Minelab Customer Service....what a shame......

[leefields]

just got off the phone with the customer service office in IL.....i think

listen dont take me wrong...i love minelab machines....have owned several and currently have an SE pro and a GT...

the voice entry was crap....then the girl i finally got on the phone did not know thing one about minelab products....not thing one....

spent 10 minutes getting my name address email and phone number then said she was just an service operator taking calls for minelab....

i asked if i could speak to someone at a desk in the main office....did i have a name of someone nope....then she would put me through to a voicemail....

dont bother...says i....it was just not worth the trouble already...


MINELAB..........

if by any chance you read this post......please please please get your customer service department in order....your company is top line in metal detectors for both hobby and industry...
but not the only company that makes top of the line machines....whites and garretts make pretty good machines as well....
just look at your top machine sales....1000 dollars minimum....and some of these owners will change machines every year or so....or every few months even...

30 days to fix a machine and some are looking at 2 months before return...come on...

listen there used to be a girl named Sandy that worked for the company in the past....step number one...get her....she is worth whatever it takes to improve
your customer service reputation...

sponsor the daytona beach hunt this coming year with kellyco or with one of the local hunt clubs heading things up for you....step number two....

take a page in some of the mags or put something online letting users know what is happening on the hobby side of your company....step number three....

hire someone to rep you on the forum sites....let them have instant email or IM with your service department.....kellyco has employees that monitor most of
the bigger forum sites to help with customer service....i have seen an unhappy customer attitude change with just a simple post or some email exchanges
letting them know that whatever the issue was it would be looked into and resolved....this type of customer service "good will" cannot not be bought....but
it can be earned very cheaply...step number four....

i for one will be buying used(as new) machines from now on....i simply wont pay 1200 to 1700 for a machine that likely costs a couple of hundred at the
most to produce....i do believe in profit...but not like that....not for a hobby...your excall should (IMHO) be priced around 650 to 700....and your etrac....about the same
...drop your prices...triple your sales...

i have said enough...

 

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[bottlebum]

I'm a little concerned that they are being made in Malaysia/ASIA now (please correct me if I'm wrong). I hope that their not using Chinese electronics. Then again, maybe they always have. Maybe my concerns are unfounded? Maybe someone can chime in and make me feel better about the purchase that I have made and am currently waiting for?

 

[leefields]

i am as well.... i hope that we are not getting to the point where the older models that were made and sold before the change over...will be the ones that people will be after...
listen lets be honest...does minelab make these machines in house??...i dont know....but i would not think so...
so if you have a current build and distribution system in place...why all the delays....owners changed...nothing else that matters changes...
.....but if you change suppliers and it takes the new guys time to get ramped up....delays....if you bid out suppliers then you are only after price per unit...quality will come a remote second...

two excalls in the box on the table....prices the same...excall 1000 yellow headphones and an excall 2 just delivered to my dealer this week....

prices the same i am buying the excall 1000......everyday

 

[bottlebum]

I'm going to remain faithful to my favorite detector manufacturer. From what I've been reading, it sounds as if things could possibly be getting even better with Minelab. Found this link that gives a little insight into the companys changes. http://www.minelab.com/consumer/knowledge-base/history
I've owned a few Minelabs and have never been let down yet. I think my concerns are more "$1500.00 purchase paranoia" than anything else......lol!

I can hardly wait to receive that box of E-Trac goodness.

 

[Silver Surfer]

I'm a little concerned that they are being made in Malaysia/ASIA now (please correct me if I'm wrong). I hope that their not using Chinese electronics. Then again, maybe they always have. Maybe my concerns are unfounded? Maybe someone can chime in and make me feel better about the purchase that I have made and am currently waiting for?

I also got the "girl in India", or where ever they are contracting out their call service, and she also knew nothing.. Finally had to go through 4H and get a "real" minelab persons number...
I too, wonder about this change in manufacturing... We all know that companies do it, cheap labor and also cheaper parts, but to what end? Are Excals going to become known for "the machine that is always being repaired?"... I sure hope not..
But hear this, the Whites machine I just bought (PI Dual) has a TWO YEAR full warranty, and the manual has two pages for transferring the warranty to another person, "should you decide to sell it while it is still in warranty".... Does Minelab do that? No.. And Whites is still a family owned company, so you know that they take "the little things" seriously still... I love my Excal for the little time I was able to use it, and I cant wait to get it back, but the whole experience of having it break down and send it in for repair has been nerve racking.. I still have NO IDEA when it will be done..
Just ask MT Pockets how long his has been there..

 

[bottlebum]

Yeah, the longer I wait and the more I read, the more I am losing confidence. I've never had a problem with a Minelab before but I keep having visions of New hires with no experiance using cheap, Chinese parts, building my one thousand five hundred dollar machine. Kind of scary. I've never owned a whites before. However, I do know that my Minelabs have always performed well for me.

 

[Silver Surfer]

I have worked the crap out of my MXT, got caught in downpours with it (if you know Florida, you know REAL rain), and had it spend many a day in the crazy hot pickup cab while I was in the cooler water with my Excal.... I have never had even one burp with that machine... Not one.... I havent even been able to run the battery pack down (before charging it up again.. 38 hrs hunting time is my record, but that makes me nervous with no battery gauge)...
I have an Excal that worked for exactly 14 outings, and the last 3 I was just limping along with it trying everything I could do to NOT send it in...
I really just figured it was more of my luck, until I started reading posts here, and on many other sites... Then it almost seemed like it was not a freak thing..
Bottom line Minelab (if you folks are reading these, and care), is that a $1200 machine that is very well maintained, rinsed at the beach like your'e supposed to, kept dry and cool when not in use, etc., should last YEARS before you have problems with it... YEARS!
Maybe this is why they only have a one year warranty?? Tesoro's have a lifetime warranty if I am not mistaken, Whites has two years, but from stories I have heard, if it is a faulty piece of electronics, they often fudge that, and one of the most expensive out there has one??

Okay, I have been beating up on them quite a bit, but dayum, the truth is the truth... Wake up Minelab... You get a rep by being the best, not just everyone thinking you are the best... When that is all it is, it never lasts, and then it becomes "hey, remember when I had to buy a Minelab cause I was desperate?".....

 

[diver420]

Yep,
There service has turned to total garbage,
I had the exact same problems with the call center,
and actually getting a human at Minelab to speak to
you. Makes you wonder, they can all there old service
Techs and Cust. service, that actually knew what they
were doing. Now all the sudden they are "training" a
new batch of techs, Wonder if they picked up some Bums
for cheap, or some people from India or China?
Either way the Cust. gets screwed.

 

[Sandman]

We should remember the people that screwed us in the detector factories and congress.

 

[bottlebum]

I've never really heard of many problems with any of the models besides the Excalibur. My guess is that there might have been a problem with the durability of one or more of the electrical components used in it's construction. It can and does happen with machines made by all detector manufacturers. Just check the archives here or on any of the detecting forums. I'm convinced that the current owner of Minelab would not have bought the company with the intention of producing junk. I still can't wait to receive my E-Trac because having owned one before, I know it's capabilities and like other E-Trac users, will be showing the results in future posts. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.....lol!

 

[Keppy]

Yep,
There service has turned to total garbage,
I had the exact same problems with the call center,
and actually getting a human at Minelab to speak to
you. Makes you wonder, they can all there old service
Techs and Cust. service, that actually knew what they
were doing. Now all the sudden they are "training" a
new batch of techs, Wonder if they picked up some Bums
for cheap, or some people from India or China?
Either way the Cust. gets screwed.

Yes it does seem like they got rid of a lot of good people that really had a lot of knowledge on the Minelab detectors.................. WHY ?

 

[pongo]

I love my Excal but Minelab has had it 3 months and I still have no idea when I will be getting it back.

When I can get in touch with someone in customer service ,all I get is empty promises!

Their service SUX,the only way to own an Excal is to buy 2 or 3,so when one is down you have a backup!!

 

[Silver Surfer]

We should remember the people that screwed us in the detector factories and congress.

Oh, people will remember my friend, people WILL remember....

 

[Silver Surfer]

has had it 3 months and I still have no idea when I will be getting it back.

Man oh man.... MT Pockets too.. I wonder how many others... Yet they tell me in my emails that it will be 30 days Uh huh...
Believe me, when that 30 days comes around, I am going to be pounding the hell out of them for updates and GOOD NEWS!!!
I was told by Trina that "we hired two new Techs to handle this problem".... Uh, how about 30 new techs if you have Excals lying on the bench for 3 months waiting to be fixed?
Oh well, I am just glad I was able to sell enough of my "stuff" to get the Whites PI..... I'll be back in the water this coming week.....

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

has had it 3 months and I still have no idea when I will be getting it back.

Man oh man.... MT Pockets too.. I wonder how many others... Yet they tell me in my emails that it will be 30 days Uh huh...
Believe me, when that 30 days comes around, I am going to be pounding the hell out of them for updates and GOOD NEWS!!!
I was told by Trina that "we hired two new Techs to handle this problem".... Uh, how about 30 new techs if you have Excals lying on the bench for 3 months waiting to be fixed?
Oh well, I am just glad I was able to sell enough of my "stuff" to get the Whites PI..... I'll be back in the water this coming week.....

Remember the "30 days" means 30 "working days", it does not include weekends or hoildays...

I love my Excal but Minelab has had it 3 months and I still have no idea when I will be getting it back.

When I can get in touch with someone in customer service ,all I get is empty promises!

Their service SUX,the only way to own an Excal is to buy 2 or 3,so when one is down you have a backup!!

Tesoro had Willy D's water machine for over a year..................

 

[Silver Surfer]

A YEAR How could they possibly defend that?? Man, I would be so pissed..

 

[Woodland Detectors]

I'm saddened by these reports.

 

[bottlebum]

I'm saddened by these reports.

Kind of makes me feel bad for even buying a Minelab. :P The one year service turn around on the Tesoro almost sounds too incredible to believe. I feel for Willy D.

 

[crazyman]

Silver Surfer, even though I could never totally part ways with Minelab, in the past when I usually called customer service on any product and got a guy with a thick Indian accent that tried to insult my intelligence by claiming his name was Mike or Fred or George I considered the relationship over, Period!

 

[Dano Sverige]

Must be an American thing. Minelab Ireland are reknowned for great customer service and repair turnaround! They're known to throw in freebies and suchlike. Finbar, in customer services has always had "good press" from Europe Minelab owners. Des Dunne,their roving tester and spokesperson,regularly attends many detecting events and meetings throughout the UK and Europe,is a member and regular contributor on the Minelab owners forum and makes videos for all models of Minelabs.
Never heard a bad word about them!
To me THAT'S how to run an operation.