Storm has a ball warranty that's clear and easy to understand. The bridge is warrantied against cracking provided the ball is drilled properly. Pretty simple stuff.
http://www.anchorman.com/Ball%20Warranty%20Guide.pdfThe ball I purchased was drilled incorrectly - the finger holes were too close to the pin, the finger hole edges were rough and improperly finished, and the bridge was under 0.250". What that means is the ball was improperly drilled.
After reading the replies I can tell the shop has a lot of supporters, that the employees are dedicated to their job, and that the posters to this forum respect the shop employees. That doesn't change the fact that the ball was drilled incorrectly.
There's a written Storm Warranty procedure that states the ball in question should be returned to the original store for warranty evaluation. I did that. The driller told me "they all do that". He then told me "it's up to Brian". He added that "Brian is acting strange today - there's something wrong....". The driller walked away to discuss the ball with Brian who was out in the bowling alley somewhere.
The driller returned and said "Brian said Storm doesn't warranty cracked bridges". Then he asked me if I loft the ball (as if the force on the ball from lofting would cause a crack vs the force of the ball striking 4 pound stationary pins all day).
I could see I was getting nowhere and I saw Brian standing there on his cell phone so I approached him and asked if he would address this with Storm. He was unhappy, he resisted my appeal for at least consideration by Storm, and he took a picture of the cracks and began to walk away. I said "don't you want a picture of the receipt so you know who I am?" and he replied "I don't care" and he walked away. It was at that point that I raised my voice, told him he was a jerk, and walked out of the store. I have no need for poor customer service. When I pay a significant premium for something I expect to at least be supported if there's a warranty issue down the road. That's not asking too much - that's what a good dealer provides to a paying customer.
I contacted Storm. I sent pictures of the cracks. I followed up with Storm. And Storm is sending me a replacement ball.
If Storm had declined to replace the ball I would have simply taken this issue to Small Claims Court, and with the pictures and the Storm Warranty I would have easily won the case against Orbdrillers (not against Storm). One look at the pictures and one review of the Storm Warranty and it's an open and shut case.
You know what would help reduce the likelihood of this issue happening again? How about the business owner printing out the Storm Warranty and posting the pictures near the drilling equipment, along with some training to make the drillers aware of the Storm specific drilling requirements?
This is a simple example of a business owner refusing to assist a customer with a warranty issue. If Brian did contact Storm as ask that the ball be replaced - thank you. That's the way it should have been handled in the first place. I got it taken care of, and I have no further need for Orbdrillers in Mechanicsville, VA.
