Trials and Errors #54: An Open Letter to Service Managers

This is the forum discussion for the column, "An Open Letter to Service Managers." Have you had an experience, positive or negative, with either technical support or service repairs from ham product manufacturers? If so, report on it in this thread! Thanks, Dave Jensen W7DGJ

 

Flex Radio fixed my 3000 quickly back in 2011.
Tim Moes did a great job with my TS-520S.

 

Ive had great support from KK3KM since I got my Mercury IIIs. I got email answers within minutes and any needed followups to questions or service requests almost as quickly. I was impressed and always give a good shout out to Kenny and Angel. Keep it up guys! I have also gotten Rotten service from MFJ. Fortunately I got outstanding service from DX Engineering to cover for MFJs lack of response. My go to place for anything ham radio related that they carry is, and always be DX Engineering. I was not totally surprised to see that Martin was retiring and letting the company sunset basically. Good for HIM!

 

Thanks Mark -- maybe we can make this thread an example of how things SHOULD work. Dave, W7DGJ

 

Thanks Bill. KM3KM is an outstanding example of what companies should be like in their response to tech support or service requests. It's a "boutique" firm on the move up, for sure. Dave, W7DGJ

 

I love the subject of Customer Service as it seems I have been End User interfacing all my life.

Customer Service is about active listening and communicating.
There are 2 problems to solve in any CS interaction:
- The Customer
- The problem with the device

Observe the Order those were listed in.
From my decades of experience dealing with Customers, I an assuredly tell you that it doesn't matter a nit how good you are at fixing the Device if you haven't "fixed" the Customer.

I worked for a small Typewriter/Cash Register/Computer outfit as a Field Service Tech.
One afternoon I answered the phone and the Customer asked for "John". Since he wasn't in, I asked if I could assist and went into CS mode. I walked through the issue and went to schedule myself out for the warranty service call, when the Customer stopped me and said She would rather wait for John. Now, knowing John I knew this was going to be a tough call for him as it was a problem with an electronic device and he was a mechanical typewriter/cash register guy; so I asked 'why' as I would be more than willing to help today.

Her answer stunned my younger self and taught me at the same time.
"I realize John may not be able to fix the machine quickly, but he listens to us and tries really hard and will eventually get the machine fixed."
Turns out John was an expert at fixing his Customers, which not only put him in demand, but also resulted in repeat sales for the Company.

The problem with many foreign companies is that they don't communicate well enough, so they fall back on fixing the device instead of the Customer.

 

I was an early adopter of the Xiegu G90. Loved the rig, but after 6 months it started freezing with a white screen. I'd heard all the derogatory comments about Chinese radios, but Radioddity were extremely helpful talking me through firmware reloads etc. On sending them a short video of the issue they quickly provided an RMA to an address in the US. A couple of hours after I let them know the tracking number of the return I got an email that a replacement radio had been despatched.

And I would have been a repeat customer - but they no longer ship to my country

 

I am very favorably impressed by Icom and Yaesu factory service.

My Yaesu developed a loud click on speaker or in headphones when the TX/RX relay returned to RX on either SSB or CW. I procrastinated. A few weeks later, the headphone jack on my Icom trapped the end of a phone plug and wouldn't let go. I then forced it and left the end of a Heil 1/4" adapter inside the Icom.

I sent both radios off to their US repair shops on 2025 February 14. They arrived in California and Washington on February 20 and 21 which is 7 or 8 days transit from Maine. I had emailed Yaesu support earlier and they replied quickly enough. I didn't email Icom at all, the first they knew about the problem was when the radio arrived on the west coast.

Icom sent an email that they were returning the radio. The Icom arrived here on Monday 2025 March 3 with an invoice noting the part and the hour labor with the amount due being $0. Two weeks plus a weekend from my shack to my shack.

The Yaesu arrived here on Saturday 2025 March 8 with no note about the repairs. Yaesu did not alert me to the shipment but FedEx left a note on March 7 that they needed a signature. Three weeks from my shack to my shack.

Icom seems to have fixed my radio almost immediately while Yaesu took a week. Both at zero cost (after I paid to ship them from Maine).

I am favorably impressed.

Dave
W1ETC

 

Reading this article, it strikes me how much we hams have become dependent upon off-the-shelf, ready-to-run equipment, the problems of which can really only be solved by the manufacturer, or one of their service organizations. These are not "open designs". I'm not sure what the solution to that is -- just an observation. It's a shame that customer service is even a topic that needs to be discussed.

 

Elecraft did me an absolute solid back in January, well above 'above and beyond', and they have a customer for life now. Service is the glue that keeps customers stuck to your brand.

 

Hey Ron - great commentary, as always. I hadn't thought of separating the two, customer and device, but I think you are right. One of my good friends works for KM3KM Electronics, an excellent firm at customer service. He has the same attitude that you do . . . he'll work with the customer first, ensuring that there's no issue there, before getting into the device stuff. Still, even after that, so many products get shipped in that have no real issues but whivh are "operator error." Good communication between their client and the customer is the backbone of this smaller organization's reputation. Thanks Ron, Dave W7DGJ

 

Hey Tim, nice comment, thanks! I have had similar experiences, very positive, with Radioddity. I wish that all of the vendors of Chinese stuff had the same resources and customer service attitudes of that firm. There's a woman there, I think her name is Irene, who has always helped me when I have an issue with my Xiegu. She has a direct pipeline to the engineers and gets questions/concerns answered quickly. Let's put Radioddity on the top part of the list, for sure! Unfortunately, I've had absolutely HORRIBLE responses from Aliexpress when buying some other Chinese stuff. Once I bought a tuner, defective upon arrival and proved it with videos and so on, and they did not issue a refund or send an RMA. Money down the toilet. Dave, W7DGJ

 

Hi Dave, I sure hope this indicates that the majors have decided to invest in keeping the service channels open and flowing! There are reports on eHam and through personal discussion of these bigger companies completely dropping the ball. But as I said in the article, people who have had a problem are more motivated to post about the issues on forums. Good job in posting what is a very positive set of experiences, and for two strong competitors! (Usually, one is either a Yaesu person or an Icom person). Dave, W7DGJ

 

Hi Jon, in many ways, you are right. Perhaps in the "good old days," I would just crack open the case and investigate myself. The radio I am speaking of is so tiny and so compact and "sealed" that this would scare the heck out of me today . . . add to that, I am seeing impaired and that means extra difficulty on tiny stuff. Still customer service should be a part of every industry discussion despite whether the customer is a plug-n-play operator or an electronics engineer. Dave, W7DGJ

 

Hi Perry, we'll look for more comments about Elecraft in the customer service category. Thanks for posting. It's going to take great service, as you had, to get these more recent companies to come up in the ranks and truly become one of the "big guys" like the Japanese three, isn't it. You may be seeing a company that knows this and is making a sincere effort to have over-the-top service for their customers. I wish them all the best of success. Dave, W7DGJ