Suunto appalling customer service !

[Lithril]

Watching with interest. I've been toying with the idea of getting either the Vector or the Core. Core would be my preferred by I keep hearing mixed reviews about quality and service so it'll be good to see how this is resolved.

Matt

 

[Toddy]

I'm with fgyt with this tbh. Returned to have a small outside part replaced.....a bezel that fell off.....yes ?
and suddenly it's become a full service too ? for a hefty 87 euros ?

Might be alright if he'd requested that service, or in replacing the broken piece, which is presumably no longer under guarantee, they had to entirely dismantle the watch. According to Paullyfuzz though it's a snap on piece.

Backwoodsman ? did you get the £200+ from Timpsons for their damage to your watch ?

cheers,
Toddy

 

[John Fenna]

I'm with fgyt with this tbh. Returned to have a small outside part replaced.....a bezel that fell off.....yes ?
and suddenly it's become a full service too ? for a hefty 87 euros ?

Might be alright if he'd requested that service, or in replacing the broken piece, which is presumably no longer under guarantee, they had to entirely dismantle the watch. According to Paullyfuzz though it's a snap on piece.

Backwoodsman ? did you get the £200+ from Timpsons for their damage to your watch ?

cheers,
Toddy

At least there is an explaination for the costs - which seemed lacking in the first instance!

 

[gordonmac]

Core would be my preferred by I keep hearing mixed reviews about quality and service so it'll be good to see how this is resolved.
Matt

Haha, I already have a Core, and have to say that it is a most excellent watch! I've never had any requirement to contact their customer support though!

 

[backwoodsman]

yes timpsons paid me!!!
and as for suunto guy watching, holly sh** he may become a new poster can admin find out the ip address to make sure its not a wind up!!!


plusnet are a con!!!!!!

(fingers crossed) lol

 

[British Red]

I was considering a Suunto. If Suunto thinks its retasonable to charge a customer $85 for a piece of plastic that the user can clip on themselves, I will look elsewhere. I want to deal with a company that stands behind its products - not one that seeks to foist a service upon me that I do not want or need - all the OP wanted was a part. It appears that Suunto see a problem as an opportunity to force a customer to purchase services they neither want, need not ask for. Very poor. They should look into how Leatherman do business.

Red

 

[pastymuncher]

I was considering a Suunto. If Suunto thinks its retasonable to charge a customer $85 for a piece of plastic that the user can clip on themselves, I will look elsewhere. I want to deal with a company that stands behind its products - not one that seeks to foist a service upon me that I do not want or need - all the OP wanted was a part. It appears that Suunto see a problem as an opportunity to force a customer to purchase services they neither want, need not ask for. Very poor. They should look into how Leatherman do business.

Red

Must admit I've only ever heard good things about Suunto, and while $87 seems a bit steep, if it includes a full service etc then it's not so bad.
I have to pay £50 to get just a battery change and pressure test in the U.K. for my watch and SWMBO's watch is the same (different manufacturer).

 

[nitrambur]

Must admit I've only ever heard good things about Suunto, and while $87 seems a bit steep, if it includes a full service etc then it's not so bad.
I have to pay £50 to get just a battery change and pressure test in the U.K. for my watch and SWMBO's watch is the same (different manufacturer).

But it's a full service the owner doesn't want or need, that's the problem, they only offer one thing, a full service, take it or leave it. Would you be happy to pay for a pressure test when you have a new strap fitted? It's an external, owner installable part, it doesn't need to be sent to Finland.

 

[British Red]

Fine - when you need to open the case. A snap on bezel does not require a pressure test. If a part on my Leatherman breaks, free repair. If my Zippo breaks- free repair. Stu mitchell service on my knife? Free. I can go on. Serious out door manufacturers stand behind their product. I thought Suunto were a serious maker. If a plastic part outside the pressurised element costs that much - when an extruded plastic part costs less than a Euro, then they are making money, not a tool they will stand behind.

 

[johnboy]

Fine - when you need to open the case. A snap on bezel does not require a pressure test. If a part on my Leatherman breaks, free repair. If my Zippo breaks- free repair. Stu mitchell service on my knife? Free. I can go on. Serious out door manufacturers stand behind their product. I thought Suunto were a serious maker. If a plastic part outside the pressurised element costs that much - when an extruded plastic part costs less than a Euro, then they are making money, not a tool they will stand behind.

I have a Vector,

It's an excellent bit of kit and has given good service. It's well made, and the support for the product is good also IMHO.

It's not a 200m diving watch machined from a billet of SS with a Helium release valve etc. It's water resistant to 30m with an injection moulded plastic case. However it is full of gubbins such as the mechanisim for the compass and also the barometer. I'm betting it would be 'Goodnight Irene' if that lot got wet. Perhaps Suunto feel that if the watch has lost the bezel then if it's comming back for that to be replaced then a quick check to see if it's got the potential to leak is a good idea.

Leatherman do offer an excellent replacement service... Everyone of the 5 tools that have broken on me or were incorrectly assembled and then broken they have replaced often after a bit of correspondence.

 

[British Red]

I agree Johnny.

My point is simple. A failiure of a tool is down to one of three basic things. Design flaw, user abuse or "sh*t happens - its a one off".

Let me give you an example you and I can relate to. After 30,000 rounds, my custom Ruger 10/22 staarted to FTF. Rimfiremagic who made it were apalled. The gun was taken back, a titanium pin inserted, and no charge made. Since then, i have snt 60+ customers their way for a £10 part. If Suunto are a Quality product, they wil stand by it. If its a consumer rip off, we will see an anonymous fob off with an under the covers resolution,

I was already disappointed with Suunto - no name given - just an anonymous corporate reply. If we don't get to hear what the final resolution was, it will confirm my opinion.

Red

 

[johnboy]

I agree Johnny.

My point is simple. A failiure of a tool is down to one of three basic things. Design flaw, user abuse or "sh*t happens - its a one off".

Hey Reddy,

Agreed all my leatherman problems have been down to design flaws or poor manufacturing... So one view could be you can make rubbish and then police that with a good returns policy conversely you can make good stuff and have a 'poor' returns policy..

I'm not privy to the working of the Suunto Vector. But it's not too difficult to image in the bezel has come off there might be damage to the 'crystal' which could leak and cream cracker the internals.

Sometimes part of having a quality product and maintaining that brand is not letting 'unauthorised' folk fix it...

I think if you got a Vector you'd be happy with it. They are a great instrument.

 

[pastymuncher]

My step father has an Omega which costs several hundred pounds for a "service", it's not water resistant and is automatic (no battery) but when it comes back it's like new. They replace the crystal and polish the casing/strap and clean it internally.
I can't/wont speak for Suunto, but if the watch comes back in "as good as new" condition then I wouldn't be upset about the cost or service. I would however be upset if the watch came back and the battery needed replacing 2 months later.

If my Leatherman broke I would throw it in the nearest bin where it belongs.

 

[Paullyfuzz]

The bezel missing makes no difference to the internal working of the watch or the crystal at all. I have emailed Aku that psoted on here, and will let you know how it turns out. One things for sure, i will keep on until its sorted.

 

[johnboy]

The bezel missing makes no difference to the internal working of the watch or the crystal at all. I have emailed Aku that psoted on here, and will let you know how it turns out. One things for sure, i will keep on until its sorted.

Hi,

In your case that is undoubtedly true for another customer that might not be the case. Sunnto's view might be that to maintain their quality and product reputation it's better to bring all issues in house repair and test to their satisfaction and then return them.

 

[atross]

Well

I am getting no where, I have a vector and it is excellent but the bezel has popped off. From doing a bit of research this is quite common.

I have contacted Sunnto on the phone in the Nordics who gave me their UK distributors number, which I phoned and was rather abruptly told that I shouldn’t have been given the number and that I should take the watch to a retailer.

I have taken the watch to two listed independent retailers who both told me that they now choose not to deal with Sunnto as they are extremely difficult to work with.

I get the impression that the issue is more with the UK distributor than Sunnto, having said that I have tried their twitter page and they are just referring me back to the same retailers, who don’t want to deal with them!

It is a great watch, just appalling customer service!

Ash

 

[Nonsuch]

I suggest emailing the link to this thread to Suunto in Nordics. Might be worth face-booking your issues as well again on your own page as they will almost certainly have software that monitors social networking. Did you start a similar thread on SOTP?

I have been involved with a business that makes the social networking monitoring software and most of the replies are automated, not from a real person. You need to make a bigger stink in more places before a real person takes notice.

NS

 

[John Fenna]

OK - Suunto is off my list now ...which watches can be recommended?

 

[pastymuncher]

OK - Suunto is off my list now ...which watches can be recommended?

The cheapest!!!!
They all tell the time, a cheap digital is often more accurate than a high end watch with complications.
Pay more than a couple of pounds and your paying for a name/status.

P.S I like watches, my wish list includes a Romain Jerome Titanic watch.

 

[John Fenna]

The cheapest!!!!
They all tell the time, a cheap digital is often more accurate than a high end watch with complications.
Pay more than a couple of pounds and your paying for a name/status.

P.S I like watches, my wish list includes a Romain Jerome Titanic watch.

Good point - but like mobile phones the more expensive ones come with a lot more features/uses than the cheap ones
I need one I can read without putting on my glasses and would like waterproof (I am a canoe coach), perhaps a compass, twin alarms (we have no clocks at all in the house - I hate hearing my life tick away...) stop watch while barometer/altimeter could be useful as could a thermometer.....
Suunto looked good until I saw this thread!