Wednesday, August 31, 2016

Carrot Stix 2.0


Customer service driving force in branding of new Carrot Stix.

By Luigi De Rose

At the recent 2016 ICAST SHOW a distinct booth, a distinctively orange booth seemed busier than most. The blazed orange of Carrot Stix rods gained constant attention throughout the show and warranted a closer look. Aware of success years back, I was curious of their new gear. 

In 2007, Carrot Stix launched their Carrot Orange rods and won an unprecedented 3 ICAST Best of Show categories. At the time, these rods were ground breaking with the introduction of Nano-technology, micro guides and feather light weight. Within a few years the rod company was in trouble then disappeared. In 2014, the company was bought and they were back into the fishing game.

Interested in more information, I sat down with Matt Ki, VP of Operations for Carrot Stix.

IBASSIN:
Hi Matt, thanks for taking the time to tell us more about Carrot Stix.

MATT:
No problem. The booth is a bit quieter now. Yeah, Carrot Stix has 6 lines of spinning and casting rods plus several saltwater and specialty rods along with our brand new 2 speed spinning reel and casting reel. We’re really excited about the 2 speed spinning reel. We’re getting a lot of positive feedback. 

IBASSIN:
Please tell me more about the company? Is it under new ownership?
MATT:
In 2014 it was bought and relaunched. We are steadily building back the business. The past owners left the company in bad shape.

IBASSIN:
Yeah, Carrot Stix was popular then it died out. What happened?
MATT:
The problem was poor warranties and customer service. The real problem was that the factory they used cheated. Instead of hand winding the guides they used a machine which probably wrapped too forcefully creating a weak spot on the blank. So, they shipped out a bad batch of rods without knowing the problem existed.  It seemed that all the rods were breaking between the 2nd and 3rd guide. Instead of honouring their products, they were worrying about all the money they were losing by replacing the broken rods. It tarnished the brand. 


IBASSIN:
Are those problems solved?
MATT:
Yeah, our quality control is very high. In 2014, before we sold a single rod we honoured 3 years of back warranty issues. It took a whole year but we wanted to start with a clean slate. We didn’t want customers worrying and we wanted to tell our customers that we’re serious about service and we stand behind our products. 

IBASSIN:
What is the warranty?
MATT:
We think we have the best warranty in the business. We will replace any rod quickly and we don’t even ask you to send it to us. A photo of the product is good enough. All we ask is the customer to pay a set shipping price of $49.95 regardless where they live. So, anglers who live in smaller towns or remote locations are not saddled with extra costs.  

IBASSIN:
Please explain the line of rods Carrot Stix offers.
MATT:
Our highest end rod is the GEN-X Elite series. They offer an all new blank weave, making the whole rod ultra-light and sensitive. It comes with 5A grade cork handles. They also have the new MicroWave Guide System with its solid titanium frame.
Then we have the Wild Wild Pro which are amazing and a bit cheaper in price than the Gen –X. The Wild Wild Green is perfect for saltwater and the guides are a tad larger for guys who use larger Fluorocarbon or mono leaders. The knots slide through these guide easier. The Wild Wild Black and Wild Wild Orange are both high end freshwater rods that offer great strength and durability at a reasonable price. The Orange is only $149 US and it offers semi-micro guides, a black PVA handle plus they weigh less than 80 grams! For the price and the balance, a rod of this calibre usually retails for a lot more. 

IBASSIN:
Thanks. Are they available in most stores?
MATT:
We have been signing new dealers at this show and we already have many dealers who are stocking them. Tackle Warehouse has them. In Canada, you can purchase them directly from CSI http://csisports.ca/index.html but they will be in larger retailers such as SAIL shortly. 

IBASSIN:
Thanks for your time.
MATT: 
 My pleasure. Take some time and hang out in the booth. If you have any questions just ask.


No comments:

Post a Comment