Avanta Boot Labs Slam Karen Chen For Boot Problems

[xxibjt]

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bf9GSS7H2nQ/?hl=en&taken-by=avantabootlabs

Wow. To say their response is excessive and unprofessional would be an understatement. Boot problems happen and while they are unfortunate it's not the end of the world. However to say that Karen "disgraced the meaning of an Olympian" now that is unfortunate and low.

 

[supergirl573]

Dave Lease mentioned that they were pissed that Karen keeps blaming her problems on her boots because it is making them look bad. They are implying that she's choking.

 

[Wyliefan]

She never even mentioned their name, and unless my eyesight is going, you can't see it in her picture. They're the ones who made themselves look bad. "Marginalized, ridiculed, besmirched, and violated"? Melodramatic much? Sounds more like she broke into the guy's house, smashed his valuables, and killed his puppy.

 

[Lilia A]

Wow, that...is terrible.
I'm sorry, but even if she had publicly named the makers, there are better ways to respond. Whatever happened to "We regret that Ms. Chen is having a difficult time with her boots, but we assure our customers that we always take the best of care blah blah blah (you know what follows)."
So unprofessional.

 

[VGThuy]

I get the company probably felt like it had to defend itself and its product and integrity. However, that "defense" on IG did far more damage than Karen could have ever done. Even last season at 4CC people were already skeptical of her boot issues and thought she always had some sort of excuse. Now, they may still think that but they may now also think this company does not know how to respond properly and is acting a lot more immature and unprofessional than one could imagine. What that company wrote in its defense was beyond defending itself but attacked Karen on a very personal level and tried to shame her in the lowest way possible. It was seriously a disgusting way to go about it.

The funny thing is that they reposted a pic of her broken down boot to try to say she sabotaged it herself (purposefully). With that image, they are just inviting people to analyze and wonder about the quality of their boot (even if they get some defenders). With what they're accusing her of doing, they may have opened themselves up to a libel suit if Karen were to decide to go that way (probably won't because those cases are hard and may open Karen up to some more scrutiny and she doesn't need the distraction).

 

[MacMadame]

Their response makes me much more inclined to believe Chen. They sound like a nightmare to deal with.

 

[Wyliefan]

Wow, that...is terrible.
I'm sorry, but even if she had publicly named the makers, there are better ways to respond. Whatever happened to "We regret that Ms. Chen is having a difficult time with her boots, but we assure our customers that we always take the best of care blah blah blah (you know what follows)."
So unprofessional.

That would have been much more like it. It would have been fine to defend themselves, if they had done it diplomatically.

 

[aemeraldrainc]

Wow. Wtf.
I just don't understand how anyone would think this would be OK to post publically. Did they realize how bad it would make them look?
I'm surprised it hasn't been deleted by now.

 

[Willin]

I don't know why they bothered to defend themselves since Karen never mentioned them by name... It makes them look bad even if they are telling the truth (and who knows if they are). When they're a small name near well-established brands popular with local skaters (Harlick and SP Teri), they need all the good PR they can get, and this was the opposite of a good PR move.

But, if what they say about her altering their boots after the fact and choosing to wear worn out boots at the Olympics is true... Though that could be good or bad for them (good being that she altered them for no reason and that's why she had issues; bad being the skates were poorly made that they needed alterations to work)

I didn't expect this to be the juiciest post-Olympics drama, but I'm here for it.

 

[MacMadame]

Skaters have boot problems all the time. Definitely, it messes with your head. And you can't be sending them back every couple of days. So they will have someone local work on them to make minor adjustments. Often it's someone who is a dealer for that brand of skates, but it could just be someone local the skater trusts.

Karen's skate was definitely having an issue with the sole separating but this is something that sometimes happens. There is no way to look at that picture and know the skates had been altered. It could be poor construction and dampness caused the layers to separate or it could be someone hacked at them to get them to work for Karen. I just don't see how you can look at that picture and be able to tell what happened.

 

[Willowway]

I only know Will from a years ago at Klingbeil; Will was, and I hope still is, a very nice guy. Soft-spoken, polite and very careful about his work. I have to think that Avanta has turned themselves upside down to get it right for her only to have their work compromised by various other techs and then feel blamed for her continuing complaints about her boots. The boots were likely made from fine materials specifically for her (heck my Klingbeils were made for me) and fitted, fitted and refitted. Doesn't mean problems don't occur, they do. But I think they've had it with her and there may be good reason for that. I don't know but I wouldn't assume Avanta is automatically wrong - I think it would take a lot for Will Murillo to complain in public. Granted, it could have been much more measured in tone.

 

[Debbie S]

Karen's skate was definitely having an issue with the sole separating but this is something that sometimes happens.

The same thing happened with one of Michelle Kwan's boots at 2001 Worlds. Sole started separating during QR warmup, a skate tech backstage worked on them, she skated a perfect program (of course!) and then her father went to a Home Depot, got screws and worked on her boot overnight so that it would stay together for the rest of the comp. Which she won (and the fact that she could skate perfectly, including a 3-3, with her boot barely held together shows what an otherworldly competitor she was).

That didn't mean all SP-Teri boots were made poorly, or that anyone would even think so (actually, was that the year she wore Grafs?). Boots have issues from wear and tear. They can also have problems if you don't properly seal the sole, which is usually done after the blades are mounted, which is usually done by a someone local. All boot manufacturers warranty their boots for a certain period, and they will try to help you even after the warranty expired, depending on what the problem is. This was a serious misstep by Avanta. Anyone know if Don Klingbeil is still running the business? B/c it's hard to believe he would approve a post like that.

 

[Willowway]

The same thing happened with Michelle Kwan's boots at 2001 Worlds. Sole started separating during QR warmup, a skate tech backstage worked on them, she skated a perfect program (of course!) and then her father went to a Home Depot, got screws and worked on her boot overnight so that it would stay together for the rest of the comp. Which she won (and the fact that she could skate perfectly, including a 3-3, with her boot barely held together shows what an otherworldly competitor she was).

That didn't mean all SP-Teri boots were made poorly, or that anyone would even think so (actually, was that the year she wore Grafs?). Boots have issues from wear and tear. They can also have problems if you don't properly seal the sole, which is usually done after the blades are mounted, which is usually done by a someone local. All boot manufacturers warranty their boots for a certain period, and they will try to help you even after the warranty expired, depending on what the problem is. This was a serious misstep by Avanta. Anyone know if Don Klingbeil is still running the business? B/c it's hard to believe he would approve a post like that.

Don's gone from the business I believe.

 

[MAXSwagg]

The fact is Karen has issues because her technique is not stable. No boots are going to fix that. This seems to be a theme with American skaters. Karen, Nathan... Eteri students and Hanyu must have magical top secret boots? It’s like grow up, get it together, and take responsibility.

 

[Frida80]

The fact is Karen has issues because her technique is not stable. No boots are going to fix that. This seems to be a theme with American skaters. Karen, Nathan... Eteri students and Hanyu must have magical top secret boots? It’s like grow up, get it together, and take responsibility.

Yuzuru and Zhenia use Edeas, which don’t break down as fast as leather boots.

 

[Meoima]

Yuzuru and Zhenia use Edeas, which don’t break down as fast as leather boots.

I am sure they have their boot issues as well but they never mentioned it to the media.
I do not blame Karen for her boot issues. The company is really nasty in this case.

 

[hanca]

I only know Will from a years ago at Klingbeil; Will was, and I hope still is, a very nice guy. Soft-spoken, polite and very careful about his work. I have to think that Avanta has turned themselves upside down to get it right for her only to have their work compromised by various other techs and then feel blamed for her continuing complaints about her boots. The boots were likely made from fine materials specifically for her (heck my Klingbeils were made for me) and fitted, fitted and refitted. Doesn't mean problems don't occur, they do. But I think they've had it with her and there may be good reason for that. I don't know but I wouldn't assume Avanta is automatically wrong - I think it would take a lot for Will Murillo to complain in public. Granted, it could have been much more measured in tone.

If this company is the one that took over Klingbeil, I wouldn’t trust them. I have been using custom made boots from Klingbeil for many years, and I have always been happy with them. But the last pair, bought just a few months before Klingbeil became a new company, were awful. I ordered and paid extra for several extra features I wished my boots to have. I received the boots and they didn’t have the changes I paid for. I sent them back and received them again without those features (in fact I don’t think they changed anything). I made many phone calls and sent emails, but it wasn’t getting anywhere. There was no point sending them back again because all it achieved was me wasting money on postage (and boots are heavy so post wasn’t cheap!) and they wouldn’t change anything anyway. It appeared that they were more interested in charging than in any customer care. It doesn’t help that I don’t live in the US so I couldn’t just go there and refuse to leave until they fix it. After this experience I would never order with Klingbeil again, and with any company that took over and uses Klingbeil staff. So I wouldn’t be surprised that Karen had boots problems.

 

[misskarne]

My thoughts:

I can understand a boot company getting a bit shirty when it seems the skater is making the same repetitive remark of "boot problems" over and over again. She may not have mentioned Avanta by name, but it wouldn't have been hard for people in the skating world to know. And some people do then assume the whole brand is bad. I remember people making remarks about Jackson boots after Mirai had the split one. And I think at some point when a skater's gone through nearly every brand of boots then you have to look at the common denominator, ie, the skater.

But with all that said, jesus christ this is not how you deal with this. This is an awful post and is going to hurt their brand a frickload more than any remarks Karen may have made. At least try to be professional about it.

 

[Bellanca]

It’s like grow up, get it together, and take responsibility.

Yeah, really, Will Murillo.

 

[Reuven]

Just responded that Avanta isn’t going to have to work on customer relations because they won’t have any after that tirade.

 

[thvu]

What a trainwreck of a post! Goodbye customers!

 

[Coco]

I don't know but I wouldn't assume Avanta is automatically wrong - I think it would take a lot for Will Murillo to complain in public. Granted, it could have been much more measured in tone.

Understatement of the year!

The factual issue of who is right and who is wrong is way far back in 2nd place to the issue of a boot company publicly telling a skater that she "continue(s) to disgrace the meaning of Olympian."

Their response is so far over the top that it should be a candidate for the Big Air gold medal in 2022!

 

[Meoima]

Understatement of the year!

The factual issue of who is right and who is wrong is way far back in 2nd place to the issue of a boot company publicly telling a skater that she "continue(s) to disgrace the meaning of Olympian."

Their response is so far over the top that it should be a candidate for the Big Air gold medal in 2022!

You forgot United Airline, Pepsi and on...

 

[hanca]

You forgot United Airline, Pepsi and on...

True, the customer service in this case was not ‘that bad’ measured within American standards. Karen got of lightly; she wasn’t physically manhandled or physically kicked out from a plane. So overall, relatively speaking, it was a reasonably good service (in comparison with what could have happened).

 

[Tavi]

Understatement of the year!

The factual issue of who is right and who is wrong is way far back in 2nd place to the issue of a boot company publicly telling a skater that she "continue(s) to disgrace the meaning of Olympian."

Their response is so far over the top that it should be a candidate for the Big Air gold medal in 2022!

It’s definitely over the top, but at the same time, the use of the word “continues” suggests that the issues may have been ongoing.

I’m not saying they handled this well, but I do wonder if perhaps Karen isn’t very good at communicating fit or other issues to her boot manufacturers. If it’s true - as the email seems to say - that she approved boots at the factory and then later had extensive work done on them by someone else, I have to wonder why.

 

[VGThuy]

Understatement of the year!

The factual issue of who is right and who is wrong is way far back in 2nd place to the issue of a boot company publicly telling a skater that she "continue(s) to disgrace the meaning of Olympian."

Their response is so far over the top that it should be a candidate for the Big Air gold medal in 2022!

Word. This is NOT how one conducts business no matter how justified one feels. It read like a petulant child screaming into the wind and saying as many nasty things as one can think of against an unsatisfied customer. It's very Amy's Baking Company.

 

[BlueRidge]

Did she blame her boot problems on the manufacturer? Or did she just blame her performance issues on boot problems? If the latter, that could include any work she'd had done on them later. Unless she blamed the manufacturer in some way, they are way out of line.

 

[Meoima]

True, the customer service in this case was not ‘that bad’ measured within American standards. Karen got of lightly; she wasn’t physically manhandled or physically kicked out from a plane. So overall, relatively speaking, it was a reasonably good service (in comparison with what could have happened).

Yeah everything is mild compared to American standards

 

[livetoskate]

Just responded that Avanta isn’t going to have to work on customer relations because they won’t have any after that tirade.

Seriously. Until this recent news, I did not even know Karen Chen wore Avantas. Now I do. I love my custom Klingbeils, but I will not do business with Avanta. Whoever wrote that Instagram post needs to go through some PR training if they can afford that.

 

[VGThuy]

Did she blame her boot problems on the manufacturer? Or did she just blame her performance issues on boot problems? If the latter, that could include any work she'd had done on them later. Unless she blamed the manufacturer in some way, they are way out of line.

This is what she really said:

Http://people.com/sports/winter-olympics-2018-karen-chen-boot-troubles/

“I am extremely disappointed, I’m not going to lie, I know I’ve trained myself to skate better than that and not being able to deliver is a huge let down for myself and everyone who supported me,” Chen, who trains out of Riverside, California, told reporters after the event. “To be honest, I really was dealing with quite a bit of things, I was having some boot issues and I had to make some adjustments this morning during practice.”

The champion figure skater—who stands at 4 feet, 10 inches tall—usually pays a great deal of attention to her boots, and is said to switch her pair every six weeks because of feet problems.

This time, she says, her boot started to break down during practice.

“What was going on was [the boot] kind of split and a lot of moisture had gone into the boot, so my blade was sinking into my skate and it was affecting the mounting a little bit,” she continued, adding that it still wasn’t an excuse. “I felt like I should have skated better and I could have focused better.”

I really do believe the response was incredibly disproportionate to what she said and that IG story she posted from before the long program, and I'm still surprised Avanta Boots posted in the first place AND still has it up. I guess having 21 likes and like 3 active supporters who have taken the cause against Karen was worth everything else they are also receiving for posting that ill-conceived rant.