My ongoing customer service issues.

[tony3a]

Hello guys, please forgive my number of posts on this forum. I am active on some other forums but it doesn't look like CAD lights is a sponsor of them anymore. I needed an alternate way to speak with them as I was getting nowhere with emails/calls.

 

Please forgive the really long post with numerous errors I am sure, it is quite late. This is normally something I would email, but I have never been able to get a response from Cad lights through emails.

 

I am just out of options and I am not sure what to do anymore when it comes to getting support from Cad lights. All I am waiting for is a volute, for a skimmer that was sold to me defective, because Cad lights shipped it with the wrong one(they told me this).

 

I have screenshots to go with what I am saying that I will post at the bottom.

 

After sending them a email on March 4th and getting no reply I decided to call them on April 16th. I talked to their customer service for over 5 minutes. The guy seemed very helpful, took all my info down, what the problem was and said they would ship me out the correct volute that was supposed to come with the PLS-100 Skimmer. I was pleased and looking forward to this issue finally being resolved. I have had so many issues with this skimmer and just wanted it to work. He also said he would send me a email with a confirmation that it had been shipped.

 

About two weeks(May 1st) go by and I have no email, no part, and still a skimmer that doesn't work. I decide to give them a call. Another super nice and understanding guy answers, we go over the same stuff as last time, what is wrong and so on.....he takes all my info down but about half way through the call we get cut off....I tried calling back a with no success. Call wouldn't connect, I wasn't sure what was going on. I tried the number and the call wouldn't go through, so I waited a couple hours and called back. Apparently his phone had died, not sure how a company this size operates through a single cellphone but hey, it makes sense. Anyways, we talk again and he said it was too late on a Friday to get me any confirmation that it was shipped because that info was locked in a room the he didn't have access to. He said for sure on Monday I would get a email with a confirmation saying the item had previously been shipped out.

 

By Wednesday May the 6th I still had not received any emails or my part....So I call again, short call this time. The guy remembers me, he surprised I had not received any emails and said he told the "shipping guy" to email me. Then once again I was told he would deal with it the next day and I would have a email by Thursday evening with my tracking number.

 

On may 19th I call again, same guy and this time he is outraged that nothing has been done. He said he could 100 percent guarantee me that he would ship it himself that day and email me with a tracking number. He took all my info down again and assured me this was going to get dealt with. The guy sounded like he was genuinely upset about this because he knows how long I have been trying to get this dealt with. I thought I might actually get my tracking number and my part once and for all.

 

May 26th I am starting to get really upset, this skimmer has not been working for a very long time and I am continually getting screwed around. I call in and make the guy keep me on hold until he comes back with a shipping number that works...after 10 minutes the guy comes back with a shipping number that doesn't work. So then he says he is not sure why it doesn't work, that he will have to call me back shortly and will go look into it himself, once again ensured me I will be getting not only a email with a tracking number but he will personally call me back.

 

Well as you may have guessed....nobody has called me back and this is where we stand right now. I am out of options and I don't know what to do anymore.

 

[HarryPotter]

Oh man, that totally sucks! I would email them again demanding a refund, and that you will cancel the charge of the issue is not resolved within a week.

 

I had a similar issue that was only resolved by going to the forums, I hope they notice!

 

My only thought is perhaps they have the wrong email/shipping address?

 

Really bad PR for Cad-Lights. I decided recently I would get the PLS-50, but now have to take your expierience under consideration.

Oh and I would change the title to "Terriblr Customer Service at Cad-Lights" to grab their attention.

[Addinali]

See I kept hearing stories like this about Cad.

That's why I got a IM Fusion 40 Instead hopefully Cad

Will fix this issue for you fast.

[braaap]

Welcome to the wonderful world of CAD. Why people keep buying stuff from them blows my mind.

[D Z]

Welcome to the wonderful world of CAD. Why people keep buying stuff from them blows my mind.

The weird thing is, some people have the complete opposite experience with them. I don't know if I was just lucky or what, but the customer service was great for me when I ordered my tank from them, and I would order from them again. And I did have a couple issues that I needed to talk to them about over the phone, but they always answered or got back to me.

 

But then I hear stories like this.....

 

I really hope they make it right for the OP. I don't care what company it is, if they screw up for over a month and haven't fixed it, there is a serious problem. It just sucks even more that this is your skimmer, which can be such a vital piece of equipment.

 

MAKE IT RIGHT CADLIGHTS

[tibbsy07]

I would contact your CC company or bank and just end it.

[Marc.The.Shark]

^I'm with Tibbs, you have given them way more chances than I ever would have. Dispute the transaction, that'll get their attention. I'm sure they'll call u when they get the chargeback, tell 'em to send you a prepaid box & you'll ship their junk back!

[braaap]

The weird thing is, some people have the complete opposite experience with them. I don't know if I was just lucky or what, but the customer service was great for me when I ordered my tank from them, and I would order from them again. And I did have a couple issues that I needed to talk to them about over the phone, but they always answered or got back to me.

 

But then I hear stories like this.....

 

I really hope they make it right for the OP. I don't care what company it is, if they screw up for over a month and haven't fixed it, there is a serious problem. It just sucks even more that this is your skimmer, which can be such a vital piece of equipment.

 

MAKE IT RIGHT CADLIGHTS

 

I've heard far more bad experiences then good experiences. I've also had terrible customer service with them.

[Neebles]

Yep and besides the shitty quality this is the reason I will never buy another cad product as long as I live. Sorry for your troubles.

[SchnauzerFace]

OP has got some serious ass patience. I don't think I would have let this go from March 4 to May 27 without flipping balls. They literally could have walked across the country and hand-delivered the replacement part in less time.

 

CAD has got a pretty hit-or-miss-but-mostly-miss reputation, which is super disappointing because they make very attractively designed products at a high-but-not-groin-grabbingly-high price point. I have to imagine that CAD's poor reputation will sink them, especially with so many competitors on the market. If you're going to drop big bucks on a one-and-done setup, I'd definitely pass on CAD, sell some more plasma, and go with a Red Sea system.

 

Anyway, sorry about all this, OP. But hopefully this will steer some fellow hobbyists in a better direction.

[TheKleinReef]

The inconsistency of cad worries me. Some people have no trouble at all while others have horror stories in regards to customer service. I've always had my eye on the cad artisan tank but the seemingly increasing number of these stories describing horrible experiences makes me not want to support the company.

[metrokat]

The weird thing is, some people have the complete opposite experience with them. I don't know if I was just lucky or what, but the customer service was great for me when I ordered my tank from them, and I would order from them again. And I did have a couple issues that I needed to talk to them about over the phone, but they always answered or got back to me.

 

 

Ditto. I've had a good experience with CAD, I even suggested their tank to a close buddy who ended up buying one from them and has also been happy with CAD.

[braaap]

I'd love for CAD to get their quality issues and customer control issues fixed. They offer setups that consumers want at a fair price. They just struggle too often and then think they can just throw another item at it to fix it and move on.

[CAD-Aqua]

_{Wow this is very disappointing Tony and I am sorry we have put you through this. our customer service manager is Jason and I have sent this thread over to him. Please also send me your email by PM and I can pull out the entire thread for him to review. this shouldn't have dragged on for so long especially for a single part that we have so many in the warehouse. if you have spoken to our service rep personally, it should have been sent right away as that is our policy for all replacement or defective parts.}

 

_{Please send me your info and I can take are of it personally.}

 

_{Thank you so much}

_{Scott D}

_{Sales Manager}

[Cencalfishguy56]

Hello guys, please forgive my number of posts on this forum. I am active on some other forums but it doesn't look like CAD lights is a sponsor of them anymore. I needed an alternate way to speak with them as I was getting nowhere with emails/calls.

 

Please forgive the really long post with numerous errors I am sure, it is quite late. This is normally something I would email, but I have never been able to get a response from Cad lights through emails.

 

I am just out of options and I am not sure what to do anymore when it comes to getting support from Cad lights. All I am waiting for is a volute, for a skimmer that was sold to me defective, because Cad lights shipped it with the wrong one(they told me this).

 

I have screenshots to go with what I am saying that I will post at the bottom.

 

After sending them a email on March 4th and getting no reply I decided to call them on April 16th. I talked to their customer service for over 5 minutes. The guy seemed very helpful, took all my info down, what the problem was and said they would ship me out the correct volute that was supposed to come with the PLS-100 Skimmer. I was pleased and looking forward to this issue finally being resolved. I have had so many issues with this skimmer and just wanted it to work. He also said he would send me a email with a confirmation that it had been shipped.

 

About two weeks(May 1st) go by and I have no email, no part, and still a skimmer that doesn't work. I decide to give them a call. Another super nice and understanding guy answers, we go over the same stuff as last time, what is wrong and so on.....he takes all my info down but about half way through the call we get cut off....I tried calling back a with no success. Call wouldn't connect, I wasn't sure what was going on. I tried the number and the call wouldn't go through, so I waited a couple hours and called back. Apparently his phone had died, not sure how a company this size operates through a single cellphone but hey, it makes sense. Anyways, we talk again and he said it was too late on a Friday to get me any confirmation that it was shipped because that info was locked in a room the he didn't have access to. He said for sure on Monday I would get a email with a confirmation saying the item had previously been shipped out.

 

By Wednesday May the 6th I still had not received any emails or my part....So I call again, short call this time. The guy remembers me, he surprised I had not received any emails and said he told the "shipping guy" to email me. Then once again I was told he would deal with it the next day and I would have a email by Thursday evening with my tracking number.

 

On may 19th I call again, same guy and this time he is outraged that nothing has been done. He said he could 100 percent guarantee me that he would ship it himself that day and email me with a tracking number. He took all my info down again and assured me this was going to get dealt with. The guy sounded like he was genuinely upset about this because he knows how long I have been trying to get this dealt with. I thought I might actually get my tracking number and my part once and for all.

 

May 26th I am starting to get really upset, this skimmer has not been working for a very long time and I am continually getting screwed around. I call in and make the guy keep me on hold until he comes back with a shipping number that works...after 10 minutes the guy comes back with a shipping number that doesn't work. So then he says he is not sure why it doesn't work, that he will have to call me back shortly and will go look into it himself, once again ensured me I will be getting not only a email with a tracking number but he will personally call me back.

 

Well as you may have guessed....nobody has called me back and this is where we stand right now. I am out of options and I don't know what to do anymore.

 

They replied but didn't tag you so I will haha

[HarryPotter]

_{Wow this is very disappointing Tony and I am sorry we have put you through this. our customer service manager is Jason and I have sent this thread over to him. Please also send me your email by PM and I can pull out the entire thread for him to review. this shouldn't have dragged on for so long especially for a single part that we have so many in the warehouse. if you have spoken to our service rep personally, it should have been sent right away as that is our policy for all replacement or defective parts.}

 

_{Please send me your info and I can take are of it personally.}

 

_{Thank you so much}

_{Scott D}

_{Sales Manager}

What do you think happened, Cad-Lights? I have been hearing more and more stories of below average customer support and difficulty getting in contact with you.

 

Why did the OP have to wait weeks? I personally have decided to hold off on buying your new HOB skimmer for a bit after hearing of many experiences similar to this.

[metrokat]

_{Wow this is very disappointing Tony and I am sorry we have put you through this. our customer service manager is Jason and I have sent this thread over to him. Please also send me your email by PM and I can pull out the entire thread for him to review. this shouldn't have dragged on for so long especially for a single part that we have so many in the warehouse. if you have spoken to our service rep personally, it should have been sent right away as that is our policy for all replacement or defective parts.}

 

_{Please send me your info and I can take are of it personally.}

 

_{Thank you so much}

_{Scott D}

_{Sales Manager}

You got my email? Good.

[CAD-Aqua]

im getting to the bottom of it myself but we are having a meeting about any issues related to what the OP stated here. our replacement/warranty policy is as follows:

 

1) description of defect or missing part

2) customer sends over proof of purchase along with shipping address

3) we locate or make the part needed and ship out

 

typically if the customer has sent us all his information as listed above then it takes only 1-3 days the most before part is shipped out.

[tony3a]

Hello Scott

Thanks for the responses, I do not want to get mad as that won't get anyone anywhere. Not on any of my 6 phone calls was anything mentioned about me having to send them anything before they could send me my part and on the first phone call I was told it was not necessary because the shipping of the incorrect Volute was a known issue. I have called in to speak with you and I was told you were in a meeting, I left a message with my phone number. If you could please call me when you have a chance that would be great. I will still send you a email but I would prefer to deal with this over the phone, I am sure you can understand.

Thank you.

 

im getting to the bottom of it myself but we are having a meeting about any issues related to what the OP stated here. our replacement/warranty policy is as follows:

 

1) description of defect or missing part

2) customer sends over proof of purchase along with shipping address

3) we locate or make the part needed and ship out

 

typically if the customer has sent us all his information as listed above then it takes only 1-3 days the most before part is shipped out.

 

 

_{Wow this is very disappointing Tony and I am sorry we have put you through this. our customer service manager is Jason and I have sent this thread over to him. Please also send me your email by PM and I can pull out the entire thread for him to review. this shouldn't have dragged on for so long especially for a single part that we have so many in the warehouse. if you have spoken to our service rep personally, it should have been sent right away as that is our policy for all replacement or defective parts.}

 

_{Please send me your info and I can take are of it personally.}

 

_{Thank you so much}

_{Scott D}

_{Sales Manager}

[atrox]

Freebies coming you're way. Cad will make it right. Shyte happens an unfortunately life happens and the "little things" sometimes get overlooked. That being said the OP presented this issue in a very informed, patient, and professional way. Hats off OP for keeping a level head and I hope you get sorted out.

[HarryPotter]

Freebies coming you're way. Cad will make it right.

 

Doesn't look/sound like it. They seem to be saying that the OP had all these issues due to HIS mistakes in the warranty process.

 

If I was Cad-Lights I would apologize, promise to look into it, refund the OP w. the replacement part as well (Freebie) and promise that they will work very hard to assure nothing similar would happen in the future.

[tony3a]

I honestly don't want anything for free, not my intention with this post. I literally just want this skimmer to work, being foolish I didn't leave much room for a bigger skimmer in case something happened in my new setup, it is not easy to replace a skimmer this size. I have sent Scott my info and if I could just get the correct volute that would be great, it is all I am looking for.

[pgrVII]

Yea I gotta agree about not good customer service from cad. I love my pls50 but the bracket broke and so I emailed them about getting a replacement with zero replies

[tony3a]

Sorry I should of mentioned in the first post that my email on Mar 4th was following directions given to me from their customer service when I explained my issues with the skimmer. They did respond to me initially when I asked how I would go about warranting my unit.

[CAD-Aqua]

Hi, Tony

 

we have the replacement part sent to you and its on the way. it seems the hold up initially was that we didn't receive a proof of purchase from you, and couldn't fully process the replacement. we don't have an option yet for customers to order the parts separately, but we will start to do that now and I think that should help customers better.

 

for anybody needing replacement parts as well, please feel free to send me an email directly (Attention Scott) to sales@cadlights.com or PM me here. if it is a replacement or defective part you need for warranty, please also send us your proof of purchase.

 

 

Thank you to everyone and please let us know what we can do to assist you better.

Scott D.

Sales Manager