Garmin faf!

renevat

Recently damaged my cadence sensor so sent it off to Garmin with covering letter etc asking if could repaired. Having heard nothing for a month emailed and asked if there was any update. After a further week, and being a bit miffed, I emailed Garmin USA HQ with a copy of email and a bit of a rant :x . Next day received an email from Garmin UK, there's a surprise eh . Told me I should have got a RMA number before sending it to them and, as a result they don't even know if they received it :roll: and advised me to buy a new one, which I will but not from them direct as they suggest So be careful guys and gals if you need the help of Garmin customer services, if it exists :? . Rant done.

bungle73

Wouldn't it have been wise to find out what the procedure was regarding a repair before blindly sending it off? Is it even something that can be repaired....or is even worth repairing? I would probably have just got another one.

fenix

Yeah me too. You can't blame Garmin for your mistake really ?

kingstongraham

Fenix wrote:

Yeah me too. You can't blame Garmin for your mistake really ?

It's not the OPs mistake if Garmin doesn't have a process for dealing with parts received without an RMA.

Where I've worked, they get returns with no documentation at all, and keep them in a specific location for when the customer eventually chases up. If it was sent with written details, it's the least they can do to acknowledge receipt.

meanredspider

Garmin should have a process for receiving product returned without an RMA. How hard can it be?

fat daddy

the Garmin faf .. I thought this was going to be the new GPS ..... well named

flasher

Do people seriously just send stuff back to the manufacturer without any prior contact in the hope that their problem would be resolved?

meanredspider

Flasher wrote:

Do people seriously just send stuff back to the manufacturer without any prior contact in the hope that their problem would be resolved?

Of course. What do you think was the way before the Internet? It's called "Customer Service". It's possibly actually a legal requirement in some way or another.

bungle73

meanredspider wrote:

Flasher wrote:

Do people seriously just send stuff back to the manufacturer without any prior contact in the hope that their problem would be resolved?

Of course. What do you think was the way before the Internet? It's called "Customer Service".

It's called a phone call. Even before the internet I don't think I would have sent something off blindly without any sort of contact first, unless it had been made clear that was the way it worked.

It's possibly actually a legal requirement in some way or another.

There's no legal requirement to fix something that the op admits that they broke themselves.

jgsi

meanredspider

Bungle73 wrote:

meanredspider wrote:

Flasher wrote:

Do people seriously just send stuff back to the manufacturer without any prior contact in the hope that their problem would be resolved?

Of course. What do you think was the way before the Internet? It's called "Customer Service".

It's called a phone call. Even before the internet I don't think I would have sent something off blindly without any sort of contact first, unless it had been made clear that was the way it worked.

It's possibly actually a legal requirement in some way or another.

There's no legal requirement to fix something that the op admits that they broke themselves.

Ha - you'd do well to get a phone number today let alone in the days when all you got was a user manual. I should add that I've worked in consumer products my entire career - I know in painful detail how it works.

Of course not if he broke it himself. But any half decent company (which excludes Garmin by a mile) will expect to receive stuff back without any contact first.

Garmin, on the other hand, regularly lose stuff for which they do have an RMA. They're just a terrible company.

jasgill

Wouldn't trust Garmin with anything, let alone sending something to them without informing them first.
I recently purchased Garmin CityNavigator maps without realising that they were not compatible with my Garmin Edge 800. Garmin offered to refund the download some time back at the beginning of April and confirmed that the refund would be forthcoming in two to three weeks. I chased it up after approximately four weeks and kept being promised that it was being dealt with. I informed them last week that I couldn't keep chasing them up for the sake of £75.00 and would be dealing with it through the MCOL service. I issued at the end of last week and received a cheque this morning for £100, £75.00 for the refund and £25.00 for the court fee.

The whole company is a complete shambles and, obviously, don't know the meaning of customer service.

flasher

meanredspider wrote:

Bungle73 wrote:

meanredspider wrote:

Flasher wrote:

Do people seriously just send stuff back to the manufacturer without any prior contact in the hope that their problem would be resolved?

Of course. What do you think was the way before the Internet? It's called "Customer Service".

It's called a phone call. Even before the internet I don't think I would have sent something off blindly without any sort of contact first, unless it had been made clear that was the way it worked.

It's possibly actually a legal requirement in some way or another.

There's no legal requirement to fix something that the op admits that they broke themselves.

Ha - you'd do well to get a phone number today let alone in the days when all you got was a user manual. I should add that I've worked in consumer products my entire career - I know in painful detail how it works.

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=garmin+uk

So painful.

meanredspider

Flasher wrote:

meanredspider wrote:

Bungle73 wrote:

meanredspider wrote:

Flasher wrote:

Do people seriously just send stuff back to the manufacturer without any prior contact in the hope that their problem would be resolved?

Of course. What do you think was the way before the Internet? It's called "Customer Service".

It's called a phone call. Even before the internet I don't think I would have sent something off blindly without any sort of contact first, unless it had been made clear that was the way it worked.

It's possibly actually a legal requirement in some way or another.

There's no legal requirement to fix something that the op admits that they broke themselves.

Ha - you'd do well to get a phone number today let alone in the days when all you got was a user manual. I should add that I've worked in consumer products my entire career - I know in painful detail how it works.

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=garmin+uk

So painful.

Not that :roll: How consumer returns, customer service, complaint scripts, complaint investigations, recalls, product improvements, release testing, product approvals etc etc etc. Garmin, for certain, are strangers to all of this. They are amongst the very worse. It took them 6 months to "investigate" a car sat nav issue and finally just sent me a new cable which is what I asked for in the first place.

flasher

You wanted a phone number, very very easily sourced :roll:

Whether Garmin are a good company or not isn't the issue here, they have a procedure it wasn't followed, it takes precisely 20 seconds to obtain a contact email or telephone number neither were used.

meanredspider

Flasher wrote:

You wanted a phone number, very very easily sourced :roll:

Whether Garmin are a good company or not isn't the issue here, they have a procedure it wasn't followed, it takes precisely 20 seconds to obtain a contact email or telephone number neither were used.

I didn't want a phone number - I've said that often phone numbers are difficult to obtain even today let alone in years before websites. Besides that, I've waited 20 minutes or more for Garmin to answer the bloody phone. And, even, they're useless. If they have a procedure, it's either crap or they don't follow it.

My point is, as a CUSTOMER, you should be able to write to a company (with or without a product enclosed) and expect an answer. It's not much to ask. In fact, for many companies, a posted letter is the only form of complaint they'll accept.

How hard could a procedure to deal with this be? Letter arrives without RMA. If an RMA number isn't already created, create one. FFS! No wonder customer service is going to the dogs with that kind of attitude!

flasher

You should write to them and offer your expert knowledge, no RMA needed.

Garmin (Europe) Ltd
Liberty House
Hounsdown Business Park
Southampton
Hampshire
SO40 9LR
United Kingdom

Telephone +44 (0) 23 8052 4000

meanredspider

Flasher wrote:

You should write to them and offer your expert knowledge, no RMA needed.

Garmin (Europe) Ltd
Liberty House
Hounsdown Business Park
Southampton
Hampshire
SO40 9LR
United Kingdom

Telephone +44 (0) 23 8052 4000

Why would I bother dealing with the UK subsidiary? I would expect people to deal with my global subs but with my team at the HQ.

renevat

Wow didn't expect all the angst and rants on this :shock: it was just a way of alerting others that there is a procedure The sensor was damaged on a ride, not by me personally. My point was, and I now accept I did not follow their procedure, however with a covering letter with postal address, email address, mobile and home phone number I thought that they might have had the decency to contact me to let me know I had cocked up :?. I will be buying a new one, of course

Grill

Would y'all's drop your car off at a service station with a note in the windscreen as to what was wrong and expect them to just sort it out? Common sense folks.

kingstongraham

Grill wrote:

Would y'all's drop your car off at a service station with a note in the windscreen as to what was wrong and expect them to just sort it out? Common sense folks.

No, but I might leave some clothes that need fixing at the dry cleaners with a note.

Grill

KingstonGraham wrote:

Grill wrote:

Would y'all's drop your car off at a service station with a note in the windscreen as to what was wrong and expect them to just sort it out? Common sense folks.

No, but I might leave some clothes that need fixing at the dry cleaners with a note.

Would you post them to a dry cleaner who was wholly unaware of your existence?

kingstongraham

Grill wrote:

KingstonGraham wrote:

Grill wrote:

Would y'all's drop your car off at a service station with a note in the windscreen as to what was wrong and expect them to just sort it out? Common sense folks.

No, but I might leave some clothes that need fixing at the dry cleaners with a note.

Would you post them to a dry cleaner who was wholly unaware of your existence?

Why would I? There's a dry cleaners across the road.

meanredspider

Grill wrote:

Would y'all's drop your car off at a service station with a note in the windscreen as to what was wrong and expect them to just sort it out? Common sense folks.

Absolutely. Done it before (keys and a note in an envelope through the letter box). Provided they are a reputable business and have a way to contact me, why not?

At the extreme end of the spectrum, if you buy an IPL (intense pulse light) hair removal unit from Boots for the missus (or yourself) and you have a problem with it, and you happen to know a guy down the pub who works in any role for the manufacturer and you mention it, they HAVE to treat it as a complaint, investigate it, and resolve the problem for you. That's because it's classed as a medical device. But all companies should strive for something as close as this as they can get.

Garmin though are terrible so it really doesn't surprise me. Consequently hoards of people are buying Wahoo Bolts and selling on their Garmins. Garmin have become "fat, dumb and happy" and I believe they'll pay the price. As will all companies that have crap customer service and don't put processes in place to support the customer.

flasher

viewtopic.php?f=40004&t=13081232#p20151303

Just a terrible company with dreadful customer service.

kingstongraham

Grill wrote:

Would y'all's drop your car off at a service station with a note in the windscreen as to what was wrong and expect them to just sort it out? Common sense folks.

Oh - I forgot. This did happen once for me when my Renault broke down in Wales and it was taken back to a Renault dealer/garage in Essex on the back of a recovery truck on a Sunday. The recovery guys just left it outside and put the keys through the door without any explanation.

I wasn't entirely happy with the service I got, but I did get my car fixed under warranty and returned to me.

meanredspider

Flasher wrote:

http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=40004&t=13081232#p20151303

Just a terrible company with dreadful customer service.

That's just incredible! I'm blown away! They really sent him a little bit of rubber that should have lasted the life of the product but didn't FREE OF CHARGE???!!! :shock:

I can't be bothered to list the endless issues I've had with Garmin. Or the endless list of issues my friends have had. But they send a rubber bung....

bungle73

renevat wrote:

The sensor was damaged on a ride, not by me personally.

The point is it wasn't a fault.

bungle73

meanredspider wrote:

Flasher wrote:

http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=40004&t=13081232#p20151303

Just a terrible company with dreadful customer service.

That's just incredible! I'm blown away! They really sent him a little bit of rubber that should have lasted the life of the product but didn't FREE OF CHARGE???!!! :shock:

I can't be bothered to list the endless issues I've had with Garmin. Or the endless list of issues my friends have had. But they send a rubber bung....

I'm not sure what you mean by "should have lasted the life of the product but didn't"? How do you know it didn't last? You don't. All we know is that the cover was "missing". Second of all rubber is a substance tat deteriorates over time anyway, so why would you expect it to last as long as the rest of the unit?

flasher

meanredspider wrote:

I can't be bothered to list the endless issues I've had with Garmin. Or the endless list of issues my friends have had. But they send a rubber bung....

User error, i'd suggest, but of course you're way too smart for that to ever be the case.

I've had a 705, 800, and now a 1000 for riding, my kids use a Drive 40 and Nuvi 40 in their cars and my car's built-in uses Garmin maps and the only trouble I've ever had was when the 705 refused to mount, it was out of guarantee, but I called Garmin and they swapped it over for a reconditioned unit.

meanredspider

Bungle73 wrote:

meanredspider wrote:

Flasher wrote:

http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=40004&t=13081232#p20151303

Just a terrible company with dreadful customer service.

That's just incredible! I'm blown away! They really sent him a little bit of rubber that should have lasted the life of the product but didn't FREE OF CHARGE???!!! :shock:

I can't be bothered to list the endless issues I've had with Garmin. Or the endless list of issues my friends have had. But they send a rubber bung....

I'm not sure what you mean by "should have lasted the life of the product but didn't"? How do you know it didn't last? You don't. All we know is that the cover was "missing". Second of all rubber is a substance tat deteriorates over time anyway, so why would you expect it to last as long as the rest of the unit?

Pretty much by definition. When you design a product, you consider the environment and the use cases and the expected lifetime and you design each of the bits to last the lifetime of the product. If they don't, then it's a failure of the product (unless it's had accidental damage). And, yes, rubber deteriorates - so don't use it or supply a number of spares with the unit or, whoopy doo, supply free spares.