Brought my Expert Graphite rod back to Gina and told her the problem. She had a look at it and said that it was indeed a defect. She actually apologised to me for the defect ( which I thought was rather thoughtful, even though the fault wasn't hers). She quickly brought out another rod and exchanged it immediately for me. I didn't even show her any receipt. (Actually, I didn't even ask for one when I bought it initially!)
Gina has truly won me over as a loyal customer with her actions today. Goes to show that customer satisfaction is the way to go to get loyal customers!