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.
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.
