A Statement from Modo & Modo S.p.a. on Quality Control and other Issues

While we were on vacation (yes, yes, Italians love vacations…and even more this year, since we had something to celebrate after the World Cup!) we received 37 several e-mails. There also has been some discussion on several Internet groups: Google and Flickr among others.

We just got back and here we are answering our customers having trouble with their Moleskine Notebooks. First of all, WE APOLOGIZE FOR THE SILENCE, but – like many Moleskiners may already know – we are a very small company: 15 people total! And we personally follow the customer care.

Since the beginning of this year we have received and answered 370 emails on different topics. We will answer each one of you, please be patient.

Quality Control

As always we’re checking, with almost obsessive care, the quality of our products. The notebooks details and characteristics require a lot of precision. This year, in particular, to improve the control on the production we introduced a new procedure to make sure that our notebooks are well hand crafted. Despite the small company size, we are manufacturing and ensuring quality of large quantities: only this year over 5,223,000 notebooks were released and are traveling around the world!

Starting last June we added a number printed on the Moleskine flyer (see image above), which allows us to identify the time, place and lot of production. This enables us to address any possible problems pertaining to a specific batch. If you don’t have this flyer in your notebook, you will, as soon as the inventory in the shops updates.

Online feedback form

We are putting in place a feedback form for you to specify precisely problems with paper, binding, print etc. This form will be very important for sustaining our efforts in keeping and increasing the quality of our products.

Thanks for your comments!

It’s you, the moleskiners’ community, which is the real strength of our brand and the warranty of quality of our notebooks.  You help us identify problems and address them. It is also you who bring ideas and help us discover new ways of using Moleskine.

In the next few days we will be in touch and talk about:

1 - production in China
2 - company plans with the new owner Société Générale Capital
3 - prices

We would like to keep the dialog going - we always welcome your suggestions and comments.

Modo & Modo S.p.a.
30 August 2006 1.15 PM CST
..................................................................
Full text of the image shown above:

"QUALITY CONTROL N° 6484

Every notebook is handmade and it has been carefully checked for quality. If, despite our best efforts, we have overlooked a defect of any kind, please let us know. Send an e-mail to: info@modoemodo.com, and include a digital photo that shows the problem you found, the quality control number (that identifies the notebook in your hands) shown here, along with the model name and your mailing address. We will send you a new notebook.
Together, we can prevent mistakes in the future. Thank you."
.....................................................................

Also discussed at Moleskinerie/GoogleGroups.