Eclipse Technical Support = Joke

[johnecon2001 5,000+ posts]

So I like the products that Eclipse makes.. but holy shit batman, they have stupid technical support people. I wanna call up the PR department after this conversation.

These are actual emails and responses from me to Eclipse.

----- Original Message -----

From: "John Economides"

To: "Service"

Sent: Sunday, March 20, 2005 8:58 AM

Subject: Balanced Line Adapter for 8053

Hi,

I just recently aquired the balanced line adapter from a fellow car audio enthusiast. Although I have not recieved the item yet, I do have some questions on how it works. Once the signal from the HU is converted. what type of cable do I use to pull the balanced signal from the converter to the amps? Is it just a standard RCA setup, or is there something special that I need to obtain? Also, if there is a special cable..

with it interface with most amplifiers? I have two ARC Audio 2500CXL class AB amplifiers.

Any insight that you can send me would be great. Thanks in advance.

John Economides

---- Original Message -----

From: "Eclipse Service"



To: "John Economides"

Cc: "Tech"

Sent: Thursday, March 24, 2005 4:03 PM

Subject: Re: Balanced Line Adapter for 8053

I am forwarding your email to tech@lao.ten.fujitsu.com .

Thank you for contacting Eclipse Service,

Eclipse Customer Service

1-800-233-2216 option # 4

1-877-424-4303 FAX

California M-F 8:30 - 5:00

--- Eclipse Technical Support ---

wrote:

In order for you to use the CD8053 balanced, you will need to use the 37601

adapter.Please see your local Eclipse dealer for further assistance at 800.553.2547

Thank you for taking the time to write to Eclipse and we hope you consider us for any of your future product needs. If you have any further question, please call or e-mail us.

Eclipse Technical Support Group

(800)233-2216 Ext. 362

----- Original Message -----

From: "John Economides"

To: "Eclipse Technical Support"



Sent: Friday, March 25, 2005 8:51 AM

Subject: Re: Balanced Line Adapter for 8053

You didn't answer my question whatsoever. Thanks anyway. I figured it out on my own. Please try to read a customers email all the way through before you send

a response that has absolutely nothing to do with what they asked.

John Economides.

--- Eclipse Technical Support ---

wrote:

Sorry about that, I was answering two e-mails at the same time one similar too yours. I sent your response to the other guy on accident. Multi tasking some times is difficult when you have to answer 40 e-mails a day. I apologize if this cause you to be upset. I didn't realize that someone could get so upset because of an e-mail error. However I am glad you figured it out, and thank you for putting me in my place.

---- Original Message -----

From: "John Economides"

To: "Eclipse Technical Support"

Sent: Friday, March 25, 2005 9:30 AM

Subject: Re: Balanced Line Adapter for 8053

You're welcome.

Don't let it happen again.

J

--- Eclipse Technical Support ---

wrote:

As long as you don't send any e-mails !

Are you kidding me? How is this customer service or technical support. what an asshole. I mean WTF is his problem. I'll be calling Eclipse on Monday.

Click to read more...

 

[netherland24 5,000+ posts]

ehh HP is the same bunch of back ward retards that read a book and tell u that u have the problem when there shit dont work

 

[acousticguitar 10+ year member]

well, most support guys arent always the brighest bulbs in the marquee...

as an aside, do balanced line adapters make that much of a diff? for pro audio, i always try to use balanced DIs, but it never occurred to me to use it for my car audio... [dang, this is getting to be a more expensive habit!]

 

[johnecon2001 5,000+ posts]

Balanced makes it so no noises can be induced through the RCA's. Works the same way a balanced line does in pro audio. It just grounds the signal wires.

you can only do it with some eclipse decks. This thing also boosts preout voltage to 16v.. most radios are at 4v or less. Eclipses higher end decks run either 8v or 16v.

 

[acousticguitar 10+ year member]

cool, thats what i figured. dont think i have any more $ to burn on adapters personally. (already about to hit my budget)

 

[swaptrex 10+ year member]

thats uncalled for....

 

[JLCivic 10+ year member]

For the most part, I have had good service from Eclipse tech support. Their 2nd email(the reply about just using the 37601) simply could have been an error on their part(as the tech guy explained). They are on the phones all day and trying to answer emails as well. Your next email was immediately kind of snotty toward them. Considering the tone of your email, it would not have surprised me if they just ignored you(remember, to them, you are not their customer....you didn't buy the piece from a dealer). People do make mistakes, and given how quickly these guys have to work, they just sent the wrong reply to you. Was it really that big of a deal?

I do find it ironic that their tech guys are "stupid," yet:

1) you sent the email to the wrong division

2) why didn't you ask the seller what cables were needed when you bought it? (if it needed special cables as you thought possible, the seller may have had those as well or if they were going to be very expensive, it may have changed your decision)

3) you bought it without knowing if it would work with your amps?....risky

I am in no way excusing their attitude(it would have been easier to tell if they were just joking a little since you can't get the tone in an email), but you certainly didn't make it easy on them either. Hell, you didn't buy it from an authorized dealer, and some manufacturers may have refused to give you information at all.

You gotta keep all of this stuff in perspective. They sent you a useless email by accident. You could have worded your email much more nicely(remember, you need information from them).

 

[req 5,000+ posts]

the customer is always right.

given, he is not a customer for the ADAPTER... but if he has an adapter for the HU... guess what? he has the head unit. he still shelled out the cash for an eclipse deck, one with level converters too - that means its high end.

so - the tech man was wrong to act like a prick, because he IS a paying customer with a HU that is under warranty for LIFE (i believe) and he has free tech support privalages, it dosnt matter what 'division' his mail goes to. as long as it gets there.

so neah! //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif

 

[johnecon2001 5,000+ posts]

I'll just ignore the first part of your post for now.

... I do find it ironic that their tech guys are "stupid," yet:

1) you sent the email to the wrong division

I sent the email to the SUPPORT department. How is that the wrong devision? If you can show me the number or email address for the TECHNICAL support department on ECLIPSE's webpage... then I will personally kiss you ***.

2) why didn't you ask the seller what cables were needed when you bought it? (if it needed special cables as you thought possible, the seller may have had those as well or if they were going to be very expensive, it may have changed your decision)

Because I like doing research on my own, and for the most part forgot to ask him.

3) you bought it without knowing if it would work with your amps?....risky

obviously unlike yourself I dont care about $25, when the exact same product sells on ebay for twice that amount. From the previous research I had done, I was 80% sure that I wouldn't need a special cable, but I wanted Eclipse to confirm that exact fact.

I am in no way excusing their attitude(it would have been easier to tell if they were just joking a little since you can't get the tone in an email), but you certainly didn't make it easy on them either. Hell, you didn't buy it from an authorized dealer, and some manufacturers may have refused to give you information at all.

But I did buy the deck authorized. And that alone should make them be more curtious to me. When I drop almost 600 for a kick ass deck, I better recieve SPARKLING customer service... on ANYTHING that has to do with it.

You gotta keep all of this stuff in perspective. They sent you a useless email by accident. You could have worded your email much more nicely(remember, you need information from them).

remember I'm the customer. if they fuck up and send me the wrong info, I have a right to be angry. They should not have replied in that way at all, and they should also have taken time to read the email before shooting it off into cyberspace.

 

[PV Audio 5,000+ posts]

lol thats hilarious, use part number 99382697421 lol. but u did respond a lil harshly.

 

[johnecon2001 5,000+ posts]

meh, I expect more from a company that takes so much of my money and makes such great products.

ARC is all over customer support. Its ridicoulous how fast and good they are. Same with Dyn.

 

[JLCivic 10+ year member]

I'll just ignore the first part of your post for now.

I sent the email to the SUPPORT department. How is that the wrong devision? If you can show me the number or email address for the TECHNICAL support department on ECLIPSE's webpage... then I will personally kiss you ***.

No, you sent it to service, not support(according to the email address you used). On Eclipse's website, tech support is listed below the service email.

Because I like doing research on my own, and for the most part forgot to ask him.

That is fine. You forgot to ask, but a tech guy trying to do a bazillion things at once gets no slack for sending the wrong email at first? Come on.

 

obviously unlike yourself I dont care about $25, when the exact same product sells on ebay for twice that amount. From the previous research I had done, I was 80% sure that I wouldn't need a special cable, but I wanted Eclipse to confirm that exact fact.

 

[B]*I don't care that much about $25 either, but since you said you weren't sure that special cables were not needed, how would you have known the cost if Eclipse had said that some were needed? Some people don't want to use the BLA because it takes quite a few RCAs(and that cost can get prohibitive for some if they want to use expensive RCAs). That could have been the case with you.*

But I did buy the deck authorized. And that alone should make them be more curtious to me. When I drop almost 600 for a kick ass deck, I better recieve SPARKLING customer service... on ANYTHING that has to do with it.

*They didn't know you bought anything authorized(unless they confirmed that with you...you don't say in your post...not that it should matter but to some manufacturers, it does), but I think you did overreact to getting the wrong email in the first place.*

remember I'm the customer. if they fuck up and send me the wrong info, I have a right to be angry. They should not have replied in that way at all, and they should also have taken time to read the email before shooting it off into cyberspace.

*They screwed up. For christ sake, the guy explained what he was doing, but you started being the jerk to them, first. You act like they gave you the wrong blood in a transfusion or something. Yeah, you are the customer. I have been a customer of many different places in my life, but I never took that as license to immediately be a jerk to them if they made a mistake(especially a completely understandable and harmless mistake)

 

*They should have handled it better, no doubt, but don't sit here like you should be able to yap at them anyway you like and then be just so outraged that somebody gave it back to you. How does THAT attitude help you get the information that you need? I would say neither side handled the situation well.

 

[johnecon2001 5,000+ posts]

ehh, **** my balls n00b.

(how many replies will that get me?)

 

[JLCivic 10+ year member]

ehh, **** my balls n00b.

(how many replies will that get me?)

Yeah, I'm a noob lol. I am 36, a member on many car audio forums(mod for one of them), and have quite a few posts over the past 4 years or so. Yep, I just fell off the turnip truck.

You simply overreacted to them, and that is where the conversation went south. Do you understand that you had the slightest part in that? As you get older, maybe you will come to understand that there are easy ways to do things and hard ways to do things. You took the hard way here, and it didn't turn out well. You both could have handled it better.

 

[HOAX_1 10+ year member]

lol, i thought the CS rep had a decent sense of humor. Yes, he probably is a walmart greeter, but still funny. I liked the part about 40 emails a day.... holy shit he must read on a 3rd grade level to not be able to answer just 40. Then the last part was good too, about not sending in any more emails LOL