I've been a long-standing customer of C&B Seen, who readers may recognise as a UK distributor of relatively cheap Chinese cycle lights. I have had such a bumpy ride with their products for some years that I wanted to write about it, and to see if mine was an isolated sequence of poor luck, or whether the customer service issues are serious enough to warn folks off a risky company that may have gone to the dogs. The main issue appears to have been the company changing hands, with the old owner and customer service manager Roger apparently now gone.
In summary, I have doggedly tried to repair my lights when wires have failed, I have sent lamps back with strain relief problems or exit hole chafing. My latest problem was poor quality main-board soldering that resulted in an all-in-one unit failing to recharge, and then on top of that, it took over 2.5 months to get a replacement. It's not that there was a disagreement about replacing - they appeared to be willing to replace the lamp, and then sat on the problem for a couple of months. I received occasional vague replies, saying they were "away" or "back next week", but even now, when my lamp replacement finally arrived, several of my emails are still unanswered. One would imagine that if a company receives an email asking "are you still in business" they would be very keen to answer!
The old owner Roger used to reply usually within a day, and was happy to enter into lengthy correspondence about saving broken lamps/batteries from landfill, a topic I am also keen on. However, the new owners do not even sign with their names - they are just a faceless company name now - and the delays make me wonder if they are going out of business. For anyone who wants the long read, it is here.
(The story has a happy ending - I decided my time is too valuable for this faff, and have plumped for a Exposure Race. It costs four times as much, but it is a lovely unit, and I am hoping the quality will pay off in reliability).
In summary, I have doggedly tried to repair my lights when wires have failed, I have sent lamps back with strain relief problems or exit hole chafing. My latest problem was poor quality main-board soldering that resulted in an all-in-one unit failing to recharge, and then on top of that, it took over 2.5 months to get a replacement. It's not that there was a disagreement about replacing - they appeared to be willing to replace the lamp, and then sat on the problem for a couple of months. I received occasional vague replies, saying they were "away" or "back next week", but even now, when my lamp replacement finally arrived, several of my emails are still unanswered. One would imagine that if a company receives an email asking "are you still in business" they would be very keen to answer!
The old owner Roger used to reply usually within a day, and was happy to enter into lengthy correspondence about saving broken lamps/batteries from landfill, a topic I am also keen on. However, the new owners do not even sign with their names - they are just a faceless company name now - and the delays make me wonder if they are going out of business. For anyone who wants the long read, it is here.
(The story has a happy ending - I decided my time is too valuable for this faff, and have plumped for a Exposure Race. It costs four times as much, but it is a lovely unit, and I am hoping the quality will pay off in reliability).
