Customer Support, Return Policy, and Effort to Satisfy the Customer
A specific battery from Renogy was recommended that turned out to be the wrong size and wrong Amp Hours for the wiring in my RV. The battery sent was much too large and the 300 Ah recommended was far too powerful for the gauge wire I have in my trailer (6 AWG, when 300 Ah requires 2 AWG). I contacted Renogy Customer Support, which I found out quickly is "off-shore". the CS Rep told me before he would issue a "Return Merchandise Authorization" ("RMA"), I would need to send Customer Support pictures of the battery I was returning AND that I would be responsible for return shipping costs AND a 4% restocking charge. There is no mention of this in their Returns section on their website. Full disclosure, I was told they would waive the 4% restocking charge, but I would still need to pay the cost of the return of the battery. OK, fine. I'm not happy because this policy was not readily available on the web site, because if it was, I would have NOT ordered the almost $1,000 LiPO4 battery via the internet. The first CS Rep was supposed to send an email of which I would reply with the pictures. After a significant amount of time, no email was sent. So I called Customer Support again and talked to another CS Rep. It is clear these reps are taught a cookie cutter response and must not have leeway to vary from the canned response. So I had to listen to everything again, including the parts of paying a restocking charge and return shipping. I told him that in the previous discussion with the previous CS Rep, that that CS Rep's Supervisor had waived the restock fee. There seemed to be no record of my initial conversation, because I was put on hold AGAIN so that the 2nd Rep could talk to his super. The waive of the fee was confirmed after the Rep returned on the call. I also finally received an email stating that I send pictures in a reply. I did so immediately, six pictures in all, showing that the battery was not even taken out of the plastic sleeve it came in. I was told they would send an RMA directly after receiving the pictures. Crickets. More Crickets..... And more crickets...... 90 minutes post discussions and no RMA. BTW, for all folks that read this review, a refund will not be processed unless you have an RMA. So, if I were to take this battery to UPS and have it returned, even after verbal commitments from the Customer Support Department, I would not get a refund. In conclusion, I strongly CAUTION potential buyers from doing business with Renogy, even though their products may be quality products. Flexible support and service in a "Web World" where there is high risk that orders are erroneous, is paramount to keeping a customer happy so that they purchase again and again AND so that the (happy) customer refer friends and family to the company they purchase from. It seems that based on my experience (and others' reviews I have read), Renogy is missing the mark. And one last thing. They do ask you respond to a survey post dealing with their CS Rep. They ask 1- Were you satisfied with their service, or 2- Were you not satisfied with their service. I punched "2" and rather than prompt me for additional information on why I was dissatisfied, the recording said "Good bye", click.... Wow. Now that's stellar customer service!