I agree with MetroRedLine.
Deleted by softail86mark
I didn't add to the OPs intent.
My fault.
Carry on.
MC
WP Lives
It is the way business is done. They are not going to put a $25.00 an hour technician on the phone with callers. They have $10.00 an hour clerks for that, and these will not have the information that you want. They heve a script in front of the and it says "Send it in and we will take a look at it."
I had a problem with my Canon camera, long out of warnty. They were nice enough on the telephone, "Oh I am sorry that it is out of waranty. Send it in with $200.00 and we will fix it for you and gaurantee our work, or perhaps you would rather have a voucher for a new Canon product (about $50.00 off the retail)."
You could not ask the operator any questions, all they had in front of them was the script and your three choices: 1) Send it in with $200.; 2) Accept a voucher; or 3) toss it out, or find a third party who will fix it.
LION found a third party who wanted $160. to fix it and had an eight month backlog. I sent it to Canon, and got it back, working, in about a week.
ROAR
The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.
Here there be cats. LIONS with CAMERAS
I've had mostly good luck with Bachmann. Out of all I've had, only 2 have failed. One of them was one of the pancake drive F9 diesels, which I had to stop using because the motor started on fire for a couple seconds, and the other was my 4-8-4 Niagara. The Niagara was replaced once, but it still had the old plus drive with nylon axles and eventually failed again. I once bought a Spectrum 8-40CW off eBay, and found some of the handrails were missing. I asked them if I could buy replacements, and they sent an entire set free!
I wonder what went wrong with those F7 diesels? I have an FT-A that uses the Plus drive, and it's an excellent and reliable runner. In fact, most of my Bachmann products need way less maintenance than my Athearn Blue Box diesels, which seem to need some type of repair everytime I pull them out!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeHhmPf_cek
EDIT: Just remembered, my Spectrum Shay also failed due to split gears. Bought the steel replacements from NWSL, and all is well.
_________________________________________________________________
I have a number of Bachmann Spectrum steamers and for the most part they are excellent running locomotives.
I did have a problem with a couple of them, I contacted Bachmann and the units were exchanged. The replacement units, in all but one instance were excellent running locomotives. The one replacement locomotive that I received that did not run was replaced by Bachmann, this time the replacment was fine.
I've had several contacts with Bachmann service - both for HO and for G locomotive issues - and have always been treated politely and fairly. I have primarily made that initial contact on-line, but have also made contact by phone on occasion. Their policy has consistently been one of having the customer return the problem product, and posting criticism of someone citing that policy seems out of proportion to the issue.
Bill
Have fun with your trains
trainguy4466 I understand that this is Bachmann's policy and it's completely understandable for them to request for me to send it back, however doing so in such an unneccesary and condescending tone is completely uncalled for and out of line. The Sales representative was the rudest person I've ever dealt with as a customer and even though he was explaining company policy he did it in a way that was so rude and inconsiderate that I will no longer be dealing with them on any level
I understand that this is Bachmann's policy and it's completely understandable for them to request for me to send it back, however doing so in such an unneccesary and condescending tone is completely uncalled for and out of line. The Sales representative was the rudest person I've ever dealt with as a customer and even though he was explaining company policy he did it in a way that was so rude and inconsiderate that I will no longer be dealing with them on any level
Same thing with the LION. Someone complains to me that their computer is not working, and so, this being a network, I open their desktop on my console to look at the problem. They keep on telling me stuff while I am trying to look at the issue for myself. They are trying to tell me that so and so is the problem, but I am off into the innards of the operating system to see what is causing the problem that they think they have.
Anyway, *I* got some of those Bachman 45 tonners for my layout, yellow ones of the same sort that NYCT uses in its tunnels. LION opens it up, removes the circuit board, adds a wire for MU'ing the consist, adds some weight : NOW it is *my* locomotive!
What LION does want and cannot get is parts for the Walthers/Proto 1000 subway cars. Anybody gost some spare power trucks for them?
Anybody got any trucks that look like they might work on this equipment?
To bad they don't have a parts department anymore.
I have found Bachmann's service department to be wonderful to deal with! I am very mechically inclined, however with Backmann, it is always return for repair; or, replace and don't attempt to fix anything myself.
NP 2626 "Northern Pacific, really terrific"
Northern Pacific Railway Historical Association: http://www.nprha.org/
Mel,
Respectfully, please understand a few facts:
Bachmann has never made a Spectrum grade F7, and the F7 they make now is an all new drive from 2006.
The GS4 back then was a problem child, that too has been completely re-tooled - drive and shell.
And yes, as I mentioned, several production runs of the shay had problems, many runs of the shay were fine.
I'm not defending those particular products that had problems - they did have problems.
I can't even begin to understand what the problem with those F7's was, but I don't doubt your word.
But listed above is my fleet of Bachmann, generally all very nice locos for the money, even if some people don't care for some of the design features, I have had very good luck with them, and I know lots of other modelers who have as well.
Again, judging every product today based on two or three products from a decade ago is hardly fair.
Buy or don't buy what you want, but I assure you most all of Bachmann's current products are very nice, and many have been for quite a while now.
If we use the "I had one bad experiance" or "they made one bad product" approach, no one would buy any Athearn based on the Mikados with the cracked gears - same would be true of Proto2000. But somehow we don't hear the same bashing of those two brands?
Sheldon
I find it interesting that Bachmann apparently treats each market differently. Bachmann (UK) products, marketed under the brands of Branchline (OO gauge) and Graham Farish (N scale) are premium products and so are Liliput products, Bachmann´s brand for the continental European markets. They don´t have to shun a comparison with the likes of Fleischmann, Roco or Bemo (narrow gauge). In the UK, Bachmann set quality standards, both in detail and engineering, making Hornby, the traditional UK brand, look rather old. I guess the European markets are more attractive to Bachmann, for reasons of economy of scale and margins.
Try and imagine the calls that Bachmann reps get each day.from hobby shops to kids,and the problems put in to them,from late, lost or damaged shipments to some guy that thinks that train set GP40 he got for his 11th birthday in 1976 should be replaced for free after it finally died.as suggested earlier,ask politely for a supervisor.and Bachmann quality has made tremendous strides over the last 25 years.remember that these days no matter the brand name, it all comes from Glorious Peoples revolution consolidated enterprise consumer Products factory
bogp40 Metro Red Line It's best to avoid Bachmann altogether, unless you really like toys. Aside from a few Amfleet I cars, My layout is Bachmann-free. Will never buy a Bachmann loco, not worth the trouble. The old thinking of "Bachman Junk" and to be avoided is a thing of the past. They have made milestones in quality of their products. this is especially true of the Spectrum line of steam. I never was much of a fan of the diesel offerings, they are much better and for the price and overall running quality for fairly inexpensive pieces many will consider them for purchase. I have never had issue w/ their service and find it better than most competitors. I am thoughly pleased w/ the latest EM1, it is a remarkable piece in fine prototypical detail and quality of running. Don't be so harsh and rush to judgement, they have made remarkable improvements.
Metro Red Line It's best to avoid Bachmann altogether, unless you really like toys. Aside from a few Amfleet I cars, My layout is Bachmann-free. Will never buy a Bachmann loco, not worth the trouble.
It's best to avoid Bachmann altogether, unless you really like toys.
Aside from a few Amfleet I cars, My layout is Bachmann-free. Will never buy a Bachmann loco, not worth the trouble.
The old thinking of "Bachman Junk" and to be avoided is a thing of the past. They have made milestones in quality of their products. this is especially true of the Spectrum line of steam. I never was much of a fan of the diesel offerings, they are much better and for the price and overall running quality for fairly inexpensive pieces many will consider them for purchase. I have never had issue w/ their service and find it better than most competitors. I am thoughly pleased w/ the latest EM1, it is a remarkable piece in fine prototypical detail and quality of running.
Don't be so harsh and rush to judgement, they have made remarkable improvements.
Have to agree. Although I am still a diesel fan, their n scale steam now available have made me consider starting a new steam-era layout sometime.
RR_Mel The Bachmann F7s may not have been Plus but they were new in the box and as I remember they cost $75 each, $150 worth of junk. I returned them to Bachmann four times for repair. They were new enough that they were a no charge repair. They never made a complete loop (90’) on my layout without one of them crapping out. I even tried fixing them, after taking them apart about 20 times there wasn’t much left after the impact on the concrete floor. A Bachmann tech called me after the fourth return and said I must have either a problem with my power supply or I need someone to help me fix my track. He was very polite even when I told him that I had 71 locomotives that work perfectly, including a couple of 50 year old Model Die Cast/Roundhouse 0-6-0s that never skip a beat. Mel
How long ago was this Mel?
10 years? 15 years? 20 years?
Did they ever just send you new ones?
Why not?
And one more question - why did you pay $75 each for them? The newest upgraded version can be bought all day long for about $55 and a few years ago they were seldon more than $40 on the street?
My list of Bachmann locos above, has a dollar cost average price of less than $90 each - for mostly Spectrum steam.
Yes, some runs of the shay had serious problems - yet I know other modelers who have Bachmann shays still running perfectly.
"Yawn" - here we go again.
First off, Bachmann customer service people are for the most part not model train experts.
Secondly, while I often defend Bachmann, and will in some ways before I am done here, I have had a few telephone exchanges with some of the "lower level" help where I had some "issues" trying to explain a somewhat complex parts issue. BUT, I understood the fact that these people do not all have every version of every product in the line memorized. Once I got to the Service Manager, my problem was sorted out and they sent me extra parts at no charge.
Bachman's policy is simple - your not happy, send it back. If we can't fix it we will give you a new one (or we might just give you a new one because it is the fastest/easiest way to resolve the problem).
They now have an online system for letting them know you are sending something in. And they have always been effective at letting me know that they received my item, and in communicating how they would handle the problem.
Now a word or two about Bachmann quality - or the quality of any of these model trains made in China.
ANYBODY who judges by the brand is foolish. EVERY company makes some winners and some loosers. BACHMANN makes products at various "levels" in the hobby that target different "levels" of modelers. And while Bachmann quality may have had issues in the past, they are now easily on a par with most everything out there.
BUT, not every product in thier line is aimed at the part of the market targeted by GENESIS, BLI, RAPIDO, etc, etc.
I have 31 Bachmann steamers, mostly Spectrum, and 10 diesels, GE44 tonner in question, doodlebugs and GE70 tonners - out of 41 locos I have only had to return 3 - which were replaced with perfect runners.
I only have 7 BLI locos, two had minor problems, two had major problems, BLI offered NO WARRANTY solution of any kind, and had no parts to fix the two with major problems - not a very good percentage experiance compared to my Bachmann experiances.
Will I still buy BLI locos - if the price is right - yes.
All that said, there are Bachmann items I will not buy - either because they are known "dogs" or because the detail or features don't satisfy my needs.
But the Bachmann stuff that is good, is really good in my view, especially for the prices I have paid - way better "value" than most brands.
As for the OP, maybe the rep was having a bad day, maybe the OP did not realize how he came off to the rep, who knows?
But overall Bachmann works very hard to have happy customers, and I for one would not broadcast a complaint about any company without first giving them a chance to make it right.
I have:
9 Spectrum 2-8-0's
9 Spectrum Heavy 4-8-2's
4 Spectrum 2-6-6-2's
2 Spectrum 4-6-0's
3 Spectrum 2-10-2's
5 Regular Line 2-8-4's (converted to 2-8-2's)
4 GE 70 tonners
2 GE 44 tonners
4 Doodlebugs
They all run good and look good.
The trucks are a snap fit. This stuff is mass produced in China.
Below is the diagram from the Bachmann website which has forums with company reps.
http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/dwg/dwgs/85201.pdf
Rich
If you ever fall over in public, pick yourself up and say “sorry it’s been a while since I inhabited a body.” And just walk away.
trainguy4466JaBear, I apologize if I came off as being on any kind of a "high horse"
Cheers, the Bear.
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
I don't have any Bachmann locomotives anymore i sold them off for better but they were not bad.
Russell
I swear some people just love to Bachmann bash like it's their (other) hobby. And I don't understand all of the hate - even their trainset quality "junk" from the 80/90's is perfectly usable, and in fact I still have my first ever diesel from them. I got it when I was 7, and it's sitting next to the track right now, ready to run should I ever upgrade it to DCC.
Their newer tooled steam engines are some of the nicest sub $500 models you can buy, and I'm quite impressed with the quality of their GG1.
RR_MelIn 2006 I bought a shay....I didn’t learn a lesson from the Shay fiasco, I bought a pair of F7 Plus a year later. I really don’t want to get into the problems with the pair of F7s that ended up in a Dumpster headed to our local Waste Dump.
I find Bachmann's decoders and circuit boards leave a lot to be desired. When the 45 tonner's up and running I plan on replacing the decoder with a tsunami or loksound product. Most of my other Bachmann stuff have had their decoders replaced.
I had a singular experience with Bachmann's service department myself. I bought one of their recently released GP7s in January. Out of the box it ran very erratically, sometimes refusing to move in one direction or refusing to reverse with the headlights cutting in and out. I sent it to the service deptment and about a month later received a replacement which exhibited virtually identical problems. I sent it back again and this time received a phone call stating that they had tested it and found nothing wrong so they were returning it to me. I got it back and found it still had the old problems which they attributed to my power pack and/or throttle. Point is, every other engine runs fine on my system including other Bachmann engines like the S2 switcher that I bought at the same time as the GP7. In the end I tore down the engine myself, stripped out the circuit board and wired the wheels directly to the motor. I lost the headlight function but now the engine runs fine.
HR? Overreact much?
as an update I called Bachmann back, this time their HR department. I explained the situation and stressed that I don't think the rep meant to come off the way he had and that I didn't want to see negative action taken against him personally for something that could have stemmed from either my poor wording of what I was wanting or any other possible cause. The woman I spoke to was extremely friendly, helpful and courtious and gave my information to the manager of the parts department to order the replacement via phone. She assured me the replacement would be thoroughly checked to make sure it performed satisfactorily. Overall this experience was absolutely lovely and much more in line with my previous experiences with the Bachmann people. I'm still a bit miffed about being spoken to the way I was but I accept that we all have our bad days and that maybe today was his. In future I'll be a bit weary of calling Bachmann's Repair/Parts number for fear of a similar experience but all in all I think the people I spoke to afterwards did an excellent job in helping solve my problem
Modeling B&O- Chessie Bob K. www.ssmrc.org
A friend works in the repair department of a large outfit the name of which all of you would recognize. All day long the calls and emails he gets relate to repairs and he enjoys his job, but often the requests and the people he deals with are bizarre and off putting. Many of them involve models that people have pretty clearly destroyed on their own and expect his area to fix for them. In some cases the models are decades old. Maybe you caught this particular person immediately after just such an experience. Or maybe something in the way the inquiry was phrased made it sound like you were expecting a free fix for something you caused. All of us have had bad days at work and reacted to things in ways we came to regret, I am sure. Still it is that person's job to be friendly and cheerful even when they feel anything but. There is nothing any of us can do -- only Bachmann can make it right.
Dave Nelson
trainguy4466 So what do you all think should be my next plan of action?
So what do you all think should be my next plan of action?
Seriously, while Bachmann is not my favorite manufacturer of locomotives, they do have a good reputation for Customer Service.
Give them another call and order the part.
Alton Junction