"Fresh" Kapp Royal on Smokingpipes...

[cigrmaster]

I once went to buy a Peterson at my local b/m as they were a Pete dealer. Almost half of the 20 odd something pipes I looked at that day had serious issues. When I asked the owner why they were not shipped back to the factory he just shrugged his shoulders and rolled his eyes intimating that he was stuck with them. I decided that day to never give Pete my money. That occurred maybe back around 2013 or so.
I really like the shapes of many Peterson pipes and one day might actually buy one once SP gets the factory in order.

 

[PaulTheScandinavian]

Can't believe they(smokingpipes.com) or anybody will sell a pipe with this like out of line stem,my guess is that was not properly inserted when the photo was taken,moreover, when I'm buying a pipe from smokingpipes.com I always ask their staff to properly inspect the pipe prior to shipping, stem fitment and drilling at least.I have had good results following this practice with smokingpipes.com especially.

 

[shaneireland]

Mtwaller, thank you for bringing this to our attention.
I have checked the pipe myself and the stem fit is not the issue. We should have caught this bad photo and retaken the picture with the stem inserted correctly. We've done that now. Here's a screenshot of the updated image:

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Don't hesitate to reach out to our Customer Service department if you ever have any questions or concerns regarding a product listing on the site. Feel free to reach out to me directly as well. We're always happy to check a pipe thoroughly before you make any decision.
-Shane
Shane.ireland@smokingpipes.com

 

[mtwaller]

Shane, you’re a gentleman and a scholar. I’m glad to see it was a simple fix and not a case of a poorly made pipe. I apologize for being too quick to judge the pipe/smokingpipes. It’s a great looking piece, I’m sure it will find a happy home. (P.S. I enjoy your tasting notes videos, keep on keepin’ on).

 

[shaneireland]

Shane, you’re a gentleman and a scholar. I’m glad to see it was a simple fix and not a case of a poorly made pipe. I apologize for being too quick to judge the pipe/smokingpipes. It’s a great looking piece, I’m sure it will find a happy home. (P.S. I enjoy your tasting notes videos, keep on keepin’ on).

It's my pleasure, and thanks again for pointing this out.
I will definitely be doing more Tasting Notes videos. I find myself opening a tin these days and thinking that I should review that blend, only to realize that I have already reviewed it... I need to start taking requests or grabbing things at random that are totally out of my comfort zone.
What blends do you enjoy the most? Are you a Virginia smoker?

 

[cigrmaster]

Shane, have you guys looked through all your Pete's in stock in your SC warehouse and pulled the ones with issues? Have you owned the company long enough to insure that every pipe coming out of the factory has been looked over very carefully? I really do want to add a certain Pete to my collection but not until things have been straightened out. I don't want to support the Peterson brand if things don't change.

 

[irishearl]

So. it wasn't a Pete QC issue after all. Wonder how quick some folks would have been to claim a QC problem in this case if it was a brand other than Peterson.

 

[sasquatch]

It's still crooked, and still a QC issue. But it's not a 300 dollar pipe either, so expectations should be managed in that direction too, in all fairness.

 

[shaneireland]

Shane, have you guys looked through all your Pete's in stock in your SC warehouse and pulled the ones with issues? Have you owned the company long enough to insure that every pipe coming out of the factory has been looked over very carefully? I really do want to add a certain Pete to my collection but not until things have been straightened out. I don't want to support the Peterson brand if things don't change.

We inspect every pipe from every brand upon arrival. We're checking for a variety of issues and every brand is a bit different in terms of construction and design choices. Having said that, you're talking about hundreds of pipes going to the website each week, thousands each month, etc. Things can fall through the cracks and if they do, we always want to and work hard to make it right. You can return any pipe (as long as it hasn't been smoked) within 30 days of the purchase, for any reason. We also warranty each pipe to be free of any defects for one year from the date of purchase. Keep in mind that some things are subjective; certain designs will not pass a pipe cleaner, for example, and with those designs we cannot consider the pipe cleaner test grounds for rejection during our quality control process.
Regarding Peterson specifically, they have been aggressively tackling improvements to production and will continue to do so. This isn't something that happens overnight, nor should any manufacturer ever reach a point where they stop trying to improve. Smokingpipes.com does have inventory that was produced before Peterson changed ownership, but that doesn't mean that those pipes have issues. We've sold tens of thousands of Peterson pipes over the years and as a percentage only a tiny amount of them have had issues. This is the nature of products that are made nearly entirely by hand.
I doubt that you'd have trouble simply selecting a Peterson pipe from our website, but I would be more than happy to personally inspect any pipes you're considering. I could also hunt down a particular shape/finish combination to ensure that you're 100% satisfied with the purchase. If there's a certain Pete that you'd like to own, I'm sure we can find one that you'll be very happy with.

 

[cigrmaster]

Thanks Shane for your reply and explanation. I have no doubt you guys will get things running smoothly, you are great at what you do. I figured it would take a good year plus to get closer to where you want to be.

I appreciate the offer to look at pipes for me. I will certainly take a look and see if something is in stock that I like.

 

[hawky454]

Now that’s damn fine service there folks! Speaking as a SmokingPipes fanboy myself so my thoughts may be a bit biased. In my opinion they have been excellent all the years I’ve been doing business with them.

Sas, I don’t really see how the pipe is still crooked, can you expand on that point please?

 

[mityahicks]

Love smokingpipes.com and the people have been amazing there. Shane's videos are great too.

 

[sasquatch]

Hawky, it's really tough to get this "just right" because the picture isn't dead horizontal, the edges are not super defined, but trying to put a line through the pipe leads me to think it's still just a bit off.

I'm trying to hit center bowl at the front, center shank at the bowl, center shank at the end of the shank, and run that line through the stem.

 

[sasquatch]

Running the line the other way, trying to center the stem, I get a better result, still just a hair off left to right... camera angles, etc... but the thing is not "way out" and again, the idea that a 100 dollar pipe is going to be some perfect specimen from every angle is .... a pipe dream.

I applaud smokingpipes for their engagement in the community in this regard, and their very friendly return policy. What irks me is that if I do return a pipe, it gets sold as an unsmoked estate, rather than shipped back to the vendor. Pull the bad pipes, don't sell them.

 

[hawky454]

Thanks for the explanation,Sas. You certainly have a better eye for it than I do. I always appreciated your mark ups on Pipe Makers Forum and I was hoping you’d do the same here... and ya did! :clap:

 

[shaneireland]

I applaud smokingpipes for their engagement in the community in this regard, and their very friendly return policy. What irks me is that if I do return a pipe, it gets sold as an unsmoked estate, rather than shipped back to the vendor. Pull the bad pipes, don't sell them.

Todd, we do ship pipes back to vendors frequently and returned pipes do not get sold as unsmoked estates. Many (most, actually) of our returns happen within that 30 day period and are re-listed for sale in the New Pipes section after being inspected. This is because the most common reason for a return is simply because the pipe wasn’t the right size. Even with measurements listed for each pipe, it can be difficult to tell if it’s what you’re looking for until you hold it in your hands. That’s the main reason we have the 30 day policy, honestly. So, if the pipe is in the same condition when it’s returned as it was when we shipped it out, it goes back to the website. Occasionally, we’ll have Adam Davidson and his team polish the bowl or buff the stem before putting a return back on the website just to be sure.
I can’t think of a recent example, but we have sold pipes as unsmoked estates (at a discount) because of a blemish that’s wasn’t fixable without refinishing the entire pipe. In that case, we are either certain that the blemish happened while the pipe was our responsibility, or we didn’t catch it during our inspection and therefore can’t be sure that it left the factory in that condition. Either way, it wouldn’t be the manufacturer’s responsibility and it’s still a perfectly smokable pipe. It’s rare and if it does happen you’ll see in the condition statement that the pipe is unsmoked, but with scratches on the bowl or whatever else might be worth noting. Plus, it’s a good deal for someone who would love to smoke the hell out of that pipe anyhow.

 

[sasquatch]

Shane, my intention isn't to muck-rake. Everyone agrees you guys have a more than fair return policy and you've done lots of people "solid" for years and years. I guess me point is that there's a difference between "we checked this over" and "you can always return it", and I'll leave it there.

 

[pitchfork]

I think it's time we add a new forums topic: "This Pipe Stem's Crooked!"

http://pipesmagazine.com/forums/topic/new-forum-topics

 

[tobefrank]

Haha, that’s awesome, pitchfork.

 

[shaneireland]

Shane, my intention isn't to muck-rake. Everyone agrees you guys have a more than fair return policy and you've done lots of people "solid" for years and years. I guess me point is that there's a difference between "we checked this over" and "you can always return it", and I'll leave it there.

Todd, I hear you and I couldn't agree more. That's why we'll continue to do both of those things; we'll catch as much as we can, and if we miss something, we'll make it right.
Cheers!