Atrocious Service from Defender

[steamgoat]

Wow, good call Maine Sail, See you at the spring sail Stephan,will spend many more $ with you. Bruce.

[mrohr]

Been buying from defender for 30+ years .Never a problem.

[Richard_W]

Originally Posted by SURV69

But, as I see it, when a business is willing to accept profit to act as a middle-man, they should have the hoopska to act as the middle-man when there are problems.

I think it was a case of a one employee having a one bad day. From my experience Defender reps were always helpful and accommodating my needs and timeline.

Things happen ... unfortunately this had happened on the first purchase of OP from Defender. Hope he will reconsider and do not cut off the nose to spite the face ...

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by Sailorman375

Defender is a first class outfit. You bought some cheap speakers and should had done a bit more research on what you were buying.

Here, I think, is the crux of the matter: you got what you paid for and found that it wasn't good enough. Not Defender's fault... but in the end they bailed you out of your bad decision. No excuse for being rude to a customer, and it sounds like the big boss will check out that conversation and take action as required to prevent a recurrence.

Seems to me that Defender comes out pretty well here!

Cheers,

Jim

[Alecadi]

Originally Posted by Stephan

Hello CruisersForum Members,

Though I do participate on many forums, I have never actually posted here. It is a forum I check out from time to time. Yes, it is true, my name is Stephan Lance and I am a lurker on CruisersForum.com.

Regarding the OP's issue. I will listen to calls and speak with staff and find out what occurred. The experience Moonpie had is not normal (as you can tell from the solid support in favor of Defender. THANK YOU for your positive vibes, that felt good).

It is possible that my employee (not one of the veterans here) simply responded poorly to the issue or that some of the details are not being conveyed by the OP [yes, that happens]. I am not saying either is the case, but I will check it out. I wish I could make the claim that "I never got it wrong". I have, we all have.

Moonpie's speakers received a call tag and he will be issued a full refund.

Nice to "meet" you all, though I probably have spoken or corresponded to many of you at some point in my career.

Stephan Lance
President
Defender Industries, Inc.

Very good answer
This confirm what a majority of us here on CF think about Defender
Thank you for your posting and positive attitude
Alec

[Moonpie]

Just to clarify, I am within the 10 day return policy.

As for it being my fault for purchasing cheap speakers, I seriously doubt that the case. I strongly believe these speakers are blown. There is just no way in hell I can believe a company would manufacture and yet another company sell speakers of such poor quality. I'm not an audiophile, but I do expect music that can be listened to.

Stehpan called me and left me a VM, which I seriously appreciate. He will listen to the calls and can then tell you guys if I was just being a pain in the ass customer or not.

One thing is for sure, even if I am 100% in the right, you all have had gret service with Defender, which is fantastic. I just wish I had.

P.S. would someone please list the other sacred cow topics so I can avoid ruffling feathers :P

[Richard_W]

Ruffling feathers? It's more about statistics ... the life got you onto the wrong edge of the bell curve ... s##t happens!

[Mimsy]

I think the reason feathers were ruffled was largely in part with your post title. "Definition of ATROCIOUS

1
: extremely wicked, brutal, or cruel : barbaric
2
: appalling, horrifying <the atrocious weapons of modern war>

Using the term atrocious to describe a customer service interaction where in you were not happy seems to veer into the realm of hyperbole. Unless of course, the CS rep threatened to kill your dog, called your mother names and made fun of your speech impediment. I don't think you would have gotten the same response had you said something like "Not happy with Defender Customer Service". That perfectly explains your feelings about your interaction by a highly regarded supplier to this community without accusing them of laughing in your face and telling you get lost.

Also, do not make fun of anyone's choice of anchor, boat or sailing partner and you should be golden.

[Moonpie]

Originally Posted by Mimsy

I think the reason feathers were ruffled was largely in part with your post title. "Definition of ATROCIOUS

1
: extremely wicked, brutal, or cruel : barbaric
2
: appalling, horrifying <the atrocious weapons of modern war>

Using the term atrocious to describe a customer service interaction where in you were not happy seems to veer into the realm of hyperbole. Unless of course, the CS rep threatened to kill your dog, called your mother names and made fun of your speech impediment. I don't think you would have gotten the same response had you said something like "Not happy with Defender Customer Service". That perfectly explains your feelings about your interaction by a highly regarded supplier to this community without accusing them of laughing in your face and telling you get lost.

Also, do not make fun of anyone's choice of anchor, boat or sailing partner and you should be golden.

You're correct. I certainly did use the wrong word. It wasn't atrocious, it was just very poor. It has just been SO long since I've encountered this type of service that it really got me upset.

[Kettlewell]

I'm another person who has been very pleased with both Defender and Stephan's help over the years. Don't know how many thousands of $$ I've spent there. But, having said that, and having worked in retail and retail management for many years I know that sometimes sh*t just happens. Before I complain about something or a company it has to be an established pattern or a very serious issue, because sometimes things just don't work out right, despite the best efforts of management. They might very well be defective speakers--it won't be the first time a product has left a factory in defective condition. I one time picked up a new Ford and soon discovered the car had been put together with no blower for the heating/cooling. It was the middle of the winter and I kept thinking this new car had the quietest heater blower I'd ever heard until I found I was hardly getting any heat. The dealer said there was no fan in there at all. It sounds like Stephan, as always in my experience, will make it right and make the customer happy, but I think it is unrealistic to get quite so upset over one fairly minor issue.

[savoir]

Defender's annual sale will be on in a few weeks Moonpie. You should check out the deals.

I've been a happy customer for 7 years.

[Captain Randy]

You actually got your issue resolved with the Owner of the company personally, quickly and with a full refund. And your still whinning......

[four winds]

I looked up the specs of the speakers. Not very good in my opinion.

Couldn't find the frequency response curve, (red flag), but listed as 70hz to 14khz. Even without a response graph or +/- tolerance that's enough info to pass on these speakers.

Also, listed as 40 watts continuous average power limit per pair.

So they are 20 watt waterproof speakers that are incapable of handling any real power or reproducing decent low end frequencies.

Personally, I find most marine audio components lacking good quality sound. Seems the emphasis is on water and corrosion resistance, with the component quality falling behind the overall audio market.

[s/v Jedi]

to Defender for acting like I expected they would.

to OP for not appreciating that more and giving them another chance.

cheers,
Nick.

[SVNeko]

I had a problem. Ordered a piece of line with a thimble spliced into the end. Never got it. Never heard from them. When I enquired, I was told that they were out of the line I specified, even though the site showed it as available and the person in the rigging department I spoke to acted like it was available. It was on special. They had no reason or apology for why they never let me know. All they did was offer a similar line that was much more expensive with no discount or accomodation for the failure to deliver. However, I have had other good experiences with them. Besides, we need some competition for West with some scale.