The Dalvey Flask is the ultimate hip flask and travel companion. Its circular shape fits nicely in my pocket and was a perfect whisky container for over twenty-five years, until it recently started to leak.
This picture taken from the Dalvey website where they sell for £55 or €69.00.
My flask has an older logo and it’s now a lot less shiny – nonetheless, it’s still impossible to take a photo of it without a reflection of the entire surroundings.
The cap of my flask had a seal that had perished. I removed the seal.
Dalvey is a family company, owned and run by Sir Patrick Grant and his sons, Neil and Duncan. I wondered whether they maintained the type of customer service now sadly lacking from modern organisations. I wrote to them:
I have a classic flask with gold detail. The gold detail has ‘The Dalvey Sporran Flask’ text, so you can probably guess the age from that. I’ve used this for almost thirty years, but just lately it has begun to leak slightly. The rubber inside the cap has shrunk/perished. Is it possible to purchase a new cap?
I received a reply, the same day, from Keith at Dalvey:
While the name does help, could you please also send some photographs of the flask so as to help the Repair team establish the possibility of a replacement cap. Please note, a replacement cap would cost £20 plus shipping. I look forward to hearing from you.
I sent photographs and received another same day reply, this time from Irene:
I have consulted with the repairs team and was informed that the requisite parts are available. We can offer a flask cap replacement seal for 1 GBP plus shipping or an entire cap for £20 plus shipping. Links to order each item were provided.
It was lovely to receive such fast and personalised service and not to be just offered a new cap, but also just the less-expensive seal. I pushed my luck and asked how I should fit this new cap – did I need glue?
I have consulted with the Repairs team and they advised that no glue is needed for fitting the new seal. The new seal is pushed into the cap until it is locked into a groove. Please note that remains of the previous seal will have to be removed prior to fitting the new seal. I hope this information helps.
I ordered two seals – the second to be stored somewhere for twenty-five years!
A large envelope arrived. Inside was a bubble-envelope. Inside that was a bubble-wrapped bag.
Apart from the overpacking, I was overjoyed. The new seals were completely unlike the old; a wafer of sponge and two circles of flexible material. At first, I wondered if one side should be peeled away to reveal adhesive, but that isn’t the case. I pushed the seal into the cap until it locked into the groove within the cap end.
The Water Test
I filled the flask with water, tightened the cap and laid the flask down onto a sheet of tissue for several hours. No leaks!
The Whisky Test
The least expensive whisky to hand was a Laphroaig Quarter Cask – still a good whisky and I hoped it wouldn’t become part of the ‘angel’s share’. Several hours now and some disappointed angels – no leaks!
Conclusion
Some organisations would sneer at the time wasted dealing with my query about a relatively inexpensive item, seek to make staff redundant and outsource support to Asia. I hope that Sir Patrick Grant and his sons do not follow such a path and instead commend their staff for their excellent customer service.
BugAdvisor.com 