Thread: Demo Disaster!

Right, so what does one do when a pen stops working in front of a customer?

I had a special order for a BOW pen. I made two types for them to chose from. A chrome Baron II, and a Black Titanium Cigar. The Cigar I only just finished this morning.

While demo'ing the Cigar, they were commenting that the ink in the rollerball was nicer than the Parker, which it is, but they liked the Cigar as being more functional, and I'd given it a CA finish, whereas the Baron had a Shellawax.

So, I says, I'll give you the best of both worlds, but replacing the Parker refill with a Gel refill, and that's when the trouble started. I put the gel in, put the pen back together, and the refill wouldn't come out. Pulled it apart again, put the original refill in, and then realised the mechanism isn't turning!

Luckily this was at home, so after mumbling about giving me 5 minutes, off I go to find a spare Cigar kit which, luckily, I had. I replaced the stuck mechanism with a new one, and everyone was happy. Gave them the original refill to keep as well, and they also bought a deluxe velvet case to present it in.

Someone else there also bought one of my stock Streamlines, and an order for a better one in a few weeks, and also an order for another similar to the Cigar.

So, overall a good outcome, but man, how silly do I feel, when they're all standing their gushing about the beautiful pens, and then the darn thing doesn't work!

Anyone else care to share their horror stories and how they coped?

Russell.