I was lulled into the 'charms' of a TN Quasar Ultra - saved up lots of dosh - bought the thing and as it was being put up (by a very experienced backpacker ie me) three tags came off the zips making it difficult to open/close the zips....TN's response? put your hand in your pocket AGAIN and send it to us for repair........is there any other industry with such a scant disregard for the customer?

Andrew

PS sorry Hilleberg - I'm coming home

I am furious that such an expensive tent could be so tacky - and that TN could be so cavalier - take my advice - stick to the tried and trusted - the Quasar ultra is neither

a

Quasar for sale - buyer beware

Put up for the first time?

If so, don't accept that, aash. The fastenings must be defective, and it's ludicrous to suggest that you should pay for a repair. I suggest that you email them a polite but strongly worded letter.

I'll be curious to see what other people's recent experience with Terra Nova customer service is. I recently wrote to them to ask whether the repair kit had been missed out of my Laser Competition, and received a one sentence reply brusquely informing me that they don't include them with the Laser range. After reading something to the contrary here I wrote back in stronger terms, and they sent me one. I wasn't impressed that I had to ask, though, and even less impressed that they don't include one with a range of tents that they're currently trying very hard to push as the ultimate lightweight backpacking tents.

So... I'll be very interested to hear how you get on. Good luck!

Cheers Pee - in an industry when reputation counts for everything you would'nt think they would be so blase

a

I wonder if its possible to bypass the TN 'customer service' and go straight to the top?

a

This is interesting. I had trouble with a terra nova voyager - the saga went on for years. In short, I was very unimpressed by the tent and it would make me a bit wary of buying another terra nova (although I think they have now redesigned this tent so as to get rid of the problem I had). I was, however, very impressed with their customer service. They repaired the tent free of charge (twice, I think) and then they remade and replaced the inner tent (free of charge) and then they - eventually - replaced the whole tent with a brand new one about 2 years after I'd first bought it. I dealt with them mostly by email but I also visited the factory at one point and discussed the issue with one of the designers. Of course, my view really was that none of this should have been necessary (hence my reluctance to buy their tents again) but the customer service was pretty good.

Tu-Tu-Tu,so much for so called top of the range tents.

Having had the best of times in my Aztec Esquina Solo with not a thing wrong with it,i thought it time for a new tent so i settled on a Vango Spirit 100 lite,i found it to be equally as good but for different reasons,i spotted a slight fault on my second camp with the Vango,nothing much mind,(i could have lived with it) but decided to return it forth-with and it was replaced with a brand new one,now that's what i call customer service.

well I've got a terra nova ultra quasar had it for nearly 12 years, when a pole snapped last year they replaced it free of charge. I have had nothing but superb service from the all the time, and the tent is tops as well !

Guy - this tent cost £370 - whilst being put up for the first time three zip holders broke.....quality? I think not

a

PS the offer to me from TN to post it back to them at MY expense did not help

PPS my 'tent' states it was made in Vietnam...which part of Derbyshire is that?

aash i can only comment on how I find and have found my own dealings, and i've never had any problems with the tent at all , apart from the broken pole and to be honest that was my fault. And when that meant I dealt with Terra Nova they were great.

I hope you get the situation resolved asap

aash - did you contact them on the phone or in email (or something else)?

Try ringing them tomorrow and asking to speak to a senior manager. It's really difficult to believe that the person you've spoken/written to actually appreciated what had happened. I'd give them a second opportunity to make it right before concluding that they're hopeless, if I were you.

Please report back - soon, hopefully, as I'll be gone for a fortnight on Thursday :)


Good luck, incidentally! I've no doubt that the Quasar is a superb tent: hopefully you can get a good one!

aash I've got the email address somewhere for the boss, I'll dig it out once my other pc has fiished backing up and email it to you

aash, not minimising the issue you have had, but your contract is with whoever you bought the tent from. Unless you bought it direct from Terra Nova, you should take the tent back to the retailer you bought it from and reject it as not of merchantable quality, requesting a full refund. If you do this asap, politely but firmly, then you should not get any grief. Don't let the retailer fob you off or ask you to contact TN: they are liable, not TN.

Best of luck. (PS: I have a TN bivvy which is very good build quality. I also have a well made Osprey rucksack made in Vietnam, so the Vietnamese can do good quality work. Maybe you had a Friday tent...)

True, Zubald.

Aash, you haven't said what there actually asking you to pay for? Is it just the postage?

OK, I know nowt about nowt, so don't take this too seriously ok folks.. but..
Guy - do folks you deal with on the whole, know who you are? I mean know your connection to the web sites you run etc.. cause in my experience.. when some one in retail deals with some one like me they know they have little to lose... but when they deal with you.. even I can imagine the negative feedback you 'could' (and I stress COULD) cause them if they dealt with you badly. Don't you think this could be part of the reason you get good service?
On this note, Cath... emails and letters sometimes work.. but your face, in their face.. usually always does the trick.. and you must have shown them that you knew what you were talking about.. this helps too I think... but pleased you had good outcome in the end.
To be honest though, given my financial situation, if I ever paid that amount of money, and anything went wrong with it at the time you said aash, .. the people I bought it from would all pull a sicky in an attempy not to be in the shop when I threw it back at them.
Man I am sounding like a grumpy old fart... <--- goes away to take happy pill.

Aash, i think its worth giving them another call and explaining that you've just parted with £370 and your not parting with anymore. I'm sure they'll solve the problem, the folks at Terra Nova are - I've found - good people. It's in their interest to sort it out as well as yours. I can't understand the Zips doing that, I've had six TN tents and never experienced anything like that - not that you want to hear things like that at the moment. If you've bought it from a retailer then they should send it back to TN for repair at their cost not yours. If you bought it direct I think you'll have to post it back at your own cost then get a refund on the postage. Good Luck.

Oh dear ... just joined the site hoping for pointers towards getting a new tent and I'm now really confused!
I've had a Terra Nova Solar 2 for 5 years with no bother at all while my friend's Hilleberg Nallo 2 broke (pole snapped in fairly strong winds but Solar 2 was fine) the first time she used it. We found out this was due to Hilleberg using a new kind of pole at the time which lacked strength (since replaced by other poles). Now it seems Terra Nova tents have their dodgy moments too. Are there any tent manufacturers who can be relied upon or has overall quality slipped in the last 5 years? I hope I can find another really reliable tent!

"I hope I can find another really reliable tent!"

<cough> Lightwave! <cough>

<runs for cover...>

:-)