Concerns about support form the Letus Corp at DVinfo.net

Billy Mead · October 24th, 2008, 12:49 AM

I’m not sure if this is a sponsored forum and if it’s policy to moderate and delete posts that raise less than positive points…

… but we have legitimate concerns about the lack of support available from Letus. Our relationship only started a year ago with our first purchase of an Extreme adapter and today we have six and a newly acquired Ultimate. Also, thousands and thousands of dollars in accessories, lens mounts, thread rings, rail systems, cases, etc. Not a big customer by any means but we’re trying to grow awareness too. Timely support should have no relevance to what a customer has spent. As a rental house our needs may be different and lack of the above from vendors affects us and our ability to have a business model that relies on word of mouth. Will one or two adapters being down mean we’ll go out of business? Of course not, but we have made a decent investment in a relationship that should go both ways. When I tell a customer we can’t provide an adapter for the weekend then we have let them down… especially if it’s sitting on the tech bench because we can’t get parts.

Slow response time to support issues was a problem from day one but it’s at its worse and we were really affected when a simple repair took over 6 weeks.… even the initial contact took 10 days and a lot of attempts. Also, a new product shipped missing parts 6 weeks ago and that still has not been resolved. I have to guess it’s because of the tremendous success Hien and his team have had and who can be faulted for that? Unexpected growth is as much of a curse as it is a blessing.

Not a complaint from anyone about the product itself. In our opinion as well a that of our customers it’s the best adapter on the market regardless of price. Feature set, engineering, craftsmanship and innovation is second to none. But that’s only half the story… if we (and several of others we’ve spoke too) can’t get timely response to support issues then the overall experience is affected.

Nobody’s perfect.. I struggled with taking this public and I’m not spamming boards out of spite. It ends here. Details about the incidents are probably unique to us so there’s no benefit going in-depth. Take it how you hear it.. it’s only one voice from probably hundreds (or even thousands) of very happy customers… as it should be with such a great piece of technology.

Respectfully,

David W. Jones · October 24th, 2008, 05:27 AM

Well I'm in no position to tell you your business, but most of the rental houses I have worked with over the years either have an In-House tech, or an arrangement with a local tech who can quickly take care of any problems.

Vito DeFilippo · October 24th, 2008, 06:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Billy Mead

especially if it’s sitting on the tech bench because we can’t get parts.

David,

Sounds to me like he DOES have an in-house tech. He just can't get parts...

Greg Boston · October 24th, 2008, 06:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Billy Mead

I’m not sure if this is a sponsored forum and if it’s policy to moderate and delete posts that raise less than positive points…

Billy, DVINFO does have a policy of removing crusades, tirades, and personal rants. However, your post is a shining example of how issues that are less than positive should be worded. Just a presentation of facts, without the emotional commentary that gets a lot of posts removed.

I tend to lean towards the reason you mentioned, in that the success of the Letus adapters have contributed to the slow response. Let's hope that this situation can be resolved by Letus in short order.

Regards,

-gb-

Billy Mead · October 26th, 2008, 08:18 PM

Thanks Greg, it’s actually been hard to not get frustrated and even after sending them an identical email, closely worded the same way, there was no reply again.

Nothing good comes from handling situations like this any way BUT being respectful. Imagine if there was an emergency on their end and something completely out of their control was the reason communications had broken down? Then who looks immature? We’re running a business as they are and name-calling has no place in the grown up world.

As for the comment about our repair techs, we actually have two and they are very solid. Combined there’s 40+ years of experience and I have a hard time placing any blame on them. Not sure where that comment came from.

It’s about three little screws which we have repeatedly offered to pay for even though they should have come with the module. They shipped the Elite without them and Home Depot doesn’t have anything even close. So it sits on the bench as it has for weeks… I’m more worried about not being able to offer the adapters to customers we have put a lot of energy into promoting because we’re short two adapters.. for weeks. We got behind Letus from day one and have given our loyalty in exchange for what we thought would be a relationship that worked both ways.

But I’m now repeating myself and can only hope for a resolution.. and three screws.

Billy

** UPDATE **
It was a nice surprise to hear from Letus, Hien directly. He was appalled things had gotten this far and promised to do whatever he could to solve the issue. The screws have been sent overnight and Hien also included other parts we may need being a rental house. After looking though customer support emails they found our attempts at contacting them.

The reason given was what I expected, which is phenomenal growth and thousands of customers... a little preparedness and probably a few more bodies and things might not slip though. I can’t speak for them as that’s just not air. I only see it from this side.

It’s too bad it came to a public posting and this solves the most recent issue, but it’s been a bumpy year. Regardless, we are more than willing to see what the next year looks likes. You can’t get better imaging that what Letus provides..if they work out even 95% of support problems, you’ve got a company that will be untouchable.

October 24th, 2008, 12:49 AM	#1
Billy Mead New Boot Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Boston MA Posts: 15	Concerns about support form the Letus Corp I’m not sure if this is a sponsored forum and if it’s policy to moderate and delete posts that raise less than positive points… … but we have legitimate concerns about the lack of support available from Letus. Our relationship only started a year ago with our first purchase of an Extreme adapter and today we have six and a newly acquired Ultimate. Also, thousands and thousands of dollars in accessories, lens mounts, thread rings, rail systems, cases, etc. Not a big customer by any means but we’re trying to grow awareness too. Timely support should have no relevance to what a customer has spent. As a rental house our needs may be different and lack of the above from vendors affects us and our ability to have a business model that relies on word of mouth. Will one or two adapters being down mean we’ll go out of business? Of course not, but we have made a decent investment in a relationship that should go both ways. When I tell a customer we can’t provide an adapter for the weekend then we have let them down… especially if it’s sitting on the tech bench because we can’t get parts. Slow response time to support issues was a problem from day one but it’s at its worse and we were really affected when a simple repair took over 6 weeks.… even the initial contact took 10 days and a lot of attempts. Also, a new product shipped missing parts 6 weeks ago and that still has not been resolved. I have to guess it’s because of the tremendous success Hien and his team have had and who can be faulted for that? Unexpected growth is as much of a curse as it is a blessing. Not a complaint from anyone about the product itself. In our opinion as well a that of our customers it’s the best adapter on the market regardless of price. Feature set, engineering, craftsmanship and innovation is second to none. But that’s only half the story… if we (and several of others we’ve spoke too) can’t get timely response to support issues then the overall experience is affected. Nobody’s perfect.. I struggled with taking this public and I’m not spamming boards out of spite. It ends here. Details about the incidents are probably unique to us so there’s no benefit going in-depth. Take it how you hear it.. it’s only one voice from probably hundreds (or even thousands) of very happy customers… as it should be with such a great piece of technology. Respectfully, __________________ Film Star Rentals www.filmstarrentals.com

October 26th, 2008, 08:18 PM	#5
Billy Mead New Boot Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Boston MA Posts: 15	Thanks Greg, it’s actually been hard to not get frustrated and even after sending them an identical email, closely worded the same way, there was no reply again. Nothing good comes from handling situations like this any way BUT being respectful. Imagine if there was an emergency on their end and something completely out of their control was the reason communications had broken down? Then who looks immature? We’re running a business as they are and name-calling has no place in the grown up world. As for the comment about our repair techs, we actually have two and they are very solid. Combined there’s 40+ years of experience and I have a hard time placing any blame on them. Not sure where that comment came from. It’s about three little screws which we have repeatedly offered to pay for even though they should have come with the module. They shipped the Elite without them and Home Depot doesn’t have anything even close. So it sits on the bench as it has for weeks… I’m more worried about not being able to offer the adapters to customers we have put a lot of energy into promoting because we’re short two adapters.. for weeks. We got behind Letus from day one and have given our loyalty in exchange for what we thought would be a relationship that worked both ways. But I’m now repeating myself and can only hope for a resolution.. and three screws. Billy UPDATE It was a nice surprise to hear from Letus, Hien directly. He was appalled things had gotten this far and promised to do whatever he could to solve the issue. The screws have been sent overnight and Hien also included other parts we may need being a rental house. After looking though customer support emails they found our attempts at contacting them. The reason given was what I expected, which is phenomenal growth and thousands of customers... a little preparedness and probably a few more bodies and things might not slip though. I can’t speak for them as that’s just not air. I only see it from this side. It’s too bad it came to a public posting and this solves the most recent issue, but it’s been a bumpy year. Regardless, we are more than willing to see what the next year looks likes. You can’t get better imaging that what Letus provides..if they work out even 95% of support problems, you’ve got a company that will be untouchable. __________________ Film Star Rentals www.filmstarrentals.com

October 24th, 2008, 05:27 AM	#2
David W. Jones Trustee Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Little Rock Posts: 1,383	Well I'm in no position to tell you your business, but most of the rental houses I have worked with over the years either have an In-House tech, or an arrangement with a local tech who can quickly take care of any problems.