Does Minelab understand the concept of Customer Service ?

[Keppy]

yep!!!!, same here with the people that say they wont buy a fisher product! less competition

Well i have a Sovereign i like it had a sovereign since 1992 but the more i have been useing Fishers i am starting to like them. Got a Omega looking at the F70 and for sure am going to get a New Gold Bug 3 when the dealers get them in. So every one that gets bad mouths i am useing.....

 

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[jeff of pa]

So every one that gets bad mouths i am useing.....

I'm Bad Mouthing This one

http://shop.nationalgeographic.com/ngs/browse/productDetail.jsp?productId=1074307&code=SR60001

 

[seeker41]

So every one that gets bad mouths i am useing.....

I'm Bad Mouthing This one

http://shop.nationalgeographic.com/ngs/browse/productDetail.jsp?productId=1074307&code=SR60001

thats one goofy lookin, poorly designed toy detector

 

[Keppy]

So every one that gets bad mouths i am useing.....7777788888888888888888888888888

I'm Bad Mouthing This one

http://shop.nationalgeographic.com/ngs/browse/productDetail.jsp?productId=1074307&code=SR60001

Thank God i am not useing the national geog.one and don't plan to......... So i guess i am not useing all the ones being bad mouthed.....

 

[Deepdiger60]

last time I sent my Minelab in,
I got a call saying it was there Before I even expected it to reach them
which was a Load off My Mind.

They gave me a Estimate of Time,
Which I Personally Miscounted & Got Impatient.

Half my calls Got though Half of
them got Answers. Half got "Call Back
nobody is in" type answers.

There were several times I got messages saying
the Number didn't Exist (This was upsetting)

I actually found out it was done on a Call to them
not a call from them. (Yes due to my Impatience I Guess).
anyway,
they went over everything and
did more then I requested to my detector.
And it cost Much less then I Expected.
I Also got a Tracking # & Had to sign
when it reached me.

Awsome Service I suppose,

But the Phone Service definately Needed
some Improvement.

I tryed calling Verizon about my DSL service i refuse to talk to a robot with a foreign accent !! , and you will never complain about Minelab,s again . Hell or High water iam getting that Excal II in April

 

[jeff of pa]

DSL Help Line

 

[[email protected]]

Being an old fisher user, the only thing I can add to this thread is that a friend of mine wanted to get into detecting. He wanted me to get him a decent machine and based on all the hype at the time, I bought him a Sovereign Elite brand new. He used it twice in 3 years and the thing is sitting in a pile on his floor. It completely fell apart and I tried to get it to stay together with no luck. The guy paid big money for it and now has to send it in to get fixed out of his own pocket. He claims that he did nothing to break it and the housing is cracked and a bolt that holds it all together fell off in the field.
I feel terrible that he trusted me to get him a good machine and now he has a pile of rubbish on his floor and who knows what he will have to pay to get it fixed as the warranty is toast. I found a new bolt for him but it is no good with a cracked housing.
2 other old timers wanted me to get them started and I bought them old fishers (used) and they are still bush crashing with me to this day. One guy leaves it in his truck all the time, (in the heat and cold) searched several times in the rain without putting a bag on it, and is rough with it out in the field and that machine is still working perfect.
Sure technology has improved(?) but the durability is crappy. I've been following these kind of threads for years and can say for certain that there are WAY too many repairs nowadays.
I'm not bashing minelab, I'm just sharing my only experience.
Dave.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Strange, I have 2 Sovereign GT's, both over 3 years old now, and I see people selling old Sovereigns older then mine that have been heavily used, and they haven't fallen apart like that..

 

[X-Splenda]

Minelab is a great Company and great metal detector...
it all takes time to learn the detector
i have the x-terra

 

[olas13]

MY 2 cents. I've been using a sov.xs for 10 years. Once it would not turn on. I sent it in and after 1 week they contacted me and told me that they could not fix the unit. They sent me a new sov xs 2a pro as a replacement!! NO CHARGE.
I had pruchased the xs. used! not even new! with no warranty.
I was impressed.
I have since sent in my xs2a pro for a problem with switching from disc. to all metal.
they fixed it quickly and for cheap money.
I haven't delt with them since takover but I don't want to used anything else because I LOVE the whole concept and performance of the machine/s.
Thanks for reading. HH.

 

[ronald99]

What i cant understand why if he sent this to Minelab why a dealer would tell him Minelab said charge this price when Minelab has fixed my detectors and you pay them not a dealer,and why would the dealer say a different price unless he was trying to get this person upset with Minelab and purchase a different detector.This story makes no sense and i also know Minelab has changed and there customer service is backed up but i recently spoke with the repair deparment and they sent me what i needed free,Sometimes a person needs to call back and speak with the correct person,and make notes of who you spoke with.
I own 4 Minelab products and have been very happy with them,Maybe this guys problem was more with his dealer than Minelab,after reading his dealer quoted different repair prices,Kinda odd.

You left out a big part of the story, at least I didn't see if the detector was still under warranty? Being an Explorer II I don't think it could be so not sure why you would expect it to be fixed for free. That said, several years ago I sent my perfectly working explorer in for a new plastic housing and that was it! ...a 5 minute job. I made it very clear what I wanted including a note, but the next contact I received was a bill owing for over $300 for a new circuit board! I seriously lost it on the dude over the phone and I would have fought it the rest of my life before I would have paid a nickel towards a repair I neither asked for or needed. I have absolutely no doubt Minelab screws people either directly, or indirectly from repair center being competent which, as you know, is always behind. I've never sent another detector back again and don't really plan to. I'd rather take a loss and move on than to be scammed by BS repairs. If you send a unit to them you'd better expect to pay for a new board, it just seems to be their way.

Actually, I don't expect anything to be fixed for free. I returned this morning to the dealer who I purchased it from and Minelab told him to charge me $359.15 to replace the circuit boards. He, the dealer, told me that he could not ethically charge me that amount as Minelab was charging him only $259.15

I'm pretty dissapointed in this hobby....don't get me wrong it has been fun but I just can't afford to continue with it. It took me a long time to save the $1500.00 to buy the machine and now to have this happen..like I said, I just can't afford it any more and what if it happens again?

Please accept my humble apologies if i have offended anyone.I'm not trying to come off as a jerk but I just don't feel like Minelab has treated me right on this deal.

My dealer did loan me a Fisher F75 to use until this mess gets straightened out. he is a great guy and I have bought 3 machines from him over the past 20 plus years. And if I should be so blessed, will continue to do so in the future.

 

[Nonickels]

I can't believe I missed this thread...

Cobra_Jet's experience has mirrored mine, with a few differences. I have made 5 calls since the start of December that I was promised a return call and received none. And none of mine were with a call center, all of them were Minelab's office. No matter how much the long wait has ticked me off, the lack of respect is just as bad if not worse.


My Etrac stopped functioning towards the end of November. I turned it on for a minute at a friends house, turned it off, put it in his trunk and drove five miles, wouldn't turn on. Nothing but a low hum. And this was only a little over two months after I had got it.

So I made two calls in December, both of which resulted in the broken promise of a return call. All I really wanted was to talk to a tech to see if there was something I could do to fix it, and if not, what I needed to do to have them fix it. Since it was December in NW Ohio, I really wasn't too concerned, figured I had all winter to get it in and fixed. I had followed Gibsondans story of getting his Etrac fixed, so I thought it would be only a few weeks, maybe a month total. Ha.

After the first of the year, I made another call, still not returned. Finally, the 3rd week of January, I called and talked to someone in service.
I was told where to send it, what to include, etc. Ok, here we go.

Sent it in the first of February, UPS said it would be there on the 11th, so I called on the 11th just to give them a heads up, find out about how long it would be, etc. And got another non-callback. So I called the next day, talked to someone in service who told me they thought they knew what would be wrong with the machine by my description and that currently their turnaround time was 20 days. Sorry, let me correct that. 20 Working Days. There was a little confusion over that, because I work 7 days a week sometimes, so I naturally assumed 20 days meant, well, 20 days. Archaic term is archaic?

So, this last week after 20 "working days" were over, I called back. And was told that they were now out 30 days. Well, good thing I sent mine in when it was 20 days then right? What? No, it's going to be at least 2 more weeks? So, the thing you just told me 10 seconds ago about it being 30 days, has just suddenly became 35 or 40?

Yeah, it's getting nice here and not being able to go detect is making me a bit grumpy, but this is totally uncalled for. Someone returning my call or, heaven forbid, calling me and updating me on where it stands, would have done wonders. Even a "Hey we are swamped here, it's going to be a month, we will try to get it out as soon as possible" would have been great. But no. We get Big Timed by them.

Don't get me wrong. I LOVE my Etrac. I was a White's man for 12 years. And while I hear White's customer service is awesome, I never found out, because my XLT never broke down in 12 years. Maybe we can get White's to do a hostile takeover of Minelab CS? Do you hear me Sweet Home?

 

[Deepdiger60]

I can't believe I missed this thread...

Cobra_Jet's experience has mirrored mine, with a few differences. I have made 5 calls since the start of December that I was promised a return call and received none. And none of mine were with a call center, all of them were Minelab's office. No matter how much the long wait has ticked me off, the lack of respect is just as bad if not worse.


My Etrac stopped functioning towards the end of November. I turned it on for a minute at a friends house, turned it off, put it in his trunk and drove five miles, wouldn't turn on. Nothing but a low hum. And this was only a little over two months after I had got it.

So I made two calls in December, both of which resulted in the broken promise of a return call. All I really wanted was to talk to a tech to see if there was something I could do to fix it, and if not, what I needed to do to have them fix it. Since it was December in NW Ohio, I really wasn't too concerned, figured I had all winter to get it in and fixed. I had followed Gibsondans story of getting his Etrac fixed, so I thought it would be only a few weeks, maybe a month total. Ha.

After the first of the year, I made another call, still not returned. Finally, the 3rd week of January, I called and talked to someone in service.
I was told where to send it, what to include, etc. Ok, here we go.

Sent it in the first of February, UPS said it would be there on the 11th, so I called on the 11th just to give them a heads up, find out about how long it would be, etc. And got another non-callback. So I called the next day, talked to someone in service who told me they thought they knew what would be wrong with the machine by my description and that currently their turnaround time was 20 days. Sorry, let me correct that. 20 Working Days. There was a little confusion over that, because I work 7 days a week sometimes, so I naturally assumed 20 days meant, well, 20 days. Archaic term is archaic?

So, this last week after 20 "working days" were over, I called back. And was told that they were now out 30 days. Well, good thing I sent mine in when it was 20 days then right? What? No, it's going to be at least 2 more weeks? So, the thing you just told me 10 seconds ago about it being 30 days, has just suddenly became 35 or 40?

Yeah, it's getting nice here and not being able to go detect is making me a bit grumpy, but this is totally uncalled for. Someone returning my call or, heaven forbid, calling me and updating me on where it stands, would have done wonders. Even a "Hey we are swamped here, it's going to be a month, we will try to get it out as soon as possible" would have been great. But no. We get Big Timed by them.

Don't get me wrong. I LOVE my Etrac. I was a White's man for 12 years. And while I hear White's customer service is awesome, I never found out, because my XLT never broke down in 12 years. Maybe we can get White's to do a hostile takeover of Minelab CS? Do you hear me Sweet Home?

Not all can do this but a backup detector is always good to have in your case, 35 to 40 days is totally unacceptable and i agree Whites is the best for CS I hope my Sov. GT dont have to be serviced anytime soon .

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

I can't believe I missed this thread...

Cobra_Jet's experience has mirrored mine, with a few differences. I have made 5 calls since the start of December that I was promised a return call and received none. And none of mine were with a call center, all of them were Minelab's office. No matter how much the long wait has ticked me off, the lack of respect is just as bad if not worse.


My Etrac stopped functioning towards the end of November. I turned it on for a minute at a friends house, turned it off, put it in his trunk and drove five miles, wouldn't turn on. Nothing but a low hum. And this was only a little over two months after I had got it.

So I made two calls in December, both of which resulted in the broken promise of a return call. All I really wanted was to talk to a tech to see if there was something I could do to fix it, and if not, what I needed to do to have them fix it. Since it was December in NW Ohio, I really wasn't too concerned, figured I had all winter to get it in and fixed. I had followed Gibsondans story of getting his Etrac fixed, so I thought it would be only a few weeks, maybe a month total. Ha.

After the first of the year, I made another call, still not returned. Finally, the 3rd week of January, I called and talked to someone in service.
I was told where to send it, what to include, etc. Ok, here we go.

Sent it in the first of February, UPS said it would be there on the 11th, so I called on the 11th just to give them a heads up, find out about how long it would be, etc. And got another non-callback. So I called the next day, talked to someone in service who told me they thought they knew what would be wrong with the machine by my description and that currently their turnaround time was 20 days. Sorry, let me correct that. 20 Working Days. There was a little confusion over that, because I work 7 days a week sometimes, so I naturally assumed 20 days meant, well, 20 days. Archaic term is archaic?

So, this last week after 20 "working days" were over, I called back. And was told that they were now out 30 days. Well, good thing I sent mine in when it was 20 days then right? What? No, it's going to be at least 2 more weeks? So, the thing you just told me 10 seconds ago about it being 30 days, has just suddenly became 35 or 40?

Yeah, it's getting nice here and not being able to go detect is making me a bit grumpy, but this is totally uncalled for. Someone returning my call or, heaven forbid, calling me and updating me on where it stands, would have done wonders. Even a "Hey we are swamped here, it's going to be a month, we will try to get it out as soon as possible" would have been great. But no. We get Big Timed by them.

Don't get me wrong. I LOVE my Etrac. I was a White's man for 12 years. And while I hear White's customer service is awesome, I never found out, because my XLT never broke down in 12 years. Maybe we can get White's to do a hostile takeover of Minelab CS? Do you hear me Sweet Home?

If I call Minelab, or any business for that matter, and they say they will call me back, if I don't get a return call within 24 hours I make the return call myself..... I wait the time I was quoted in working days, (most businesses do not work 7 days a week) and on the first day after the quoted time period I call them, I do not wait for a return call, I don't expect one, it's my detector I make the call...

Your biggest mistake was in not sending it in to Minelab in November when you noticed there was a problem, the turn around time then was about 14 working days... Why would you wait 2.5 months to send it in?

Now winter is ending, and detecting time is here and your frustrated you don't have your ETrac and Minelab is taking so long. I understand the frustration, but what about the 75 +/- days you waited before sending it in to have Minelab look at it? That is the main reason you don't have it now to use.

I had a Whites Beach Hunter ID, it leaked twice on me while under warranty, I paid twice to send it in to get it fixed, I asked them why it leaked again after the first time and was told they didn't know, maybe I wasn't closing it properly, after which Whites later on comes out and says they all had defective o-rings. They did not reimburse me the cost of my sending it in, nor did I get a call telling me they were replacing the o-rings on new BHID.....I personally have no desire to see Whites take over Minelab

Hope you get it back soon and your back out hunting.....

 

[Nonickels]

If I call Minelab, or any business for that matter, and they say they will call me back, if I don't get a return call within 24 hours I make the return call myself..... I wait the time I was quoted in working days, (most businesses do not work 7 days a week) and on the first day after the quoted time period I call them, I do not wait for a return call, I don't expect one, it's my detector I make the call...

Your biggest mistake was in not sending it in to Minelab in November when you noticed there was a problem, the turn around time then was about 14 working days... Why would you wait 2.5 months to send it in?

Now winter is ending, and detecting time is here and your frustrated you don't have your ETrac and Minelab is taking so long. I understand the frustration, but what about the 75 +/- days you waited before sending it in to have Minelab look at it? That is the main reason you don't have it now to use.

I had a Whites Beach Hunter ID, it leaked twice on me while under warranty, I paid twice to send it in to get it fixed, I asked them why it leaked again after the first time and was told they didn't know, maybe I wasn't closing it properly, after which Whites later on comes out and says they all had defective o-rings. They did not reimburse me the cost of my sending it in, nor did I get a call telling me they were replacing the o-rings on new BHID.....I personally have no desire to see Whites take over Minelab

Hope you get it back soon and your back out hunting.....

The 75 or so days I waited before sending it in to them are of no consequence. What if the hunt before the one where my detector stopped working had been my last for the season? And when I got it out to check it over before the start of spring it hadn't worked? Would that make this situation any better?

I freely admit, I am a procrastinator. That still doesn't excuse both how long Minelab is taking or how they have dealt with me. If your television stopped working and the repairman said it would take 4 weeks to fix, you wouldn't just accept that would you? What if at the end of that 4 weeks he told you it was now going to be 6 weeks? How would you be feeling about the chances of it actually being ready in 6 weeks?

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

The 75 or so days I waited before sending it in to them are of no consequence. What if the hunt before the one where my detector stopped working had been my last for the season? And when I got it out to check it over before the start of spring it hadn't worked? Would that make this situation any better?

I freely admit, I am a procrastinator. That still doesn't excuse both how long Minelab is taking or how they have dealt with me. If your television stopped working and the repairman said it would take 4 weeks to fix, you wouldn't just accept that would you? What if at the end of that 4 weeks he told you it was now going to be 6 weeks? How would you be feeling about the chances of it actually being ready in 6 weeks?

The 75 days you waited are of consequence when you are frustrated with Minelab and complaining about them not having your detector back to you in time for the new hunting season when you freely admitted you procrastinated in sending it in to repair for over 2 months. The repair time in November was approximately 14 days +/- so you would have had your detector back before Christmas time and there would not even be an issue now.

What if at the end of that 4 weeks he told you it was now going to be 6 weeks? How would you be feeling about the chances of it actually being ready in 6 weeks?

There in lies the problem too many people make, detectors are not like televisions, there are hundreds of repair centers in every major town that have parts on hand to fix a television. Minelab has ONE repair center in the entire U.S. and it gets all customer repairs for the U.S., as well as those detectors sold overseas through U.S. dealer websites. How long do you suppose it would take to fix that television if there was only one television repair center in the entire U.S.?

If they tell you it will take approximately 20 working days, and when they get to your detector and find they do not have a certain part to repair your detector, then it will take longer then originally reported as they have to wait for that part to come in, they run out of parts just like everyone else does......People have been waiting close to a year now for repairs on some Tesoro Sand and Tiger Sharks because of the unavilability of the water-proof connectors.

Maybe it's just me, but if someone tells me they will call me in a week with a status update and I don't get that call, I will call them and get the status myself, I don't get mad they didn't call me, if need be I will call them every day, after all it is my detector they have.

With that said, I sincerely hope you get your detector back soon and get out hunting....I know the feeling of not having a detector when hunting season is here, that is why I now have 2 backup water detectors, and 2 backup land detectors. Last year I had my 2 water detectors go down a week apart, through no fult of Minelab, but rather "Murphy's Law", which is why I now have 3 water detectors. (all bought used)

 

[Sandman]

Treasure Hunter I have a lot more back ups than 3, but I call them back ups only as an excuse to buy more.

Well said on the repair centers being over loaded.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Treasure Hunter I have a lot more back ups than 3, but I call them back ups only as an excuse to buy more.

Well said on the repair centers being over loaded.

Thanks SM, I would probably buy another Excal if I came across another one for a good price...If I get them at a good price, I can mod them and then always sell them a couple years down the road for what I have in them, that is a major advantage when buying a good used detector....How hard would it be to sell a Minelab Excalibur with the Coiltec WOT coil spliced on and a custom straight shaft on it for $600? I have $600 in my last one after it was modded....

 

[Keppy]

Treasure Hunter .. I myself am a Minelab person but like _Monty _said he never saw so many Minelab detectors go in for repair.Then you say you had 2 of yours go down in a week you know that does not sound good for Minelab.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Treasure Hunter .. I myself am a Minelab person but like _Monty _said he never saw so many Minelab detectors go in for repair.Then you say you had 2 of yours go down in a week you know that does not sound good for Minelab.

On my oldest Excal, it was 3 years old when I bought it, a wire that broke in the headset after I had owned it for 3 years, the Excal was over 6 years old when the wire broke on the headset and I lost volume in the left ear....It work 6 years before having to be sent in the first time

On the other detector a week after I sent the Excal off to get it repaired "I" cracked the coil on my waterproofed water unit when it fell over after leaning it coil up against my van, no coil cover was on it either, you can't blame that on Minelab either, that was my stupid mistake.

I still say they make excellent detectors and have good customer service.....