EG4 RMA Customer Service

[codser1985]

I've seen several threads on here about EG4 customer service, specifically related to low response times. I'm wondering if anybody has specifically had experiences with their RMA team.

I purchased a FlexBoss21 back in June for my solar system. The full system was installed in July, and functioned for about a month before the inverter failed. I got a hold of tech support right away, and they worked with me pretty quickly to determine that I needed a replacement.

The RMA team, however, has been an absolute nightmare. It's been over a month now since my inverter died, and the vast majority of that time has been me waiting for the RMA team to respond. It seems to take them nearly a week just to respond to an email.

As of right now, my old inverter has finally been shipped back. When I asked if a new inverter was going to be shipped, they stated that they needed to verify that the old one arrived before they could issue a new one. The freight confirmation shows that it was delivered over a week ago, and I can't get a response out of them.

Has anybody had any luck trying to get help?

 

[EG4 Callie]

Hello! I'm so sorry for any delay! I'm going to send you a message for your contact information to locate your case and get you an update.

 

[mjcother]

How did you pack and strap to the pallet to send back? One of my 18kPV's died and I just got the RMA instructions, I was a bit surprised that something a year old with a 10-year warranty did not have 'advanced replacement'...

 

[geordi]

You are not wrong about their lack of communication - the service person who answered the phone at EG4 2 days ago also seemed.... I'll be kind and say "distracted" and not "half stoned" because it seemed like they were struggling to put together a sentence telling me that the RMA team would be reaching out with a delivery update, but that the unit had been listed as "shipped" the day before, but whatever they were looking at still showed it in stock.

This was AFTER the initial statement that they could see that the emailed instructions had been sent "and uhm it looks uhm like uhm we are waiting uhm for the unit to be returned uhm before the replacement will be sent"
When I informed this person that this was an advance exchange and I needed the box / packing to send back the other, THEN suddenly they discovered the shipping info. Wouldn't that have been on the same screen? That was when they said (eventually) that the RMA team would be reaching out...

The RMA team (if there is one) has not contacted me. Instead I received a call yesterday from Fedex Freight, scheduling the delivery for today - which means that the unit MUST have been dispatched at least a couple days prior to my call to EG4, b/c I highly doubt they would pay Custom Critical overnight rates to Fedex... That would be expensive indeed.

The communication from EG4 has been lacking. The technical writing in the documentation is not great, and the service communication after a failure has been good - When squawking in public on a forum - but only then. When contacting directly.... It's not great. If they have room for someone remote with advanced degrees and technical training, I'd be happy to help out to improve the situation. I understand that this is a rebranded box from Luxpower, that's OK. Doesn't matter, LOTS of things are like that. It's how you support the users that matters!

 

[EG4 Callie]

You are not wrong about their lack of communication - the service person who answered the phone at EG4 2 days ago also seemed.... I'll be kind and say "distracted" and not "half stoned" because it seemed like they were struggling to put together a sentence telling me that the RMA team would be reaching out with a delivery update, but that the unit had been listed as "shipped" the day before, but whatever they were looking at still showed it in stock.

This was AFTER the initial statement that they could see that the emailed instructions had been sent "and uhm it looks uhm like uhm we are waiting uhm for the unit to be returned uhm before the replacement will be sent"
When I informed this person that this was an advance exchange and I needed the box / packing to send back the other, THEN suddenly they discovered the shipping info. Wouldn't that have been on the same screen? That was when they said (eventually) that the RMA team would be reaching out...

The RMA team (if there is one) has not contacted me. Instead I received a call yesterday from Fedex Freight, scheduling the delivery for today - which means that the unit MUST have been dispatched at least a couple days prior to my call to EG4, b/c I highly doubt they would pay Custom Critical overnight rates to Fedex... That would be expensive indeed.

The communication from EG4 has been lacking. The technical writing in the documentation is not great, and the service communication after a failure has been good - When squawking in public on a forum - but only then. When contacting directly.... It's not great. If they have room for someone remote with advanced degrees and technical training, I'd be happy to help out to improve the situation. I understand that this is a rebranded box from Luxpower, that's OK. Doesn't matter, LOTS of things are like that. It's how you support the users that matters!

Good morning! I'm so sorry if this was your experience! We'll be reviewing this internally to understand exactly what happened and follow up with the right improvements.
This is not the service we aim to provide and we are going to reach out via dm to see how we can support you further!

 

[codser1985]

How did you pack and strap to the pallet to send back? One of my 18kPV's died and I just got the RMA instructions, I was a bit surprised that something a year old with a 10-year warranty did not have 'advanced replacement'...

I packed my inverter on a pallet, and used some scrap lumber to frame up around the outside of it to keep it in place on the pallet. I also had some scrap foam board that I wrapped it in before finally wrapping in cardboard and some plastic wrap. I also used some string to tie it down to the pallet.

Overall, quite a bit of packaging! It seemed pretty sturdy though, and Im assuming arrived in good shape.

 

[geordi]

How did you pack and strap to the pallet to send back? One of my 18kPV's died and I just got the RMA instructions, I was a bit surprised that something a year old with a 10-year warranty did not have 'advanced replacement'...

Mine was an advance exchange - possibly because I pointed out that fact that I didn't have the packaging from the original unit. I put it back in their box with the same polyethylene foam and used some "plenum zip ties" to attach it to the pallet - those things are weight rated and VERY thick. That would be cheaper than buying a strapping binder for one shipment.

 

[codser1985]

Just wanted to circle back and report out on how this situation was resolved. After posting this, Emma from EG4 reached out directly, and managed to get me connected with someone on the customer service team. They called me directly within a day of Emma reaching out. Overall, the person that I talked to from EG4 was really friendly, and very apologetic for the delay. With his help, the replacement inverter was shipped out the next day, and I've since received it and am back up and running.

Overall, my experience with EG4 was good, when I was able to get a response. Reaching out via a public forum to get that response isn't ideal, but seems to be the way to get quick attention. I will say that it seems that EG4 is a growing company, and that these customer service hiccups are potentially some growing pains.

In hindsight, I would advise that if you do need a replacement inverter/batteries, you should ask for advanced replacement from EG4 (similar to what one other commenter posted above). Not only would this get you a replacement much faster, but it also then gives you the packaging to send your old one back. I'm not sure if they always allow for that, but it's worth asking.

 

[EG4 Callie]

Just wanted to circle back and report out on how this situation was resolved. After posting this, Emma from EG4 reached out directly, and managed to get me connected with someone on the customer service team. They called me directly within a day of Emma reaching out. Overall, the person that I talked to from EG4 was really friendly, and very apologetic for the delay. With his help, the replacement inverter was shipped out the next day, and I've since received it and am back up and running.

Overall, my experience with EG4 was good, when I was able to get a response. Reaching out via a public forum to get that response isn't ideal, but seems to be the way to get quick attention. I will say that it seems that EG4 is a growing company, and that these customer service hiccups are potentially some growing pains.

In hindsight, I would advise that if you do need a replacement inverter/batteries, you should ask for advanced replacement from EG4 (similar to what one other commenter posted above). Not only would this get you a replacement much faster, but it also then gives you the packaging to send your old one back. I'm not sure if they always allow for that, but it's worth asking.

Thank you so much for sharing!

 

[geordi]

Just wanted to circle back and report out on how this situation was resolved. After posting this, Emma from EG4 reached out directly, and managed to get me connected with someone on the customer service team. They called me directly within a day of Emma reaching out. Overall, the person that I talked to from EG4 was really friendly, and very apologetic for the delay. With his help, the replacement inverter was shipped out the next day, and I've since received it and am back up and running.

Overall, my experience with EG4 was good, when I was able to get a response. Reaching out via a public forum to get that response isn't ideal, but seems to be the way to get quick attention. I will say that it seems that EG4 is a growing company, and that these customer service hiccups are potentially some growing pains.

In hindsight, I would advise that if you do need a replacement inverter/batteries, you should ask for advanced replacement from EG4 (similar to what one other commenter posted above). Not only would this get you a replacement much faster, but it also then gives you the packaging to send your old one back. I'm not sure if they always allow for that, but it's worth asking.

I'm glad that you have had that experience and that (hopefully for you) the advance exchange arrives rapidly and safely. It's a big crate, so that does require some special logistics.

However here I am, 10 days plus from my own "apology and direct contact" that I replied to.... And silence. I am also 8 days now from submitting the pickup declaration form, that would be replied to "within 48 hours" and I have heard again... Silence.

I don't mind having this large pallet and cardboard box taking up part of my yard as I have nowhere indoors to store it, but I hope that tarp is sufficient to keep any rain from melting the cardboard since the company seems to have forgotten about reading my form and contacting me, OR replying to the personal conversation thread here. The person who originally apologized here 10 days ago was "Emma" and now it seems that account has changed hands too.

What's happening folks? This isn't a great look.

 

[EG4 Callie]

I'm glad that you have had that experience and that (hopefully for you) the advance exchange arrives rapidly and safely. It's a big crate, so that does require some special logistics.

However here I am, 10 days plus from my own "apology and direct contact" that I replied to.... And silence. I am also 8 days now from submitting the pickup declaration form, that would be replied to "within 48 hours" and I have heard again... Silence.

I don't mind having this large pallet and cardboard box taking up part of my yard as I have nowhere indoors to store it, but I hope that tarp is sufficient to keep any rain from melting the cardboard since the company seems to have forgotten about reading my form and contacting me, OR replying to the personal conversation thread here. The person who originally apologized here 10 days ago was "Emma" and now it seems that account has changed hands too.

What's happening folks? This isn't a great look.

Hello again!

I sincerely apologize! Your response absolutely got lost among many DM's, and that’s on us. There’s no excuse, and I can’t say enough how sorry I am that you’ve been left waiting after already doing your part.

We’re getting this taken care of for you today. Thank you so much for your patience, and again, I’m truly sorry for the silence and the way this has looked. You deserve better communication from us, and we’re committed to making this right. I'm sending you a DM right now!