Bachmann customer service problems


C

CC&O

Member
Has anyone returned a Bachmann HO locomotive to them for repair with success? I shipped two locomotives to them for repair via Priority Mail the package was delivered to them three times, each time there was no one there to receive the package. It was returned to the Philly post office where is sat for 15 days until the pick-up notice ran out and it the package was returned to me. I contacted Bachmann and they claim nothing was ever delivered. I shipped the locomotives back to them last week, I checked the tracking number today...again...same message "We attempted to deliver your item at 4:44 pm on July 7, 2014 in PHILADELPHIA, PA 19124 and a notice was left because an authorized recipient was not available."
Looks like I am going to be out the cost of Priority mail again!


Brad
 
That is truly unbelievable. How is it possible for a package to be delivered to a company, not once but four times, and not be accepted by that company? That isn't just poor customer service, that is poor company policy and ethics.

What the person you spoke to told you was technically correct though. The didn't receive it, but didn't because they refused to accept it. This is just another example of a business doing what ever they can to avoid their potential responsibilities.

After four attempts, I'd call them back and be blunt with them. Tell them the story, that the post office will confirm, and that your sick of them and will be returning the loco, again, for a full 100% refund of the cost of the thing as well as your postage.

I don't believe in playing these BS company games OR letting them get away with this sort of thing.
 
From my experience, even if they DO accept the package you're as likely as not to just get another defective loco as a replacement. Bachmann is beyond pathetic when it comes to quality control, and their customer service is nearly as bad. I've never had them refuse the package, but I have returned a loco so many times that I literally ended up paying double for it in postage. Just avoid all things Bachmann because they're not worth dealing with.

I've heard some people say that even with their QC issues, Bachmann is valuable as a cheap entry-level product to get people interested in the hobby, but honestly? If I bought a Bachmann POS and thought THAT was the standard for the hobby I'd just find another hobby.
 
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"...I've heard some people say that even with their QC issues, Bachmann is valuable as a cheap entry-level product to get people interested in the hobby, but honestly? If I bought a Bachmann POS and thought THAT was the standard for the hobby I'd just find another hobby..."
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Couldn't agree more, and not just applicable to bachmann either, sadly.
 
I purchased a bunch of parts last year from Bachmann. After the second go round, I ended up speaking with the shipper because the parts I ordered were not only incorrect, but broken on both occasions! The shipper wasn't familiar with what broken parts look like.... I ended up sending the locomotives I was trying to fix in with $25.00 each and ended up with new locomotives. This process took about two months or so. They weren't in a hurry to get parts out.

I think I did have the package "authorized receiver" issue. I think it was either on a Saturday or one of the days around a holiday where a company might give their employees off and close the shop for the day/week. In the end, I got two, brand-new locomotives out of the deal so I guess I can't complain too loud.
 
Sounds like they use the one-two policy regarding service/repair requests. Once you've bought it-Too bad
 
G'day all...I'm really disappointed...I'm a huge Bachmann fan as I've stated across several topics for various reasons but sounds like I need to re assess them on several bad customer service issues at least as evidenced here...I own at least 15 HO diesel Bachmanns and used to run them A LOT...never had one fail yet (truly)...but if I was unlucky to get a bad one ...these cases as explained are a real eye opener in this regard...Gee I hope Bachmann Customer Service heeds the complaints before it's too late...Cheers Rod..
 
Hey Rod, I guess you've got most of your Bachmans from Bonzy, should give him a call or email, see how he's "fixed" for parts and service, he may do his own repairs.
 
I guess you can only go by your own experience, but I have only praise for Bachmann.
I broke a shell so I emailed them to see if I could buy a new one, they replied asking me for my name
and address, they posted me one no charge, another time I bought a tank car and it had a letter
missing off the decal on it, I emailed them and sent a photo and the same thing happened, they
sent me a new one no charge, so I can't bad mouth them in any way, I have had 3 dealings with
the service dept and every time great no problems.
 
peroni said:
I guess you can only go by your own experience, but I have only praise for Bachmann.
I broke a shell so I emailed them to see if I could buy a new one, they replied asking me for my name
and address, they posted me one no charge, another time I bought a tank car and it had a letter
missing off the decal on it, I emailed them and sent a photo and the same thing happened, they
sent me a new one no charge, so I can't bad mouth them in any way, I have had 3 dealings with
the service dept and every time great no problems.
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You've been very fortunate. It won't last. My first two dealings with them were great also, and hey, lifetime warranty? Bachmann is the bestest company in the whole universe!!

I didn't keep saying that for long. They're (usually) very good at replacing stuff, no doubt, but replacing stuff with GOOD stuff instead of other BAD stuff is problematic for them at times, especially when it comes to locomotives. I've never had any experience with trying to service anything else, but yeah...their locomotives just don't have good QC and what really just infuriates me beyond belief is that they can't even be bothered to check and make sure the locomotive they're sending back out to you even runs at ALL, much less well. NOT EVEN ON THEIR THIRD REPLACEMENT. Now come on, folks, if you've got a customer that's had to return a locomotive THREE times, how do you not perk up and say "Hey, let's make sure this guy gets a good one this time"?

On the good side? IF you actually get a good Bachmann that doesn't have issues, I think the general consensus is that they are durable and long-lasting. It's just that pesky trick of actually getting one of the good ones to begin with...
 
I hope your right Mike, about if you get a good one, it is a good one. I, reluctantly, have just bought a Bachmann Consolidation for my wife ... even saying I wouldn't touch bachmann with bad money. Sometimes you just have to give in to the "boss" :)
 
Put things into perspective. My worst Bachmann is their doodlebug. The RS3s are the best,and more reliable than the Athearn RTR RS3. The Baldwin Sharks have issues with consisting, grades and curves, (not derailment prone, other mechanical issues). The GP7s and GP9s seem OK. I have never sent anything back to Bachmann. As a matter of practice, I toss their DCC on board decoder as soon as the box opens, replacing it with a Digitrax or NCE. Their GG1 is probably the best loco they have made. Runs better than my BLIs. Best of all, they are cheap, and easy to work on, if needed.

Joe
 
Once again, Bachmann has a ONE YEAR warranty. Look at every warranty card in the box with every new Bachmann locomotive from the past 5 years or so. They will (grudgingly) honor the lifetime warranty, IF you purchased the locomotive before a certain date, and sent in the warranty card that came with the locomotive.
 
G'day Toot and all , If they were the higher end spectrum models ...it'd be a much bigger issue...As most of my Bachmanns bought predominantly from Little Caboose Trains ..
the Queensland one..and a couple , correct from Bonzy and other places...are the bread and butter $70 ones...I doubt if they did fail...I'd just say "see ya" and consign them to the spare parts bin....however....next time I contact LCT or Bonzy , I'll ask about the spare parts availability...just for interest and I'll pass on the info via the forum..Cheers Rod..
 
bnsf971 said:
Once again, Bachmann has a ONE YEAR warranty. Look at every warranty card in the box with every new Bachmann locomotive from the past 5 years or so. They will (grudgingly) honor the lifetime warranty, IF you purchased the locomotive before a certain date, and sent in the warranty card that came with the locomotive.
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I've never had them act like they begrudged honoring the lifetime warranty, and according to their website they do indeed still honor it. The newer locos may indeed have just one-year warranties, but the only change in the lifetime has been a service fee instituted for anything purchased over a year ago as far as I know. Which I'll admit kinda sucks and is maybe a bit shady, but the fee isn't really excessive. I've never had them tell me I purchased the loco too late or didn't sent in a card; in fact every loco I have sent in had the card still in the box. They do have a TON of other issues, but in my experience trying to wriggle out of the warranty hasn't been one of them.

You know what, though? Just read that paragraph. "every loco I sent in". Seriously? The fact that I'm an "old pro" at dealing with Bachmann's returns says it all right there. Nobody should be an "old pro" at returning stuff. Nobody should have this sort of history with a company. I've had to return TWO locomotives out of ALL the other brands from my ~150 or so locomotives. Out of the Bachmanns I own (I think I have eight of them?), I've had to either return (or decide it wasn't worth the continued postage expense to do so) all but two of them. I mean, that is such an abysmal rate of failure that it just stuns me every time I think about it.
 
This is disappointing news, especially since I very recently purchased my 1st Bachman/Williams item. There really is absolutely no excuse for that kind of service and at this point I would demand some kind of compensation. Write a letter, use social media etc--let them know it's unacceptable.

Hopefully the nonsense stops and this ends well for you, thanks for the heads up.
 
Considering everything that has been written about bachmann, on here and other sites, how on earth do they stay in business?

Are fundamental business standards so low that they are allowed to produce, what can only be called, sub standard products then replace them with the same sub standard products?

Granted, "some" bachmann engines etc are "cheap" and evidently cheap in all respects; however, how cheap are they really in the long term? As Mike has said, for the sake of saving X amount of dollars for the initial purchase, you end up spending X amount (or more) trying to deal with them.

As I have said or alluded to in the past, spend a little more from the outset, with a credible company, and save a lot of heart ache AND possibly dollars in the long run. If that means having to wait a little longer to be able to afford a particular item, then I think that is a pretty good trade off.

RedRyder, your right but it won't do any good. An attitude is an attitude and frankly, bachmann doesn't seem to give a damn while people continue to buy their stuff, and put up with that attitude.
 
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wombat457 said:
Considering everything that has been written about bachmann, on here and other sites, how on earth do they stay in business?
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They put their cheap sets in stores. Plain and simple. THAT is why they're still in business. The clueless (and my dad & I were in that crowd of clueless years & years ago) would see these nifty train sets at some mainstream store and buy them. Bachmann are practically the only ones with these starter set sort of packages that are ever seen outside of dedicated hobby stores.

The thing is, I'm not sure how many stores they even manage to get their product into anymore. I have a feeling that falling sales in that arena led to their re-tooling and trying to put out a better quality product. I'll say that their aesthetics have improved and the models are much more realistic these last few years, but I don't think their QC has improved from what I'm hearing. And if my 4-6-0 is any indication, it hasn't. I'm still tempted by their EM-1, but I'll have to find a hobby store that will test-run it beforehand. I'm just not up to playing "return roulette" with Bachmann again.
 
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