After having a few minutes to chill after getting off the phone with EAS, I thought I'd share my poor experience.
I just paid $58.71 and a bunch of time for the privilege of installing an incomplete/broken dice HD radio from EAS.
I ordered my dice HD radio 2 weeks ago. It took me 3-4 hours to install it in my car last Friday. I got all the way through routing the wire from the trunk to the glovebox, putting the unit behind the glove box and running the antenna up the A pillar. I went to stick the antenna black box to the window. I peel, back the adhesive cover and find 3/4 of the adhesive is missing from the center of the antenna. I hadn't thought about it but the paper cover had been sorta crooked/and partly peeled back. Crap. I decide I'll stick it on and cross my fingers that when it gets hot it doesn't drop off. Then I get to the part where I run the copper strip part of the antenna down the window. But there isn't a copper strip. It just wasn't in the box. I didn't drop it or loose it, it just wasn't there. Crap Crap. Alright I figure, I'll call Monday and get sent a new one. WRONG. Enter EAS customer service.
Monday I call, and since it is a "return" I'm told to email and it can't be done on the phone(plus I had to return the Silverline I ordered and decided not to use since I went with the HD unit). I send an email. Forward to Thursday and no response yet.
I call again. They say to email again. I say I did that 4 days ago. They give me a return auth for the silverline BUT can't help me with the HD radio, dice isn't making them now and they don't have parts. Crap Crap Crap, I only bought it 2 weeks ago. I'm given the number to Dice. Dice tells me they aren't making them and they don't have any parts, EAS must be selling the last of the stock, call them back. I call EAS again.
Ahhhh, the classic we didn't make, we didn't sell it loop, where neither the vendor or manufacturer fixes the problem.
I ask to speak to a manager. Enter Tom from the forum. Hey Tom.
Here are the options I'm presented with- remove the unit and send it back for a rufund or pay full price for the "stealth" antenna kit from EAS. I say, that doesn't sound reasonable, I received a product that was missing an integral part and seemed likely to have been opened before (hence the missing adhesive on the antenna). I said that if the stealth antenna would fix the problem that I should be sent that as a replacement for free. Tom's response-we aren't sending anything for free.
The additional undertone was this was my problem, not theirs. I was told that the original antenna wasn't any good and "we don't even send it sometimes." What? You don't even send it. That just doesn't make any sense.
No "sorry." No "we will make this right." No offer to pay postage. No offer to send the replacement antenna for free or even at cost. Just "NO."
So my options are spend more money or spend several hours removing the unit and installing something else.
What is so irritating about such situations is the complete discounting of a customers time and effort. "Just send it back" means remove the carpeting in the trunk, take out the rear seat, take off the door trim, remove the glove box, and the A pillar. Then reinstall everything. Then drive to the post office pay for shipping, and then install something else. Tom, I'll tell you what, why don't you pay for somebody to come to my house and send the unit back to you?
Oh well, I bought the stealth antenna for $58.71 shipped. It just isn't worth the PITA to redo everything. Heck I might have even had to buy it anyways if the reception with the stock antenna wasn't good enough, but I'll never know.
And the Dice antenna ($39)is still listed at the EAS website:
http://www.europeanautosource.com/pr...roducts_id=926
The stealth replacement antenna is only $10 more, so I was asking for something $10 more expensive.
Plus Dice should rethink making a product that they aren't going to stock any warranty replacement pieces. I mean really. I only bought it 2 weeks ago and already it can't be fixed if something is wrong.
Oh, and I used the youtube video from BSW to do the install. It was well done and thorough. I will certainly be giving BSW my business next time.
FWIW,
Regards,
Justin Wade
I just paid $58.71 and a bunch of time for the privilege of installing an incomplete/broken dice HD radio from EAS.
I ordered my dice HD radio 2 weeks ago. It took me 3-4 hours to install it in my car last Friday. I got all the way through routing the wire from the trunk to the glovebox, putting the unit behind the glove box and running the antenna up the A pillar. I went to stick the antenna black box to the window. I peel, back the adhesive cover and find 3/4 of the adhesive is missing from the center of the antenna. I hadn't thought about it but the paper cover had been sorta crooked/and partly peeled back. Crap. I decide I'll stick it on and cross my fingers that when it gets hot it doesn't drop off. Then I get to the part where I run the copper strip part of the antenna down the window. But there isn't a copper strip. It just wasn't in the box. I didn't drop it or loose it, it just wasn't there. Crap Crap. Alright I figure, I'll call Monday and get sent a new one. WRONG. Enter EAS customer service.
Monday I call, and since it is a "return" I'm told to email and it can't be done on the phone(plus I had to return the Silverline I ordered and decided not to use since I went with the HD unit). I send an email. Forward to Thursday and no response yet.
I call again. They say to email again. I say I did that 4 days ago. They give me a return auth for the silverline BUT can't help me with the HD radio, dice isn't making them now and they don't have parts. Crap Crap Crap, I only bought it 2 weeks ago. I'm given the number to Dice. Dice tells me they aren't making them and they don't have any parts, EAS must be selling the last of the stock, call them back. I call EAS again.
Ahhhh, the classic we didn't make, we didn't sell it loop, where neither the vendor or manufacturer fixes the problem.
I ask to speak to a manager. Enter Tom from the forum. Hey Tom.
Here are the options I'm presented with- remove the unit and send it back for a rufund or pay full price for the "stealth" antenna kit from EAS. I say, that doesn't sound reasonable, I received a product that was missing an integral part and seemed likely to have been opened before (hence the missing adhesive on the antenna). I said that if the stealth antenna would fix the problem that I should be sent that as a replacement for free. Tom's response-we aren't sending anything for free.
The additional undertone was this was my problem, not theirs. I was told that the original antenna wasn't any good and "we don't even send it sometimes." What? You don't even send it. That just doesn't make any sense.
No "sorry." No "we will make this right." No offer to pay postage. No offer to send the replacement antenna for free or even at cost. Just "NO."
So my options are spend more money or spend several hours removing the unit and installing something else.
What is so irritating about such situations is the complete discounting of a customers time and effort. "Just send it back" means remove the carpeting in the trunk, take out the rear seat, take off the door trim, remove the glove box, and the A pillar. Then reinstall everything. Then drive to the post office pay for shipping, and then install something else. Tom, I'll tell you what, why don't you pay for somebody to come to my house and send the unit back to you?
Oh well, I bought the stealth antenna for $58.71 shipped. It just isn't worth the PITA to redo everything. Heck I might have even had to buy it anyways if the reception with the stock antenna wasn't good enough, but I'll never know.
And the Dice antenna ($39)is still listed at the EAS website:
http://www.europeanautosource.com/pr...roducts_id=926
The stealth replacement antenna is only $10 more, so I was asking for something $10 more expensive.
Plus Dice should rethink making a product that they aren't going to stock any warranty replacement pieces. I mean really. I only bought it 2 weeks ago and already it can't be fixed if something is wrong.
Oh, and I used the youtube video from BSW to do the install. It was well done and thorough. I will certainly be giving BSW my business next time.
FWIW,
Regards,
Justin Wade