Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

This is a letter I sent to the Gustbuster Company reviewing their products based on my experience with them... Dear Sirs, It's been a number of months (3-6) since I purchased four different gustbuster umbrellas: the doorman, the classic, the metro manual, and the metro automatic. I'm sorry to say that with the exception of the classic, the other three umbrellas have far underperformed with respect to my expectations. I don't doubt that the aerodynamics of the umbrellas might be superior, but the operability and construction design of those three models is inferior to other umbrellas I've owned, and definitely less than what I expected. Specifically: 1. The hard plastic tip of the doorman cracked when it hit the hard ground from a distance of only a few inches. I had read the warning that it's not good for the umbrella to continually tap it on the ground, and I assure you that I avoided that behavior because I know it to be true. The umbrella slipped from my grasp, the tip hit the ground, and it cracked. End of story, and evidence of a design with low factors of safety on highly-likely failure modes, i.e., poor design. 2. The metro-automatic can be opened by pushing a single button, but closing the umbrella is not as easy. In fact, it's quite difficult to the point of being aggravating. I'd rather have an easier-to-use umbrella that can't withstand 60 mph winds. 3. The metro-manual is not only a pain to open and close, but when it is in the closed configuration, the handle continually slides to the extended position, even after repeated attempts to put it in the stowed position. This makes the unit unwieldy and problematic. The only reason we bought it was because it was physically shorter than the metro-automatic. In an ideal world, I would like to return all three umbrellas for a full refund of my money, but I don't think I could fairly ask or expect for that outcome. I will, however, not encourage anybody I know to purchase the gustbuster brand umbrella. It's just not very user-friendly nor well-made. Sorry to send you this feedback, but I accept constructive criticism on a daily basis with the attitude that the customer that complains is your best customer. Please accept this email in the way that it was intended, as honest feedback of your product. Sincerely, Ken Davidian P.S. I don't expect a reply, but if you wish to contact me, please just send me an email to this address. Thanks.