So often we bitch and moan about bad customer service, it seems like its everywhere we look. Pisses me off and I'm so over it...

That said, now and then I am pleasantly surprised to find that good, hard-core customer service is still out there. There has been the occasional sh#t-show for sure, but most of the companies I have dealt with in both the 170 and the 180 resto projects have fallen in this category and been amazing to deal with. I think it might be because so many of them are low-volume mom an pops. Alaskan Bushwheel (v1.0,) Stene Aviation, RC Allen, Airglas, Kelly Manufacturing, my small list is still growing.

I wanted to take a quick second and mention just one of these experiences... I am running a bunch of AeroLEDs on the C180 and love em (I'm actually a bit obsessed and think I may possibly gone overboard, but that's a different story. ) FWIW, I did some side by sides before dropping all the coin and have found their units to be superior, especially with the internal wig/wag in the landing/taxis. (my subjective and non-affiliated opinion) they are the brightest units I have found by far, and can't say enough about the company. Strobes are amazing, and the landing/taxis kick ass. (I actually get ribbed in good spirit quite often by the tower for being UFO bright.)

Anyway, some time last year, when I installed the units, I was having some issues with one of the Sunbeacons drifting out of sync. It's kind of a long story, but the saga ended up going on and on with lots of tech support calls to Dean their CTO, and eventually the unit ending back to their engineers for repair at no cost.

Fast forward three trouble free months after its re-install when I notice some of the LEDs steady on. I was pretty bummed as I had had enough of monkeying with that particular squawk. I just wanted it to work.... Long story short, I took a quick video of the issue and sent it along to Dean asking him what we should do.

Without any prompting, a couple of days later I was surprised to find a brand new unit at my door with an RMA and a pre-paid UPS tag. A quick 20 min swap and I was back to flashing like a X-Mas tree. As I said, that kind of customer service is rare, and it goes a long way. I will continue to be a loyal customer. Thanks to Dean and Susan at AeroLEDs for standing behind what you sell 100%. It's appreciated.

How about some other stories? Im sure they are out there......

This is an older story but when I was building my RV-4 I ordered a Vetterman exhaust from Aircraft Spruce and Specialty. Customer service had always been hit or miss with them in the past but this time it was a hit. I was not able to install the exhaust for a month and a half after I ordered it. When I went to install the pipes it was obvious they did not fit the engine I had specified. I called them back and customer service told me that since it was past the 30 day return period they would have to charge me a restock fee of some percentage of the purchase cost. It was close to $100! I told them they should take them free because I wasn't returning them because I had changed my mind, I was returning them because they did not fit the engine! They had sent me the wrong pipes to begin with. They were very apologetic but said there was nothing they could do.

I asked to speak to a supervisor because I wanted to explain why AS&S was going to lose a customer. I spoke to the CSM and explained the situation. She also was very apologetic and took down my contact info promising to see if they could wave the restock fee. About an hour later I got an email from Jim Irwin, the president of AS&S apologizing profusely for the mix up. He told me they would not only wave the restock fee but they would pay for return shipping of the exhaust pipes. At the time I thought that was damn good customer service. The rest of the story is that he worked with me personally to locate a set of exhaust pipes that would fit my engine correctly.

I had a very similar experience at AeroLED. Long story short- they sent me 3 new lights a couple years after original purchase cause they fixed a couple things in design. Outstanding customer service will sell me every time.

AK Bushwheel (here in AK) is top shelf.
FA Dodge of course. They set the bar.




Good topic!!

I've been happy with Foreflight. Tech companies are usually especially insidious when it comes to customer service but my questions have been answered in real world terms within hours in articulate written form or via phone in unbroken English. Their email system even allows you to ask your own question and not "select from the following."

I'lll second what Nosedragger said. When I first got my Foreflight subscription I muffed up my own email address in the sign up. Consequently, when I went to download it onto my Ipad, I couldnt do it. Panicked, because that's the most coin I'd ever dropped in the app store, I sent an email to Foreflight tech support at 2152 not expecting anything for a few days. At about 2230 the same night my email alert goes off and there it is, the reply email stating that they had fixed the issue. Are you kidding me? customer support at 2230 Pacific time?

The following year, my wife bought me a new subscription for Christmas but wasnt sure how to link the purchase to my existing account which resulted in having an overlap of 2 months as I had originally purchased in March. I again sent tech support an inquiry as to the possibility of attaching the new purchase to my existing acct and extending that a year versus missing out on two months due to the overlap. Needless to say, they fixed it lickety split.

Foreflight customer service is PHENOMENAL, end of story.

SD

My go-to W&B app is called Aviation W&B. I think it was recently rolled out when I discovered it, and it didn't yet have a C-170 base model in its pull-down library. The developer bent over backwards to help me set up my airplane profile, and answer multiple questions that always seemed to come to me late at night. Especially since we were four time zones apart, I was amazed that I would always get a prompt, helpful and personal reply, regardless of the time of night. Since then, the developer has continued to add great features, constantly improving the app.
-DP

I've had similar top-shelf experience with Foreflight--very quick response, and very accurate and helpful.

Some other companies I've had extra-good experiences with:

Insight Avionics, makers of my G1 engine analyzer. I had the first one sold in the US (they're Canadian), before it was FAA TSO approved, although it had been already Transport Canada approved. Had a bad probe, which was replaced immediately, and then later they did a software update, but mine wouldn't update. They replaced the entire head unit--and sent it without requiring me to send back mine first. I think it arrived 3 days after I contacted them. Additionally, I had some trouble with programming (my klutzy understanding of electronic stuff had most to do with it), and they literally walked me through it.

Aeroflash, makers of my wingtip strobes. I had an early failure of one of the strobe units, and I couldn't tell whether it was the strobe light itself or the power supply. My email was answered with a new strobe light in only a couple of days, with the message to try it, and let them know whether it worked. If not, they'd send me a new power supply, but the new strobe worked fine, so I let them know.

Pilot Mall, from whom I've bought charts, a PLB, and various odds and ends, including toys for grandkids. They've grown a lot in the last 10 years, but their service is still very personal--I usually contact the owner directly, and he's always responsive.

For Pilots Only, from whom I bought my yoke mount for my iPad Mini. Very personal responses to questions, before I purchased. I haven't needed to contact them post-purchase.

Aeromedix, from whom I've bought my CO detector, a very thorough first aid kit, an electronic ReliefBand, and other odds and ends. I've also had some really nice email exchanges with the owner over aviation-related medical questions.

MyGoFlight, from whom I bought the glass screen protectors for my iPad Mini and 5s. Before buying, I contacted them for advice, and they were immediately responsive and accurate.

Those all stand out, but I've never had any really bad experiences with any aviation suppliers. Some are less "personal", but almost all have been helpful and responsive.

Cary

Without qualification: everyone I've had transactions with through BCP. Buyers and sellers alike. Thanks for being a standup group of folks:
gbflyer, Jeredp, GumpAir, motoadve, Zane, kg, JugheadF15, BRD, ZK Kiwi, akavidflyer, daveh.usher, daedaluscan's C-170 friend, Addicted2climbing, and probably a few others too.
And most of those have also resulted in a donation to BCP.
Thanks All.
-DP

I've told the story on here before, but....Installed an ACK 406 ELT, and launched for Oshkosh. On descent into more turbulent low level air, ELT alerted. Wouldn't shut off. Got on the ground and got the battery removed to shut it off.

Went to see the ACK folks at OSH, and they weren't there, though several of their dealers were. I called ACK, and they shipped a new unit to me at the show, via one of the dealers.

Best of all, they called me back after they'd received my unit and tested it. They explained that the switch was uber sensitive, and would alert with just a slight impact.....

I really liked the fact that they took the time to call me back and tell me what the problem was.

F. Atlee Dodge, as noted earlier, has great customer service....I can't name all the times and favors those guys did for me, and the tradition continues since Univair took over.

Aircraft Spruce sold me an air driven Attitude gyro. A month later, it took on a permanent list. Called the manufacturer for warranty, and they said send it in. I did, a few days later, they said the unit had sat on the shelf too long at Spruce (six months, if I recall), and therefore the warranty was void. I called Spruce customer service, explained the situation, they called the gyro co. to verify, called me back in five minutes, and said they were shipping a new gyro, fresh from the factory, next day air....with apologies. I had no idea that gyros have a shelf life....

I've always had really good service with Spruce, before and since.

MTV

JPI has been really good to me. I bought a wrecked 185 that I am just starting to rebuild. I pulled the EDM700 out of it to put in my flying 185. I called them to ask about upgrading to include oil pressure and fuel flow and if they could sell me paperwork for the flying 185. They did a software update, added fuel flow, and threw in the paperwork. I told them I'd like to buy the probes for the functions that the wrecked airplane did not have and they said they could sell them to me, but it would be cheaper to go through one of their dealers. I thought that was top notch, taking care of a customer and a dealer who promotes your product. I finally got the JPI install finished up last week, and the instrument panel overlay makes it difficult to reach the buttons. I called them to order the longer buttons and they sent them to me free of charge.

Go Pro has taken good care of me this last week as well. My Hero 3+ black quit on me and they've been working with me via phone to straighten it out. Still haven't figured it out, but they have been eager to help and the lack of progress is due to me not having time to get the things done they suggested.

I've used various TELEX headsets for the last 30 years, ever since I called once (a long time ago) to inquire about new ear pads/cups on a headset that was at least 8 years old. The very friendly lady who I was dealing with said, no problem, they'd ship them right out. Two days later I got them, NO CHARGE was on the bill .

Now turn the page to last year:I called Telex customer service and it was a whole different deal, TELEX has changed hands it seems. $80+ for replacements plus freight, and now around 300 hours later they are almost shot. A minor deal but it rubbed me the wrong way, Lightspeed is getting my biz next.

The folks at AdventurePilot, who make the IFLY GPS's, have been great to deal with, and I'll probably upgrade my 700 to the 720 this year. Also GRT has been great to deal with as I get acquainted with my MINI-B.

Spruce does a fantastic job, a very long time customer here, they just keep getting better, sure there will be a glitch now and then, but they get right on it and make it right, they got my biz for life.

svanarts wrote:............ Aircraft Spruce and Specialty. Customer service had always been hit or miss with them in the past but ....

I'm surprised to hear that you had any bad experiences with Aircraft Spruce. I've always got great service from them-- usually get stuff within 5 business days just with regular ground shipping. I've rarely had to return anything, but when I did they didn't kick. It is amazing to me that given their huge we-carry-everything catalog, they can keep pretty much all the stuff in stock at at least one of their two locations. For that reason, in fact, Spruce has pretty much become my go-to place for everything.

Yeah, I want to say it was back in the early '90's that I had a few problems with them. The one that seems to tickle my memory was a shipping problem that they just really didn't want to do anything about. But back then I never asked to speak to managers so it could have been that given the chance, they would have made that situation right too. I just took the word of a snotty CSR and dropped the issue.

But in the late 90's it almost seemed like there was a sea change at Aircraft Spruce and they got light years better than they were.

The FBOs at Lexington, Kentucky, Bluffington, Ohio, Lebanon, Missouri, Kickapoo Airport at Wichitaw Falls, Texas, Moriarty, New Mexico, and Greenfield, Mississippi were especially helpful to pipeline patrol pilots.

Agree with F. Atlee Dodge, and especially Foreflight. Another company I've had a good customer service relationship with was GAMI. Always extremely responsive and willing to talk through my fuel injector issues.

Brett

I must say, one company really stands out for me is Warpdrive Propellers. When I bought my plane several years ago the nickle leading edges had been showing signs of separation and buckling, perhaps spending most of it's life on floats had something to do with it. Occasionally, I would inject epoxy adhesive behind them to keep them secure, making quite the mess. To make a long story short, one finally failed in flight, resulting in some minor vibration. I sent all three blades back to Warp to have new edges installed, as the embedding process is complex and requires factory jigging.
Even though the blades were manufactured back in the late 90's and had changed ownership, Warp said they guarantee the edges as long as there is no evidence of structural damage from impacts.
They removed the remnants of my multiple epoxy repairs. installed new nickle leading edges, sanded, balanced, painted and sent the blades back looking brand new, free of charge, including the return freight !!
I have never received that kind of positive treatment from any other company, ever. I was impressed by their honor and integrity to stand by their product with such commitment, Truly amazing customer service.
One thing I recommend, Is letting the company manager or ceo know that they have done well, if you have received exceptional service. I'm sure they receive many trivial complaints and demands from customers, and getting some positive feed back shows that their efforts are worthwhile and appreciated.

Two good stories to report:

1. I'm an Android tablet user and the software I use for situational awareness is FlightPro. All Android devices are a bit different, so it is tough writing software that works equally well on all devices. I had some problems getting my ADS-B-in receiver to work with the tablet so I whined to the FlightPro software company. They had to write code to make everything work right, but they had a patch for me within 2 days. I was impressed! The next edition of the software included that patch for everyone using the brand of tablet I have.

2. Sky Geeks - I usually order oil from AS&S, but Phillips 20W-50 was backordered, so I went with Sky Geeks. Their shipping charges were considerably higher than the shipping charges quoted by AS&S, so I whined on one of those customer survey forms that popped up after my order. The next day I got an email from Sky Geeks indicating that they had reviewed their assessment of shipping fees and revised them downward to be competitive. The cost of my order was reduced accordingly. I never expected anything to come from one of those customer surveys - it was more an opportunity to bitch to the universe at large. Well, in this case, somebody read the form and did something about my complaint.

Both of these companies have made me a happier pilot and I will do business with them in the future.

Flyhound wrote:...... I usually order oil from AS&S, but Phillips 20W-50 was backordered, so I went with Sky Geeks. Their shipping charges were considerably higher.....

Gary, FYI Scott at Tailspin Tommys sells both Phillips & Aeroshell oil by the case and his prices are pretty good compared to buying from a supply house and paying shipping. I think hes around $65 a case these days. I used to buy mine at the local bulk plant (Petit Oil), but when they went belly-up a few years ago I started buying from Scott-- he's a good guy and I like "giving him the business" (double meaning intended).

Oregon Aero, Chief, Lightspeed, Acorn Welding and Selkirk are among the most outstanding vendors I've worked with. Selkirk, in particular, worked and worked to fabricate a battery box cover for my 182's extended baggage kit. They are saints in my book.

Regarding Spruce, they sold me a generator that, once the cover was removed, looked like it had been rebuilt by a chimpanzee. It's just luck that it didn't wreck my panel. Their vendor was shut down by the FAA shortly after that, but I had to endure 2 weeks of AOG and pay shipping for FOUR legs for ONE generator before I was back in the air. Spruce didn't give me a break on the shipping and didn't stand by their selection of a crap vendor. I've not forgotten that. I'm glad that others have had better experiences.

CAVU

I have to take the time to bump this thread.

1) Lightspeed Aviaiton - I purchased a set of Zulu's from a BCP member on here a few years ago for a great deal. The last few months they have developed an oddity. Sometimes when the ANR is on, there is a REALLY LOUD oscillation in the speakers. Pretty much scared the crap out of me the first time it happened. Now these Zulu's are old and used, but still look great. I called Lightspeed and told them what was going on. I told her I bought them from a friend a few years ago and that I would be interested in either fixing these or trading them in on the Zulu 2s. (The trade up program was my primary interest, but I figured I had to ship them in anyway, so they may as well take a look.)

Low and behold, my old set arrived in the mail. Zero charge, works like new. They even threw in a headset bag. I have to say, I'm pretty surprised and blown away. When a company does what's best for the customer (for free) and skips the chance to make a quick sale on the upgrade, that's customer service! Needless to say, I'm a Lightspeed guy for life.

(BTW, they replaced both cords and the "windscreen")

2) Stene Aviation - This company not only offers superior products at fair prices, but Willie goes out of his way to make people feel special. Willie gives out his personal number, and encourages people to call if there's the slightest problem (and he sincerely means it). He gave me a tour of the factory when I was there and it was very cool to see how the kits and molds are made. Aviation runs deep in his blood, and Stene has donated to the RAF/IAF raffle many times over the years.

3) Hitchcock Aviation - Todd was great to worth with when I was deep into my 180 project a year ago. We were able to get a small CO group order together on the baggage kits and he offered us a small discount. He also coordinated with F.A. Dodge on the firewall battery box to save us a little more money. Many times Todd was out of the country, and he still picked up the phone or promptly replied to an email. I hope to meet him in the backcountry one day to shake his hand.

4) Electronics International would also be high on my list for reasons mentioned above. They are a great company with great products. I recently had a FT-90 transducer fail, and they replaced it for zero cost (it was about 18 months old). They said it's a rare occasion things like this fails, but went out of their way to make it right in every way (no excuses given).

I'm sure I can keep going, but it's great to see that high customer service still exists. It's rare, and getting rarer, but you gotta give credit where credit is due. To everyone mentioned in this thread, keep up the good work!