# Anyone else had a problem with Value Electronics??



## disco (Mar 27, 2000)

I order an H20 last Thursday, and have failed to get confirmation that it's been shipped, along with tracking numbers. Every time I call, I get the run around ("Our computer network's down...lemme give you a call back." or "Blah-blah-blah is not in right now, let me have her call you back with that." 

I'm getting fed up. I called just now, and was told that they'd give me a call back AGAIN...but they NEVER call me back. I've had troubles getting a hold of Robert, and the people on the phone are absolutely no help. I thought they were trustworthy based on comments/posts on this forum, but I've been waiting for TRACKING NUMBERS since last Thursday/Friday. What the heck??? 

MODS: feel free to move this post to an appropriate forum, but please DON'T delete -- I know VE is a big sponsor of this forum (and others), but I'm frustrated and they're failing to answer a simple question with definite information (i.e., tracking numbers).


----------



## dswallow (Dec 3, 2000)

Robert was at CES Thursday through Sunday, I believe; I'd expect he'd be back now. It's not normal, but when they do screw up, they do seem to manage to screw up royally with one person. 

For what it's worth, orders get fulfilled by the distributor, and I've rarely seen them do well with providing emails directly concerning shipment confirmation. So I wouldn't necessarily immediately think it didn't get shipped when you ordered, however I would certainly continue calling until they can actually respond. That should be easy, even if the computers are down -- tell them there's this thing called a telephone that they can use to call the distributor instead of relying on the computer.


----------



## disco (Mar 27, 2000)

I don't know why the people that DIDN'T go to CES wouldn't be able to complete orders...the shop doesn't just SHUTDOWN when Robert leaves, does it?? 

This is just getting frustrating they say I should expect delivery Tuesday/Wednesday, but I don't understand what they are basing that on, and I'm frustrated as to why they say that they'll call me back...but then don't. 

Thanks for your post, though...it's a bit relieving...but not a lot!


----------



## Phillip Chapman (Sep 9, 2003)

I placed an order today for an R10 from Value Electronics (had a hard time finding it anywhere else). Immediately afterward I realized I entered the wrong zip code. I e-mailed sales with the correct info, but haven't heard anything yet. Hopefully this will be fixed and the unit will still arrive in a timely manner.

I also bought from Value Electronics based on the recommendations of other forum members here.


----------



## disco (Mar 27, 2000)

I called at 4:23pm (CT). STILL WAITING FOR MY CALL BACK.....


----------



## disco (Mar 27, 2000)

Just called AGAIN...

"Oh, Nathan...you certainly are good at follow-up..."  But YOU aren't...

She said she didn't want to "bore me with the details", but for some reason my order was not showing a tracking number. She has called the distributor, and should have a tracking number within the hour, if not by tomorrow morning.

Riiiiiiiiight....

I am so *#%&ing fed up right now. All I want is confirmation that it shipped...and she can't even *#%&ing do that.


----------



## Billy66 (Dec 15, 2003)

Sorry Disco.

I've had one bad experience with VE and I attached it to one particular CSR. He speaks with a thick NY accent and was a rude jerk. Beyond that, I've been adequately pleased. Others have had some trouble with them, so they are not universally good by any stretch.

Robert, when he gets involved, will move mountains and get it done, but honestly the rest of the folks should really be able to do what he does when it is something as simple as "Did this ship? By what carrier? With what tracking number?

Sorry man, you're one of the good ones. I wish this type of experience on others.


----------



## ebonovic (Jul 24, 2001)

Disco.

Send DTV TiVo Dealer a PM with the details of your order.

He will take care of it, and pronto......

In generall... this is far from the norm with Value Electronics.


----------



## disco (Mar 27, 2000)

I have. On here, and on other forums. At around 9:45 this morning.

No response.

Emails to him bounce back with "User mailbox exceeds allowed size".


----------



## ebonovic (Jul 24, 2001)

disco said:


> I have. On here, and on other forums. At around 9:45 this morning.
> 
> No response.
> 
> Emails to him bounce back with "User mailbox exceeds allowed size".


I knew he was traveling to day (returning from CES)..... As I have two PMs into him as well.... Hopefully he will be logging in tonight.


----------



## disco (Mar 27, 2000)

I've gotten a PM from Robert (thank you SOOOO much!), and it looks like my H20 shipped today due to reduced staff over CES. I should receive tomorrow/Wednesday, and Robert personally is looking at getting me my tracking numbers tomorrow morning.

Thanks again, Robert!!:up::up: Now I can sleep with a smile on my face!


----------



## tbeckner (Oct 26, 2001)

ebonovic said:


> I knew he was traveling to day (returning from CES)..... As I have two PMs into him as well.... Hopefully he will be logging in tonight.


Actually Robert PM'd me this afternoon about an order for three SD-DVR80's so he is busy getting caught up. We all understand what it is like to be out of the office for a week and the Monday after you return is pure hell.


----------



## rick31621 (Jun 20, 2004)

:down: 
Thumbs down from me.
I talked to a CSR several months ago when the R10 came out and he knew less than I did about the product. Then he became rude, and when I asked to speak to the Manager he hung up the phone.
NEVER, would I consider purchasing anything from them or recommend them.
There are a number of retailers and online dealers where I shop for my electronic needs.
A business can't talk their way out of poor customer service because any one person is not there. What happens when that person is on vacation or out sick. 

Two Thumbs Way Down!


----------



## dswallow (Dec 3, 2000)

There's numerous customers I'd hang up on and never want to deal with, too. Sometimes it's refreshing to find a business that won't put up with stuff.


----------



## Billy66 (Dec 15, 2003)

I hear ya Doug, but do you think Robert wants his phone monkey's making that call or would he prefer they left that up to him? Here's a better division of responsibility. Let the phone monkey provide the tracking number to Disco and let Robert decide who to do business with.


----------



## innocentfreak (Aug 25, 2001)

Any issues I had in the past, Robert went out of his way to correct. One thing I have found is rarely do the tracking numbers work. Not sure why, but I always get my stuff in a timely manner. In fact I just received my order I placed Tuesday the 2nd.


----------



## parzec (Jun 21, 2002)

disco said:


> I know VE is a big sponsor of this forum (and others), but I'm frustrated and they're failing to answer a simple question with definite information (i.e., tracking numbers).


I didn't think VE was a sponser of this site anymore -- isn't that why their logo is gone?


----------



## nhaigh (Jul 16, 2001)

Isn't Robert basically a DTV distributer. Maybe now TiVo is not a major part of his business and certainly won't be in the future we'll see less of him.


----------



## dswallow (Dec 3, 2000)

parzec said:


> I didn't think VE was a sponser of this site anymore -- isn't that why their logo is gone?


It's gone because he stopped paying to be a sponser. He stopped paying to be a sponsor because the rates went up a lot. Even I was shocked; of course, I was shocked he willingly paid the old rates.


----------



## disco (Mar 27, 2000)

Still waiting for a tracking number...

I've emailed Robert, but his email inbox is still full.

I'll try a PM...


----------



## Hodaka (Mar 12, 2005)

Robert was great to deal with, but anytime I emailed anyone in the company, I never got a response. I had an R15 on order with VE and finally cancelled it back in October and ordered an R10 from Weaknees, where I'd purchased my previous R10..


----------



## rick31621 (Jun 20, 2004)

dswallow said:


> There's numerous customers I'd hang up on and never want to deal with, too. Sometimes it's refreshing to find a business that won't put up with stuff.


Under no circumstance should an employee of a Company hang-up on a potential customer or sale. If the employee can't handle the call for any reason he/she should turn the call over to a Supervisor to handle. 
I have never encountered an employee like the one at VE at any other online retailer. I have since purchased 3 R10s from Best Buy and Circuit City.


----------



## dswallow (Dec 3, 2000)

rick31621 said:


> Under no circumstance should an employee of a Company hang-up on a potential customer or sale. If the employee can't handle the call for any reason he/she should turn the call over to a Supervisor to handle.
> I have never encountered an employee like the one at VE at any other online retailer. I have since purchased 3 R10s from Best Buy and Circuit City.


Surely you've seen some of the stories here about how people lie and twist extensively in order to wring out something from a company they're dealing with? That's the sort I mean. There's also the few who'll call 23 times a day demanding attention -- there's apoint where the profit involved isn't worth the time spent, and a point where you have to take their pre-sales behavior as indicative of what to expect from them if they become a customer. Of course the person you refuse to deal with isn't going to like it very much... but if it makes the life of the salesperson and the company simpler and allows them to spend time on less-demanding customers, there's merit to the idea.

DirecTV practices this in a slightly different form -- they often keep notes on your account about what you've said, your behavior, and what's been offered... so future agents can deal with the person from a position of knowledge.


----------



## newsposter (Aug 18, 2002)

disco i feel your pain. But Robert gave me EXCELLENT pricing on all my equipment and even made up special length cables for me. So that pretty much negated the 3 days of his employees lying to me that the multiswitch was indeed on the fedex truck but:

1. they just didn't 'have the tracking number',2. 'the girl who does the tracking numbers isn't here", 3. "we will call you back later today" lines plus multiple emails (which I did keep copies of for posterity) that they told me. I was also quite upset when I had trouble installing the dish and left 2 messages, that no one called me back to help me align it as help had been promised. Had to come to this forum for help. 

In all fairness the other stuff did arrive in 36 hours I believe. But the pervasive misinformation/lying or whatever by his staff infuriated me to no end. It was a week until I actually received the darn thing because the carrier (fedex?) didn't deliver on mondays. I had no idea that stuff was actually from distributors and could come from other places. I was never told that on the phone nor should customers be expected to know of such a fact unless told. If someone told me hey, your stuff will all be there in a week, I never would have called. But promises broken puts a company in a bad light when they try to please everyone all the time.

It's still much better than dealing with a DTV clone with a script.


----------



## HDTVsportsfan (Nov 29, 2005)

dswallow said:


> Surely you've seen some of the stories here about how people lie and twist extensively in order to wring out something from a company they're dealing with? That's the sort I mean. There's also the few who'll call 23 times a day demanding attention -- there's apoint where the profit involved isn't worth the time spent, and a point where you have to take their pre-sales behavior as indicative of what to expect from them if they become a customer. Of course the person you refuse to deal with isn't going to like it very much... but if it makes the life of the salesperson and the company simpler and allows them to spend time on less-demanding customers, there's merit to the idea.
> 
> DirecTV practices this in a slightly different form -- they often keep notes on your account about what you've said, your behavior, and what's been offered... so future agents can deal with the person from a position of knowledge.


Well said.


----------



## rick31621 (Jun 20, 2004)

disco said:


> Still waiting for a tracking number...
> 
> I've emailed Robert, but his email inbox is still full.
> 
> I'll try a PM...


That's horrendous customer service!  
I would refuse the order when it arrives and meanwhile purchase it elsewhere.
I'm currently shopping for a HR10-250 and wouldn't even consider asking VE for their best price. 
Anyone find it for under $400?


----------



## dswallow (Dec 3, 2000)

rick31621 said:


> That's horrendous customer service!
> I would refuse the order when it arrives and meanwhile purchase it elsewhere.
> I'm currently shopping for a HR10-250 and wouldn't even consider asking VE for their best price.
> Anyone find it for under $400?


It amuses me when people complain about service then go hunt around based on price.


----------



## tbeckner (Oct 26, 2001)

dswallow said:


> It amuses me when people complain about service then go hunt around based on price.


It is a funny world that we live in!


----------



## rick31621 (Jun 20, 2004)

dswallow said:


> It amuses me when people complain about service then go hunt around based on price.


Price is a consideration as is customer service.
I didn't say I would purchase it strictly based on the lowest price.
I would never purchase an electronic item from Walmart, Kmart, Target and etc.
The past three years I have purchased 99% of my electronic needs from BB, CC and Abbott. I have seen the price lower at online sites like Ebay and Amazon and wouldn't consider purchasing it there.


----------



## dswallow (Dec 3, 2000)

rick31621 said:


> Price is a consideration as is customer service.
> I didn't say I would purchase it strictly based on the lowest price.
> I would never purchase an electronic item from Walmart, Kmart, Target and etc.
> The past three years I have purchased 99% of my electronic needs from BB, CC and Abbott. I have seen the price lower at online sites like Ebay and Amazon and wouldn't consider purchasing it there.


Most of the time the support after the sale that you need will come from the manufacturer, so what does it really matter where you buy it from as long as you get that support from the manufacturer?

If I want it now, I probably will shop locally and pick it up and not care so much about price; perhaps at most I'll want hassle-free DOA returns and a convenient location. Non-impulse purchases are reviewed in more detail... maybe I look internet/mail order, maybe I look via local warehouse/buying clubs, maybe I look at local stores... balancing cost, delivery, total gross costs w/delivery and tax, how fast it'll arrive, for larger stuff is it curb delivery or inside delivery... there's a lot to balance. It's not always price-based, but price is a part of it.

For every store and every merchant there will always be some who aren't happy about some experience. Always.

With Value Electronics, he's almost always price-competitive, and genuinely tries to to good by his customers. There's a level of personal attention on the installation side which doesn't exist in many places anymore, and if something does go wrong, he'll go out of his way to make it right. So except for when things like one-year no-interest/no-payment deals from local stores are important, I'd easily consider them for purchases of any items they sell.


----------



## newsposter (Aug 18, 2002)

dswallow said:


> It's gone because he stopped paying to be a sponser. He stopped paying to be a sponsor because the rates went up a lot. Even I was shocked; of course, I was shocked he willingly paid the old rates.


what are they / were they? And what other choice does a vendor have but to pay the going rate?


----------



## disco (Mar 27, 2000)

Robert has been over the top in explaining to me what has happened...and here it is:

His company finds distribution points closer to the delivery to have them ship out the receivers. The distributor he's been dealing with has been noncommunicative in getting him a tracking number or even checking on shipping status of my order. He told me today that if he can't get a tracking number today, he'll personally ship an H20 to me overnight. So, I should get an HDTV receiver tomorrow one way or another.

He was very sincerely sorry that any of this happened. He's kept me patient, and I'll give him the benefit of the doubt...until tomorrow.


----------



## SeattleCarl (Nov 11, 2005)

I have ordered twice from VE. The first order was for two R15s and only one was shipped. As soon as I called about it, the second one was shipped. Because I ordered ground shipment, both came via ground so there was a delay on getting the second one that was a bit frustrating, but it arrived and all was well.
-
The second order was for an R10. Again I specified ground shipping, and I think the website even said specifically "UPS Surface" or something like that. It was shipped fed ex ground, not UPS, and it took over 10 days to arrive. Following the tracking number on-line, it sat in a fedex location on the east coast for a week before it went anyplace.
-
So my only complaint is the amount of time it takes to get stuff, but that is only because I was unwilling to pay for overnight or 2nd day.
-
Carl


----------



## disco (Mar 27, 2000)

Well, Robert came through...again. I've got a tracking number, for next day delivery of my H20!!  Thanks, Robert!!


----------



## tbeckner (Oct 26, 2001)

disco said:


> Well, Robert came through...again. I've got a tracking number, for next day delivery of my H20!!  Thanks, Robert!!


Believe it or not but Robert PM'd me twice yesterday after he got back and one of his sales associates e-mailed me back to day with answers to all four of my questions. So far very reasonable.


----------



## GDN (Dec 3, 2002)

I ordered from Robert back in the summer - I wouldn't communication was the best - but the product arrived in good shape and on time. I have a friend about to leave cable finally and I'm having her order from Robert. I haven't done a lot of checking - but I don't think his prices can be beat? I should shop a little, but think they are right in line with what I've seen.


----------



## moxie1617 (Jan 5, 2004)

I purchased my Series 1 DirecTivo from ValueElectronics several years ago. At the time my problem was I only had a single LNB and needed a dual LNB. The salesman couldn't find a dual LNB on his computer so he called over a woman who had a whole new dish assembly sent to me for $35. At the time just the dual LNB was $50 at B&M stores. I was very satisfied with their sales staff. BTW, the dish assembly had close to $30 worth of cables and connectors included with it. I would have no trouble dealing with them again. It is interesting that I found this thread today, last night the Everybody Loves Raymond rerun was the 69 Mets episode.


----------

