Very disappointed in Line6 Customer Service

[gbakerjr]

I bought my Helix in March of 2016, so it's still in warranty.  I have a bad scribble strip.  My gig schedule is very heavy and the Helix is a major part of my rig, so I'd really prefer not to be without it....Or if I have to be without it, to have as little down time as possible.  When I opened a support ticket with Line6, I asked if it would be possible for them to send me a replacement, which I would gladly pay for up front, and then have them refund what I paid when they received the defective unit.  This way there wouldn't be any down time.  I've done this several times over the years with various gear and manufactures when something needed repair while still in warranty.  I was working with "Will" at Line6.  He said they weren't setup for that type of transaction, but what he would do was ship the replacement out as soon as I sent him tracking info for shipment of the defective Helix.  He sent me a UPS label, I packed up the Helix and shipped it out on 9/13/2017, and sent the tracking info to Line6 that same day.  I heard nothing in response, so I inquired about the status of the replacement unit on 9/16 and again on 9/19. I finally got a response on 9/19 that the replacement unit shipped that day.  So much for shipping the replacement upon receipt of the tracking info for the defective Helix and helping me out with less down time.

 

In the grand scheme of things, a few days turn around is normally excellent....Except that's not the arrangement that we had made.  Since it's only a scribble strip issue and not impacting the functionality of the Helix, and I've got several months of warranty left, I would've gladly waited to send it in for repair when I had a lull in my gig schedule so I wouldn't be without the Helix.  I've been a believer in Line6 since the original POD.  I have an original POD, an AX2 212 with floorboard, a XT Live, a HD500, a HD500X, two Relay G90's, a XDV-75 with both headset and handheld, two James Tyler Variax's, a Helix, Helix Native, POD Farm....To say the least, I've shuffled a good amount of change to Line6 over the years.  Next time I'm due to update my guitar rig, I'm afraid Line6 may not be on the receiving end of my hard earned dollars.

[jbuhajla]

Even what they did seems well above and beyond what should be expected for normal warranty work. Offering a replacement while they are working on yours is WAY beyond normal. 

 

I do not play professionally, but if paying my bills was dependent on my ability to play and my schedule was very gig heavy, I would have a backup system in place for scenarios like this. 

 

Just my $0.02...

[cruisinon2]

And you're only "disappointed"? What, no moral outrage because they didn't also give you a free lifetime membership in the Jelly of the Month Club to take the sting off your "late" replacement? Ugh...

 

I'm gonna go out on a limb and suggest that you're probably not gonna get much in the way of sympathy...

[gbakerjr]

Actually, replacing a unit that fails within the warranty period in a manner that leaves the customer with as little down time as possible is fairly common practice.  I do have a back-up system.  That's not the issue.  Line6's turn around is not the issue.  As I said, the turn around was excellent.  My disappointment is due to the fact that Line6 didn't follow through with the arrangements that we made.  Standing behind what you offer is just good business practice.

Not looking for sympathy folks.  Just sharing an experience.

[DunedinDragon]

I'd suggest next time use the "special" customer service support line at 1-800-Prima-Donna.....  ;)

[spikey]

You shipped on 9/13 with a label Line-6 sent you so there was no shipping fee, and got a reply back on 9/19 from Line-6 that a new replacement unit had shipped to you, and you are upset? With a 6 day turnaround? 

 

Really? 

[cruisinon2]

You shipped on 9/13 with a label Line-6 sent you so there was no shipping fee, and got a reply back on 9/19 from Line-6 that a new replacement unit had shipped to you, and you are upset? With a 6 day turnaround?

 

Really?

Well there was deviation from "the arrangement", you see...they also didn't drive to his house and give him a foot massage. Can you imagine that?!?! NO FOOT MASSAGE! I'll never buy anything from L6 again either until any apology is issued. SOLIDARITY!

 

Lmao...wow that's hard to keep up. ;)

[hideout]

Ridiculous and self-centered.

[gbakerjr]

You all crack me up.  You're putting words in my mouth and then chastising me for what I never said. 

In retrospect, I probably jumped the gun a little in saying I wouldn't buy from Line6 again.  The bottom line is that Line6 makes great products, and if they have a new product that fits my needs, I'd probably buy it.  My original post was bit of a knee-jerk reaction due to my disappointment that Line6 did not follow through with what they had promised, and secondly because there was no communication in the interim.  If someone had zipped me an email saying hey...Things aren't going to work out exactly as expected, I would have been cool.  Further, if Line6 had said from the beginning that there was no option for replacement, just repair, as I said in my original post, the defect is not life altering and I have plenty of time on my warranty left.  I would've been fine with that as well, but I could've waited to send it in for repair when the timing was more convenient.  Bottom line is that it's just the difference between good customer service and great customer service.  I don't know if any of you own a business, but I do...I own several.  Customer retention is the life blood of any service or sales oriented company.  Was it a good warranty repair interaction?  Yep.  I'd even go as far as  to say that it was a great warranty repair interaction.  However, Line6 didn't do what they said they were going to do, so no...They don't score a 10 on this one.  You're more than welcome to feel that my expectation is unreasonable, however this level of customer service is how I run my businesses, and my customer retention rate has been well North of 99% since 1992.

[jasdadgad]

Yikes.  

 

The OP has a perfectly valid complaint - L6 made a commitment; they didn't follow through.  It's simple.

 

You just don't DO that in business.  It doesn't matter whether he needed the Helix for a gig or because it completes the room.

 

No way I could live without my Helix for 6 days - how about you?

 

Maybe he should own a second Helix, just in case.  But that's wholly irrelevant.  L6 made a promise; they broke it.  

 

To add insult to (albeit mild) injury, the mob here - ordinarily an exceedingly pleasant bunch - jumped down his throat.

 

If I were Joe Yamaha, that customer service guy at L6 would be having a very bad day.

[themetallikid]

I work in a similar field of customer service/warehouse shipping of orders and I completely understand where the OP is coming from. 

 

However, I also understand that even though someone was watching for that label and may have seen that it was shipped on 9/13, they may have not been able to pre-order anything in their system before the label showed tracking.  Several things at play that are hard to confirm/deny here...

 

Did the online label tracking not update until 9/14

Once the tracking was updated was it outside the normal shift of the person tracking it, so that added a delay in when the order was placed

Once the order was placed, does it take a day or so for the order to be fulfilled, and then an additional day to get the shipping information generated and get it out the door. 

 

 

I get where 6 days can seem like an exaggerated length of time for this, but being my work history, and also that you have the 16th/17th weekend days in the middle of that window of 9/13-9/19. 

 

I could potentially see this as a scenario

 

Item shipped back 9/13, tracking not updated until later in the day/night of 9/13 (person at Line 6 doesn't work again til sometime 9/14).  L6 rep comes in on 9/14, places the order for the replacement to be shipped out.  Warehouse processes the order later on 9/14.  9/15 item gets to the shipping area and is ready to be sent out.  With the weekend, nothing progresses or get shipped.  Item is picked up and 'shipped' 9/18, however, tracking may not generated until 9/19. 

 

 

 

I've seen worse scenarios, but I've seen better ones too.  I understand, but don't fault either party as there isn't enough information to know for sure. 

[klangmaler]

[...]there isn't enough information to know for sure.

[tedulrich]

Not berating the OP here, but the thing I find amusing is this:

 

I use to work in the commercial trucking industry, under a very premium brand.  The level of manufacturer warranty support you (don't) get on a brand new $100,000-$200,000 piece of equipment is absolutely embarrassing for that kind of investment on the part of the customer.  Perhaps my view is tainted by this experience, but I consider getting even the time of day from a manufacturer to be an absolute miracle, let alone the some of the stellar efforts I've seen out of Line 6.  In this case, it was probably one of the rare times something slipped through the cracks.  It sucks, but we're all human.  Did you contact anyone else at Line 6 about the failure in the original agreement prior to posting?  If it were me on Line 6's end, I'd want to know about the problem and make an attempt to recover the experience prior to it going on a public forum like this one where it's subject to getting blown out of proportion on both ends, by parties uninvolved.  :)

[cruisinon2]

If it were me on Line 6's end, I'd want to know about the problem and make an attempt to recover the experience prior to it going on a public forum like this one where it's subject to getting blown out of proportion on both ends, by parties uninvolved. :)

I demand an investigation! Somebody call that Mueller guy... let's see if he's busy. ;)

[Guest Line6Will]

Hey everyone, Line6Will here.  I'm the CS rep who was dealing with gbakerjr.  We really like transparency here, so I'm going to jump in on this.  Everything OP said is true, and I already let him know I slipped up.  There was a stock issue and it forced a delay.  The issue was I didn't let him know about the delay, his accommodation replacement just shipped out much later than expected, my bad on that one.  The timing of the weekend made it all worse.  When the Helix came out we really had to step up our support, and we started doing things we normally wouldn't do. Unfortunately the quality of support didn't match the product.

[cruisinon2]

Well that was quick, lol... just one mention of this Mueller dude, and POOF! Instant results... literally a one minute turnaround. Now THAT'S service, lol. "Arrangement-gate" has been resolved.

 

We now return you to your regularly scheduled fizz/tuner sucks/Fractal is better discussions. ;)

[jbuhajla]

Hey everyone, Line6Will here.  I'm the CS rep who was dealing with gbakerjr.  We really like transparency here, so I'm going to jump in on this.  Everything OP said is true, and I already let him know I slipped up.  There was a stock issue and it forced a delay.  The issue was I didn't let him know about the delay, his accommodation replacement just shipped out much later than expected, my bad on that one.  The timing of the weekend made it all worse.  When the Helix came out we really had to step up our support, and we started doing things we normally wouldn't do. Unfortunately the quality of support didn't match the product.

Bravo for the transparency sir! And bravo for going above and beyond what normal warranty work involves. 

[jbuhajla]

Well that was quick, lol... just one mention of this Mueller dude, and POOF! Instant results... literally a one minute turnaround. Now THAT'S service, lol. "Arrangement-gate" has been resolved.

 

We now return you to your regularly scheduled fizz/tuner sucks/Fractal is better discussions. ;)

Make Modelers Great Again. 

[tedulrich]

From one in customer service to another, props Will, way to take ownership of the situation.  B)

[cruisinon2]

Make Modelers Great Again.

Lmao...well done. Exactly what this conversation deserves...started silly, ended silly. Perfect bookends. 😂

[jasdadgad]

Hey everyone, Line6Will here.  I'm the CS rep who was dealing with gbakerjr.  We really like transparency here, so I'm going to jump in on this.  Everything OP said is true, and I already let him know I slipped up.  There was a stock issue and it forced a delay.  The issue was I didn't let him know about the delay, his accommodation replacement just shipped out much later than expected, my bad on that one.  The timing of the weekend made it all worse.  When the Helix came out we really had to step up our support, and we started doing things we normally wouldn't do. Unfortunately the quality of support didn't match the product.

 

Wow!  You guys are great.  Well done.

[Rocco_Crocco]

OP you say you have a backup to the Helix, so why allow yourself to be disappointed? You really didn't lose anything. 

[HonestOpinion]

I don't usually comment on these topics regarding customer service because I always feel like whatever I say will come across as pandering to Line6 and sound somewhat self-serving as in "maybe my complimentary comment will result in a better response when I have a problem". But I have to say, Line6 may well have the best customer service in the industry. There are few companies I have dealt with over my lifetime that are first off, so easy to contact on the phone, and secondly go to such lengths to remedy issues. Companies as large as Line6 almost never attain the high bar that Line6 sets. It is exceptional and notable. After companies reach the size of Line6 they often adopt an "economy of scale" where they consistently deny service calculating that there are "more customers where that one came from". Look at any large insurance, cable, or phone company if you want an example of that philosophy.  

 

I can't say how much I appreciate working with the Line6 customer reps who not only take an active interest in finding a satisfactory resolution for me, have excellent product knowledge, and most importantly at no time give me the feeling that they are reading off of a script with canned answers designed to deny my request and save the company money at my expense. I have dealt with Will before and his customer service has been fantastic. The fact that he bothered to post a mea culpa publicly here is unprecedented in my experience with any company. Please keep doing what you are doing Line6. It is noted, hugely appreciated, and a real differentiator in a market place full of companies who fail to stand behind their products and are difficult to reach. One thing I am confident of is that when I buy a product from Line6, customer service will be there to help if I have an issue.

[spikey]

 

The issue was I didn't let him know about the delay, his accommodation replacement just shipped out much later than expected, my bad on that one.  The timing of the weekend made it all worse. 

 

 

And letting him know this earlier would not have gotten his replacement to him any sooner because you still would have been out of stock and the weekend would have still happened, but thanks for stepping up in any case and taking the hit Will. AND, I also think the OP should edit his opening title to included "resolved".

[BrokenGravity]

A few tips:

 

Have 2 helix's

 

OR

 

Go to guitar center / Sam Ash and buy a helix.  Each have a 45 day return policy.  Use it, then when you're done, return it.  Just keep it in mint condition  :rolleyes:

[Lachdanan0121]

I don't usually comment on these topics regarding customer service because I always feel like whatever I say will come across as pandering to Line6 and sound somewhat self-serving as in "maybe my complimentary comment will result in a better response when I have a problem". But I have to say, Line6 may well have the best customer service in the industry. There are few companies I have dealt with over my lifetime that are first off, so easy to contact on the phone, and secondly go to such lengths to remedy issues. Companies as large as Line6 almost never attain the high bar that Line6 sets. It is exceptional and notable. After companies reach the size of Line6 they often adopt an "economy of scale" where they consistently deny service calculating that there are "more customers where that one came from". Look at any large insurance, cable, or phone company if you want an example of that philosophy.  

 

I can't say how much I appreciate working with the Line6 customer reps who not only take an active interest in finding a satisfactory resolution for me, have excellent product knowledge, and most importantly at no time give me the feeling that they are reading off of a script with canned answers designed to deny my request and save the company money at my expense. I have dealt with Will before and his customer service has been fantastic. The fact that he bothered to post a mea culpa publicly here is unprecedented in my experience with any company. Please keep doing what you are doing Line6. It is noted, hugely appreciated, and a real differentiator in a market place full of companies who fail to stand behind their products and are difficult to reach. One thing I am confident of is that when I buy a product from Line6, customer service will be there to help if I have an issue.

Agreed. Some places have wonderful customer service/relations. I haven't really had to deal with Line 6 customer service. But I hear mostly wonderful things, and this thread (with Will posting like that) is just re-enforcement of that. Very rarely have I seen customer relations on this scale, with a company this large, remaining this consistently positive. I would say the only other company I could point to that has consistently stellar customer service being so large/popular... is Image Line.   I have also had a lot of good interactions with Sweetwater Music, and Amazon.com (though I have also heard horror stories about Amazon customer service)

[bobthedog]

Any piece of kit you need for work you need a backup. If you are really paranoid you need three.

[Marcusdesade]

I've been trying to get my UX2 working with my new computer since September. For some reason, License Manager stayed locked on to the serial number from an old computer had two computers ago. Anyway, initially I had decent support from a Line 6 tech, and we had to jump through a bunch of technical hoops that ultimately didn't work. So the tech ended up doing some sort of reset, while keeping my account intact. The tech said this was about all he was going to be able to do at his end, but it seemed like we had exhausted all the other fix ideas so we were postively expectant. This takes me up to around mid-November. So by now, I'm thinking that the rest would be as easy as it was when I originally set up my DI gear. Unfortunately, I still couldn't get anything to work, and so I started sending emails to my Line 6 tech contact again. Crickets. No response. My contact with Line 6 through that support ticket had evaporated. So I set up another ticket. I also spent $99.99 on a new PodFarm2, because I was thinking that maybe I had done something wrong and in good faith, figured I'd start over (I bought this gear back in '17). Still nothing. Can't activate anything through License Manager, can't get my device to light up, zero. So by now I'm getting pretty frustrated. I'm an older guy in my mid '50s, so not a great tech-head, but I figure no consumer-level tech product should be this obtuse to configure and use. So, I sent in a new support ticket. Still nothing, after 2 weeks. Now I'm past fed up and I send what I hoped would be a final email advising Line 6 that I just wanted my $99.99 refunded, and that I'd give my DI away to someone on Craigslist and just find a workable solution with a product from some other company. Still no response. So now, although I have other Line 6 gear (like an AMPLIFi) that I need my Line 6 account to remain active for, I'm stuck with equipment I can't use, a product I just purchased which is equally useless to me, and no response to my requests for service, support or even a refund. Not sure where to turn at this point. Just writing off the $99.99, junking the equipment and pretending nothing happened doesn't feel responsible, or right. Neither does zero customer service on a significant service failure after months of trying.

[HonestOpinion]

3 hours ago, Marcusdesade said:

I've been trying to get my UX2 working with my new computer since September. For some reason, License Manager stayed locked on to the serial number from an old computer had two computers ago. Anyway, initially I had decent support from a Line 6 tech, and we had to jump through a bunch of technical hoops that ultimately didn't work. So the tech ended up doing some sort of reset, while keeping my account intact. The tech said this was about all he was going to be able to do at his end, but it seemed like we had exhausted all the other fix ideas so we were postively expectant. This takes me up to around mid-November. So by now, I'm thinking that the rest would be as easy as it was when I originally set up my DI gear. Unfortunately, I still couldn't get anything to work, and so I started sending emails to my Line 6 tech contact again. Crickets. No response. My contact with Line 6 through that support ticket had evaporated. So I set up another ticket. I also spent $99.99 on a new PodFarm2, because I was thinking that maybe I had done something wrong and in good faith, figured I'd start over (I bought this gear back in '17). Still nothing. Can't activate anything through License Manager, can't get my device to light up, zero. So by now I'm getting pretty frustrated. I'm an older guy in my mid '50s, so not a great tech-head, but I figure no consumer-level tech product should be this obtuse to configure and use. So, I sent in a new support ticket. Still nothing, after 2 weeks. Now I'm past fed up and I send what I hoped would be a final email advising Line 6 that I just wanted my $99.99 refunded, and that I'd give my DI away to someone on Craigslist and just find a workable solution with a product from some other company. Still no response. So now, although I have other Line 6 gear (like an AMPLIFi) that I need my Line 6 account to remain active for, I'm stuck with equipment I can't use, a product I just purchased which is equally useless to me, and no response to my requests for service, support or even a refund. Not sure where to turn at this point. Just writing off the $99.99, junking the equipment and pretending nothing happened doesn't feel responsible, or right. Neither does zero customer service on a significant service failure after months of trying.

 

Sorry you are having so many issues getting this resolved. Line6 is pretty singular in the industry regarding how good their support is so I am surprised to hear they have not responded. I would suggest checking your spam folder to make sure their responses are not being shunted off where you don't see them. They are also very good about answering their phones so if you can give them a call. You can also reach out to Frank Ritchotte on "The Gear Page"  https://www.thegearpage.net/board/index.php. He has been very responsive to customers.  You might want to keep in mind that they are probably swamped with the holidays coming up.  I would not give up just yet.

 

Btw a heads up, this is the forum area for the Helix so there are probably better areas to post this.

[southtexas]

Relay G10S  Unreliable and worthless for live performance most of the time.

 

Line 6 advertises that their The Relay G10S provides pristine 24-bit audio quality, free from dropouts and interference, and has an impressive 130' line-of-sight range.  This is false advertisement and untrue.  I have nothing but  repeat drop outs on most live stages standing only 3 feet from it rendering it useless to perform with.  Their customer support is aware of this issue and feels that it is acceptable to keep making this claim in order to sell it when they know otherwise.     Buyers be ware.  

[codamedia]

On 12/28/2022 at 3:12 PM, southtexas said:

Relay G10S  Unreliable and worthless for live performance most of the time.

 

Line 6 advertises that their The Relay G10S provides pristine 24-bit audio quality, free from dropouts and interference, and has an impressive 130' line-of-sight range.  This is false advertisement and untrue.  I have nothing but  repeat drop outs on most live stages standing only 3 feet from it rendering it useless to perform with.  Their customer support is aware of this issue and feels that it is acceptable to keep making this claim in order to sell it when they know otherwise.     Buyers be ware.  

 

You - are -  in - the - helix - forum! Just saying :) 

 

You bought into a 2.4G network. I hate to be the spoiler here, but they all suffer from that same problem. With the G10 it will scan and give you the cleanest channel... but it can't stop others from jumping on that channel later. When you buy other models YOU get to choose the channel... it makes it quicker to navigate when things go south. 

 

You also bought a consumer grade device and seem to want pro level. Spend money and buy pro - if that's what you expect! You won't get it for $200.  All that said... the G10 sounds great and many people use it with success. Sadly, you are in a market where that traffic is saturated. 

 

FWIW... I use a G50 and on occasion have issues, but not often. When I play an exhibition/large fair, FORGET IT! Every ride is controlled by an MC that owns a Line 6 handheld sharing the same channels. C'est La Vie.... I bought into the 2.4 network and I know it! 

[PierM]

WiFi 2.4Ghz pollution is crazy high these days. Hard to find a place with a clean channel, and consumer products like the G10 arent able to filter out interferences, so they are extremely sensible to that aspect.

 

G10 is 7 years old product, and when it has been released the situation was way better than today.

 

Also, this is even worse on those countries with edge channels restrictions.

 

I was a very happy customer for the G10, with 3 of these toys, but these days they are all parked in a closet because the continous drops (g10S even worse).