MISTRAL is BAD, Very BAD

[colonwk]

This letter describes two very real and very sad Mistral customer service stories. This letter was sent to Mistral more than six months ago, and they have not yet concerned themselves with a response. Please read and make your own judgements.

I write this letter to inform you that Mistral has successfully converted two dedicated Mistral sailors to very, very unhappy customers. Mistral’s repetitive demonstration of its poor business practices have convinced my brother and I that Mistral’s warranty policy is short of legitimate and that Mistral places little, if any, value on their customers. Mistral can be guaranteed that my brother and I will never purchase a Mistral product again, never recommend one to windsurfing newcomers, and certainly never speak highly of your products in our respective windsurfing circles.

Unhappy Story 1: San Francisco

I purchased a Mistral Screamer 260 in February, 1998. The board rode beautifully. The volume fit my weight, ability and San Francisco sailing conditions perfectly. In fact, the board was so fun that I recommended the 260 to my brother who sails on Martha’s Vineyard and the Cape. Unfortunately, I did so a little too early. After only 20 – 30 sessions in the Bay, my board began to soften under the heel pads, take on water, and delaminate on the bottom side of the front half of the board. After months and months of phone calls on my part, I finally received a warranty replacement board in March 1999.

The replacement board lasted less hours on the water than the original, before similar symptoms of defective manufacturing developed. The board quickly softened on the underside of the front half of the board. To give credit where credit is due, the Mistral Rep relentlessy returned my calls over practically the entire season that it took us to find a mutually convenient time to meet. Unfortunately, he denied my warranty stating that the delamination on the bottom of the front of the board was in fact softness due to less layers of glass used in the manufacturing process. Less glass used in that section – true; reason for the board to be soft to the touch of the thumb – ludicrous. Unhappy customer number one!

Unhappy Story 2: Martha’s Vineyard

My brothers experience was different, but equally lame. My brother pulled his Screamer 260 out of the plastic in May 1998 only to find delamination around the skeg box. The board was replaced with one of lesser quality. Hard to imagine, but true. This board suffered from a soft deck around the foot strap area and eventually the rails and the deck completely cracked on the tail of the board. After many justifiable requests for a refund or an option to chose a replacement board, my brother was sent a Mistral Flow as a replacement. Unbelievably this board was again defective right out of the plastic, suffering from cracked rails in the tail. To count, my brother has received THREE boards from Mistral and does not need any spare fingers to count the number of times he has sailed on a clean, non-defective board. It gets worse. This time Mistral told my brother that he could not return the board, that this would be his last replacement, and that if there truly was something wrong with the board, he could fix it himself. Unhappy customer number two!

It is reasonable and fair to deduct from our experiences that Mistral has a policy of replacing warranty boards with boards that are known factory defects. It also seems clear that Mistral’s intention is to replace warranty boards with defects until the one-year policy expires and then Mistral no longer concerns itself with its customers. Done deal, money in the bank.

The quality of these boards and the warranty service provided by Mistral is completely and absolutely unacceptable. It is obvious to these former Mistral riders that your company places no value on customer service, no value on the customer experience, and most unfortunately, no value on the customer. As someone who has now spent, several years with one of the most successful retailers in the world, I would have the courage to bet this is not a long-term profitable business practice. However, Mistral can be sure that my brother and I will generously advertise this regrettable business philosophy to all those we encounter, whether it be in the San Francisco Bay area, Martha’s Vineyard and the Cape, or anywhere in between.

I welcome your response if Mistral wishes to challenge any facts stated in this letter. This letter will be posted on several prominent Bay Area and National windsurfing websites.

No longer your customer,

WKC
TFC

[realkitty]

It sounds like you believe that Mistral has no right to actually place a time limit on their warranty. Two year old children have a delusion of being omnipotent, and that no rules apply to them.

[realkitty]

Seriously though, Mistral did appear to have a bad batch of boards during the time you are writing about, namely the light green ones. I have heard of a number of people who had warranty claims that were handled to their satisfaction, many of them upgraded their boards to customs (the blue ones) for about $200 and are more than satisfied.

[Friday]

Agreed, there was a sour batch of Mistrals. I quite literally demo-ed a 99 Flow in East Baja. I buckled it in about 20 minutes... and I was just learning to waterstart!

[colonwk]

It sounds like you do not yet know how to read. Some two year old children can probably read with more comprehension and respond with more intergrity. There is not one mention of the length of Mistrals 1 year limit on its warranty. Almost all policies in the industry are standard. It is Mistrals sheer disregard for their policy and their inability to deal professionally with a serious manufacturing defect that are at issue.

Try a re-read.

[jibemeister]

I am a government employee and I am very familiar with warranty issues. I believe when you purchased your Mistral it came with a warranty for a specific amount of time. If during that warranty period the product should need repair or replacement then Mistral has a specific amount of time to repair or replace the item. In California this period of time is 30 days. If Mistral replaces the item you do not recieve a brand new warranty, only what remains of the original purchase warranty. One thing Mistarl is obligated to do is extend the warranty however long it takes them to replace or repair the item. In other words your warranty is not ticking away while they make up their mind what they are going to do.

Each state has their own lemon laws. In California we have the Song-Beverly Warranty Consumer Act, Calif. Civil Code Section 1790. Their is also a federal warranty law called the Magnuson Moss Act.

In California you have recourse back to the selling dealer under Song-Beverly.

I had a warranty issue with F2 and found NorthSports (the same distributor for Mistral) to be very expeditous in handling my warranty claim. I think e-mail and a digital camera helped speed up the process. The whole process took less than two weeks.

[spennie]

Had a similar experience with Mistral, also a 260. Solution? AHD 262!

[SBsurfer]

Board: Mistral 263 1998.
Problem: Delaminated after just 8 sessions in bump $ jump conditions.
When I contacted Misral through my dealer regarding this problem they did not respond at all (they had one (1) year to make contact), it wasnt until I got really pissed off then the dealer said OK you are a good costumer just take one of our new boards and Ill deal with Misral Its up to the dealer to deal with the manufacturer NOT the customer, that is why you buy from a dealer, they have the contacts and the power to deal with such asses as the big guns (misral) Even though I sent a cutout sample of where the board delaminated, they just simply didnt give, thats what happens when a company gets that BIG, they think they can screw the little guys, but i have news for you: its the little guys such as my self that make these companies big and make money and survive in this market place. If they make enough people angry people will NOT buy their products, and what happens then....?
right! you loose revenue and go bbbbbelly up...!

[jfjfjfjf]

Im not a government employee and my wife has said I have a mind of a two year-old so I guess I shouldnt have been surprised that Mistral wouldnt consider doing anything for my hardly used soggy foot pad area 1995 Stinger 265 that was one week out of warranty but had the same problem as described as well as many others of the same type they produced that year especially since they just replaced a 1995 Screamer that was 2 months into the warranty and fell apart on me free of charge. How are you supposed to recycle these things if Mistral wont do it? Coffee tables?

[wemorgan]

I had a Mistral Flow 260 that went soft between footpads. I was right at the end of the warranty period and had used the board heavily during the year (70+ days).

I returned it to the dealer in Hood River (Big Winds) and was told I could have my pick of a comparable new board since the Flow 260 was no longer made.

I demoed many boards and eventually ;icked a new one. The only hassle was demoing boards for two weeks.

I chaulk up the treatment to a good dealer that stands behind their gear and a dealer with clout at North Sports.