149 O3B Coming My Way

[zaddick]

All MB dealers have the same nib selection options. Most are never in stock. They go for an exchange for free if you order a size not in stock.

[zaddick]

Here is a somewhat decent picture. Starting at the apex of the silver portion of the nib and looking to about 11 o'clock on the edge you can see the gouge. The photo minimizes it, however it was the only angle I could successfully capture it in focus. If you run the edge of your nail along the nib it will catch on the gouge. At about the 8 o'clock position relative to the apex of the silver portion you can see the three parallel marks.

 

I am really stunned that this would pass any sort of quality check. It was evident to me immediately upon opening and removing the cap. Zaddick, by above and beyond I am thinking an extremely rapid turn around, a partial refund, and perhaps a couple bottles of ink and/or some Montblanc swag.

 

Well my 03B came back yesterday, unexpectedly early compared to what I was told. Hooray. I uncapped the pen... whiskers on both shoulders of the nib, even worse than yours. Clearly someone there does not kow how to use thr nib tool to insert a nib. So off it goes again for who knows how long. Disappointed again.

[Tom Kellie]

Well my 03B came back yesterday, unexpectedly early compared to what I was told. Hooray. I uncapped the pen... whiskers on both shoulders of the nib, even worse than yours. Clearly someone there does not kow how to use thr nib tool to insert a nib. So off it goes again for who knows how long. Disappointed again.

 

~ zaddick:

 

I'm very sorry to read this.

This underscores that a problem exists with the technical staff.

That all of these issues concern OBBB nibs is especially painful.

I hope that Montblanc USA will get this sorted out with dispatch.

Tom K.

[Ghost Plane]

Don't hold your breath. US couldn't be bothered to let me know I had a pen inbound while I was on the road. They lost my letter with both my instructions to return the pen to my work address rather than my home + my credit card info with signature. I feel sooo happy that my Amex number and signature are AWOL somewhere at their facility. When I called in and left my credit card info after an email second notice, they mistyped my phone number despite me repeating it multiple times (it has number patterns to make it EASY for customers to remember). So my empty house was festooned with soggy failed delivery notices when I returned home, flagging it as empty for any malcontents, and UPS had an incorrect contact number to reach me. Fortunately I was able to decipher the numbers on the wet mess and call to track down what they were about to return to the service center. Finally I got to drive across the county while exhausted from travel to retrieve the pen. Fortunately, it seems like the repairs were properly done as the piston is now secure once more.

 

Can you tell I was underwhelmed?

[Tom Kellie]

Don't hold your breath. US couldn't be bothered to let me know I had a pen inbound while I was on the road. They lost my letter with both my instructions to return the pen to my work address rather than my home + my credit card info with signature. I feel sooo happy that my Amex number and signature are AWOL somewhere at their facility. When I called in and left my credit card info after an email second notice, they mistyped my phone number despite me repeating it multiple times (it has number patterns to make it EASY for customers to remember). So my empty house was festooned with soggy failed delivery notices when I returned home, flagging it as empty for any malcontents, and UPS had an incorrect contact number to reach me. Fortunately I was able to decipher the numbers on the wet mess and call to track down what they were about to return to the service center. Finally I got to drive across the county while exhausted from travel to retrieve the pen. Fortunately, it seems like the repairs were properly done as the piston is now secure once more.

 

Can you tell I was underwhelmed?

 

 

~ Ghost Plane:

 

WHAT ?!?!?!

Your tale reads like a not-so-funny-after-all version of ineptness gone haywire.

It requires a special kind of incompetence for so many steps to malfunction, one right after another.

Is that customer service, 2017-style?

The customer — you — had to do far more than her share of the work to resolve this conundrum.

At least the piston is back in working order, presumably without any telltale marks on the nib or elsewhere.

That you were underwhelmed must be an understatement, which I understand.

Tom K.

[Ghost Plane]

I was frankly shocked. This was not the MB I remembered from four years ago (my last service).

 

The pen was well packed in plastic bag, sleeve, and foam box liner and nicely shined so it looked new. But from the moment I attempted to reply to the service quote email, which even their phone rep admitted was confusing and contradictory, things went downhill. When a company makes it difficult for the customer to pay, it's an early sign of problems to come. Even I, as a small business owner, have figured out how to take on line credit card payments.

 

Someone, somewhere, has not paid attention to their most basic business model away from those isolating boutiques. Never, ever, be so exclusive as to push away customers desirous of spending money!

[BlkWhiteFilmPix]

Bonjour -

 

Je suis désolé.

 

Each of you, please write Mr. Nicholas Baretzki, Montblanc North America, LLC. 645 Fifth Avenue New York, NY 10022 about your concerns.

 

When Mr. Baretzki gets several letters within a week or two about these issues, it should bring about some changes.

 

Paper cuts through the noise.

 

Bon chance.

 

 

[BlkWhiteFilmPix]

All MB dealers have the same nib selection options. Most are never in stock. They go for an exchange for free if you order a size not in stock.

 

 

Thank you, zaddick. While I know those nibs can be ordered via exchange, it appears from the LCDC site that the BB, OB, and OBB nibs stock items.

 

After reading about several recent misadventures at MB DFW while replacing nibs with O3B's, I'm glad John Mottishaw at nibs.com had a used O3B nib and put it on my 149.

[Dcharles]

Well my 03B came back yesterday, unexpectedly early compared to what I was told. Hooray. I uncapped the pen... whiskers on both shoulders of the nib, even worse than yours. Clearly someone there does not kow how to use thr nib tool to insert a nib. So off it goes again for who knows how long. Disappointed again.

That is truly disappointing, I am sorry that anyone else has to experience this. My pen was returned sooner than expected as well. I received an email a few weeks back stating it would be completed in mid August, then mere days later it shipped. There is clearly a competency issue there. It is one thing to damage a nib in the course of servicing it, it is quite another to send that damaged nib to a customer pretending that everything is fine.

 

I don't know why they cannot source new nibs, notify us once they are in, then have a fast turnaround and satisfied customers. Perhaps we should ship our 149s to Tom K in China and let MB Asia perform the service since they seem far more skilled and capable!

Edited August 6, 2017 by Dcharles

[grantmm]

http://i.imgur.com/KJae4Qn.jpg?1

[Tom Kellie]

Perhaps we should ship our 149s to Tom K in China and let MB Asia perform the service since they seem far more skilled and capable!

 

~ Dcharles:

 

There may be something to that.

In several informal conversations with Montblanc staff respectively from Hamburg, Florence (leather craft) and Switzerland (timepieces) during roadshow events in Beijing, there was an unmistakable sense that the mainland China market received ‘special handling’.

At various times I was gently told that I was fortunate to be transacting business through Montblanc China, as it received the highest attention and premium service.

Once I asked why that might be, and was told that Chinese clients were highly demanding, easily dissatisfied, quick to reject anything they perceived to be less than the very finest.

I never thought much about that, taking it for granted, until reading your posts and those of both zaddick and Ghost Plane.

It's not so much Montblanc Asia as it is Montblanc China which is hyper-attentive to quality issues.

Reading posts in the FPN Montblanc Forum often causes me to shake my head at the numerous quality control issues which arise.

With extensive boutique-mediated interaction with Montblanc, I've never once found any flaws, difficulties, prolonged delays or disappointments.

To the contrary, expectations were consistently exceeded, hospitality, courtesy and generous gifts were numerous, and all pens worked from day one until the present, free of scratches or misalignment.

Other Montblanc customers I know here have been similarly satisfied. I've never once heard a complaint, yet were there any issues, they'd be loudly noted here.

Could it be that the demanding, unforgiving, rigorously picky clientele here are able through their vigorous complaints to cause Montblanc to maintain top level standards?

I truly feel sad and frustrated that it's been through the unfavorable experiences explained in this thread that I've finally realized how fortunate I've been.

The mainland China advantage.

Who knew?

Tom K.

[zaddick]

Grantmm- thank you for your kindness. My experience has certainly given me pause as it should not be acceptable to pass along such obviously substandard work to a customer, regardless of the cost of the pen.

 

That said, I am 99% sure WE, POA, and most limited editions got to Hamburg for a nib exchange, so your WE should be well sorted. I have not had similar issues with the service in Hamburg, though I have not sent them a pen this year.

[Tom Kellie]

Caveat Emptor

The Squeaky Wheel Gets the Grease

~ After reading the excellent handwritten post from grantmm, it seemed like a more comprehensive description of Montblanc China service might be in order.

The lovely image of the 149 OBBB inked with William Shakespeare Velvet Red moved me, as I admire such handwritten posts which include pen images.

Mulling over the comments from Dcharles, grantmm, Ghost Plane and zaddick, all in the USA, and recalling similar service issues experienced by Pravda in Dubai, it was self-evident that there's a service quality gap between different Montblanc regions.

*******************************************************************

It's no secret that where I work and live, in mainland China, bogus products, scams of all sorts, out-and-out hoaxes, assorted fraudulent goods, and deceptive schemes are interwoven into the fabric of life.

That certainly includes such highly portable, high ticket luxury goods as wristwatches, jewelry and fountain pens.

As obvious and well-known as that unpleasant reality is, it also leads to a much higher than average level of vigilance by high end consumers here.

Although they seldom publicly state such, preferring to remain discreet and avoid any criticism of the national culture, affluent consumers expect a high bar for ascertaining the authenticity of all luxury goods.

Retailers fully realize this, understanding that if they have any hope of selling top shelf products here, they must go to extreme lengths to underscore authenticity to reassure potential purchaser concerns.

I've worked here since 1999. What was true when I arrived remains the standard practice to this day.

For all full price goods such as electronics of any kind, household products or any machine with an engine, before a purchase transaction is completed, without being requested to do so, any item in question is carefully removed from the packaging, plugged in and tested to show functionality.

Department stores or specialty goods stores have magnifying lenses at the ready for customer use in inspecting product quality. This even occurs in relatively small regional cities.

Such service is unavailable for on-line shopping, which is extremely popular here, but primarily for low-cost goods. Brick and mortar high street/main street businesses remain viable here in part because they offer pre-purchase close scrutiny.

*******************************************************************

When it comes to Montblanc boutiques — and I've made Montblanc purchases in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou — the following is the standard ‘business as usual’ customer service protocol which is carefully trained for all retail staff members.

When any Montblanc product is purchased, whether in stock in the boutique, or special ordered, a sales associate seats the customer and offers tea, coffee or water, according to customer preference. Premium soft chocolates are also often served, if available.

This routine includes any ink purchase, belts, cufflinks, all writing tools, sunglasses, and the timepieces which are heavily promoted here.

The sales associate puts on clean white gloves — this is even done when packages of ink are opened — and shows the unopened box to the customer, carefully explaining all of the numbers, terms and acronyms on the packaging.

If there is more than one of a product in stock, as opposed to special orders, a second unopened box will be at the ready, inconspicuously placed on the side of the table.

After all has been explained, the customer is invited to open the box. They may then remove the potential purchase for closer examination.

A choice of two loupes is invariably available, one with glass only, the other with glass and a small light.

Customers are neither encouraged nor discouraged from using the loupes, but it made very clear that they're welcome to use them. A larger magnifying lens is also placed on the table.

My subjection impression is that roughly 85% of customers avail themselves of the loupes, perhaps closer to 100% if the item in question is a timepiece or a writing instrument.

In every instance over the past five years, I've always been invited to compare the same item from different boxes, in order to select whichever one I felt was more ideal.

There was never any sense of hurry. In fact, it was almost comical how I was encouraged in each instance to “take your time” even when comparing two seemingly identical bottles of ink. (I'd typically confound the staff and purchase both.)

The phrase “totally new” is repeated over and over, to underscore product quality. If any item is temporarily out-of-stock, but a display model exists, they're exceedingly reluctant to sell it for any price, as they feel that it isn't “totally new”, which they assume any sophisticated consumer would demand.

As to special orders, including nib exchanges, all of the above occurs, but with an extra level of ceremony. A gift is always given, ranging from Montblanc candles, to excellent Montblanc umbrellas, small credit card leatherwork, or books about Montblanc products.

The sales associate is typically joined by the manager on duty, with both carefully and knowingly inspecting the entire pen, with extra attention given to both the piston and the nib.

Loupes are used as well as the larger magnifying lens. Nearly always they discover an impossible-to-discern micro-scratch, which they condemn as sub-standard work, immediately apologizing and offering a rapid exchange.

I've never detected whatever it is that they saw, therefore accepted the pens, as is.

They insist on an ink dip test of the nib, bringing out paper other than the usual Montblanc tester paper. Only after a positive dip test with full client satisfaction will they consent to repackage such a special order pen.

The purchase ceremony concludes by being escorted to the front entrance, with vociferous expressions in 普通话 (Mandarin) and English, including a warm invitation to return the item as soon as possible if any issues develop after use at home or office.

What I've described above happened time and again, not only to me as a “foreigner” resident in mainland China, but also to each and every local Chinese customer I observed making purchases, regardless of their appearance, age or style.

*******************************************************************

As might be imagined, such a high boutique customer service standard results in strong customer loyalty, frequent repeat purchases, and Montblanc is blessed in mainland China with an enviable “very high genuine quality” reputation.

Are customers here tough and demanding?

Absolutely.

Yet doing so creates a pervasive expectation that anything less than stellar customer service will quickly result in a failed business.

Granted there's far more at the other end of the scale, wherein shoddy knock-off goods are hustled for rock bottom prices without any of the elaborate steps taken by Montblanc.

Consumers here realize in both cases what they're getting into, hence there are few surprises.

Gullibility is scorned throughout mainland China...with good reason. Caveat emptor may be Latin in origin, but the spirit is 100% contemporary Chinese.

The entirely reasonable expectation of receiving top quality service after purchasing a premium fountain pen, ballpoint, rollerball or pencil, is universal.

If indeed Montblanc USA is failing to meet such expectations, then the responsible managers may need to learn from their superlative Chinese counterparts.

By way of full disclosure, I neither am employed or reimbursed in any capacity by Montblanc China, nor do I receive any discounts aside from the annual birthday month discount in November.

May all of you receive service that is at least as outstanding as what I've enjoyed in mainland China.

Tom K.

Edited August 6, 2017 by Tom Kellie

[Ghost Plane]

Ah, Tom. This brings back memories of shopping as a child in the South before the "time is money" Walmart/Amazon paradigm killed the courtesies of coffee or an ice cold Coke plus seated discussions of the item after extensive asking after one's family and friends.

 

For clarification, the pen recently returned to me was a POA requiring shipment to Hamburg from Texas. As I use it, I see the nib now skips periodically on downstrokes and I have to return it. I refuse to pay for a level one service and receive back a writing instrument which doesn't reliably perform its intended function.

 

When I have a moment, I will take advantage of the corporate info so kindly provided and write a letter. A company purporting to sell writing instruments should do more than dip test the repair of a used pen. Shining is nice, but useable condition is paramount. I get the impression someone in upper management is convinced these are presentation items for display rather than precision tools and speed more essential than quality. That attitude kills many corporations and must be quashed.

[dubhe]

I bought my 149 90 year in the Cape Town boutique and had one of the best customer service experiences I have ever had. I have been in the London boutiques and made to feel out of place until I establish myself as an enthusiast.

Thanks Tom, really interesting post.

[BlkWhiteFilmPix]

Thank you grantmm, Tom K, and dubhe.

[Kalessin]

Thank you for your post, Tom. I'd love to try the shopping experience as you describe it!

[meiers]

I had an experience quite close to Tom's at the MB boutique in Cologne.

[mulrich]

I visited a MB boutique this week to test some oblique nibs and see whether I liked the broader widths. Unfortunately the nibs were generally in really rough shape and barely usable. One was so badly misaligned I could see the problem without even seeing the nib up close (and it couldn't put any ink on paper). The sales associated was apologetic and said a lot of non-FP users try the pens and end up bending the tines. I'm sure this is hard to prevent and they planned to send many of their testers for repairs in the near future but still disappointing. I'm also glad I brought in my own paper since the MB paper lived up to it's non-FP friendly reputation. It's apparent that FPs are not a product they sell very often.

[Dcharles]

Grantmm- thank you for your kindness. My experience has certainly given me pause as it should not be acceptable to pass along such obviously substandard work to a customer, regardless of the cost of the pen.

 

That said, I am 99% sure WE, POA, and most limited editions got to Hamburg for a nib exchange, so your WE should be well sorted. I have not had similar issues with the service in Hamburg, though I have not sent them a pen this year.

When I sent my Tolstoy in earlier this year to swap it's Medium for an OBB it was returned to me damaged. The nib itself was fine, however the silver ring by the section literally fell off on the pen, and I had to return it for repair.

 

LetterRevivalist, thank you for the contact information. I am hoping to have time today to draft a letter and will send it out tomorrow. I am half tempted to include my pen with the letter so that he can see this poor workmanship firsthand. My only fear is that it would not make it to him and I never see the pen again.

Edited August 8, 2017 by Dcharles