Is White's customer service better than the rest?

[kingvegan]

I am in pain over my broken Tesoro Tiger Shark which I bought in part because of its lifetime warranty ,which is now worthless. I have been looking at all kinds of replacement machines new and used but but after reading so many post on TN about hassles with Minelab and Fisher and the thought echoed here that all manufacturers are lacking on keeping their promises, I think maybe I should buy a whites PI unit brand new.

My whites 5900 SL broke when I dropped it almost 20 years ago and whites fixed it under warranty even though I said I had dropped it and they got it back fast and even replaced a knob I had lost. Do they still have these high standards?

I am not a wealthy guy, a $1000 plus Toy comes from sacrifices. I am just looking to make an informed purchase based on more than a manufactures sales speak.

Any help is appreciated.

 

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[yardgoat]

I've had to use their customer repair service a few times and always received nothing but 5 star service, quick turn around and things were done right. I highly recommend them.

 

[smokeythecat]

Kingvegan, before you give up on the Tesoro, remember these are analog machines and can be repaired. Trick is to find an electronic technician who can do it. An oscilloscope and the proper part would do it. These are not computers on a stick.

 

[mindcrime1988]

I know a lot of folks bash Garrett but the AT Pro is hard to beat. It might not be the greatest detector out there but it has made some excellent finds for me.

And regarding your thread title........Garrett has one of the best customer service reputations out there. I'm sure others will chime in to agree.

 

[smokeythecat]

Both Garretts and White have exceptional customer service, and their machines are built to LAST. Quality control is excellent. I have owned both. I had a bad knob thing on one White's and it was a non issue with them. Garretts fixed a pinpointer I had lost on a salt water beach, and although my fault, repaired it in less than 2 weeks turnaround and was CHEAP.

WHATEVER YOU DO, try to test drive a new machine if you go in that direction. Not all machines are created equal.

 

[Chug And Red]

I fully agree with Smokey, if you ever get the chance to visit the Whites factory in sweet home Oregon go for it Great museum the you can go thru while the fix your Machine if its a Quick fix been there twice for coil replacements over the years Chug

 

[orgwayne]

I Agree with Chug , I live west of Sweet Home , and have taken my XLT in for service twice in 10 years , By the time I Have walked around the Museum the thing is fixed !! last there , the ladies at the front desk even threw in a coil that came back in the package , never used for nothing !!
Love there service
Wayne

 

[Megalodon]

I fully agree with Smokey, if you ever get the chance to visit the Whites factory in sweet home Oregon go for it Great museum the you can go thru while the fix your Machine if its a Quick fix been there twice for coil replacements over the years Chug

Never thought about visiting Whites, Garrett, etc for their museums. That is a great idea. Thanks.

 

[smokeythecat]

I never thought of it either, but I'm a long way from Oregon.

 

[Megalodon]

I never thought of it either, but I'm a long way from Oregon.

Me too , but I visit Portland every fall. Gave an invited scientific talk in Corvallis years ago and that's even closer (should have gone to Sweet Home then).

 

[smokeythecat]

Closest I get is San Jose. One offspring lives there in the land of fruits and berries.

 

[Megalodon]

I've got one in Portland and one 12 minutes away. The one 12 minutes away has our grandson - the only reason why we stay in Maryland. I can't see myself living in Portland, but i like Astoria and could like some other small towns.

 

[Deep1]

Don't rely on customer service to make a buying choice.
You want a detector you are comfortable with and have confidence in.
Not one who has best repair service.
Over the years, most all major detector manufacturers have had some sort of service issues at some time.
They knew to stay in business and be profitable, quality service is important.
So they work hard to resolve internal service issues to provide good service.
Some may be better than others at it, but they all provide good service.
When looking at the big boys, fisher, whites, garrett, minelab, etc, I don't consider service as part of the buying equation.
I'm looking for what will suit me and serve my purpose best. Not who has best customer service.

 

[Professor of Engineering]

Hello Megalodon,

What was the subject of the scientific talk? I'm a Physicist and am just curious.

Doc

 

[Megalodon]

Hello Megalodon,

What was the subject of the scientific talk? I'm a Physicist and am just curious.

Doc

Evolution in a species of fish. Divergence in isolation during coastal Pleistocene glaciation and the evolution of isolating mechanisms when the glaciers retreated. A type of punctuated equilibrium with some geographic variation thrown in for fun. Mostly showed that not all evolution occurs slowly nor required hundreds of millions of years.

Within a few years of publication, the papers that came from this work were cited over 500 times and may still be discussed in the textbooks. Occasionally, I'm still surprised to meet a young grad student at a meeting who tells me the work inspired their research and that my paper was the first one they cited in the introduction of their thesis.

The funny thing is I had to re-invent myself for the job market. But that work also resulted in landmark papers, invited talks, and textbook citations. When I received an award for "democracy in conservation biology" at Monticello a few years ago, I realized the administration that opposes both would fire me if they found out about how inclusive i was, so I chose to retire a little early at 62 in 2017, even though i loved what i was doing and my co-workers.

 

[alaskaseeker]

Whites is outstanding I think, I had a surf PI that had a problem, Went to Whites in Sweethome, the rep told me to wait for a few minutes, came back with a new one in a box.. Pretty happy with that for sure...

 

[RustyGold]

We are blessed by some very erudite folks on this forum.

 

[cudamark]

I've had very good service from White's and Minelab. Unless your search area is relatively iron free, I probably wouldn't choose a PI machine. Even though I search in all metal, I like to be able to I.D. a "for sure" iron target so I can pass it by. Right now, the best deal on a all-around detector that also works great on a salt water beach, is the Minelab Equinox.

 

[GPS53]

The FEW times I have had to deal with Whites service, I have been extremely happy with them. Never had a problem!