Ch-Products and costumer-support....

[Purzel]

Hiyas!

I bought a Pro-Throttle and a Fighterstick a few weeks ago, and they didnt work. I asked for help here, but no advice could fix the problem.
I contacted the customer-support of CH-Products and - guess what:
It was great!!! They responded quckley, at first telling me to do things i had already done (Ok, I was expecting to hear this   ) but after i told them more clearly what the problem was, they relpied they would send me a chip with the new Firmware. I didnt even ask for that, and thy sent it from US to Germany w/o charge... Well, it isnt THAT expensive - but how many companies really care about customer-service???

Today it arrived, and now this thing works perfectly. After this I doubt I will ever consider buying anything else than CH-Stuff  

Finally I think the calculation of CH-Products went off: I am positively surprised and (right now) spreading their story  

Well, I dont know about Thrustmaster or Saitek Services, but I think CH is on the top of the list.

------------------
CU

Purzel

--
"Find the enemy and shoot him down, everything else is nonsense!"
M. von Richthofen

[This message has been edited by Purzel (edited 10-24-2000).]

[Ripsnort]

I agree, had nothing but outstanding service from CH Products.

[Westy]

 Same as Ripsnort. And thats really good news Purzel! :-)  

-Westy

[minus]

huh  tell my how to get a new potenciometers from Ch for my Force  FX  trotle an ruder
especialy the ruder pots are realy used

[Maverick]

 

Originally posted by minus:
huh  tell my how to get a new potenciometers from Ch for my Force  FX  trotle an ruder
especialy the ruder pots are realy used

Minus,

I e-mailed CH products through their web site and asked the same question. I got a response the next day telling me that they have pots for all products available for sale through the customer service side of the site. They will sell them to you.

I have NOTHING but good to say about CH particularly in comparison to Thrustmaster (bustmaster) products and their lousy customer support.

Mav

[Purzel]

Yeppers.

I was thinking about the new Thrustmaster-HOTAS as the next HOTAS for me as USB-version.

But now I dont think I will buy this. It is most probably a very good system, but I wouldnt buy it if i can have gear w the same quality and MUCH better costumer-support.

YOU READ THIS THRUSTMASTER????

Hehe, can u say "bad management"?    

MINUS:
Just buy these Potis - no company can give away stuff, that just gets bad by using it. But they can sell high-quality-parts for a reasonable price. So you dont risk buying low-quality-stuff.

At least I will most probably stay with CH-Products... after such an experience.

------------------
CU

Purzel

--
"Find the enemy and shoot him down, everything else is nonsense!"
M. von Richthofen

[This message has been edited by Purzel (edited 10-25-2000).]

[This message has been edited by Purzel (edited 10-25-2000).]

[RangerBob]

I haven't had any problems with my CH Products as yet, but I did have an experience with Thrustmaster.

I was a loyal Thrustmaser customer since way back when they first started. Back then their customer support was excellent. Things changed in recent years, about the time of the sale of the company. I had all top quality Thrustmaster stuff like the F22 Pro Stick, TQS Throttle, and Elite Pedals. I had some problems, but when I contacted customer support I was stunned by the total lack of response. For over a month I sent messages on a daily basis with absolutely no response. I indicated I was willing to pay for parts, filled out standard order forms, but still no response. I called on the phone and waited endlessly only to talk to a clerk type tech. What he promised never happened. I tried contacting management by E-mail asking very nicely for help. The story goes on and on, but basically I will never deal with Thrustmaster again.

You have no reason to by Thrustmaster Products. At the present time Saitek makes excellent equipment at a reasonable price, and CH Products is coming out with more USB stuff every day. These companies want your business. CH Products has an excellent reputation for support.

This is your hobby. Enjoy yourself. Stick with those who will provide quality and support. Don't buy fustration.

Ranger Bob

[SOB]

That's a damn shame  

[-luny-]

Well, I'm not so enthusiastic about CH anymore. The CH Force FX stick used to be great, until about 2 years after its release they dropped driver support completely. The last force feedback driver is for DirectX 5, and only works so-so (force strength can't be adjusted for instance). What's worse, it has a COM port memory leak bug that will freeze the PC completely after 1-2 hours online through a COM port modem.

I have tried several times, very politely, to persuade CH to release the driver source code so that it could be fixed and this excellent and durable stick wouldn't have to gather dust on the shelf, but the answer is a plain and simple "no".

They don't support the stick, in mid-1999 they have openly said that there will be no more driver releases, and the code is old I-force 1.0 stuff that has no use in any modern sticks anyway. And still, "no".

They claim they don't even have the driver source code because it was developed by I-force. So, I contacted I-force and they say they'd be happy to release the driver code if CH okays it. Guess what? "No". CH will not okay it. Plain and simple. I have tried enough times (always politely) to know that I'm up against a stone wall.

I have kept this crap out of public forums so far, but reading all this praise for CH nowadays makes me just mad. I wonder what they hope to accomplish by treating paying customers like this.

In my books all they do is get a reputation as a company that may or may not support your game controller, and drop support even for a relatively new device just like that if they so please. CH Force FX wasn't on the market for more than about 2 years before the driver support was killed, and yet it's an excellent piece of hardware that is STILL available in shops.

<rant mode off> sorry  

Luny