customer feedback - gloves

I just shot this email off to Gordini. Too bad my dad destroyed the awesome pair I had from the 1990's.

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I purchased a set of Gordini Gore II gloves a few years ago and I've been having a recurring problem with them. I've only used these gloves about 10-15 times. The stitching on the fingers comes apart very easily.

This first happened on the ring finger after using the gloves about 3 times. I repaired it myself and that finger has been problem free.

This happened again after a few more uses on the ring finger on the other glove. Again, I repaired it myself and it has been problem free.

Now this happened yet again on the little finger.

If I didn't have a fantastic experience with my last set of Gordini gloves (which had a similar design sans Gore-Tex and lasted well beyond fashion), I probably would have been immediately upset and returned the gloves right away. However, I had faith that the gloves weren't poorly made. Unfortunately, I was wrong. I tried returning the gloves to REI today, but apparently that wasn't where I bought them because it wasn't in their system. They suggested that I contact you directly, so here I am.

I am primarily writing to give you some late feedback about the build quality of these gloves. It's terrible. Hopefully you've fixed this. On the other hand, the gloves were very waterproof and have kept my hands warm despite the bad stitching. Keep that up! I'm not sure what I'll get for my next set of gloves. I get constant recommendations from friends.

I for years used to be the one raving about how awesome my Gordini gloves were, but sadly for the past year most of my glove interactions have been people offering to help my mend my gloves while at Mt. Baker, Whistler or some other group outing. I suppose in a way it fits my personality, but it's probably not the brand image you want to portray.

For your reference:

RN# 56385

CA# 00281

4G860

glove shopping at rei

A couple fellows at REI today were annoying. I'm not sure if it's totally justified - mostly because I know that I was already annoyed because they were talking about things that reminded me of people I went to undergrad with. That doesn't make them bad people or generally annoying - just annoying to me.

The set things off though. They didn't move out the way when I was browsing gloves right by where they were standing. They weren't completely in my way. If they were I would have asked them to move. They were just in the way enough that any normal person would have seen they were in the way and would have moved. After all, they weren't looking at gloves at that moment anyway.

Eventually, they did start looking at gloves. One of them made a comment about Pearl Izumi gloves. Pearl Izumi is "my brand," but their gloves are honestly a little sketchy. I was curious what he had to say since I myself was looking for new gloves. He said something to the effect of "it's a Japanese company and because of that all their gloves are really small." This makes sense, but is factually wrong on every level. First, Pearl Izumi is an American company (based on Colorado that got the branding rights for the US market from the Japanese company... like the reverse of what happened with 7-Eleven). Secondly, of all the gloves on the rack, Pearl Izumis run the largest. I have big hands (obviously, because I'm Asian and we have big hands) and Pearl Izumi is the only brand where I can fit into a Medium. By comparison, with Gore, an All-American company, I can't even fit my hands in their XL sizes (a big fail on their part).

Conclusions:

They are ignorant racists

I am easily and justifiably annoyed by people who remind me of people from undergrad

goodbye

We've had an odd relationship for a little under 5 years. Funny how never once did I think I was going to stay with you long term. I always knew that you didn't really want me. It only surprised me how long it took for you to finally push me away.

Sure, there were some nice benefits. Your Canadian connection and your good relationship with many of my friends made it easy for me to justify those five years, but that in itself isn't enough for me to be with you any longer. I knew that at some point you would either reject me or take advantage of me. I'm not surprised that you chose the latter. I always knew you were a gold-digging .

I think the letter by post that you sent me was a nice gesture. Very business-like... then again you always were. Thankfully, I was never emotionally invested in our relationship, so I was not upset when I discovered it in my mailbox after returning from a week traveling. I simply read it and decided that it was time to move on. I'm doing alright and I'm sure I wouldn't have a hard time finding someone else. Don't worry about me.

What did surprise me is how much you were asking for in your ultimatum. (Yes, it was basically an ultimatum.) You technically left the door open for things to continue, but your demands were a bit much. Some demands are within reason - especially considering your reputation - but what you were asking for was absurd.

I had a chat with my barista this morning about the whole thing. Somehow the whole thing came up because I didn't have enough cash in my wallet. Anyway... he thought me leaving you was long overdue - especially in light of some of your other antics which I wasn't even aware of. I guess you've overextended yourself or made some bad investments, because apparently you're asking everyone for money.

Sure, we've known each other for a few years, but I don't think that justifies making us all responsible for your mistakes. I'm sorry you screwed up, but please don't come out of nowhere to ask me and everyone for some absurdly high contribution to your personal bailout fund. A bailout stemming from your attempt to screw us in the first place, I might add. If things get desperate, file for bankruptcy or find some sugar daddy like Warren Buffett (which I've heard you've already done). As for us - it's over.

Bank of America, good luck, and have a nice life.

Love,

Paul