You said they offered to up charge for upgrade and wait for new model OR send you a replacement OG version. I asked you if they were charging you more for the replacement OG version and you just glossed right past that. now you're mixing up different parts of the two offers to where it makes it sound like you, the victim, were being asked to pay to receive the replacement original unit. If that happened then that would suck, but it sounds to me like you were offered a free replacement OR an up charge for new hopper version. Since you never answered I guess I don't really know for sure. It must be hard doing customer service when customers are not really sure what they are even reading?
jesus. ok, since you're pretty invested for some reason: (if you ACTUALLY have anything to do with GHL, help me out with some more hurry up)
I'm not really all that upset- despite how it may look this many posts in- but in any case:
After radio silence upon radio silence, mostly preceded by messages that run the gamut in terms of status: "all good man! fixed! shipping! fire! lost! we actually DO have it! wait do we? hmm. lets check..."
They finally responded with TWO options. two. only two. that bit's critical here, follow along:
EITHER:
1) I can tale them up on an offer for a discounted IO (new hopper, own potential snags, not yet available, release tbd, ---think kickstarter v2)
OR
2) They'll send me a replacement, repaired, UPDATED internals (to be fair, if the "repaired/refurbished/resold units DIDN'T utilize the most current iteration of their kit, that'd be asinine- if not all that surprising) that, while not MY EXACT UNIT, would be working, current, etc. (who knows if it will even be the same model- i have a Ti Blue on purpose- did you just say "whatever you have" when you bought?)
--however, tacked onto THAT option, is the acknowledgement that while "This is our responsibility to you as a customer, but if you can contribute anything towards the cost of this new device, we would greatly appreciate it."
I only initially came to kvetch at the $$ ask as part of the warranty update; though not required, it still smells bad. Have you ever gotten a hookup, whether a friend, or an employee somewhere, for which you then felt obligated to over-tip or otherwise compensate them for their charity? where you've now paid the same or more in total than you would have initially?
At this point, my ONLY experience with GHL is a lackluster unit that NEVER performed at a level I read about here, that worked JUST well enough that I waited over a year to send it in because everyone reported YEAR PLUS warranty wait times, and it was the vape I used daily. When I got in bed with an on demand unit that WORKED, and anecdotal evidence pointed to reduced wait times, i finally bit the bullet and sent it in. It WAS quick! or would have been, if it had shipped when repair was completed, and not waiting for me to bite on a battery/condom/whatever upsell line that they cast out.
Less than stellar IME. Again, LIFETIME WARRANTIES ARE AMAZING. except when they're not.
As I said before, I'm not that mad. I am irked. In the grand scheme of things, I'm okay. Its not my water purification system, it's my first-world instant-high machine, but it's the principal- sure, they agree that it's their obligation to repair or replace units as promised, but how much good guy credit should a company get for MEETING THE TERMS OF THE WARRANTY?
Somehow, to some of you, it comes off as less egregious the longer it takes: as if it is somehow proof of the amount that they care. In ANY other situation, on a condensed time line, this would be a RIDICULOUS method of handling warranty/guarantees. Imagine going to best buy trying to exchange a warrantied item, and geek squad disappearing into the back over and over again, only to and they keep trying to sell anti virus, or upsell you to the next model, or siiiigh, i guess i can swap for the same item, but itd sure be nice if you could throw in some more dough..."
Personally, id MUCH prefer a nice, responsive, sensitive warranty process, peppered with apologies and or acknowledgement of the whole clusterfuck, followed by a "thanks for all you dealt with, but be aware we are still struggling. If you have any interest in supporting the cause, here is: donation information"
in any case, my main frustration at this point is in THIS back and forth. I came to vent, and here I am exhausted.
TL
R 2 choices:
discounted upgrade to IO Hopper
replaced by working current gen model (but help if you can)
@rnartian: didnt see your response before i started my first-in-a-trilogy novel:
There wasn't anything regarding upgraded/expedited/whatever shipping. But the 90 day time frame is given in the next sentence, so it's not crazy to think that a "donation" could be helpful in making sure they do what they can to help.
On THAT note, it really IS a nice little restaraunt we've got here, and it WOULD be a shame if something...happened to it.