I had two custom saddle orders go awry and had to FIGHT to get my money back. Ever since then I’ve insisted on buying off the rack wherever possible.
I would never consider going custom again unless the company stating in writing that I would get a 100% refund if the saddle they sent did not fit the horse.
[QUOTE=vxf111;7568965]
I don’t think you’re at ALL unreasonable and I hope you get a quick refund. I have been much much less than impressed with the"fitting" services of the Dev reps I’ve seen.[/QUOTE]
Thank you vxf111. When some of the OG’s of this forum go “Oh man Devoucoux saddle fitting is not super impressive” I hope it forewarns others when considering a new Devoucoux and expect it to be fitted to their horse perfectly.
Thought I would give an update. I still did not receive a reply from the rep. I’ve been in contact with my mom throughout all of this because she’s pitching in a couple hundred for the saddle. My mom has heard about the horror stories of Devoucoux CS and she called up the rep and apparently it got to the point my mom needed to lay into her some. I’m in my 20s, but I guess sometimes mom still needs to step in and take over a little. Heh.
We started a claim with the CC company. We have to wait 15 days for them to reply and credit the account.
Thanks everyone for your replies. 
[QUOTE=SnicklefritzG;7569017]
I had two custom saddle orders go awry and had to FIGHT to get my money back. Ever since then I’ve insisted on buying off the rack wherever possible.
I would never consider going custom again unless the company stating in writing that I would get a 100% refund if the saddle they sent did not fit the horse.[/QUOTE]
Mind sharing what two companies you used? And if you are going to have to use a correctional half pad with your 5-7 grand custom saddle, I could see why you would just end up buying off the rack.
My bad experiences were with Schleese and County.
The Schleese dressage saddle was fit by Jochen himself using not just wither tracings, but that metal contraption that measures the entire area covered by the saddle. The saddle arrived looking like it was made for another horse, but the company insisted that it was my saddle. Although they offered to “make it right” it would have prevented me from being able to get my money back later. In the end I fought to get my money back because I didn’t trust them to fix the problem given how badly they messed up the original order.
My other bad experience was with a County jump saddle. I know many people who have had good experiences with them, but I think it is HIGHLY dependent on the individual rep doing the fitting. I ordered a saddle and it had almost no wither clearance after settling. The reflocking did not help. I was not interested in using correction pads with a saddle that was not only wool flocked, but ~$4k. I sent that one back and got a 100% refund.
I recognize that I am a rarity on these boards as I am a happy Devoucoux customer- not once, but twice. 
I have had no issues with customer service- I have been very happy with the fitting and refitting process- and I’m sorry that not everyone has had my experience.
Per my invoice on my new Devoucoux purchased in November, custom saddle cancellations are subject to a $300 cancellation fee. “All requests for return or exchange as well as claims for damage, error, defect, or non-conformity must be made in writing within 15 days of delivery.” There is no mention on my invoice of a charge for a returned saddle due to poor fit. That doesn’t mean there isn’t one, just that it’s not on the paperwork I happen to have in front of me.
So in your shoes I would find out about that return policy, then accept the saddle and send an immediate letter saying it does not fit and you will be returning it, followed by a call to your rep saying the same.
Two things:
They’re holding your money “hostage” because the sales rep is probably on a commission and she wants you to receive the saddle and have a change of heart about it.
From now on, all correspondence between you and the company/rep is written. Text, email, letter. No phone calls (mom !). That way everything is documented and there’s no “He said, she said”.
[QUOTE=SnicklefritzG;7569045]
My bad experiences were with Schleese and County. [/QUOTE]
Interesting… My mom has a Schleese and she’s not crazy about it one bit. I sat in for about 2 minutes before and I got off the horse immediately. It was an incredibly uncomfortable saddle to sit in. Granted, it’s an older model. So, perhaps things are better now. Haha.
[QUOTE=Renn/aissance;7569058]I recognize that I am a rarity on these boards as I am a happy Devoucoux customer- not once, but twice. I have had no issues with customer service- I have been very happy with the fitting and refitting process- and I’m sorry that not everyone has had my experience.
Per my invoice on my new Devoucoux purchased in November, custom saddle cancellations are subject to a $300 cancellation fee. “All requests for return or exchange as well as claims for damage, error, defect, or non-conformity must be made in writing within 15 days of delivery.” There is no mention on my invoice of a charge for a returned saddle due to poor fit. That doesn’t mean there isn’t one, just that it’s not on the paperwork I happen to have in front of me.
So in your shoes I would find out about that return policy, then accept the saddle and send an immediate letter saying it does not fit and you will be returning it, followed by a call to your rep saying the same.[/QUOTE]
I have heard there are a few good Devoucoux reps, so perhaps you got a good one. I am happy you had positive experiences – the saddle are gorgeous and incredibly comfortable. I really wanted this saddle to work so badly, but alas, it just isn’t meant to be.
If they don’t allow returns due to “poor fit” then that raises a red flag to me that they are a shady “custom” company. And at this point I am OK with a $300 charge, so long as I didn’t have to be stuck with the saddle. My new saddle I am getting instead of this one is $1600 cheaper (and brand new).
[QUOTE=Mardi;7569100]Two things:
They’re holding your money “hostage” because the sales rep is probably on a commission and she wants you to receive the saddle and have a change of heart about it.
From now on, all correspondence between you and the company/rep is written. Text, email, letter. No phone calls (mom !). That way everything is documented and there’s no “He said, she said”.[/QUOTE]
Totally can understand from the rep’s POV she wants me to have a change of heart and everyone lives happily ever after. This is how she makes a living and she has invested time in coming out and fitting my horse.
I have been keeping things to text message for a reason, so I’m on the same page as you. Mom can be mama bear sometimes, I can’t fault her for it But you are right.
I am sure they do offer returns due to poor fit. There just aren’t particulars on the process on the invoice I was looking at. I didn’t have cause to return mine for fitting reasons, but when I got my first one, my horse had changed shape between his initial fitting and the time the saddle was delivered. It was refitted to him once, still not perfect, so they flew a master saddler over from France to fit him on the spot. I’ve sent saddles back to other companies for a complete fail in fit for a full refund, and I wouldn’t think that Devoucoux would be different.
Hope your new one works better- saddle shopping sucks!
How can you have time to send long text messages and post on CoTH but not let the rep call you? Speaking with someone over the phone is going to solve your problem quicker than coming onto a BB to complain about it.
Jeesh, companies have no chance these days. I have heard bad things about Devoucoux, but at least call them and try to sort it out. Texting is NOT the way to sort out a business arrangement.
[QUOTE=Jealoushe;7569391]
How can you have time to send long text messages and post on CoTH but not let the rep call you? Speaking with someone over the phone is going to solve your problem quicker than coming onto a BB to complain about it.
Jeesh, companies have no chance these days. I have heard bad things about Devoucoux, but at least call them and try to sort it out. Texting is NOT the way to sort out a business arrangement.[/QUOTE]
Not justifying anything, but often at work, I only have a minute here or a minute there to deal with things. That means, while I do have time to shoot you multiple texts over the course of several hours, there’s probably not a spot in there where I have time to get into a phone call, extended or not. That’s just the way my job usually shakes out.
While texting is not ideal, as we’ve seen recently, phone calls can turn into he said/she said. I think sticking to documented communications (and Jenny’s line) is a smart move.
[QUOTE=Jealoushe;7569391]
How can you have time to send long text messages and post on CoTH but not let the rep call you? Speaking with someone over the phone is going to solve your problem quicker than coming onto a BB to complain about it.[/QUOTE]
To add to what CaitlinandTheBay said, some companies have policies against personal phone calls. It is not easy to sneak off and have a discussion about a saddle. It is easy to type a text or a quick post.
[QUOTE=trubandloki;7569431]
To add to what CaitlinandTheBay said, some companies have policies against personal phone calls. It is not easy to sneak off and have a discussion about a saddle. It is easy to type a text or a quick post.[/QUOTE]
Yes, my company is OK with limited personal calls at your desk (plumber, sick kid etc) but to take a different call, I’d have to leave my office-go down a super slow elevator-walk through a ginormous lobby (that doesn’t have a single chair!)-walk outside, and down about 40 steps, to take a call.
Now, that’s about 10 minutes round trip, plus however long the call is! That’s why I do 99% of my ‘business’ via text and email! Plus- I’ve done my ‘round trip’ for scheduled calls and no one called or picked up! Which can be quite annoying to both me and my boss!
[QUOTE=Renn/aissance;7569058]
I recognize that I am a rarity on these boards as I am a happy Devoucoux customer- not once, but twice. I have had no issues with customer service- I have been very happy with the fitting and refitting process- and I’m sorry that not everyone has had my experience.[/QUOTE]
Yep. My rep was hit-n-miss, but the company itself? Excellent. I’ve never had the phone NOT be answered by the main office, I’ve called for help from Joe once, and the my DH, who was BF at the time, called Joe and threw himself on his mercy, saying he wanted to get me matching leathers for Xmas and had no idea the hows and whys (he rides Western).
And just recently I called again to get a copy of the order for insurance purposes, and the phone was answered and she was very helpful and got my order emailed to me, despite a strong language barrier (French).
Now my saddle, which fits me like a glove and I love, may not fit my current horses “as is,” but I’m HOPING it will continue to fit the WB for a while longer.
Hi…I sent you a pm.
[QUOTE=CaitlinandTheBay;7569410]
Not justifying anything, but often at work, I only have a minute here or a minute there to deal with things. That means, while I do have time to shoot you multiple texts over the course of several hours, there’s probably not a spot in there where I have time to get into a phone call, extended or not. That’s just the way my job usually shakes out.
While texting is not ideal, as we’ve seen recently, phone calls can turn into he said/she said. I think sticking to documented communications (and Jenny’s line) is a smart move.[/QUOTE]
You both basically summed up all the points as to why this is text and not a phone call. I am at work in a building with some of the most terrible reception on the face of the planet, and I am happy to get a spotty text message here and there when I hit the magical sweet spots in the building. Also, my job requires me to either be fully concentrated for long periods of time, or I have a couple minutes to relax here and there. I also cannot use my land phone line for personal phone calls… that is a little unprofessional (to me) and I don’t feel comfortable taking personal phone calls in my cube during office hours (I’m quite sure my co-workers next to me do not want to hear me talk about horses and saddles).
Text messaging also allows accountability. She was quite capable of text messages whenever I was in the process of buying the saddle. If she was text message incompetent, this would be handled slightly different.
My rep with another saddle company has been done 100% via text message. When I was looking at CWDs, she preferred I contacted her via text. I think it’s MORE POLITE in that they have time to respond when they get a chance too, rather than me declaring for their time when I have a spare moment.
Perhaps what generation I am apart of is showing
Update: No response today. We’ll allow them to get things somewhat figured out the rest of today (Friday) and this weekend. I know they’re busy with other clients perhaps or other things. I think it’s reasonable to give them a few days to figure out a refund. If we don’t hear back though by nearing-end of business day Monday, I may pop them a quick text asking what’s the status.
I also have to chime in to say that I have had good experience with Devoucoux customer service. I had two issues with my saddle – 1, it never stopped bleeding onto my breeches and 2, even after 6+ months of use, I still had to use a riser pad to have a proper fit.
I made one phone call to my rep and realized that he was not going to help me out. So I called the New Jersey office directly. I sent them photos of my breeches (ick!) and of my horse’s back with and without the saddle and with and without me sitting in it (with the hopes that the fit issues would be clear and would not necessitate getting the rep involved – which is what happened). In a very short amount of time, I was informed that they considered my saddle defective and that they would make a new one. Once my new saddle arrived, I was told to hold onto the first one until I was sure that the new one was fine before returning the first. Devoucoux supplied me with mailing labels so I never had to pay for shipping. The new one does indeed fit (I use a half-pad but don’t need a riser, and when I’m showing I use just a shaped pad)… it still stains my breeches but not nearly as much and I’ve decided to just live with that.
I know everyone’s experience with customer service can be different. I’m much relieved that my experience with Devoucoux was without drama and was resolved to my satisfaction, as I had heard from others that it could be otherwise.
I’ve said it on other threads before so I’m not going to go into every detail, but I also have had a bad experience with Devoucoux. The saddle fit was horrible, and the customer service was aggravating (not as bad as some people that I’ve read though). Either way, I wouldn’t recommend their saddles to my worst enemy. I guess I also realized how bad Devoucoux’s CS was when I ended up getting a saddle from Voltaire. And yes, I got a hat
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