I ordered a flexi-leash from dog.com.  It’s an online site with reasonably priced deals for dogs.  It has free shipping for orders over $50.  Anyway a few weeks ago I placed an order for a new leash because the flexi which came with our original bichon cracked.  We enjoyed the flexi leash because it gives the dogs more freedom.

Anyway I ordered the small red flexi leash, and when it came the leash was unable to retract.  I was pushing the button and pulling on the leash to see if the tension was adequate. I think the tension spring within the leash was broken.

Anyway dog.com had fantastic customer service.  I called the next day and they immediately shipped me a replacement leash free of charge.  They also said it was unnecessary to return the cheap flexi-leash.  Unfortunately the second flexi-leash also did not retract.  This was getting absurb.

I called and again the dog.com customer service representative was fantastic.  A completely different person and yet the same resolution.  Sending me a new leash free of charge and shipping.  This time, however, I got a return label to mail back the two broken Flexi-leashes.  Unfortunately again the 3rd flexi-leash was broken and non-retractable.

Thus I decided to complain to the flexi-leash company directly.  I explained the problems I had been having and how I talked to dog.com.  Who would be returning my money and also directly contacting Flexi-leashes, because they couldn’t keep stocking poorly made products.

So what happened?  I got offered a free flexi-leash for my pain and suffering.  They offerred to ship it to me because they wanted a happy customer.  And because like I wrote in my email, I’m a huge fan and have been a proponent to other dog owners. However, I was severly disappointed by the level of quality these new leashes had when I had previous leashes of over 10 years.

So now I wait. I guess I’ll be able to tell if it was just a manufactoring defect or something else.  Moral of the story?  Complain when you have a valid complaint.  Perhaps you’ll get a freebie because you made the company aware of a problem.