Panasonic support seems to be rubbish

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hairy1

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Topic # 132172 11-Oct-2013 09:36

Hi folks,

My in-laws have two panasonic heat pumps as we have along with a bunch of other Panasonic products. We thought the Panasonic support would be ok but here is the current tale of woe:

10th September - Heat pump louvre motor stopped working so although the heat pump works the flaps at the front don't open on start. A well known Auckland Air Conditioning firm come to look. Order part.

18th September - Nothing heard so in-laws email service agent. They are advised a two week wait on the part.

9th October - Nothing heard so rang the agent. Advised it will be a further two week wait for the part.

9th October - Rang Panasonic and after listening to the automated recording about having piece of mind with quality panasonic products and waiting for customer service for 10 minutes they left a message. Call not returned.

Upshot is that they have been without the heat pump for over a month now with another "two week" wait.

There must be squillions of these heat pumps in New Zealand.

Have my in-laws just had bad luck or is the Panasonic service just rubbish?

Cheers, Matt.

My views (except when I am looking out their windows) are not those of my employer.

stevenz

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Reply # 913466 11-Oct-2013 09:42

Shouldn't the agents\installers be sorting out the problems rather than Panasonic themselves?

Generally speaking, direct support from any major multinational will be an almost total waste of time. Better finding who the local service agents are and dealing with them.

@KnightNZ

hairy1

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Reply # 913468 11-Oct-2013 09:44

The hold up seems to be Panasonic sourcing the part. Varcoe Refrigeration are stating that they have ordered it from Panasonic and the delay is with Panasonic.

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hairy1

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Reply # 913469 11-Oct-2013 09:46

I would have thought that at least a customer service reply from Panasonic would have happened.

I realise dealing direct with multinationals have their issues but a polite call back shouldn't be too hard.

For all their spouting on while on hold you would get the impression that their service is "top notch"

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keewee01

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Reply # 913470 11-Oct-2013 09:46

Mate - most of your issue is with the installer/service agent so your subject line is totally misleading - you really should change the subject line.

But waiting 48 hours for a call back is not great either.

Varcoe might not be telling you the truth. It would be very odd that a component like that wouldn't be in stock locally or in Oz.

trig42

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Reply # 913472 11-Oct-2013 09:49

But, Panasonic do seem to use their local service agents and the fact that they have that big facility at Highbrook as a Point of Difference over the other brands (esp with TVs etc).

I would think a call back would be the least they can do.

keewee01

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Reply # 913474 11-Oct-2013 09:52

How old is the heat pump and has it been regularly serviced?

hairy1

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Reply # 913475 11-Oct-2013 09:53

They also filled out the contact form on the Panasonic website two weeks ago and nothing heard.

The installer says the issue is with Panasonic sourcing the part. We have believed them so far....

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hairy1

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Reply # 913476 11-Oct-2013 09:54

keewee01: How old is the heat pump and has it been regularly serviced?

It is around five years old. There are no issues with warranty. They just want it fixed.

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keewee01

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Reply # 913484 11-Oct-2013 10:00

hairy1:
keewee01: How old is the heat pump and has it been regularly serviced?

It is around five years old. There are no issues with warranty. They just want it fixed.

Totally - at only 5 years old the parts should be still easily obtainable.

I've run into small firms before who have bad credit history with their suppliers and find it hard to get parts and they tend to run down the supplier rather than admit it is their own bad credit history, or slackness at fault. So I'd take what they tell you with a grain of salt.

2 week for contact from Panasonic is fairly bad... I've been waiting 6 months to hear from Snap Fitness after submitting a webform enquiry, several times! LOL

driller2000

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Reply # 913490 11-Oct-2013 10:11

my exp with them has been great

i have a panasonic projector (ptax200) - 4 years old at the time - bulb starts dimming/brightening (known issue) - called panasonic nz - dropped it at their east tamaki service centre - 1 week later picked it up - bulb swapped out for a new one - fw updated - issue gone - and no charge

me = happy as larry :)

so yeah - shame your exp hasn't been the same - but i do wonder if the installer is part of the problem in your case...

parts taking 4 - 6 weeks is a bit dubious - esp since the invention of airfreight...

MurrayM

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Reply # 913521 11-Oct-2013 10:40

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I'd definitely try to speak to someone at Panasonic. Don't email them, don't leave messages, just wait on the phone until you can speak to someone. Then explain the situation and ask them if they have the part or have to order it in from overseas. That way you will at least now if the repair company is telling the truth about having to wait for the part.

hairy1

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Reply # 913785 11-Oct-2013 18:00

Hi All,

Thanks for your replies...

The in-laws rang again today but eventually gave up after not getting an answer. I think they need to wait on the phone longer.... Varcoe have an order number in with Panasonic apparently. I will try and get the order number out of Varcoe on Monday and ring Panasonic myself....

Cheers.

My views (except when I am looking out their windows) are not those of my employer.