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This may or may not be an endorsement for Simms. You decide. But, it is an interesting story.
So, in early 2017 I bought a used pair of Simms G3 Guide waders. They had little prior use, and they looked like they were in good shape. Alas, they were not. They leaked in the crotch and in both legs just above and below the knees. So, following Kenny’s instruction, I turned them inside out, hung them up, and filled them with water. I waited and waited to find water droplets seeping through so I could seal the leaks. Rather then finding individual water droplets, large areas of the waders just seeped water. There was no specific point of leaking; the entire area of fabric gradually became wet. So, I tried the whole Revive treatment to re-water proof the waders. Yet, they still leaked. Obviously, this problem was beyond my skill set.
With a little looking, I found on the Simms’ website an easy process for sending in a pair of waders for evaluation and repair. It worked like a charm. On 6/1/17, I paid the postage and sent in the waders. In about two weeks they emailed me that they found the problem and they just needed my payment ($60, I think) to make the repair and send them back. I called to make the payment and get a report on what they found. They told me they found and repaired over 60 pinhole leaks. I got them back in a couple days.
Wow, was I disappointed the next week when I went fishing and found that they fixed the leak in the crotch, but both legs leaked just the same. I called customer service. I was frustrated, but they couldn’t have been nicer. I sent them pictures of my wet pants after I removed the waders so they could see where the waders were leaking. They said the first repair should have fixed those leaks, so they sent me a prepaid postage label to return the waders. On 6/26/17 I sent them back for a second time.
In a couple weeks, I got my waders back. Guess what….the legs still leaked just like before I sent them in. Again, I made a call to customer service, and again I provided pictures. I expressed my frustration that after two repairs they still leaked. I told them that I was leaving for Colorado in a couple weeks and needed a dry pair for that trip. Again, they couldn’t have been nicer over the phone—but I was still highly annoyed. They sent me a prepaid postage label for another repair return, but they also offered and then sent t me (free) a loaner pair of waders to take to Colorado. On 7/25/17 I sent my waders back for a third time. The loaner pair worked great during my week of fishing in Colorado.
I got my waders back sometime near the end of July. Guess what…the legs STILL LEAKED—just the same as the first time when I sent them in. So, another call to customer service, more pictures, a prepaid return postage address label and they were on their way back to Simms on 8/7/17 for the FOURTH time.
In a couple weeks, I got a call from customer service. They said, “Ya know, we’ve tried to fixed these waders several times and we can’t seem to get it done. How about if we just send you a new pair of waders?” I didn’t ask for that, I didn’t have to get mean or nasty on the phone, or ask to speak to someone’s supervisor. They just offered. And yes, after this many repair attempts, that was the right thing to do. But, it is rare to find a company that offers to do the right thing. I think that this offer to replace waders I bought secondhand, along with providing me with a loaner pair of waders for my CO trip and all the prepaid return postage labels speaks very well for the company.
I am now living happily (and dry) ever after with my new G3 Simms waders.
Jim Craig
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