GARMIN.....What a company

[+Team Duckit]

Just got home from a great day of Caching..............I was gettting my Camera, GPS, Backpac, Palm, .......All my Caching gear from my Jeep, I reached for my Keys and I droped my Garmin 60Cx

on the garage floor .......... not good!!! ..........I reached down to pick it up I looked it over .....the impact of hitting the garage floor broke the cover that hold the batteries, I tried to super glue did'nt work ..........

So the first thing Monday morning I called Garmin to order a new part, I got threw to a real person not a recording very fast ......... YEH!!!

I was telling Her what Gpsr I had and what part I needed.

She put me on hold for a short time and when She got back on, She said I should recieve part in about 3 days, I told her that I would like to put it on my Visa card, She told me that there would be no charge ???

So I went on to tell her it was my fault that I droped it, she said not to worry ...................................

 

WHAT A COMPANY

THANKS GARMIN

Chris / TEAM DUCKIT

Edited January 15, 2008 by Team Duckit

[A.B.E.L.]

that's awesome!

[+3 Hawks]

World class customer service and support is what keeps us comming back for more!! There is no substitution for this type of service.

[Anziano]

That's awesome!! Contrastingly, my uncle owns a magellan, I'm not sure what model. He's had it for a few years, but it's not ancient. The cover to his batteries broke, probably in a way similar to yours. He called and called and called. When he finally got through to someone, they told him that it's a discontinued model and he would have to purchase a new unit, they would not give or sell him a new battery cover for the current one. To this day the cover remains taped. Needless to say, he has purchased a GARMIN 60csx, two rather, since then.

[cobra-ak]

Garmin rules!

[+ScoutingWV]

A couple weeks ago the positive battery terminal snapped on my GPSMap 76CSx when I removed a battery to recharge it. Called Garmin and had an RMA number in less than 10 minutes. Two days after they received it I had a replacement unit.

 

Yep - I'd make a commercial for them any time.

[Alphawolf]

Anybody else notice we never see a posting like this about Magellan products???

[+RRLover]

Anybody else notice we never see a posting like this about Magellan products???

Not that I've seen!

 

Norm

[Finkster5]

Good costomer service leads to customer loyalty which ultimately leads to higher profits and a more successful company. They sent you a battery cover that may have costed them $10 if you include shipping and other overhead costs, but since GPS equipment is evolving, they know you"ll buy from them when you're ready to upgrade in a few years.

[+Chuy!]

I've told my story before and I'll tell it again. My 60CS popped out of its bike mount when I hit a speedbump and I promptly ran over it with my rear tire. The GPS turned off, but it booted right up. The problem was a hole in the back of the GPS where the belt clip button got pushed inside. The GPS was about three months past it's year warranty but Garmin replaced it with a new one.

[+Nochipra]

Wow, great stories, I'm glad we have a garmin now:)

[+jotne]

Garmin should be as good on software support as hardware support.

The do not listen on customer request. Not upgrading new function to old GPS.

The do introduce to many Nüvi in to short time without taking care of old customer.

 

Once we had a long wish for new functions on 60CS, nothing was added on 60CSx

 

They did remove the hidden track log on Nüvi 2xx and 7xx series

etc

etc

[+Team Leirplass]

One of my old GPS units had a cracked screen - a piece of geocaching swag was dropped on it and just cracked it - called them up and they offered to replace it for free - I had the unit back in about a week, when they replaced the screen they also replaced the rubber housing on the antennea. Garmin - a top notch company!

[+blb9556]

Anybody else notice we never see a posting like this about Magellan products???

 

Which is exactly why I be carefull with my eXplorest 500LE

[+Klatch]

Anybody else notice we never see a posting like this about Magellan products???

What's really sad is there used to be postings like this about Magellan. They would almost always send free stuff along with products that had been returned for service. I can't remember everything, but I remember customers getting carry cases along with their returned units. As a Garmin owner, I was somewhat envious.

Edited January 16, 2008 by Klatch

[+Team Duckit]

Just got home from a great day of Caching..............I was gettting my Camera, GPS, Backpac, Palm, .......All my Caching gear from my Jeep, I reached for my Keys and I droped my Garmin 60Cx

on the garage floor .......... not good!!! ..........I reached down to pick it up I looked it over .....the impact of hitting the garage floor broke the cover that hold the batteries, I tried to super glue did'nt work ..........

So the first thing Monday morning I called Garmin to order a new part, I got threw to a real person not a recording very fast ......... YEH!!!

I was telling Her what Gpsr I had and what part I needed.

She put me on hold for a short time and when She got back on, She said I should recieve part in about 3 days, I told her that I would like to put it on my Visa card, She told me that there would be no charge ???

So I went on to tell her it was my fault that I droped it, she said not to worry ...................................

 

WHAT A COMPANY

THANKS GARMIN

Chris / TEAM DUCKIT

 

I just got home...... Package from Garmin was in the house ....2day air .......called Mon. arrived Wed.

"That will be hard to beat"

 

WHAT A COMPANY

THANKS GARMIN

Chris / TEAM DUCKIT

[+Klemmer]

Yeah. 5+ years ago or so, Magellan was a lot like Garmin is now. Then they got bought my Thales (French Aerospace company). They went downhill big-time. Since gone private (I believe - at any rate not Thales anymore). But they have a HUGE uphill haul to attempt a recover, and I haven't seen any sign of it. I'm real careful with my Magellan Meridian, but my new GPS is the Delorme PN-20 (for map reasons). Delorme is right up there with Garmin in terms of customer support, in my experience (and others I have heard about).

[pratzert]

I have a 2730 with that darn problematic DC power cord / speaker combination. It was no longer working properly..... it kept losing the connections and making my 2730 blink on and off.

 

I called Garmin Cust. Svc., who informed me I had about 2-3 days left of the original warranty.

 

I had a brand new one in my mailbox 3 days later.

 

Made me a happy AND Loyal customer.

 

Tim

[+marivic1211]

These guys ROCK...uploading some revised firmware, my VistaCx got toasted. So I did the warranty thing and they had it back in into UPS in two days, looks like they replace the unit with a new one. Got another 25 digit key for the maps and I am a happy camper. It gets better I was JONESING so bad, I got a 60CSx while waiting to see the outcome...while talking to the tech, also got another key to map my 60. I am definitely a big time fan of Garmin.

[+TheAbraxas]

Befor you all wet your pants, here's my experience with this company.

 

Bought my 76 csx one year ago in Germany for an unbelievable 750$ (530Euros).

At that time the most unexpensive offer available there. Yes guys, they really punish us for not living in the US. Official story is, the basemap makes the difference.

Now I'm having an assignment for one year to Detroit, MI. Of course my GPS is going with me.

Two weeks ago the unit dropped off my pocket to the ground. No Rocks, plain blacktop. Maybe a 2 feet fall.

Guess what, the display broke at once. So to me all this stories in the internet about these oh so rugged devices seem to be faked, sorry.

BTW: Hey Garmin there are transparent plastics available like PC (Polycarbonat) who literally are unbreakable. Standard material for boat window panes. I worked a lot with it when I had this small Yacht.

 

Called Garmin service in the US.

Yes, sure send it to us. Oh you say it is from Europe, then sorry not our business. Send it back to Germany for repair. I told them no I won't. Due to: 50% of all mails between the US and Germany disappear traceless (personal statistics), parcels need at least 3 weeks to travel one way, charges and insurances fees are pretty high and of course not covered by Garmin. So this nice lady called her manager and they came back to me with the great offer of letting me send the GPS to Kansas and get another refurbished one back. With the US basemap of course as they do not ship European units within US. And all inclusive for only 150 bucks. And no, they won't repair my unit and no again they don't ship display glasses as spare parts. It's their policy.

Cool, thanks!

 

Called Garmin Munich, Germany.

Yes, sure send it to us. You'll get a different refurbished unit with a European basemap back. Shipping included that's 133 Euros (200$ approx). Errrr, excuse me sir, what did you say where you live? In the US? We are so sorry, but we can accept and send orders only within Germany.

Cool, thanks!

 

True story, I have noted all the names of the people I talked to.

Maybe Garmin should add a note to their manuals like: This great device capable of international worldwide mapping is supposed to be used only within the same country it has been purchased. Taking it with you, make sure you never cross any borders. And be careful to use only with greatest caution. Unit breakes easily.

 

I really liked my 76csx. Used it on foot for hiking, in the car for routing, on the water for sailing, cayaking...

Never had any issue.

 

But since this incident 2 weeks ago I'm really pissed, sorry.

[Suscrofa]

Befor you all wet your pants, here's my experience with this company.

 

Bought my 76 csx one year ago in Germany for an unbelievable 750$ (530Euros).

At that time the most unexpensive offer available there. Yes guys, they really punish us for not living in the US. Official story is, the basemap makes the difference.

Now I'm having an assignment for one year to Detroit, MI. Of course my GPS is going with me.

Two weeks ago the unit dropped off my pocket to the ground. No Rocks, plain blacktop. Maybe a 2 feet fall.

Guess what, the display broke at once. So to me all this stories in the internet about these oh so rugged devices seem to be faked, sorry.

BTW: Hey Garmin there are transparent plastics available like PC (Polycarbonat) who literally are unbreakable. Standard material for boat window panes. I worked a lot with it when I had this small Yacht.

 

Called Garmin service in the US.

Yes, sure send it to us. Oh you say it is from Europe, then sorry not our business. Send it back to Germany for repair. I told them no I won't. Due to: 50% of all mails between the US and Germany disappear traceless (personal statistics), parcels need at least 3 weeks to travel one way, charges and insurances fees are pretty high and of course not covered by Garmin. So this nice lady called her manager and they came back to me with the great offer of letting me send the GPS to Kansas and get another refurbished one back. With the US basemap of course as they do not ship European units within US. And all inclusive for only 150 bucks. And no, they won't repair my unit and no again they don't ship display glasses as spare parts. It's their policy.

Cool, thanks!

 

Called Garmin Munich, Germany.

Yes, sure send it to us. You'll get a different refurbished unit with a European basemap back. Shipping included that's 133 Euros (200$ approx). Errrr, excuse me sir, what did you say where you live? In the US? We are so sorry, but we can accept and send orders only within Germany.

Cool, thanks!

 

True story, I have noted all the names of the people I talked to.

Maybe Garmin should add a note to their manuals like: This great device capable of international worldwide mapping is supposed to be used only within the same country it has been purchased. Taking it with you, make sure you never cross any borders. And be careful to use only with greatest caution. Unit breakes easily.

 

I really liked my 76csx. Used it on foot for hiking, in the car for routing, on the water for sailing, cayaking...

Never had any issue.

 

But since this incident 2 weeks ago I'm really pissed, sorry.

 

I live in France and have a 60CX bought in the US. I called Garmin France for service, they were OK to service it but not under warranty because, the US warranty is only ONE year while the EU model is TWO years.

 

So INSIST with Garmin and keep this warranty issue in mind !!!!

[+TrailGators]

My mini USB connector pulled out of my 60CS and Garmin swapped out my GPS for free!

[+boda]

I have emailed several companies over the years with questions or problems. Only one company answered and it was a canned answer that did not address my simple problem—not even close.

 

I had a concern last month about updating my Nuvi maps and how it might affect the already installed maps that I use for my MAP60. I emailed them about 6 pm Pacific Time. Three hours later, I heard the new email sound and checked for my normal junk mail. To my amazement, the email started out, "Hi Dave, my name is *****. I work the second shift at Garmin, Inc. ..."

 

He then proceded to answer my convoluted question accurately and completely. That, alone, is enough to keep me coming back to a company these days.

[+The Other Stu]

Absolutely ace company.

 

My Legend was out of warranty but it was having the dreaded screen problems (not badly, but nevertheless, annoying). Sent an email to Garmin. They recommended reloading the firmware and doing a hard reset initially. Tried that, it did improve, but still did it occasionally.

 

"No problem" said they "Have an RMA number. If it's not in warranty, it'll cost you £50 ($100)"

 

So off I trot down the post office, send off the Legend. 5 days later, reconditioned Legend turns up in the post. Not a mark on it! No charge either. Completely free, Nada, Zilch!

 

Next day, I bought a Colorado.

 

The moral of the story? They looked after my nice cheap Legend. That makes me believe they'll look after my shiny expensive Colorado. Hence the reason I didn't even consider any other make!

[+TheAbraxas]

Befor you all wet your pants, here's my experience with this company.

 

snip on/

...

snip off/

 

 

I live in France and have a 60CX bought in the US. I called Garmin France for service, they were OK to service it but not under warranty because, the US warranty is only ONE year while the EU model is TWO years.

 

So INSIST with Garmin and keep this warranty issue in mind !!!!

 

@Suscrofa

Doesn't work. Actually I am even still in the 1 year range. Bought it in April 07.

Both Garmin US und Garmin Germany tell me a broken display never falls under the warranty.

It is a customer handling fault. Period.

[+LifeOnEdge!]

Befor you all wet your pants, here's my experience with this company.

 

snip on/

...

snip off/

 

 

I live in France and have a 60CX bought in the US. I called Garmin France for service, they were OK to service it but not under warranty because, the US warranty is only ONE year while the EU model is TWO years.

 

So INSIST with Garmin and keep this warranty issue in mind !!!!

 

@Suscrofa

Doesn't work. Actually I am even still in the 1 year range. Bought it in April 07.

Both Garmin US und Garmin Germany tell me a broken display never falls under the warranty.

It is a customer handling fault. Period.

 

I would have to agree here. It seems that TheAbraxas' expectations are unrealistic. Dude, if you ran your car into a phone pole, would Ford replace it for free? I don't think so!

[WolfinSTL]

I'm glad there are some of you who have great experience with Garmin. I personally have had hit or miss success with them over the years and have owned 2 Rino 120's and a Rino 130.

 

I'm looking around here now trying to find a replacement for my Rino 130 and there is no way I would buy another Garmin.

[+verdugan]

Befor you all wet your pants, here's my experience with this company.

 

 

Why not send the GPS to a friend/relative via registered mail or better yet UPS/FedEx? They can send it to Garmin Germany and return it to you.

[+TheAbraxas]

Befor you all wet your pants, here's my experience with this company.

 

 

Why not send the GPS to a friend/relative via registered mail or better yet UPS/FedEx? They can send it to Garmin Germany and return it to you.

 

@verdugan

Right. That's an option. That would cost me 200$ plus shipping to and from Germany. How much is a new 76csx on the street? At 375$ with a little research. So there is another option... If only I had not this 3 registered maps tied to the unit ID...

Frankly speaking I still don't know what to do.

 

@LifeOnEdge!

The reason I told my story is I wanted to add some real world reference here.

All over the web there are only happy Garmin customers, no broken units ever and in the very unlikely case of problems the GPS receivers are exchanged within hours for brand new ones. No matter if the warranty has run out.

That may happen; lucky ones, I envy you.

But it also may not happen and show Garmin as a normal company. Nothing more to it.

 

BTW: Did anyone see an instruction on the internet how to open the 76csx?

[QuigleyJones]

BTW: Did anyone see an instruction on the internet how to open the 76csx?

This made me recall that someone with a broken screen (etrex I think) did there own replacing and had a step by step post here.

[QuigleyJones]

found it

 

http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php...+screen++garmin

[+TheAbraxas]

found it

 

http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php...+screen++garmin

 

Thanks QuigleyJones!

I will take that as a start. In case I do the repair I will publish instructions here.

[ber56]

found it

 

http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php...+screen++garmin

 

Thanks QuigleyJones!

I will take that as a start. In case I do the repair I will publish instructions here.

 

It's not very difficult to open a 76Csx; after remove the screw, separate the halves.

mine have a broken pin on the round connector (oxidation)

out of warranty for garmin; 111€ (150$) to exchange it ...

 

you can buy a new garmin empty case for nearly 12$cnd.

I haven't yet changed my gps case, because the SDCard reader is glued on the back ...

but for the screen, it's easy ...

A+

[+TheAbraxas]

you can buy a new garmin empty case for nearly 12$cnd.

 

Yes?

Where?

Including screen?

[ber56]

you can buy a new garmin empty case for nearly 12$cnd.

 

Yes?

yes

Where?

I've buy mine at info@horizonsnordsud.com

Jacques Mc Gregor

 

Including screen?

 

yes

(not the lcd screen!)

Edited March 1, 2008 by ber56