So earlier this year I had gone a little crazy with WML stuff. So many new products on the market, I bought a bunch of different things to try out. I ended up really like the regular old SF Scout KE2b heads for any of my "Home Defense" or indoor stuff, and the Modlite PLHv2 for my AR builds. That thing is a SPOTLIGHT. If I had some construction paper and scissors I could summon the Batman with it.

I also found I really liked the Reptilia TORCH light bodies, because they're very low-profile, and I like the mount and body being all the same solid unit. I bought the 18350 and 123A bodies new, but found a deal on TS for the 18650 body. "Are you SURE this is the wider-mouth 19860 version?" I asked the seller. DEFINITELY, he said!

It wasn't. It's my own fault and that's the risk you take on TS. I decided to contact Reptilia to get some info about compatible heads and be SURE I bought the right one next time. To my surprise, a young woman named Amanda picked right up. We had a very pleasant chat. She explained that this happens all the time with people getting the wrong models... so many new products from different manufacturers all striving to be compatible. Even knowing I bought my unit USED, she offered to swap it out for the correct item BRAND NEW! I thought this was amazing, I thought! What service! Just send a pic of the unit I have and my info to me in an email, she said.

I did so. After a few days, I didn't hear back, so I called back. She apologized and said my email had gone to SPAM, and replied to my email with a prepaid RMA return label for my unit right then and there. I sent the unit out to them, and then I sorta forgot about it. I actually went on vacation and didn't think about it again until I got home. Shouldn't I have gotten a new light body in the mail, I asked myself? I checked the tracking on the returned one, they had received it. I emailed Amanda to ask about it. Day one, no reply. Day two, no reply, day three, same. On day FIVE I called the number again. Again, she picked right up.

"There's actually only three of us run the USA office, the rest of the team is based overseas and we're traveling to an event right now... but I left instructions for your unit to be sent out. I'm sure it's on its way, but I will get you tracking anyway. I will call you or email you back within 24 hours, promise"

I never did get a call or an email. A week later I emailed again asking for some kind of an update. No response. I'd had good luck by phone so tried that way. No answer this time.

Another week, nothing. Another email, this one not quite so polite - explaining how I was very grateful for their offer to take the incorrect item back and swap it for the correct one even though it was used.... but now I have NO ITEM, correct or incorrect! If I still had the used one I could have at least sold it to offset the cost of buying a new one.... Of course, I got no response this time, either.

I tried again by phone today, no answer. I emailed saying that I was giving up.... I'm just gonna buy a new one (as shitty as the PEOPLE seem to be, the product is still great) and I guess I will have to just "write-off" the hundred some bucks I lost on this whole deal.

Yeah, sure it was ONLY a hundred bucks but this was entirely THEIR IDEA! Why invite me into a process you have no intention or ability to complete? They could have just given me the info I was looking for. Instead, they took my unit from me and gave me nothing back.

As I said, I'm not the type to "boycott" a company that has crap people working there if the product is right for me... but I definitely won't be buying the 30mm mounts, RDS mounts, and other things I had decided to get from Reptilia and not a competitor based on the great service I THOUGHT they were about to give me.

Eh well.

Reptilia is all pretty much out of the office right now. While I empathize with the situation, it is a abberance, not who they are.

So you bought a used item from someone else and they offered to replace it.
They told you that they were out of the office and overseas.
Comms have been spotty because of that.
You are now imputing that the "hundred bucks" is somehow on them because they offered you a new product essentially free.
Am I missing the reason for your post?

rant



I get the frustration but that sounds like a hiccup with a lot of stuff going on and they went out of their way to try and help you out.

@feudalist  

Promising an email or callback in 24 hours and then nothing... and then NO response to 5 emails and 3 calls, across a span of more than three weeks.... is not what I would call "spotty"

Maybe you have a different definition. Sure the OFFER they made was above and beyond the call and fantastic. But that's all it ever amounted to. If I OFFERED to give you a new Harley for your used Harley and you sent me your used Harley and I just disappeared... how AWESOME would I be? How many weeks of no replies to your comms would you wait before deciding you didn't like how I operate? No difference in these two examples except scale.

@johndough - you may be right, but at this point I've given up.

It should be noted that, they explained to me that the office phone rings through to their cellphones when they're away. They know I've been calling.

Id like to see a timeframe here with dated email receipts. I've seen enough premature butt hurt over the years to wait for more facts before coming to a conclusion.

EDIT: Just saw your three weeks post. I'd consider this a warranty claim and consider 4-6 weeks standard. Just my opinion though.

https://www.ar15.com/forums/AR-15/Lights-and-Lasers/20/

Yeah, no we're not doing that. You can just assume I made the whole thing up or am wildly exaggerating. You'll find a lot of that sort of thing among my posts. Check and see. @grizzlyadams: 4-6 weeks to see my unit in the mail, or 4-6 weeks for someone to respond to any of the emails or phonecalls?

The general consensus here seems to be that I'm out of line. I'm not gonna spend the next 30 mins futzing with imgr just to help folks explain to me in GREATER DETAIL why I should have waited 3 more days or how their interpretation of one of these emails differs from mine and how that makes me EVEN MORE WRONG lol.

Maybe it's because I make my living consulting for companies like this, and I really just hate to see this sort of thing and I have developed an unfair standard?? ....

When I finally get my new light body (the one I'm about to buy) this whole thing will have cost me $230 plus shipping. If I had never called Reptilia, it would have cost me $130, and I would have had it a month earlier. I'm not the one to say I'm automatically RIGHT simply because it's me, but it sure feels like I'm worse off for this affair. If other people don't see it that way well.... it's always possible I'M the asshole.

Maybe they'll get in touch sometime in the future and make good. Great. I'll post if so. Even if they do, this will all have been what I, and I think most people, would consider extremely poor execution on admittedly good intentions.

Intentions don't count for much.


EDIT: aaaand for the second time here I've just realized there was a better subforum for me to post this in. I thought MOUNTS was good for this. I really need to learn to just not use this site on mobile. Apologies to mods please move if need be.

OF COURSE - this WOULD be how this plays out....

GOT THIS JUST NOW -




We'll see what happens next. They'll probably send me a free kitten on top of everything just so I'll have to post about it here and you guys can REALLY lay into me.


I'll remind everyone that I did, in fact say, that it was always possible that I'M the asshole.

Still, would like to have gotten this email two weeks ago, or in response to any of my emails inbetween....

I know some of you all are insiders I wouldn't put it past any of you to have called your buddies at Reptilia and nudged them just so I would have to post this.....

The free kitten will be the wrong color and you'll get roasted for accepting that substandard cat.

3 weeks is a wait.

BUT

They're trading out a USED unit that you fucked up and bought for a NEW unit that mitigates your mistake.


I'd say they saved you over $100. I'd try to look at it that way.

They would have saved him $100, but after OP stroked out over this, his hospital bill is $10k....

OP, yes that's crummy comms. Any chance their replies went to your spam?  Any missed calls or blocked numbers that you didn't pick up?

Interesting that it would have taken you 30 minutes to futz with Imgur to post dated email receipts but posting a screenshot of their email took almost no time at all (and didn’t even involve Imgur).

Hopefully it doesn’t fog up.

Sweet, looks like I'll continue to buy Reptilia stuff.

*snort*

It's all going to be like this from here out, isn't it?

Don't worry OP, this isn't normal from them.

Their CS, generally speaking, is at least as good if not better than your EE score.  Based on the new email, at least they didn't back out of the deal

And this is technical how?

@NotIssued - nah I checked and doublechecked.

@perfectsilence - like I said, just assume I made the whole thing up. Posting "evidence" to silence skeptics and cynics on internet forums has never really had the desired effect... for me, or anyone. On the other hand, I DID take the time to post their response. Your reflexive assumption I'm just making all this up says more about you than it does me, and that doesn't bother me too much... but if it turns out I might be wrong about something I'm gonna broadcast that AT LEAST as loud as my original complaint. How bout you? ..... oh and that email image is hosted in Imgur, FYI.

:-)

@dds87 - ouch

@marksman14 - Yeah, I really did start this whole post sort of wanting to be convinced this was out of character for them (not to warn anyone off of Reptilia, I even said I was still gonna buy thier stuff). There's been no word back yet, but I'm being patient. I'll post the results when they come.

..... FOG? ..... SNORT?

.... clearly I need to lurk moar....

I think that you think we're all more interested in this than we really are.

You posted this in the optic section because they sell mounts, yet this post is about their customer service regarding an inquiry about flashlight parts.

GD is bleeding over in to the tech forums.
It is getting kinda dumb.

You're NOT WRONG.

@WTFshane, @nyrifle, @TGWLDR - you're absolutely correct, I realized that, and apologized for it above. Still getting to know the site, but thanks for the friendly correction.

@kwb377 - Then why are you still here?

... but have it your way. I'm out.

Unless you are poor, don't sweat a $100 purchase with a long wait time. They will likely make it right eventually.

I once ordered a couple of special reciever sets from a major vendor who advertises on this site. Everytime I tried to complete the transaction, it said the charge failed. Well, it did not fail to charge my account. I ended up with over $2000 charged to my account as each transaction went through. The company said it was due to a backup online payment system they were forced to use when the primary crashed.

I requested a partial refund and to only charge me the pair of receiver sets I intended to order. But those receivers did not come out from the manufacturer even months later. After the company mailed me checks in the wrong amount, checks bounced because they thought they were lost in the mail and canceled them, no receivers actually coming out, etc. It took a FULL YEAR to get my money and a pair of upgraded billet receiver sets, but it finally happened.

I have zero doubt you will eventually be taken care of. Don't ever write a company off because of a single customer service mishap if you like their products.

My experience with warranty and customer service depts. has taught me to NEVER send anything to a company I don't have to. It always takes longer than expected.

@DevL - I hope so. It's been 2 days since that email I posted above and nothing further yet. The last response I got from her before this one said:

"It looks like your new light shipped out yesterday, I sent a message to my shipper to forward some tracking when possible, which I will forward to you once received."

So that would have been first of Sept. So basically, the message hasn't really changed since then.

Reptilia mounts are great, in honor of this thread I’m buying another one.

Not technical.