Well I finally got my Patagonia jacket back! It took a while, but that is 99% my fault (sorry readers!). I wrote the original post (Patagonia: Repair Process) on January 15th, but did not actually send the jacket out until March 14th. I had a few questions in mind when I wrote the original post, such as would I be charged for the repair, if so how much, If it needed to replaced how much would they credit my old jacket, and how long will this process take? I now have a few answers to share.
I sent the jacket out for repair on March 14th using USPS. Using the tracking and confirmation option offered by USPS I it was received by Patagonia on the 17th. On their site they state that they will try to have your items back to you in 20 days, but that they may get backlogged. They did a good job in this area in my opinion as I had the jacket back in my hands in 37 days. The only thing that could have really improved this part of the process was an email letting me know that they had received my jacket and whether or not they would be able to fix it.
To their credit they were able to fix my jacket. They also did not charge me a dime. I was excited because I get easily attached to clothing items and wanted to have this jacket around for a while. It is always better to have a jacket that you can count on than ordering a new one that you hope will be half as good.
It is a little hard to notice in this picture, but it is the second panel down from the top right.
There are a few issues with the repair. As you can see the from the picture above it was a pretty nasty rip. After talking with some older Patagonia enthusiast they told me that it was not likely that they would repair it since so much of the tear is not along a seam. They were wrong. Instead of mending the tear they replaced the whole patch which is great. Well it is a great idea…we will see how long it lasts. The fabric colors are not the same, which most people might not like. I actually do like it because it gives the a garment an aged look. Others who saw the jacket did not seem to think this was an adequate repair and would have much preferred a new jacket or at least one that was one solid color.
Overall, I am more than happy with Patagonia. They serviced my jacket quickly and never raised an issue about who was at fault or who should foot the bill. There are a few areas where I think that they could improve this process. It would have been great to get an email stating that they received my jacket and were able to work on it. Also, if they knew that they would be unable to match the exact color or pattern of the jacket it would have been nice to have been at least notified and even better to have been offered an alternative. Even if that alternative required additional funds. Although this experience was not perfect, Patagonia has kept and satisfied another customer.