post-rant response

hey, i got mail back from some yarn companies! of course i got a couple of notes from people who i sent thank-you’s to, but i also got some great notes from companies i complained to. southwest trading company contaced me very quickly to help reparations for a problem i had with their karaoke yarn. rowan international contacted me for more information, in order to try to get to the bottom of another issue i had with their kid classic yarn.

AANNND . . . . .drum roll . . . . . the Noro rep from knitting fever, inc contacted me this morning with interest. he said that noro is very eager to get to the bottom of the problems that i found with their yarns. they would like to collect offending samples, photos, or whatever documentation can be provided.

please PLEASE please consider making an effort in this direction. here is the full story, starting with my first email (which went to both noro and KFI), and how you can help:

dear noro representative,

i am writing to let you know about my disappointment in the quality of your (quite expensive) yarns. almost every ball of noro yarn that i purchase and use has knots in it, as well as a quantity of unwanted vegetation. i have seen balls of noro with SO MANY knots, that that they were rendered useless. one friend even had a ball with a knot that was 4 inches from the end!

in addition, the knotted yarn does not continue the proper color sequence that is characteristic of some noro lines, such as silk garden or kureyon. this results in large areas of the same color, or an odd repeat of a color where it shouldn’t be. also, some balls which have many knots do not contain all the colors that are SUPPOSED to be included in the sequence.

i teach knitting, and many of my students have given up the use of noro yarns for the above reasons. though the product is quite beautiful, it is felt that your company uses the beauty of the fiber to sell something which has substandard construction.

i hope you will take this criticism to heart and work to improve the quality of the (high-priced) goods you are selling.

sincerely,
anne hanson
knitspot.com

Dear Anne,

We have contacted Noro and they are very concerned about the issue you raise. They would like the opportunity to trace the problem to its source in order to eliminate it in the future. Would it be possible for you to send us one of the skeins in question? Noro would like us to forward that to them to help them in this process of improvement.

Thank you for your comments and cooperation.
Regards,

Jeffrey J. Denecke Jr.
Manager of Operations
Euro Yarns (… a division of KFI)
(516) 546-3600 x-536

dear Mr. Denecke,

thank you for your prompt reply to my email. i appreciate it!

i will look into your request after work today and get back to you; i’m not sure i have any noro in the house right now, but i certainly know a couple of other people who have kept examples of the problem.

will pictures and a ball band be enough information, or do you actually need the ball of yarn? if you need the actual yarn in question, please let me know where we should send it.

thank you, and have a good weekend!
anne hanson
knitspot.com

Pictures are good – but we would prefer the actual ball of yarn.

Attn: Jeff Denecke
Noro Problem
c/o KFI
PO Box 336
Amityville, NY 11701
Regards,

Jeffrey J. Denecke Jr.
Manager of Operations
Euro Yarns (… a division of KFI)
(516) 546-3600 x-536

i’m just a little annoyed that they have to see “actual yarn”, instead of just taking our word for it, but i’m glad they at least show interest in doing something.

so please, again, if you have knotty noro laying around, take a little time to stick it in an envelope with your name and contact information, and send it to mr. denecke. i would be thrilled if he got a big batch of knots in his mail next week.

and, you never know—it may come back to you two-fold (though hopefully sans knots!)

and now, let’s end on a sweet note! it needs a press and the ends woven in, but it’s done
. . . . . . second drum roll . . . .