Got a customer that shattered a Graphite USA rod into 3 pieces. Said he was just setting the hook. The blank was a Saltwater B79XF. I'm sure I can get the blank replaced from Graphite USA but what do you do about your work? Pull the old guides off I'm sure. Do you charge the customer for you time and only warranty the blank? Want to be fair to customer and me. Certainly want them to come back.

This is the first Graphite USA I've had break.

Thanks for any input you can give me.

Send the blank back to Graphite USA and make sure you ask them to let you know if the rod broke due to a manufacturing defect or some type of impact or abuse (this is the more likely scenario).

If the blank broke to an acutal defect, it is my feeling that you owe the customer a new rod at no charge to him (you'll have to eat your labor and whatever parts you can't switch over). If it broke due to an impact or abuse on his end, then I would recommend replacing the rod and charging him your exact cost (blank, components and some minimum labor charge).

Now if this is the type situation where he dictated the parts he wanted used on the original rod, particularly the blank, then I would let him replace the parts and pay you to rebuild it.

These are just a few ways you could handle it, and there are certainly other good ones as well. You need to take care of the customer but also protect yourself.

Rod warranties can be a pain for custom rod builders and this is why it is better to decide upon and have a written warranty in place before embarking on any rod sales.

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Thanks Tom;

Would you look for dents in the blank for abuse and show the customer?

Mike

Mike,

We did full article on to determine some common causes of rod breakage (Jan/Feb 2000) and most are easily seen if you know what to look for.

Rods tend to break when they have been subject to sharp or sudden impact - although they may not fail right away. But the next time they are heavily or suddenly loaded, the break occurs.

How long has he had the rod? Has he caught many fish on it? Rods don't suddenly become defective after a year or after they have already taken some good fish.

Look at the area of the break. How did it break? Clean and straight? Shattered and splintered? Do you see any telltale chatter or ding marks in the area of the break? Any ruptured finish in that area? All of these can lead you to the culprit.

For what it is worth, I don't think the fisherman is trying to cheat you - most do not understand that impacts and abuse can cause later breakage. The common idea is that any rod that breaks on a fish or a hookset must have been defective.

I am sure Graphite USA will be happy to take a look at it and tell you exactly how it broke - they won't have to guess, they will know.


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Thanks again Tom, good info.

I meet the customer tonight and I think I now have what I need.
He has had the rod since November and caught lots of fish with it (large ones 45" redfish plus) and has told me it was the best rod he has ever owned. I think the answer is "SETTING THE HOOK". Probably on a big fish and brought the rod way over his shoulder putting way to much stress on the tip (for a graphite rod) and continued the stress causing the 2nd break.

Thanks again for you help. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Mike

Do you know if he was using braided line? "Setting the hook" like he apparently did using braid is almost a guarantee of failure.

Siince braided line has been involved in the breakage of many graphite rods you might want to consider addressing the use of braided line in your warranty.

Hugh Miller

Good Point Hugh

I think he is using mono, Not sure of the test or type, I do know he has a Stella 6000 on the rod and had mono on the reel when I built it.

Thanks for the tip.

Mike

Moke
All the threads had great suggestion that I would follow.. Where did the rod actully break? Also your custermer may have put undue stress on the blank by reaching up high above the for grip for more leaverage
Bob

And there is also the chance that he smacked it or knocked something into or against it the day before or even earlier in the day. Then when subjected to a load, it broke at any area where the fibers had been fractured.

This is always a delicate issue with customers who don't want to believe that they might actually be to blame (remember, Wal-Mart doesn't ask questions, they just give you another rod which contributes to the idea that a broken rod, is a defective rod).

Hope it turns out well and that the two of you can work out something that is fair to both of you.

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Just talked with the customer and looked at the rod. The rod tip broke at 1" from the tip top and the 2nd break was 13" below that. They seem to be pretty clean breaks. The customer advised he was at the inlet fighting a fish and as it took off he crossed another fishermans line. He lifted the rod over the head of the other fisherman and the fish to another surge. That's when the damage occured. I do believe the customer. I did tell him that we are going to ship it back to Graphite USA and let them make the decision. He was ok with that.

Believe it or not he ordered another rod while he is waiting on the outcome. Things do work out don't they Tom.

Thanks for everyones help.

PS.
He was using 15 lb mono line.

What I do is charge extra for a warranty. This will at least buy a new blank if i cannot get a free one back from the company. However I charge a low labor fee only 15%. This brings me a lot of customers. I am young yet, so ppl are just giving me more experience and I value that more than money. However the rods are high quality and our customers love them. The rainshadow blanks are awesome, they cast just like a 400 or 500 dollar rod in my opinion.

*This post has been edited.

Thanks Don for the input.

Called Graphite USA today and talked with Roy. I am sending it back to them to inspect. Roy did say it sounded like he high lifted it.

They will work with me on replacing the blank.

I am curious, what do you charge for your warranty add-on?

You'll have to figure out how many rods you sell versus how many are likely to come back for replacment. You need to add enough that you make enough to fully cover those that come back broken for any reason. It's tough to figure - the more you make the less add-on you can charge, but the more are likely to come back.

But this is exactly how the major manufacturers run their no-fault warranty policies. The customer is paying towards a certain number of free replacements on every rod purchased.

Don can fill you in on how his program is working.

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Mike, if you build rods as a business, you are going to have to have a standard warranty statement that is signed at the same time the pricing agreement is signed. It is too late once the price is decided and you build the rod.

I won't create another feces storm over how you should set up your warranties. That is something that you have to decide for yourself.

Well I charge for the price of the blank. Since I usually use Rainshadow IM^ blanks I charge 35.00 and this is a two year warrenty. But generally the rods dont break so I end up making the extra 35 dollars. Works for me though.

E-mail me if you have any more questions