Patagonia Effing Rocks

[j44ke]

I was crawling around on the giant pressure tank that holds the water for our fire sprinkler system on the roof of our building, and I snagged my Patagonia down sweater on a nail (pressure tank is wedged into a small dark cabin to keep it from freezing in winter) sticking out of the wall. Zip! 1.5" slice in one of the down compartments. So I sent it to Patagonia for repair. I got this email this morning.

We have received the Men’s Down Sweater, 84673 Black w/ Black – Size S, due to the current lengthy repair turnaround time (45 business days), the jacket was replaced with a new one.

Nice! And I would have been happy with a gingham patch!

They now have a used clothing section on their website, so perhaps when things get tight, they just replace with new and roll the repaired garments over to the used shop. Whatever the case, excellent customer service.

[dogrange]

I've had similar experiences with them. Really great company. Yvon Chouinard is getting old, so when he retires I hope the next management stays the course.

[funcrusher]

um...what were you doing on the tank in the first place? when i lived in nyc, i don't think i ever ventured onto my roof!

[j44ke]

um...what were you doing on the tank in the first place? when i lived in nyc, i don't think i ever ventured onto my roof!

We are a self-managed building. My responsibility is sprinkler system maintenance and code compliance. By regulation, we have an engineering firm who does actual testing and handles more complicated compliance issues, but I keep track of the day to day, like making sure the pressure tank stays pressurized, both the pressure and gravity tank (the big wooden thing on a lot of NYC buildings) are the right temperature in winter, and visually inspecting all the rooftop systems to make sure they aren't leaking or whatever.

I had study the regulations and take a test to be certified down at the main NYPD building. I was probably the lightest person there by a good 80-100lbs. Now I have a certification i.d. that says explicitly that bearer is NOT a fireman, which I found a bit disappointing.

[sonnybiker]

I was probably the lightest person there by a good 80-100lbs.

yeah, patagonia small is pretty small!

also, your post reminded me of this nyt article: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/27/ny...ter+tanks&_r=0