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This and my getting fit a Club Champion was a Valentines gift from my wife that she arranged. She told me to get it and that’s the only reason I’m even in a new driver.
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This and my getting fit a Club Champion was a Valentines gift from my wife that she arranged. She told me to get it and that’s the only reason I’m even in a new driver.
I think my argument is not that there aren’t alternatives that are cheaper value. The price is the price I agree with that. They aren’t getting duped into it.
My thing is if you decide to save up the money to do a club champion fitting, the expectation is that for $1000+ for ONE club, you won’t be treated like you just spent $100 dollars.
I’m not saying that this is the sole reason for price related barriers to entry, but a contributing factor.
in my mind that’s like a speedway gas station coffee drinker decided they wanted Starbucks. They go to Starbucks pay $20 for their extra special features coffee. before they walk out the door they drop their straw on the floor. They walk up to the counter to ask for another, but Starbucks has a policy on no extra straws (hypothetical obviously) so if they want another straw it will be $5. Now obviously in this scenario the person can just drink the coffee no straw.
But this person is going to tell themselves this is the exact reason I don’t waste my money on stuff like this and will more than likely never go to Starbucks again.
kind of a weird hypothetical but I think this same situation that happened to @e1iterate would absolutely turn people off not only to club champion but to golf in general if they are new or newer to the game. New players shouldn’t really be getting fittings at CC, but regardless I still think that it promotes financial barriers to entry into golf.
For a variety of reasons I am having a really hard time with this thread - not the OP, nor the comments, just the whole of it. CC is a larger company, I assume that works at least to some degree like a franchise operation. If this is correct then they have an HQ or Operations office to presumably handle issues like this - however rare they may be - because they are assumed to be rare and the franchisee needs help resolving issues.
Another reason is that my family (my Dad and my Uncle, and few others) were in retail for much of their lives. My Dad believed to a fault in leaving his customers happy, if it meant (and his was a sole proprietorship) that he ate the cost of something one day to gain more sales another, then that's he did - and he was quite successful until malls and larger companies (department stores) were to some extent able to undercut him in price - however, he kept his business for over 35 years until he retired. In fact, sometimes (rare but still), he would refund a purchase even when he knew the item was not sold by him, he'd take that item to the other store that they would reimburse him (most of the time), but by then Dad had himself a new client.
So, while the club may have cost $1000, the shaft was less, and CC was able (I assume) to get it at a dealer cost (not retail), so if the shaft was say $400 - maybe they got it for $300, labor to remove and reinstall should be pretty low. In the meantime, they have a major hit to credibility and honor (one of the tenets of the game we all love so much), so for $300 this thread all but ensures that CC loses quite likely more than $300 - and that is non-sensical. Plus I would imagine that they would get some sort of business operations tax write off (not for this 1 item) but for the collective on a annual basis - so maybe that $300 is now closer to net 0 or maybe $150 or $200 to the single store's bottom line?
As to my own fitting, I still have very mixed feelings on how it went, I talked with a neighbor who has used the same store - and even the same fitter as I had and he was just stunned at what I described. Not to hijack here nor badmouth, but, in hindsight I needed to be more assertive, I failed that. My time started late, ended on time/early, the fitter did not know why I was there, he followed up later asking me if I wanted to proceed with irons purchase (I was there for a driver). But the thing that got me most, was, I was handed off from one guy to the other and he never read the input/data sheet. I could go into more detail, but I won't things happen, everyone can't have a great day everyday - sometimes things just happen, I get that - and so I chalk it up to those things, but I am still very leery about returning and I for one want a putter fitting!
Another reason is that my family (my Dad and my Uncle, and few others) were in retail for much of their lives. My Dad believed to a fault in leaving his customers happy, if it meant (and his was a sole proprietorship) that he ate the cost of something one day to gain more sales another, then that's he did - and he was quite successful until malls and larger companies (department stores) were to some extent able to undercut him in price - however, he kept his business for over 35 years until he retired. In fact, sometimes (rare but still), he would refund a purchase even when he knew the item was not sold by him, he'd take that item to the other store that they would reimburse him (most of the time), but by then Dad had himself a new client.
So, while the club may have cost $1000, the shaft was less, and CC was able (I assume) to get it at a dealer cost (not retail), so if the shaft was say $400 - maybe they got it for $300, labor to remove and reinstall should be pretty low. In the meantime, they have a major hit to credibility and honor (one of the tenets of the game we all love so much), so for $300 this thread all but ensures that CC loses quite likely more than $300 - and that is non-sensical. Plus I would imagine that they would get some sort of business operations tax write off (not for this 1 item) but for the collective on a annual basis - so maybe that $300 is now closer to net 0 or maybe $150 or $200 to the single store's bottom line?
As to my own fitting, I still have very mixed feelings on how it went, I talked with a neighbor who has used the same store - and even the same fitter as I had and he was just stunned at what I described. Not to hijack here nor badmouth, but, in hindsight I needed to be more assertive, I failed that. My time started late, ended on time/early, the fitter did not know why I was there, he followed up later asking me if I wanted to proceed with irons purchase (I was there for a driver). But the thing that got me most, was, I was handed off from one guy to the other and he never read the input/data sheet. I could go into more detail, but I won't things happen, everyone can't have a great day everyday - sometimes things just happen, I get that - and so I chalk it up to those things, but I am still very leery about returning and I for one want a putter fitting!
Buster1
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@e1iterate for a reference point, my big box store TM M5 driver head recently developed a crack in the CF sole. I took it to my CC and having never seen it before, they contacted TM, sent it in to them, and worked through a warranty replacement for me from the manufacturer (TaylorMade).
1. Regardless of who built it, CC should facilitate a fix.
1a. I’m not sure the builder is responsible for product failure.
2. Fuji should warranty their product, and replace it at some %.
1. Regardless of who built it, CC should facilitate a fix.
1a. I’m not sure the builder is responsible for product failure.
2. Fuji should warranty their product, and replace it at some %.
I know they generally do but Dick’s also has major buying power that even someone like CC doesn’t have.
I wonder if getting a response like that from Fuji will put pressure in CC to take care of it? Maybe if @e1iterate gets that same response and replies "yeah but CC already brushed me off" it'll get some traction, especially with the poor publicity
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We talked about it, and you know where I stand on the issue.
That being said in my fitting/custom build experiences CC has been lacking compared to the local shops/ other big name fitters and People’s Clubs, which is why I take my business elsewhere.
That being said in my fitting/custom build experiences CC has been lacking compared to the local shops/ other big name fitters and People’s Clubs, which is why I take my business elsewhere.
I am sure the issue is that Fujikura feels like the shaft was abused. I know the OP didn’t break it over his knee. It is possible it was leaned on to pick up a tee which can put irregular stress on a shaft. I know we probably all do that but I also don’t believe that shafts are built to withstand that type of pressure. I am still in the camp that if a shaft is 2 months old CC and Fuji should find a way to stand behind it. Manufacturing costs for Fuji on this shaft are way less than $100 given the retail cost. I have no idea what kind of claims that Fuji sees for these kinds of things.
Wow, that sucks so bad.
I agree that Club Champion should do more here. The fact that they didn't even offer the discounts for the replacement until AFTER offering you full price replacement makes them look like a typical corporate robot. Money first, customers 3rd. They should be beating down the manufacturers door to help their customer.
Costco (and many other reputable retailers) has no problem standing behind the products they CHOOSE to sell and feature. CC has WAY more leverage to help this situation than random guy with broken shaft does.
In your situation I wouldn't be giving CC or Fuji my business ever again.
I agree that Club Champion should do more here. The fact that they didn't even offer the discounts for the replacement until AFTER offering you full price replacement makes them look like a typical corporate robot. Money first, customers 3rd. They should be beating down the manufacturers door to help their customer.
Costco (and many other reputable retailers) has no problem standing behind the products they CHOOSE to sell and feature. CC has WAY more leverage to help this situation than random guy with broken shaft does.
In your situation I wouldn't be giving CC or Fuji my business ever again.
Man, I'm sorry that happened to you.
I'm in agreement that CC should have taken the initiative on this. They pured the club, they built it. One of the components failed. They should have said, "you spent a lot of $$ with us. Here's a replacement." And then pushed Fujikura. If not that, at the least offer you a discount on a replacement. To me, that would just make good customer service and common sense... especially after you chose them and spent your money. Even if it was a good faith replacement... I would imagine that CC got that shaft at a lower cost than you paid for it.
Having said that, the next step would be Fujikura stepping up and warranting their product. Hopefully this happens and you're made whole.
As an aside, after seeing a few reviews of CC and their fitting... and the dissatisfaction that followed of the fittees, I think I'm less inclined to do business with CC.
I'm in agreement that CC should have taken the initiative on this. They pured the club, they built it. One of the components failed. They should have said, "you spent a lot of $$ with us. Here's a replacement." And then pushed Fujikura. If not that, at the least offer you a discount on a replacement. To me, that would just make good customer service and common sense... especially after you chose them and spent your money. Even if it was a good faith replacement... I would imagine that CC got that shaft at a lower cost than you paid for it.
Having said that, the next step would be Fujikura stepping up and warranting their product. Hopefully this happens and you're made whole.
As an aside, after seeing a few reviews of CC and their fitting... and the dissatisfaction that followed of the fittees, I think I'm less inclined to do business with CC.
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- #111
This is definitely correct.
If you were the fitter, what would you do if Fuji denied the warranty?
This right here. Fix the problem, and then the component buyer deals with their supplier. To pass this off to the end user is lazy.
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- #114
This I agree with.
This issue is, just about every shaft company would deny this claim (right or wrong).
Its a tough situation, and I reached out to @e1iterate to get some documentation to see if I could assist. There is a bit more to this in the exchanges it appears.
BINGO.
Get Fuji off the almighty "shaft wall" if they don't warranty their product.
CC sells Fuji knowing this? They are part of the problem.
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I could be way off base with this (as I tend to be), but I see it this way. Club Champion had the opportunity to keep and retain a customer by making a full shaft replacement or at least offering a heavly discounted shaft thus making @e1iterate a happy customer, a customer that won't hesitate to use them again. That way @e1iterate is here telling a story of how awesome Club Champion was to fix something that may or may not have been their direct duty. They keep his business and others of us think "maybe I will check CC out". Now many of those that read this will put them at the bottom of the list for a fitting and he certainly won't be going back to them. CC had an opportunity to build their reputation and potential business, but instead the opposite has happened.
And even if the supplier denies the claim, not standing behind the product and even making a good faith attempt to satisfy the customer is extremely short sighted.
Just look at this thread. I am a satisfied customer (so far) and not even appearing making the effort to make a customer happy is making me think twice about repeat business. And I am not the only one in here. All for a $300 (if that at wholesale) component?
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- #119
I would agree completely that it could turn people off of Club Champion. The price you pay there is certainly a premium, and I am not a big fan of how it was handled overall, I just get stuck on who is really to blame - What Club Champion did was not what failed, and that's where I get locked into focus I guess.
Surely Fuji should make this right.
While I get the “club champion didn’t make the shaft” thought, they were the sellers of the product. They should be trying to bend over backwards to make you whole, whatever that looks like. It just makes good customer service sense to make sure the owner of a $1k driver isn’t upset. Giving a customer the runaround or not taking initiative to resolve this is the bigger issue here for me. I would have expected more based on how much they charge for their services and how they present themselves to the public.
Hopefully someone from CC sees this thread and they try to make it right. Good luck bro.
FWIW, I had a Project X EvenFlow Black shaft break near the handle recently after only a few months of use and I figured I'd reach out and see if it could be replaced. I spoke with Project X via twitter and they asked me to go through where I purchased the club to facilitate a possible warranty claim or replacement. I bought the shaft brand new from a golf shop on eBay so I didn't bother pursuing it further but in that instance the shaft manufacturer asked me to go back to where I purchased it.
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I genuinely can't answer that as it would be the shaft companies decision, but to me a shaft breaking there is one of two things.
1. Product Issue
2. Golfer leaned on it
What happens from there is anybody's guess and the exchanges I am sure got a bit heated, but if I were Fuji, I would make good on it. With that said, I could only imagine the amount of breakage these places see and how to figure out what is deemed acceptable.
One other point here - and it's been talked to (sort of). If am the shaft manufacturer, or even CC, I want to see the shaft and CLOSELY inspect it. Could it be a bad batch, could the shaft have a scratch or other damage that preceded the break and was not seen? Could this happen again and put someone on the course in danger (however minimal that might be)? I guess, I would err on the side of caution more so than policy. But, that's how I was raised. Things change and consumers don't have the leverage they once did.
One other point is the difficulty when a sponsor is shown in a less than positive way, so kudos to THP for trying to help get this resolved - it's most difficult needle to thread.
One other point is the difficulty when a sponsor is shown in a less than positive way, so kudos to THP for trying to help get this resolved - it's most difficult needle to thread.
I agree with the above. If I were the club fitter I would explain the position of the warranty issue and offer to replace the shaft at my cost. I would guess that would be about half the retail cost of the shaft. Depending on the size of my business I might eat the cost of the shaft. The CC franchise would have the flexibility to do that I expect.
Recognize that I made a heck of a margin off that shaft and it was within my power as a business person to assume some responsibility for the happiness of MY customer. FUJI isn't the only one that made money in this transaction. And then I'd note that Fuji doesn't stand behind and make some decision about what I was selling in my shop if failures were an actual problem.
I honestly can't believe CC's "As Is" warranty policy.
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