The straight goods on Bowtech and Excalibur

[onebigskittle]

For over 30 years Bill and Kathy has been praised for making great crossbows and they did it the hard way, All alone until the last change and now it seems everyone for the most part is ready to throw them under the bus because of what they may want or need for the growth of the company. People they are only doing what they feel is right for them,The company and I am sure their customers best interest is at heart. I for one no matter how it pans out will always admire them for their efforts and accomplishments.

[Ont_Excal]

I don't discount for a second the contributions of Bill and Kathy.
They did it the hard way all on their own for a very long time.
I also understand their need to position themselves for their future.
Time will tell how this sale to Bowtech will be of benefit to future customers.

I know.....................if Excalibur improves Bowtech as industry wisdom says, then I should be able to buy a Stryker with confidence. Thank you Excalibur!!

[Pydpiper]

First, I hope the employees affected are done so in a positive way!
I was on the fence on what bow I was going to purchase to replace my "missing" bow, and now I think I am going to go vertical until the dust settles in this merger.
The Mom and Pop customer service is going to taper off, it simply can not be done by a larger company, especially one with such proven track record in poor service. In time, the service will become a mix of the great service Excalibur owners have come to expect, and the poor service of the new parent company.
I think we will see a "lifetime" warranty become a little more specific.
On a better note, I think we will also see some new and innovate products come from this, now a company who likes to stay on top of customer demand is going to have some say in what we see.
It will be about taking the good with the bad, but regardless, it is over as we know it, and that may not be the worst thing to happen to the crossbow world. Ideally, this would have positive effects on both the horizontal and vertical worlds, there is much for a company to learn from the way Excalibur does things, and hopefully, that is how it pans out.
Again, I hope the employees get their fair shake out of all of this. Business is about change, and sometime there is some positive hidden deep in the shadows.
Best of luck to those involved, those with a financial bind to this change, those who not only enjoy the products, but count on them to feed their families.

[Allan]

After reading the last 5 pages, I get the feeling that the sale of Excalibur is not the main issue, it is "who" they sold to.

I am tempted to start a poll:

Question

If Excalibur had sold to a company that had the same upstanding service and quality reputation as Excalibur, would there be the same reaction?

[ds762]

I have been shooting crossbows for less than a year now. I picked out to me what I thought the best was and I bought an Excalibur Matrix 380!

I don't know what Bowtech did to piss in all you haters Cheerios .. But they make a good product too! I've never came across the perceived hatred in person for their company that I read about on the net!

This year I'm thinking about adding a Matrix 330 to the collection and a Bowtech Assassin!

[Kegbelly]

My guess would be 'no'. I have no personal experience with Bowtech so I cant comment on their quality or customer service. But from what I've read here and elsewhere from people who have dealt with them, it's less than stellar, and that's what I think has a lot of people concerned, that Excalibur's hard earned and well-deserved reputation for top quality products and service may be negatively affected by the sale. As I said before, I sure hope not but only time will tell.

[Tom]

This is really sad !!!!!!! NOT THAT FACT THAT EXCALIBUR WAS BOUGHT BY BOWTECH BUT BY THE WAY PEOPLE HAVE REACTED ON THIS FORUM !!!!!!

I do not have any inside information on this transaction. From what I have read, this deal is the same as when they sold part of the company a few years ago to another American. Bill T and his wife still kept a part ownership in Excalibur and kept in the business as directional guidance.

Many complained and feared that the original sale would be the demise of Excalibur, but as we can all attest to, Excalibur has grown and improved their product line in the last year or two.

As others have said on here, to do all the product research and development required for a dependable product costs a lot of money. Also training employee's costs a lot. BowTech in the vertical word has a good name for it's product, but the crossbows were a different story. Their crossbows have had many problems in the past and I feel that could have been over whelming to their customer service which gave them a bad rep.

Excalibur's new product, the Matrix, directly goes after the compound crossbow nitch. Many compound crossbow companies will feel the pinch of the matrix because of this. Why not buy into a top rated company and therefore get a front line into their research and development.

Since there have been too many NAYSAYERS and DOOM & GLOOM posters on here, I will put this forth.
What if BowTech stays on the vertical side of archery and lets Excalibur Stay on the crossbow side of archery as two different SISTER COMPANIES. They borrow strengths from each other and continue to grow and get stronger. What will this company become in 3 or 5 years. I believe that it has the opportunity to become one of the leading or strongest archery companies out there.

I do not believe that a smart investment firm will allow anyone to dismantle a working format of a profitable company.

Just my 2 Cents Worth

[Boo]

Agreed Tom. It's a stark realization that many here will not give Excalibur the benefit of the doubt. No chance is being afforded Excalibur yet they themselves have been treated much differently and expect to be treated differently then they are treating Excalibur.
I am deeply disappointed. I thought that we as a group were different. Where once we felt like a family we now treat Excalibur with indifference, suspicion and contempt.
Truly an amazing time!

[vixenmaster]

I have no inside info about any of this buyout! What i do knowed is Excal crossbows. Havin owned one or more since 1996. They have changed thru the yrs but times change & they have progressed wid it. I am happy wid my choice of ownin Excal crossbows. I am not jumpln ship because Mangrove sold the company. There maybe a warranty policy change, so! I have delt wid Danny Miller about warranty issues not some local dealer, so what has changed ? As long as i have a great warranty Rep. to work wid all is good !

[Adelmo]

Can Danny still do warranty work or do you have go Woody's now?

[Tom]

About this so called policy change to the warranty. I think people need to slow down and read what Peter said again. Here is part of what he said in the post above.

...............
I have been working for few months now (before I was aware of the Bowtech deal) on a new customer service program that will help us to better serve our customers by providing more information and faster processes. I hope to implement the new program over the next few months and will provide more information as we get closer to the launch date.
.................
.................
We will continue to strive to produce excellent products and the best customer service possible.

Thanks,

Peter

To me this change is a change any good well meaning company will do to help serve it's customers. To me is sounds like they are trying to make changes that will keep customers better informed and enable the process to be faster so the customer gets their products back faster.

What is wrong with that. If that can be achieved, that would be amazing just because their service is so great now!

Tom

[Boo]

[Peacemaker]

While the optimists are laughing, keep in mind the pessimists here are the truest definition of BRAND LOYALTY there is. There are very few companies that have this, yet they all strive to achieve this, and while all of the uncertainty swirls around the world of archery, all this chatter is by far, the biggest compliment a business could ever receive.

There are an awful lot of diverse customers here, that have had their needs met, and their expectations exceeded by Excalibur product and customer service. I would have been more disappointed to see any less of a reaction. I think it is important that we all respect each others opinions here, whether we agree with them or not.

We are all entitled to love it, hate it, or just be content with it, by choice.

I agree with taz3, to a point. However, immediately jumping to negative conclusions, publicly assuming that the principals are greedily cashing out, and publicly bashing the deal without giving the dust a chance to settle is not very loyal, not very fair, and not helping the brand to which some are supposedly loyal.

It costs us nothing to wait and see, and to give our friends, forum mates, and fellow hunters the benefit of the doubt. Optimism is free, in this particular case.

[Boo]

However, immediately jumping to negative conclusions, publicly assuming that the principals are greedily cashing out, and publicly bashing the deal without giving the dust a chance to settle is not very loyal, not very fair, and not helping the brand to which some are supposedly loyal.

It costs us nothing to wait and see, and to give our friends, forum mates, and fellow hunters the benefit of the doubt. Optimism is free, in this particular case.

Well said, the voice of reason!

[onegunguitar]

Being a life long hunter and new to the archery/crossbow side of it all,I'll put my thoughts in,just for the sake of it. I hope that Excalibur remains the company that it has been in the past,I've read a TON of positive reviews about their xbows,customer service and overall reputation-which is why I bought one,and I absolutely love it!! I don't really have a clue about Bowtech but a friend of mine's dad owns a vertical compound and loves it,another friend shoots professional vert. and I believe he uses a Bowtech. Also,with that being said,February's issue of Bowhunting World has their "Gear of the Year" reader's choice awards and Bowtech won the Gold for compounds and the Stryker won the gold for crossbows.....take that with a grain of salt but obviously they are doing something somewhat right,huh? Ultimately time will tell,I'm sure Excalibur will lose some customers over this and probably gain some new ones as well,but as long as they stay somewhat true to their words things may all work out for the best. It could be alot worse,they could have sold out to the Chinese