[RE-wrenches] XW SERVICE

[Peter Parrish]

Let me put in my two cents worth about Xantrex technical support. I
typically am put on hold for 15-20 minutes, sometime more, before I get a
human on the line. Sometimes after giving them a short synopsis of the
problem I am having, I'm told by the person I am talking to that they want
to transfer me to someone with more experience in that area. This invokes
another wait -- usually less than the first (sometimes, rarely, I never get
to talk to tech support person about my problem, at all that first day). In
all, I can wait as much as 45 minutes before I can actually start a dialog
about the problem at hand.

Let me choose my words carefully. Personally, this level of technical
support is unacceptable. It is infuriating to be at a customer site, using a
cell phone, under difficult conditions (100 F temperatures) -- and to have
to deal with 45 minutes delays, or no help at all. I have worked in the high
tech field all my adult life (IC design, software development, high speed
communications) and my experience with Xantrex ranks among the worst.

All companies have to balance the resources they apply to tech support
including the fluctuations in call volume. New products typically cause a
spike in volume for the obvious reasons. Nonetheless, most companies figure
all this out. The ones that don't should cause their customers (us) concern
that greater challenges are taking precedence. I hope that in not the case
with Xantrex.

- Peter

Peter T. Parrish, California Solar Engineering, Inc.
CA Lic. 854779, NABCEP Cert. 031806-26
peter.parrish at calsolareng.com