my experience with ll bean

The following article should have been sent out last night. But, as I sometimes discover computers have a mind of their own.

NOW FOR L.L. BEAN

Bean is also in my opinion based on my experience with them is also “disingenuous”; see yesterdays article for the dictionary definition.

In I believe 1987 I read a very extensive article in the N.Y. Times about bean and they interviewed Leon Gorman grandson of L.L. He spoke glowingly about how they strive to sell the “best” products available.

I chose to write directly to him about my sleeping bags, and I recommended that he get one or two so the testers at bean could find out how good they are etc. etc. etc. Not only did he not respond to my suggestion he never responded to my letter. This initial contact took place when I was still located in S.C. When I was now located in Grand Junction they did buy one or two bags. That did not bring any further results however I did receive a call about them wanting to return 12 Ultra-Light bags that I did not know they had purchased. It seems a woman employee of the bean company bought with a bean credit card possibly the bags. When my office manager received the call about the return she turned it over to me because of the quantity and the fact that it was a company purchase. Seems she ordered 6 right zip and 6 left zip bags. My response was “sorry you cannot return them”.

A few years later a very good friend who produced jackets for them while visiting them asked why they didn’t look into buying from me; the buyers response was “Wiggy’s is a cult”. I did not realize being the largest producer of a product in the world categorizes one to be a cult. So I am a cult and proud of it.

Like rei ll bean is a retailer of “no sleep sleeping bags” which means they do not sell sleeping bags. They did not sell the “best” with respect to sleeping bags in 1987 when Leon was the president of the company and they have yet to make any changes in all these years.

They have just tied themselves up with fiberfill products for insulation that do not work, have never worked or will ever work such as primaloft. The bean company has used the primaloft extremely unsuccessfully since the late 1980’s but they still chose to stay with it regardless of the primaloft’s in ability to do what the primaloft company has claimed for years, that is to be a viable form of insulation for use in sleeping bags and bean has bought into their nonsense. It has never worked for that purpose and bean just keeps pushing it.

When companies simply offer one product based upon erroneous information doesn’t that suggest that they are doing the same thing with other products that they sell? I think yes!!!

I called bean and inquired if they had a mission statement, and I was told to go to a certain link. I went there and found they do not have a mission statement but statements about how many things they are involved with to promote slapping themselves on their back. I thought possibly they would say something to the effect that they strive to offer the best products etc. None exists!

There is one more well-known company in the state of Maine that I had a nasty deal with; Kittery Trading Post. They placed an order with me for 50 Ultra-Light sleeping bags. They had on the order that I was to ship the bags on a specific date. They were boxed, labeled and ready to be picked up the following day the day scheduled to ship when I received a phone call from the buyer. He told me not to ship because they cancelled the order. I said would mr. kittery like to know what you have just done and that was the end of any further communication with them. That was sometime in the early 1990’s. Since I am mentioning this company I went to their web site to see what supposed sleeping bags they sell. A variety of “no sleep sleeping bags” just like all the rest of the retailers who believe they sell sleeping bags. Kittery is as disingenuous as bean and rei.

Maybe disingenuous is rampant with outdoor retailers in Maine, just a thought.

While I have no regrets today having been rejected by rei, ll bean or kittery the truth is they all continue to lose money selling the “no sleep sleeping bags”. I believe and have believed that “sleeping bags” have always been a loose leader product in the outdoor industry for many, many years. As such they continue to latch on to any component that will potentially give them a product that will work. In doing so they the retailers take the promotional moneys from companies like primaloft who think they have insulation. The primaloft people are delusional in their thinking. These retailers as far as I am concerned can say anything they want, but I do not believe they care about the consumers.