i just wanted to give a heads up to all htg supply customers and i know there are thousands. I have heard the complaints before and i always chimed in with my experiences with them, which for the most part have been good. However, i bought a new 600watt digital ballast about 4 months ago for another grow op i was starting. I just bought a "kit" because it was easy and cheap and i didn't have the time to go buy one in person. Big...big mistake.
Ok, what is the big mistake? Would buying one in person make the electrical cord not short out??
I discoverd a short in my electrical plug to the ballast on may 9th, which was a friday. I was able to screw with it enough that it came on and ran. I had to fiddle with it every night through the weekend to get it to work. On monday morning, may 11th, i called and explained the problem. They said no problem, they would send out a replacement that day and gave me a ups shipping lable to send the hosed ballast back. On friday may 15th i still had not recieved the replacement so i called them back.
Did they promise to send a new one, without receiving the bad one back?? This would be very hard to believe that any - and i mean any - company would just send out new equipment to a customer without getting the defective stuff back, imagine walking into walmart and telling them that the plasma tv you bought didn't work and you needed one right away to watch the big game - but oh, by the way, i'm not actually going to return the tv now, you'll just have to trust me....
I think what they probably said, is that they were sending the label to you to send the unit back.
I was told, "sorry, we are just now getting your ballast sent out and it is in the shipping going out today" (may 15th) so, i was a lil put off due to the fact i have to screw with it most nights just to get it to work, not to mention the possible fire hazard that it may be.
Today, may 21st, my ups deliverd his packages but nothing from htg. So, i picked up the phone and called them to see where in the hell my ballast was. At this point i was told that their policy had changed and that i would have to send the damaged ballast back before they would send the replacement. I was livid! I just wasted 10 days because of their poor communication and even worse customer service, not to mention the extra worry and time i spent trying to keep my grow "lighted".
Ok, so isn't the cord separate from the ballast. The one i have is just a standard computer cord that you can pick up anywhere for under $5. What damage was there to the ballast??
They did inform me that i could buy a new one and send the other back and they would credit my card back after they recieved their broken ballast. The money is not the issue. I don't have money to burn but i can certainly afford to "loan" them the money they need to send me a working ballast. Thats not the issue and thats what they don't understand.
If money is not the issue, why didn't you just do it. You contradict yourself first saying money is not the issue, then money is an issue??
Htg doesn't care one damn thing about you, as a customer. They only want your money. I was told this "policy change" was just enacted due to the people that don't return busted equipment. I understand that but they should be up front and honest about this on their website and other advertising. I should of been told this 2 weeks ago as well but as i said, they don't care about their customers.
You really don't convince me that htg does not care about customers, it sounds like there was a simple misunderstanding and you are trying to say these guys are bad??
I have spent over $5,000 usd with htg over the last couple of years buying things from reflectors to bulbs to nutes. The first time i ever buy any of their electronic equipment i get bent over and screwed. I spoke with tony at length about this and i told him i would burn htg in every forum i frequent.
So you threatened Tony?? Dude, this is not the way to go through life. According to nearly everybody else on every grow forum everywhere, tony is a super guy that goes out of his way to help customers! Now, because you had some problem with an electrical cord, he sucks and his company sucks??
He was apologetic but he offered nothing other than thats just the way they are now doing business. I read lots of posts on here where other growers save every penny they can to buy equipment. They don't have a spare $300 laying around to replace something that was suppose to be under warranty. If you buy a ballast from htg supply you better have some extra money laying around or you will be without a ballast for 1-2 weeks.
Ok, so lets say you are tony... Somebody calls you and says they have a defective ballast. Normally with any other business on earth, the defective product must be returned before a new one can be shipped, but you would be willing to just ship the stuff without any way of assuring you would get the product back - or paid for it if you didn't???
Sorry for the long rant, i just wanted all htg customers to u8nderstand they no longer give a shit about you as a customer.they no longer give a sh*t? How so?
My friend it sounds like you just made a mount everest out of a molehill! Don't be a hater, life is too short.
I see there are some other people coming to tony's defense here which is great!! And then i see some competitors that are jumping on the bash-wagon to try to sell their stuff.[/quote]
