Customer Service expectations

[AfterDark]

I think the irritating thing is they said they haven't even looked at it yet...could be something simple and already on its way back, but they haven't even checked.

Has it occurred to you that your lite maybe 1 of a pile a lites?

 

[RandomGuy1]

Has it occurred to you that your lite maybe 1 of a pile a lites?

It has, but that isn't what they said when I called them. They said they were getting ready for DEMA.

 

[AfterDark]

It has, but that isn't what they said when I called them. They said they were getting ready for DEMA.

Oh, you wanted him to take the time to explain to you that he doesn't have the people to do both instead of hoping you would understand without explanation. Ok.

 

[drjtprice]

If it is a bad battery then there could have been a batch of bad batteries and they could have many lights to deal with.

 

[BoltSnap]

They will look at it when it is its turn to be fixed. Even without DEMA, one week is nothing. Relax.

 

[JackD342]

EVERY dive equipment manufacturer is a small company, albeit many smaller than others. They all have employees wearing multiple hats, being asked to do more with less, in an industry with flat or even shrinking sales and tighter budgets.

Whether it is ideal or not, many frequently have repair/service turnarounds measured in weeks rather than in days, and they do the work in order of receipt - they will look at it when they are ready to work on it.​

And then come the trade shows, sucking up more of the attention from the limited resources available. That often even includes the folks taking and shipping orders, not just the service team.

So yes, it us understandably frustrating, and wait times can be excessive for even the most patient customer. But your one week expectation is at least close to unreasonable.

 

[Wookie]

So trade shows trump customer service? It was purchased from a reputable online shop, and returned directly to the manufacture.I specifically left them out in case I was being unreasonable. Mostly I'm a little upset that a $$$$ light failed on me for no apparent reason.

You asked a question, I answered it, you don’t like the answer. I get that you’re irritated. My pet peeve is speaking with a counter person who answers the phone when they were conversing with me. I have been booted from auto parts stores for hanging up on the caller so the counter person could finish their time with me.

But being irritated will not get your light returned any faster, and your wife will be bummed if you take it out on her. So relax, have a sweet long weekend, and know that they aren’t going to look at it any earlier than the Monday after DEMA.

 

[RandomGuy1]

Such low expectations of customer service in the scuba industry. I'm not even asking for the light to be returned, but just looked at, or at least answer my original email (to me that is the bigger offense, communication is key). In my profession, if I let something sit broke for that long without even looking at it, I would be unemployed regardless of what was going on. On the positive side, I'll probably have a very nice canister light for sale once I get it back.

My pet peeve is speaking with a counter person who answers the phone when they were conversing with me.

I hear ya, that is very annoying.

 

[tbone1004]

@RandomGuy1 you haven't said which light it is, but frankly it doesn't matter. UWLD is a company of 1, LM is a small handful with only a couple qualified to look at stuff like that, Dive Rite only has a couple that can do it, same with Halcyon. DEMA starts in a week and if they have a booth, that has to be done, they have existing orders to fill, etc. This is a really bad time of year for these really small companies to try to look into something like that which may take a full day for proper diagnostics and repair. If you needed it back quickly, you should have let them know that when it got sent in. Some of those companies are going to prioritize repairs like that differently than others though.

 

[markmud]

Excuses, excuses, that's all I am reading.

Good customer service means bending over backwards to help your customers who have warranty issues.

Good customer service means:

• logging warranty items in;
• setting a repair date;
• fulfilling a previously made and binding contractual obligation before going to a trade show, and,
• communicating that to the customer.

Shearwater receives kudos for having a set turn-around time for warranty and service issues. I believe it is one week. They arrange loners for people who are about to leave on a trip. That's customer service. One of the owners of Shearwater manages warranty turn-around herself (I got that from the owner, in person).

Stand behind your product before the sale and after the sale. You, the manufacturer have a warrant of merchantability that is held by the customer.

"Oh sorry, we're going to DEMA; therefore, our contractual obligation to you is temporarily and indefinitely on hold."

Sorry, that is bad customer service. The dive industry is full of this attitude. This company believes it is more important than its customers. Wrong!

good luck,
markm