Garmin customer service, above and beyond.

[PaulGooch]

Had a minor issue with satellite acquisition on my Garmin GPSMAP 4010, which might just be down to something i did. Unsure of how best to proceed, i sent a support request to Garmin. Day or so later i had a response, saying they were going to send me a new GPS engine (antenna). No messing around, no trying to fob me off, none of the nonsense i had with Raymarine. New antenna to be shipped, no cost. Good stuff.

I'd already removed the antenna, but in the course of doing so, i broke the plug off of the end of the NMEA 2000 cable. Too much Sikaflex sealing when i fitted it, bu55ger ! It's a 10m cable and retails at 30 odd quid. I replied to Garmin's email, thanking them for their excellent service and explained the situation with the cable. I enquired as to whether the plug was available separately, hoping they might off some sort of deal on a connector or a cable. Less than an hour later i had another email so say that the antenna and a new cable were on the way, free of charge. Both arrived next day.

That's what i call excellent customer support and i shall be most reluctant to fit any other make of equipment to my boat in the future.

 

[Quest]

Good to hear. Duly noted.

 

[David2452]

That's Garmin for you, just one thing though why go to the trouble of routing a new N2K cable when field attachable plugs and sockets are readily available, in fat that's what I use in conjunction with bulk cable so as not to have cable bundled up all over the place.

 

[pteron]

It's pretty typical for Garmin too.

I bought a handheld gps in the US a few years ago. After a couple of years of usage the joystick stopped working. Garmin UK replaced the unit with a new one, no need for receipts, proof, anything.

Tomtom on the other hand, have rather poor customer service in my experience.

 

[fergie_mac66]

nice to here their service has improved. It needed to after all the bluechart customer care issues a few years ago

 

[MY littlebirchwoo]

Totally echo the point about how good Garmin are. I have a 450 plotter as a backup and bought the Garmin Homeport software. Sadly wasn't compatible with the software load in the maching so went to local dealer who phoned their tech guy. Not only did he send me a software update via email, he also told me what to do to give it 's' functionality as the only difference between the units is the software load! So now I have a 451s, working beautifully with the homeport software - all planning done on it and then copied into the Raymarine via the NMEA link!

Great service!

 

[PaulGooch]

That's Garmin for you, just one thing though why go to the trouble of routing a new N2K cable when field attachable plugs and sockets are readily available, in fat that's what I use in conjunction with bulk cable so as not to have cable bundled up all over the place.

It's not a difficult route David and i have the cable. The plugs seem to cost about £25.

 

[Philiz]

Good to hear Paul, but I'm not surprised. I've had similar responses from them in the past, faultless service!

 

[Spi D]

Garmin made a decision a few years back and improved their service quite remarkably.
Even took over dealerships themselves, in places where partners did not perform.

Sadly, a bad-service list of companies in general can easily be composed - and it will be longer than the good-service list

I'm not one to bear a grudge, but my memory is excellent

 

[David2452]

It's not a difficult route David and i have the cable. The plugs seem to cost about £25.

Should be no more than £12 Paul, even at retail, unlike the Ts you dont have to use Garmin ones.

 

[PaulGooch]

Should be no more than £12 Paul, even at retail, unlike the Ts you dont have to use Garmin ones.

Will have to look harder next time David. When we change the boat i'll upgrade the electronics and will no doubt need to install a new NMEA 2000 network.

 

[PEJ]

That's what i call excellent customer support and i shall be most reluctant to fit any other make of equipment to my boat in the future.

Same here, all my nav equip has always been Garmin

I used to work on the same industrial estate as their head quarters. I took something in for repairs and the gave me a brand new one and even came round to my unit to give it to me. But I never told them where I worked! Never did find out how they knew where I was! But it has been Garmin all the way ever since.