Athlon customer service

Joined
Feb 9, 2022
Messages
6
I bought a Cronus spotting scope 12-36x50. The objective lense had some very significant finishing issues on the inside. Sent it in for warranty. Had to pay shipping plus insurance (about $28). Was annoyed because I think they should have offered a return label like Vortex, but not the biggest deal. They replaced it under warranty but sent me one that was broken (!?). This time they agreed to send a return label. About a month went by and nothing. Finally, I reached out to them only to discover that they don't have any more of these- (Did they want to maybe let me know?...). They want to replace with Ares 15-45x65. I told them it wasn't right to offer replacement with something about $90 cheaper- especially considering the frustration and expense they put me through. Not to mention the lack of communication... Their response was along the lines of, "Well we repair or replace with similar value, and this is normal warranty policy for us. Warranty manager is away for the week..." Basically, "Too bad, get over it." I don't like how this was handled. Am I wrong to feel this way? Has anyone had a better experience? Lesson learned is stick with companies with better customer service? Vortex? Would love input on this. Thanks!
 

gr8fuldoug

WKR
Rokslide Sponsor
Joined
May 21, 2013
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Old Bethpage, NY
Welcome to RokSlide,
This does not sound like standard operating procedure with Athlon as they are normally very attentive. Not sure if the scope was originally purchased through us or elsewhere, however that makes no difference, as a member here, even if this is your 1st post and you joined today, it is our pleasure to assist you. Please give me a call, 516-217-1000, and let me see if I can be of assistance.
Thanks and again, welcome
 

Lawnboi

WKR
Joined
Mar 2, 2012
Messages
7,693
Location
North Central Wi
Sounds like my Midas tac experience.

I won’t buy another China scope.

I wish people would demand more of their optics rather than spending the money for a great unconditional warranty.
 

Hoghead

WKR
Joined
Jun 20, 2019
Messages
692
Location
Turlock California
I had a sig 2400abs it was loosing connection to my phone. I called sig they emailed me a shipping label. Sent it out on a Monday and received a 8k a week later.
I also sent a pair of Kaibab to vortex to get checked. They repaired them and I had them back in a week. After those experiences I would not be happy with yours. Every company is different but I know were my money will be spent in the future.

Sent from my SM-G781V using Tapatalk
 

K2e2vin

FNG
Joined
Nov 30, 2021
Messages
50
Location
RDU / DIA
Well, this kind of has me worried. Sent my Helos BTR Gen2 to them since it started to become increasingly blurry at 12x (got noticeably worse with every shot; .308win). Just got confirmation email that they received it just a few minutes ago. I already had plans to replace this scope with a Vortex LHT though. tbf, for the price I paid for that, just getting any CS is nice. Lately I've been buying "questionable" things off Amazon just because they have a really nice return policy.
 
OP
D
Joined
Feb 9, 2022
Messages
6
Welcome to RokSlide,
This does not sound like standard operating procedure with Athlon as they are normally very attentive. Not sure if the scope was originally purchased through us or elsewhere, however that makes no difference, as a member here, even if this is your 1st post and you joined today, it is our pleasure to assist you. Please give me a call, 516-217-1000, and let me see if I can be of assistance.
Thanks and again, welcome
Thanks for the welcome. I have been reading this forum for years. Decided to officially join today in order to post my question. Glad this isn't standard for Athlon. Thank you for offering to see if you can be of assistance. Will likely reach out at some point. Not sure when though. My schedule is ridiculously sporadic...
 
Joined
Oct 19, 2019
Messages
875
Differentshoes, Doug can be of real help in dealing with and getting assistance from manufacturers of product lines he carries. Would strongly recommend at least contacting him to see what can be done. Nobody is that busy that they cannot make a phone call.
 

K2e2vin

FNG
Joined
Nov 30, 2021
Messages
50
Location
RDU / DIA
Any luck? Just an update on my situation, I actually got an update today (tracking number) that my replacement scope should be here tomorrow. So, in less than a week after they received my defective scope, I got a replacement.
 
OP
D
Joined
Feb 9, 2022
Messages
6
It seems your experience is more typical, and it's great that the turnaround was so fast. As for my spotter, no update unfortunately. Emailed them last week to just send the Ares because I need a spotting scope. I suppose that the larger objective lense will add some benefit, even though I was originally aiming for weight reduction... However, no tracking number or anything. To be fair, I inquired about the possibility of getting in touch with the warranty manager when he gets back. Maybe they are waiting for him?
 

wildcat33

WKR
Joined
Feb 17, 2015
Messages
1,213
Location
CO
Sounds like my Midas tac experience.

I won’t buy another China scope.

I wish people would demand more of their optics rather than spending the money for a great unconditional warranty.

x2

I had an athlon ares that required being sent back (model delivered was an older iteration than one advertised). They "upgraded" the scope, which came back full of dirt. Scope #3 was a NIB model. Flipped for a loss. At this point, any OEM reseller of made in china optics is a hard pass for me. Plenty of brands selling great marketing and great warranty, not worth my time.

Edit: but the customer service was great
 
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OP
D
Joined
Feb 9, 2022
Messages
6
Any luck? Just an update on my situation, I actually got an update today (tracking number) that my replacement scope should be here tomorrow. So, in less than a week after they received my defective scope, I got a replacement.
I emailed them today. Got a response a little while later that, "Your replacement was put in to the system today, and a tracking number will follow when the item is fulfilled." Not happy about having to continously promp, and still a bummer about settling for less expensive item. I worked in retail sales for a couple of years. The owner of the store never offered less value when we got a return. He let a lot of money go in the name of customer service. That's why people came back...
 
Joined
Oct 19, 2019
Messages
875
At this point I’m kind of at a loss as to what your expectations are from Athlon. They let you know fairly early on that they did not have any more of the identical item in stock and offered you the closest like-value item to the one you sent back to them as a replacement; and you agreed to this. Don’t know if they offered for you to wait until they had the same type of Cronus back in stock (or was it a discontinued model and they simply cannot do that). The 86mm Cronus UHD is in an altogether performance, size and price category and it really isn’t realistic to expect them to offer that as a replacement. Although In similar circumstances I have worked things out and paid a discounted price to upgrade to the higher level product. So, again I’m really at a bit of a loss as to the solution you were desiring. Did you ask them for another specific solution that you haven’t written about here?
 
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OP
D
Joined
Feb 9, 2022
Messages
6
Thank you for the feedback. It was not early on. After a number of emails and about a month of waiting for an update, they made this offer. There was little communication unless I emailed them first. To begin with, it was disappointing that they let a broken spotter to be sent as a replacement. The product box was literally in half from the glue drying out, and the spotter itself was broken in several places. It looked like a return that was sitting in the back of a warehouse. It was ridiculous. I agreed to a lower value piece because there was no other choice. It never occurred to me to expect that they should have replaced it with the 86mm, and I apologize that it sounded that way from my post. They did not offer any information about when or if the 50mm Cronus would be back in stock. I just assumed they would have given a choice to wait if it would have been expected to be back in stock at some point. Although I did not have any other specific request as a solution to the issue, I am pretty certain that if my job was customer service, that I would have acknowledged the monetary loss and the royal pain I caused my customer and would have figured out some way to address this. However, I see that perhaps I am being unreasonable. Either way, I will likely buy from a different company next time. I might even sell this one brand new to be done with it, cut my losses and move on...
 
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