Tsonga - inferior quality materials caused product disintegration

<p>This is absurd; I definitely did not expect this kind of response.</p> <p> </p> <p>In short; one would expect a product with this kind of price tag to last for more than two years.</p> <p>If we knew this we could have acquired a pair of boots at PEP stores; even their products have a longer lifespan.</p> <p> </p> <p>I find your response pathetic to say the least; not a inch of compromise from your side!</p> <p> </p> <p>-----Original Message-----</p> <p>From: Tsonga Customercare ********** <p>Sent: Tuesday, July 4, 2017 2:37 PM</p> <p>To: ********** <p>Subject: RE: Michelle Coerecius - poor quality materials</p> <p> </p> <p>Dear Adrian</p> <p> </p> <p>The soles on your boots are no longer in production and this is the reason why it is not possible to re-sole this particular pair. If we still have the soles in stock it would be possible to offer our re-soling service to you, but unfortunately not on this pair.</p> <p> </p> <p>All our shoes and boots are sold with a care insert in the box, and if further information is required we are happy to assist.</p> <p> </p> <p>I am sorry that you are not pleased with our response Adrian, and I wish we could assist you, but unfortunately not in this instance.</p> <p> </p> <p>Kind Regards</p> <p>Xandra</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p>-----Original Message-----</p> <p>From: Adrian Coerecius ********** <p>Sent: 04 July 2017 12:24 PM</p> <p>To: Tsonga Customercare ********** <p>Subject: Re: Michelle Coerecius - poor quality materials</p> <p> </p> <p>Dear Xandra,</p> <p> </p> <p>The last paragraph indicate that I must send a mail and attach pictures? Is this not exactly what I did?</p> <p> </p> <p>If I undertand you correctly; your compensation for product failure is absolutely zero.</p> <p> </p> <p>Not even a repair?</p> <p> </p> <p>This is completely unacceptable for a reputable company such as yours.</p> <p> </p> <p>Nowhere on the packaging you receive any indication of care instructions and side effects or lifespan of raw materials? Why is that; don't you have an obligation towards the consumer to furnish this technical information and data?</p> <p> </p> <p>I am definitely not pleased with your approach towards your consumer.</p> <p> </p> <p>Regards</p> <p> </p> <p>Adrian</p> <p>Have a blessed day</p> <p> </p> <p>-----Original Message-----</p> <p>From: "Tsonga Customercare" ********** <p>Date: Tue, 4 Jul 2017 12:00:52</p> <p>To: ********** ********** <p>Subject: RE: Michelle Coerecius - poor quality materials</p> <p> </p> <p>Good Morning Adrian</p> <p> </p> <p>Thank you for getting in touch with us, and for sending the photos.</p> <p> </p> <p>Disintegration of polyurethane soles is as a result of being stored for periods of time and not being worn regularly. Disintegrating soles is considered a side effect of polyurethane, and not a manufacturing defect; we do warranty our soles for 2 years, and should a problem present within that time period we will replace the soles at no charge. If a problem occurs outside of the warranty time frame, and we still have the soles in production, we will replace the soles at our re-soling price.</p> <p> </p> <p>The boots you sent photos of were last produced by Tsonga approx. 8-10 years ago and the soles are no longer in production, so unfortunately it will not be possible to re-sole these boots.</p> <p> </p> <p>Should you have any problems on our shoes please send through an email and photos and we will certainly assist wherever possible.</p> <p> </p> <p>Kind Regards</p> <p>Xandra</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p>-----Original Message-----</p> <p>From: ********** ********** <p>Sent: 03 July 2017 11:45 PM</p> <p>To: ********** <p>Subject: Michelle Coerecius - poor quality materials</p> <p> </p> <p>To whom it may concern:</p> <p> </p> <p>Tsonga is synonymous with quality footwear in the marketplace. Over the years my wife bought a wide range of your products at huge expense. It served her well until the recent winter when she had to dispose of two pairs of her boots.</p> <p> </p> <p>Both pairs had exactly the same defect or rather weak spot where the upper meet the sole. It is without a doubt that this do not point to poor craftman or workmanship but rather to inferior raw materials used in the manufacturing of the sole that is the rootcause of the failure.</p> <p> </p> <p>From the pictures it is evident that the footwear was not abused but rather a case of premature failure of materials. Any polymer used for this application must be made from virgin materials or a rubber additive must be mixed in to prevent material going brittle, and this will result in a prolonged lifespan. I assume for this specific application a polyurethane was used. The only way this could have happened was if the product was made with uncontrolled recycled materials which could have been contaminated or it is the standard and was approved by the manufacturer or reseller for this application. The latter if true would have resulted in extensive failures.</p> <p>How do I know this; because I am a plastician by trade and study polymers for the plastic industry. I have been in the polymer industry for 27 years and have extensive experience in thermoforming, injection and blowmoulding.</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p>I am sure that this is not the first complaint of this nature. In order to increase the longevity of the product it is recommended that you use virgin materials only even if this means increasing your selling price. Your customer base will be severely affected if you do not take corrective measures.</p> <p> </p> <p>Further to this I would like to request replacement pairs of size 4 boots.</p> <p>Unfortunately my wife only have the one pair left and disposed of the other "disintegrated" pair with the start of the winter. Your are more than welcome to collect at your earliest convenience for your own investigations and analysis. If you want I can send it to the lab or CPUT (Dr Johan Fourie</p> <p>- currently at Q-tec or John Byett - polymer research) for the materials to be tested.</p> <p> </p> <p>Please advise</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p>Kind Regards</p> <p>Adrian Coerecius</p> ********** <p> ********** </p> <p> </p> <p>Alternatively you can contact me at my workplace- Alpine Injection Moulding</p> <p>( ********** )</p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p> </p> <p>---</p> <p>This email has been checked for viruses by AVG.</p> <p>http://www.avg.com</p>