WWYD? Manufacturer issues...

[JNalley]

So, back in November 2021, I ordered some Powerheads/Wavemakers from BRS. I won't name the brand right now, but it's one of the more premium brands. I got them all hooked up, connected to WiFi, created my schedule, etc. I noticed that both were quite noisy, much noisier than the Current USA pumps they replaced (And one of them was 2-3 times as loud as the other). Instead of returning them immediately, I decided to reach out to the manufacturer to see if the noise was normal and if it would eventually go away. The initial contact was less than stellar, as apparently the ticketing system on their website was not working, and I had to reach out to their support e-mail.

After 2-3 weeks, I finally got someone who seemed like they wanted to help, but their replies were less than helpful, and I kept having to poke them every couple of days which was causing frustration on my end. Someone else (presumably a supervisor, but apparently the head of US Operations or something) jumped on and assured me they would help. Over the course of working with this person, the noise eventually subsided on its own, but a new problem popped up. The new issue was that the pumps, setup in anti-sync are drifting in and out of sync. It's almost as if one of them is slower than the other or has more resistance or something. I've cleaned the pumps twice using Sicce Pump Clean, and the issue still remains.

This problem has been going on for like 6 months, I've been dealing with the new guy for around 5 months, and it almost feels like he's just shrugging it off. The last contact I had from him said he was checking with the headquarters and would get back to me. That was 2 months ago. I paid nearly $600 for the two pumps, and I feel like if there's an issue, at that price, they just need to replace one or both. But I am getting 0 satisfaction out of being the one who has to stay on top of things the entire time. They don't follow up, and I always have to be the one to initiate contact.

What would you guys do in this situation? I feel like blasting them all over social media and these forums at this point but I'm trying to handle this in an adult manner...

 

[blaxsun]

What's the brand? (this will be telling)

 

[JNalley]

What's the brand? (this will be telling)

Not ready to disclose that information just yet. They are represented on these forums, and the guy I've been working with is on these forums. For now, I'd just like to know what others would do in this situation. I'm at my wit's end really...

 

[homer1475]

If I had to guess, I'm going with Nero pumps.

 

[homer1475]

if ti were me, I would ask for replacements. It's been 6 months at this point.

Don't think the manufacturer is going to do squat, and probably why they kept stringing you along. They will claim now they are out of warranty.

 

[JNalley]

if ti were me, I would ask for replacements. It's been 6 months at this point.

Don't think the manufacturer is going to do squat, and probably why they kept stringing you along. They will claim now they are out of warranty.

The warranty wouldn't be an issue, I did already suggest several times for them to replace it, but they want to do their due diligence... the pumps have a long warranty on them (this may actually hint at who the company is).

Edit: I really feel like it's a problem with the US side of things, and not the actual company (based in Europe)

 

[homer1475]

Ahh I know who it is now....

If they do end up being a problem, they will replace them. Had an issue with one of their wavemakers a few years back. Took them a couple months to troubleshoot, but they did end up replacing them.

They may not want to right now, simply because finding new stock to replace them with, might be hard to do.

If your emailing who I think your emailing(assuming your dealing with the US rep?), he does take some time to troubleshoot(their pumps typically don't have issues), but he will make it right by you.

 

[JNalley]

Ahh I know who it is now....

If they do end up being a problem, they will replace them. Had an issue with one of their wavemakers a few years back. Took them a couple months to troubleshoot, but they did end up replacing them.

They may not want to right now, simply because finding new stock to replace them with, might be hard to do.

If your emailing who I think your emailing(assuming your dealing with the US rep?), he does take some time to troubleshoot(their pumps typically don't have issues), but he will make it right by you.

Well, that makes me feel better... It's super frustrating on this side of things... I really do want to give them the benefit of the doubt, but 5 months, with 2 months of no response makes me want to punch something, lol

 

[homer1475]

You do realize that the US branch of this company is literally a one man show?

Kind of why it takes him a while to respond sometimes.

I feel your pain, the same issue I went through. After he explained to me hes literally a one man show, I could feel his pain, and understand the lack of communication sometimes.

 

[JNalley]

You do realize that the US branch of this company is literally a one man show?

Kind of why it takes him a while to respond sometimes.

I feel your pain, the same issue I went through. After he explained to me hes literally a one man show, I could feel his pain, and understand the lack of communication sometimes.

Well, I think they have customer service reps, and this guy... Because I was initially talking to a service representative... and then, I'm assuming he read my frustration, this guy jumped in and took ownership. I mean, if he is a one-man show, that kind of sucks for him for sure, but then that means they should probably hire more people to service the US. I mean, if he had just fired off an e-mail saying "They're still working on it, I just wanted to let you know...", this would have at least let me know that he was actively interested in solving the issue. You know? I spent 20+ years in Customer Service and Technical Support... Active engagement is a big thing with me...

 

[homer1475]

They have CS reps sure, but the warranty, and subsequent technical service is one guy.

 

[JNalley]

Well, at least you've made me feel better about it... Hopefully, my issue gets resolved as well... Thanks

 

[Sean Clark]

My personal experience with this one man show was nothing but stellar. I only needed to send one email and it was handled right away. My problem was pretty clear cut though. I wonder if the subjectivity of the noise has something to do with it? I am sure you know what it should sound like and you would not be complaining if they were not abnormally loud. I am sure they will take care of you. Those Current pumps are nice, I have three of the small ones.

 

[homer1475]

After talking to @JNalley in PM, my previous posts are null in void.

Who I thought it was, it was not. So it is not a one man show.

 

[Sean Clark]

After talking to @JNalley in PM, my previous posts are null in void.

Who I thought it was, it was not. So it is not a one man show.

Well that narrows it down. Hopefully they take care of it. If not maybe reach out to UC.

 

[JNalley]

My personal experience with this one man show was nothing but stellar. I only needed to send one email and it was handled right away. My problem was pretty clear cut though. I wonder if the subjectivity of the noise has something to do with it? I am sure you know what it should sound like and you would not be complaining if they were not abnormally loud. I am sure they will take care of you. Those Current pumps are nice, I have three of the small ones.

Well, the noise was the initial problem, which actually went away after about 6-8 weeks. He claims that sometimes happens and they needed to break-in so to speak. The issue that cropped up while we were working on that though is a little more complex. I have them setup in Anti-sync/Counterphase, the button in the app stays on counterphase, but the pumps keep moving in and out of phase, like one is slightly faster or slower than the other. It takes about 24-36 hours after a reset for them to get back into phase from a counterphase start, and another 24-36 hours to go back to counterphase from an in phase start... If that makes sense... but they drift in and out of phase, even though I want them in counterphase/anti-sync 100% of the time.

 

[Sean Clark]

Well, the noise was the initial problem, which actually went away after about 6-8 weeks. He claims that sometimes happens and they needed to break-in so to speak. The issue that cropped up while we were working on that though is a little more complex. I have them setup in Anti-sync/Counterphase, the button in the app stays on counterphase, but the pumps keep moving in and out of phase, like one is slightly faster or slower than the other. It takes about 24-36 hours after a reset for them to get back into phase from a counterphase start, and another 24-36 hours to go back to counterphase from an in phase start... If that makes sense... but they drift in and out of phase, even though I want them in counterphase/anti-sync 100% of the time.

That is very odd behavior; almost sounds like an internal clock kind of problem. I was looking at the new version of their medium size pump but I do not know anyone that actually has one to provide real world feedback. Hopefully they get you taken care of.

 

[JNalley]

That is very odd behavior; almost sounds like an internal clock kind of problem. I was looking at the new version of their medium size pump but I do not know anyone that actually has one to provide real world feedback. Hopefully they get you taken care of.

my suspicion is that one of them has drag on it, if I had to guess, it's the one that was the louder of the two... So even though it's doing what it's supposed to electronically, mechanically, something is slowing one of them down. That's just my guess... But I'm not really an engineer it's just the best logic/explanation I could come up with. Another issue with this is that it's been so long, and I've taken them out to clean them a couple of times, I am not sure which one was the louder one anymore... so they're probably going to have to replace both at this point just so we know for sure the problem has been fixed...