I haven't posted for a while because I haven't flown for a while. Here's why:
On December 26 my Phantom 3 Pro that was barely three months old fell from the sky. The logs indicated it was not pilot error, in fact the drone had been in a stable hover for 4.9 seconds before it simply dropped. After the customer service manager, Nikko, told me she was sure they would be sending me a new drone I inherited someone else's problems by getting a refurb P3P sent to me. The give-away that is wasn't new was it already was given the name "Phantom Fox" which showed when I uploaded logs to healthy drones. This refurb had severe yaw errors and compass errors out of the box and messages attesting to these problems were splattered all over the logs. It could not hold a straight line and, in fact, one log entry 16:58 into a flight actually says "Ultrasonic Systems Error. Land Immediately; Motor Obstructed; Motor Idling (Loose or Missing Propeller). Of course, I had no idea that was in the log since I was busy flying. A "land immediately" message should probably show up in yellow neon on the UI and not just be hidden away in the logs, but I digress. Suffice to say, this drone should never have made it out of QC and both DJI and myself are damned lucky it didn't kill someone.
I sent it back in along with reams of log. Both Nikko and Marquez (another supervisor) assured me they would do everything in their power to make sure a new drone would be shipped but that ultimately it was the people the repair department who made the decision as to whether or not I get new or refurb. DJI replaced refurb #1 with another refurb. This one was named simply "p3p." This new one seemed to fly correctly but once it flew 50 yards away the video signal started breaking up and at 70 yards the signal was black. I was provided with a 2-day expedited shipping label with which to send back the drone. I sent it in on a Tuesday. It was received by DJI on Friday and was not check in until the following Tuesday, despite my pleas with Nikko, Marquez, and other support managers to expedite its handling because I had an upcoming trip to NY the following Tuesday and I needed the drone for it. I had already had to cancel two customer engagements and I didn't want to cancel NY. I called DJI every day to help move it along but they didn't ship it back to me in time and I cancelled the trip. I finally received the third refurb last Friday, four days after the day I was supposed to leave for New York.
I just test-flew the third refurb. It seems to also fly okay but again, the video range it terrible. It's a little better than the second refurb's. It will go about 70 yards before it starts glitching and 150 yards before it's a complete jumbled mess. The drone is unusable for professional purposes and only marginally usable for hobbyist purposes. I've had a commercial pilot license since 1993 and I have been a pro photographer even longer. As much as I enjoy flying in any form the primary purpose of my getting this drone was a make/sell videos. I am flabbergasted by what DJI calls post-sales support. I've put roughly $1,500 into my setup and It's unusable. They've got my perfectly good cash and I have an unusable heap of plastic and silicon. Spring has sprung and real estate listings are hopping and I am missing the boat because of DJI's incompetence. I've been patient and polite with them through the whole multi-month ordeal but now I see no other option than post the ordeal publicly (here), on twitter, and anywhere else I can think of. If that doesn't get their attention after trying to partner with them, collaborate with them, and finally publicly post my dismay, I guess I will have no other option than to sue them in small claims court for the cost of the drone, all accessories, and lost business. That is not my preferred route but DJI is completely unresponsive and has consumed a couple of man-days of my life when all the time I have waited in queue and running to UPS to ship yet another refurb is added up.
I'm curious what others have experiences in the way of "service" from DJI. Did you have a good experience or was your interaction as pathetic as mine has been? Has anyone come up with any techniques for getting DJI to be accountable and replace when warranted instead of re-shipping someone else's problem? Thanks in advance.
On December 26 my Phantom 3 Pro that was barely three months old fell from the sky. The logs indicated it was not pilot error, in fact the drone had been in a stable hover for 4.9 seconds before it simply dropped. After the customer service manager, Nikko, told me she was sure they would be sending me a new drone I inherited someone else's problems by getting a refurb P3P sent to me. The give-away that is wasn't new was it already was given the name "Phantom Fox" which showed when I uploaded logs to healthy drones. This refurb had severe yaw errors and compass errors out of the box and messages attesting to these problems were splattered all over the logs. It could not hold a straight line and, in fact, one log entry 16:58 into a flight actually says "Ultrasonic Systems Error. Land Immediately; Motor Obstructed; Motor Idling (Loose or Missing Propeller). Of course, I had no idea that was in the log since I was busy flying. A "land immediately" message should probably show up in yellow neon on the UI and not just be hidden away in the logs, but I digress. Suffice to say, this drone should never have made it out of QC and both DJI and myself are damned lucky it didn't kill someone.
I sent it back in along with reams of log. Both Nikko and Marquez (another supervisor) assured me they would do everything in their power to make sure a new drone would be shipped but that ultimately it was the people the repair department who made the decision as to whether or not I get new or refurb. DJI replaced refurb #1 with another refurb. This one was named simply "p3p." This new one seemed to fly correctly but once it flew 50 yards away the video signal started breaking up and at 70 yards the signal was black. I was provided with a 2-day expedited shipping label with which to send back the drone. I sent it in on a Tuesday. It was received by DJI on Friday and was not check in until the following Tuesday, despite my pleas with Nikko, Marquez, and other support managers to expedite its handling because I had an upcoming trip to NY the following Tuesday and I needed the drone for it. I had already had to cancel two customer engagements and I didn't want to cancel NY. I called DJI every day to help move it along but they didn't ship it back to me in time and I cancelled the trip. I finally received the third refurb last Friday, four days after the day I was supposed to leave for New York.
I just test-flew the third refurb. It seems to also fly okay but again, the video range it terrible. It's a little better than the second refurb's. It will go about 70 yards before it starts glitching and 150 yards before it's a complete jumbled mess. The drone is unusable for professional purposes and only marginally usable for hobbyist purposes. I've had a commercial pilot license since 1993 and I have been a pro photographer even longer. As much as I enjoy flying in any form the primary purpose of my getting this drone was a make/sell videos. I am flabbergasted by what DJI calls post-sales support. I've put roughly $1,500 into my setup and It's unusable. They've got my perfectly good cash and I have an unusable heap of plastic and silicon. Spring has sprung and real estate listings are hopping and I am missing the boat because of DJI's incompetence. I've been patient and polite with them through the whole multi-month ordeal but now I see no other option than post the ordeal publicly (here), on twitter, and anywhere else I can think of. If that doesn't get their attention after trying to partner with them, collaborate with them, and finally publicly post my dismay, I guess I will have no other option than to sue them in small claims court for the cost of the drone, all accessories, and lost business. That is not my preferred route but DJI is completely unresponsive and has consumed a couple of man-days of my life when all the time I have waited in queue and running to UPS to ship yet another refurb is added up.
I'm curious what others have experiences in the way of "service" from DJI. Did you have a good experience or was your interaction as pathetic as mine has been? Has anyone come up with any techniques for getting DJI to be accountable and replace when warranted instead of re-shipping someone else's problem? Thanks in advance.
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