SMG. -SM GROUP. Plymouth. Electronic 'Repairs'

[Mollers]

My Garmin GPSMap 238 developed an intermitant fault back in '06. It would turn itself off and not always power-up. I pulled it out a dropped around to a guy I know whom runs a marine parts business and did a bit with marine electronics at the time. He explained that he didn't carry out repairs, but used SMG in Plymouth. The set was posted to them, postage cost £10. Two weeks later a message was relayed to me to say that the set was U/S and I'd need a service exchange. I doubted this and asked for the set to be returned costing another £10. On collecting the set I was given the receipt for the work carried out cost £10. Total spend £30. Diagnosis as follows:-
OPENED UNIT,CLEANED SWITCH & CONTACTS, TESTED STILL FAULTY. PARTS NOT AVAILABLE, ONLY OPTION IS SERVICE EXCHANGE WHICH CUSTOMER DOES NOT WISH TO PROCEED WITH.

I put the set back in the boat and did no more as the boat was barely used in '07 due to weather and another project. '08 bought a new boat.
The week before last Spittle123, a member of this site, bought the boat. I explained that the GPS didn't work etc. Yesterday, a delighted Mr. Spittle rang me to say that he and Dave Manning had looked at the GPS and it was a corroded fuse holder that was the problem. Since replacing it, the sets been perfect.
If I hadn't been told by the SM Group that the set was knackered, I may have checked the fuse holder myself.
So, if the SM Group had bench tested it with a different power source it would have been faultless. If I'd gone ahead with the service exchange unit, they'd have been left with a perfectly good used Garmin GPSMAP 238 to sell on.
I rang them this afternoon, the receptionist said she'd get an 'engineer' to call me. One did, I explained the situation, he rattled on that there had been a fault with the on/off switch which has now cured itself 2 yrs later. He then asked me what I wanted him to do. He offered me my £10 back, I asked about postage, he waffled and basically said no. I told him that from my end the whole thing didn't look to good. He then became nasty and put the phone down.
I've just now had the receptionist on the phone asking for my details to refund me my £10.

SM Group (Europe) LTD
Mercator House,
Brest Road,
Plymouth International,
Devon.
PL6 5XP

[jwalker]

Take yer tenner and run.

The moral of the story being?.....If in doubt, do it yerself or, at least, give it to someone you know has a brain.

[Mollers]

Originally Posted by jwalker

Take yer tenner and run.

The moral of the story being?.....If in doubt, do it yerself or, at least, give it to someone you know has a brain.

I'm not sure whether 'morals' and 'stories' strictly apply here. I lacked the time and just wanted the thing 'fixed' asap. Those that I employed to carry out the work didn't lack brains, more likely integrity.

[jwalker]

Yer brain controls everything!

[Mollers]

Originally Posted by jwalker

Yer brain controls everything!

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[ian parkes]

I guess namin and shamin on here is the best satisfaction you can get mate . That sort of thing really does grip yer shit but it seems to be so common everywhere these days .

[Channel Ribs]

Originally Posted by ian parkes

... it seems to be so common everywhere these days.

Not so fast!

Not all marine electronics dealers are the same shade of tar, we (and I am sure we have colleagues that do too) check faulty items out ourselves before sending them on. Doing this usually saves our customers some money on postage and often we spot common external faults.

[Downhilldai]

Mollers is gutted 'cos he could have sold his boat for £50 more with a working GPS

[Mollers]

Originally Posted by Downhilldai

Mollers is gutted 'cos he could have sold his boat for £50 more with a working GPS

Yep, totally.

[ian parkes]

would that have helped him not to go round in circles in every bay

[Mollers]

Originally Posted by ian parkes

would that have helped him not to go round in circles in every bay

Yep, perhaps I should go for wasted fuel from SMG also.

[ian parkes]

Originally Posted by Mollers

Yep, perhaps I should go for wasted fuel from SMG also.

[John Kennett]

Chris Northmore from SM Group has contacted me with their side of the story:

The unit was sent to us by Water Craft Services on 19/05/06 the only
items sent were the main unit and the sun cover, NO power lead (which
incorporates the fuse). Our records are kept for six years and so we
have documentary support for our statements.

The fault described by the customer was "On/Off switch stays on, only
when button is held in". We confirmed the fault and attempted a cleaning
repair which at the time was not successful. As we live in a disposable
society we could only quote for a service exchange unit. All faulty
exchange units are returned to Garmin. It maybe that our attempted
repair actually worked in the end or that the unit has got an
intermittent fault. The corroded fuse in the cable could have happened
at any time over the last two and a quarter years and is irrelevant.

We have been in business for over 35 years and we are a company that
puts customer service first. We are an MOD contractor and as such our
service standards are very high using only qualified, trained and
experienced engineers. Has anyone ever heard of a company refunding a
service charge after two and a quarter years! We did it as a gesture of
good will.

John

[Mollers]

Originally Posted by John Kennett

Chris Northmore from SM Group has contacted me with their side of the story:

The unit was sent to us by Water Craft Services on 19/05/06 the only
items sent were the main unit and the sun cover, NO power lead (which
incorporates the fuse). Our records are kept for six years and so we
have documentary support for our statements.

The fault described by the customer was "On/Off switch stays on, only
when button is held in". We confirmed the fault and attempted a cleaning
repair which at the time was not successful. As we live in a disposable
society we could only quote for a service exchange unit. All faulty
exchange units are returned to Garmin. It maybe that our attempted
repair actually worked in the end or that the unit has got an
intermittent fault. The corroded fuse in the cable could have happened
at any time over the last two and a quarter years and is irrelevant.

We have been in business for over 35 years and we are a company that
puts customer service first. We are an MOD contractor and as such our
service standards are very high using only qualified, trained and
experienced engineers. Has anyone ever heard of a company refunding a
service charge after two and a quarter years! We did it as a gesture of
good will.

John

If Mr.Northmore is keen to protect the public image of his 35yo company. Perhaps he should start with his ''qualified,trained and experienced" engineer that was rude, argumentative and downright aggressive in his manner on the telephone.
A power supply fault would manifest itself as an On/Off switch issue initially. ''Maybe'' his companies ''attempts'' did cure the fault and ''Maybe'' they didn't. Perhaps, the switch wasn't faulty at all.
It'll be interesting to see how the mystery switch fares two and a quarter years later with the new owner now that the 'irrelevant' fuse holder has been replaced.
As for his "gesture"? He can keep his £10 and invest it in customer service training for his "qualified, trained and experienced engineer"

[Poly]

Originally Posted by Mollers

... engineer that was rude, argumentative and downright aggressive in his manner on the telephone...

I imagine you displayed the sort of diplomacy that could sort out the middle east too - as you always do on here!

[Mollers]

Originally Posted by Polwart

I imagine you displayed the sort of diplomacy that could sort out the middle east too - as you always do on here!

Thanks. I was composed and polite with no opportunity to respond as the phone was put down on me.

[Downhilldai]

Mollers not given the opportunity to express himself - must be a first