to report the problem and a series of email exchanges occurred. After sending some photos of the damage they set up a return label for me and let me know about the approximate turn around for a replacement. I sent in the pen and waited...and waited...and waited...only to discover that their email letting me know that they had received the pen and had offered me several options had been sent to my spam folder. Ugh, technology. So, I contacted them (apologizing for the response coming a little over a week after they had asked me what I would like to do). Now my pen was no longer in stock with the correct nib size, but they swapped out the nib in my damaged pen with another Eco, tested it to make certain that everything was good to go, and sent it back to me without charging me anything extra. All of this happened in between numerous emails, all of which were answered within an hour or so. They let me know what was happening, gave me options to help resolve the situation, and ate the cost of shipping, all to make me happy. If that isn't outstanding customer service, then I do not know what is. All of us have poor customer service experiences, but when it comes to the retailers in the world of fountain pens I feel as if those amazing experiences vastly outnumber the poor ones. Sometimes we create the poor experiences ourselves ("What do you mean I have to pay a late fee? I was only late two weeks, every month for the last year and abusive every time I called in! Don't you think that I deserve a break? Can't you see how this is your fault?"). Sometimes the company creates the poor experience (Yes sir, we sent that out to you, but we forgot to put your address on the package and when it was returned we figured that you didn't want it anymore, so we resold it and charged you a restocking fee...we can send a new one out, but you'll have to pay for the shipping again."). Dealing with retailers can be a frustrating and unpleasant experience, but every now and then a retailer shines through the murk and muck of the retail industry to let us know that we are valued. Anderson Pens and JetPens are two such shining examples.

Hey everyone! Recently inherited a vintage 146 from my uncle with a cracked cap, and took it into the Hong Kong Montblanc store for a repair. Had just the worlds worst string of bad customer service, lack of professionalism, and overall horrible attitude far beyond anything I've experienced in a long while. I really am hoping to write an email to someone at Montblanc - ideally someone in the Hong Kong, or APAC region - but really anyone who can help with customer service would be appreciated. After an hour or so of searching, I can't seem to find anything except for the CEO, J Lamberts - who isn't someone who could help - and the general 'service@montblanc.com' email. Does anyone know any way I can reach out to them? Cheers!

Customer support and after sales service - the way it should be There are companies who make promises and there are companies who keep it; encountering the latter came as a pleasant surprise, not only did they keep the original promise, but went far beyond their remit to keep an end customer happy. The story goes thus. I land at my dad's after a couple of years [we live half way across the world] and during a nice balmy drink he jumps and says 'Son, I was meaning to give you something last time you were here, but forgot, let me go fetch it'; before I gulp the drink and pop the question as to what, where & why, he has disappeared back in the house. Out he comes after some time holding what looks like a Parker gift box. I knew that my father knew about my preference to fountain pens but did not know that he knew that I liked it that much. 'This has been sitting in the closet waiting for you, I thought you'd like it' is what he says pressing the pen in my eager hands. His eyes twinkle as I gingerly open the box and find a magnificent Sonnet. I don't know *this* sonnet says my logical side of the brain and goes on its way meandering though the existing mental database while the emotional part of the brain has forgot to close the faucet to the salivary glands. Time is not kind to satin and other soft materials that is used in the gift boxes these days especially when it sits for 4 years in humid tropics locked inside a closet. There are spots of brown and red and the texture and feel is tending towards a starched-cotton fabric instead of the silky, shiny that is supposed to be. The pen itself though, looks pristine! As the cap is tepidly opened, hoping that the dampness has not nibbled on the nib (see what I did there ;-), Out comes a gleaming dual-tone tip with squiggly scroll. A twirl and a peek at the feed reveals that it is an 'M' which is when logical bit of the brain returns with a 'Nadaaa' instead of a 'TaDaaa' and goes back again scampering, wondering if parker would oblige to change the nib to XF instead. A slight press of the nib-tip on the finger nail unravels a springy metal, NICE, and the faucet is opened again. With no internet connection [blessed is that place] and hardly a mobile around, 'net' still means something that you catch fish with and a tweet is actually made by a bird! A hole in the system is made by earthworms and what gets hacked is almost always a dead tree. A buzz is made by a bee and not by a marketing drone; finally, stars are still visible to the naked eye; a python is not what you script, but run away from. This meant 3 weeks of waiting before I get back to uncivilised world. In the meanwhile more dehydration ensued just looking at the golden swirls. This one not easy to capture on a photo and is lot more handsome/beautiful in reality. Fast forward; a polite e-mail is rushed to folks at NewellCo and a quick response received. Half way through the perusal, a smile breaks out on an old wrinkly face and both hands begin to pack the precious to be shipped off. Despite Einstein’s desperate protest against such statements, time did move really slowly for the next 3 weeks. Here is it ladies and gentlemen, the new XF on the Parker sonnet Chinese lacque Amber. Despite being an old model and having no proof of purchase, the Parker-waterman customer service team rendered a stellar job at keeping a promise – nib exchange. The pen was returned in excellent shape, superb nib and the interaction with team was exemplary. They threw in a new converter and a cartridge to boot. A Customer couldn’t have asked for more; and now they got a loyal one.

Just wanted to share an excellent customer-service experience I had with Baron Fig. I ordered a limited-edition journal and some pocket notebooks. Everything arrived quickly and well-packaged, but the journal had dot-grid paper rather than the blank paper I ordered. I sent an e-mail from the company's website about the issue, and they e-mailed back right away, apologizing, telling me to keep the wrong journal and saying they would send a replacement by priority mail. Two days later, a package arrived with the correct journal, some extra pocket notebooks and a handwritten note of apology. Mistakes happen, of course, but Baron Fig went above and beyond the call of duty to make everything right. No affiliation to Baron Fig, just a very happy first-time customer.

I have questions about a set of inks recently ordered directly from the De Atramentis Inks website; I've tried contacting them at info@de-atramentis.com from both the 'contact' form on their site, as well as by responding to an email from Dr. Jansen via my gmail account, but after three weeks I've received no replies. Has anybody else tried to contact them directly? Is there a separate address for Customer Service? Thanks in advance!

Hi all, I actually created an account to ask this question. 2 Years ago I bought a Nemosine Singularity and all was good. For the price point it wrote shockingly smooth. Over Christmas I bought a Nemosine Fission, gunmetal and used it as a daily journal writer starting in March. Loved the screw on aspect which helped prevent dry out, thought it was a great pen for the under $30 price and I heard nothing but good things about their warranty and responses. So in June, and mind you this pen has never been removed from the house and was only on my bed side, cap was never roughly handled, never dropped and... I screwed it closed while going to bed and noticed the body was out of alignment. Upon inspection (and a serious WTH) come to notice that the cap ring, which also holds the threads to screw the cap on busted off from the cap. Ok So I got out my Nemosine Box and got the information slip inside and emailed their info address (moreso as they describe their warranty as to apply to feed tubes and the like and not you know the cap-so I was not sure it was covered) and received no response. Emailed them again 4 days later, no response. Sent them a snail mail letter and have received no response. That all started three weeks ago. I have received no response, and even checked all Spam filters and email rules to see if I missed something. What annoys me even more about this is, I received a Franklin-Christoph Piper as a birthday gift in end of May and it wrote horribly and I emailed them regarding Nib issues and it was a response in under an hour with instructions on what to do and they would fix it for me for free. My question is, do I bother to just send the pen in with the $5 and hope they fix it and send it back, or just chalk the whole Nemosine Brand off as a loss and a learning experience and just buy Franklin-Christoph from now on? Should I throw good money in the form of the $5 after bad on a pen I spent less then $30 on but I have no idea if they will even fix it or cut my losses and just throw it away?

Over the last couple of days I have received outstanding support from Dave at Nanami Paper. I live in the UK and was trying to order from the site - there was a glitch which left me unable to proceed fully with the order. I emailed Dave with an outline of the problem and over the last day and a half have had a couple more email exchanges, which have been particularly helpful. Not only the helpfulness and tone of the emails have been impressive but also the swift responses as well. I have no affiliation with the company whatsoever but would like to publicly thank and praise Dave for such outstanding response to me as a customer. Best Wishes, David

Like most of us here, I do an awful lot of my purchasing on-line. Now that I think of it, few of my actual pen purchases have been made in person. Despite my being as big an advocate as anyone about the merits of trying out a pen in person! I've used quite a number of merchants, but a few really stand out in terms of their outstanding service and quality. I'm long overdue in giving them the recognition they deserve -- at least in my sometimes not so humble opinion! My top 5, listed alphabetically (I'd hate to admit relatively dollar volumes. I don't even want to think about that!): Richard Binder {www.richardspens.com}: I've not actually had any serious nib tuning done by Richard. I've bought a few pens as well as some nib units. I think Richard's prices on the pens/nib units are totally competitive, perhaps more so given that he actually confirms the nibs are in great shape before shipping. I've also been totally unhesitant to ask him questions and his opinion. Service has been quick, shipping fool-proof, and quality superb. Even when I email in questions I usually get a response the next day. Sometimes the same night if he's having a bout of insomnia similar to mine! Fahrney's {www.fahrneyspens.com}: Well, I live in Northern Virginia. So Fahrney's in DC is sort of the hometown B&M store. I have occasionally gone there in person -- especially when I really wanted to try a pen in person. This is particularly nice also because there is usually a technician on duty there who can add another dimension or viewpoint to the expected performance of a pen from a manufacturer. On line purchases are a breeze, and the phone based customer service folks have always been very accommodating. Deliveries are always fast -- hardly a surprise given my location, and everything is well packed. Fountain Pen Hospital {www.fountainpenhospital.com}: I've been a long-time lurker on their website, particularly the 'Back Room' page for previously owned non-vintage pens and the 'Vintage' pen page for -- well, you can guess. I can truthfully say I've never received a pen that failed to write out of the box. I have decided a couple of times that I didn't like what I received, and returns were no problem. Shipments from New York are fast, and packaging is great. I did have a chance this past summer to visit in person when I was in NY and met pretty much all of the people with whom I've spoken which was great. I won't suggest that you can't get many of these pens cheaper say on eBay. BUT every pen I get is in full working order, which I find valuable in itself. Goulet Pens {www.gouletpens.com}: Without question, the website is a fantastic resource in itself, with the steady release of videos by Brian discussing various pens. I've bought primarily inks, cases, and some nibs. Even during this past winter, with the horrid low temperatures, everything arrives safe and sound and prompt. But then anyone who browses FPN is well aware of the Goulet reputation for really sound packaging practice -- they must get a huge bulkrate on packaging materials. Special kudos for customer service: on a couple of occasions, I've either changed my order or ended up placing two orders right after each other; Goulet Customer Service have been outstanding at dealing with these changes and combining orders. I get everything from them within just a few days -- hardly a surprise, given they are also Virginia based! And the fact that Brian is a Hokie (Virginia Tech y'all) as is my son is I have to admit a bonus point... Peyton Street Pens {www.peytonstreetpens.com}: Teri Morris is well known here at FPN. I recently placed my first order with her when she sent out a post about NOS of Parker Falcolns. Wonderful service -- even when at the last minute I asked her if possible to change from a brown pen to a black one. Not only was she able to, but I received everything within just a few days. Huge surprise when I opened the box: she'd included a bonus of an Indian pen as a Thank You for the order. Both pens write beautifully straight out of the box. She and I were in close communication by email throughout. Here's an even bigger surprise: Peyton Street Pens have their own gift boxes for the pens which are in my opinion magnificent: company name in a beautiful silver font, box is finished in a sort of linen finish; instead of opening as your usual box does, it pulls open from the side like a drawer. I've only seen this before on expensive LE pens. Which highlights that pens purchased for gifts will come well packaged! Thanks Teri!There are of course some other merchants I've used and I really have no complaints against any of them. I've been fortunate that way. But these 5 are my tops and I wanted to share with all y'all!

My MBs haven't been treating me very well. First, my POA Oppenheim and vintage Meisterstück had to go to John Mottishaw to resolve skipping problems. Now, just today, my new Meisterstück LeGrand Geometric Dimension's piston filler broke. The knob now just screws out, unclutched to the piston mechanism within. Argh! My OBB nib is now out of commission! So off it goes for repair. This will be my first experience with MB service centers in the United States. What has been your experience with them? Anything I should be aware of? (e.g., shipping issues, tracking, etc.?) I noted that the cap on my LeGrand feels a little wobbly when screwed in as well, so I hope they can fix that problem as well as the piston mechanism. Anyone else notice this on sterling, platinum, or gold-plated Meisterstücks with plastic step-down sections? (Doesn't seem to be a problem with a metal step-down, or with any of my other pens for that matter). Arka C.

Hi all! I need to contact Delta about a dolcevita flea market find, but I haven't had any replies after using the form on their site. Does anyone know a more reliable way please? A phone number would be lovely, or a direct email address - ie not through a form where maybe the form is broken and they aren't getting the messages. Does that seem typical for them - no response after nearly a week? Are they the 'slow, but gets there' type, meaning I should wait some more, or are they generally quite quick to respond so if they haven't, it's probably time to have another go? I'd love it if you'd share your experience with these guys, I've never dealt with them before :-) thanks in advance!

I would just like to comment on the exceptional customer service I received from Vanness Pen Shop https://www.vanness1938.com/ in Little Rock, Arkansas, USA! It was my first order from this shop and an issue was resolved quickly, politely, with no questions asked, and in a very helpful manner. No affiliation, just a very satisfied customer!

Howdy, So this is my 2nd time doing business with notemaker. First time went as well as you'd expect, quick post, pretty solid prices (y'know, considering the Australia tax), items came in a few days. All good. The other day, I ordered 3x CF Mohaire Notebooks at basically $6 a pop. I got an email the next day apologising saying that there must have been a website error and that they were out of the books I'd ordered and weren't getting them back in. I was given 3 options: - $25 credit in the store - Send out some CF Clothbound notebooks instead - "Anything else that you can think of" Now, originally, I was going to make a smart arse comment about a stripper on the last, but I bit my tongue and instead went for the 2nd option. Fast forward a couple of days later and a heavy package arrives. When I opened it, I had 6 NOTEBOOKS!? They had sent me 3 packs of Clairefontaine Essential Duo books! That's almost 3x per item what I paid! So this is a shout-out to Stu Moysey and a thorough thumbs up for the awesome customer service! Above and beyond what I expected. PS - While the Duo pack isn't technically "clothbound", they look identical and have the same paper. The only difference is I got double the pages and these have margins

I really don’t believe it’s the standard service Waterman provides its customer and that’s why I’m sharing this bad experience here. In August 28th I personally delivered my faulty Waterman Carene nib to the Waterman customer service (CS) in Sao Paulo, at the Newell Rubbermaid office. I was told that in 30 days, max, I would have it back. As I did not get it back within a month and was not contacted by the CS to explain what happened I called them in October 08th, when I was informed I would receive a new nib and that it was on its way from France to Brazil. Today is December 2nd - in this period I called the CS a half-dozen times to know why I have not received the nib. The last call was this morning, when they told me the nib got missed and informed I should wait 30 more days for it to be delivered! Can you believe that? In an era of instantaneous communication and courier systems that can deliver a package anywhere in the globe overnight it’s completely unacceptable waiting two months, not to mention one more to come, for a nib to be delivered by Waterman CS! Regards, Marcelo

Hello All, A few weeks ago, I sent out my Lamy 2000 and Montblanc LeGrand 146 pens for service. Both wonderful pens, used and cared for meticulously; however, I seemed to have quite bad luck recently with each. The Lamy 2000 had a broken piston which needed replacement. One day whilst trying to fill it, the piston made an audible click, and not long after that began leaking ink from the space between the barrel and filler knob, out the end of the feed, and from under the hooded nib. The pen had literally exploded its contents. When I tried to clean it out by sucking water in and out of the pen via the piston, it didn't. As for the 146, I was not quite sure as to what the issue was. When trying to suck ink up into the pen, the filler knob was extremely resistant to turning, and the pen made a quiet popping noise as there was a slight bit of "slack", for lack of a better word, when you let go of the knob which turned back the opposite way a few millimeters. This was a new development, and I had suspected that perhaps the piston and barrel needed to be re-lubricated. I sent the Lamy out via FedEx ground service from New Jersey to Connecticut (the Lamy repair center location) on a Monday morning. By Thursday evening, the pen had arrived back at my doorstep with a brand new piston, tested by the repair staff member who repaired my pen and verified to work perfectly. As you can imagine, I was elated that in three days, and for the cost of shipping and return shipping (free going out from work, and $9.50 on the return), my pen had been brought back to life and I've been using it since that day two weeks ago. Lifetime warranty was honored, and at record pace in my opinion. I hold good customer service in high regard, and it is experiences such as these that lead me to become a repeat customer. I will have no concerns about future Lamy purchases as I can expect the customer service to be outstanding. As far as my Montblanc was concerned, my experience has not been as satisfactory. The same day that I sent my pen out, I visited a local Montblanc boutique at a shopping mall nearby. I explained to the saleswoman there (who I fear did not know much about fountain pens) what I had been experiencing, and she said that she would have it sent out to the repair center in Texas tomorrow morning. She examined the pen and was impressed that for being slightly over two years old, there was hardly a scratch on the resin, and the condition was immaculate. She wrote "good condition" on the repair request form, even though she had just finished exclaiming how well cared for this pen was. From there, she took a look at my warranty card and acted taken back when she realized that the pen was originally purchased at a Paradise Pen Company store, rather than directly from a Montblanc boutique. She closed the booklet, turned to one of the more junior associates there that certainly appeared to be younger than 20 years old, and asked "if he didn't buy it here, it probably won't be covered under warranty, right?". I explained to the associate that regardless of which authorized Montblanc dealer I had purchased the pen from, the fact that Montblanc offers a warranty on its authentic products should obviously supercede my choice to purchase the pen from a dealer other than Montblanc itself. Sensing that I was noticably frustrated, she moved along to packing up my pen, made me a copy of the repair order, and told me I should expect to hear something from them in one to two weeks. Well, today I received a call, exactly 23 days later, explaining that the piston needs replacement, and that they will also be replacing the feed on the pen as well for a total of $56.75, which I would be responsible for when the pen arrives back at the store in approximately one week. I inquired about the warranty that came with the pen, and she stated that the pen was purchased in September of 2011 which is 2 years and two months ago, and that the warranty for any repairs expires after 2 years. Having no other choice, I authorized them to do begin work on the pen. I will provide an update of the service when I go to pick it up and have a chance to try it out. This thread is not meant to be a long, rambling whining session. Rather, I would like to document my experiences for others that may be considering a new pen purchase and for those who consider good customer service to be as important as the quality of the product itself. With Lamy, I was elated with the turnaround time, quality of repair, and even the disposition of the customer service representative I spoke with over the phone prior to sending out the pen. With Montblanc, I am disappointed in the staff at the brick and mortar store who seemed indifferent, borderline annoyed that I had brought in a pen for repair. I would have appreciated a follow up phone call letting me know that their service schedule was going to be delayed, and well, it's a shame that the warranty only lasts a mediocre 2 years on a product you'd expect to be able to give to your children one day, and that I had to exercise the repair center 2 months after my warranty expired at cost to myself. I'm interested to know if anyone else has had experiences with these two firms that confirm or deny my thoughts. Thanks for reading! WriterJP