Business ProfileforGator Waders

I just wanted to warn everyone about doing business with Gator Waders. I ordered a set of waders from them and they leaked on the first use. I took them off to find the leaking spot was covered in glue on the inside. This obviously was a deliberate attempt to hide a mistake or a flaw, hoping nobody would notice. I contacted them about warranty. First thing they did is blame the manufacturer. They gave me 2 options. Option 1 was to hunt the rest of the season in freezing cold water with leaking waders, sending them back after the season is over. Option 2 was to send them back now, and they would send the replacement pair after they received the bad ones. This would have cut about 2 weeks off my hunting season. I had hunts planned, so I wanted them to expedite shipping. They flat out refused, unless I paid extra. I refused to pay extra for something that was an obvious cover up of a known issue. Their customer service is terrible. All they care about is their company policy, not about pleasing the customer. Buyer beware!

Mr. ********

I wanted to respond and offer my apologies for the experience you had with both our waders as well as my customer service department.

I can assure you that in no way did our staff try and cover up a defect in the wader. The excess glue pictured in your warranty claim was an obvious manufacturer defect and it should have been caught and corrected before the factory ever sent the product to the warehouse for order fulfillment and shipping! We will be addressing that quality control issue with our manufacturing partners you can be sure.

As for the level of customer service you received I will address that as well. As you know policies and procedures are a necessity for any company to maintain smooth, consistent, and cost effective operations on a daily basis. With that said I was very unhappy with the way your claim was handled after reviewing the communication between you and my staff. If you would allow me to explain.

We do normally require the return of a used set of waders in which the customer is filing a warranty claim. We do this to allow for testing of the waders to be sure it was in fact a defect and not something else causing the issues with our waders. As I am sure you can imagine there are times when claims have to be denied due to the issue not being a manufacturer defect. This would be things like improper care or storage or even accidental damage that would not normally be covered.

This of course was not the case with your claim, and that was obvious to me. It was 100% clear that the issue you were experiencing was due to a manufacturing defect, and that should have been taken into consideration when your claim was processed. I have empowered my customer service manager to make exceptions on a case by case basis for this reason. Unfortunately we did not do enough to extend that empowerment to you in your situation. I say we because I will also take responsibility as maybe I had not made myself clear enough to my team on when and how to make those exceptions. Your case was one we most definitely should have made an exception on. For that you have my sincere apology!

I have reviewed your claim with my customer service manger and I have instructed and trained her on how to better address a claim such as yours where an obvious defect is apparent. Please believe me when I say the statements on our site are true and we truly value and care for our customers experience before, during, and after the sale. I cannot express my regret for your experience enough.

I understand your frustration with how this was handled and I hope you will give us a chance to make it right. If you are willing to give us another chance. I will be contacting you by phone so extend my apologies and to let you know what I am going to do for you. It will not fully make up for what you have experienced, but I hope it will show you we do care. I did not want to leave your concerns unaddressed with the BBB so I responded here, but as I mentioned I will be contacting you by phone to address your concerns.

Sincerely,

*** ********
Director of Operations
Gator Waders.