Victorinox Luggage
Rarely do we pen a complaint on an item a book or a service, but here is a case worth bringing up. The Victorinox Spectra 26, Hardside Spinner, in Blue. Price was about $210.00. The bag, which was purchased in October of 2013 (delivered to my door), cracked on a flight from Phoenix to London in March 2014. Mind you, I did actually use the bag, it was not sitting in an attic. The usage was a few trips about the US and 4 or 5 trips back and forth to the Middle East and the EU.
I have and continue to use Haliburton Zero on some flights, but I required a lighter bag so that I can pack in more things.
The Victorinox bag was well reviewed and came from a reputable company; it was a light weight alternative to the Haliburton’s rugged Zero line.
What did happen, was the Victorinox Bag’s hard shell cracked open. The failure was not minor. It cracked and it cracked in a way to me, which made no sense. It looks like it originated from a rough drop onto the wheels.
I contacted the Victorninox representative in the UK and the response was slow, but understandably so, yet there was no resolution. There was no desire to see the bag to see if it was a defect that allowed the bag to crack; there was no offer of a discount to replace the 6 month old bag. Just the suggestion that I see the airline about a replacement bag. I did this and British Airways replaced the bag on the spot, no questions asked, no problem made, no fuss. Is the brand of bag, Lucas, given to me a better or worse brand? I do not know. I guess time will tell.
The job of a bag is to keep the contents inside with out busting open at the seams / zipper / latches. The Victorinox bag failed not in the seams but the hard, outer shell itself. The only thing holding the contents of the bag in the bag was the liner.
I am also dissatisfied with the customer service. The concept of a premium brand is that one has a premium product. Aegis has always maintained that quality is the best economy. Furthermore, with a premium brand, one really does expect that customer service is optimized. What I got from Victorinox was – “YOYO”, you’re on your own. At no time was Victorinox representative impolite, but manners without action, is still no action. I am disappointed to say Victorinox is not a premium product or brand – period.
I have had issues with my Haliburton bags and Haliburton has stood behind their bags 100%, no, if’s, and’s, or butt’s. Even when I sent them a bag that was severely damaged – their response was real and honest. “Mr. Files, this would be the third major repair on the same bag – it is time for a new bag, by the way, how many miles were on the bag?” The answer was 5 continents and nearly 900,000 miles, which I can remember.
