"Best" customer service?

[Salmonslayer]

I sent this question to Best Support because I have a Waroo Pro I bought that has some odd flying characteristics

I dont think I will have any luck shopping for a new 2007 13m Waroo Pro bridal, so I thought I would at least check how far out of spec my bridal is at this time. How can I get the measurements for a 13m Waroo pro bridal?

This is the answer I received.

Unfortunately our R&D team does not share the bridle specifications publicly. However, if you are looking to replace worn bridle parts, www.airtimekite.com can make sections to match.

At this point in the kites life, a brand new bridle would likely not work well as the panels and stitching have likely stretched with the bridle. Your best bet is to measure the sections that look worn, and have them replaced by airtime, or a local kite repair shop.

I called Airtime assuming they had the original bridal measurements. Airtime said they did not know the original bridal measurements and all they would do is replace any damaged bridal parts using the current bridal measurements as a guide. This is no help.

I am not sure why the bridal specs that are no longer available for sale need to be protected intellectual property. If I am to believe each year that each model is new and improved why does Best need to protect designs that are 6 years old and no longer generate any revenue? what is really being given up?

The answer I received from Best support is not what I expected. I cant buy a bridal. I cant get the measurements to check to see if my bridal is even out of spec. Airtime cant do anything except give me a new bridal based on the existing dimensions.

Maybe I am being unreasonable, but, I dont get it.

I have only owned Best kites until now. This is how you send customers into the arms of your competition.

[DeeTron508]

Hi Salmon Slayer,

Thanks for your post!

While I agree not having the bridle specs available as public property may seem a bit overkill. In the kiting world, we have to do everything we can to retain a competitive advantage. Everyday in Asia there are small companies producing one-offs of other brands kites at a much lower quality. Keeping close our design specs, and bridle measurements is one way we prevent this. While these older kites do not produce immediate revenue at this point, they are still a piece in the evolution of our line-up and also great kites (probably why you are looking to keep it in your quiver).

It seems there was a misunderstanding in your first email, as the assumption was you were looking to replace one specific section of bridle, which on a much older kite is akin to replacing just one tire on an older car. It will cause handling issues when in line with much older ones.

That being said, if you pm me the size of your Waroo Pro, I will work with the R&D team to send Airtime the specs for your bridle and get you square!

Cheers,
Darren

[mnpaslay]

I had to laugh a little bit while reading this, don't you think the people out to steal your bridle dimensions would just, you know, measure them? That is if the factories being used aren't just doing it themselves...

[sq225917]

Ho ho, does seem like overkill. paul, Let me ask Peter.