I’m writing this in hopes that Bachmann step up their service level to “acceptable”.
Long story short- Bought brand new N scale Berkshire Steam Locomotive with DCC and Sound.
At slow speeds the drivers bind and locomotive needs to be moved back and forth until the drivers loosen up. I found a video by Top Hobby Trains that explains the problem is in the side rods and a fix, if you’re comfortable doing it, but recommends returning for Bachmann to repair.
Sent it in, they said they changed some decoder values and it’s working perfectly. Got it back, put it on the tracks, and it binds at slow speeds.
Called customer service today. Was on hold over 1 hour 7 minutes before I had to hang up for a conference call. The worst part is… They have hold music and ever 47 seconds a recording comes on saying-
“Your call is important to us, we apologize for the delay. One of our agents will be with you shortly to attend to your call. Please remain on the line.” After that, the hold music restarts. So I listened to the SAME THING over 67 times!
Proof:
Is this a common thing for them? My brother-in-law said he had a similar experience.
Been quite a while since I have contacted Bachmann, but, I was never on hold for more than 15-20 minutes. They were very quick, and very helpful when I last contacted them… Sorry to hear you are having issues.
Have you tried an email? At least you wouldn’t be on hold taking up your phone from other things…
Model Railroad hobby supplier takes immediate action to correct customer complaints regarding long wait times on phone and annoyance with wait time hold music.
A spokesperson stated that “We appreciate our customers and take their complaints seriously. Therefore we have initiated a telephone menu which the customers may access after each delay apology message”. Callers now have the following options:
press 1 - to leave a message
press 2 - to hear the same music again
press 3 - to hear rock and roll
press 4 - to hear hip-hop
press 5 - to hear rap
press 6 - to hear country western
press 7 - to hear music your grandparents enjoyed
The spokesperson went on to say that a three-CD set of all-time hold music favorites was also available for $19.95 plus shipping and handling. Anyone who remained on hold for over an hour would be entitled to receive a second set of CDs for free if they paid additional shipping and handling.
I bought a “bad” Climax. I sent it in. They sent one that worked.
I ordered an SP tender shell. They sent the boiler shell. I pointed out their error. They sent the tender shell. At first, they wanted me to return the boiler shell. I pointed out that THEY caused the problem, and it would cost more to return it than it was worth. They concurred.
I don’t recall especially long phone waits with Bachmann.
Over the years, once in awhile, there HAVE been long waits with various manufacturers. When it gets TOO long, I hang up and call the next day. The wait is never long the next day.
All in all, I have found model railroad companies pretty darn responsive.
Here’s an update: I ended up e-mailing them and they were pretty quick too respond apologizing for the long wait and saying they’d send me a shipping label so I can send it back to them. I still wish I could’ve gotten a person. Instead, I made a video last night which demonstrates the problem so hopefully that will aid them in the repair.
I bought two, 2-8-4 N Scale Berkshires, DCC and sound in Jan. and both preform perfectly. I do think that mine are the last of the run and all the issues have been taken care. I have changed a few CV’s to help with slow running using the Spook’s suggestions. I own five Bachmann steamners and am really impressed with the quality and detail. I am changing the couplers to MT"s. If I can help it, I try and get my engines to run properly myself, knowing that not everything is perfect all the time and needs a helping hand. Doug
