Repair status

Just to complete the picture, I also called last Wednesday and left a voicemail with my return number and have not heard back as of yet.. I am sure you guys are under-staffed and busy as hell but thanks again for your time.

Ric

My light showed by UPS that it was received on a Monday and it took till Friday to be checked in. Then after a call from me they sent it out that same day repaired. Once it got into the system it was great.

Jerry,

Thanks for the heads up. I figured they are busy and the last thing to do is update the website. They have been great to me in the past both on the ADJ and Elation side so I have no reason to doubt they will come thru shining once again!

Ric

ADJ...I am a bit disappointed here. I just got off the phone with the repair dept and my units have not even been checked in yet. They have been sitting there for a week and a half and I was told it would probably take another 2 weeks till they were attended to. Come on ADJ, you are better than this. Hire some more techs to keep the train moving. Some of us out here depend on the equipment and need it repaired in a timely fashion.

Thank you,
Ric

The squeaky wheel gets the grease.

How squeaky are you feeling? Can I entice you with some cheese?

Let me just say my good friend Jerry Taylor helped me out on a repair getting expedited one time. Being proactive might be your key to faster turn-around. But, I also know this is peak repair season.

Early spring is peak wiring/snake season and gear-up time. Summer is peak workd time, and hence when failures are found and therefore sent back for repairs.

Fall is "we're done, dismantle/disassemble and send off broken stuff for repairs"

Winter is laid back season, for repairs trickle in then and other others are often not as urgent because they are preparing for spring!

Chris,

Maybe this is just the military in me speaking...but if you know a certian time of year is peak repair season. Would it not be wise to bring on some seasonal help? I do believe the term is customer service or at least planning ahead? From what I have read over the past few years on this forum is that people have spent tons of money on ADJ and most make a living off of it. When gear is down and it takes over a month to get it fixed and back to the customer. Well that is just lost money for the consumer. I dont mean to vent but when we spend so much money on these products (I have just shy of $20K in ADJ and Elation gear) we expect better service. I don't mean just me, cuz I spent the money but better service for anyone who has had a problem with the gear. Especially when it is under warranty; this is almost brand new gear that I have in, (granted 1 repair for both units is based off a misadvertisement but the other is just plain failure). It makes me uneasy about the quality of these product and asking myself should I look for another manufacturer? I have had an enormous amount of problems with the ADJ / Arriba / Elation gear over the last 3 years but at least the company made it right. I had to get my dealer involved to get heard but it got done (not so timely, but I was happy it was handled). I guess in my perfect world I would not have to fight to get service, it would be provided with smiling employees eager and willing to help the customer, get them going again and have them leave with a smile. Passing their positive experience along to others in the business...but maybe I am just asking too much.

Thanks for your time,
Ric

P.S. Jingles and J. Davies (ADJ Advantage program) have been the exceptions to my overall less than impressed and disappointing experience with this company. They has been Johnny on the spot and always more than willing to help! ADJ/Elation management...give them a raise NOW!!!!

Well, I try to plan ahead. Our investment in ADJ/Elation gear is fairly close. You're a bit ahead of me for now.

Knowing that certain seasons see more traffic than others, your military logic doesn't fall into place in the private workforce. It's not quite so simple in the private workforce to get people in, train them up, work them and boot them when times get slower, then repeat the cycle. It makes more sense to keep the existing people in place with the right skills and have them work year-round. Sure, it would be nice to have some seasonal help they can rely on.

When I send in gear for repair, it really depends on what's going on how I behave. For the most part, I have things laid out so I can take the down time for that gear with other jobs(many I do don't need lights, I'm a sound company). So, being without a light for some jobs doesn't make a difference for me.

I will say this: Gear received needs to be checked into the system on the day it is received. Regardless if they can get to it immediately is secondary.

Right now, I have issues with China in general. I have limitations in what I can buy that doesn't involve China, but I'm sick of the substandard workers in China and the substandard work they do. Even so, short term tests for quality control doesn't reveal all problems, because some things can fail just sitting aroudn.

ADJ does better than most. They definately do better than their competition. DOn't even get me started there!

But if you're not happy with ADJ, then it would make good sense to not use their products. I am NOT happy with a competitor of ADJ, and despite the fact I have a fair amount of their gear, I don't and won't get any more of their gear, even if it competes LIKE for LIKE with ADJ at a lower price.

I personally won't deal with a company I don't like. Silly me. I send off a light with a new $20 bulb off for repair, and the company does a crappy job repairing the fixture and loses the light, well, that just plain makes me angry. To have a second fail and also get a crappy repair job, well that really doesn't do anything for me. Not to mention my entire set of 4 of these are known for breaking bulbs. Fortunately, I found a place that sells the same bulbs for like $6 each. I can eat a $6 bulbX4 per show if I have to, but not $20X4. Ouch!

Or what about not shipping me some repair parts because they changed the part and didn't call me to see if I wanted the different part, yet already charged my card? If that's what the new part is, why am I having this conversation? Just ship it, I'm smart, I can figure it out.

Jingles is helping me choose NEW fixtures by either ADJ or Elation to replace the existing non ADJ/Elation fixtures I have.

I've had lots of positive experiences with ADJ. I don't see that changing anytime soon.

quote:

Originally posted by nightraven:
P.S. Jingles and J. Davies (ADJ Advantage program) have been the exceptions to my overall less than impressed and disappointing experience with this company. They has been Johnny on the spot and always more than willing to help! ADJ/Elation management...give them a raise NOW!!!!

That's funny. I just got a raise but thanks! haha. Let me talk to my service boss tomorrow.
Sincerely,

Congrats on the raise...I still think you should get another one on top of it!

Ric

haha let's just say I am not one of those people that likes to push their luck.

Chris,

Luckily I only have ADJ and Elation goodies. They happened to be the first product I saw when I was getting into it. I have heard nightmares about the competitors stuff so I have stayed away. Yes, the Chinese quality control sucks and I have had many issues with it. I don't mean to be so negative, I just get frustrated when I have to stand in line. Just seems like that is now the standard....just wait, wait and wait. It just gets old. When I had my BMW, there was no wait at the dealership on any type of servicing (warranty or not) They catered to the customer all the way around. Now that was customer service. But it was pricey.

I understand the civilian to military comparisons and economics but I know there is a way that ADJ could make that system better! In fac,t I will retire in just over a year so I would gladly offer my services to the ADJ repair department, if they would have me...lol....I would whip it right into shape! Anyway, if I went elsewhere, there would be no Jingles and that would not be fun at all. So I shall stay, just want ADJ to take note and get this damn repair train moving.

Ric

Looks like my units were repaired and shipped. Thats what the repair staus is showing. Fingers are crossed. Thank you ADJ.

Ric

Good to hear your repair is done.

I get what you're saying about BMW service, but when you buy high-end, there is a bit of "tail wiping" that goes with the price tag.

I posted an issue on the Elation forum about my HZ-300 acting up and I got an unexpected call from Service. WOW!! I was hoping for some "hints" or things to try. Either way, I do need to re-test that unit yet again.

I run my shop more like a military organization. A good show needs discipline and order and organization. But, we have to balance the creative mind with the business mind, so it's finding the right people who work and think likewise. And I've never been in the military, as my bad knees are not exactly desirable. That's OK, I don't really feel like getting paid to kill people. I'd do that for fun!

Chris,

That was a nice surprise to have service calling you. That is great customer service!

Well looking at the dates of the repair order status on my stuff, it is appearing that either I got some bad info from the rep that I had spoken to (he had told me that they had not even checked the units in yet)or that they repaired both units that very day and shipped them out too since I was publicly whining about it. Either way the good news is that I will be up and fully running again soon...now if i could only get a tracking number.

Ric

I have FedEx and UPS accounts, and I got the little apps on my iPhone, so I can track stuff on the go. Been a big time saver.

Of course, getting other people to cooperate and then deliver the goods to me at a gig site, well, that's something I can't control yet!

(package arrived, wife decided to phone me when she KNEW it would be too late to bring them to the event. She KNEW I was waiting for these, decided to screw around all day instead. Show suffers thanks a lot. No, it wasn't lights, it was airsoft smoke grenade props)

I hope your get your gear soon!

Chris,

My gear was deliverd to my house yesterday afternoon. All repairs were made and both units work great! I am really thinking that the rep I had talked to just did not know what was going on and gave me the generic answer to my questions without checking into it. I apologize to ADJ for making a fuss, but it could have been avoided if the tech that handled the call took the time to look into the situation before giving me bad info. So, from the time I sent my units off till they arrived at my doorstep was just over 3 weeks. That is pretty damn good turn around!

Ric

Ya we do try to take care of our customers. For example. I corrupted the firmware on my my dmx dongle (don't ask long story) and I had to send it back for repair in the middle of June. I still have not gotten it back yet. So you know if anyone thinks that the tech guys or employee's get first priority it's not like that at all. I would call them to see what's up but I really am in no hurry to get the unit back as I never use it.
Sincerely,