Having read the above posts and having the benefit of Andrew and Frank down with us for a few days I asked Andrew about this case. So for all here it is.
A 6m was supplied previous to a customer and he returned under warranty with the complaint that his tubes had discoloured.
There was a thorough examination and a thorough investigation by the hypalon suppliers.
It was found that there was not a batch problem (other vsls of the same batch had no probs), that it was peculiar to this boat and in particular to specific areas. The conclusion was that the customer had cleaned with a non suitable product that had caused discolouration but not deformity.
The hypalon supplier agreed as a gesture of goodwill that they would supply material free of charge. Humber, again as a gesture, agreed that they would replace the tubes. Both parties concluded that the damage was aesthetic and that the normal 5 year fabric warranty could stand.
On that basis the customer had a new set of tubes and the old tubes were fitted to a new vessel. The boat was then offered at a discount price with noted defect and the buyer ( who regularily buys these boats, fits an engine and sells on e-bay) was aware of the discolouration problem and purchased at an according discount.
To the point of seller there was nothing underhand. Indeed Humber went past their obligations of the first customer to keep the status quo. The final seller was aware of the age of tube and hull and as such was his responsibility to sell accordingly.
Unfortunately, and this is so common, it is the assumption that if a supplier offers a replacement then there must have been a product failure. Truth be known then this is not always the case. If the customer is pleasant and genuine then often a supplier will help as they will see it easier and cheaper than aggravation and bad press. Naturaly the customer who howls from day 1 will not be so favoured !!
Humber and Quinquari have spent days discussing product control and quality. With Humber having produced over 10,000 vessels there will always be a few problems and unfortunately those are the only ones we here of. After all if all of those owners posted on this site as being happy then the forum would go into overdrive.
There are many exciting developments planned which will be up to Humber to announce but for the sake of quality control and indeed transparency these will include application of ISO 9001.
Finally on a more interesting note there was a thread recently about a Humber "submarine" ( someone took a bad wave). Well for those interested Frank did develop a submersible rib for the special forces some years ago and it worked to a depth of 10m !!
Cheers
John
www.quinquari.co.uk
