Sunder
10 MW
kiwipete said:
True mate. Very true.
Good luck with your next supplier. Based on what we've seen here, I recommend you look local, and be prepared to pay a premium for the quality of service you're after.
Hobbyking Customer Service.
- Thread starter Marcbot
- Start date
True mate. Very true.
Good luck with your next supplier. Based on what we've seen here, I recommend you look local, and be prepared to pay a premium for the quality of service you're after.
aroundqube
10 kW
- Joined
- Mar 12, 2012
- Messages
- 577
Confucius say, " When slinging mud, get mud on self "
AussieJester
1 TW
couldn't agree more with Sunder...
good luck finding Lipo anywhere near as good with same low prices HK offer...
bashing a company like HK on a forum where a large percentage have dealt successfully with
over YEARS won't get you far...we accept there are issues times this happens in business,
wetter unlucky , just right it off as a bad experience and move forward ...no point crying it
won't change anything except your state of mind..
KiM
good luck finding Lipo anywhere near as good with same low prices HK offer...
bashing a company like HK on a forum where a large percentage have dealt successfully with
over YEARS won't get you far...we accept there are issues times this happens in business,
wetter unlucky , just right it off as a bad experience and move forward ...no point crying it
won't change anything except your state of mind..
KiM
deffx
100 W
I have 117 orders with hobbyking, model planes, fpv stuff, rc cars, ebike batteries, a couple of small cheap things didnt work not worth the hassle to complain.
An eagle tree osd $200+ never turned up was replaced
Apart from the quality, you get what you pay for, ive had no problems
They are having trouble shipping lipo from the international wharehouse at the moment though
An eagle tree osd $200+ never turned up was replaced
Apart from the quality, you get what you pay for, ive had no problems
They are having trouble shipping lipo from the international wharehouse at the moment though
dnmun
1 PW
HK had a huge setback when the hong kong post office lowered the boom on them over shipping. maybe it was not possible to get stuff to new zealand because the guvment got super vigilant about air freight of lipo and the new zealand guvment is more difficult for HK to defeat. or work around. i guess it depends on the air freighter.
kudos
10 kW
http://endless-sphere.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=52799
I'm with Kiwipete on this.
The problem is people who don't have a problem with them think no-one has or should have a problem with them.
I've had multiple instances of what I would describe as 'worst service in the world' myself.
The only reason I have to use them is I can't get the high-capacity high-cell count lipo from anywhere else.
When your order goes wrong, dealing with their customer service who can take weeks to get back to you, tell you one thing then deny they ever said it to you, outright lie to you, have the inability to communicate between their own depts effectively, force you to buy the things they sent you in error before they'll send you the correct items, repeatedly call you an identity thief despite sending the same items to the same address with the same CC card.
I've returned defective items, been told they have been received by their returns dept, checked with the PO and know they received the items only to have them change their mind and say they haven't received anything and they won't send a replacement.
I could go on....
Kudos
I'm with Kiwipete on this.
The problem is people who don't have a problem with them think no-one has or should have a problem with them.
I've had multiple instances of what I would describe as 'worst service in the world' myself.
The only reason I have to use them is I can't get the high-capacity high-cell count lipo from anywhere else.
When your order goes wrong, dealing with their customer service who can take weeks to get back to you, tell you one thing then deny they ever said it to you, outright lie to you, have the inability to communicate between their own depts effectively, force you to buy the things they sent you in error before they'll send you the correct items, repeatedly call you an identity thief despite sending the same items to the same address with the same CC card.
I've returned defective items, been told they have been received by their returns dept, checked with the PO and know they received the items only to have them change their mind and say they haven't received anything and they won't send a replacement.
I could go on....
Kudos
Sunder
10 MW
kudos said:
There's a big difference between someone taking weeks to get back to you, and someone giving you a refund within an hour of asking, because your order was delayed right before Christmas.
I don't doubt that sometimes they may slip up, but the OP seems unjustified in his statements.
dogman dan
1 PW
I've had the same thing happen, but I was wary about opening a pay pal dispute so darn fast. I was just trying to cancel the order they would not ship. Eventually, they did ship and I got my stuff. They were not willing to just cancel it when they could not ship promptly.
Do I like this shit happening? Hell no. The stuff I order is supposed to be in stock, in the local warehouse!!!!!! I figure they had to wait for it to ship to the warehouse from china.
But it's a company you can do business with, if you are patient. Much like bms battery IMO. One thing I never do anymore, is put more than $300 into one order. Preferably more like less than $200 at risk at a time.
Do I like this shit happening? Hell no. The stuff I order is supposed to be in stock, in the local warehouse!!!!!! I figure they had to wait for it to ship to the warehouse from china.
But it's a company you can do business with, if you are patient. Much like bms battery IMO. One thing I never do anymore, is put more than $300 into one order. Preferably more like less than $200 at risk at a time.
I've had 5 HK orders processed reliably/quickly, but for whatever reason the 6th was a very similar experience to what kiwipete is describing. $600-ish order, hear nothing from them for 6 weeks, no status updates, nothing. At that point I start chatting with customer service reps only to be told "it will ship out tomorrow" or "very soon", which was never what actually happened. Another few weeks and multiple chats later, I can't even get them to answer a simple question: "Has my order shipped? if not, when?" Nothing but the same excuses and some Chingrish non-answers.
I was polite and courteous all the way through, but they simply ignored and/or refused to provide me with any real info regarding my order. I didn't care that it was late, what bothered me was that nobody would tell me what was going on. Has it shipped? Is it waiting to be fulfilled? Even now, I still have no idea what actually happened to cause such delays and breakdown in communication on their end.
Another week passed, still nothing, so I started the Paypal dispute process thinking my order was MIA and a lost cause. They didn't bother respond to the dispute request after a couple of days, so I started another customer service chat before escalating to a claim. I stated my same question. This is when they pulled the same line as with kiwipete: "We can't check on your order status because you have an open Paypal dispute". I stated that I'd be happy to close the dispute immediately if someone could simply tell me what had happened with my order. Any useful answer here would've been quite acceptable.
Eventually, after tons of hopeless dialog, they somewhat implied that the order would ship out very soon if I closed the claim. After closing the claim, a tracking number was provided several days later after another support request asking about the shipment. The order eventually arrived, but the tracking was stuck on the first "shipment lodged" type status for at least another week after they added it.
Also, there's no 10 day Paypal wait for claims. You can escalate from dispute to claim almost immediately. Just because HK is the only viable supplier of LiPo doesn't mean such crappy customer service is ever acceptable. There's a huge online record of people who've had horrible HK experiences, which IMO go beyond just the squeaky wheel types complaining. It's a pattern of the same crap happening, usually a missing or very late order, then the fun begins. It's order roulette with HK, 95%+ of the time you're fine, but hope you're never stuck dealing with customer service for anything.
I was polite and courteous all the way through, but they simply ignored and/or refused to provide me with any real info regarding my order. I didn't care that it was late, what bothered me was that nobody would tell me what was going on. Has it shipped? Is it waiting to be fulfilled? Even now, I still have no idea what actually happened to cause such delays and breakdown in communication on their end.
Another week passed, still nothing, so I started the Paypal dispute process thinking my order was MIA and a lost cause. They didn't bother respond to the dispute request after a couple of days, so I started another customer service chat before escalating to a claim. I stated my same question. This is when they pulled the same line as with kiwipete: "We can't check on your order status because you have an open Paypal dispute". I stated that I'd be happy to close the dispute immediately if someone could simply tell me what had happened with my order. Any useful answer here would've been quite acceptable.
Eventually, after tons of hopeless dialog, they somewhat implied that the order would ship out very soon if I closed the claim. After closing the claim, a tracking number was provided several days later after another support request asking about the shipment. The order eventually arrived, but the tracking was stuck on the first "shipment lodged" type status for at least another week after they added it.
He's entitled to let people know about his experience, just as you're entitled to have such high praise for HobbyKing.Sunder said:
Also, there's no 10 day Paypal wait for claims. You can escalate from dispute to claim almost immediately. Just because HK is the only viable supplier of LiPo doesn't mean such crappy customer service is ever acceptable. There's a huge online record of people who've had horrible HK experiences, which IMO go beyond just the squeaky wheel types complaining. It's a pattern of the same crap happening, usually a missing or very late order, then the fun begins. It's order roulette with HK, 95%+ of the time you're fine, but hope you're never stuck dealing with customer service for anything.
ddk
100 kW
- Joined
- Nov 4, 2011
- Messages
- 1,903
For me, HK has been darned difficult to cancel orders with...
but it eventually gets done.
I don't use paypal so that actually helps matters on my end ...
-otherwise-
I've bought thousands of dollars worth of product from HK, mainly batteries, and will continue to do so. Unless a less expensive source suddenly appears
I've recently noticed HK products are showing up on amazon, for those interested in such knowledge.
Mainly 3S LiCo batteries... but hopefully more will be addled. <lol pun>
but it eventually gets done.
I don't use paypal so that actually helps matters on my end ...
-otherwise-
I've bought thousands of dollars worth of product from HK, mainly batteries, and will continue to do so. Unless a less expensive source suddenly appears
I've recently noticed HK products are showing up on amazon, for those interested in such knowledge.
Mainly 3S LiCo batteries... but hopefully more will be addled. <lol pun>
dogman dan
1 PW
It's definitely order roulette. It's worse now than it was a few years ago, for sure.
Keep your orders small, don't order more till you get the first.
Keep your orders small, don't order more till you get the first.
Ykick
1 GW
Patience of Jobe helps tremendously with Hobby King orders. One of my co-workers recently attempted to order some 6S bricks from USA Warehouse and things couldn't have gone more wrong. He went into "customer satisfaction mode" as if this was Amazon or something - which just won't cut-it with these guys. And when he finally got his order, now there's a duff cell in one of the bricks so who knows how this will ultimately work out?
However, by contrast I ordered $310 4S hardpacks around the same time and it was probably my best HK order yet. Arrived quickly, had a ground tracking number, in great shape, nice bricks. Happy camper!
Like many here I've looked and looked for better "deals" on this stuff but once you find local quality-price you might as well just make the jump to automotive grade cells.
Sucks man, 'sorry to hear your troubles....
However, by contrast I ordered $310 4S hardpacks around the same time and it was probably my best HK order yet. Arrived quickly, had a ground tracking number, in great shape, nice bricks. Happy camper!
Like many here I've looked and looked for better "deals" on this stuff but once you find local quality-price you might as well just make the jump to automotive grade cells.
Sucks man, 'sorry to hear your troubles....
What I found baffling was their complete unwillingness to actually answer questions or address my concerns in any meaningful way. I lost track of how many times I'd typed "Could you please tell me if my order has shipped, or when it's going to ship?". This was after they'd given up on saying "it will go out tomorrow" or "soon".
Of course, please don't get the impression that I was nagging them every day about my one special order. There was huge gaps between most contacts. Things slowly escalated as everything got progressively weirder and the weeks dragged on. I went in to this with the expectation it might take a while coming from the Chinese warehouse.
Perhaps they should add more accurate status messages to their tracking system to avoid customer issues?
Of course, please don't get the impression that I was nagging them every day about my one special order. There was huge gaps between most contacts. Things slowly escalated as everything got progressively weirder and the weeks dragged on. I went in to this with the expectation it might take a while coming from the Chinese warehouse.
Perhaps they should add more accurate status messages to their tracking system to avoid customer issues?
Seems like when their system works (by luck or judgement) everything is fine. The problem is what happens if your happens to be one of the few that falls through the cracks.
For example, rather than comparing examples of orders gone badly and orders gone well, does anyone have an example of a problem with an order that was rectified promptly, efficienctly and courteously? I suspect the loss of this kind of customer service is one of the tradeoffs we make to get low prices.
Lastly, I would always pay for orders like this with a credit card. Then liability legally passes from HK to your CC company if the order doesn't comply with contract. And of cource, the CC co. will ultimately simply reverse charge HK and won't bother with their hoop-jumping exercises.
For example, rather than comparing examples of orders gone badly and orders gone well, does anyone have an example of a problem with an order that was rectified promptly, efficienctly and courteously? I suspect the loss of this kind of customer service is one of the tradeoffs we make to get low prices.
Lastly, I would always pay for orders like this with a credit card. Then liability legally passes from HK to your CC company if the order doesn't comply with contract. And of cource, the CC co. will ultimately simply reverse charge HK and won't bother with their hoop-jumping exercises.
Good thing you did not trust those crooks about canceling the dispute. I had the same issue and stupidly trusted them. It was a nightmare trying to get my money back.
I think the best thing is if something is not right just get your money back and move on and keep the item they sent you.
Open a PayPal dispute and get your money as fast as possible.
I think this forum should put up a sticky about HobbyKing about NOT canceling the dispute and escalate the issue ASAP.
I think the best thing is if something is not right just get your money back and move on and keep the item they sent you.
Open a PayPal dispute and get your money as fast as possible.
I think this forum should put up a sticky about HobbyKing about NOT canceling the dispute and escalate the issue ASAP.
triggeraa
100 W
Over 30 orders to HK over the last few years without any problems. Always touch base with online customer chat a couple of days after placing an order just to update status.
dnmun
1 PW
if all of you have been buying from HK, then why did you not get the desperate apology from the boss at HK about the problems they had with shipping last month and month before when the hong kong post office stopped them from shipping batteries?
was i the only person who got that message from them? what is so hard for this guy to understand about that?
i think maybe the reason the hong kong post stopped shipping was because of that guy last year who said he was gonna snitch on HK for shipping batteries through the mail and he said he was gonna snitch on them because HK had pissed him off for some silly reason just like this guy.
does anybody even remember that guy? as i recall he was all upset about how 'cheap chinese junk' was gonna destroy our economy because HK was shipping us batteries too cheap for the american producers to compete. as in, "what american manufacturers?".
was i the only person who got that message from them? what is so hard for this guy to understand about that?
i think maybe the reason the hong kong post stopped shipping was because of that guy last year who said he was gonna snitch on HK for shipping batteries through the mail and he said he was gonna snitch on them because HK had pissed him off for some silly reason just like this guy.
does anybody even remember that guy? as i recall he was all upset about how 'cheap chinese junk' was gonna destroy our economy because HK was shipping us batteries too cheap for the american producers to compete. as in, "what american manufacturers?".
MadRhino
100 GW
If you are expecting speed and service as in the western world, don't buy in China.
I don't expect much. I have ordered 4000$ of RC Lipo at HK in the last few years. I have had them all, some were slow to arrive, a few bricks had a bad cell, yet I never claimed anything. I consider this normal, for the quality and price it is a good average and I am satisfied with them.
I don't expect much. I have ordered 4000$ of RC Lipo at HK in the last few years. I have had them all, some were slow to arrive, a few bricks had a bad cell, yet I never claimed anything. I consider this normal, for the quality and price it is a good average and I am satisfied with them.
speedmd
10 MW
Customers like this make it harder on all of us to get rock bottom pricing. Wanting instant email response to their barrage of messages and tracking numbers when the policy clearly states it will take a while and no tracking of use is available through china post until after it lands on most shipments. Paypal will most likely stop being a option with a few customers acting like this. Agree that it would be best to buy local if you can not deal with the fog of china post.
recumbent
100 kW
dnmun said:
yes, I remember the post you speak of 'dnmun' and agree with your views, but we gave him heck for doin it.
My experience with Hobbyking was good, and only took three weeks at my door.
dogman dan
1 PW
I rather doubt that one snitch caused a problem. Far more likely is a change in the person who runs the post office this stuff is sent from. Then new, er, arrangements, need to be made, and it could take some time.
And then there is the routine, nothing happens during the holidays shipping back up.
But if they can't ship for a month or more, not just a few weeks because of the holiday, then they should be more willing to cancel an order and refund the money. That's bogus to just refuse to ship, or cancel the order. They'd make more friends, and make more money by not being dicks about it. Returning a defect is another story, I'm just saying if they won't ship at all, why not refund with no hassles about it? It's not a customer scam, just a guy who wants to change his mind because they can't ship.
And then there is the routine, nothing happens during the holidays shipping back up.
But if they can't ship for a month or more, not just a few weeks because of the holiday, then they should be more willing to cancel an order and refund the money. That's bogus to just refuse to ship, or cancel the order. They'd make more friends, and make more money by not being dicks about it. Returning a defect is another story, I'm just saying if they won't ship at all, why not refund with no hassles about it? It's not a customer scam, just a guy who wants to change his mind because they can't ship.
dnmun
1 PW
last year the air freight transport association made it hard to ship lipo and it took the hong kong post a long time to finally act on it is how i viewed it.
HK was shipping without any lipo labels on the packages before so i think what HK has to do now is register that they are shipping the lipo and have it labeled and top loaded on the cargo pods and declared to the pilots before it is loaded onto the air freighters. maybe someone has seen a shipment from them recently and can confirm the top load label they are using now.
it may be that the new zealand authorities did not go along with that arrangement but i think in this guys case he was just caught in the middle like everybody else. i recommended he try ordering from HK again on his group buy thread since nobody is gonna go along with him on that.
HK was shipping without any lipo labels on the packages before so i think what HK has to do now is register that they are shipping the lipo and have it labeled and top loaded on the cargo pods and declared to the pilots before it is loaded onto the air freighters. maybe someone has seen a shipment from them recently and can confirm the top load label they are using now.
it may be that the new zealand authorities did not go along with that arrangement but i think in this guys case he was just caught in the middle like everybody else. i recommended he try ordering from HK again on his group buy thread since nobody is gonna go along with him on that.
I've been ordering since 2009 mostly RC stuff, ESCs and batteries.
Service used to be good and batteries used to be good.
I don't know what is going on but out of the 12 last batteries I bought within 3 different orders and within a 4 month period, I've had 10 bad batteries.
Their internal resistance was so high, I could not even charge at 1/2C. It was 70mhom or more per cell.
I've had such good luck before...I hope they get better. And trying to get customer service to recognize that your batteries have too much internal resistance...well that takes about 2 months of back and forth emails and the next one you get does not make sense and...After about 10 e-mails, it was more like a game to me. I wanted to see what would happen in the end.
Well after 3 videos, I finally got replacement for 4 batteries but the replacements were the SAME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I guess the only batts I never had a problem with are the 6S 5000 Turnigy 20C
Service used to be good and batteries used to be good.
I don't know what is going on but out of the 12 last batteries I bought within 3 different orders and within a 4 month period, I've had 10 bad batteries.
Their internal resistance was so high, I could not even charge at 1/2C. It was 70mhom or more per cell.
I've had such good luck before...I hope they get better. And trying to get customer service to recognize that your batteries have too much internal resistance...well that takes about 2 months of back and forth emails and the next one you get does not make sense and...After about 10 e-mails, it was more like a game to me. I wanted to see what would happen in the end.
Well after 3 videos, I finally got replacement for 4 batteries but the replacements were the SAME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I guess the only batts I never had a problem with are the 6S 5000 Turnigy 20C
