Advice please..

[Cassie]

Hi all =)

I would love some advice on a tiny situation. In Dec I got a 510 kit from a supplier here in EFC and it was defective (falling apart) so when I finally got a response from them they kindly sent me a Riva for a replacement last week (which was also an upgrade) plus a bottle of juice. I thought that was more than generous when I would have settled for a replacement 510 battery. OK... so yesterday I wrote and thanked them and told them how I love the Riva and the juice, etc... and how happy I was with the outcome.
Tonight one of my Riva batts conked out on me. I really don't want to write him again because he was more than fair but..I just today gave away my other PV to my friend at work since she really wanted to quit analogs but couldnt afford a pv kit any more than I can afford to buy a new one right now. I didnt need two kits.

So...should I suck it up and just deal with the one batt till end of February when I get my tax return or email this guy and hope he doesn't think I am some kind of nut that is trying to take advantage.
Personally I feel a bit embarrassed to do this all over again especially after raving about how wonderful everything was last night. But...ahh...always a but... I did originally spend my $$ on his site and in less than a month have gotten 2 PV kits that shot craps (well, one batt each kit)

Should I just maybe see if someone in the classifieds area has an extra Riva or compatible batt they can sell cheap?

Then I can save face and not be a total complainer to this guy LOL

Suggestions?

Thanks!

~Cassie

 

[Krispers]

My honest advice would be to PM him/them. Of course there is the small chance he might think you are trying to take advantage BUT most likely he would want to know that he has a batch of bad batteries and it wasn't just a rare occurrence.

 

[zadane]

Send a PM explaining the situation.

if they think you are scamming them they will ask for you to send the battery in.

or they just might send out another one.

what's the worst that can happen?

heck you could even go so far as to make a video of it not working.

 

[Vermonster13]

If I was a vendor I'd want to know about it. They may have got a bad batch and how many other customers will receive them? Takes a lifetime to earn a reputation and seconds to lose it. Return the battery to them so they can see for them self.

 

[The Big Chief]

I been their..My first order with strictly e juice was 50 bucks worth of liquid. They were horrid, and i was new. They sent 2 510 kits in replacement...both crapped out, so sent 2 more, they crapped out, so I gave up. They used SLB back then, and all kits had issues with bats. Sounds like they still do after a year later. If ya spent 70 bucks on the kit, Id pursue..if it was like a 30 buck deal, Id chalk it up as bad luck, and just find new supplier. Safe to say any replacements you get will do same thing, so same prob will just compound. Its not resellers fault, he just picked bad line to carry. Its a tough call, but I know suppliers dont want unhappy customers, and they also dont want to lose money regularly. But they could also be well aware of issues and just take them as they come, and send back. If ya spent 30 bucks, Id move on, 70 and I stick around. they couldve sent riva kit knowing 50% failure, so knew youd have 2 batts that work outta the 4...:S

 

[cobaltblue]

How about writing them something simple like, "I just wrote to you about how I love the Riva you sent but the batt just died. What should I do?"

Like the others suggested, it lets them know they have faulty equipment. At the same time, their response will tell you if you want to do business with them in the future.

 

[markfm]

Like others, I would likely thank them as well as letting them know that unfortunately one of the new batteries also died.
I had a sequence of battery failures from two well known, respected, suppliers, early life failures. They both made good, though it took several rounds before I had solid batteries in hand.
I appreciate small businesses working on tight margins, however if you're within a rational warranty window it really is on them to make good.
I work things in the background, and assuming a positive end result (and all of my results have ended positive) I then make sure to publicly credit the vendor with going the extra mile to make good. I don't fault them for a bad lot of product, it can (and does) happen to even the bigger vendors.
If the charger and one battery from the initial 510 was good, and the charger and one batt from the new Riva is good, I'd probably not push for replacement, as I have two working batteries, but I'd still let them know they may have a failure issue with the new Rivas too (though explicitly let them know that I don't need/want another battery, that this is just FYI).
For an extra battery, LF has them at $10 plus low S&H for Riva, and Greenhouse 1 has the big 1000 mAh at $13 plus fairly low S&H.

 

[otrpu]

I'm with the contact them and see what they say crowd. You may be pleasantly surprised. (Again).

Cheers,
otrpu

 

[leannebug]

That's tough. I'm not sure what I would do, (out of their kindness) they kind if put you between a rock and a hard place.

On the one hand.. if they had just replaced the initial bad battery, and then it went bad.. of course you would contact them. But they didn't.. they went above and beyond and sent you an upgraded FULL kit.

So now (as someone else pointed out) you have a full PV and charger 510, and a full PV and charger Riva. In all sense, you are still ahead of the game. Yes you gave one set away, but you cant hold them resonsible for that.

If I were a vendor, yes, I would want to know about faulty equipment.. but you should be very careful how you word it.. because in the overall picture: you are still ahead of where you were.

EDIT TO ADD:

in summary:
1. when writing, make sure you don't expect a replacement.. you do still have a replacement battery in hand.
2. in future.. remember.. back-ups, back-ups, back-ups. Equipment dies, juice spills, you need to be prepared.


Best of luck!

 

[keyzygirl]

I 100% agree with LBug.You can let them know,but you are still ahead of the game and should not seek a replacement.Plus one Riva Battery lasts as long as 2 or 3 510s.Just think about it before you do anything.

 

[cobaltblue]

I didn't realize they let you keep the 510 kit. Just ignore my post. Very good points were made above.

 

[firhill]

Agree with the last few posters.

Send the vendor a note, stating in no way are you asking for a replacement.

Acknowledge you're happy you still have more than you originally paid for and just want to make them aware of a possible bad batch.

Make any future purchases (or not) based on your own assessment of performance of the devices and customer service recieved.

 

[Cassie]

Thanks so much for all the input, it is very helpful. The only thing that worries me is that the Riva batt went out less than a week after getting it and the 510 a week and a half. I do plan on having back-ups but that has to wail till late Feb. when I get my tax return. Work had taken a downward spiral this last few weeks and I can't justify buying new right now when I have bills to pay first.

I think I will let him know about the Riva and also let him know I am not writing because I expect a replacement but just to let him know there are issues with the Riva Batts and to maybe check into them.

I spent less than $30 on the original kit so all in all he's done more than make good on the original issue. And he doesn't make them, just resells.

Thank you everyone for your advice. (hugs to all)

~Cassie

 

[candy_93454]

sounds like that is a great w2g