Montblanc Lavender Purple Ink Relaunched

[Blade Runner]

Beechwood,

A friendly request: could you kindly provide the name of the person who told you this information about the deleterious effect of the ink and the location of service center? Any specifics you have would be great.

Thank you!

Edited May 3, 2014 by Blade Runner

[Dillo]

Hi,

 

I was the one who had the slime problem across four different batches of ink in multiple pens, some of which were not MB. In some cases, the mould grew in the bottles. In other cases, the cartridges, even unopened ones, contained the mould. I talked to several different representatives of MB NA, and they all said different things, including dismissing it as a problem, not ever hearing of anything, or stating that Lavender Purple was still safe for use despite being withdrawn. Some even suggested that the ink colour went out of fashion, so they withdrew it. In the end, when it finally infected a special edition MB pen I had on hand, I contacted them once more, and I was finally transferred to a senior representative who worked there for a long time and who told me that there was indeed a problem with the preservatives failing in the original formulation. I explained that I had only used this ink in my MB special edition, and it was severely clogged, and she told me that they would take care of it for free. The Montblanc service centre took my pen, and they told me that if it was indeed an ink problem, they would do it for free. In the end, The replaced my feed and feeder case for free, agreeing that there was indeed an issue with the ink and cleaned up my pen. They also provided me two bottles of MB ink (Royal Blue and Burgundy Red) for free to replace my two bottles of Montblanc Lavender Purple ink. Additionally, the senior representative apologised for the behaviour and misinformation propagated by the other MBNA representatives I had spoken to, and I had spoken to a good number of them.

 

I do highly recommend that if you are using an original release of the ink to discontinue use and speak with MB if you find anything in the ink.

 

Dillon

[Mr Blifil]

I do highly recommend that if you are using an original release of the ink to discontinue use and speak with MB if you find anything in the ink.

Dillon

Thank you for that detailed account of your experience. How is one to know which batch? Mine are marked 1124-Sept/17 Made in Austria.

[Blade Runner]

Hi Dillon,

Perhaps you could provide the name/ location of this senior MB representative? These anecdotes are so interesting, but obtaining sources seems rather elusive!

Edited May 6, 2014 by Blade Runner

[Dillo]

Hi Dillon,

Perhaps you could provide the name/ location of this senior MB representative? These anecdotes are so interesting, but obtaining sources seems rather elusive!

Why do you want that information? I have not been authorised to release the information except to other MB representatives to whom it may concern.

 

Dillon

[MisterBoll]

According to (NAME WITHHELD) there was indeed an issue with said ink but not all (BLACKED OUT SECTION) of the issue hence the (BLACKED OUT SECTION).

[Beechwood]

This has gone so far off topic and ceases to form a useful purpose

[MisterBoll]

This has gone so far off topic and ceases to form a useful purpose

At last - someone wakes up! Thanks.

Edited May 6, 2014 by MisterBoll

[Dillo]

Hi,

 

The biggest problem is the great variability in responses from all the different customer service representatives at MBNA. I've spoken to so many of them, and each one has a different story ranging from viscosity, improved colour, went out of fashion, there's no problems with it, never heard of any problems with it, they just took all of our stock away (at my local boutique), the flow characteristics were off, MB never told them there was any issue with it, it's safe to use, and so on and so forth.

 

The senior representative who contacted the head office for me was the final one who talked about the preservatives going off or "failing." The technicians at MBNA who serviced my pen also agreed with this. Why would the senior representative bother apologising for the misinformation propagated? What worries me is both how there are so many stories and rumours and misinformation propagated by the customer service representatives (This is not the first time something like this happened to me with MBNA. Last time, it wasn't something critical, but the representative didn't know the answer to my question and proceeded to blow smoke up my backside. Later I discovered the answer to my query clearly written on the MB website, and I could have just found it there before picking up the phone) and how people take what a single or a few different representatives have to say as gospel. I already lost count of how many times and how many hours I spent phoning Montblanc about this problem and getting new and different stories each time from all the different people working there. Thankfully when my pen went mouldy, I was able to get someone higher up and more knowledgeable right away who was able to talk to the head office to get an answer and get things sorted for me, from a free repair replacing critical components in my pen (contingent on the MB service centre agreeing with the assessment) to two new bottles of ink to replace what I had that had gone mouldy. Previously, one of the representatives told me that I was just seeing things or there was no problem when I reported mould in my cartridges which I purchased directly from MBNA and were within the expiry date if the expiry date even matters, and sent me a box of cartridges that had mould growing in them already when they arrived at my place.

 

The senior representative was able to redeem my experience with Montblanc, and I will continue using their inks and pens in the future.

 

Dillon

Edited May 6, 2014 by Dillo

[Blade Runner]

Why do you want that information? I have not been authorised to release the information except to other MB representatives to whom it may concern.

 

Dillon

Why would his/her identity have to be kept a secret if this information is given to you? Are you a MB representative or just a customer? If you are just a customer, why would this senior MB representative entrust you with information that can only be released to other MB representatives?

 

My source gave me her name without hesitation. I am certainly more apt to believe someone who gives her name with her statement.

Edited May 6, 2014 by Blade Runner

[migo984]

This thread reminds me of the TV game show: Pointless

[Dillo]

I got the name, and I can give the name to MB employees if necessary for the service of my pen and other things, but not to outsiders. I am a customer only. Not everything given to you from a company's representative is intended to be disseminated to the general public.

 

Dillon

[Kalessin]

Ladies and Gentlemen:

 

This thread has wandered far off topic. Also, please refrain from mentioning the names of Montblanc company people who are not known to be public-facing. Having one's name revealed on the internet in the wrong way can cause all sorts of problems, possibly including loss of job.

 

This thread has wandered far off its original purpose, and is now closed.