A little background, I own several UAV's including vision and inspire 1 from DJI. Now that the FAA has put out the information for commercial use I was doing more testing with the Inspire 1 and preparing a budget to purchase an entire fleet of different sizes for filming. I had a mishap with my Inspire 1 which I'm a bit frustrated with, but I'll go ahead and accept user error as the reason for it. My issue with DJI doesn't come from my crash, but from the horrible user support they offer!
So I crashed and burned and needed some repairs.
1) I went online to support to ask questions, and was told to send an email about what happened or call. I went ahead and sent an email, and about a day later I get a response that I need to call, they can't help through email.
2) Then I called and got put on infinite hold, let the phone sit there for an hour and finally hung up.
3) I waited a day and called back again, this time instead of putting me on hold, it just told me the call volume was too high and I would have to try again later. The is the same message I got over the period of several hours and I became a little suspicious...
4)...so instead of calling support, I called sales. Oddly enough when you want to talk to someone in sales, they don't just tell you to call back, but they put you in a queue and give you a hold time (thats horribly wrong).  So I sat on hold for another hour listening to some awful "music" and finally I get someone on the phone.
5) Phone conversation takes just a minute, the bro was a little hard to understand between taking bong hits, but eventually they gave me a return authorization number or whatever and sent me an email on where it needed to go.
6) I live 5 miles from where it needs to go. If I want to package and ship it with UPS and insure it, im looking at 20+ bucks to send it 5 miles. So I print out the information, the authorizations for repair, and the address where it is supposed to go.

What happened next blew my mind. I came to the door to see a TV with some video games set up around it and some guy sitting back behind a desk looking beyond bored out of his mind. The door was locked, but after staring at me for a few minutes he got up and came to the door - "What do you want!?"....

Now, I understand they don't want people just crashing drones and then coming right over to get them fixed. Really, they SHOULD offer that, but I get that they don't. However I was told that even with my return authorization (called first, they knew it was coming), I could not deliver my fully boxed up Inspire 1 to them. I MUST pay to ship it to them (which probably means paying to ship it back to me). I don't comprehend this, and it ended my business relationship with the company immeditely. I have a 3k+ product and plan(ed) to spend several thousand more, but I certainly can't do that knowing that I get support from a bunch of kids that are going to go out of their way to make it more expensive and difficult for me.

I'm sure the loss of my business will do DJI no harm at all. I'm sure, as they have made apparent by lack of communication since the incident, that they already don't care. I don't expect them too, and eventually even with the best products, they will fail if they don't fix their customer service. As a hobbyist I can deal with these kind of things, but as a business owner, the lack of professionality makes using them for anything extremely risky.

I place this warning here, and I will be placing it elsewhere and telling my story to other business owners I know looking to make large purchases.

I also have a broken Inspire 1 for sale, Dual Conrollers and extra TB47 battery. Issue is a cracked prop (have extras) and a broken control arm that needs replaced. My guess is its a quick fix from my experience building others, but honestly I'm so disgusted with DJI's service and attitude that I would rather cut my losses than make another attempt to deal with their customer support.

oh, no . . . I'm feeling really crappy right now as I bought an Inspire not to long ago, and I'm seeing more and more of these types of stories.  I'll be honest, if I had read this story before buying I would have not bought.

I really hope DJI makes an effort on these forums to reassure us they are a company to be taken seriously . . .

I also have the worst experience ever with DJI 'support'.

My inspire 1 dropt out of the sky at 3 feet because of battary failure. They rejected any warranty claim before any analysis and suggest repair cost of $1600,-

That's disappointing to hear...  Its sounds like this company has some real operating issues.  However, I might be interested in your inspire if you decide to cut your losses.

Very bad experience for me too. Sent my Phantom 2 Vision Plus for repair to my dealer on September 5th. 5 months later DJI still did not initiate repair. Worst service ever. Type of experience that kills a company.

Hi  ktpens1
Where exactly did you take your inspire 1

The part about them asking you to ship it in, even when you're right there to drop it off, is really disappointing.  Whoever is in charge of that part of the company has zero business acumen.

Man guys I'm sorry to hear this.. Honestly there's no excuse for this type of treatment. I will forwarded this on, this is all I can do!

KTPens1- DJI's support group includes lots of independent companies that are doing repairs.  Which location specifically did you bring it to?

Again Hi  ktpens1
Where exactly did you take your inspire 1.
Does anyone know were he might have taken it.

Edit:  Just did some google searching. KTPENS1 (according to his posts here) lives in LA so he probably delivered it to their "hollywood creative loft" address. Which is the correct place to RMA to, and an official DJI USA headquarters address. I have the address but it would be in poor taste to post it here. Seems like this post might be 100 percent legit..  If so, that sucks.  Sorry man.

calls it like he see it.
-chris

ktpens1, I apologize that we did not meet your expectations.  However, some facts need to interjected into this discussion.  You called us on Monday, President's Day, which has been posted on the forums and our website as a day our Offices were closed.  You also emailed us on Sunday and Monday.  Fortunately, we had an employee that responded back to you on Monday and asked that you call during our normal business hours.  As you stated an RMA was issued.  We do not accept walk ins for several reasons, one is security for our employees, two is package tracking, we have procedures to log packages in and out of our facility.  We want to make sure that nothing gets lost while in our care.  What you considered our "entry" was actually our employee break area.  They have the opportunity to take a break, have something to eat and have some fun.  I do have an issue with your characterization of our employees.  I have been to our offices in LA many times and they are nothing but hard working people in a thankless job.  Stating "the bro was a little hard to understand between taking bong hits" hardly shows any respect for them and the job they do.  I am sorry that you choose to sell your Inspire rather than sending it to us to repair.  Just a note, even though the SD card ejected, the internal SD card records all the flight data and we would have been able to see exactly what occurred in your crash.  Our services are still available to you and if you would like I can contact you personally.  It is up to you.

Hello ktpens1,

I'll buy your old props. How can I get in contact?

how much do you want to sell it for, I am looking for parts to repair mine. I would be interested in the inspire, camera/gimbal and filters. I am serious.

Boy glad you won't be in business then , wonder what Your customer relations would have been ?? I'm guessing you'd be some slob sitting back ignoring calls all day sucking down a couple six packs and bitching constantly at you employees if you could get one .... Your ridiculous rant like some child who's new toy got broken , and as you stated( Probably Your Own Fault ) right ! As far as DJIs handling of your communication to them , I believe we all see how Good and fairly dji Did try to help your situation ! All you did was insult people man and that's not to cool.
If you Do happen to get yer fleet up and flying i wouldn't hire you jack s... !!

Tahoe_Ed Posted at 2015-2-21 12:02
ktpens1, I apologize that we did not meet your expectations.  However, some facts need to interjecte ...

Should be noted here.. Imagine your company has a system of checks and balances set in place to repair an item. Items are mailed in and received once a day by two major delivery companies. You go through the paces of receiving them and processing them.  You've got a system in place.. Then random guy just shows up tapping on the glass. That can be a bit unsettling..... I understand your logic (you live close and want to get things taken care of quickly and as inexpensively as possible). But I also understand the logic of the person answering the door (wtf? nobody has ever done this before. We don't have a system in place for this!. You are knocking on a locked glass door. I'm kind of wierded out.)

Honestly i guess Dji as any other service provider should always push hard to better support, but i do believe at that point that Dji is trying and making the best effort.

My concern with Dji is for those issues that seems to much like a faulty component and Dji not taking responsibility, like the mid air shutdown - Although it possible that a pilot shutdown the motors at mid air it still doesn't make sense according to some of the stories out there and seems more like a battery issue. but even with the ones that Dji absolutely sure that are pilot error there is a problem because if it's possible to accidentally shutdown the motors it means that Dji had a bad method to preform it and therefore should have some responsibility for it.
the worst thing that could happen to us as costumers that a company will not take a wide responsibility with a new product that still known to have issues here and there.

Thank you Ed for letting us know the complete story. I knew something didn't sound right.

Tahoe_Ed Posted at 2015-2-21 12:02
ktpens1, I apologize that we did not meet your expectations.  However, some facts need to interjecte ...

Kudos to Ed. Now thats what i call service

I have not had any mishaps yet with my Inspire, but crashed my PV2+ pretty hard about 6 weeks ago. I contacted DJI in LA and they gave me an RMA right away. I sent my "injured baby" by UPS to the address given to me and within 5 days was contacted that it was received. Then two days later I was sent a bill to pay by pay pal, about half of what I was expecting to pay, I was very surprised. When that was received I was sent a confirmation that repairs were started and as soon as the test flight was done they would send it to shipping. All this took about three weeks from start to finish. I am most pleased with the service With all the bad attitudes in this forum about DJI's poor customer service, I did not expect this level of support. DJI surpassed all of my expectations. So when I see a post like this, I just think some people should have a little patience.

I also have had good talks with both the bunch in LA, a sales staff member and a support team member whose whereabouts I have no idea.  It seems that the Inspire 1 release was rushed a bit and the company was not prepared for the popularity of the device(s).  Having brought new product to market I personally can accept the wait and the foibles as they gear up.  Patience, children.

ktpens1 just got spanked.

Propslinger Posted at 2015-2-21 22:36
I have not had any mishaps yet with my Inspire, but crashed my PV2+ pretty hard about 6 weeks ago. I ...

I had the chance to use DJI's LA service center with my new Phantom Vision Plus Ver 3 That I believed had the wrong ESC's and WI-FI transmitter per the Spec's for the new Ver 3--
Spoke to them on the phone they immediately issued me an RMA and sent me a shipping label-
I sent it out on a Friday and had it back in my hands 2 weeks to the day on Friday with the new ESC's & new Wi-FI module...
I call that pretty dam good service!!!!
Jack

nwellborn85 Posted at 2015-2-21 23:07
ktpens1 just got spanked.

It was a lashing !

TheFlyGuy Posted at 2015-2-21 17:32
Honestly i guess Dji as any other service provider should always push hard to better support, but i  ...

Some countries have regulations in place for commercial flight that requires the ability to shut down the motors in flight in case of emergency.  Performing a CSC allows this to happen.  Can it be done unintentionally, absolutely.  We would hope that the pilots that are flying the Inspire are experienced enough to not allow that to happen.  We are trying to meet the needs of many users not just a few vocal ones.  We get it all the time that "DJI needs to address this" without realizing that there may be a reason that a feature is present on the craft even though you may not like it.  Thank you for your positive comments and yes we will continue to work to get better.

Tahoe_Ed Posted at 2015-2-22 04:22
Some countries have regulations in place for commercial flight that requires the ability to shut d ...

Another great explanation for a situation that I wasn't even aware of the logic behind.  Makes perfect sense Ed.  Of course it's a complete non issue for pilots that previously owned phantoms or anyone that actually reads the manual before flying their three thousand dollar device.. Thanks for explaining why that feature exists.

Some countries have regulations in place for commercial flight that requires the ability to shut down the motors in flight in case of emergency.  Performing a CSC allows this to happen.  Can it be done unintentionally, absolutely.  We would hope that the pilots that are flying the Inspire are experienced enough to not allow that to happen.  We are trying to meet the needs of many users not just a few vocal ones.  We get it all the time that "DJI needs to address this" without realizing that there may be a reason that a feature is present on the craft even though you may not like it.  Thank you for your positive comments and yes we will continue to work to get better.

It's understandable why there is a CSC option even at mid flight. but maybe it was better to preform it with a combination that not include only a stick position? something that will be "harder" to accidentally preform during flight makes more sense.

Maybe I'm fortunate that I haven't had a bad experience from DJI for support because all of mine have been free from manufacturer defect.

I'm really sorry about some of the bad experiences here but as someone whose owned (bought, sold, traded, loaned) 4 DJI products, I can't for the life of me figure out what sort of aerial shenanigans a person would be engaged in, to do the CSC shutdown in mid flight.   Why, in the world, would you be flying, at full stick in any direction ANYWAY - much less with the sticks at opposing or joining extremes like that.

ulrick Posted at 2015-2-21 07:56
The part about them asking you to ship it in, even when you're right there to drop it off, is really ...

I honestly don't get this part of the criticism!

Companies have systems in place for tracking and security and it makes perfect sense. Of course, I'm a business dude.

If you can find another quadcopter company with a better product and is 5 miles away and lets you drop off the unit - and doesn't get affected by national holidays, Chinese New Year, etc. - well, clue us all in to what the name of it is...

I would think that folks would already know that no quadcopter company is like Amazon.com or has genius bars. If people want a much higher level of service, they are going to have to pay 4K instead of 3K for an Inspire (just saying that service doesn't come cheap).

Given the history and foundation of this hobby, most owners very much expected to wait for service and to take part in it (shipping costs, etc.) - the hobby has never worked any other way.

On one hand I want the best product I can get at the best price. I'd rather spend $30 one way (they may pay back) for shipping than pay more for the quad up front because DJI has to open walk-in centers.

Each customer has different expectations - but I have to wonder if all of the buyers have researched their purchase beforehand? It's common knowledge as to the customer service in this industry.

Maybe DJI just has to charge more and then fix stuff for free...who knows?

droneflyers.com Posted at 2015-2-24 10:44
I honestly don't get this part of the criticism!

Companies have systems in place for tracking an ...

Yes, I'm in agreement that a business should have a set protocol/system in place to properly track incoming repairs/inventory, etc.  There's nothing really to dispute there.  What I'm saying is to have a set of procedures that ONLY accommodates for incoming shipments, and nothing in place for items that are dropped off (as long as they have a valid RMA), is a fault.  Anyone in business knows that things always come up, and you have to deal with issues and accommodate, so having someone drop off an RMA instead of shipping it in, is something that should have been thought out in the first place.  It would have been an intelligent policy to put in place, and not an unusual circumstance for that to happen; hence the criticism.

And honestly, to DJI's credit, I don't think the return was handled the way they intended.  Blade already said that it shouldn't have been handled this way, and I would imagine that it's not the company's policy to turn RMA drop off's away and ask them to ship it in.

I read this post and it does strike home with me as the company I work for also has this same policy. I agree with DJI's policy as it is a liability and risk to take walk ins on warranty work. Our company has had issues in past years resulting from walk in's and not having that tracking info. In the legal world there  is a lot of weight on the basic information that tracking information can provide mainly "proof of delivery" as well as  weights and package dimensions that give a good indication of what was in the package matching the claimed goods, when it was actually received and shipped vs having a customer call and claim they dropped it off weeks before it actually arrived in attempt to get more than they actually should.

In the end its a case of one group of bad apples have ruined it for everybody else by taking advantages of companies and grey areas in the system.

For us it is a in/out insurance policy to keeping customers honest as unfortunate as that is.  at the end its all about proven documentation and SOP. If you are clear with that when a customer is getting an RA "Most" customers understand and comply with the policy. Just my $.02

How much do you want for the battery? alanfunt@gmail.com

That was a confusing conversation for me who plan to buy an Inspire 1.
I wonder how the support looks like in Europe (Scandinavia).

the bro was a little hard to understand between taking bong hits

I dont think they'ed be allowed too smoke the Gunga, Wacky Weed, Grass, Hemp, Wildflowers...What ever you want too call it

Whilst at work!!

Tahoe_Ed Posted at 2015-2-22 04:22
Some countries have regulations in place for commercial flight that requires the ability to shut d ...

Having a reason for a mid flight shut-down is one thing, having it set up to where it can easily be done unintentionally is quite another.  You say you hope the pilots are experienced enough not to let this happen?  Most experienced pilots I know pay no attention to the stick positions, it's all muscle memory.  

I can personally think of no worse way to activate the CSC than to use stick position, just makes no sense to me whatsoever.  If you have to use stick position, AT LEAST add a third fail safe entry such as one of the back buttons on the controller that needs to be pressed at the same time.  Or at least offer the pilots the option of adding that fail safe if wanted.

Accidental mid flight shutdowns are dangerous to people and property on the ground, not to mention having to send in your craft to DJI support.

I have been flying some type of aircraft for more than 30 years.. ONLY doing 3d heli or 3d airplan flights would you even come close to issuing a csc.  The csc command would not be a standard command to give any multirotor while in the air.

Blade_Strike Posted at 2015-3-5 07:39
I have been flying some type of aircraft for more than 30 years.. ONLY doing 3d heli or 3d airplan f ...

I agree.
CSC during flight means you pitch backwards,roll the side, while throt 0%, and yaw. All these are done with full stick. Nobody will do like that during normal flight unless emergency.

I fly a few different multirotors and all of them have the same  csc. Its more or less a universal command.