I just ordered a medium-sized blue
Har-Vest for Glindy. It's
too early to comment on the product itself, but I wanted to say
something about the exceptional customer service I got from the
owner, Rachel.
I'd contacted the folks at Har-Vest by email and phone because I
was having a great deal of difficulty figuring out what size to
order for Glindy. As I've mentioned before, she's a bit of an
in-between size, and seems to come out a bit differently every time
I apply the measuring tape.
The sizing problem is compounded by the fact that Har-Vest is going
through a product transition, and different parts of the web site
have different sizing instructions depending on whether they're
referring to the old or the new vest. For example, the brochure
asks you to measure girth and chest size, while the ordering page
asks for girth and torso length. I couldn't figure out what to do,
so I called Har-Vest directly.
It was dinner time on the west coast when I called, and Har-Vest is
a few hours ahead, so I fully expected to end up leaving a
voicemail. Instead, I got an answer from a real (but unidentified)
person. I'm always confused when people don't answer the phone with
the name of the business, and usually assume I've got a wrong
number if people just say "Hello?" when they pick up the
phone.
Anyway, once I'd established that I
had in fact reached
Har-Vest, I explained my confusion about sizing to Rachel. She was
very patient with me, and we worked everything out to my
satisfaction.
It turns out that "in-between" dogs are fairly common, so the new
Har-Vest comes with some standard pack sizes, but with a larger
range of interchangeable straps. Each vest comes complete with a
set of straps, but ordering a second set in a slightly different
size is only nine dollars more. I asked Rachel to bill me for the
second set of straps, and will mail back whichever set doesn't fit
Glindy properly for a refund. So, for the cost of postage and a
temporary outlay of a very reasonable $9, I can avoid all the
back-and-forthing that ordering for hard-to-fit dogs usually
entails.
Har-Vest ships via USPS Priority Mail, so my new vest will be here
by the middle of next week. I'm excited to try it out, and can't
wait to report back about whether the no-pull straps are more
effective with Glindy than our current setup.
In the meantime, I wanted to let people know about the great
customer experience I had. Rachel seemed to really care about the
disabled community, and really went out of her way to ensure that I
was taken care of properly. If the vest itself is even half as good
as the customer service, I think Glindy and I will both be very
happy.