Xantrex Gents,

We've probably got your ears burning over in the Charge Controllers group, under the heading:
"Charge Controller Suitable for Jacobs Wind Turbine?"

Anybody that wants to put in their two cents from Xantrex's side of it would be most appreciated!

Thanks,

DJ

Now this is just the type of feedback I've come to expect from Xantrex...

After exchanging countless emails with the wunderkind at OutBack and even a few helpful ones from the good folks at Morningstar, I get zilch from Xantrex.

Typical.

DJ

No one from Xantrex monitors this Web Site

Xantrex just Setup there own forum , So maybe you will get a better response using the Xantrex site

http://www.xantrex.com/forum/default.asp

Ahhh. I see. I just assumed that since there was an OutBack forum in here, and OutBack monitored it very nicely, that since there was a Xantrex forum...

Trace made some great stuff. They set the benchmark.

Maybe in the ole U S of A, Xantrex is still a quality company.

Up here in Canada, however, I have NEVER heard the words "Xantrex" and "customer support" or "timely warranty work" used in the same sentence, *unless* that sentence also included the word "atrocious" or "deplorable".
Private citizens, small dealerships, large dealerships, have told me this. Even Xantrex dealership and repair depot reps have told this to me "sub rosa". I've been calling around .

True, the Canadian market is tiny. We don't make much of a blip in ANYBODY'S sales charts. But that will change... that IS changing.

As I've mentioned before, by training, I'm an industrial/construction/maintenance mechanic. My entire TRADE is based upon the fact that sooner or later, stuff is gonna break down. And when it does, you need the manufacturer to stand behind it, to replace it, to offer assistance.
In FIFTEEN YEARS doing equipment support in high tech industries (biotech, R&D, gov't), I have NEVER seen any company behave so poorly in those areas as Xantrex does. NEV-ER.
And now, I'm in the renewable energy business.
My main supplier also sells Xantrex products. I've occasionally sub-contracted installs, and installed Xantrex products. If my clients want a Xantrex product, I will order it for them.
But frankly, I also tell them everything I know about Xantrex and from whom I know it. A couple hundred dollars for a charge controller, meter, or other bits and bobs, sure, no risk. Thousands on an inverter? I make sure they explore ALL the options.

I. myself, live off-grid. I know what inverter failure is like. I know what it's like to be thrown to the wolves by uncaring and unknowledgeable installers with nebulous suppliers. I founded my company on the belief that *I* could do it better. I would stand behind my clients and I would be very careful to pick suppliers that would stand behind me.

I don't feel that Xantrex, at this time, will be there when the chips are down; not for me, not for my clients. I don't really want them behind me.

So thanks, Gup, I will go take a peek at that forum, but frankly, I have ALOT more respect for suppliers that will meet us in "no-man's land" than ones that prefer "home court advantage.

Thanks anyway,

DJ

NO manufactures monitors this site, SMA, Xantrex and Outback did initially, they now all have there own BBS and NONE of them have posted here in over a year. Whether we like it or not, manufactures want you to goto their web-sites for help and support. None of the companies I have dealt with are any better than the other in this regard.

This is not just RE ... We are small group that use that use the internet, new-groups ect and NOT the majority of customers. If you need help, call the 800 number, and you will get help right away

Since your not talking in specifics, I'm not sure what to make of your post, just seems like a rant to me, but hey, were all entitled to our opinions.

Do you have a single personal story to share? That’s what I'd like to see here, not rants about how "everybody" hates company "A"

If you have a specific issue, that calling the 800 number doesn’t get help, I have contacts in SMA, OUTBACK and Xantrex , that can help if your getting stuck. I think the goal should be to help companies do a better job, making baseless comments or playing the wonder years comments is nothing more than venting

DJ, I am proud to be an employee and shareholder of Xantrex. Despite what you say, Xantrex stands behind our products. Nobody in this industry has more invested in customer and tech service personnel. We are not perfect, but we absolutely care about what we do and take pride in our work.

I took the time to read through your posts and still don't know what your question or point is. There are multiple ways to get support from Xantrex. Have you attempted to contact us? Please be specific so we can help.

Lloyd

LloydG - I have tried to contact customer service with Xantrax numerous times. They neither return my emails or my phone calls. The Xantrax web site is not user friendly and forget about down loading documents. Before Xantrax bought Trace Engineering out, yes, Trace was a company that cared for their customers and supported them.

I hate to think about what will be the turn of events if I ever need service on my SW4048 inverter. With the lack of support I have received so far for my inquires, the people from "down under" will be getting my business.

Rant over!!!

Lloyd,

Two local renewable energy sales companies have had EXTREME problems getting Xantrex to honor warranty work, to the point that BOTH have now changed suppliers and vendors. Charge controllers that were sent back and took A YEAR to be repaired or replaced, orders that took six months or MORE to be filled... They both also say that "Before it was Xantrex, you could still call an engineer..."
I myself have contacted Xantrex repair depots, and been told that "Sure, they can do the repair if they have the parts on the shelf, but if they don't, it could take A YEAR to get them from Xantrex".
The repair depot DID attempt the repair, with no help from Xantrex until I kicked a stink up about it over on alt.homepower. THEN they came up with a LITTLE bit of help that they hadn't originally offered to THEIR OWN DEPOT, about where to get tech help and parts; inverterrepair.com .
So sorry, Lloyd, I'm sure you're happy with them, but up here in central Canada, we see Xantrex like a guy selling stuff out of the back of a van. Good stuff, maybe, but as soon as the cash changes hands, all bets are off.

An no, Gup, I won't name names. I don't have permission to do so.

And as a matter of fact, Outback does monitor. Based on posts a few days ago here and in the Charge Controller area, I've been in contact with TWO of the guys over there. So true, they may not post (possibly for liability reasons) but they do definitely monitor.

DJ

Let me first start by giving you some facts. We have a total of 15 Call Center and Tech Support Reps ready to serve our dealers and consumers. Nobody in our industry has this level of support.

To obtain support there are multiple options:

Toll Free:
1-800-670-0707
1-800-446-6180

Email: customerservice@xantrex.com

Forum: www.xantrex.com/forum
* The forum is band new, but we watch it and will respond.

Priority Line:
If you are a Xantrex Certified Dealer, we also have a priority emergency line for issues while on a job site. The phone call is routed past the call center and a light goes off in the service room indicating that a priority incoming call is coming in.

I just put our system to the test myself. I called 1-800-670-0707 @ 11:35 AM. Within 20 seconds I had a call center rep answer. She asked me the nature of my issue. I responded..."I have an SW inverter problem". She asked me for what application...I responded "off grid". I was then transferred to the TSR pool. I waited 35 seconds and a TSR by the name of Ken Ripley picked up. I know Ken...he has been with us for years (goes back to Trace days).

So...real time experience was I got qualified product support in under 1 min (as an anonymous caller). In truth, if we had more calls, I might have had to wait longer (current data that we track shows average hold times under 10 mins). You may have to hold, but at least the call is on our dime.

For emails we try to respond by next day. We often have TSRs working overtime to clear email requests. TNHunter, please post your unanswered emails on our forum so we can respond.

I actually agree with your comments about our web site. It is difficult to find stuff. One of our challenges is providing a useful site for all the markets we do business in. Having said that, we are now in the process of completely revamping the site to make it more user friendly. This major facelift will be done by end of this month. Here is a couple of useful direct links to assist;

OffGrid Applications: http://www.xantrex.com/applications/index.asp?did=395
GridTie Applications: http://www.xantrex.com/applications/index.asp?did=379
Document Depot: http://www.xantrex.com/support/document_index.asp (there is a wealth of info to download here…spec sheets, manuals, tech white papers etc.)

As I said from the outset...we are not perfect, but we absolutely care and have invested alot of $ in customer service staffing. I know it's fashionable to trash Xantrex and romanticize the past Trace organization. But let's stick to facts and get over the fact that Trace was acquired over 4 years ago. It's time to move on.

Just so you know, I have been in the industry over 11 years...worked at Statpower, then Trace, then Xantrex. I know the truth about Trace, the engineers that worked for that organization, and the massive cleanup we have had to do after the acquisition. One of my first jobs after Xantrex acquired us was to fix Arlington Customer Service and Tech Support. Despite what you say, hold times were long, tools were poor, and the service staff was stressed. The most common complaint from tech services was that the Trace engineers shipped products that weren't finished and they were left holding the bag with disappointed/angry customers. It was always a challenge to get answers from Trace's engineers. My second clean up job was running two major customer service programs to fix the SW UL delisting and the SunTie issues. Both of these issues were Trace issues acquired by Xantrex. Xantrex stepped up! We spent a seven figure sum to make the SunTie right and fulfill the customer promise made by Trace.

I hear your perspective and respect your views. I hope I have given you some support options and food for thought.

Best, Lloyd

DJ, you still haven't given me anything specific enough to respond to. I can only guess what this issue is….

Your two dealers that say they have had trouble getting us to do warranty work is very strange. If the product is under warranty we have no issue supporting folks. In fact, the people in our Warranty services group want to help people and want customers to be happy. It's always tough dealing with upset folks...so logically, if the product is under warranty they will be all to happy to provide the support. Remember, there are two sides to every story....maybe the dealers can't provide proof of purchase. In that situation we default to serial number/date of manufacture. If that data says they unit was far outside warranty (we give alot of leeway on this)...what can we say?

"Before it was Xantrex, you could still call an engineer..."

I've heard that one before. We do have engineers here…with phone extensions and email addresses. We employ more engineers than anyone else in our industry. I will also add that we don't have only "self proclaimed" engineers…these are folks with real training and discipline. Who do you want to talk to? What is the topic? This sounds like the Outback smokescreen pitch…"talk to a live engineer". This is easy when you are really small and don't have many fielded products. At some sales level you have to invest in a real customer service infrastructure.

Given that we don't ship "beta" product to dealers, I submit that this isn't necessary. But, in the right situation, we do have dealers talk to engineers. Just two weeks ago we flew in a group of Certified Dealers to look at some new product concepts we are working on. 4 of our best engineers sat through two days of meetings with these dealers.

As far as our independent service depots go…we still do this the same way as Trace did it for the Solar business and honestly we have had some issues here. A lot of the issues have already been fixed…but there is still room to improve. Having said that, I do have a hard time believing it took us a year to repair a C series charge controller.

"So sorry, Lloyd, I'm sure you're happy with them, but up here in central Canada, we see Xantrex like a guy selling stuff out of the back of a van. Good stuff, maybe, but as soon as the cash changes hands, all bets are off. "

DJ, you do realize that Xantrex's head office is based in Canada? In fact I am Canadian. Go Flames...Go! I'm sorry I can't agree with your comment. We are not a garage shop, we are CDN based real company. If you are in Vancouver some time, feel free to visit.

Anyway…it's up to you. We can all arm wave and tell stories or we can get on it with it. I welcome you to take advantage of the support options I posted previously. Please provide specific issues/problems and we can work to solve. Thanks!

I also tip my Xantrex hat to Solar Guppy for being so dedicated to our industry. While I am watching the Stanley Cup playoffs he is supporting folks on his forum with Solar system issues...for free.
Lloyd