Has Garmin lost its edge?

[Zucs]

Dear Garmin South Africa,

 

I write this post to express my significant frustration and disappointment regarding the quality of the Garmin 735XT watch which I acquired from you 13 months ago, as well as the very poor level of after-sales support which I have received from you in the past 2 weeks.

 

Whilst on holiday in December 2017, my Garmin 735XT watch completely died shortly after completing a morning swim (the 735XT is a tri-watch, so no issues here). Despite trying to reboot and/or charge the watch, I couldn’t get it so switch back on.

 

On returning from holiday, I took the unit to your support centre in Rosebank and was promptly informed that I needed to pay R2,000 for a replacement unit. I find this unacceptable for the following reasons:

 

• The watch mysteriously died just 1 month after the expiry of the (very short) 12 month warranty period;
• There was absolutely no physical damage to the unit and no signs that the watch may have died due to the presence of external forces. As such, one can only conclude that the unit died due to a manufacturing default; and
• The 735XT is known to have had a number of issues, including this one. When I booked my unit in at the support centre, your own staff admitted to me that “you don’t want to know” how many issues Garmin has been having with the watch. Furthermore, I am personally aware of two individuals who have returned the watch in the past month for the exact same reason.

 

Upon escalating the issue to you, I was told that “there are no known issues with the Garmin FR 735XT with regards to the screen dying and then not functioning any longer” and the decision for me to be made to pay for a replacement unit was enforced. In light of the information I have provided above, not only am I aware of two individuals who returned their 735XT units for the same reason, but your own support staff made a concession to this effect. This statement is therefore clearly in bad faith and untrue.

 

I have tried to contact you to discuss the issue in more detail via 3 separate e-mails over the past week as well as via 4 phone calls, to no avail. I have therefore had to resort to a more public forum in an attempt to escalate the issue.

 

In closing, myself (and I’m sure many other members of the cycling and broader endurance sport community) support Garmin due to (i) the known robustness and durability of your products and (ii) the quality of your after-sales service. This has been a very disappointing and immensely frustrating experience which is totally at odds with this. Should consumers accept that the Garmin “of old” no longer exists and start looking to other brands to achieve the levels of quality and after-sales support we are looking for?

 

Please could you contact me urgently to discuss further. You have my details, I have called and e-mailed many times.

 

Dino

[TheJ]

Warranty period expired. **** out of luck mate. If the 735XT is known to have issues, you wouldn't have bought it had you done your homework beforehand. So obviously you didn't do your homework. Long or short warranty period, makes no difference. You bought it so signed up for the warranty period . I'm with Garmin on this one.

[Pulse]

I also fail to see the issue.

The unit is out of warranty, but Garmin is willing to give you a brand new unit for R2000; where the retail price is around R6500.

Is see that as being more than accomodating. As far as I see it, they have all right to just simply say "sorry, unit is out of warranty - buy a new one at full retail". That would have been fair, but Garmin is still going above and beyond in their handling of the matter.

 

What would you have wanted? A free unit for the rest of your life, if your stop working?

[Robo]

I am not with Garmin, 12 months for a item that cost that much? Not sure how fair that is? Maybe if you replace your watch yearly this will work but for the masses this is not the case...being a giant in the market you will expect better after sales service. Heard Navworld and Garmin has ended their relationship?

[Patchelicious]

Only having to pay in R2000 to get a brand new unit valued at R6500, even though it’s out of warranty is exactly why I support Garmin.

[Zucs]

Warranty period expired. **** out of luck mate. If the 735XT is known to have issues, you wouldn't have bought it had you done your homework beforehand. So obviously you didn't do your homework. Long or short warranty period, makes no difference. You bought it so signed up for the warranty period . I'm with Garmin on this one.

Ordinarily I would agree, but given that I acquired the watch shortly following its original release, there was no history upon which to do one's "homework". Nobody wants to be unreasonable, but there also needs to be an element of good faith - if it's a known fault due to a manufacturing defect which is unrelated to user force / error, it should be rectified. It simply isn't practical to replace your Garmin watch every year...

[Zucs]

Only having to pay in R2000 to get a brand new unit valued at R6500, even though it’s out of warranty is exactly why I support Garmin.

Replacement unit only comes with a 90 day warranty - so might be in the same position in 4 months time!

[shaper]

Please post any web links to what the known problem is that has affected your device in a similar way? Garmin forums, tech reviews etc?

[Patchelicious]

Replacement unit only comes with a 90 day warranty - so might be in the same position in 4 months time!

That’s a moot point. If they gave you a free one, you could also be in the same position in 4 months time.

[Zucs]

Please post any web links to what the known problem is that has affected your device in a similar way? Garmin forums, tech reviews etc?

Sure - first one on a Google search... https://forums.garmin.com/forum/into-sports/running/forerunner-735xt-aa/1232753-dead-screen-after-one-year-of-using-garmin-735xt

[Pulse]

I am not with Garmin, 12 months for a item that cost that much? Not sure how fair that is? Maybe if you replace your watch yearly this will work but for the masses this is not the case...being a giant in the market you will expect better after sales service. Heard Navworld and Garmin has ended their relationship?

Most electronic devices carry a 1 year warrantee. Apple, Sunsung, Sony (to name a few) are all one year.

[shaper]

Sure - first one on a Google search... https://forums.garmin.com/forum/into-sports/running/forerunner-735xt-aa/1232753-dead-screen-after-one-year-of-using-garmin-735xt

Thanks, as we do not know the extent it could have been any number of defects which caused the blackout.

 

As you say you went for a swim, did you perhaps press the buttons whilst swimming? Garmin specifically says not to http://www8.garmin.com/manuals/webhelp/forerunner735/EN-US/GUID-B9A459F4-A65C-4E04-ACF0-14E2593F491B.html

 

Which could perhaps be a contributing factor to the watch failure. So whilst the 735XT is a multi discipline watch, the buttons/keys cannot be pressed if under water... so there is a potential issue there.

[Zucs]

Thanks, as we do not know the extent it could have been any number of defects which caused the blackout.

 

As you say you went for a swim, did you perhaps press the buttons whilst swimming? Garmin specifically says not to http://www8.garmin.com/manuals/webhelp/forerunner735/EN-US/GUID-B9A459F4-A65C-4E04-ACF0-14E2593F491B.html

 

Which could perhaps be a contributing factor to the watch failure. So whilst the 735XT is a multi discipline watch, the buttons/keys cannot be pressed if under water... so there is a potential issue there.

 

Yep, I also had that thought but I am quite sure that I didn't

[BigDL]

2k for a 6k watch replacement. No brainer.

 

Not surprised that Garmin is sticking more to the letter of their warranty with some of the posts on here over time about people abusing or recommending abuse of their generous approach.

[NotSoBigBen]

I am not with Garmin, 12 months for a item that cost that much? Not sure how fair that is? Maybe if you replace your watch yearly this will work but for the masses this is not the case...being a giant in the market you will expect better after sales service. Heard Navworld and Garmin has ended their relationship?

If one was unhappy with the 12 months then why would you buy the unit?

 

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[Frosty]

I’ve had my 735XT since August 2016, and had a blank screen once. Left it on charge for a bit and did a hard reset (pressed, and held in the power button + up or down). Only problem was that I had to enter all my settings again.

 

I’ve been using the FR series (205, 310XT and 735XT) since December 2008, and only had to hard reset twice.

 

 

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