I wanted to talk about the awesomeness of X-Guard. As I said, I’ve been working on creating a patch for my own gi and my buddy Dave introduced me to this company — according to him, they make great kimonos, are fantastic people and do custom patch/rashguard work. So I drew up a design and worked on it painstakingly for a couple of months. Still, it doesn’t look like anything Meerkatsu puts together (and that’s OK with me); it’s a little rough around the edges but it’s what I wanted.
I put my order in for a couple of patches, waited a couple of days and sent an email to make sure things were all received and my gear was getting built. Here’s what I found out: Elmer, the owner of the company, is a REALLY nice guy. He called me personally to make sure I was confident in my order; to talk about the sublimation process; to talk about my experience with another gi company (see my post on Pans if you don’t know what I’m talking about) and to offer his condolences. He did not have an air of superiority; didn’t trash talk a competitor; was very honorable in how he dealt with me and really put my mind at ease.
[social][/social]Not two days later, there was a hiccup in the process and Elmer had to refund my money. See, dealing with third-party vendors can be a pain in the neck; these things sometimes happen. He apologized about the order and I thought everything was done from there.
Little did I know, Elmer would receive his merchandise and be able to create my patches. Two days later, I received an email to that effect and rejoiced! I paid for patches, resent my file and waited patiently. Got an email showing my patches right after they were made and, can I say, I was impressed! It’s awesome to see my art on something other than paper.
[bjjad][/bjjad]They shipped out, I received them and BAM! Elmer also included a third patch of my design plus some free swag. Man, this guy knows how to keep customers, even if there are bumps along the road! I can’t wait for X-Guard to design a blue kimono so that I can buy one!
Again, many thanks to Elmer for the personal touches along the way. Once I have my gi back from the tailor, pics will follow.
