Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

OK...Let me explain my "4 star" rating (THIS REVIEW WAS EDITED ON 6/2 AND THE RATING WAS REDUCED: PLEASE SEE COMMENTS BELOW). First, this type of hose--the wrinkly, expandable kind we've all seen on 3 a.m. infomercials--is universally flawed. All of them work GREAT while they last. NONE of them last worth a damn. Check your Amazon ratings and you'll find that virtually all of the hoses of this type sold by ANY manufacturer with a statistically relevant consumer rating pretty much suck. Yes, I know there are "5 star"-rated hoses of this type--but that's because only one or two or three people provided ratings. And, those ratings were probably submitted after the first couple of uses, and before the product sprung a leak or just plain blew up. If any of these manufacturers EVER figure out a way to make these little gems last more than 14 or 15 months (which is what I got out of my last one which was purchased at WalMart), they'll make a zillion dollars. But...sigh...that simply hasn't happened yet. So, when my WalMart special sprung a leak after about--you guessed it--14 or 15 months, I went back to WalMart. Of course, they don't carry these anymore (probably because of the high return rate). So, I went online and ordered from InSassy. The hose arrived on time, worked fine for a week, and then the whole shebang blew completely off the hose spigot. On examination, it appeared the internal part (a clear rubber tube) was really only attached to the plastic screw-on-bib with...well...air. My resourceful girlfriend used a zip tie to fix the problem temporarily. She actually contemplated going into the wrinkly green hose business because she figured the existing product was only a zip-tie away from perfection. But alas, her zip-tie-fix only lasted a few weeks before the whole thing blew apart, leaving nothing but a frayed green stub at the non-business end of the hose. Therefore, the product is really nothing more than "disposable". So, you're asking, why did I give it 4 stars? Easy...The InSassy customer service is (so far), pretty darned impressive! I contacted them about their product and got a quick reply telling me my new replacement hose was on its way (hasn't arrived yet but based on the level of follow-up from these folks--five status update e-mails so far--it wouldn't surprise me if the InSassy CEO hand-delivered it). They asked me for photos of the defective hose so they could send it to their manufacturing plant in an effort to improve the quality! When in the last several decades have you EVER heard of a company doing THAT? Even better, they offered to test my replacement hose before sending it to me--but first asked my permission to do so. Pretty cool! They also assured me that if I had problems with my replacement hose, they'd replace that one as well. Since the hoses themselves don't appear to be made very well, I'm actually thinking of ordering two or three to make sure I've always got a replacement supply on hand while I'm having InSassy continue to send me replacements as each one breaks. And, who knows...maybe they actually WILL improve the quality so that someday, I can compliment their product, and not just their great service. For now however, yes, the hose sucks. But, I am SOLD on InSassy--a company that truly understands how to keep its customers satisfied! June 2, 2014 update Sadly, the love affair with Jodye, my once charming InSassy customer service ingenue, has ended... In the immortal (and abbreviated) words of Paul Simon, "April come she will...May, she will stay...June, she'll change her tune...". For those of you who have been following my epic wrinkly green hose saga, you know that the comments above led to InSassy sending me one of their "new and improved" hoses which purportedly became available on April 4th. Jodye, my irrepressible InSassy customer service diva was fabulous in her follow-up and the new hose showed all the signs of making it to that illusive one-year mark--which is what I got out of my previous cheapo WalMart version of this product. She even gave me her direct e-mail to ensure my satisfaction--something that probably violated several Amazon commandments. But she didn't care; she was in love with customer service and infatuated with the thought of bringing happiness to me and my hose. Unfortunately, just 5 short days after penning a glowing follow-up review of this product (which readers can probably find somewhere on this page with a little scrolling), the "new and improved" InSassy hose that was promised in April and arrived on May 1 blew out it's mid-section on May 31, after only 30 brief but glorious days of spraying. As of May 31st, I was once again, hoseless, unless you count the wrinkly green corpse of what was once a proud, "new and improved" 75-foot InSassy product. Sigh... I took photos of the dearly departed and sent them to Jodye at InSassy (and no Jodye, even though I'm crestfallen at how things ended, I still won't publish your direct e-mail address; that would just be spiteful...). Jodye's reply e-mail was short and not so sweet; it was June, and Jodye had definitely changed her tune. "Hi Jim" she began. "Both the orders have been refunded already. The last hose I sent was a courtesy hose. I'm afraid I won't be able to send you another one." And then she was gone...fading into retail cyberspace, leaving only a refund and the unmistakeable death knell of finality to our brief but intense relationship. To be clear, Jodye's e-mail was inaccurate; there wasn't ever a "both orders". My original hose had long since been refunded after two successive blowouts. I bought the "new and improved" version in April when it because available and Jodye refunded my shipping costs for that purchase--nothing more. I still paid for the product. Her e-mail of today did say my refund has been processed so assuming it shows up on my Amex card next month, InSassy and I will be dead even, but for the time spent dealing with a repeatedly defective product and the disappointment of my being kicked to...errr...make that hosed to the curb. But, for every door that closes, another opens. On Sunday, I was strolling through the aisle at Home Depot when I spied with my little eye, the "As Seen On TV Pocket Hose"! It's a sporty little dark green number (much less gaudy than the lime green InSassy version) and, although it's only 50 feet (vs. 75), it looks to be a beaut! It shrinks up just like the InSassy version (and the WalMart version I had before that) and the connectors seem pretty durable. I've now used it twice and, so far, so good! Plus, Home Depot is just down the street in case anything goes wrong, and I sure as heck saved my receipt... Good luck hosers!