Creative Industries Delivers

Just when I had about decided my CI wheel was a lemon -- and I would have to learn to live with it -- Creative Industries surprised me with a new replacement, and model upgrade to boot! I have to say this was a noble gesture, and my hat's off to them for going the extra distance.
No doubt, my original Clayboss had its share of problems, and its uncertainties were beginning to get to me. However, to be fair about this, CI did try in good faith to remedy the situation. I honestly believe both of us were the victims of a bad run of luck. Even with its problems, it seemed to me the wheel was substantial and well constructed -- well worth its price under better circumstances. I never believed the company produces shoddy products -- I only wished I had not gotten what was most likely the year's jinxed unit.
I still have not had the time to put the new wheel through its paces the way I want to. But I certainly have used it and I can honestly say I am very pleased. Plenty of power, smooth control, a solid and substantial feel -- no doubt it is a very decent potter's wheel and I look forward to running much clay over it.
I once purchased a very popular kitchen mixer, specifically for kneading bread dough. You all know the brand -- starts with a "K" and has another name starting with "A." I didn't just pop in an appliance store and buy it, I researched which model I needed based in large part on the company's own literature and recommendations. Two weeks after bringing it home it stripped a gear in its drive mechanism. Their customer service rep -- I believe they were called "customer care consultants" -- reluctantly agreed to replace the machine, but only after chastizing me for "kneading the dough far too long." She told me no bread dough should be kneaded for more than four minutes, which is absurd. She also told me she considered the failure to be the result of "customer abuse" and was so noting that in my "record." Finally, she said that because it was "customer abuse" that caused the failure, they would not be replacing the new one they were sending me, in the event it also failed. Then, just to show me who was in charge, they sent me a model with less power than the one I purchased originally -- and it was a "factory refurbish" like the reboxed items you buy at discount outlet malls -- not the premium model I bought in a department store.
I was so incensed at their arrogance I ended up in a conversation with the president of the company, who finally agreed to "buy back" the mixer and all of the accessories I had purchased for it. Since it happened ten years ago I have probably told this story to a hundred people face-to-face. I am sure I will continue telling it, and to this day I would not knowingly buy any product that company makes or sells, no matter how good their reviews and marketing might be.
All of this to underscore the difference between them and Creative Industries. Any company can ship a defective product. Even NASA has done that. It's what they do about it when it happens that counts. In my opinion Creative Industries deserves accolades for handling this glitch with professionalism, ethics and an eye to the long term.
I'll buy from them again. Bet on it...