My experience with them has been a mixed bag. I felt like I was getting the song and dance after the purchase of the Phantom Vison which arrived with all the problems. There were days (week) of firmware upgrades, check this check that and finally "contact DJI support for return authorization". THEN it was start all over again. .... firm ware up grades .... check this .... enough to begin to piss me off. Finally, I got a bit curt with DJI and wrote a scathing letter about how complicated can this be? The frigging camera is BROKEN .. all connections are solid, all firmware up to date, battery's fully charged, wifi's on and there is NO power Light on the **** camera. ..... Reply "Contact DroneFly for replacement". Geeazzzzz
At this point I wanted nothing more to do with the Phantom Vision. The battery fault problems were happening too frequently and I had no further confidence in the machine and couldn't see that changing. I called DroneFly and told them I didn't want it and we agreed to swap the Vision out for a Phantom 2 with gimbal. They sent me a shipping label and upon receiving my Returned Phantom Vision issued credit immediately as agreed.
Reflecting back on the initial shipments of the Phantom Vision and the process by which many of us had to follow to rectify the multiple problems that occurred I have to look at cause and effect. The entire debacle is due to DJI and their shipping of a product that apparently was simply NOT ready for market. (Something I really don't understand the why's of)
Once the dud product was in the hands of customers it was likely a matter of DJI holding their breath to see just how many failed and which substandard portions or parts failed. I think they underestimated just how many problems that were going to occur. Once these things begin falling out of the sky It was like the initial response was to firmly plant their heads in the sand hoping it would all go away. I'm sure there was a full scale Chinese fire drill going on in Shenzhen and Texas. (pun intended) Dealers calling, customers calling ..... all seeking to be made whole. The lack of information or solutions from DJI to dealers and customers alike was sorely lacking.
Now to the Dealer. I immediately recognized that they really didn't know WHAT to do. They suddenly found themselves in a position of possibly eating a sizable chunk of change. In the case of the mid sized to larger dealers we're talking a couple hundred grand for a stocking dealer. They are caught unaware, unprepared and understandably not staffed to handle the plethora of problems and complaints coming their way. Couple this with a very large percent of customers being first time operators of the equipment and they are in a position to have to separate the REAL problems with the perceived problems and crashes that occurred due to pilot error or ignorance.
Now to DroneFly, Yes, I felt that I sort of got the runaround in the beginning. Then I realized the guy I was working with really didn't know what to do any more than I did. After much aggravation ..... I finally talked with someone else and we begin a process of getting this thing made right. (I never felt that they set out to screw me) It was just a matter of what they COULD do in their dealings with DJI and What I wanted to do. I DID NOT want another Vision.
Once DroneFly had a better idea of how they could handle it .... it was just a matter of a day for me to get on the pre order list for the Phantom 2 and a refund for the balance.
Was I concerned about my (sizable) investment? ...... yes. Did I jump through my Apex on account of it? ... No. Did DroneFly eventually do the right thing by me? Yes. Could it have been handled better? Yes What percentage of the blame for the problem arising in the first place do I place on DroneFly ... 0% Will I be inclined to do business With DroneFly in the future. Probably yes.
Summary: I'm sure DroneFly is capitalized far less than B&H. B&H is a long term well funded operation that anyone should have confidence in. No question. Understanding that, I do understand what led to problems during this debacle.
