First and last Klarus, poor customer service

[dc38]

I suppose you weren't able to get the switch to come apart? :/

 

[Dhbwa]

Unless lights are different going to the vendor only adds a layer of communication. They didn't make the light just sell it. A good retailer is a good ally but a good manufacturer will take care of the issue.
I was looking for a good thrower and a Klarus XT11 was on the list but not now...

 

[Labrador72]

This story is not promising as far as customer support goes.
On the other hand, the XT series lights seem to be working great and plenty of people here will swear by them. I have 3 and I haven't had any problems with them so far.

 

[vickers214]

Nope no joy with getting it apart, but never mind as the conclusion is I have to pay postage IF they can get me a UK supplier to send me the part.
So as it stands Im just gonna use a couple of rare earth magnets to increase the length of the 'batteries', as I think me paying anything is not on to compensate for a factory defect, and yes it really has dragged on ages to get here, so Im guessing thats the end of it, very dissapointing!


And cheers for the offer of help dc38!

 

[dc38]

Nope no joy with getting it apart, but never mind as the conclusion is I have to pay postage IF they can get me a UK supplier to send me the part.
So as it stands Im just gonna use a couple of rare earth magnets to increase the length of the 'batteries', as I think me paying anything is not on to compensate for a factory defect, and yes it really has dragged on ages to get here, so Im guessing thats the end of it, very dissapointing!


And cheers for the offer of help dc38!

Sorry I couldn't be of MORE help :/ I definitely agree that the consumer should not have to pay to remedy a factory defect, be it within or without warranty. (even if a car is out of a warranty, any KNOWN or DISCOVERED defects will immediately be recalled and/or fixed by dealers free of charge-as far as i know. my friend's 03 civic had a headlight/switch issue, and it was fixed free of charge, outside of warranty because of the recall.) If you can lobby enough people together who have the short spring problem, you may be able to pressure klarus into giving you all free tailcap replacements? As for lengthening the spring, I recently messed around with some old *****fire lights i had. I used a 14500 in an 18650 light, and got it to fit by placing a spring from a clicky pen onto the tailcap spring, then twisting it together till they locked. (if i had wanted a permanent fix, i might've soldered it) to keep it centered and from shaking around to much, I just used a few plastic bottle caps, cut out small circles big enough to snugly fit into the body tube, and poked a tiny hole in each cap to thread the spring through so it wouldn't move around too much. The plastic is kept from sliding up and down the spring on friction alone I don't know if you've quite got the time to do this as it's somewhat time consuming, but let me know if it works!

 

[peterkin101]

VERY Pleased indeed that I've read this.

I was thinking about Klarus as a brand for my ultimate new Torch. And after this shocking saga (personally couldn't care less if they have subcontracted their work out to Jetbeam or not!) Klarus are now out the running.

I appreciate my lost order probably won't exactly bankrupt them.But imagine this being replicated all over this forum.

And I've no doubt there are some prospective dealers here who might be put off by this.

After all its no good at all if a dealer is in a position when this happens and he's got a similar level of back up.

Anyway, I hope you get sorted soon.

 

[TEEJ]

LOL

One guy has a problem, and the entire line of lights is now unacceptable?




What car do you drive?

I assume no one has ever had to argue with the stealership about warranty coverage, etc..as you would therefore not HAVE such an abomination.



Your TV is probably also perfect, and no one with that model has EVER had a problem with customer service for it either, etc.

(I'm going for a pattern here)


Out of THOUSANDS of a product's transactions, there's BOUND TO BE someone, somewhere, who will be unhappy, its just the nature of the universe we live in.


So, unless there is a statistically meaningful number of complaints, frankly, its just not meaningful.


Lets face it, we have a LOT of flashaholics here, and people who buy a high end light instead of one of those little plastic D cells lights you bang on to make them light again, etc....post/research HERE. Its pretty much assured that if ANYONE of us is going to have a problem, they will mention it here. (Who else would empathize?)

So, there are going to be complaints for any light with any volume in a mass produced environment...its to be expected.

You don't WANT to be the "one" with the complaint of course, and those with complaints are certainly due recourse...that's fair. On the other hand, everyone ELSE needs perspective on what a complaint MEANS in the overall evaluation of a product.

It means there was a complaint, and, it raises a flag...or at least an eyebrow, etc, and you look to see if there are a lot like this, or if this is a salient sample that's popped up.


The higher the expected VOLUME, the more problems are to be expected before its "an issue". If its custom or low volume product, sure, examples are of a smaller sample set...but, the hierarchy expected to reach the point where the "buck stops" is shorter too...so you EXPECT better service.


Otherwise, you fall into the trap of over-weighting data.


A toyota corolla is a reliable car, and a lot of people find them a good company to buy from, etc. They had a large number of complaints about the brakes, they were sued, and so forth. Did it change the reason why people still bought from them?

Sure, some people looked at the recalls, etc, and bought something else...others looked at it as an isolated issue, not representative of the company as a whole, and bought anyway, and, statistically, they got a good deal...as it was an isolated incident that did not impact those buyers.


So, its the same for lights. You want to avoid over-weighting a few examples of something that might not be representative of what YOUR experience was more likely to be...given all the IGNORED evidence to the contrary conclusion.

Food for thought.

 

[geisto]

Maybe I am too used to Surefires Warranty service...but judging from the OPs 1st post, I would definitely pause for thought if I was looking into getting a Klarus.

 

[TEEJ]

Maybe I am too used to Surefires Warranty service...but judging from the OPs 1st post, I would definitely pause for thought if I was looking into getting a Klarus.

Yeah, a buddy of mine had to send his Surefire back ~ 3 times, and they never made it right, he was so pissed at them for poor customer service, he tossed the still defective SF into a drawer, as he felt even if they DID manage to fix it, he'd never trust it again anyway.

He's fed up with Surefire's poor customer service. He bought a Streamlite to replace it, I told him MOST people are HAPPY with Surefire...but, he had a bad experience, and it turned him off to the brand.


Ironically, we were doing some work at the range, and he started playing with my Klarus XT11, and kept doing side by sides with his Streamlite....and after we let off a thousand rounds or so, he declared he was going to replace the Streamlite with the XT11.

He liked that the Klarus pressure switch could change brightness or even hit the strobe, instead of just going on/off like his current set-up.


So, again, I think he over-weighted his Surefire experience...but, I guess that's human nature.


Once bitten, twice shy.

 

[madecov]

Every model from every brand has a lemon once or twice. An assembly person has a bad day, maybe you get the last unit off the CNC before the tools were changed. Every company has dropped the ball on customer service at least once. It happens.
Every model is also built to a price and subject to sub contractor variance. The primary issue is if the manufacturer actually takes care of you.
Having goods manufactured overseas can be problamatic concerning service. I hope Klarus stands up and takes care of the issue. It really doesn't cost them that much to replace the light in total. Having a warranty does not help much if the manufacturer does not back it. Here in the USA we have a Klarus authorized distributor who is going to stock parts and do in house service.

 

[Bwolcott]

I have had a P2a for a few month now and my first impressions were positive, great build and UI, my kind of light.

However I noticed that when the head was loose to change the mode it fickers, and after emails back and forward, when I chased them up as replies were slow, they told me they had sub contracted some the lights to Jetbeam, and sent me pictures of the different springs.
These lights had a shorter silver spring meaning that the batteries dont make good contact with the head, and I explained that the retaining ring on the switch is stuck and wont budge so I need a tailcap, I was offered a switch.


If I want a tail cap I have top pay 25% of the light price and postage, and for me when you have accepted there is a problem you should bend over backwards to rectify it, I had an Eagletac clip fall to bits on me, and it was replaced no questions asked Klarus wanted photos, where I bought it from, and have not offered what I would call a reasonable solution.


I am not taking this any further as it is a cheap light, and can be fixed with a magnet ( which I will chase up over the MP ) but what a poor show:thumbsdow

I had the same experience with Klarus customer service my tailcap in my xt20 kept loosening up even when all the way tight like the threads weren't cut correctly or something and they wanted pictures and all kinds of stuff I told them just to send me a tailcap and they said for me to get one from the dealer I bought it from I told them they dont stock just tailcaps and they said to tell the dealer they will send them a new tailcap, I dont understand why they couldnt just send it to me

 

[Kapriel]

Customer service is everything. Just seen the new Klarus RS11 and I want that light.
Now, I know very little about Klarus but know alot about customer support.
Pictures ? are you chidding me ?
I'll hold off on my purchase,
there's too many other manufacturers that I can choose from.
If it's a fluke I can understand.
We'll see.

 

[ledmitter_nli]

I had the same experience with Klarus customer service my tailcap in my xt20 kept loosening up even when all the way tight like the threads weren't cut correctly or something and they wanted pictures and all kinds of stuff I told them just to send me a tailcap and they said for me to get one from the dealer I bought it from I told them they dont stock just tailcaps and they said to tell the dealer they will send them a new tailcap, I dont understand why they couldnt just send it to me

You dealt with KlarusLights USA (klaruslights.com) right ????

If you did, you should be forewarned that they are just a reseller. They might look like Klarus, but they are not Klarus Lighting Technology Co., Ltd. located in China.

 

[Gooby]

Honestly, you can still buy Klarus and/or other chinese lights if you buy from good retailers like GoingGear.com If you have a problem they will be sure to help you, and they will contact Klarus for you.

 

[ledmitter_nli]

Honestly, you can still buy Klarus and/or other chinese lights if you buy from good retailers like GoingGear.com If you have a problem they will be sure to help you, and they will contact Klarus for you.

GoingGear is a pretty good bunch of guys. Marshall works hard and it shows in his customer service and his reviews.

100% recommend them.

 

[Bwolcott]

You dealt with KlarusLights USA (klaruslights.com) right ????

If you did, you should be forewarned that they are just a reseller. They might look like Klarus, but they are not Klarus Lighting Technology Co., Ltd. located in China.

no I dealt with Klarus China and talked to Sara from China

 

[Bwolcott]

Honestly, you can still buy Klarus and/or other chinese lights if you buy from good retailers like GoingGear.com If you have a problem they will be sure to help you, and they will contact Klarus for you.

thats where I bought it from they are taking care of me

 

[TEEJ]

Given the chatter about the various lights we see here...Klarus seems to be one of the best, not one of the problems. I'm sure any company can drop the ball once in a while....buddies of mine have had various service nightmares with Surefire for example, and their individual stories and experiences would lead one to believe that Surefire has HORRIBLE customer service.

That doesn't mean Surefire has horrible customer service though, just that they dropped the ball once in a while just like anyone else.

 

[Chowderhead72]

The usual quality of Klarus products is not in question. There products are known to be of good quality. The discrepancy is in the customer service. Every company; flashlights or otherwise will have a defect occasionally the measure of a company is HOW it handles these defects.

I personally will not purchase anything direct from china, Hong Kong, Tiawan or otherwise with out the insulation of an American seller.

 

[inspirit]

All the product, no matter which brand, cant guarantee 100% perfect products. So if the customer bought a defective product, it is the duty of the manufacture to repair or replace it.