Customer service is not dead.

About 2.5 years ago, my husband accidentally broke my $40 plastic ball winder. It had some flaws, the all plastic construction being one of them (there was no way to fix the broken one without causing it to stop turning, which would have rendered it decorative rather than functional). Instead, I decided to upgrade to a Strauch Jumbo Ball Winder because they’re handmade from wood and metal and the price was reasonable for the materials and craftsmanship. Also, it winds up to one pound balls!! So I ordered it, and anxiously anticipated the balls I would wind.

When it arrived, it didn’t work. Yarn would slip off the center post during winding and create a yarn barfy mess. I chalked it up to user error for awhile but after a year I still couldn’t make it work. I emailed Strauch and within twenty-four hours had received support both via email and telephone. The company diagnosed my problem and told me that if I would just ship the winder to them they would repair or replace it and ship it back to me. Fast forward 13 months. I still had not shipped the winder to them, so I sent another email asking if I could still send it off to them. Again, within twenty-four hours they had responded with “Of course! We were wondering what happened to you!”

I packed it and took it to UPS on the evening of January 11th. It arrived in Virginia on January 18th and was repaired and shipped back to me on the 19th. Yes, they fixed it the same day it arrived with them. It arrived back with me yesterday and I am so pleased to report that it works perfectly. I wound a ball and it was a. super fast and b. super easy. No frustrating slippage. I’m so pleased that I chose to spend my money with them, because it’s been an investment well worth making. And now, I need to find a 1 pound skein to wind. Giant yarn balls, here I come!