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

[Treasure_Hunter]

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!

Oursoursing is normal now. I was working on the phone with a female tech for a problem with my Cisco Linksys router. I recognized her accent and asked her where in the Philiipines she was, she told me Manila.....(My wife is Filipino). More then 75% of the Filipinos have American names......

 

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[Treasure_Hunter]

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

They misplaced it after repairing it, and told Willy it was part of the water proof connector issue when he would call about it. After a year it was like oops, here it is and it has been fixed for a year.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

I have no doubt in my mind at all that Minelab will make a turn around on their Customer Service issues and correct the problems. I would buy another Minelab if I found one for the right price.......

 

[bk]

Here is my recent experience with Minelab's service:

I purchased the Explorer SE Pro last January. I was only able to use it for about 6 weeks before it just quit. It would not power up. (yes, I checked the batteries etc.)
I called Minelab to find out what I needed to do to ship it to them. When I called, I received a voice mail from the Customer Service person. I gave them my name and brief description of the problem. She returned my call the next day, and as you would expect, had to leave me a message. Right away, I called that number, and got to talk to a real person.
I shipped the detector the next day via UPS to Las Vegas on June 22. It was received (at Minelab) on June 28. A few days later I was called with a repair order number and a contact person in case I had any questions.
On Friday July 16 the detector showed up at my door and it works fine!
From the time it was sent, to the time it was returned, was 31 days.
The problem was a bad coil connector where the coil goes into the housing.

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

Here is my recent experience with Minelab's service:

I purchased the Explorer SE Pro last January. I was only able to use it for about 6 weeks before it just quit. It would not power up. (yes, I checked the batteries etc.)
I called Minelab to find out what I needed to do to ship it to them. When I called, I received a voice mail from the Customer Service person. I gave them my name and brief description of the problem. She returned my call the next day, and as you would expect, had to leave me a message. Right away, I called that number, and got to talk to a real person.
I shipped the detector the next day via UPS to Las Vegas on June 22. It was received (at Minelab) on June 28. A few days later I was called with a repair order number and a contact person in case I had any questions.
On Friday July 16 the detector showed up at my door and it works fine!
From the time it was sent, to the time it was returned, was 31 days.
The problem was a bad coil connector where the coil goes into the housing.

Glad you had a good experience.......Minelab is a great company, they will get their customer service issues ironed out...

 

[Silver Surfer]

I think you mean "were" a great company??
Big change of hands, and I believe we have yet to see if it all was for the better... Usually bigger isnt better..
I would sure think that a corporate change wouldnt mean a thing when it comes to repairing in a timely manner.. I can see manufacturing, with changing where they are built, vendors, etc... But repairing machines that have already been sold, if anything, should get better, and faster.. A lot of people will buy a product once. But if you do and it breaks down (especially when not that old), how you are treated after the honeymoon "sale" period is over, is what usually builds a solid customer base, or maintains the current one.. One of the basic principles of capitalism, or at least, used to be...

 

[Treasure_Hunter]

I think you mean "were" a great company??
Big change of hands, and I believe we have yet to see if it all was for the better... Usually bigger isnt better..
I would sure think that a corporate change wouldnt mean a thing when it comes to repairing in a timely manner.. I can see manufacturing, with changing where they are built, vendors, etc... But repairing machines that have already been sold, if anything, should get better, and faster.. A lot of people will buy a product once. But if you do and it breaks down (especially when not that old), how you are treated after the honeymoon "sale" period is over, is what usually builds a solid customer base, or maintains the current one.. One of the basic principles of capitalism, or at least, used to be...

Nope, I still believe they ARE a great company. A big part of the current customer service problem is the move from Vegas to Chicago, and the move from manufactoring in Ireland....They are still working through the turmoil of the merger. Mergers are not instant, it wreaks havoc on the companies.

Company I work for just went through another merger, and we were still recovering from the last merger (2 years earlier). One of the biggest problem areas with the mergers has been customer service, and I work for a major telecommunication company....

Tesoro still has not corrected their waterproof connector problem, and that problem is over a year old now..Try getting a Tiger Shark or Sand Shark repaired when the issue is the connector and see how long you wait......Try ordering one.....

 

[spartacus53]

Even though I don't own a Minelab, I did read through the post regarding their customer service. I would have to say the leefield hit the nail on the head in his original post and have highlighted this following excerpt

"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"...

What Minelab is facing is not an insurmountable problem, rather a simple solution of proper protocol. When I first started working in the steamship business I was a clerk and moved through the ranks to finally hit customer service which was a goal at the time and a stepping stone to sales. Whether or not you know the business 100% is irrelevant, what is relevant is finding a solution. Once I moved on to sales, I never forgot how important customer service is, because people could always spend a dollar elsewhere. The number one lesson, honesty. That even means telling a customer something they don't want to hear, but will understand. Once you build a rapport with a customer based on trust and understanding, that relationship will give you a customer for life.

So the solution is simple, that is if they really want to fix the problem.

Minelab; if you are reading this, put me at the helm of customer service and I'll have you sailing smoother waters in no time.

Best regards,
Popeye

 

[diggertim]

"Once I moved on to sales, I never forgot how important customer service is, because people could always spend a dollar elsewhere. The number one lesson, honesty. That even means telling a customer something they don't want to hear, but will understand. Once you build a rapport with a customer based on trust and understanding, that relationship will give you a customer for life".

Well stated, Popeye........

 

[leefields]

"Once you build a rapport with a customer based on trust and understanding, that relationship will give you a customer for life".

Well stated, Popeye........

well said Popeye...

 

[leefields]

i will hang my hat again at Minelab's door

Thanks to 4H and his layaway plan I just ordered up a spicy new Excall....got the right price...and 2 or 3 months to pay it off....
my wife does not know yet but i will have a nice little box under the tree for me this Christmas...it will be to me from her....i cant wait to see that face...

i am counting on the warranty to cover up any problems that may arrive...
and i am crossing my fingers that i have had great luck in the past with Minelab machines
and hopefully by now the kinks have been worked out of the build systems...

Thanks 4H....for a great deal that i can work with...1200 is a lot for me to come up with all at once...but 2 or 3 months makes it much easier...

i saw this ....just in case you missed it....

[size=10pt][size=10pt]The 10th-ranked Gators beat the Volunteers 31-17 on Saturday for their sixth consecutive win in the 40-game series between bitter Southeastern Conference rivals[/size][/size]

 

[Woodland Detectors]

Thanks to 4H and his layaway plan I just ordered up a spicy new Excall....got a good price...and 2 or 3 months to pay it off....
my wife does not know yet but i will have a nice little box under the tree for me this Christmas...it will be to me from her....i cant wait to see that face...

i am counting on the warranty to cover up any problems that may arrive...
and i am crossing my fingers that i have had great luck in the past with Minelab machines and hopefully by now the kinks have been worked out of the build systems...

Thanks 4H....for a great deal...

i saw this ....just in case you missed it....

[size=10pt][size=10pt]The 10th-ranked Gators beat the Volunteers 31-17 on Saturday for their sixth consecutive win in the 40-game series between bitter Southeastern Conference rivals[/size][/size]

Thanks to 4H and his layaway plan I just ordered up a spicy new Excall....got a good price...and 2 or 3 months to pay it off....
my wife does not know yet but i will have a nice little box under the tree for me this Christmas...it will be to me from her....i cant wait to see that face...

i am counting on the warranty to cover up any problems that may arrive...
and i am crossing my fingers that i have had great luck in the past with Minelab machines and hopefully by now the kinks have been worked out of the build systems...

Thanks 4H....for a great deal...

i saw this ....just in case you missed it....

[size=10pt][size=10pt]The 10th-ranked Gators beat the Volunteers 31-17 on Saturday for their sixth consecutive win in the 40-game series between bitter Southeastern Conference rivals[/size][/size]

Luckily I am a Volunteer by marriage!
Maggie was a little upset. She was a TN. Cheerleader.
That was a tough game.
I went to Michigan State 3-0 thank you very much. LOL


Folks, I want to let you know, you are going to see huge improvements in Minelab customer service.
Please give US a chance to prove ourselves.
If you have ANY questions, even if you didn't buy the machine from me, PLEASE CONTACT ME if you can't get through the main line or have a dilemma with your machine. I am not a technician, but I do represent Minelab, and maybe I can help with your question or put you to someone that can.

I will do my best as a Minelab Representative to get it resolved.

Posting negative threads is not necessary, especially when I know I can get it resolved for you.

Have a problem?
TRY ME FIRST!
I don't mind helping you.
You people know me here. I do what I say, and I try to give the BEST customer service I can.
Instead of getting all worked up, with my help, I'll bet you we can get it resolved to only follow with a positive post. If you have had a positive experience, we need to post them too.
I sell Minelab because I feel that these machines are the best in the world. I know for a fact, that Gary Schaefer (New VP) is doing his best to turn the customer service issue around. Minelab has hired more techs and staff to accomplish this. Believe me, I understand where you all are coming from, but before you post a negative thread, contact me, and I will get you problem rectified in a timely matter.

 

[DanB]

Here Here.....give the guy at mine lab a chance.....I think that the main problem is the hire ups in the company are not listening to those down low.....there are a few good reps that truly take customer servos seriously...though these reps are far and few between....at least give the guy a chance to disprove some of the allegations floating around...
the bottom line is that the products work very well..... corporate support and staffing issues need to be resolved for better customer care....

db