Poor service from Ping - Broken Driver - Know before you buy

[Drudersh]

It's a good hedge when your customer base plays golf twice a year.

[clinkinfo]

You guys miss the point, his driver is 3 months out of warranty, and it didn’t dent, or almost fail, it cracked down the center! That’s not acceptable. Just because a warranty expired doesn’t mean you as a consumer should expect a catastrophic failure moments later! Cars have 3 or 4 year warranties, would you be happy if 3 months after that warranty expired the car split in half driving and was a total loss? Would a half ass offer from Ford to let you buy a new car be OK with you?

 

I'm with the OP. This is BS and Ping should have sent you a replacement. If you were 3 years after the warranty, maybe I’d feel different, or if the failure was a dent and it still played, maybe I’d feel different. But it’s not reasonable to expect a product to catastrophically fail moments after the warranty expires. I have Callaway clubs that are 10 years old that still work as intended. All this tells me is PING equipment design and materials suck and so does the customer experience.

[the bishop]

 

[clinkinfo]

Uh.....ok. I’m not sure why a discussion about warranties and corporate customer service qualifies as a “troll thread”, but I like the pirate

[straightshot7]

For all we know Ping might have sent him a free replacement or a massive discount, after inspecting the club.

I don't think it's unreasonable of Ping to ask to see the club before making a final offer/discount. Especially considering the club is OUT of the warranty period.

The OP wanted Ping to make special accommodations for him. He literally says that. But sorry, companies have to follow procedures in order to function well. And asking to inspect the club is not unfair.

Keep in mind there are people in the world who will break a club on purpose just to get a "free replacement". Obviously not saying the OP did this, but Ping has to protect against that practice as well.

[the bishop]

Well I didn't quote you when I posted that but it must have hit home for you.

[WristySwing]

I love these threads, one club is defective and the marooons come out of the woodwork ^^^^ claiming about this product is inferior to other product based solely on experience. For all we know OP hits gravel and tee markers with his driver for fun and has done so repeatedly every day for 1185 days. Ping has done nothing wrong and is SOP for warranty returns. I've heard of Ping offering a small discount (10-15%) off of retail to upwards of PUD pricing (40% off wholesale) depending on the severity of the damage. OP should just buy a second hand driver or play 3 wood in their qualifier...not the end of the world.

[DFS PFD]

Still trying to figure out what is stopping OP from sending in his broken club, not like he can use it in the qualifier.....absolutely nothing to lose by letting Ping evaluate the damage.

[SubaruWRX]

It’s easier to complain here and hope the job backs you up. Then maybe point Ping CS to the thread and tell them you’re going to social media with it?

However, IF sent in, maybe Ping would do even more? But if they saw this complaint thread, maybe not...

[alexdub]

Ding ding ding.

 

[I'_rather_be_golfing]

LMAO, how could you even use a car warranty as an example? That is just the worst example you can possibly use to back up OP. We clearly didn’t miss the point. He expects Ping to bend over backwards for him over his over 3 year old driver. You have clearly missed the point. Just look at what you used as an example to back the OP up.

[GoIrish17]

Be honest, what’s your axe to grind with Ping? You got something you want to get off your chest, too, about how Ping done you wrong?

[GoIrish17]

I’d love to see a picture of the driver. I’m curious as well why he wouldn’t just send a useless driver in for inspection. What’s there to lose? It’s a paperweight at this point.

 

I’m also curious where the OP bought this driver from, and if it was new when he bought it. Because this episode would be a whole other level of ridiculous if it was not purchased as new.

[SubaruWRX]

 

He added the pic to his original post.

[SubaruWRX]

I’d send it in and hope for the best!

[GoIrish17]

After 3 years and change, I'd be over the moon if they sent me back a $50 coupon for a 410. Though I am admittedly looking for an excuse to buy one.

[clinkinfo]

He tells you, he needed the replacement for a large tournament. He was hoping they would send him to one the THEIR retailers to make an assessment so the process could move fast enough so he could compete with it.

it’s a fair point that they need to see it, but THEIR retailers can also see it and convey photos and opinions. The fact they don’t trust their retailers isn’t the OPs fault. It’s not an unreasonable request when a tournament start is looming. In the end, the OP will have to buy something else and then see what they do later.

[clinkinfo]

AND That other argument is a non-starter, he tells you exactly why he didn’t want to send it in. See the post before this one.

[bladehunter]

Let me just say. Ping has the best service In the business. Double period.

 

And. This is where having a good green grass mom and pop shop beats the big box. My local shop would have gotten this covered , no doubt. And gave you a head off the rack in the meantime. I know this as they’ve done it for me.

[GoIrish17]

Just because he doesn't want to send it in for evaluation doesn't mean he doesn't have to, and just because he demanded immediate action doesn't mean Ping is beholden to give it to him. Maybe it makes no sense to us, but Ping has a process they seem to be pretty adamant about following (and Ping does have a reputation for being sticklers for their rules). It sucks that it didn't suit the OP's timeframe (and correct me if I'm wrong, but his b*tch is with the lack of expediency and not over what potential compensation he feels entitled to, no?), but I can't get on board with him bad mouthing Ping because they essentially didn't do him a favor. I feel bad for the OP, but I disagree with his thoughts on how it should have gone, and then posting about it here. Maybe there's more we don't know, but as it stands I can't agree with his opinion. It's unfortunate he has decided to stop participating in this thread shortly after starting it, but I don't suppose he has anything more to add than what he's already posted because he clearly has his opinion and no one is going to change his mind. I would like to know more about the history of his driver, like if he bought it new, and where he bought it from. If he bought it new at his private club's pro shop, then shame on them for not taking care of him. If he bought it off seller123abc on eBay 3 years ago, then, ya know... H*ll, I'd like to know if he ended up actually sending it back when he realized that he wasn't getting what he wanted, and didn't mention it because he didn't think it relevant.

 

All that having been said, I still don't understand why he didn't just send it in anyways when he realized he wasn't getting a comp'd new driver for the weekend tournament. Yes, your post repeated his reasoning for wanting to get the situation resolved before his tournament. It doesn't explain why he didn't send it in regardless of whether the issue would be completed by the weekend. It makes no sense not to send it in and see what happens, even if it won't make it back before the big tournament. It is useless in it's current state, and if all Ping did is throw it away they'd still be saving him a trip to the garbage can.

 

In short: Could Ping have done more for him? Certainly. Is the OP slightly out of line expecting them to, and on his time frame? Absolutely. He never even found out what their final resolution would be.

[straightshot7]

They are not "their retailers". They are independent retailers. They don't control them. OP didn't say he took it into a PING retail store. He said Golf Galaxy. That's independent of PING.

You really think PING should go outside of their policies in order to accommodate one customer with a driver out of warranty?

You really have zero logic or principle supporting your position.

Just saying "he needs a replacement for his tournament" is not a valid argument.

Tell me you're joking.

[Steele47]

Those Gorilla Glue ads looks pretty convincing.

[GoIrish17]

 

[clinkinfo]

They are THEIR retailers. That’s why they have to adhere to the ping pricing agreements in order to sell Ping products. I understand they are not part of ping, but saying they have no authority or responsibility that ping can rely on is wrong as well. In fact, if you bought from golf galaxy or another retailer and the club broke within the warranty, you’d likely bring it back to THEM first, not ping.

You can’t have it both ways, if you want to sell your products through a retailer, that retailer becomes part of your customer supply chain.

[clinkinfo]

No doubt, I completely agree with you. They are free to do what they want.

 

and guess what, so am I. And because of what they decided to do, I’m free to think they have crappy customer service and not buy their stuff.

Customer problems are opportunities to look good. They don’t legally have to do anything for the OP. But sometimes, doing something good and right when a customer has an issue is more valuable to your reputation. IMO, Ping could have done much better and could have been receiving praise for how well they handled this guys situation. he has a unique situation, he’s obviously a better player in a national tournament with a broken driver. Instead, they chose a different response. Was standing on the 3 months of warranty expiration really worth that image issue? I don’t think so. I’d be happier if my company was being praised for going above and beyond.

[JasonPetermann]

So when does a 3 year warranty end? 3 years? 3 years and 3 months? 5 years? Lifetime?

[clinkinfo]

Again, because a warranty expires, it is not reasonable to expect a product to catastrophically fail and think it’s all ok. If your car split in half, and it was 3 months out of warranty, I’m sure you’d have questions and expectations for *insert your car manufacturer of choice*

 

again, they legally don’t have to do anything. But they could have and looked really good. Instead, they look the way they do.

[JasonPetermann]

So, they decided to have him send it in to look at it... when it is out of warranty, with the possibility of them doing something about it if he would just send it in. That is crappy service?

[Krt22]

If your car engine grenades with 180k miles on the clock, the dealer and the manufacturer are going to tell you pound sand if you try to say it should be fixed under warranty. A car splitting in half and a driver cracking are not remotely similar. All golf clubs (sans putters perhaps) have a service limit, this one reached it and is out of warranty. Any sort of discount extended by Ping in this case would be more than generous, but I fully understand why they would want to inspect the club prior to doing so. There are so many dishonest people out there, they need to do their due diligence to determine if it happened due to normal use or abuse

Ping did nothing wrong here. Asking ping to trust the golf galaxy buffons to assess the damage is like asking a car manufacturer to trust the tow truck guy to assess why a car has broken down to authorize warranty work.

[e-man]

To the poster who analogized the situation to a car motor exploding at 180,000 miles, what if that same motor exploded at 37,000 miles under 36,000 mile warranty? That’s the question. I think it’s a totally valid analogy.