Questions on a solo that was replaced by 3DR under warranty.

locutus · Nov 18, 2015

I received my RMA replacement solo today. It came packaged in a solo box with the props box and the charger box sealed. It looks as though the power cords or haphazardly tied with bread ties (the black ties normally used)
So it Flies great. Upon closer inspection, I noticed it had one missing screw and 2 loose screws from the battery tray as well. A couple of the motors have a fine dirt type dust within the motor bell. I also found some very light scratches on different parts of solo. It's missing The decal which covers the antennas in the legs. I'm just curious to see if anybody else has received a lightly used solo on their DMR return.

Maddog · Nov 18, 2015

I don't know what DMR means but 3DR shouldn't be sending out a Solo in that condition for any reason.

locutus · Nov 18, 2015

Maddog said:
I don't know what DMR means but 3DR shouldn't be sending out a Solo in that condition for any reason.

Oh. I meant RMA. Lol

Maddog · Nov 18, 2015

locutus said:
Oh. I meant RMA. Lol

Ah! That makes sense.

Mark_T · Nov 19, 2015

They have been using refurbished Solo's for some returns for a while now and it sounds like that is what you received here.

Doesn't seem to be up to a reasonable standard though if you have loose screws right out of the box ...

Ian [P13] · Nov 19, 2015

Take a photo of any missing screws and contact support, I'd expect they'd send you out any missing screws free, you might also want to point out the missing decal. Although RMAs are refurb they definitely shouldn't go out without the screws being checked so do log it.

Quality Control · Nov 19, 2015

Personally I think its pretty sad when you send in a potentially brand new Solo and they send you a unit like this. I would much rather prefer they refurbish the one I purchased and send that back.

This Solo department and service group seem to be pretty lack luster and they are doing, what I believe to be, all the wrong things to keep customers happy. If I sent in a mint, brand new Solo, I would expect a mint, brand new, working Solo back.

Maybe I am just overly anal about my gear but that would really push my buttons and I will admit I am not very pleased with the Solo group. The Pixhawk team was amazing, and service was impecable. Never had I received a response so fast, my RMA was filled immediately and I had a brand new FC in days. I have read story after story about the Pixhawk department being amazing. I think they need to take a chapter out of that book for the Solo group.

Ian [P13] · Nov 19, 2015

RMAs usually are mint refurbs, that's why I'm sure they'd do something to put the issues right of the missing screws at least. 3DR's warranty is a lot less complex and longer than the competition, DJI for example don't warranty the shell at all (though they've made exceptions with the Phantom), the motors and batteries also are warrantied lesser time than other components.

Vu.3DR · Nov 19, 2015

locutus said:
I received my RMA replacement solo today. It came packaged in a solo box with the props box and the charger box sealed. It looks as though the power cords or haphazardly tied with bread ties (the black ties normally used)
So it Flies great. Upon closer inspection, I noticed it had one missing screw and 2 loose screws from the battery tray as well. A couple of the motors have a fine dirt type dust within the motor bell. I also found some very light scratches on different parts of solo. It's missing The decal which covers the antennas in the legs. I'm just curious to see if anybody else has received a lightly used solo on their DMR return.

That's definitely not acceptable. Can you send me your RMA#? [email protected]

pyrate · Nov 19, 2015

Quality Control said:
Personally I think its pretty sad when you send in a potentially brand new Solo and they send you a unit like this. I would much rather prefer they refurbish the one I purchased and send that back.

This Solo department and service group seem to be pretty lack luster and they are doing, what I believe to be, all the wrong things to keep customers happy. If I sent in a mint, brand new Solo, I would expect a mint, brand new, working Solo back.

Maybe I am just overly anal about my gear but that would really push my buttons and I will admit I am not very pleased with the Solo group. The Pixhawk team was amazing, and service was impecable. Never had I received a response so fast, my RMA was filled immediately and I had a brand new FC in days. I have read story after story about the Pixhawk department being amazing. I think they need to take a chapter out of that book for the Solo group.

All the wrong things?
you must be dealing with a different company than most of us are

J R · Nov 19, 2015

Vu.3DR said:
That's definitely not acceptable. Can you send me your RMA#? [email protected]

Vu,

Now that's the company that I purchased a Solo to be part of! Hope we see more of you around here. You and Ian could quash a lot of potential issues right here. Might be a good investment to throw a few more on here. Bonus for resolution maybe? Just a thought.

Pleasantly surprised to see you here! Thanks!

Jerry

Vu.3DR · Nov 19, 2015

Quality Control said:
Personally I think its pretty sad when you send in a potentially brand new Solo and they send you a unit like this. I would much rather prefer they refurbish the one I purchased and send that back.

This Solo department and service group seem to be pretty lack luster and they are doing, what I believe to be, all the wrong things to keep customers happy. If I sent in a mint, brand new Solo, I would expect a mint, brand new, working Solo back.

Maybe I am just overly anal about my gear but that would really push my buttons and I will admit I am not very pleased with the Solo group. The Pixhawk team was amazing, and service was impecable. Never had I received a response so fast, my RMA was filled immediately and I had a brand new FC in days. I have read story after story about the Pixhawk department being amazing. I think they need to take a chapter out of that book for the Solo group.

Hi Quality Control, I'm sorry we've driven you to feel this way. I agree with you, if you send a brand new unit, we should send you a brand new unit back. That's what we do in all of the cases. We do also replace almost-new units with new units. It's not a hard rule, but usually if you've had your Solo for less than a month, we'll replace it with a new one.

I don't think you're overly anal at all. We have a recertified replacement strategy because it speeds up the RMA process. But some folks are very careful with their Solos, so we when we ask for a unit back, we give our customers the option to have their unit repaired vs getting a replacement unit.

I really do appreciate your feedback. I've actually written half a page of notes from this thread to discuss with my team. I don't know if you care, but please know that everything you've said here, our future RMA customers are going to benefit from.

Vu.3DR · Nov 19, 2015

J R said:
Vu,

Now that's the company that I purchased a Solo to be part of! Hope we see more of you around here. You and Ian could quash a lot of potential issues right here. Might be a good investment to throw a few more on here. Bonus for resolution maybe? Just a thought.

Pleasantly surprised to see you here! Thanks!

Jerry

Hi Jerry, I'm definitely going to be here more often. We're refining our support strategy for 2016 & 2017 and you'll see a lot more presence from our staff everywhere.

and yep, Ian rocks.

J R · Nov 19, 2015

Vu.3DR said:
Hi Jerry, I'm definitely going to be here more often.

and yep, Ian rocks.

More good news from 3dr!

Jerry

RichWest · Nov 19, 2015

I look forward to the continual improvements within 3DR's service and support. Thanks Vu for showing up to the party...fashionably late however....

Maddog · Nov 19, 2015

Vu, thanks for your assistance and comments!

Quality Control · Nov 19, 2015

Vu.3DR said:
Hi Jerry, I'm definitely going to be here more often. We're refining our support strategy for 2016 & 2017 and you'll see a lot more presence from our staff everywhere.

and yep, Ian rocks.

That is awesome news to all of us. We love the product and a great support team would make this product and company a no brainer. You are way ahead of competition in so many ways so to hear that you are willing to improve your service and support lets me believe in the product I have purchased even more.

Vu, you sound like you really care about the community and I can appreciate that. We don't voice our opinions for any other reason than wanting great relationship and great things to come from our Solo's. We as consumers have invested quite a bit of money into a hobby and you as the supplier feel the need to respond to customer requirements which is awesome. I know service means more to me than anything and I will say I am impressed with 3DR's ability to handle crashes. I think you are very generous in these situations.

I will say I support you and your team being here. The fact that you are here listening and taking notes means a lot in the customer service world and I appreciate your interest in our demands! I know they can be pretty high at times.

locutus · Nov 19, 2015

Vu.3DR said:
That's definitely not acceptable. Can you send me your RMA#? [email protected]

Hi Vu.
Here is the RMA #RFR102815151894
Thank you!

locutus · Nov 19, 2015

J R said:
Vu,

Now that's the company that I purchased a Solo to be part of! Hope we see more of you around here. You and Ian could quash a lot of potential issues right here. Might be a good investment to throw a few more on here. Bonus for resolution maybe? Just a thought.

Pleasantly surprised to see you here! Thanks!

Jerry

I'm blown away myself hearing Vu's response. I'm not upset . Like I said, it flies great it just appeared to have VERY LIGHTLY used parts on it. it didn't have the protective plastic on the motor pods as a new one would. It did however have the protective plastic on the battery. No big deal. Just an observation that I wanted to bring up. I am slightly nervous because I don't know how it's put together inside.