Customer Service Issue

[GhostLighter]

Hello, everyone. I know I'm fairly new to this forum, but I'm in need of some advice and/or perspective on a customer service issue that I'm in the middle of. I'm going to keep the company's name out of this, because I'm not here to sling mud. I'm really just wanting to see if my anger and frustration is justified or if I'm overreacting.

In the middle of February, I sent one of my moving lights to the manufacturer's service center for repair. The company said that they needed to retrofit a part into the fixture and that they would cover the repair/return shipping costs. Awesome, right? Well...The repairs took a bit longer than I had hoped, but was told on March 5th, by one of their service managers, that the repairs were completed and that the fixture would ship out on March 6th or March 9th. He also said that I would receive tracking info once it was shipped. After a week of waiting for the tracking info (or the fixture), I called the service manager and left a message. After another week of waiting, I tried calling again. Had to leave another message. Waited another 4 or so days and tried again. Yet another message. I called their main office, in hopes that maybe they could get an answer out of their service center. After they tried to make contact with their service center, I was informed that I should be receiving a phone call or an email from the service center in the next day or two. And yet, no call and no email. It's now April, and after leaving more messages today, I still haven't heard from the manager at the service center or the main office concerning where my fixture is and will it will be shipped out to me.

Am I crazy for being unbelievably frustrated? Should I be more patient? I realize that they are one of the bigger companies in our industry and that I am not their only customer, but I've never experienced such terrible customer service. Unfortunately, this is not the first frustrating experience I've had with this company. I've had multiple issues with them, mainly when I try to get parts. The last time I needed parts (2 DMX Drivers, $10/each, which were in stock), I ordered them over the phone and asked for them to be sent overnight. Three weeks and multiple "we don't know why it hasn't been shipped out" phone calls later, I finally got them. However, they did cover the cost of the parts, so I guess that's a plus.

I apologize for the lengthy post and offer my thanks in advance for any and all advice or insight.

 

[Footer]

Name them. They have your gear. Odds are they have a contact here that can help move things along.

 

[GhostLighter]

That's a fair point. I just didn't want to come across as someone on a smear campaign. But, in the interest of trying to get a result...it's Elation. I'm honestly at a loss for what to do next.

 

[SteveB]

Any chance this all was happening during the USITT conference ?.

Sometimes the manufacturers US rep's get behind on work calls and e-mails when they are super busy at the convention.

I've learned not to try to get info. and quotes during LDI, USITT, etc...

Just a thought.

 

[derekleffew]

it's Elation. I'm honestly at a loss for what to do next.

I'd send a PM to @ELASERV and/or @eloader.

 

[GhostLighter]

Any chance this all was happening during the USITT conference ?.

Yeah, I guess it did. Perhaps that's a valid reason for all of this.

I'd send a PM to @ELASERV and/or @eloader.

I'll give that a shot. Thanks.

 

[rsmentele]

Let me know if you don't hear anything shortly, I have a relationship with the National Sales manager there and can give him a shout too.

 

[techieman33]

Any chance this all was happening during the USITT conference ?.

Sometimes the manufacturers US rep's get behind on work calls and e-mails when they are super busy at the convention.

I've learned not to try to get info. and quotes during LDI, USITT, etc...

Just a thought.

Maybe it can be harder to get info or a quote during a big convention, but there is no excuse for there to be a delay in parts shipment or lighting repair. This is a very time sensitive business and the manufacturers should all realize this. Not taking care of things like this in a timely manner is a sure fire way to lose customers in a hurry.

 

[ship]

pisses me off also in takaking a few moments to reply at least. No excuse! My own battle in just asking suppliers if they can get Windex with Vineager of late.

No USITT rational for why a company you are doing business with can't contact you in asking about your gear you need to do shows with es[ecially if late. You should not be having these problems and your priority is to get gear back from the service center on time - don't matter how large a customer you are or what else is going on. Yes you are correct in not slinging mud, but at this point it's time to climb the chain of command. Do not threaten, just inquire and or cite to upper management the shows this gear has at this point missed due to lack of performance by your supplier. Hopefully shoud get the ball rolling.

Always a fun thing to do when you have a bunch of other things to be working on - this also being the only one pushing the ball on what should have been rolled back to you already in response... just in ensuring stuff that should be done and on the way back as expected gets done when suppliers go quiet in response.

Somewhere on the forum is probably already related the dorm room phone call by Robert Altman in why my 3.5Q parts were not shipped out on time to get a fixture up and running in time for a show during USITT and their big Shakesphere presentation. That was snail mail letter back in the 90's sent to him response and it did get response even if to some punk kid in a college dorm room which probably had repeded calls to it in reaching me. Big fan of him - not because he helped solve the problem too late, or that he sent extra parts, more that he took personal interest in helping afterwards and never had a problem since.

Don't matter to what size a customer you are to the management, you are supposted to be taken care of no matter how much you might complain publically or not. To upper management you are a customer that someone in service has not done their job in helping in now bothering them for inquiring about. That's a more important problem to them.

At this point contact upper management with your problem and see how that goes. Also mention further work and sales given this problem that it would seem in question with reliability.

 

[Terrence MacArthur]

Got to agree. While conferences and the like can be a reason for getting behind on relatively routine and not time sensitive things like info or quotes, there is no valid excuse, unless it's something like "Hurricane Sandy destroyed our repair facility" for the kind of delays and, especially, the lack of response you've experienced. The only practical move at this point is to go up the chain of command. It's amazing how people can suddenly accomplish what had seemed to be impossible once they've gotten a call from higher up asking why they aren't doing their job. Another benefit to going higher is that in case there's some problem in systems or procedures that's causing the delay in handling your gear, the higher ups will find out about it and most likely mandate whatever changes seem necessary.

 

[GhostLighter]

Sorry for the delay in posting this update but I finally received my fixture. Coincidentally or not, the morning after starting this thread, I got a phone call from the service manager. He apologized profusely for the lack of communication, and explained that he had been out of town for the previous 3 weeks and was unable to access his voicemail. They shipped my fixture out that day and it arrived the following morning.

Needless to say, I do not look forward to dealing with Elation again any time soon.

 

[techieman33]

Glad your got your light back. Vacation or not someone else should have picked up the ball and made sure your got your light back if he was unable to. I doubt the whole shop would have gone on a 3 week vacation and gotten back on a Thursday.

 

[ship]

Should have kept the vendor out in results and who it was as per premise. Three week vacation without any contact to work and nobody picking up your slack in forwarded emails or at least "I'm out of town at the moment, X person will cover for me" email tag is a better way to do it in keeping customers happy at least. If not an exceuse. Again if in this case, how is it that someone gets to get a three week vacation and everything drops in communications due to that for a business standpoint does that sit for up in the chain of command? This at least in still charging you labor for the repair? Someone has a baby... perhaps a day later planning as to who now runs the department. Three weeks without reply? Assuming right away after your post here, the person looking onto the posts might explain? Parts at times need time to acqure and a backlogue is a backlogue, takes minutes at most to relay in keeping a customer informed.

I get out of office replies frequently and they automatically either forward me to someone else if not directly send my message, or that person I'm contacting is on a show floor, and replies later that they saw and will reply in a while.. The responsible thing to do to just reply within a day to a message.

If Mfr. was servicing your gear and some service manager went on a vacation so that's why you didn't get any word or your gear on time, beyond any excuse of USITT...

Recently had a Milwaukee Hammer Drill in for service. Took months - somehow got lost in their system. Given this, the repair was free. (hint.) I didn't really need this drill so let It ride by way of in-frequent reminders about it to the crappy supply company that still hasn't gotten me my Windex quote. Kind of a "wanna bee" supplier in good in some stuff but not ready to go pro. in trusting.

Was out of contact for a few hours today in going home to get other work done that couldn't be done in the shop - something with weather patterns than the baby got home and I got busy otherwise. Second reply to a crew chief that got a "stinger" Edison cable didn't go thru during this time in not just cutting plates but also replying to emails. Did just finish replying to him on computer before this reply in giving evidence of which end of the male/male cable to look at first and other details of "not me" but will speak to the responsible party for pulling such a cable placed into stock after roadie fix to it.

Again, no reason not to respond and apologizing in phone call is a agreed upon lie - let's face it as what it is, they screwed up in service, how now do they reprimand that by way of the bill?

 

[LavaASU]

Theres a reason I keep a zip lock full of cards of high level managers for companies I meet at trade shows. When issues get out of hand an email to senior manager usually solves it... if not calling cell phones usually does . I had an issue with a manufacturer (that will remain nameless) where the support guys were telling me they didn't know/couldn't tell me/no one knows/ ect the answer to a question I darn well knew they knew. One email to a VP results in my email being forwarded to the "don't know" guys with a request that they provide the info which I get in less than an hour.

 

[gafftaper]

Any chance this all was happening during the USITT conference ?. Sometimes the manufacturers US rep's get behind on work calls and e-mails when they are super busy at the convention. I've learned not to try to get info. and quotes during LDI, USITT, etc... Just a thought.

I'm late to the discussion and glad you received your fixture back. Just wanted to point out that Elation had a small booth at USITT. It was probably 10x20 and couldn't have had more than a dozen fixtures. No giant truss structure and no crazy light show. Stressing out about show preparations was definitely not a legitimate excuse.

 

[ship]

And that's how the world turns properly in getting stuff done. Keep your contacts and put them to use. Challenge is they often leave their jobs or even retire years later when you need them. But a good data base is a great start always. Part of my department is filled with the sick/lame/lazy guys. Somehow I manage them best, a project for when out of other work is to update my Rolidex. Yes I really have one and even have a punch tool for it. The over one inch thick stack of business cards I have not added yet needs work in adding to it. Than I will let the assistant take on my computer contacts. Computer system changed to something more complex than workable "upgrade" Have one of my guys fix it for me between projects.

Remember don't matter how large you are in bite, if correct and accurate you have a role to play in respect.