Warranty Claims: An Adventurous User Experience and Learning from Great Customers

This week, a customer reached out after experiencing a failure with our Sizzle Sticks. For those who are not familiar with the Sizzle Sticks, they were explicitly designed for use with the ICEPLATE EXO® Gen 2 and ICEPLATE EXO®-CRH systems. The Sizzle Sticks provide unique mounting methods optimized for the plate bag configurations sold in the above-mentioned product lines and were not intended to be used with other Qore Performance products.

Here's where the incredible ingenuity of our customers comes into play. This particular customer had previously purchased an IMS Sport for hikes and outdoor activities. He wanted to add adventure racing to the IMS Sport's capabilities, but the frequent jostling and swinging involved in the sport required extra security. He identified that the IMS Sport's laser-cut drink routing holes resembled those on the ICEPLATE EXO® Gen 2 and ICEPLATE EXO®-CRH systems. This led him to correctly identify that the Sizzle Sticks could 'fit' inside the plate bag of the IMS Sport. But as with any good idea, there were certain pitfalls.

The distinct 3D-printed architecture of the Sizzle Sticks is part of a precisely engineered system on ICEPLATE EXO® and ICEPLATE EXO®-CRH. This specific, system-based engineering means that the plate bags on these products were designed specifically for mounting the Sizzle Sticks and, in fact, have slightly different internal dimensions and laser-cut routing holes compared to the IMS Sport sleeve. These subtle differences can lead to suboptimal performance of the Sizzle Sticks up to and including failure.

So here we are, with a broken Sizzle Stick, used in a way we didn’t quite design for, leaving an enthusiastic customer frustrated and needing assistance. We understand the annoyance this can cause, and we are committed to resolving this issue to your satisfaction while keeping bad actors out of our system so they don't ruin things for everybody.

Updated Warranty: The Grey Area of Language

Like most companies, when we wrote the Hard Goods section of our Forever Warranty, we intended for it to protect against off-label uses of our products that could inevitably lead to errors and failures. The Sizzle Sticks perform as expected when used as designed and demonstrated in our instructional videos in ICEPLATE EXO® Gen 2 and ICEPLATE EXO®-CRH. In these cases, they are 100% covered by our Warranty. But does our Warranty actually cover the situation discussed above where a part designed for one or two products is used with a product for which it was not designed?

When we wrote the policy, we intended to be able to answer that question with an easy "yes." However, after some time to reflect on the wording, we have concluded that, in fact, the term “in the originally purchased configuration (unmodified in any way)” does not apply to using the products in a manner we did not design for. As such, we have decided to warranty this customer's Sizzle Stick.

As of today, the Hard Goods section of the Forever Warranty has additional language that reads, “Any Hard Good item used in a configuration outside its original design intent, or in combination with product(s) outside its dedicated ecosystem will not qualify for Warranty replacement.”

Without amazing customers like you, who are not only willing to provide feedback but also stand up for your ideas when you believe them to be correct, we could not improve. Your innovative use of our products is a testament to your problem-solving skills and we greatly appreciate it. So for that, we thank you greatly. You are why we continue to work as hard as we do to provide the gold standard in weaponizing temperature to enhance performance and survivability in the field.

Transparency and Accountability

For total transparency, we are sharing the email conversation with the customer information redacted. This inclusion demonstrates our commitment to open communication, never taking customer trust for granted. Two of our foundational beliefs here at Qore Performance are "Live in Truth" and "Truth in Transparency."

 
Email Correspondence (redacted for privacy):

We greatly value customer feedback and innovation. However, to ensure the longevity and performance of our products and to maintain warranty coverage, it is crucial to use them as designed and demonstrated in our instructional videos. Please get in touch with our customer support team for any questions about proper usage or warranty coverage.

Until next time, #StayFrosty.