Omas "the Paragon" Problems And Service

[freakman]

 

So you are stating that there is no reason to believe Omas knew that storing a pen they make in a certain way could damage it, but we, are consumers should know it in advance?

 

Ok then. I dont think there is any point continuing this discussion any further.

 

Re usage and parking the car - a more apt analogy would be: if you parked your car in the garage for 6 months (ie, in the same place where one would normally park a car for a shorter period of time) and found out after 6 months that the body was chipped/damaged, would that be acceptable?

OMAS was aware of this and changed their packaging material around 2000s.

And it takes more than 10 years to let the pen react with the packaging material(faster if you put a pen in an already decomposed box).

So I think the fault is on both sides.

 

BTW: Almost all 1st generation serenite cracks on section threading and Waterman won't change it for free. The problems can happen within months after you use the pen or when you stored it for couple of years. Waterman changed the design of 2nd generation serenite to prevent this.

Many of the Jasper Red Duofold shrinks and cracks. But Parker counts this on the customers side.

We are all still using and buying Parkers and Watermans, then why not OMAS?

[Namo]

OMAS was aware of this and changed their packaging material around 2000s.

And it takes more than 10 years to let the pen react with the packaging material(faster if you put a pen in an already decomposed box).

So I think the fault is on both sides.

 

BTW: Almost all 1st generation serenite cracks on section threading and Waterman won't change it for free. The problems can happen within months after you use the pen or when you stored it for couple of years. Waterman changed the design of 2nd generation serenite to prevent this.

Many of the Jasper Red Duofold shrinks and cracks. But Parker counts this on the customers side.

We are all still using and buying Parkers and Watermans, then why not OMAS?

Because Wat. and Par. (owned now by the same company) arescting like jerks doesn't mean Omas has to. Lamy doesn't, twsbi doesn't... and if I don't limit my pen choice to customer service, it does count when I buy a new pen. I bought several new Lamys, but no new Waterman (since 1993) or Parker... There is the law, but there is also a commitment to ones product. Omas is in denial, ad is Wat. in the case of the Sérénité... What would you say if Lamy acted this way regarding section problems with the 2K??

[jar]

I too wish OMAS behaved differently and had better customer service. Not too long ago I posted a thread about a company that exceeded my expectations in that arena.

 

My point though is that stuff happens. We cannot and should not expect companies to solve all problems or to be foresee all possible problems. A company that makes fountain pens should be expected to make fountain pens that work. Other factors such as longevity though are subject to failure. If the warranty is three years then the pen should write for three years. Put it aside for three years after purchase and fill it for the first time only to find it does not work? Sorry. Not the manufacturers problem.

[de_pen_dent]

As I said earlier, my Michelangelo has gotten marks on the cap after being stored for 4-5 months.

 

I am sending it back for servicing, i will pay for it if i have to, but i am not pleased that an expensive pen doesnt survive being stored in a box for a few months. If there was a warning of sorts saying "please store it in __", even that'd be ok.

 

I agree with Jar that if I bought a pen that wasnt working and found out about it after the warranty period was over, i shouldnt expect warranty service. Or that companies arent obligated to repair problems caused by general wear and tear for free after the warranty period is over.

 

But is this "regular wear and tear"? If someone thinks so, then yes, it would make sense to say Omas or Visconti have no obligation to provide service. However, i dont think damage caused by storing a pen in the manufacture-provided box, or in a velvet-lined pen case is "regular wear and tear".

 

I think there has to be a middle ground for cases like this - where it is obviously NOT the end user's fault but a problem with the product which could have been avoided had the consumer been told of the risk - where the manufacturer should go a little out of the way to provide service, instead of sticking to the bare minimum described in their warranty. And in fact, these days, especially with premium products, the bar on service is typically higher than "bare minimum", which is why it is jarring (no pun intended) when a storied company like Omas basically tells a customer to Go F____ Himself, which is essentially what they have done here.

Edited June 27, 2014 by de_pen_dent

[freakman]

Because Wat. and Par. (owned now by the same company) arescting like jerks doesn't mean Omas has to. Lamy doesn't, twsbi doesn't... and if I don't limit my pen choice to customer service, it does count when I buy a new pen. I bought several new Lamys, but no new Waterman (since 1993) or Parker... There is the law, but there is also a commitment to ones product. Omas is in denial, ad is Wat. in the case of the Sérénité... What would you say if Lamy acted this way regarding section problems with the 2K??

In fact. Lamy don't change the broken section for free here in China. They say that it's caused by not using the pen properly.

Also Pelikan won't change their Originals of Their Times products' barrel for free despite the fact that they're using poor ebonite as the body and easily got discolored. And in this case, the pens cost from $1300 to $2800 and can get discolored within weeks if placed under the sun and in a relatively humid environment.

And even Montblanc won't repair their POAs under a resonable price when the waranty(only 1 year) is expired because they claimed to have destroyed all molds for the pen parts(which is ceratinly not true if you compare some of the products with their Artlier line).

I don't think placing a pen in its original box for many years is a regular case. And OMAS is not fully responsible for this. But yes, their customer service is poor comparing to most of other brands.

And speaking of storage. Visconti got several notorious celluloid pens that can decompose within months. Like their Lapis/Red Voyager,Uffizi. It also has some issues with their ebonite pens like Alhambra(red ebonite turns black near the overlay). All these problems are not under warranty(initially the voyager can be changed but later they ran out of supplies) and some of them are not possible to repair now.

There can be tons of problems with special materials, either from box or on the pen. And it's highly unlikely that minor brands can foresee this. So I guess sometimes we just need to accept the fact.

[pen2paper]

actually, not long ago I received a safari with a cracked feed, first ever issue I've found with Safari. It was replaced with lightening speed by a well -known reseller here, no questions asked. Thanks T.

[Dillo]

In fact. Lamy don't change the broken section for free here in China. They say that it's caused by not using the pen properly.

Also Pelikan won't change their Originals of Their Times products' barrel for free despite the fact that they're using poor ebonite as the body and easily got discolored. And in this case, the pens cost from $1300 to $2800 and can get discolored within weeks if placed under the sun and in a relatively humid environment.

And even Montblanc won't repair their POAs under a resonable price when the waranty(only 1 year) is expired because they claimed to have destroyed all molds for the pen parts(which is ceratinly not true if you compare some of the products with their Artlier line).

I don't think placing a pen in its original box for many years is a regular case. And OMAS is not fully responsible for this. But yes, their customer service is poor comparing to most of other brands.

And speaking of storage. Visconti got several notorious celluloid pens that can decompose within months. Like their Lapis/Red Voyager,Uffizi. It also has some issues with their ebonite pens like Alhambra(red ebonite turns black near the overlay). All these problems are not under warranty(initially the voyager can be changed but later they ran out of supplies) and some of them are not possible to repair now.

There can be tons of problems with special materials, either from box or on the pen. And it's highly unlikely that minor brands can foresee this. So I guess sometimes we just need to accept the fact.

In any case, ebonite should never be kept in the sun and in a relatively humid environment. The two combined can cause discolouration. It's one of the primary causes of discolouration in ebonite pens. It's fairly well known that certain materials are not resistant to certain situations, but Pelikan didn't make the sun or the environment. In this case, the box, provided by the manufacturer was not compatible with the pen. If placed in the sun in a relatively humid environment, ebonite can become discoloured in a few days if not weeks. If Mercedes Benz provided their car in a storage garage, and you kept the car in the garage exclusively, and one day after a few months you open the garage and find that all the paint has peeled off the car, despite the fact that you maintained everything as you were told and weren't informed that the paint would be coming off, that's a bit of a problem. Some people store their pen inside of the box when they aren't using it and keep the box on the desk, so it isn't such a far-fetched idea in my mind. It think that's the main difference here, whether it's caused by an environment the manufacturer provided or something that is out of their control.

 

In any case, I think I won't be storing pens in the boxes if there is some sort of leatherette on the inside. I should think that the box should be made to be compatible with the pen. It's like having a ticking time bomb if I have a gift wrapped up with a pen that is liable to melt into the box if it is kept that way. How about those cases where stock doesn't move and the pens melt into the box? OMAS wasn't a minor brand, but in any case, if they started seeing problems, I should think that it would be better if they had done something about it.

 

Dillon

Edited June 29, 2014 by Dillo

[freakman]

In any case, ebonite should never be kept in the sun and in a relatively humid environment. The two combined can cause discolouration. It's one of the primary causes of discolouration in ebonite pens. It's fairly well known that certain materials are not resistant to certain situations, but Pelikan didn't make the sun or the environment. In this case, the box, provided by the manufacturer was not compatible with the pen. If placed in the sun in a relatively humid environment, ebonite can become discoloured in a few days if not weeks. If Mercedes Benz provided their car in a storage garage, and you kept the car in the garage exclusively, and one day after a few months you open the garage and find that all the paint has peeled off the car, despite the fact that you maintained everything as you were told and weren't informed that the paint would be coming off, that's a bit of a problem. Some people store their pen inside of the box when they aren't using it and keep the box on the desk, so it isn't such a far-fetched idea in my mind. It think that's the main difference here, whether it's caused by an environment the manufacturer provided or something that is out of their control.

 

In any case, I think I won't be storing pens in the boxes if there is some sort of leatherette on the inside. I should think that the box should be made to be compatible with the pen. It's like having a ticking time bomb if I have a gift wrapped up with a pen that is liable to melt into the box if it is kept that way. How about those cases where stock doesn't move and the pens melt into the box? OMAS wasn't a minor brand, but in any case, if they started seeing problems, I should think that it would be better if they had done something about it.

 

Dillon

But comparing to other modern ebonite pens, the percentage of discolored Pelikans is higher. And considering that these Pelikans are significantly more expensive in most cases, the overall storing condition should be better. But they still changed into some weird colors. This means Pelikan used the wrong type of ebonite on these pens and they're not willing to replace it for free.

 

And OMAS had already changed their box in the 2000s. The pen box posted here is a faily old one. You can only see this type of boxes in the 80s and early 90s.

[georges zaslavsky]

I only had one mishap with my Paragon Arte Italiana oversize (broken cap) and my dealer forced them to exchange it for free, the cap was indeed exchanged for free thanks to Mr Mora's persistence.

[tryphon]

I had a nice call from OMAS in Italy today. I explained the cause of the problem, sent them a picture of my other OMAS pens that were stored together with the damaged pen and they agreed to repair the pen under warranty.

I must say that I am relieved and finally impressed by their actions. To make a call from Italy to an unhappy customer was a very nice thought and I really appreciated their concern. I am now looking forward to receiving the pen back!

Thanks, OMAS!

[RMN]

Looking forward to seeing your pics of the restored pen...

 

 

D.ick

[tryphon]

Will post when it comes home! Thanks!

[Soer]

I think more of a reaction between paper and the resin due to the bubbles on the pen, could be that the paper was treated with bleach and there you have the bubbles, as seen on the picture looks like a reaction of oxygen and resin (fume) and maybe paper bleach .

correct me if I am wrong.

[tryphon]

There was no paper, only white vinyl. The vinyl outgassed and adhered to the celluloid of the pen.

[Keyless Works]

I am glad to hear that they have customer service.

[Raskolnikov]

I only had one mishap with my Paragon Arte Italiana oversize (broken cap) and my dealer forced them to exchange it for free, the cap was indeed exchanged for free thanks to Mr Mora's persistence.

 

I think that this is how it should have gone in the first place: no matter where the fault or liability lies, an unhappy customer is a far bigger expense (in terms of image etc...) than having to replace a small piece of plastic

[raging.dragon]

It seems the story will have a happy ending!

[tryphon]

 

Speaking of which, I remember you told me something happened to an Aurora 88 with a Nikargenta cap, and they just replaced the cap for you without having any issues. Stuff like that just shouldn't happen!

 

Dillon

You are correct, Dillo. I was pleasantly surprised by the way Aurora handled the issue on a pen that was decades old!

[PenFisher]

Glad to hear that you received personal attention from OMAS including the call and the plan to repair the pen at no charge. Irrespective of all else, this was the right thing to do and they did it. Now you can put that pen in your rotation and enjoy it!

[tryphon]

That is exactly what I will do (and was planning to do, which is why I found the problem!). I can't wait to have it back!

Thanks!