Even though they make some very cool products, DJI makes it really hard to like the sometimes. This video from Ryan Bergeron tells the story of his awesome DJI Phantom 2 that, unfortunately crashed into the ocean one day.
As he tells in his story, he went to NAB 2015 and tried to talk to DJI about the crash, seeking an explanation as to what happened. According to Ryan, DJI didn’t want to talk to him about the problem and instead referred him to a customer service process that turned out to be a very frustrating experience as he was led to believe he might have his drone replaced due to a malfunction.
In the end, DJI refused to replace his drone and offered him a discounted price on a replacement drone. Unfortunately, that discounted price was still $40 higher than he actually paid for the one he lost.
Now, I’m not saying DJI should or shouldn’t have replaced the drone but it seems like DJI still has some work to do in polishing up its customer service experience. Similar frustrating experiences have been the story of many DJI customers time and time again.
And DJI’s reponses have been less than helpful and fall short of admitting any problem with their drones.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLs0QjJCCC8&w=700&showinfo=0&rel=0]The above video was a year and a half ago at DJI’s launch of the Phantom 2. Consequently, I have not been invited back to another DJI press event. That’s the damning nature of asking the tough questions to manufacturers – you lose access to the source. But I don’t write these posts to make manufacturers happy. I’m going to always tell you what I think.
Here’s the thing though – I actually like the DJI Phantom line of products (I own a first generation Phantom and have never had a problem with it). And the tech and demo guys I have met at DJI booths at trade shows are generally awesome. I just wish they handled customer service problems better.
I don’t know if the company is growing too fast to keep customer service on par with the user base or the Chinese roots push some other business culture out the doors in the way they deal with customers. DJI’s valuation is estimated at $10 billion and the company is growing like wildfire. DJI is on pace to do $1 BILLION in sales this year – about twice of what it did just last year! For comparison sakes, GoPro’s market cap is around $7 billion today.
There are plenty of happy customers, like me, who have never experienced any problems with their equipment but there is a sizable portion of customers who have customer-service-from-hell stories when trying to get a straight-faced answer from DJI (even if that answer is ‘no’).
3DR’s Solo has a flyaway guarantee, which customers should love (especially those who have been bitten by flyaways in the past). I don’t know anyone who has gone through that experience yet, but it was a big marketing point for 3DR at the Solo’s launch during NAB 2015.
DJI has a lead by miles on the rest of the market but enough customer service flubs can bring down any company where hungry competitors are waiting to pounce. Let’s hope DJI cleans up the customer service experience going forward.
If you have a customer service story from DJI (good or bad), drop a line in the comment section below.
I appreciate this type of feedback about a company. One story is just an anecdote. But if you start seeing the same thing over and over I think it says something. I’ve read enough DJI horror stories that I don’t think I would ever give them my business. Customer service has to mean something.
Last year purchased a new phantom2 when it was released from a recognized dealer.. It was DOA. One of the motors would not spin up. I was told to go to DJI. DJI told me to speak to dealer. Tried to order motor but none in stock. After fighting for a month I was given credit to buy another, however, they were on Back order. Had to pay for shipping. Trying to talk to DJI support was futile. I realized when purchasing a DJI product there is no support. To rely on them for commercial purposes is suicide unless you purchase spares and canabalize (which we did). We have learned to build, test, and deploy without support other than the Internet. It becomes a steep and expensive learning curve it you want to use this product with any level of reliability and performance. I feel sorry for those that do not have the expertise to fly and maintain these products. When their products work they are a delight to use. documentation and technical support represent a large portion of the product cost. In this case they are concentrating on their bottom line and sacrificing their reputation and future errosion of their market share. This can become a costly mistake. I attribute it partially due to their rate of expansion and their “culture”
I must say in DJI’s defense I have nothing but praise for the service I received from DJI. I called their phone support line a couple months ago because of a bad battery and they exchanged it without a problem. A month ago I had a harsh awakening with my Phantom 3 pro when it went ballistic for no apparent reason. I found the shell had cracked on the motor mount on one of the arms which made it quite unstable. they did the repair at no charge and I had it back within two weeks. I have read quite a few horror stories about their service, but I myself have nothing but praise for their product support.
That’s awesome to hear a good report John. Glad you’re having good luck with them…
Worst dealing with DJI EVER
http://forum.dji.com/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=48726&page=2#pid397270
People need to understand that the problem with DJI’s customer support is their AFTER-SALES division. If you purchase a product DIRECTLY from them, don’t expect to receive any customer service regarding your purchase. There is literally no way to get a question about your purchase answered. Their “system” is the worst I have ever dealt with, and I used to be a purchasing agent for a large retail company. Once you purchase a product from them (and yes, their products are fantastic), don’t expect to receive any confirmation emails, shipping emails, or any emails related to your purchase. I ordered a Phantom 4 Professional two weeks ago. The web page stated it would ship in 1-3 days after my credit card was charged. They immediately charged my card, but after 10 business days, the product still had not shipped. I called the customer service phone number, only to be told that there is no live phone service for after-sales questions or concerns. They direct you to the “chat” area on their web site. The problem is that the chat representatives do not have access to your account, and they cannot check on the status of your payment or estimated shipping time. They directed me to email DJI sales department, but I received an auto-reply telling me they were unable to answer emails due to the overwhelming amount of emails they received. I was directed back to the chat representative who could not answer my question. After waiting nearly two weeks, I went to their website and accessed my account. There was a button there that said “Cancel Order”. I clicked the “cancel order” button and received a pop up saying that my order had been canceled and I would receive my money back on my credit card. I checked my credit card transactions a few days later, and to my absolute horror, they had charged me again for my purchase! Instead of a refund, they re-ran the charge. The two charges added up to over $3000! I waited to see if they would correct their mistake, but nothing changed. I called EVERY department, chatted with every chat representative, and emailed their legal department. It was literally impossible to get in touch with anyone who could straighten this mess up. I have tried for days to contact someone at DJI who could help me. I even called their main office in China, where they very rudely told me to call the California office and hung up on me. At this point I was infuriated. They cancelled my order but had over $3000 of my money, and I was unable to do anything to correct the situation. Having worked in a customer service call center for a fairly large company, I knew that this wasn’t just bad customer service. It was clearly intentional. Their customer support for repairs and warranty issues is decent enough, but they deliberately have no way to contact anyone about your purchase or your account with them. They still have my money, and I don’t have my Phantom 4 Pro. I have turned this over to my state’s Attorney General, and I gave them transcripts of the chats, recordings of customer service, and all my emails to them. The secretary attempted to contact them, and she gave up after two hours of trying. Now the Attorney General himself is investigating my claim, along with “numerous” other complaints that customers in my state have regarding DJI’s after-sales support. He contacted the Attorney Generals from numerous other states, and he found that they also have numerous complaints about them literally stealing money from people’s credit card accounts. Currently, a California Law Firm is preparing to file a class-action lawsuit against DJI, and they are even trying to file criminal charges against them. I will post a link to the law firm that is handling the class-action lawsuit, as they need as many people as possible to submit evidence or testimony regarding DJI’s after-sales financial practices, as well as their deliberately non-functional after-sales support. I am saddened by this because I love their products, but a multi billion dollar company can afford to implement a stellar customer service department, and DJI has failed to create a customer service department that is capable of servicing their customers. I am furious that they stole $3000 from me, and unfortunately I’m not the only person trying to recover their money. A class action lawsuit on the order of a few hundred million dollars my get their attention. I love their products, but I hope the people who are instigating this deliberate practice are punished to the full extent of the law. Anyone who has tried to deal with DJI after purchasing a product from them probably know exactly what I am talking about. I will post the website link to the law firm who is initiating the class-action lawsuit sometime very soon.
Please post the lawyer’s site who is filing the class action against dji. I am currently waiting to hear from them regarding my lost gimbal. I am not looking forward to their final decision.
and this is my current situation. 600$ vs your 3000$ But huge to me.
I’m having my own bad experience with them. There is nowhere in the manual that says “Don’t take off from a metallic object”. I took off from the hood of my car and the thing crashed into some bushes. The drone is fine but the props are busted. I want them to replace the props. While I’m finding out now a lot of people with experience know not to do this; DJI didn’t mention this in the manual. Therefore I believe it’s there fault. I went through a similar horror story with customer service as well. 4 chat sessions. 3 or 4 e-mail and finally on the phone. After 45 minutes I got ahold of a rude supervisor who insisted that for any service I must send the entire drone in. I can order $18 worth of props myself and have them in a few days . If I send my drone in it will be weeks. DJI Customer Service Sucks!!!
I am having a nightmare situation with DJI also. My story sounds a lot like these other stories. Many phone calls, no good answers, online chat is useless and the reps are rude. Their emails to me are telling me that it’ll ship in a few days, and it never does. Very frustrating, and I will likely not purchase any more DJI products because of the risk of having to deal with their support system. My drone is in for repair of a manufacturer’s defect. It’s been a month now and I have no confidence that I’ll be getting the drone back anytime soon. Terrible. No company should treat its customers this way.