fylestorum
Active Member
- Joined
- Aug 24, 2013
- Messages
- 35
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Hi all,
I felt that I should share a recent experience I had with Carl Friedrik when attempting to purchase a briefcase and a weekender with our community.
Firstly, while Carl Friedrik is not considered a top tier leather company on this forum, they do offer a beautiful product that uses quality materials.This is why I decided to take the plunge during Covid and invest in the Palissy 25-hour briefcase, as it was big enough to fit a 2020 MacBook Pro. I received it ahead of schedule. During the unboxing, I immediacy noticed worn leather and messy stitching along the loops where the luggage strap would be attached. I was shocked to see this on a preorder item. It looked like it had been a sample that they shipped out to me after being on display.
I decided to return the item as it did not seem like a new item of premium quality control standards. Carl Friedrik refunded my money except for the shipping costs, despite the poor condition of the item being their own fault.
I spoke with customer service and they assured me that the Slim Palissy Briefcase (different than the 25 hour model) had been modified in its design recently to fit the 16” MacBook Pro, and that they could make a note for the factory to be sure to send me one of their new modified copies.
So I went ahead and purchased that model and specified three times in our correspondences to be sure to send me the new version to fit my laptop. I also ordered their Palissy weekend bag, with faith that the quality control problems with the 25 hour bag were a fluke. So now I’m spending even more money with the company than I initially did, and am in constant contact with customer service. I asked them to specifically check the items for quality prior to sending, as making returns to DHL are a real pain. They agreed.
I received my new items promptly in the mail. I was excited to unbox them. First I opened the Slim Palissy Briefcase, and immediately noticed that my 2020 16” MacBook Pro did not come close to fitting in the bag. It was clear that they didn’t send me the new version despite my exhaustive reminders to customer service. Disappointed, I moved onto the Palissy Weekend Bag. I removed it from its dust bag, and immediately saw two holes punched into the leather on either side of the zipper on the top of the bag! They were in near perfect alignment to one another that I had to take a closer look to be sure it wasn’t some odd design element. Well it turned out to clearly have been two mistaken hole made by the sewing machine when stitching the zipper into the leather. I was shocked that this could get passed quality control! there were also loose black threads inside the bag in one of the corners. This itembarely would pass for an item you’d find at an outlet.
Needless to say, I was rather upset that I spent over $1000 with them and got the wrong briefcase and a weekend bag with holes in it. This is all after spending another $600+ on the first bag that had creased up leather and iffy stitching right out of the box.
After customer service acknowledged their mistakes and poor quality control, they offered to send me one of their low-priced wallets as a consolation. They also indirectly expressed that perhaps they had jumped the gun in promising me a modified briefcase design and that the briefcase is still unavailable and that it would become available in a couple of months. With great politeness, I thanked them, but told them that this was unacceptable and that I did not need a wallet. I just wanted what I paid for, and that at this price point, I expected a pristine item. They have since stopped communicating.
No real effort was made to immediately send out a pristine replacement item without my requesting active involvement. Unfortunately Carl Friedrik is trying to play the part of a luxury brand without any of the stringent standards of quality or service. They seem be trying to rely on YouTube marketing and sponsored reviews on the internet to build a reputation. It’s too bad, but they’re just not ready for showtime.
I can share photos on request. I hope this helps inform your purchases.
I felt that I should share a recent experience I had with Carl Friedrik when attempting to purchase a briefcase and a weekender with our community.
Firstly, while Carl Friedrik is not considered a top tier leather company on this forum, they do offer a beautiful product that uses quality materials.This is why I decided to take the plunge during Covid and invest in the Palissy 25-hour briefcase, as it was big enough to fit a 2020 MacBook Pro. I received it ahead of schedule. During the unboxing, I immediacy noticed worn leather and messy stitching along the loops where the luggage strap would be attached. I was shocked to see this on a preorder item. It looked like it had been a sample that they shipped out to me after being on display.
I decided to return the item as it did not seem like a new item of premium quality control standards. Carl Friedrik refunded my money except for the shipping costs, despite the poor condition of the item being their own fault.
I spoke with customer service and they assured me that the Slim Palissy Briefcase (different than the 25 hour model) had been modified in its design recently to fit the 16” MacBook Pro, and that they could make a note for the factory to be sure to send me one of their new modified copies.
So I went ahead and purchased that model and specified three times in our correspondences to be sure to send me the new version to fit my laptop. I also ordered their Palissy weekend bag, with faith that the quality control problems with the 25 hour bag were a fluke. So now I’m spending even more money with the company than I initially did, and am in constant contact with customer service. I asked them to specifically check the items for quality prior to sending, as making returns to DHL are a real pain. They agreed.
I received my new items promptly in the mail. I was excited to unbox them. First I opened the Slim Palissy Briefcase, and immediately noticed that my 2020 16” MacBook Pro did not come close to fitting in the bag. It was clear that they didn’t send me the new version despite my exhaustive reminders to customer service. Disappointed, I moved onto the Palissy Weekend Bag. I removed it from its dust bag, and immediately saw two holes punched into the leather on either side of the zipper on the top of the bag! They were in near perfect alignment to one another that I had to take a closer look to be sure it wasn’t some odd design element. Well it turned out to clearly have been two mistaken hole made by the sewing machine when stitching the zipper into the leather. I was shocked that this could get passed quality control! there were also loose black threads inside the bag in one of the corners. This itembarely would pass for an item you’d find at an outlet.
Needless to say, I was rather upset that I spent over $1000 with them and got the wrong briefcase and a weekend bag with holes in it. This is all after spending another $600+ on the first bag that had creased up leather and iffy stitching right out of the box.
After customer service acknowledged their mistakes and poor quality control, they offered to send me one of their low-priced wallets as a consolation. They also indirectly expressed that perhaps they had jumped the gun in promising me a modified briefcase design and that the briefcase is still unavailable and that it would become available in a couple of months. With great politeness, I thanked them, but told them that this was unacceptable and that I did not need a wallet. I just wanted what I paid for, and that at this price point, I expected a pristine item. They have since stopped communicating.
No real effort was made to immediately send out a pristine replacement item without my requesting active involvement. Unfortunately Carl Friedrik is trying to play the part of a luxury brand without any of the stringent standards of quality or service. They seem be trying to rely on YouTube marketing and sponsored reviews on the internet to build a reputation. It’s too bad, but they’re just not ready for showtime.
I can share photos on request. I hope this helps inform your purchases.
