Finfolk's new Mythic Tail - arrived damaged

[Karri3]

This is my first post on Mernetwork as I'm only just starting to enter the Mermaid community
I would have much rather it have been a positive one.. However I have ordered Finfolk's new Mythic tail in blue.
I've had ongoing problems with the order, So I now feel like I should take this issue more public since I'm not getting any response from finfolk themselves.


I've tried to contact them via email and on Facebook, with no response.


After the delayed making time and shipping due to Finfolk receiving more orders than planned in the November launch of the Mythic tail, my tail finally arrived a few weeks ago (start of February). However upon unboxing we noticed a fin was not attached to the tail, I do not know if this was broken off during shipping or maybe not glued on as well as others.


I understand this has been a stressful and busy time for the staff of finfolk (which is why I waited almost 3 weeks for a response) but at some point customer service matters. If they are still promoting a product every other day on Facebook but can't respond to existing customers problems with the product, I don't find that very acceptable.



We (customers) had to wait longer than planned because order quantity and supply was misjudged and didn't have the tail by Christmas (as first planned by finfolk) or the convention I had hoped to attend in January and when my tail does arrive a foot fin has broken off.




The returns policy on their website also states I have to pay return shipping. This is if I want to return the tail or have it repaired.
Whereas my tail arrived damaged in the box, I really don't think I should be having to pay the costs for this.
Also after paying the shipping and returning the tail.. They (finfolk) can then deem if I should receive a refund or not (if I don't want the tail).. Considering how long the tail took to arrive and the complete lack of response to my emails regarding repair.. Who knows how long it would take for me to receive my money back.
... This is probably their old policy regarding the custom made silicone tails.. My situation is a bit different I guess since it came damaged.


I also don't want to send it back. Shipping will cost a fortune for Finfolk or myself to pay and it will take weeks between Australia and the USA.
I like the tail, I want to keep the tail, it is reasonably good quality for their first trial run of Mythic tails.
However there are definitely going to be problems with the fins being only glued on.


I do plenty of my own cosplays and costume making (including working with latex and silicone) I'll just fix the tail myself. Even if it has to be without finfolk's assistance, I can find an industrial strength glue that will work with neoprene and silicone. I just don't like that they are not offering any kind of assistance.


What I would prefer though, would be for finfolk to suggest the best method of repair / type of glue so that I don't have to work it out for myself. Or even to send a "repair kit" with a sample of glue and perhaps some kind of compensation gift. Since my order came damaged.
This will still work out far cheaper and a faster lead time than them having to pay all the shipping and do the repair themselves.


I'll do a proper review in the review section of the forum once these customer service issues have been dealt with. Because the tail itself is awesome (ignoring the broken fin)


I'd just like an answer from Finfolk about what can be done regarding the tail arriving with a broken fin.

(I've tried to upload a photo from my iPhone however do not know how to resize it to be within the size allowed by the forum)

[Nerdmaid Faith]

http://mernetwork.com/index/showthread.php?t=14163

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[Nerdmaid Faith]

http://mernetwork.com/index/showthread.php?t=14163

Sent from my SM-G386W using Tapatalk

This is our thread for discussing the Mythic Tails.
I'm really sorry about your tail, especially considering the shipping costs. Maybe some mermaids in the thread can help you out with the glue situation.
Also I HIGHLY reccomend downloading Tapatalk onto your phone; the app makes everything 100× easier.

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[MeliPixie]

Just so you know, the ladies at FinFolk weren't just overwhelmed by the sheer number of orders... There was also a family health issue where their father had to have heart surgery and they had to travel out of state to be with him. They have said that their email wait time is longer than usual while they catch up and that if it's important you can write again. Sorry to hear about your tail being damaged though, that stinks Try to cut them a little more slack, they may be mers at heart but they are only human on land <3

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[MermaidLiara]

Aww, this sucks hope it gets solved and you can swim in your beautiful tail without worries!

I also don't want to send it back. Shipping will cost a fortune for Finfolk or myself to pay and it will take weeks between Australia and the USA.

What I would prefer though, would be for finfolk to suggest the best method of repair / type of glue so that I don't have to work it out for myself. Or even to send a "repair kit" with a sample of glue and perhaps some kind of compensation gift. Since my order came damaged.
This will still work out far cheaper and a faster lead time than them having to pay all the shipping and do the repair themselves

This is actually a really good idea.

[Fifi Tigg]

Aquarium grade silicone works on dragon skin silicone
Bunnings has it and it's called Sellys Silicone Glass sealant.
I hope this helps with fixing your tail

[Karri3]

Thanks faithonthebass, I have downloaded Tapatalk now

MermaidLyara yes I think going forward the Mythic tails are going to need to have repair kits available, they come with extra scales to be stitched back on, but I think sending a pack of glue or suggesting a glue would be good too as the silicone fins are only glued on.

Thanks FiFi Tigg , I'll look into the aquarium grade silicone, but it also needs to be able to glue silicone to neoprene base and resin scales.


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[Karri3]

For those wondering about my Mythic Tail, here is a picture of how it came out of the box.

The silicone fins are absolutely beautiful, the resin scales are a good idea but the gradient/ colour could use some work in future versions of the blue Mythic tail.

The only thing I'm annoyed about is their lack of customer service.




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[Karri3]

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[MermaidLiara]

Man, that sucks. You probably looked forward to receiving it so much. Heard anything from Finfolk yet?

But yeah the fluke looks stunning!

[Karri3]

Unfortunately no, over 3 weeks and still no response from finfolk..

I've kind of given up on their version of customer service.
So I've been swimming in the tail now, and it's really amazing, well balanced and fun to swim in.

I took my GoPro and have some great footage, I'll have to upload it somewhere


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[Finfolk Productions]

Hi Karri!

We are so sorry to hear about this! Could you please let us know your email so that we can track it down and help with this issue immediately?

As someone stated above, February has been a very unusual month for us. If you received your tail at the beginning of the month, it's likely one of the few we sent off after getting the call that our dad had a heart attack and needed emergency open heart surgery. We had several tails ready to go before we had to leave for the airport, and put off packing any personal belongings for our last minute trip in order to get those sent out. Since then, we've had quite a bit to catch up on. We have a new person handling email, and it's likely that your email got incorrectly sorted while we're trying to get our full time Customer Service Representative trained in. We're very sorry about the fin, this is definitely unusual, and we will get you all of the information and supplies you need to repair it!

Kind Regards,
Abby & Bryn

[Nerdmaid Faith]

Happy endings!

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[Mermaid Alea]

Yay Finfolk!

[AniaR]

yeah finfolk is great about fixing things

[AniaR]

and to be fair, finfolk put multiple notices up on their page about the lack of communication due to dealing with the emergency situation. I wouldn't say it was a lack of customer service. They're just two ladies, and put up several notices.

[Karri3]

I have spoken with Finfolk now via email, my emails were apparently filed into a wrong folder. And I'm happy I've now had a response and it's being sorted.

----

Well Ania.. I wouldn't quite say that,
I tried emailing twice, Facebook and finally starting an account here to try and get an answer..

They didn't put a cap on order quantity, which ended up meaning more orders than they had supplies for which pushed the dates back from what was originally advertised. (I had assumed the tail would arrive within two months due to their originally advertised dates so shipped it to my parents house for the holidays, it hadn't arrived by then, so I later had to drive 4 hours, 8 hours round trip to pick it up)

And of course having a family issue as they did is a terrible thing to happen to anyone, so I did try and be understanding, emailing twice several days apart to try not to be too pushy.
Though I could see on facebook they were still advertising their new mythic tails and posting about future updates.. Well, that didn't seem to sit right considering my product had arrived not complete, and they weren't responding to an existing customers problems but still advertising. (I did try and wait over two weeks for a private response)

After all those things with my order I had kind of had enough... So took to the public forum, since this has actually been my worst online shopping experience.

I don't think it's really Finfolk's fault though, like you say they are just two women trying their best to make custom tails for merfolk and their father was hospitalised, they can only do so much.
(It is a business though.. And I've ordered plenty of custom things before, and not had the same problems)

This doesn't take away from the quality of the tail and the fun it has given me though, true a fin wasn't attached.. But I believe them when they say it doesn't happen often (ever!) I suppose I'm a lucky first.
The tail is definitely great to swim in, and looks great for photos, no complaints there and I know they are only going to keep improving the tails in the future so future buyers only have great things to look forward to.

Finfolk still make amazing tails for the mermaid community and this is their first attempt and making a cheaper version, so it's understandable for there to be hiccups.



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[Karri3]

I had thought this had been sorted out with Finfolk as we communicated about them sending me the materials to repair the tail at the first week of March..
Unfortunately 3+ weeks on again I still haven't heard back again if the material was actually shipped or received a tracking number for the repair materials.



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[PegasusSpringsMuses]

Their Dad is still having health issues and they just closed on the new warehouse. I think you just caught them at a bad time.