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Minelab And Customer Communications


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Guest Tnsharpshooter

Fortunately I got to communicate and spend some with engineers while in the USAF.

They can be different,,the same as people in general.

As far as manufacturers communication with the detecting public.

Most can do better.

I mean how much time does it take to cut and paste good information to multiple sources like internet detecting forums,.facebook, etc. ?

I think some manufacturers take the stand,,,only tell US what we need to know (this obviously what THEY decide) vs what we really should be told.

Some manufacturers  probably think the less info passed out,,the less questions to come in.

And answering intelligent questions does take time.

And to them time is $$$.

A detector manufacturer just like any other manufacturer,,can probably get away with passing less info, as long as they make a great product without problems.

But this is a huge gamble nowadays,,with more real time communications.

A negative trend with a product,,word traves fast!!

Better to be established communications wise ahead of time,,,in case some thing goes WRONG and folks are looking for help.

Good subject here Steve.

 

 

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1 hour ago, jasong said:

I seem to have the opposite experience - Minelab customer service has always been top notch to me and I wish more companies would do what they do. They literally overnighted me parts when I called since I was leaving town in 2 days and had no address in the field (and sent me an extra just to be safe), and always resolved my other issues right away. They called me back once just to check on me too. Apologized instantly the one time they made an error.

Nokta on the other hand - well, I still don't have a working detector after 2 years.  :angry: All that happened is I was referred back to Kellyco when I contacted them directly, the same Kellyco that had already botched up, and kept passing blame (and charged me for their errors in shipping) twice already.  Who then proceeded to keep sending me broken detectors with the exact same problems (I suspect they sent me the same detector back on at least one occasion). Now, 4 detectors later, still don't have a working one. Gave up. Posted about it twice, after trying all other avenues since Nokta seemed to respond to public posts - nada for me. Just a total and complete waste of $700 and being entirely ignored. A frustrating and baffling experience all around for me and I will go out of my way to recommend avoiding them, especially since even now no one has tried to make it good, just...nothing. Did people actually get customer service from Nokta or just shovelled off to Kellyco?

I'll take the engineers any day...

Hello there... I am quite surprised with this post. It is true that we refer customers to Kellyco because  they are the authorized repair center. It is just more convenient for people in the USA. However, once we refer them to Kellyco, we assume that the problem is being handled and the customer is taken care of. Can you please do me a favor and email me with details of your issue and I will personally make it right for you.  dilek@noktadetectors.com 

 

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10 hours ago, jasong said:

Nokta on the other hand - well, I still don't have a working detector after 2 years.  :angry: All that happened is I was referred back to Kellyco when I contacted them directly, the same Kellyco that had already botched up....

That has been my concern about Nok/Mak from early on -- if you have a problem (in the US) with your detector you have to deal with a whale of a company (Kellyco) that, among other things, sells Long Range Locators (LRL's).  The latter points to 3 things:

1) LRL's work as advertised.

2) The company selling them is dishonest.

3) The company selling them is incompetent.

Carl has $25,000 saying it isn't #1.  Who's putting up the $ for #2 and #3?

 

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Kellyco is currently the service center for both Minelab and Nokta/Makro, among others. Singling out Nokta/Makro for using Kellyco as a service center would be unfair unless your concerns extend to other companies employing their services. Every major manufacturer has a relationship with Kellyco, including the one Carl works for.

That said, I understand your issues with LRLs and the companies that sell them. 

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2 hours ago, Steve Herschbach said:

Singling out Nokta/Makro for using Kellyco as a service center would be unfair unless your concerns extend to other companies employing their services.

Of course you are right.  The reality is some companies can't afford to set up their own service centers around the globe, and asking customers to send products overseas for repair would likely be a nightmare.  If I were in Nokta/Makro's shoes (or Minelab's for that matter), what would I do?  They apparently don't have a lot of options in the US, maybe only one....

I'm with a lot of you -- wanting Nok/Mak to succeed, not only because they are a company that makes products I use, but particularly because they have been so enthusiastic in a) listening to customers, and b) cranking out products (quickly!) that fit the customers' needs.  Oh, and there's that 'communication' issue discussed in this thread that they appear to be pretty darn good at.  So if my comments can be interpreted to be a diss of them, I made a mistake and apologize.

Reality is that in some ways the US companies (e.g. Whites, First Texas, Garrett) have an advantage when it comes to servicing detectors owned by US customers.  That makes it more likely their products will be bought here than from non-US competition, if all other things (especially performance of the actual devices) were equal.  I suppose they have similar problems/challenges when it comes to servicing their products sold in other countries, too.

 

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When I dealt with Minelab, I spoke with them directly and they sent me parts directly. Also, with Fisher I sent my GB2 directly to them and they did the repairs. I've never dealt with Kellyco for any repairs except with these CoRes. Just my experience, I have no idea which companies have deals with what service centers.

I wonder if Kellyco "repairs" LRL's too? I find that concerning. Kinda like going to a doctor who prescribes pixie dust, doesn't inspire confidence. 

That said, I'll be patient once again and see how this gets dealt with - I responded to Dilek last night and forwarded our old email chains where I had already explained this as it was happening in 2015, with no resolution. 

I'd love to finally get a working detector, but the reality is it's been so long that I've already planned to buy a Deus. It's a bit like finally receiving an outdated computer you bought but never got to use 2 years ago, all the reasons I bought it for are gone now and if it had been functional I would have sold it already to fund the next purchase.

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On 12.05.2017 at 8:27 PM, jasong said:

When I dealt with Minelab, I spoke with them directly and they sent me parts directly. Also, with Fisher I sent my GB2 directly to them and they did the repairs. I've never dealt with Kellyco for any repairs except with these CoRes. Just my experience, I have no idea which companies have deals with what service centers.

I wonder if Kellyco "repairs" LRL's too? I find that concerning. Kinda like going to a doctor who prescribes pixie dust, doesn't inspire confidence. 

That said, I'll be patient once again and see how this gets dealt with - I responded to Dilek last night and forwarded our old email chains where I had already explained this as it was happening in 2015, with no resolution. 

I'd love to finally get a working detector, but the reality is it's been so long that I've already planned to buy a Deus. It's a bit like finally receiving an outdated computer you bought but never got to use 2 years ago, all the reasons I bought it for are gone now and if it had been functional I would have sold it already to fund the next purchase.

Hello Jason. As I explained to you in my email, it is very unlikely for me to not to respond to a customer who is having an issue with our device. I had an email from the service center confirming that they had already talked to you which I just forwarded to you. Since I have not heard from you after that point, I thought it was all OK on your end. I still apologize though on my behalf although I tried my best to do the right thing for you. 

I believe the most important thing here is for you to get a working unit in your hand and I already gave you my word on that. 

My team will follow up with you with further instructions tomorrow.

Dilek 

 

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But you did not respond to me. You responded to kellyco, and they never told me they spoke with you so I would have no way of knowing. I just assumed you disappeared just like the kellyco reps did. Maybe it's a miscommunication with english here, but I want that clarified. You did respond to my earlier emails and told me to deal with kellyco and let you know if any problems, but when I let you know I was having problems I got no response...so i was getting no response from kellyco or you at that point. I tried dealing with kellyco alone for another 1 or 2 broken detectors before finally giving up.

I think we both understand how this went bad now, but I feel as if I also have to clarify the kellyco thing now too because they didn't represent reality in that email you just showed me from them.

The reason kellyco said they spoke with me is because I called them, not vice versa, which they didnt bother to mention. At least 15 times. Thry talked to me, yes. But they werent solving the problem and not communicating with me and thats why i asked for your help. I remember 1 day where I had  3 or 4 calls in alone to different departments and people when I feared my detector had been lost completely and no one could answer me and I was quite frustrsted especially since I was tired of paying shipping for all these broken units. I don't recall ever getting a return call from them over the many months this was happening. I'm sure they have more accurate records, but I recall spending at least 2 weeks after they said they'd send me a replacement unit with no word and no machine during one of the iterations. Any call I placed went unanswered or they simply told me someone would call me back, but never would and they would proceed to forget about me until I got angry enough to speak with a manager.

Anyways, I appreciate you and your team trying to get me a detector now, and I know you make a lot of effort in customer service online. I hope you understand im not trying to slog your company, this is my honest experience and i have every right to be frustrated. I was a big vocal supporter and early adopter of nokta, as can be witnessed by my posts when the detector was first announced.  Yet, I want to make this clear because after the last response it could be read as if I was somehow misrepresenting what happened, which is not the case. I spent months calling kellyco, I made an effort to contact nokta with 2 different media. There is nothing more I could have done, and thus my frustration. 

I look forward to hearing from your team and discussing this over email from here on out, I will post online if I receive a working unit so the record is straight,, and thank you for addressing this. 

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The new world we all live in with non-stop social media and near-instant communication is causing tremendous pressure on companies to examine their customer suppprt and marketplace messaging.

Nokta, with Dilek in the lead is breaking new ground here. Not only in direct contact with customers about issues, but with a new "croud sourced" approach to a sort of blending of development and marketing tester relations.

All detector manufacturers are essentially small businesses. The nature of the world-wide market for their products means that they have to deal with the issue of warranty service in places where they cannot possibly have direct company presence.  That fact, plus local laws, make them dependent on their national or regional distributors to handle the load. Not easy, and, as far as I know, none of them have been completely successful on a world basis in doing this.

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