Your thoughts on OneBlade

sorry about that quick post earlier..I was about to work out and grab dinner...

Tod couldn't tell me much about these new changes or what the patents were for as it's confidential until the patents are secured, I assume. From my understanding, these new changes to the razors will start shipping next Wednesday...I assume that's when the patents are expected to be handed out...?

I asked Tod to call me on Wednesday afternoon when he's at liberty to more freely discuss these changes. He did assure me that the new razors should not have any blade smile or rough markings on the steel...

I mentioned to Tod that even though I got 2 defective razors, much better customer service could of at least helped to calm the waters until the situation was remedied...

here's the email that Tod sent to me after our call for full disclosure:

Andrew,

Per our call just now, I will give you a call next Wednesday afternoon at which time I will be able to explain the changes that we have made to our razor. Once again, I apologize for the way I have handled your account and I hope that we will be able to change your perception of our company and our razor.

Sincerely,

Tod

Andrew, I'm so happy to hear that they reached out to you. As I've said before, I've had several communications with the company,-and with Tod-and they have been unfailingly helpful to me. I know you had a rough experience, but it just didn't make sense that they wouldn't make it right for you.

I'm relieved that you got a personal phone call from the CEO, and I hope they resolve this to your satisfaction. Please keep us posted.

Ordinarily I would hope the same, Michael.   However, after all that Andrew has gone through, with both flawed razors and attempting to contact the company, isn't it interesting that the CEO calls after andrewjs18 starts a chargeback dispute with PayPal?

I sincerely hope you are right about this but at this point I have to wonder how they would make this better.  Finally getting a decent razor to him or giving him a full refund is the right thing to do but should have been done some time ago.  That does not, in itself, make the situation better.  Perhaps the OneBlade folks will come up with a very satisfactory solution.  After all of the bad faith they seemed to have built for themselves it really is time to turn themselves around in both word and deed.

If me, I'd refund the money in full and send a flawless non-rev unit out for Andrew to keep. Definitely interested to see how this unfolds.

I give him no credit for making a call. It has taken Andrew, head of one of the big shave forums, tremendous trouble to get anything. He gets a call after disputing charges with PayPal.

I'm with bakerbarber on the patent comments. The razor didn't need to be changed. It just needed to be manufactured per the initial designs. It's like when the CEO sent the email saying they were changing to a different metal to be stronger. They were already using the same steel used in orthopedic implants, which is plenty strong.

The OneBlade people simply don't have the mindset to be in the high end luxury goods business.

I give him no credit for making a call. It has taken Andrew, head of one of the big shave forums, tremendous trouble to get anything. He gets a call after disputing charges with PayPal.

I'm with bakerbarber on the patent comments. The razor didn't need to be changed. It just needed to be manufactured per the initial designs. It's like when the CEO sent the email saying they were changing to a different metal to be stronger. They were already using the same steel used in orthopedic implants, which is plenty strong.

The OneBlade people simply don't have the mindset to be in the high end luxury goods business.

I agree. I also don't think it should matter who the customer is. At $300 for a razor the customer service has been absolutely terrible.


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In my view, these folks are better suited to be in a business such as time share or used car sales.

Or insurance...

Andrew, I'm so happy to hear that they reached out to you. As I've said before, I've had several communications with the company,-and with Tod-and they have been unfailingly helpful to me. I know you had a rough experience, but it just didn't make sense that they wouldn't make it right for you.

I'm relieved that you got a personal phone call from the CEO, and I hope they resolve this to your satisfaction. Please keep us posted.

Ordinarily I would hope the same, Michael.   However, after all that Andrew has gone through, with both flawed razors and attempting to contact the company, isn't it interesting that the CEO calls after andrewjs18 starts a chargeback dispute with PayPal?

I sincerely hope you are right about this but at this point I have to wonder how they would make this better.  Finally getting a decent razor to him or giving him a full refund is the right thing to do but should have been done some time ago.  That does not, in itself, make the situation better.  Perhaps the OneBlade folks will come up with a very satisfactory solution.  After all of the bad faith they seemed to have built for themselves it really is time to turn themselves around in both word and deed.

Freddy, I completely agree. Should have been put in motion the same day the defective razor was returned, and Andrew should have been given the option of a prompt, cheerful refund or replacement. If this had happened to me, and I couldn't get in touch with the company, I'd be pretty upset.

This is in no way intended to excuse the delay, but I wonder if they were really jammed up with the new design and patents. Intellectual property rights and the attendant law can be very complex and take a long time to get sorted out. Again, it's not an excuse, but I wonder if Andrew's issue just fell through the cracks.

If this happened with a customer of mine, I'd take the approach that kwsher suggested: A refund AND a new style razor to say sorry for dropping the ball.  I always try to put myself in a customer's shoes and ask how do I rebuild trust after a screw up? First apologize. OK, Tod did that. Then, something, a concrete gesture, showing that I'm willing to go the extra mile to make the customer not just satisfied but very happy with the experience in spite of everything. It's good business, because with the web and social media, one disgruntled customer can cost a company much more than the cost of a razor.

To be fair, that's the kind of service I received from the company which is why I'm so surprised this happened in the first place.

I'll keep everyone updated on the situation when I speak to Tod on Wednesday afternoon.

Well, thanks to a very generous member of the forum who lives in the same city as I do, I’ve had the opportunity to spend some time using the OneBlade, and thought I’d share my experience so far.

Although the shaves with the OneBlade have largely been care-free, I have found that if I try to “ride the pivot” too hard (or just apply too much pressure in general), it is possible to get some irritation using even this razor. My best shaves have been the ones where I apply the same principles I would apply with any other double-edge or single-edge razor. That being said, it is clear that a lot of thought has gone into the shape and angle of the razor head, and it is easy and natural to shave with the OneBlade. I do not find it to be too mild of a razor. (And I have had other razors that definitely were just that.)

So far, I have used a Feather FHS blade for four shaves. I felt like I could easily have gotten 1–2 more shaves out of the blade, so even though these blades are costly (relatively speaking), they are definitely good for more than the manufacturer recommended number of shaves.

I have also used a de-spined Personna Gem PTFE blade for one shave so far. It’s interesting how the Gem blade behaves just like a Gem blade — even in this modern razor. The sound and feel are similar to shaves with a Gem razor. I think I might prefer the Feather blade by the thinnest margin, but that could change. De-spining the Gem blades is a bit of a hassle, but so is cleaning the glue/wax off a brand-new Feather blade. I know that’s not a mandatory step, but the Feather blade was just so massively sticky that I simply did not have the heart to insert it into the OneBlade as-is.

All in all, I have really enjoyed my shaves with this razor. It is perhaps not quite the “unicorn razor” I thought it might be. I still have to take my time and be relatively careful if I want a good shave. But I do applaud the design and craftsmanship of this piece of equipment. And I hope that the company gets its manufacturing and customer service issues sorted out. It will be interesting to see what new changes or products they intend to introduce in the future.

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No update?