Below is only my personal experience with select climbing hold companies to demonstrate the difference that certain companies take when approaching a home climbing wall consumer. Most of my encounters are on a very limited basis (one encounter) and therefore I assume that since these are all small companies the customer experience will vary significantly from customer to customer.
When it comes to customer service I prefer to order something online and have it show-up at my door; the less interaction and steps I have to take to get what I want is always a plus. Also I liked to be surprised when companies go above and beyond.
All the information below is throughly documented. I occasionally can be a little A.D.D. and have an excel spreadsheet that details all of the climbing holds that I buy, the deals, the shipping, and my impressions.
The Best:
The best companies are here because they went above and beyond to impress me as a consumer. In most instances nothing negative has happened (ie payment not working, holds broken, etc) but instead took a proactive step to treat the customer right.
The Detroit Rock Climbing Company: As a first time buyer of DRCC’s holds I went with the Slots and put in the customer comment box “crazier the better”. Not only did they make me custom holds for no added cost they literally blew my mind when I saw them. Additionally they included 6 foot chips and 1 climbing hold magnet plus stickers. All this for a first time customer.
Atomik Holds: Website was quoting me shipping that was nearly as much money as the holds. Sent them an email and they said the calculation was acting funny plus they gave me a 15% off coupon. I placed my order with the calculation supposedly corrected and they audited the order and found that there was another error (but much smaller) and to correct it they threw in a large roof jug.
Contact Climbing: The only purchase I have made with them was for a set of the Suds. They threw in two extra holds one being the rail from the Reactor set which is an awesome hold and a staple on my wall. Very nice.
Element: Order two sets that were on a 20% sale. Forgot to put in the discount code during check-out and sent them a message about trying to apply it to the order. They said they would throw in another set for free within a price range. I got another set which was a better deal then the 20% discount was; also the free set turned out to be my favorite set of holds.
Soill: Occasionally they have great sales on items, however a new feature hold recently came-out that I couldn’t resist but the budget was not working in my favor. Via some social network interaction they hooked me up with a discount on the hold and turned me into a paying customer. Also a long time ago when we ordered holds they threw in a nice foot-chip set as well.
Neutral:
These companies are listed on here because they delivered the holds exactly as expected (and in most cases their holds were great!) but they did not do what the above companies did and as a result I am slightly hesitant to order from them again.
ClimbIt: The only reason why ClimbIt is on this list is because of major shipping delays and minimal communication. I ordered my first set from them for the Font XL Jugs. The order was placed 5/2 and about a week later I sent an email to them asking if the order worked as I had not received a email confirmation or a credit card charge. 20 days after I placed the order I finally got an email saying that they were delayed due to material issues and will be pouring holds very soon. No more communication until the set arrived on my doorstep 6/14. From order to delivery it took 44 days for the holds to arrive. I understand this happens and I am sure there are gym accounts with real $$ ahead of me, however my issue was that there was no customer resolution from them and the communication was completely lacking. Maybe throw in an extra hold into the box, or a provide a 10%+ discount on future purchases, or maybe waive the shipping costs… The holds are great and are my favorite roof jugs that I own.
Pusher: Ordered the new Boss (yes the infamous boss!!!) and it shipped immediately and was at my door in less then a week (counting a weekend). Maybe I thought owning a boss meant you got a special t-shirt or membership to some secret club or something. Well maybe even a sticker? Sick hold though.
Asana: Received the holds as I ordered.
Etch Holds: Received the holds as I ordered.
Project Holds: Received the holds as I ordered.
Note: I only included companies that I have recently dealt with and only included information on where the entire interaction happened directly with the company.
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