Interesting Point Of View. How Many Here Share It ???

[HugoStiglitz]

I had established a brief rapport with the owner of an out-of-state commercial drone operation. Called him yesterday about his opinion regarding how I could get assistance handling frustrating update issues with the M2Z. I was somewhat taken back by his position.

I told him I bought a VERY nice looking rig from Ebay with all the bells and whistles for a good price, and was having issues downloading updates to it from DJI. His response was that (obviously paraphrasing here);

He stated that since I was trying to get into the game "on the cheap", I really shouldn't expect any product support since my unit was old and out of warranty. He does sell drones as part of his business, and was the one who steered me towards DJI in the 1st place.

I own a dozen higher end optics with lifetime warranties regardless of who 1st purchased them. I've had 2 replaced over the years with no questions asked. I DON'T expect this type of warranty for a fragile electronic nightmare like a drone. I was just a bit taken back about his position regarding this. Does anyone here agree with his position ???

 

[mobilehomer]

He wants you to buy new from him. He makes more profit. There is lots of help here and from the DJI forum.

 

[HugoStiglitz]

He wants you to buy new from him. He makes more profit. There is lots of help here and from the DJI forum.

Yeah, ... that's obvious. I try to be a student-of-human-nature, and try to look at things from the other's POV. However, I would be a bit, ... how can I say it, ... EMBARASSED to say that to someone seeking my advice after I told them to call me anytime if they had questions.

Just wanted to see if there were others here who operate in a similar fashion.

 

[Nanny Ogg]

Lucky you didn't buy a new drone from this dealer. With his attitude, you might not get any better support for a new one.

 

[HugoStiglitz]

Lucky you didn't buy a new drone from this dealer. With his attitude, you might not get any better support for a new one.

Yeah, he did say at least 2X during the call in an oblique manner that "time is money".

Obviouly not on my Go-To-List anymore. He DID seem like such a nice helpful guy at first.

 

[Droning on and on...]

All customers should be at first ignored, and then bullied and treated in a surly manner.

This is how you get repeat business.

 

[don1cobb]

You didn't buy from him, so he's not going to help. I understand, but that's not the way to insure a future sale in exchange for a little time. I think that is referred to as short sighted.

 

[SoCal2S]

On one hand, you found out who not to buy a drone from in the future, and it didn't even cost you any money. I think you got the better end of the deal at the end.

On the other, we are all human and maybe he just had a totally bad day and didn't feel like spending any additional time helping you when you didn't buy from him.

We only heard your side of the story, so who knows.

 

[HugoStiglitz]

On one hand, you found out who not to buy a drone from in the future, and it didn't even cost you any money. I think you got the better end of the deal at the end.

On the other, we are all human and maybe he just had a totally bad day and didn't feel like spending any additional time helping you when you didn't buy from him.

We only heard your side of the story, so who knows.

Yeah, that's really true, I'm empathic enough to see both sides. I can't expect someone work for free, it's just that he gave me the impression on the 1st call that he was happy to get a new guy on the right path, his parting words then were; if you have any questions feel free to call and I'll help as best I can. I'll be more careful in the future not to take someone I don't know literally. I guess I started this thread because I was bored and trying to kill some time.

 

[Johnmcl7]

You didn't buy from him, so he's not going to help. I understand, but that's not the way to insure a future sale in exchange for a little time. I think that is referred to as short sighted.

It sounds like the person had already given the OP some of their time "I had established a brief rapport with the owner of an out-of-state commercial drone operation" and they still bought elsewhere so I think it's reasonable they don't support them any further. It's likely they are well used to being used for advice or expertise but then the items bought elsewhere which is often the case these days with people seeing local businesses as overpriced so they buy online but then find they need help with the item.

There's a local bike shop I use and a separate camera shop and both of them are more expensive than I can get the items elsewhere however they have a good range of products so I can try some items I'm considering out first and they have considerable expertise in their field. So if there's items I want to try first or need some help with I'll pay the extra money since I'm using their shop, their time, expertise etc. whereas if I buy an item elsewhere then the downside to the money saved is I can't get help from these shops.

 

[Starz]

sounds like the person had already given the OP some of their time

That would be my thought also. As a business owner for more than 35 years, I have seen many people in need of some form of help and or service. Without knowing how much time(=money?)the op had acquired in this scenario, I can’t say who I would agree with.
Was it ten minutes or ten hours??

 

[Droniac]

You didn't buy from him, so he's not going to help. I understand, but that's not the way to insure a future sale in exchange for a little time. I think that is referred to as short sighted.

His business plan s**ks. The more I give the more that ends up coming back to me. Just is. The dude was a bully to make a dollar on a time and throw in some disinformation. I’ve always seen this “hobby” (as I did ucontrol and RC to be) a bunch of “good ole guys”.). The ones that arnt generally stick out like a sore thumb (not sure why a sore thumb mmm). Trust your guy. You were spot on. IMO ! Godspeed Droniac

 

[dmiles119]

I'm a scuba instructor as a sideline that I'm passionate about. It's not how I earn my living, by any stretch. I will talk scuba with anyone, anytime, anywhere with no agenda about making any kind of sale. Having said that, if I had someone that I had spoken with already, call me and complain about some other instructor who was the equivalent of "buying off eBay", my reaction would likely be much the same. Except in this case, the person's well being, or maybe even life, could be at risk. I would state in no uncertain terms that if he (she) received training that they were not happy with, they should stay out of the water until they could find someone they trust, with better credentials, reputation, recommendations, etc.

I've been flying drones since 2014, give or take. I have always bought the previous generation, usually used, when the new generation come out, so I get it. I've just always understood that it's on me to understand that there are reasons the person was selling. Maybe there is a problem with it that I won't discover until I've used it for a while. At that point it's on me to do what I can to make it right. We can save some money buying used gear for sure, but there is a risk associated with it as well.

I wish you the best of luck in getting things resolved. As others have said, there is a wealth of knowledge here chomping at the bit to help in any way they can.

 

[PepperBird]

So you sought his advice BEFORE buying. Then you bought from somewhere else. Then you went BACK to him for advice about the product you bought from someone else.
He runs a BUSINESS. He is not your personal free drone information clearinghouse. If you wanted support from him, you should have supported his business by buying from him. Good Luck!

 

[HugoStiglitz]

I thought this thread would have died by now. Because of the last few posts I'll add this back story. I 1st started looking at EXO drones because they were supposedly made in the USA. He was the 1st dealer I found in a quick search and called. His main operation is supplying drone operators for Industrial site photos and survey work. I called intending to buy an EXO drone from him if they still sounded viable.

After asking about EXO drones, he said; "I don't really have a dog in the fight, but I wouldn't spend $$$ on any but a DJI". He recommended the Mavic Air 2, he is not a DJI dealer, and doesn't seem to be a pilot either as judged by my last call with him. He owns drones for his business, but hires contract pilots to fly them over oil fields I surmised. He was very pleasant and sounded like he took some pity on a new guy by saying call me anytime you have questions.

My last call to him was asking how he handled his battery charging and storage, and if he'd ever seen any catastrophic failures. He said he couldn't answer because his Techs handle that aspect. Then asked about how he thought Real ID would be applied to older drones. Again he had no idea, I thanked him for his time, and realized I was wasting both of ours at that point.

 

[GFields]

This Thread has run its course.

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