Poor customer service with Raymarine

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Yorkyreg85

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Firstly,I know this is a first post for me on here,but it may help a regular user from making a similar mistake.

Absolutely shocking customer service from Raymarine UK this week. I dropped a Dragonfly 6 head unit from 18 inches onto a grp deck when I was removing from the boat after using it for the very first time. I got in touch with Raymarine and sent it off to them to inspect,I received no contact back so after 12 days I got in touch. Apparently the Dragonfly series is a sealed unit and if you break the screen it can't be repaired, Raymarine did offer me a new head unit at £260+vat+delivery,which i declined. When I spoke to the service technician he told me I was lying and that I must have dropped it from a much greater height than I stated,now with the greatest of respect,from day one I have admitted blame,I didn't give some lie of an excuse like most others would have done. Secondly the service technician told me I was at fault because I was removing the head unit from my vessel,which means if you are looking to buy new electronics why would anyone consider buying Raymarine products for a small fishing boat if you have an open cuddly?? Do Raymarine expect people to leave expensive electronics on view in the open? I am genuinely disappointed with how this has panned out as up until the breakage it was a decent piece of kit,but is obviously not up to the riggers of day to day life. I tried to attach a pic of my near £400 Dragonfly 6 but I aren't allowed,you would think had been shot,but hand on heart I dropped from 18". Clearly the type of glass used isn't up to standard and on Monday morning the head unit will be getting sent to trading standards,never again will I even consider buying or recommending Raymarine products if the tech back up basically says it's their word against mine,absolutely shocking in this day and age.
 
I will be interested to know which alternative manufacturer will guarantee that you can happily drop their product without risking any damage.
 
Did the technician actually accuse you of lying or did he just express surprise that it had broken having been dropped from 18 inches? ... I trust you're not exaggerating to make a better story?
Forums eh?
 
Yorkyreg85 said:
Clearly the type of glass used isn't up to standard and on Monday morning the head unit will be getting sent to trading standards,never again will I even consider buying or recommending Raymarine products if the tech back up basically says it's their word against mine,absolutely shocking in this day and age.
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To be honest, I've no idea what you're talking about. You dropped the head unit. It smashed. There's so issue about Raymarine's word against yours. You admit you smashed it and the Raymarine Tech agrees with you.

Richard
 
Having to deal with customers like you is what sours customer service representatives for the rest of us. You dropped it, it broke. Go buy a new one then and be more careful with it next time. It's called being an adult.
 
I've always found the service department of Raymarine very efficient and helpful. Mind you I;ve never asked them to subsidise my carelessness.
 
just to re address the balance. I find Raymarine very helpful!, I haven't had to use them that often, but when I have, I find them very helpful
I would suggest that having owned up to dropping it, you chalk it up to experience and are more careful with the next one!
 
I consider the offer by Raymarine going way beyond their contractual obligations. What is there to be upset about? An accident happened, you quietly swear under your breath and don't come running to an internet forum and have a whinge as your first post.
 
It's unlikely that Raymarine will change their screen production specifications for a relatively isolated incident of someone dropping the unit and cracking the glass. It's probable that you were very unlucky with the angle or the point of contact on the falling screen;: dropping in a different place and it might have been undamaged.

What to do ? It's an accident; it's an isolated case of bad luck.. If a device is designed to resist being dropped (my Panasonic Toughbook computer for instance) then you expect a different result from dropping your Dragonfly (it's a lovely piece of kit BTW).

Will it be covered by insurance ? Probably not, and you might lose your NCB if you tell them.

I guess you are stuck with their fairly reasonable offer for a replacement, steep though the price is. At least you will have another full period of guarantee though.



PS I don't think you are prevented from posting a pic as a new arrival.
 
Last time i dealt with Raymarine was a few years ago and the service was absolutely disgraceful. One of their idiot service guys told me that the reason my brand new plotter kept losing it's GPS fix was that "someone may have turned the satellites off" !! I kid you not. I have been told that they have upped their game more recently though.
 
My wife collected her brand new car from the dealership and backed it straight into a parking bay pole. This caused her to confuse the brake with the throttle and she drove straight through the showroom windows. Luckily a crash barrier stopped her ploughing onto the road but it caused the car to swerve through the used car (sorry, pre-owned car) display which strangely enough diverted her back into the original parking bay. The process then repeated itself. I wish we hadn't insisted on a full tank of fuel :nonchalance:

I was incensed that the dealership wouldn't repair her car for free and vowed never to buy from them again.

They seemed pleased.
 
I think its very poor that it cannot be repaired.

I used to use Standard Horizon and had no problem with repairs even when it was my fault and it was a grey import.

As Standard Horizon have discontinued plotters I have changed to SIMRAD. Lovely unit but totally awful support. No replies from submitted Web forms for support, no replies from telephone support line (rings out to answerphone). Web searches show that the facility I am having issues with has been mis-represented in the adverts (viewing the plotter screen on mobile devices) but only get that from speaking to the public, no responses from SIMRAD.
 
mlines said:
I think its very poor that it cannot be repaired. I used to use Standard Horizon and had no problem with repairs even when it was my fault and it was a grey import...
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If it's a current item, or within 5 years, a repair should be possible.

Interesting that you mention "grey import" regarding SH. They also queried this, although they did fix it FOC. I don't see the relevance of where an item is purchased from a global company. Anyway it's a boat, the item could have been fitted when the USA was "home".
 
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