HydroFlask has changed it's policy for the worse

[carmelhp]

“Be kind to everyone on the way up; you’ll meet the same people on the way down.“

 

[aykna]

I know this won't be a popular opinion but I will still support them mostly because, as others have pointed out, they do have a good product and they have grown, which is great. Not every company makes it and I don't want to contribute to that when I still like the product. I'm sure even the DIS or Dreams has made discussions that seem odd and people don't like, like most companies out there.

 

[DisneyKevin]

I know this won't be a popular opinion but I will still support them mostly because, as others have pointed out, they do have a good product and they have grown, which is great. Not every company makes it and I don't want to contribute to that when I still like the product. I'm sure even the DIS or Dreams has made discussions that seem odd and people don't like, like most companies out there.

We've never turned away a guest that has booked with us previously.

Customer retention is a huge part of any business. Most companies spend fortunes to not only get you business, but more importantly to keep you business. Businesses do not survive on "one time" sales.

Hydro Flask has done exactly the opposite. They have refused the business of a loyal supporter and early adopter.

I won't support this decision and I will tell everyone I can why.

As always, you should make your own decisions.

 

[DVC Kathy]

DH and I even sent Hydroflasks to our Backstage Magic Adventure Guides after our July, 2014 trip. Summer Rose had been intrigued by mine.

I was sort of hoping that ABD would start giving those out instead of the cute (and mostly useless) water bottles they give out. The cost is nowhere near the same, but....

Unless someone asks, I won't be telling people about hydroflasks. I'll look for alternatives for the future. This makes me sad.

Kathy

 

[NedsTJ]

I'm surprised they didn't just say, "Sorry, you can't buy direct from us now, but let us put you in contact with our distributor and work from there...".

 

[disneysteve]

I know this won't be a popular opinion but I will still support them mostly because, as others have pointed out, they do have a good product and they have grown, which is great. Not every company makes it and I don't want to contribute to that when I still like the product.

I don't really understand your point here. Do you think it is okay to alienate a great customer who has resulted in you getting thousands of dollars of business and wishes to continue to foster that relationship? I don't care if they hit the "big time" and got a national retailer on board. That's great for them, but it's still no reason to turn away their existing customers. If not for those existing customers, they wouldn't be where they are today.

 

[aykna]

I don't really understand your point here. Do you think it is okay to alienate a great customer who has resulted in you getting thousands of dollars of business and wishes to continue to foster that relationship? I don't care if they hit the "big time" and got a national retailer on board. That's great for them, but it's still no reason to turn away their existing customers. If not for those existing customers, they wouldn't be where they are today.

My point isn't that it's ok to alienate your customer, but it is ok to make deals and grow your business. Unfortunately, sometimes this might happen. I guess I was being a bit of a devil's advocate.

Others are allowed to say that they are no longer giving them their business, I am allowed to say I will still do so. I thought I could give my opinion on the matter from a different point of view. I don't agree with no longer giving them business, in this case, just because they won't deal with the DIS.

 

[Allison]

My point isn't that it's ok to alienate your customer, but it is ok to make deals and grow your business. Unfortunately, sometimes this might happen. I guess I was being a bit of a devil's advocate.

Others are allowed to say that they are no longer giving them their business, I am allowed to say I will still do so. I thought I could give my opinion on the matter from a different point of view. I don't agree with no longer giving them business, in this case, just because they won't deal with the DIS.

Thank you for sharing your point of view.

 

[DisneyKevin]

My point isn't that it's ok to alienate your customer, but it is ok to make deals and grow your business. Unfortunately, sometimes this might happen. I guess I was being a bit of a devil's advocate.

Others are allowed to say that they are no longer giving them their business, I am allowed to say I will still do so. I thought I could give my opinion on the matter from a different point of view. I don't agree with no longer giving them business, in this case, just because they won't deal with the DIS.

You are welcome to your opinion and welcome to share it here.

That being said, anyone is welcome to disagree and explain why.

I disagree and have explained why I will do everything I can to let everyone I know that I think this is a rotten and short sighted decision.

 

[GAN]

I'm surprised they didn't just say, "Sorry, you can't buy direct from us now, but let us put you in contact with our distributor and work from there...".

I agree. I realize it is not a popular decision for the former supporters here, but from a business standpoint they did what they felt was in their best interest. At some point, manufacturers' are better served by using distributors -not exactly sure if that is the case here, but it's not a new model. It becomes almost unmanageable to try supporting a high level of "direct" sales for a national/international company. Why handle sales(and all its potential problems; defects, shipping issues, etc.) for 1,000,000 individual customers when you can hire a number of Representatives to manage that portion of business for you. Then you can concentrate on what you may be best at -manufacturing, marketing, etc. It stinks, and they should have tried to assist their larger users -probably something they should have thought about ahead of time.

 

[Tink rules]

Kevin...just wondering...did hydroflask do the custom printing on them for you? Otherwise...it makes no sense that they can't just ship a certain amount to you at the amount you contracted for... it makes no sense to turn away sales...that would be like the shop in Saratoga I saw them in not being able to get the ones that they sell...shouldn't a distributor be able to fill an order for you?

 

[DisneyKevin]

Hydro Flask customized the bottles at out expense.

No one has ever suggested that we buy them through another outlet. We have just been told that we can't buy them.

As for buying them from another retailer...try ordering 1000 of anything from LL Bean.

 

[jcb]

I agree. I realize it is not a popular decision for the former supporters here, but from a business standpoint they did what they felt was in their best interest. At some point, manufacturers' are better served by using distributors -not exactly sure if that is the case here, but it's not a new model. It becomes almost unmanageable to try supporting a high level of "direct" sales for a national/international company. Why handle sales(and all its potential problems; defects, shipping issues, etc.) for 1,000,000 individual customers when you can hire a number of Representatives to manage that portion of business for you. Then you can concentrate on what you may be best at -manufacturing, marketing, etc. It stinks, and they should have tried to assist their larger users -probably something they should have thought about ahead of time.

After the first sentence, this just sounds like a nice way of saying that they got too big for their britches.

 

[DisneyKingpin]

I know how I feel about it. Let him know what you think

We are just talking about a water bottle, right?

Don't sweat the small stuff.

That's what I think.

 

[GAN]

After the first sentence, this just sounds like a nice way of saying that they got too big for their britches.

Yeah ....many companies do!

 

[Disneybridein2k3]

We are just talking about a water bottle, right?

Don't sweat the small stuff.

That's what I think.

On the surface, it is just a water bottle but we are a pretty passionate group with strong opinions. You may not want to say anything because it's just a water bottle but to me, it's a company who grew on the back of consumers that were willing to give them free advertising before they had contracts w/ the likes of LL Bean and now they thumb their noses at those same customers. It's a principle, not just a water bottle. But that's just what I think.

 

[disneysteve]

I wonder if LL Bean made them sign some type of exclusivity agreement. You see stuff like that all the time. "Available exclusively at ... (insert name of store here)"

 

[GAN]

On the surface, it is just a water bottle but we are a pretty passionate group with strong opinions. You may not want to say anything because it's just a water bottle but to me, it's a company who grew on the back of consumers that were willing to give them free advertising before they had contracts w/ the likes of LL Bean and now they thumb their noses at those same customers. It's a principle, not just a water bottle. But that's just what I think.

And probably for them, many of those passionate, good customers were NOT members of our group -meaning they still have hundreds/thousands of customers that weren't affected by this decision at all. I don't know the numbers, but how many tens/hundreds of thousands of these bottles have they sold in the past year or so? The fact is, they have a darn good product with possibly thousands who have yet to discover. It is our right as a group to just stop buying from them. I think the passion shown in this thread shows just how good the product is ...and it's frustrating!

 

[Tink rules]

Hydro Flask customized the bottles at out expense.

No one has ever suggested that we buy them through another outlet. We have just been told that we can't buy them.

As for buying them from another retailer...try ordering 1000 of anything from LL Bean.

I wouldn't suggest buying anything retail... although with a good discount and free shipping... (I'm kidding ok!!! )

 

[Anonny]

Maybe this company would work with you. They have a similar product.

http://www.swellbottle.com