Minelab customer service

[sonofadigger]

Anyone deal with minelabs customer service? And if so how is it. I just sent my detector in for the first time and was just curious how long do they normally take. I have dealt with Garrett several times and they have always been great to work with.



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[CanUDigIt]

Yep. I sent my Minelab X-Terra 30 electronics to be fixed after my wife's Fisher F2 seemed to be getting more depth. They ran a bunch of tests for about a week and said it was working fine. I was so disappointed, I bought a Teknetics T2 and have been happy ever since.

 

[SD51]

I had a good experience with Minelab completing my warranty repair quickly. The real problem was trying to ship it to Minelab and expecting it to survive the shipping. Won't ever use USPS again!

 

[cntrydncr1]

If it is warranty work then they are ok but if it is out of warranty and you are sending it to Kellyco then don't expect to get it back for months.

 

[sonofadigger]

I guess I will give it a week or so and then see where we are at with it

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[Deerhunter24]

In March my Minelab Explorer wouldn't turn on. It needs repair and it "out of warranty."

First week of April I started calling Minelab Repair Center at KellyCo to see about sending it in...as I was getting conflicting reports of what to do.

After a week of calling...I was finally able to get someone on the phone.

This person gave me good directions on sending it in. This was the 2nd week of April...about 7 weeks ago now.

Anyway, I too have heard to horror stories about lengthy return times for out of warranty repairs. I flat out asked the head honcho there..."so what's the expected repair time?"

He straight up answered..."we're about 2-3 weeks back logged."

I found this shocking as I've read reports online of people waiting 6 months and longer. I expressed my concern with this exact statement as I told him if read online that people have said they've been waiting 6 months, etc.

Again he responded basically saying anyone claiming wait times like that was "full of crap." He went on to say that they were behind for quite awhile...but has since caught up...and again stated they were o my back logged 2-3 weeks.

Anyway, I believed this and sent it in the next day...as if there was any other option!!! LOL. You're definitely as their mercy.

So...6 weeks go by and I decide to call them last week.

in the last 6 weeks, I've heard from 2 member of my detecting club that both stated they had machines in for repair there since last fall with no status updates.


Again, it took me a couple days to get ahold of someone.

same guy answered. I asked the status of my machine. He asked when I sent it in and gave him the date. Immediately he stated that for non warranty work they were on the "First week of March." He told me it will take awhile to get through March but that there aren't hardly any repairs for April for April repairs should go by quick.

however, doing simple math...one can deduce that on April 10 or so when I was told that the repair center was 2-3 weeks back...that should have meant they were working on repairs from March 20th or so.

So I am curious as to how 6 weeks of time passes and somehow they back track repairs 3 more weeks.

Anyway, it is frustrating as I am 100% at their mercy.

Also, I too am a business man and own my own business. The #1 thing I take pride in is by "NOT BS'ing" people.


These are facts...

i asked completely straightforward questions.
I got completely straightforward answers.

At this point though...I don't feel as though I've been told the truth.

I realize it's only been 7 weeks or so...but I got a feeling the waiting game will be even longer.

Whats upsetting is that I explained to the guy that of the repair was going to be 4-6 months that would buy an eTrac on the spot. He assured me that it wouldn't be that long.

Im a pretty patient person...so that would be upsetting if I missed my whole detecting season.


Deerhunter24.

 

[sonofadigger]

In March my Minelab Explorer wouldn't turn on. It needs repair and it "out of warranty."

First week of April I started calling Minelab Repair Center at KellyCo to see about sending it in...as I was getting conflicting reports of what to do.

After a week of calling...I was finally able to get someone on the phone.

This person gave me good directions on sending it in. This was the 2nd week of April...about 7 weeks ago now.

Anyway, I too have heard to horror stories about lengthy return times for out of warranty repairs. I flat out asked the head honcho there..."so what's the expected repair time?"

He straight up answered..."we're about 2-3 weeks back logged."

I found this shocking as I've read reports online of people waiting 6 months and longer. I expressed my concern with this exact statement as I told him if read online that people have said they've been waiting 6 months, etc.

Again he responded basically saying anyone claiming wait times like that was "full of crap." He went on to say that they were behind for quite awhile...but has since caught up...and again stated they were o my back logged 2-3 weeks.

Anyway, I believed this and sent it in the next day...as if there was any other option!!! LOL. You're definitely as their mercy.

So...6 weeks go by and I decide to call them last week.

in the last 6 weeks, I've heard from 2 member of my detecting club that both stated they had machines in for repair there since last fall with no status updates.


Again, it took me a couple days to get ahold of someone.

same guy answered. I asked the status of my machine. He asked when I sent it in and gave him the date. Immediately he stated that for non warranty work they were on the "First week of March." He told me it will take awhile to get through March but that there aren't hardly any repairs for April for April repairs should go by quick.

however, doing simple math...one can deduce that on April 10 or so when I was told that the repair center was 2-3 weeks back...that should have meant they were working on repairs from March 20th or so.

So I am curious as to how 6 weeks of time passes and somehow they back track repairs 3 more weeks.

Anyway, it is frustrating as I am 100% at their mercy.

Also, I too am a business man and own my own business. The #1 thing I take pride in is by "NOT BS'ing" people.


These are facts...

i asked completely straightforward questions.
I got completely straightforward answers.

At this point though...I don't feel as though I've been told the truth.

I realize it's only been 7 weeks or so...but I got a feeling the waiting game will be even longer.

Whats upsetting is that I explained to the guy that of the repair was going to be 4-6 months that would buy an eTrac on the spot. He assured me that it wouldn't be that long.

Im a pretty patient person...so that would be upsetting if I missed my whole detecting season.


Deerhunter24.

Bummer man that sucks I hope I don't have to go through that..mine still has warranty so from what I've heard that's priority?

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[DeepseekerADS]

I've dealt with Minelab Repair at Kellyco 3 times. The first was with my CTX, and I had it back in a week. The second time was with my Etrac - I'd managed to kill it myself - they don't like water. Had it back in perfect condition within 2 weeks. Then Barry passed away suddenly with no one to fill his shoes. RIP - great guy.

So then they got shellacked with repairs, big backlog.

And then figure in the availability of repair parts. Minelab doesn't FEDEX them, they go across the ocean on big ships, sometimes months in delivery.

The third repair took probably a month, but I was okay with that.

I've met these guys at Kellyco. They are doing the very best they can with the parts they have available. These are good guys.

Don't be cussing them. You'd have to see the backlog to understand their predicament. There's just 3 guys doing repairs - including machines from other manufacturers.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

FYI, I know by contract when Minelab repair receives warranty repair warranty takes priority over non-warranty work so that can slow down an estimate given, especially if they get a batch of multiple warranty repairs.. All they can do is give a customer an estimate as different detectors and problems take different amount of time to fix. I remember when repair was in Vegas, you couldn't talk to anyone in repair and I was quoted 40-45 working days till mine was fixed, that was working days, didn't include weekends or holidays.

 

[sonofadigger]

It's only been a week or so that it's been there so I will be patient and I still have my Etrac to swing in the meantime

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[mike b]

My rule from my own experience with in warranty and out of warranty Excalibur's, I don't expect to get it back for 3+ months, that's more than 25% of the year. Two machines had to be sent back because the problem wasn't fixed. One of those two stopped working in the first five minutes of the first dive of the year about June. Got it back in time for the last dive of that season, realized as soon as I hit the water it wasn't fixed and sent it back a day or two later for another 3 month visit.The worst was when they fixed them in Las Vegas, misplaced my machine in the shop, over 4 months to get that one back.

 

[sonofadigger]

Wow I'm not hearing very good things if they only have 3 people then I suggest they hire a few more

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[PowerDubs]

Minelab can't get parts to the guys for repair, but they can get plenty of new detectors into stores to sell?

Sounds like all the retailers need to band together, apply pressure to the parent company and force them to make some changes.


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[Deerhunter24]

I've met these guys at Kellyco. They are doing the very best they can with the parts they have available. These are good guys.

Don't be cussing them. You'd have to see the backlog to understand their predicament. There's just 3 guys doing repairs - including machines from other manufacturers.

DeepseekerADS,


Not sure if you were addressing me or not. If so...let it be known...I'm certainly not trying to cuss anyone. I'm just stating facts as to my experience thus far, which is exactly what the OP asked for. He's asking for people's experiences.


I'm sure they have a backlog. However, I would think that if there was that much demand for repairs and that few of people to do the job...you would think they would hire more people.

I'm not putting down these 3 workers...that's against Minelab. GET THESE BOYS SOME MORE HELP DOWN THERE!!! If minelab cannot get people to apply for those kind of jobs...then perhaps they need to offer more incentives, higher pay, etc. As far as being qualified to work on the machines...if the incentives were there...people would go get educated to do it.



Deepseeker ADS...thanks for your service as well. My father was in the 173rd Airborne in Vietnam 12/69-12/70. Also, I have a sister who lives in Martinsville, VA. Small world.




DH24

 

[Tony (Michigan)]

I recently sent My Explorer XS to england to Metal Detector Repair - Offical Minelab Service Centre
They are sending it back already and hope to get it soon. These folks are fast!

 

[DeepseekerADS]

Not sure if you were addressing me or not. If so...let it be known...I'm certainly not trying to cuss anyone.

No, wasn't addressing you. I wanted all to understand what Kellyco repair was facing. I was in their shop in November and there was a wall of shelves 8 feet high and 20 feet long filled with machines of all brands for repair.

The difficulty in hiring more repair personnel is that not only do they have to understand electronics, but also need to understand metal detectors. The hours I spent in that shop, I didn't see any "break time" going on.

I was taking a Florida trip anyway, and picked up a damaged Excal II I purchased from a member here, and they repaired it - wiring replacements. The Excal worked perfectly, and then I sold it to another member who at last word, loved it

Deepseeker ADS...thanks for your service as well. My father was in the 173rd Airborne in Vietnam 12/69-12/70. Also, I have a sister who lives in Martinsville, VA. Small world.DH24

Your father was there the same time I was, a lovely time.....

It was at a park in Martinsville where I got assaulted back a few months ago, got knocked out - never saw a thing. I really like Martinsville now

Keep the faith, and stay safe! It's Deep out there

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Hiring more people would most likely require raising the labor rate to cover the additional cost....

 

[sonofadigger]

Hiring more people would most likely require raising the labor rate to cover the additional cost....

So all repairs go to Kelly co?

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[sonofadigger]

Does minelab not have there own repair shop?

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[Treasure_Hunter]

The repair center at Kellyco is the official Minelab repair center, it was built by Minelab, it was just physically easier to be located at Kellyco. It was the backup Minelab repair center for the Chicago repair center, both techs in Chicago retired in spring of 2015 and the one located at Kellyco became the primary Minelab repair center in the Spring of 2015.

A year later the primary tech had a massive stoke and passed away, his brother Dave who is my close personal friend and who trained him stepped up to do all repairs till another tech could be found, Dave is still doing repairs as they continue to look for techs who know electronics and detecting.

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