I'm subscribed to the comments attached to the recent Forbes article on DJI and just received notification of this detailed comment from a reader [CLICK HERE].
Any of us could have written it ourselves.  I wonder if it was someone here writing under the monicker of "ExperiencedFlier."

I wonder if it will catch Forbes' attention or if they will do a follow-up as the writer requests...

Very interesting. Hope it gets a response.

Meeeee too!

The customer service is terrible everywhere. I appreciate Ed and Autumn trying, but you can tell they are right above us at the bottom of the food chain. DJI's existence on these boards is virtually non existent.

I wonder if some inquiries from the press will have an influence on that. I also wonder how many other follow-up comments will appear on that Forbes article. If I had to guess,  I would say that the more people who comment on it, the more likely it is that the magazine will do a follow-up.

We must try to imagine that the wages in China are beyond crappy and employers treat staff like snot on a tissue there. A man like him will throw your ass to the wolves to make a buck. Ruthless and cunning businessman. This is why I say he doesn't care about customer service, he cares about customers money. Now that he has more money than he can ever spend, he can afford to play around and develop more toys to sell. Sure others will come up and likely over take Dji but what does a billionaire care? Except for Jimmy Pattison, he cares... he's in business for the game.

Dangair Posted at 2015-5-23 14:58
We must try to imagine that the wages in China are beyond crappy and employers treat staff like snot ...

You may be absolutely right and it may be that nothing any customer says, nothing that is carried in any press coverage, nothing that ultimately happens to DJI, will make a bit of difference.

OR, it may be that the founder is so removed from day to day operations, and so focused on his next round of inventions, that he does not know how bad the customer's post-sale experience has become.  One theme that surfaces in the article is his belief that he needs to be separated from the base and from day to day operations in order to successfully innovate.  If he has not had a top-level manager focused on the customer experience (clearly he has not), the machine may simply be running on autopilot, without real leadership or understanding.  Wang may be the sort of person who wants to keep innovating new things forever, as a creative outlet, and would react strongly if the company was under threat as the result of poor service driving customers to competitors.  We don't know.

What we DO know is we cannot reach him.  He is not going to be visiting this board any time soon.  But if the PRESS got hold of this (as they may from that reader comment in Forbes), and if they start asking difficult questions and perhaps writing a difficult article or two, it WILL come to his attention.  What happens then will depend upon what his personal motivations are.

We will have to wait and see.  I notice that a couple of other Forbes readers have now commented on ExperiencedFlier's original comment on the Forbes article.  I wonder if there will be others now that the door has been cracked open.  THAT would certainly attract attention.  I suppose I should go over there and comment myself.

PeteGould Posted at 2015-5-23 20:23
I suppose I should go over there and comment myself.

...and now I have.

Good for you! I have attempted to attack management from this site as I cannot believe they don't read these forums, as these are the thermometer of happiness. But every time I have made a controversial statement it was wiped out by Ed bless his soul. I know he thinks I am anti Dji  by the tone of my words , but it couldn't be further from the truth. I am anti me and you getting a less than optimal product that is not delivered in the state it was advertized in. This would NOT be tolerated one bit by a Canadian Company there are laws here against it.

Dangair Posted at 2015-5-25 02:06
Good for you! I have attempted to attack management from this site as I cannot believe they don't re ...

Dangair- Really like the last two lines of your post, sir. VERY real.

Had to post quickly before this one got deleted! Just kidding!

Thanks for the post.
-S.N.

comments are right on and i hope someone reads them and acts on them.  The facility in Torrance could hire 200 LI workers to get rid of the backlog yet they don't.  Why?  A DJI rep at International Drone day told me "we like it when other companies create and service other products."  That passes the buck right there.

HermosaDrones Posted at 2015-5-27 01:00
A DJI rep at International Drone day told me "we like it when other companies create and service other products."  That passes the buck right there.

Can you elaborate a bit?  I'm not sure what that means.

PeteGould Posted at 2015-5-23 21:38
...and now I have.

And hats off to you sir for a factual and well written post. Thank you.

PeteGould- Hello, sir.

Just a heads up, it would seem my post "A SWING...and A MISS" Must have some heads turning at DJI, NA. Apparently Tahoe_Ed has decided to attempt to chastise me/my post by posting about a conversation had with Mark from DJI, when they contacted me today.

As a professional and senior forum member, please give your thoughts on the subject. You are always honest and I feel this may well be set in the direction of the article you made me aware of.

I contact you for fear that my post will soon be deleted.

Thanks!
-S.N.

Sky Ninja Posted at 2015-5-28 12:16
PeteGould- Hello, sir.

Just a heads up, it would seem my post "A SWING...and A MISS" Must have some ...

I have commented on the thread.  Obviously I don't know the communication you had with "Mark," but it would be good to see this solved diplomatically.

I don't think your post, there or here, will be deleted.  Especially not now that it has been posted to Forbes and attracted the interest of the columnist.  That would be a genuinely awful PR blunder on DJI's part.  You're not being abusive, you're not namecalling, you're just describing an incident that happened to you.

It might be to your benefit to accept direct help from DJI if they're offering it (unless your only desire at this point is for a refund).

PeteGould Posted at 2015-5-28 12:29
I have commented on the thread.  Obviously I don't know the communication you had with "Mark," but ...

Your comments are much appreciated.

My objective was to simply update (in a positive form) and graciously bow out, due to an impasse with their offers.  (I posted the details with out airing dirty laundry) The conversation was pleasant enough but, there always seemed to be an air of quashing, not actually assisting. It was strange...

If I am to be deleted, I won't take it personal. I found Eds reaction as being a bit testy but, again, it is only an opinion and nothing more. Perhaps you are correct and the post will remain, dawns early light shall prove either way. Your write up was far superior in context, points made and form.  It should have caught the eyes and turned the heads of the upper echelon rather quickly.

As to the direct help, I would have jumped at it 3 months ago. As posted, I tried to resolve the situation, twice within the first 7 days return period and once on the 9th day. This ended in broken promises and never to making contact. etc. As their final offer is a refurbished bird, I have declined their assistance, making my final request positively clear.

Sincerest thanks, friend.
-S.N.

Sky Ninja Posted at 2015-5-28 15:57
Your comments are much appreciated.

My objective was to simply update (in a positive form) and gra ...

In light of your follow-up post I commented further on that thread.

Meanwhile, some aspects of this situation are eerily familiar.

Many years ago I worked for a production company whose owner mistreated the customer base.  I didn't know it when I started working there, of course.  But by the time I was the company's senior video editor and assistant director of technical ops I had started to observe that there was a very large client turnover rate.  This made no sense because the staff did genuinely excellent work.  It took awhile to figure it out, especially because the sales staff weren't talking, not even internally.

Eventually I found out the game.  The owner forced the sales staff to lowball projects, then marked them back up again once the client was captive.  When I worked as an editor I turned in a time sheet for each edit session.  Those sheets made it into the owner's office where Whiteout was used to cover the times I had written and write in different times.  The client was then billed the inflated figure.  Clients who recognized they were being fleeced (sometimes it took a couple of projects) did not return (and certainly did not contact me, since I assume they thought I was complicit).  The sales staff were tasked with convincing the clients that all was well - sort of like a desperate PR person for Nero trying to convince the populace that Rome is in fact NOT burning (pay no attention to those flames or all the smoke).

Eventually the frustration the sales staff were feeling became evident to both the customer base and other employees.  That staff was shown the door.  However the incoming sales staff found that they could make no sales, because word about the company's business practices had spread throughout the region and the well had been poisoned.  I had left to form my own business the moment I discovered what was really going on, so I was long gone by this point - but still friendly with the rest of the staff.

When the company could no longer make payroll and the owner was facing business and personal bankruptcy, the staff purchased the assets from him for a couple of cents on the dollar, and reopened under a different name.  In a sense, they fired their boss.

I see parallels here, not in the sort of outright dishonesty I saw at my former employer but in the frustration of staffers working for a company that is doing things they themselves may completely disagree with, but have to publicly appear to support.  That would be especially acute at DJI, given that it mass-fired its American staff and administration shortly before the Inspire's launch.  Who could imagine working there in the wake of such an event and arguing strongly with the owner about what approach the company should take?

That's why I see no reason to beat up DJI staffers.  They are doing what they must if they want to keep receiving a paycheck.  The argument is farther up the ladder.

Unfortunately the other difference is that the Phantom was so wildly successful that the company owner wants for nothing.  DJI could go completely out of business and he would be financially set for life.  This removes a great deal of the incentive to change and leaves the ultimate outcome in doubt.

PeteGould Posted at 2015-5-28 21:00
In light of your follow-up post I commented further on that thread.

Meanwhile, some aspects of thi ...

Great sense of direction, a great read, Pete.

You nailed it.

By the by, thank you for your unbiased opinions and thoughts on every subject matter. I hope the trading of words with a certain forum moderator on another post is not coming off offensive, belligerent or overly aggressive as this has never been my attention.

Keep 'em coming!

-S.N.