04.16.09
Patagonia: Ironclad and Going Strong
“I live for the moment. I’m basically a Buddhist-type person. I’m just here right now, and I don’t think about what’s going to happen a hundred years from now. I try to concentrate on what’s going on right now. But I’m really trying to run this company like it is going to be here a hundred years from now. That’s what’s important.”
— Yvon Chouinard, founder of Patagonia.
I’ve long subscribed to the philosophy that my father instilled in me long ago, when I was brash and I wanted more, more, more: “You buy one good thing and you buy it once.” The principle has stayed with me, not always, but most of the time. I tend to study potential purchases and brands based on quality, longevity, usefulness and what sort of life the product will have and how long it may stay in my possession. Usually, this means you pay more for the product but how much more content are you when you got what you really wanted rather than the knockoff, imitator or cheaper version that you know you’ll be more likely to throw out, pass on or abuse? With higher quality, scarcer quantity and generally that higher price tag, comes a responsibility and cherishing of the product or service. You pay for what you get, yes?
One of the brands I’ve longed believed in is Patagonia. The outdoor-active-lifestyle apparel company has remained a constant of quality and quiet innovation. They do what they do well and stand by what they make.
I own a few Patagonia pieces. Not that many, but a few key items I’ve purchased over the years. There’s a simple reason for this despite my lust for many of their products: the stuff lasts.
In 2001, I bought my first ever Patagonia piece. A simple black zip-up mid-layer, which was an early incarnation of the R1 and R4 pullovers. This is probably the oldest piece of clothing I have. Apart from a few small micro-tears near the collar and a slight bit of stretch, the piece still looks relatively new. After a good wash, it looks brand new. It’s remarkable. At the time, I bought it on sale. It was something like $120 new but the local REI had a winter sale and I bought the piece for $70. It was a lot of money then. I was still living like a college student, having graduated six months prior. But I felt that it was the piece. After 8 years of solid duty, it’s still going strong. It’s been with me all over the country and is an extremely versatile piece. I’ve worn it dressed up, dressed down, on the bike, off the bike and everywhere in between. In fact, I’m wearing it right now.
Chicago’s winters are hard. For a few years in the mid-aughts, we had mild winters but in the past three years, they’ve perhaps returned to their prior demeanour — vicious, biting and bone-chilling. Jen and I both needed to gear up to deal with this past winter and needed new jackets. I own a variety of jackets but have never owned a proper down jacket, or what I like to call “puffer jackets.” Jen has neither. Knowing that we were in for a rough winter and being tired of the cold, we invested in the Down Sweater (hers being the female but knee-length trench version). Not particularly cheap but considering the going rate for many of these jackets from outdoor apparel manufacturers and being filled with down as well as coming from a company such as Patagonia who have healthy environmental and business philosophies, a deal. The jackets served us very well this past winter and we’ve been pleased beyond belief.
A few days ago, I accidentally, through no direct fault of my own, put a tear in the sleeve of the jacket at the elbow. After the initial alarm and disappointment wore off, I remembered that Patagonia has what they call the “Ironclad Guarantee.”
We guarantee everything we make. If you are not satisfied with one of our products at the time you receive it, or if one of our products does not perform to your satisfaction, return it to the store you bought it from or to Patagonia for a repair, replacement or refund. Damage due to wear and tear will be repaired at a reasonable charge.
Jen has had a prior dealing with Patagonia when the zipper of a zip-up she had broke after a year. They replaced it on the spot, in the store with a new one. We were quite stunned. She still wears this piece.
This morning, I rode down to the local Patagonia store with my jacket, hoping to get it repaired. I walked into the store and told the sales associate my story. She listened and told me that they can definitely get it repaired at no cost and that it would take 6-8 weeks. Ack. I explained to her that that would be difficult as I was relocating to San Francisco in just a few weeks. She kindly suggested bringing it to the store there instead and I was pleased with this as a solution. Though, she then said, “Y’know what? You could see if we have it in the store in your size. The only thing is that we no longer make this colour. If you want to do that, we can just replace it on the spot.”
While I loved the Espresso colour of the jacket, I felt that this was an option I could do. She guided me to the back of the store and there they were, “…in brighter colours this year.” There was black. There was my size, an XS. I picked it up and told her it was all good.
Under normal circumstances, I would have been happy to have my jacket sent off to be repaired — spring is here and the need for a winter jacket is no longer a necessity and so 6-8 weeks would have been perfectly fine. But with moving across country, it was one less thing I wanted to worry about.
Patagonia came through yet again and has been doing so for years. There’s a story in Yvon Chouinard’s book, “Let My People Go Surfing“ about how a longtime customer of theirs came in to get a pair of pants repaired. Apparently they were beyond repair, holes and all, and they suggested she replace it with a newer version, now decades apart. She said no and was happy to pay for Patagonia to remake the piece. Patagonia looked up the old pattern, sourced a similar material from their archives and did just that.
That’s customer service. That’s how you build brand loyalty. That’s how you become one of the best.
