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diy solar

Signature Solar disappointing service

Asymair95 said:
My apologies for not responding. I don’t have a lot of time to spend online.

Now that Mr. Ben is in the chat, is it still appropriate to air dirty laundry? I’m trying to give them every chance to make this right. As of today, I still have no resolution.

Due to financial constraints, ordered a complete off grid system in two parts. The second order was two eg4 48v server rack batteries. First order was everything else. When the batteries arrived there was obvious damage to the box (Forklift tine crushed it). I asked the driver if we could open it for inspection, he said sure. The top of the battery was crushed and dented. Not bad, but I was concerned about the electronics inside. Even if it worked fine, I had concerns about safety/reliability long term.

With the driver there still, I spoke with someone at Sig Solar customer service to see what they wanted me to do. Do I refuse the whole order, or will you just mail me a new battery? She said to NOT refuse the order, that they would “Take care of me”. She did not elaborate on that, but I assumed it meant a new battery would be on the way. The driver also documented the damage, and started a claim ticked with his office. I took pictures of the damaged box/batt as well.

The next several weeks were filled with me emailing back and forth with multiple people at Sig Solar. They wanted pictures of the damaged box, pictures of the damaged battery, measurements of the damage, etc. This whole time I’m thinking they need this info to file a claim with the trucking company, which is totally reasonable, so I dutifully sent all info requested. I was passed to a few different departments, the last one being a tech department. Again, pictures, measurements, details of the damage, can you see inside, can you remove the cover please, we would like to do tests...what!?

At this point I asked if my new battery was on the way, and when I could expect it...”Oh, you want a new one?...yours is probably fine though.” At this point I became upset, because I had been strung along for five weeks sending all this info...the whole time thinking it was necessary for the return/claims process. I said I indeed needed a new one, because of safety/reliability concerns. “OK, I’ll have to send you to another department then.”

The next email I got said “Sorry, we don’t have anymore of those batteries, but you can package that one up in the original box/packaging, strap it to a pallet, and we can ship it back here for you to be tested, then mail it back.” Again, I’m fuming, because I don’t want this crushed battery, I want it replaced. I then called their customer service. I told them I did not want this crushed battery, I wanted a new one when more came in. On their website they did have the LL 48v batteries in stock, so I floated the idea of shipping one of those instead...never received a response to that.

The last communication with customer service indicated they would email me instructions to return the crushed battery. As of this morning, no email has been received. I also asked if when the new batteries came in, If I would be first in line to have one mailed out? She said “No, we have other customers who reserved them, you will have to get in line with everyone else.” Bear in mind, I purchased this battery 7 weeks ago now, maybe more.

If I’m way out of line, somebody please tell me. But, as I see it, they owe me one eg4 battery, or something comparable...not tomorrow, not next week, ASAP.

And, why are they not going after the shipping company who crushed the battery? There is a claim open with them, the driver documented everything. To me, this battery is going to belong to the shipping company after they pay Sig Solar for the damage. Don’t they come pick it up after the claims process? Why does Sig Solar want it back?

I apologize for the rant. Hopefully, Sig Solar can learn from this experience. I should have gone with Watts 24/7 like I originally wanted to.
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We have units available for the replacement on your unit. All we need now is for you to pack it up and palletize the battery. We have sent over a shipping label so this can be done at no cost to you. As soon as we receive the battery your replacement will be on the way.
 
@Asymair95

Your complaint seems legit to me.

Seems you did everything possible- opened the damaged box, called Signature while the driver was still there etc. If their customer service told you they would take care of you, they should have weeks ago. Typical poor communication and follow up.

I'd be pissed off as well. I wouldn't feel good knowing my damaged $1500 battery may or may not have damaged cells. I can see how any kind of pressure on the top of the case could possibly internally damage the prismatic cells.

Edit- i see Ben has done the right thing and is getting you taken care of. Should have been done 7 weeks ago but better late than never.
 
Asymair95 said:
Order #31924

Placed 8 July.
Click to expand...
Asymair95, I was going off of how long the issue had been in Tech. I just got the full scope of your issue a few minutes ago. You fell victim to an outdated process that we are striving to change. I know you had some very heated conversations with CS that went unreported. The issue is now in the hands of the right people and will be handled. We dropped the ball here, I'm sorry so much of your time was wasted in dealing with this.
 
SS should not require receipt of the damaged battery prior to shipping. It should already be shipped with a call tag for the damaged unit.
Customer should not have to wait for SS to get their head out of their ass to do the right thing.
This reflects very poorly on SS. I was close to making a purchase from SS but will now look elsewhere. I have no tolerance for bad customer service. The only thing they have to sell is customer service. If it is not reliable, then they have nothing worth selling. Everything else is from China. The only reason to buy from SS is that they could be a buffer between US and China, so we could avoid poor Chinese customer service. So at this point there is little risk in buying directly from china, from the way this sounds.

I believe the only remedy SS could present to change this perception, is a no questions asked replacement policy for 90 days. You call SS they send a call tag for old unit, and ship new unit immediately. They deal with whatever is the issue, and if repairable, they sell the repaired unit clearly identifying it as a repaired unit to consumers, but at a lower price.

Just an idea for consideration!
 
BenFromSignatureSolar said:
Problems like this are very difficult. When there is an issue that is clearly shipping related and it is accepted upon delivery it leaves us in an unwinnable situation.
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Ben, keeping your reputation is a win.

Do the right thing for the customer and the profits will follow.

A business who defines a win by the amount of profit they make off a customer will not be a business for long.
 
McRod said:
Ben, keeping your reputation is a win.

Do the right thing for the customer and the profits will follow.

A business who defines a win by the amount of profit they make off a customer will not be a business for long.
Click to expand...
Well said. And SS agrees completely. Which is the reason we have policies like the the 1st strike, where we take care of the first equipment failure due to user error at no cost. I learned some new information since I made that comment in regard to Asymair95's situation. We made mistakes on our end that prolonged the issue and resulted in frustrations that could have been completely avoided. This was a learning opportunity within our process and we will be making the necessary changes to get better.
 
McRod said:
@RichardFromEG4 assured me they do. Said they even have a white paper on it.
Click to expand...
I always thought they had a different bms and they weren't able to communicate. In fact, i know that was the case but maybe they have a firmware update or something that has fixed that problem.

Ben did just say that he didn't recommend combining the two so maybe he can offer details and clarification.
 
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