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Rather Poor Customer Service From Yeti.com

Onelasttime

Sr. Member
Aug 3, 2011
1,239
789
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So I asked what the differences where between the Dragon-485 and the Optima. Other than the writing on them and the specifications they outwardly look identical. I am guessing they do not function identically when operating them though.

Quote " please read spec.'s on site all is explained on site"


Don;t make it too easy for me to select the right product from your site. Obviously I read the site and found it not to be very clear or concise. I am pretty sure the information I really wanted to know is not on the site in the specifications. I had questions about usability under specific conditions.

Between the insane shipping and the lack of communication I decided not to give them my money directly. I found a NOS/NIB unit already in the USA at a significant discount.

I do not know what it is about CB radio and export radio distributors and their lack of customer service. They are also not very happy or forth coming with schematics and such.

We have never really seen a manufacture demonstration of all the features of this radio it is always a third party like CBRadiomagazine or some random guy on youtube. The same can be said for Ranger, President, Uniden etc....Uniden is forthcoming with the schematic, service manual or alignment procedure for the Bearcat 980 for example either.

As someone that has been a professional businessman both in the corporate world and in small business I have to say that customer service can and should make or break a company.

Because I have been involved in manufacturing in the auto industry I know how insanely cheap things are to manufacture once a certain volume threshold is reached. An example a strut that cost the OEM $6.90 will be sold to the dealership for $69.00 and to the customer at the dealership for $140 dealer can charge anything he wants for the part that is the recommended price. The jobber price or matrix price is 30% less so mechanics can use OEM parts for customers that want OEM parts and still make a profit on the part etc....That was an OEM strut from a domestic manufacture for a full-size 4 door sedan no electronics in the strut actual price not fictitious. I have worked in manufacturing in other industries as well and the same sort of mark-up applies.

So given the mark-up in each part of the supply chain there is absolutely no reason for poor customer service the money is already in the supply chain to pay for this. This is especially the case when an off the shelf item is re-branded with no out of pocket research or development to speak of. Most of these radio are just existing boards that just had a companies name and model number slapped on them. I do not think Stryker, Magnum, Yeti, Connex, Maxlogg,Cre, General Lee, etc....have proprietary boards they all share other board designs so no real R&D and last I checked none of them had any marketing behind them either so there should be plenty of money left over for customer service!

Even int he Amateur world customer service is not so hot. We out to demand better and since we know we will not get it out of China we should force the distributors to do a better job.
 
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They do have detailed specs on the site if you want to compare. Did you ask about anything specific?

Also yeti.com sells coolers and insulated drink ware. yeticomnz.com sells radios.
 
Shipping across the pond isn't cheap. I would expect 40 to 50 bucks minimum.

I can't afford the yeti brand. I drink from an Ozark trail cup from Wally World.
 
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So I asked what the differences where between the Dragon-485 and the Optima. Other than the writing on them and the specifications they outwardly look identical. I am guessing they do not function identically when operating them though.

Quote " please read spec.'s on site all is explained on site"


Don;t make it too easy for me to select the right product from your site. Obviously I read the site and found it not to be very clear or concise. I am pretty sure the information I really wanted to know is not on the site in the specifications. I had questions about usability under specific conditions.

Between the insane shipping and the lack of communication I decided not to give them my money directly. I found a NOS/NIB unit already in the USA at a significant discount.

I do not know what it is about CB radio and export radio distributors and their lack of customer service. They are also not very happy or forth coming with schematics and such.

We have never really seen a manufacture demonstration of all the features of this radio it is always a third party like CBRadiomagazine or some random guy on youtube. The same can be said for Ranger, President, Uniden etc....Uniden is forthcoming with the schematic, service manual or alignment procedure for the Bearcat 980 for example either.

As someone that has been a professional businessman both in the corporate world and in small business I have to say that customer service can and should make or break a company.

Because I have been involved in manufacturing in the auto industry I know how insanely cheap things are to manufacture once a certain volume threshold is reached. An example a strut that cost the OEM $6.90 will be sold to the dealership for $69.00 and to the customer at the dealership for $140 dealer can charge anything he wants for the part that is the recommended price. The jobber price or matrix price is 30% less so mechanics can use OEM parts for customers that want OEM parts and still make a profit on the part etc....That was an OEM strut from a domestic manufacture for a full-size 4 door sedan no electronics in the strut actual price not fictitious. I have worked in manufacturing in other industries as well and the same sort of mark-up applies.

So given the mark-up in each part of the supply chain there is absolutely no reason for poor customer service the money is already in the supply chain to pay for this. This is especially the case when an off the shelf item is re-branded with no out of pocket research or development to speak of. Most of these radio are just existing boards that just had a companies name and model number slapped on them. I do not think Stryker, Magnum, Yeti, Connex, Maxlogg,Cre, General Lee, etc....have proprietary boards they all share other board designs so no real R&D and last I checked none of them had any marketing behind them either so there should be plenty of money left over for customer service!

Even int he Amateur world customer service is not so hot. We out to demand better and since we know we will not get it out of China we should force the distributors to do a better job.
For Dragon SS-485H info. goto....
1). www.yeticomnz.com
2). Look on the left side top of your screen for " DAVIDS WORDPRESS BLOG" Click on that. you will be directed to, after about 10 sec. a page, on that page.
3). Look on your right side under " Recent Posts", Click on: " DRAGON SS-485H is Back". This will take you to a full review.
A lot of Davids reviews are on the blog over the years.
I have NEVER had a prob. with David. keep your sales slip, and they treat you fair.
 
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The information on site does not tell me how easily once can toggle between 40ch mode and contentious coverage on the Optima. I know it can be done on the Dragon-485EU model because I can find a video not done by the OEM or the distributor or the retailer for that model that demonstrates that feature. No idea if it can be done on non-EU models or if the Optima can do that. I know I can set it up in 4 different modes of operation but not the in's and out of each mode in real world use! That sort of data is not listed on specifications sheets! By the way the 4 different jumper settings are not mentioned in the onsite "specifications". The schematic and alignment procedure is not listed on the web site either! All valid questions an owner or potential customer might like answer's too at $250+$65 shipping!

I wanted specific answer from the retailer of the product if the answer I wanted was int he specification sheet I would not have emailed the the retailer!!! Duh!

If they do not want to take questions from customer they could either make a detailed video and toss up on youtube or put that information on the site. Same thing goes for schematic and service information it ought to come in the box with the radio or at least be a pdf file on the sight you can download! Sales implys customer and that means at some point customer service!!!
 
The information on site does not tell me how easily once can toggle between 40ch mode and contentious coverage on the Optima. I know it can be done on the Dragon-485EU model because I can find a video not done by the OEM or the distributor or the retailer for that model that demonstrates that feature. No idea if it can be done on non-EU models or if the Optima can do that. I know I can set it up in 4 different modes of operation but not the in's and out of each mode in real world use! That sort of data is not listed on specifications sheets! By the way the 4 different jumper settings are not mentioned in the onsite "specifications". The schematic and alignment procedure is not listed on the web site either! All valid questions an owner or potential customer might like answer's too at $250+$65 shipping!

I wanted specific answer from the retailer of the product if the answer I wanted was int he specification sheet I would not have emailed the the retailer!!! Duh!

If they do not want to take questions from customer they could either make a detailed video and toss up on youtube or put that information on the site. Same thing goes for schematic and service information it ought to come in the box with the radio or at least be a pdf file on the sight you can download! Sales implys customer and that means at some point customer service!!!

Your trying to buy a product from another country that's not sold in the USA and your mad cause they won't jump through all your hoops? They don't need any USA sales but some dealers are willing to offer it. If I ran a store here in the USA and I had someone in another country giving me the third degree I will tell him to pound sand.
 
The information on site does not tell me how easily once can toggle between 40ch mode and contentious coverage on the Optima. I know it can be done on the Dragon-485EU model because I can find a video not done by the OEM or the distributor or the retailer for that model that demonstrates that feature. No idea if it can be done on non-EU models or if the Optima can do that. I know I can set it up in 4 different modes of operation but not the in's and out of each mode in real world use! That sort of data is not listed on specifications sheets! By the way the 4 different jumper settings are not mentioned in the onsite "specifications". The schematic and alignment procedure is not listed on the web site either! All valid questions an owner or potential customer might like answer's too at $250+$65 shipping!

I wanted specific answer from the retailer of the product if the answer I wanted was int he specification sheet I would not have emailed the the retailer!!! Duh!

If they do not want to take questions from customer they could either make a detailed video and toss up on youtube or put that information on the site. Same thing goes for schematic and service information it ought to come in the box with the radio or at least be a pdf file on the sight you can download! Sales implys customer and that means at some point customer service!!!
It's easy to do:
1). Keep Radio in Export mod.
2). Set preset button #1 at 26.965... now your on the clown band
3). Set other four button's for your fav. spots...27.555usb, 26.915...etc.
 
I guess I'm weird....

If I had gotten the Optima (or thought about getting one) and didn't know how to get it to go between 11M and continuous coverage, I would've went to this very forum and asked one question:

"Might anyone have an idea on how to toggle between 11M and continuous coverage on an Optima MKIII?"

Or, better yet, I would've just played around with the radio until I figured it out (took me about 1 minute on mine). Then wrote the information down on a piece of paper.

The original post reeks of ignorance, with a hint of poor judgment.


~Cheers~
 
You can't toggle between 40ch with the channel number showing and full coverage mode on the Optima MK 3 without adding a switch somewhere and some wiring. Full coverage covers all the 40ch CB band in 5khz steps showing the frequency. Just use some of the 5 memories to store the CB frequencies and modes you need. You can scroll up or down from any of the memories. If you are within the 11m CB band set the step to 10khz if you wish.
 
hmm ..
well it seems our site does not provide enough information in the specs..
actually there is more specs on our site for each model than 90% of the cb sales sites i have seen..
most dont have ANY!
i don't provide big details on illegal functions on our site for one reason..
LEGAL ISSUES..
most if not all of the big name usa based cb sales sites dont post details on how to convert a radio do they..they CHARGE for it!
if you had of used google you would of found a download of the manual for the radios i sent you links to that have those details in..
(the optima manual has the conversion settings so does the albercht.new dragon)

your email and my reply
you got a email telling you to look at the specs for the radios in question and to check out two videos which i provided links to ..that was all
i provided you with links to two videos..one being the optima on the cb mag site i believe it was their youtube
one to the albercht which is the same as the new version dragon..on youtube its self
sorry if you can not take in the specs provided in huge detail and the information relevant to you in the videos ..those two videos were just the ticket combined with the specs told you alot...guess i was wrong

below is a quote from our paypal invoice we would of send you before you ,IF you requested a price which you did not

"Change of mind and due diligence
It is expected the customer has researched the product and done all due diligence that the product in in fact the item they require BEFORE ordering,we present all available specs on our site for the customer to read and expect you to "google" for all necessary information on the item .
A order can be cancelled but only BEFORE it is shipped once shipped it can not be stopped and the order is deemed final ."

as for shipping..
i must say here you never got a email from me or paypal invoice stating shipping cost so how do you know how much i was going to charge you ?

shipping costs:
now for me to send a optima or dragon actually most mobile radios to the usa
look i am not nzpost it is THEY that set the cost of shipping not me
this is want you get from me in the paypal invoice ...quote
"International Economy Courier (2-6 working days) - Tracked, Signature required $63usd"
(which at the current exchange rate is $88nz dollars)
this service is also insured to the value on the customs invoice
which is nzpost ems shipping which is the same as the usps Priority Mail International but slightly faster

...yes i charge for the oversize outer box and bubble wrap $5usd ..well it costs me to buy that after all they are new boxes and new bubble wrap (unless i have some foam beans or bubble wrap on hand from inwards goods)

as an example check out the ems shipping cost of a optima from usa to nz for the same service
now lets have a look at what usps charge to send a optima FROM the usa to NZ ..just to be fair


thats for my standard size box..340mmx 120mmx 480mm with a weight of 2.2kg
as you can see i highlighted the cost of priority and the expected time for express which is equivalent to nzpost ems courier


i dont charge for the conversion..or the check over /alignment etc before shipping ..unlike most cb shops in usa.... just had to add that
so in all its a fairly good deal
i hope this answers the relevant questions.

ok time for bed..long day working 2m ssb dx

mike
 

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hmm ..
well it seems our site does not provide enough information in the specs..
actually there is more specs on our site for each model than 90% of the cb sales sites i have seen..
most dont have ANY!
i don't provide big details on illegal functions on our site for one reason..
LEGAL ISSUES..
most if not all of the big name usa based cb sales sites dont post details on how to convert a radio do they..they CHARGE for it!
if you had of used google you would of found a download of the manual for the radios i sent you links to that have those details in..
(the optima manual has the conversion settings so does the albercht.new dragon)

your email and my reply
you got a email telling you to look at the specs for the radios in question and to check out two videos which i provided links to ..that was all
i provided you with links to two videos..one being the optima on the cb mag site i believe it was their youtube
one to the albercht which is the same as the new version dragon..on youtube its self
sorry if you can not take in the specs provided in huge detail and the information relevant to you in the videos ..those two videos were just the ticket combined with the specs told you alot...guess i was wrong

below is a quote from our paypal invoice we would of send you before you ,IF you requested a price which you did not

"Change of mind and due diligence
It is expected the customer has researched the product and done all due diligence that the product in in fact the item they require BEFORE ordering,we present all available specs on our site for the customer to read and expect you to "google" for all necessary information on the item .
A order can be cancelled but only BEFORE it is shipped once shipped it can not be stopped and the order is deemed final ."

as for shipping..
i must say here you never got a email from me or paypal invoice stating shipping cost so how do you know how much i was going to charge you ?

shipping costs:
now for me to send a optima or dragon actually most mobile radios to the usa
look i am not nzpost it is THEY that set the cost of shipping not me
this is want you get from me in the paypal invoice ...quote
"International Economy Courier (2-6 working days) - Tracked, Signature required $63usd"
(which at the current exchange rate is $88nz dollars)
this service is also insured to the value on the customs invoice
which is nzpost ems shipping which is the same as the usps Priority Mail International but slightly faster

...yes i charge for the oversize outer box and bubble wrap $5usd ..well it costs me to buy that after all they are new boxes and new bubble wrap (unless i have some foam beans or bubble wrap on hand from inwards goods)

as an example check out the ems shipping cost of a optima from usa to nz for the same service
now lets have a look at what usps charge to send a optima FROM the usa to NZ ..just to be fair


thats for my standard size box..340mmx 120mmx 480mm with a weight of 2.2kg
as you can see i highlighted the cost of priority and the expected time for express which is equivalent to nzpost ems courier


i dont charge for the conversion..or the check over /alignment etc before shipping ..unlike most cb shops in usa.... just had to add that
so in all its a fairly good deal
i hope this answers the relevant questions.

ok time for bed..long day working 2m ssb dx

mike


Very good post and information. Thanks. On a side note I tried to send you a PM but it does not work. When you get a chance could you check out my thread on the President Grant II in this section of the forum? Thanks.
 
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