Folks, listen up! Some praise for a company

[par]

It's not often these days that you come across genuinly great customer service. Especially not when the product isn't *that* expensive or the company isn't marketing itself based on customer service.

I am an owner of a GPS from Garmin. The iQueue 3600, a palmpilot based GPS with voice navigation that i use when i travel. Its a few hundred bucks but easily worth it to me for all the business travel i make.

Well, i bought this three years ago. I registered it because i had to in order to activate the maps (and it seemed convinient to do online). two years ago i had to replace my computer and i realized i lost the CD's. I asked garmin's tech support (via e-mail) if i could buy replacement cd's at a discount. They wouldn't hear any of that talk, they told me that since i was a registered user i would recieve a full replacement media pack free of charge with priority mail!

wow, what an excellent customer service i thought to myself. I'm out of warranty and they are still helping me out -Awesome!

yesterday, when i was in columbus ohio i realized that the tip of the car charger had become unscrewed (it's the tip that goes into the cigarette lighter outlet). I had of course lost the tip and thus i couldn't use it in the car. I sent a message to garmin last night asking if i could purchase just the tip as a spare part (didn't want to part with the $79 for a new car charger). They responded this morning and said that they had changed the design, but they would send me a new power module and i should be able to move the tip between the power module. Free of Charge!

This is three years after i bought it!

I can't do anything but wholly and fully recommend this company to all my friends and associates. These guys takes customer service seriously and i will definately tell folks that at least one company is taking care of their customers and goes way above what is expected.

good show Garmin!

www.garmin.com

[Moglman]

Thanks for the info Par. I own a Garmin GPS, and don't have a clue if I registered it. It's great to hear when a company lives up to a loyal customers expectations in customer service.

[TypeO-]

Good customer service is hard to come buy, even if your product is in warranty. Just because you register a product doesn't mean a company will have any idea who the heck you are when you call. I've had to jump through hoops to prove I had a particular product, that it's in warranty and that it's not working right.

It's good to hear that you had a positive consumer experience.

[SeanGAR]

Wow ... well now I know what company is going to get my dollar when I buy a GPS.

[DonJefe]

Originally Posted by SeanGAR

Wow ... well now I know what company is going to get my dollar when I buy a GPS.

You don't need a GPS! Doesn't Annie navigate?!

[Franksmith]

Great post Par... fantastic info to know!!!

I have the factory unit in my car but if I buy a handheld it will definitely be a Garmin!

[RPB67]

Thanks for the post Par.

My car now has a factory unit and it is great. I was thinking about buying one of these before I got this car. I definatley would if I needed it.

Customer service is everything and they are showing it.

[TheSmokingHiker]

I used to work in the outdoor industry, well I still do on the side, and Garment has always been a great company to do business with. I have dealt with them on several occasions, nad they have always treated me more than fair. Other outdoorish companys that are worthy doing business with are Merrell shoes, and REI. Both have saved my butt sevearl times. REI's return policy is exceptional, and on an extended backpacking trip with Merrell boots, I had one blow out on me. They overnighted me a new pair free of charge.

[D. Generate]

Always good to hear about a company that does it right. Thanks for the info, and when I am in the market for such a product, I know who I'll go with.

[Ivory Tower]

I just feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

[Jeff]

Nice post.

Been considering a gps unit for a while now. We use Garmins in my forestry labs. You just made it a no-brainer who I'll buy from.

[IHT]

i had a similar experience that i posted about a while ago (click here) with one of my speakers that i bought in germany, in a PX, back in '92 or '93.

great to hear of things like this when we're normally dealing with customer service like Ford provides, and it's all negative.