Unacceptable Service!
I need a V3 Load Cell, that's it. Should be able to log in, add it to cart, select a carrier, and submit. Instead Fanatec made a decision to remove the item from it's online offerings and force customers who need repair parts to submit a Service Ticket and wait to be contacted. This is day 4 of my wait. Fanatec is very aware of the online nature of their products and that customers use them competitively so acquisition time for repair parts is sometimes of important concern. Well, they simply DON'T CARE!!! While they will obviously argue and excuse the point, actions tell the true story for Fanatec. They have deliberately complicated the process of purchasing their sole source repair parts and placed customers in the position of waiting for an already overloaded service department to respond and resolve simple issues. There are scores of vendors who would be more than excited to sell Fanatec's repair parts, however they seem to be keen on being the sole source provider even though they are failing in the effort.
In the mean-time, I will actively be looking at replacement options for a more reliable set of pedals from a company who puts as much effort into service as they do marketing. This is a typical example of a small company seeing explosive growth. Sadly, the only true resolution to poor service is loss of market share which they are aware is growing due to new product release.
Comments
I can't say that I disagree, you make some very good points. I'll be interested to see what kind of response this generates from them, if any.
Well, it's day 5 with no contact at all from Fanatec. Just saying...
Have you attempted to contact them through means other than email, i.e. telephone or live chat via their website? The hours can be tricky, but if you're available to try during EU business hours, maybe you'll have better luck with one of those? Might be worth a try, at least.
Day 8 has passed , nothing from Fanatec. I put in my service ticket last Monday.
Gregg: No I have not contacted them via telephone. The email instructed me to wait to be contacted and that's what I was doing. However, I'm beginning to assume that I may never get contacted unless I become a squeaky wheel. I'll give them a day or 2 more before I become a nightmare customer.
Sorry to hear that. It really is shocking to me, to see how poorly they've been handling their Customer Service of late. For years, Fanatec always got right back to me within a day or two tops. I always felt like they had a solid reputation for quality products and good CS. Can't really say that I feel that way any more.
Did you put your ticket under the technical department or through customer service?
If the later then the customer service are forwarding the request to technical department which takes much much more time since tech department are prioritizing the ones that came to them directly... So it is a bit of a pita with all the requests they receive when massive load of gear are being delivered after the pre-orders.
At least this is what I can figure out for the past 3 years reading this forum.
In fairness, Fanatec contacted me this morning and my part has been ordered. I hope to conclude this fiasco soon. Heck of an ordeal for a $22 repair part.
I am living the nightmare now. I bought my equipment fro Fanatec 2 months ago and I have yet to enjoy smooth operations in my setup for any prolong period of time. It usually takes me at least 30 minutes to 1 hour to get everything detected and working on my PC or Xbox then I can play for about 20 minutes before something goes wrong. Now, I can't play at all since my DD1 just shuts off after I power it on. No word from Fanatec yet... Man, I don't think I ever encountered support that doesn't get back to the customer in about 48 hours and not do it so consistently.