Delorme inReach

[hunt_or_bust]

Great product and I have been using it for 3 years. I use the freedom plan since I only use for a couple weeks to a month out of the year and this year Delorme got me.
I changed my plan renewal to the recreation plan since I only had 3 days left on my trip and my current plan was about to auto renew, it certainly did not justify paying the 70 bucks for the expedition plan which had used for the first month. I changed my plan on the website but forgot to sync my device to validate the plan change. Delorme charged me for the expedition plan and when I called to see if they could help me out (i had only used it for 3 more days and sent 8 messages) they refused. Not a huge loss but very frustrating as a paying customer when a simple mistake is made on my part and the company has essentially a zero tolerance.

If you use one of these make sure you sync your device and everything is validated or they take every dollar they can get!

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[Dameon]

Good to know. I just activated mine yesterday with the freedom expedition plan.


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[cuerro viejo]

Ouch, I will say my display broke and they overnighted me a new one under warranty, very hassle free especially being all email correspondence That reminds me I need to Adjust my plan down.

 

[paleraider]

A slightly different view on this from someone who has built many software systems for telcos. It may be that their underlying system can't undo that type of mistake.

There are large ripple effects that flow through provisioning and billing systems all the way to accounting for that kind of thing, especially at the end of months. Then the issue of crediting the account, is it a refund, a carry forward, etc. Of course the people on the phone wouldn't know this as they are simply using the tools that are provided to them.

 

[LASTINLINE]

in this day and age you should be able to just go to the website or smart phone and turn on and off usage. as a new owner of the explorer and with 2 days of eating another months worth of a plan i had no idea it was that complicated. they need to change something. syncing up to stop usage seems archaic... and dont think for a minute they dont hope you forget or are late, reminds me of those cheesy free magazine subscriptions back in the 90-s .

 

[Nuke Man]

It's really pretty simple to suspend and update guys. Yes it sucks they aren't very forgiving. You can do it all from your smartphone. Suspend service, turn on your delorme and update your device.

 

[hunt_or_bust]

It's really pretty simple to suspend and update guys. Yes it sucks they aren't very forgiving. You can do it all from your smartphone. Suspend service, turn on your delorme and update your device.

No one argues simplicity... but in general customer service or being "forgiving" is always one of the best qualities a company can have. Sometimes you dont get great cell service... sometimes you get service in and out, or its windy and rainy and/or youre in a hurry because you have other things to do and take care of. Sometimes...you simply make a mistake and forget...especially when you only deal with it a couple times a year.

Its simple customer service... its not like they wouldve been out a 100k by helping me out and giving me 35 bucks worth of credit. In the end i wouldve been happy and continued to recommend them and they wouldnt have even noticed a blip in their checkbook. Instead... if another company comes along that offers the same service Im jumping ship and giving them a try. You want to grow a business and keep customers happy and coming back for more? Rule #1 let them know you have their back.... mistakes happen... sometimes you cant help your customer the way theyd like... but in this instance... shouldnt have even been a problem.

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[dotman]

They are darn upfront about how their service suspension or cancelation works. If I missed the cycle/sync I wouldn't even ask them to refund a dime since their policy is so clear before signing up for service, to me that is a sign of a good company, transparency in processes makes life easier when dealing with a company.

 

[RallySquirrel]

In my experience, policy typically equals bad customer service. There is a not a successful service industry in business today who won't work with their customers when something does not go as planned. When a company puts its own policies before its customers, that company positions the competition to wow a person who is now open to suggestion. Sorry to rant but I am in sales and I would never treat one of my customers this way. Maybe its because I know I am not perfect and I appreciate it when someone shows a bit of empathy when I make a mistake.

I am disappointed to hear this is the experience you had. I was thinking their may be a Delorme in my future but I think I will just wait it out a bit longer and see who else comes up with a similar product.

 

[Nuke Man]

I guess I'm just old school. I don't expect companies to pay for my screw ups. As stated, they go out of their way when you pick your plan that they will automatically charge you at the end of 30 days. I would rather them auto renew than just automatically stop your service at 30 days for exactly the reasons you stated about being out of cell service.

 

[dotman]

In my experience, policy typically equals bad customer service. There is a not a successful service industry in business today who won't work with their customers when something does not go as planned. When a company puts its own policies before its customers, that company positions the competition to wow a person who is now open to suggestion. Sorry to rant but I am in sales and I would never treat one of my customers this way. Maybe its because I know I am not perfect and I appreciate it when someone shows a bit of empathy when I make a mistake.

I am disappointed to hear this is the experience you had. I was thinking their may be a Delorme in my future but I think I will just wait it out a bit longer and see who else comes up with a similar product.

Giving out customer credits can effect the bottom line much more so then losing a few customers. I get your in sales and all about the sale but man do I see how some sales lose companies money but yet the sales rep still gets their commission on the original transaction. There are many ways to look at it but in the end a company has to watch its bottom line and protect investors, policy helps with this.

Of course a sales rep would do everything to please a customer, their pay relies on it but I bet you wouldn't risk breaking company policy and being let go to please a customer.

 

[dotman]

I guess I'm just old school. I don't expect companies to pay for my screw ups. As stated, they go out of their way when you pick your plan that they will automatically charge you at the end of 30 days. I would rather them auto renew than just automatically stop your service at 30 days for exactly the reasons you stated about being out of cell service.

Plus they give us, customers, the freedom to not have to sign up for a year long contract. The options are nice, Spot does not do this. They could easily take away our month to month option and just make us sign up for a years contract at a time like Spot, which 95% of us would sign up for just because we want the security their service provides.

 

[AdamW]

I didn't realize you had to sync your device for it to take effect, thanks for the heads up on that.

 

[hunt_or_bust]

There is a lot of shoulda woulda coulda going here.

Bottom line.... bottom line is Delorme offers a service and you can compare it to spots and talk about negatives and positives or comparing it to lesser alternatives...you can make it sound like delorme is gods gift to the green earth and we should just be greatful theyre willing to take our money to help us out...

But youre off your rocker...i see in this forum...customer service mentioned all the time... from stone glacier to kifaru, from seekoutside to first lite. Everyone talks about customer service... who treated me well...whether they had to or not.

No one gets commission for delorme subscriptions, not when i sign up for a plan and not when you sign up for a plan. They charge a 25 dollar fee every year for simply using a freedom plan.

Bottom line, If one single person reads this thread and opts not to go with a delorme (which I believe there may have been further up the thread) then delorme just lost money because of one incident with me.

I can tell you from a sales persepctive...i can assure you one thing... as a business you exist because of the customer. Bottom line or not... bad policies or grade A customer service... the second you start picking 35 bucks over the business of a returning customer...you have lost your way and opened the door for someone else to come along and take that customers money.

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[dotman]

So if you go against Kifaru policy and take a knife to your bag you feel it is only good customer service that they remedy your mess up? I get good customer service but I don't expect a company to change their policy because I didn't pay attention. Call it putting Delorme on a pedestal but again no company should pay for my F'up.

It would be different if you did everything they say to do to suspend/change/cancel and still over charge you, then a refund would be due. I guess I don't see why guys complain about their own f'ups and rant about companies not giving them a break.

Delorme is as clear as clear gets on their process, isn't their fault if it is followed same goes for Kifaru not warranting or refunding a guy that takes a knife to their products.

 

[hunt_or_bust]

So if you go against Kifaru policy and take a knife to your bag you feel it is only good customer service that they remedy your mess up? I get good customer service but I don't expect a company to change their policy because I didn't pay attention. Call it putting Delorme on a pedestal but again no company should pay for my F'up.

It would be different if you did everything they say to do to suspend/change/cancel and still over charge you, then a refund would be due. I guess I don't see why guys complain about their own f'ups and rant about companies not giving them a break.

Delorme is as clear as clear gets on their process, isn't their fault if it is followed same goes for Kifaru not warranting or refunding a guy that takes a knife to their products.

I dont believe your comparing apples to apples... 6-800 dollar pack and taking a knife through it and a 35 dollar subscription fee?

1. Pack can be sewn
2. For kifaru to replace your pack thats 6-800 straight out of their pocket. Thats a little different class of F-up and a little more than a simple mistake that was made and more of a side effect of use (assuming it was accidental)
3. In a related incident I broke some stitching on a stone glacier pack frame... kurt happily and quickly replaced it for me...I didnt even have to ask...all i had to do was call for an idea for repairs and he took the initiative. He probably lost more money out that deal than Delorme did.

Delorme...
1. Not asking them to reimburse a physical product...def not one worth a few hundred dollars
2 Theyre still getting the money for the service which I used and reimbursing me money for the service I did not use. They arent paying for my mistake... theyd just no longer be profiting from it.
3. Id also not ask them to replace the unit itself (which is a couple hundred dollars) if it was my fault.

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[hunt_or_bust]

So if you go against Kifaru policy and take a knife to your bag you feel.....

"Hmm that happened to my buddy and he received a prorated refund, if call back and if you don't get the answer you want ask for the next level."

I see a little double standard here in a previous post.... Dotman

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[dotman]

"Hmm that happened to my buddy and he received a prorated refund, if call back and if you don't get the answer you want ask for the next level."

I see a little double standard here in a previous post.... Dotman

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Wrong company though, that was with Spot who requires a year of service renewal and allows for prorated refunds when you cancel your service if you pay for a year inadvance which he did.

Can't take one companies policy, apply it to another and then call it a double standard.

I get it, you feel that because the price is so minimal Delorme should hook you up. All I'm saying is Delorme is very clear about their policy once you suspend or cancel and that it's not their problem imo if you don't follow through with it.

It's simple, with Spot to cancel you have to call them and have an actual rep cancel your service, they will not prorate one month of service but if you pay for a years service inadvance they will prorate the remaining periods after the current service cycle you are in. Delorme, sign up for the month you want and then suspend service the next day, turn your Delorme on and sync it and you done. You'll even get a message on your Delorme everyday saying when you service will suspend.

 

[brocksw]

Delorme gave me a refund when I forgot to suspend my plan back in 2014. Seems like they aren't very consistent with customer service. I'd be willing to bet it depends on who you get to talk to and/or what mood they're in, which in my opinion says something about their leadership. Regardless of what Dotman says, policies or not, they should "have your back". You would think hunt or bust would be getting a little more support on this forum as we're all apart of the same group and we all benefit more by having each others back than that of some company who really has no tie to any of us beyond a single product, its not like Aron Snyder ripped him off. I've worked in customer service and helping customers out like that is invaluable. Happens to everyone, you get confused about something, don't read something right, forget, whatever, companies that help customers out do much better than companies that don't. I'd be willing to bet first lite, kifaru, and others have helped a guy out from time to time regardless of what the "policy book" might say. Like hunt or bust said, you can't always help the customer out to their liking, but in this case it certainly sounds like it would have been worth it for Delorme to do so.

I know Garmin just bought Delorme recently and I would say that bodes well for all of us seeing some new technology in this area of messaging/satellite communications in the future. Hopefully this means a top down change for the way the handle this type of thing. I guess time will tell.

 

[Nuke Man]

It's not about having someone's back. It's about someone creating a thread about a "problem" they created out of their own stupidity.