Bushnell Pro XE - Customer Service horror story

[avinashr]

I bought the Bushnell Pro Xe from Amazon and with a month the JOLT and Slope feature stopped working so i contacted Bushnell Customer Service to have it repaired, they asked me to submit a request on their website and mail the device in with the request number. I mailed it on October 3rd and as per the FedEx tracking number it was received by them on Oct 7th and signed by some Lynette. I have called them three times in the last week to get a status and each time i am hold for 45 min to a hour and disconnected. I dont know what to do, worried that i might never hear back about a $550 dollar device i spent my money on. Anyone else have a similar issue? Any advice on what i can do to get a response. I have sent them a email too with no response.

[puresurfr]

yeah, their customer service is the worst, i put the rangefinder on the cart frame and one tiny bump and the rangefinder flew off, it still works but looks horrible......customer service told me to use a case next time.

[swgolfer]

Absolute worst CS I have experienced, getting someone on the phone is impossible and total chaos internally......offered to sell me another unit that probably would fail as well. Bushnell has the name for sure in the Laser business but everything from quality to CS is horrible. I moved on to a PP laser and very happy.

[JDubya89]

You should try the Nikon Coolshot Pro Stabilized, I love mine and have nothing but great things to say, I also tested it against the XE as well. It also helps that its cheaper with a better warranty and customer service.

[vgsison]

This is my first post. I also want to rant about how horrible my experience with Bushnell CS and my frustration on the defective Pro XE unit i have. To cut it short, received a brand new unit which is defective. It would work like 3% of the time but the rest would not suddenly work. I returned to for servicing and stayed for them for a almost a month. After doing a follow up, i was surprised to receive a reply that they could not find any thing defective about it so they just shipped it back to me. They never even reached out to inform that they did not find anything wrong with it. As expected when i received it, i used it in a round. After using it a couple of times, it then suddenly stopped showing yardage as if no battery. No amount of pushing the fire button ever got it to work. So pissed off. Worst is that i dont live in US. So i have to spend again another 100usd to ship it back to US then return to me if ever they would replace it. But reading previous posts here, we were tricked by the false ad that they are leading golf range finder. More like a scammer to me.

[pgetzen]

I think Bushnell used to have an edge on laser technology, now not as much. So always surprised when people pay a premium for their products, particularly with the customer service issues they have. I switched to the Precision Pro NX9 and have been pretty happy with it.

[payerasjl]

Pathetic CS. Really sad as they used to be really good back in the day

[Golf Puff]

Funny, I've sent a number of Bushnell units back for evaluation over the years while working in different golf shops. They always provided a reference number back to me (via email) so that I could check the status. And yes, I sent the form back with each unit returned for evaluation, usually out of warranty. Even when the unit was deemed not repairable, they made an effort to appease the customer by offering a new unit at substantial discount (didn't have to do it immediately, either - once was almost a year later that the member decided to move forward). Depending upon the time of year, the wait time might be longer for repair. Peak summer seemed to be busiest.

Remember, these are precision optical units that don't react well to rough treatment. Some models may be better than others; some people may find less expensive units are better as they are cheaper to replace when handled less than carefully. And one player used to routinely drop his, not in a case and no sleeve, onto his towel or the ground, after getting his yardage while playing collegiate golf.

In my experience, the older (say, pre-2013) Callaway units made by Nikon were poorly made and poorly serviced. Very limited warranty with a very defined time length, and they used to easily get out of focus/alignment. Can't say about the newer generation of Nikon lasers, Callaway or otherwise.

I've owned 3 Bushnells. The oldest went out of alignment after a number of years of use , so I went with newer versions. Still have, and still use, a Tour V3 Slope Edition and a Z6. They do what I expect and have been quite durable. A number of the caddies at my work club have purchased Bushnells (Tour V4s), and none has even come back to me with a question about the unit not working properly (other than asking how to change back to yards instead of meters).

Everyone has different experiences, but I've not had anything but positive ones with Bushnell!

 

 

[swgolfer]

Clearly the experience of most posters on these threads is Bushnell CS is horrible, that is why Companies like Precession Pro are taking market share with great CS, way lower prices and great products!

[Cons]

Bushnell didn't treat me well either.

I was a loyal customer of 8+ years on my 4th rangefinder and had never cashed in on a warranty. My car was broken into and my Bushnell stolen. I filed a police report but nothing was found. I called Bushnell w/ police report in hand, never expecting a free replacement, but also not expecting 10% off to be their best offer. That's insulting.

I know they must get tons of calls regarding theft and people trying to scam them for new product on the cheap, but to treat an established customer w/ no history of warranty abuse like that? They lost me as customer that day.

 

 

 

[jeggolfer68]

Some of these posts have me shaking my head. How is it that your unit gets stolen and you expect Bushnell to help you out? Others have dropped their units, broke them and expect Bushnell to replace it. I owned one of the originals, bought around 1999, used the hell out of it, treated it like gold and got close to 20 years with it. It finally quit on me. Based on the way some of you think, maybe I'll send it back and ask for a refund. Too many people have a disease called "entitlement", instead take responsibility for and move on.

[fawley]

i’ve never needed customer service help with any of my Bushnell products, so can’t comment on CS quality, but it is unbelievable to me that someone would call them out for not offering a bigger discount to replace a stolen range finder.

I’m surprised someone would even call and ask for a discount given that the issue had nothing to do with Bushnell. And then when Bushnell’s response is to offer up a discount anyway they get trashed in an online forum because the discount wasn’t as big as the person requesting it felt entitled to. Wow.

It sounds like Bushnell’s customer service needs to improve, but not because someone somehow reached the conclusion they were entitled to cheap replacement stuff at the manufacturer’s expense.

[Cons]

I want to clarify as I think my post came off as harsh and misguided. Insulting is the wrong word. Dissatisfied is what I should have put.

You guys are right, in my situation they owe me nothing. Theft is a gray area and unfortunate. But a more customer first brand may have been more inclined to help.

Bushnell has long had a mono/ duopoly type control over the rangefinder industry. As top dog, they don't need great CS as a selling point and they largely establish benchmark pricing. In the last couple years, newer rangefinder companies are showing us that truly competitive products can be made at a fraction of the price. Price bloating and weak CS are not customer first policies.

I'm happy for you that your rangefinder lasted you that long. Consider that mine didn't or I upgraded more frequently and thus am more heavily invested as a customer of the company. I paid full price each time and would have continued to as a loyal customer. I never asked for a discount or warranty before this. I get in a crap spot and ask for help for the first time. 10% on what looks an awful lot like a price bloated model doesn't feel customer first to me anymore given what else is out there. With all this in mind, you might feel differently if you were in my shoes. If my dissatisfaction is 'entitlement' then so be it.

[jeggolfer68]

I agree with your evaluation of Bushnell. They seemed to be the innovators of the range finders and when mine finally wore out I looked for a new one, I couldn't believe where the prices had risen to, at least with the brand names. Found out about Precision Pro, the high ratings, and great value. I believe in brand loyalty to a point, but when I feel I am being price gouged I look elsewhere. I bought the PP and very happy with it.