Terrible service quality and response times, reel service and repair
So about 8 months ago I went on a trip to gnarloo with Bodie and a couple of Other mates. Had an awesome trip with plenty of nice fish caught, even though the weather was average. Because of the rugged terrain and the fact we were in the middle of nowhere, I though it would be best to get my reels serviced upon my return. I sent a reel off to the direct competitor of shimano (I am sure you can all work that out). The reel was there for about 7 weeks and finally returned. Due to having the luxury of having a few reels of similar size, this was put in the drawer until needed next.
fast forward to January 2017 and we were heading out for a demersal fish. The size of reel I needed suited what had just been serviced a few months prior (and yet to be used since) so I decided to take that out for the day. Hooked up to my fish fish of the day which was about a 4kg sambo and the handle starts turning in reverse all of a sudden, and the reel is making a horrid grinding noise. Needless to say it was retired for the day, and returned to the Australian based agent for correct reassembly and review. The reel then proceeded to sit in the que for some 7 weeks, before being reviewed once again. 6 interstate phone calls to Sydney and a rather comprehensive email and I finally get my reel back today. Unpack it, and low and behold the first thing I see is there is a specific screw missing out of the overhead reel side plate! Not only was I seeing red by now, it also had me wondering what else was left half arsed.
I then did what I should have done in the first place and stripped the reel myself (I wanted to maintain warranty so I sent it to them for servicing in the first instance). It looked clean enough inside with new grease where needed, that was until I decided to look at the drag washer stack. The washers were knackered and I actually made a point of highlighting the drag was less effective when it went in for the first service.
So now not only have I been without my $600 overhead reel for 3 months, it has been serviced by the "professionals" in a shit manner, and I now need to replace the drag washers myself. I won't be sending another reel there no matter what, and wanted to highlight that although you may pay a reasonably high price for what is a quality reel, the service thereafter is average to say the least.
scano
Posts: 1247
Date Joined: 31/05/07
By the way
if this contravenes any site rules or disrupts the moderators in any way, by all means delete as necessary. I merely wanted to highlight to other members the fact their reels may be away being "serviced" for several months before return. Even then, the results of the said service may be questionable.
petermac
Posts: 2946
Date Joined: 03/03/10
used to be a bloke
cant think of his name but there was a bloke that used to advertise in Western Angler mag servicing reels , i used to send him all my reels 1s a year and would have them back with in two weeks with all the parts he had replaced attached to the reel , unfortunatly i think he has passed away , but he did do a good job
Boydy
Posts: 623
Date Joined: 26/09/12
Copy That
Scano, hear what you are saying and can only hope that the manufacture is to.
You're not the only one to have these issues from what I have seen/heard/read.
Disappointed for ya. Pretty sure we have similar reels, had mine serviced locally with no problems, doesn't help your issue. Will not buy another one of these reels.
Although been happy with mine, always been a Shimano enthusiast anyway.....
Nothing like bad service/backup to put you off.
Best of luck.
scano
Posts: 1247
Date Joined: 31/05/07
Cheers boydy
who serviced yours locally?
If the model known as Zed Thirty (misspelled for obvious reasons) means anything to you, we probably have similar reels.
Boydy
Posts: 623
Date Joined: 26/09/12
Yeah mate
Yeah mate Zeedpointthree0.
Complete's Nedlands.
JohnF
Posts: 2839
Date Joined: 07/07/10
Serves you right for not
Serves you right for not servicing it yourself Scanno, you plonker!
Haha. Come over and uncle John will crank a few galv M10 bolts in it for ya, with a dirty great big spanner.
Boston Whaler 235 Conquest......getting the flogging it was built for.
scano
Posts: 1247
Date Joined: 31/05/07
Hey John
At least you offered to use galv bolts, going on current track record, this mob would use mild steel bolts with a rounded head. Hahaha
ranmar850
Posts: 2702
Date Joined: 12/08/12
Plenty of excellent youtube videos out there.
Mostly not hard, do it yourself. or find an independant repairer who succeeds or fails by the quality of his work and word of mouth.
Nelly
Posts: 518
Date Joined: 04/05/08
Yeah the customer service is
Yeah the customer service is pretty bad,Its a shame as i belive there the best on the market.Luckily there a couple of very good 3rd party repairers you can send too.
Belly Fish
Posts: 499
Date Joined: 09/03/12
They've always been bad
A few years ago I sent a Saltiga 6000 in for repairs. Took 5 months to come back, with a broken handle!!! Took another 2 months to then get it back fixed. That's when I started using Stella's.
D_d_001
Posts: 1522
Date Joined: 09/03/13
took a stella back where the
took a stella back where the spool lip coating had come away to the point of unusability....only took 9 months to get a replacement spool.
:)
scano
Posts: 1247
Date Joined: 31/05/07
And the saga continues
phoned the Australian agent of the manufacturer again Monday saying I had a screw left out of the side plate. They wanted me to send the whole reel back, to which I denied and then said "why can't you just send me one of the screws and I fit it so I know it is done properly" to which they obliged. I asked if they needed the part number etc. described the screw in detail along with the fact it comes with a specialised o ring. I then eagerly await the arrival of said screw.
Package arrives today, undo the wrapping, you guessed it, totally wrong screws! Not even similar to what I need as they are too long, no o ring, different sized screw head etc.
so now back to the waiting game of asking for yet another side plate screw, ensuring it is correct, and hopefully it arrives before I go to Exmouth in 3.5 weeks time!
since all of this has occurred, I have sworn to myself I will not by another reel of that brand! And if by some miracle I do, I will only service it myself! If it breaks in future then it breaks.
saltatrix
Posts: 1081
Date Joined: 30/03/08
Yeah, thats why some local
Yeah, thats why some local tackleshops stopped sending off reels to be serviced for customers to the manufacturers.
For the tacklestore, it was a loss making exercise, especially when reels like electrics were lost by Australian Post. A cost of tacklestore staff member including the shop rent they are working on is probably about $60 per hour.
Then when the manufacturer couldn't get a part locally for the reel, they would order the part from overseas which in many cases were weeks.
The end result was the tacklestore had a raging customer screaming at them and while appeasing the customer lost their business because the customer felt it was the tacklestores fault.
In the old days it was easier, there was ABU, Penn, and Alvey essentially. But it was the same old story if a tacklestore had to order parts over east of which there are millions but no one wants to pay for someone to stock them in WA tacklestore. A great way to go bankrupt and global companies arent really worried about the small Australian market in regards to parts.
And while some local tackle proprietors wanted to keep servicing reels, they were convinced to do away with reel servicing as it did more harm than good when waiting for a part overseas especially.
Some people bringing reels in for servicing weren't even store customers and in some cases walked out without paying.
Eventually, it was a no brainer to get rid of the service as people lose their **** when a part takes forever to arrive.
If you can get your reel serviced locally, that is gold as long as a part isn't needed from overseas, especially if it is not in stock over east.
Turn around in many cases is 4 weeks, but sometimes it is much longer if parts are needed from overseas.
If you think the problem you had is unique to any of the majors, you are horribly wrong. This happens across the board.
Angling tourism is worth $10 billion to the Australian economy - 90000 jobs; more than any sport; spread the word
saltatrix
Posts: 1081
Date Joined: 30/03/08
There is a guy down Rocko way
There is a guy down Rocko way on FACEBOOK (Reel Alan Smooth) Ive heard good reports.
I had waterproof bearings put in my reel. The handle doesnt do a thousand spins but the bearings are water proof.
From what I have experienced, reel wholesalers in the east employed too many Centrelink stoners at one stage, parts have been put in the wrong boxes which wreaked havoc.
It is important you supply a part number as it gets harder when people tell you different. Whats important when you purchase fishing reels, is you can get parts. Pretty sure you can still order online. Haven't done it in a while.
Angling tourism is worth $10 billion to the Australian economy - 90000 jobs; more than any sport; spread the word
scano
Posts: 1247
Date Joined: 31/05/07
Cheers saltrix
All very valid points. If it was a local tackle store that was giving me the runaround I could partly understand. Mainly because like you mentioned, they just can't afford to stock small parts to suit various different reels, and it's a fruitless excercise from a revenue perspective servicing reels anyway. What does get my back up is the fact this particular reel is now 5 months out of service, 7 phone calls and 2 emails later, and yet still not completed. And this is all with the manufacturer who clearly states on their website that they must service the reels to maintain manufacturers warranty.
I find it almost comical it has come to this point and such lengths of time. Agents for the factory should offer servicing at a half reasonable cost, and certainly be able to provide timely and acccurate parts. If I went and bought a brand new Toyota Landcruiser, it would be wrong of the dealership to not be able to service and maintain that vehicle, as well as source new genuine parts. I don't see how fishing reel manufacturers are any different. They represent the factory which makes the product, therefore they should be able to source the correct parts. Please bear in mind this reel is still within warranty period. I could understand if I was trying to source a new part for a Mitchell 489, however this is a reel that was one of the best you could buy for its size and category, only 3-4 years ago.