Who else is having difficulty getting a timely - or more accurately, any substantive - response from Walthers' repair department?
Four weeks ago (on November 29), I e-mailed that unit (via the company's internal system) regarding my Walthers Proto 2000 loco's need for repair. It's out of the warranty window, so that doesn't apply. I described the problem and asked about the procedure for sending the loco to them.
It took almost two weeks (on December 9) for a repair tech to respond. He requested my customer service number, which he needed to set up a return authorization (RA) number. I sent it in immediately, along with the loco's serial number and another number on the loco's registration card. I never heard from him again.
A week later (on December 16), a second repair tech e-mailed, stating that he was aware of my request and asking which loco it is (a five-year old EMD F7 "A") and to describe the problem I'm having with it. I sent him that information the same day.
Three days later (on December 16), that same tech replied, asking for my phone number and address so he could set up a RA. I provided that information right away, as well as requesting the procedure for sending it to Walthers for repair.
Another week after that (on December 26), having received no followup reply, I e-mailed both repair techs again to inquire about the RA. To-date, I have yet to receive a response from anyone. I've avoided calling so as not to get passed around from one staff member to another in "phone tag" and to have e-mail documentation of my communications with the company.
Now, I understand being busy although neither repair tech has implied or stated such. Whether or not that's an issue is unknown. To have waited a month now for something as simple as e-mailing a RA number and basic procedural instructions (which are absent on the website for out-of-warranty repairs) is beyond the pale. Have those two repair techs left the company? Are they indeed swamped with other repair jobs? Closed for the holidays? Who knows. But this is certainly no way for a reputable company to do business. Absent a definitive response in the next day or so, my next step is to write the CEO.
If anyone has direct knowledge of what's going on with Walthers' repair department, I'd appreciate hearing from you. Conjecture is not necessary.
By the way, a look at the company's parts and warranty page (https://www.walthers.com/parts-warranty) shows the following:
"Parts and Warranty can help you with the following:
* A repair service is available for Walthers brand products. For all other brands and warranty claims, please select "Customer Service".
If you have not registered your product go here.
Download the Walthers Limited Warranty."
Lacking, however, is any means for communicating repair needs of Walthers' brand products, as in my case.
Four weeks ago (on November 29), I e-mailed that unit (via the company's internal system) regarding my Walthers Proto 2000 loco's need for repair. It's out of the warranty window, so that doesn't apply. I described the problem and asked about the procedure for sending the loco to them.
It took almost two weeks (on December 9) for a repair tech to respond. He requested my customer service number, which he needed to set up a return authorization (RA) number. I sent it in immediately, along with the loco's serial number and another number on the loco's registration card. I never heard from him again.
A week later (on December 16), a second repair tech e-mailed, stating that he was aware of my request and asking which loco it is (a five-year old EMD F7 "A") and to describe the problem I'm having with it. I sent him that information the same day.
Three days later (on December 16), that same tech replied, asking for my phone number and address so he could set up a RA. I provided that information right away, as well as requesting the procedure for sending it to Walthers for repair.
Another week after that (on December 26), having received no followup reply, I e-mailed both repair techs again to inquire about the RA. To-date, I have yet to receive a response from anyone. I've avoided calling so as not to get passed around from one staff member to another in "phone tag" and to have e-mail documentation of my communications with the company.
Now, I understand being busy although neither repair tech has implied or stated such. Whether or not that's an issue is unknown. To have waited a month now for something as simple as e-mailing a RA number and basic procedural instructions (which are absent on the website for out-of-warranty repairs) is beyond the pale. Have those two repair techs left the company? Are they indeed swamped with other repair jobs? Closed for the holidays? Who knows. But this is certainly no way for a reputable company to do business. Absent a definitive response in the next day or so, my next step is to write the CEO.
If anyone has direct knowledge of what's going on with Walthers' repair department, I'd appreciate hearing from you. Conjecture is not necessary.
By the way, a look at the company's parts and warranty page (https://www.walthers.com/parts-warranty) shows the following:
"Parts and Warranty can help you with the following:
- Parts Missing From a Kit
- Repair of a Locomotive*
- Status of a Repair
- Parts Availability
- Warranty Inquiries
* A repair service is available for Walthers brand products. For all other brands and warranty claims, please select "Customer Service".
If you have not registered your product go here.
Download the Walthers Limited Warranty."
Lacking, however, is any means for communicating repair needs of Walthers' brand products, as in my case.
