Treadmill Service and Repairs
During January treadmill manufacturers are scrambling to keep up with the onslaught of services issues and requests for repairs. And many drop the ball because they do not have adequate resources, and experienced staff to handle all of issues.
Here is why you can expect less than a sufficient response. First, from black Friday until the end of January treadmill sales take off. They are quadruple the rate during the summer months. Unfortunately, it is not cost effective to have a staff all year long sufficienct to handle the surge of calls in these busy months. Consequently, manufacturers will beef up their customer service staff in the winter months. These service agents will lack the training and the expertise to deal with all the problems. And in general, no matter how much staff they add it is not enough.
However, manufacturers are getting better. For example, Icon Fitness that sells ProForm, NordicTrack and Weslo had a terrible customer service reputation. They invested $2 million in their customer service and better trained their staff. From the considerable reduction in the number of complaints I have been receiving, it appears Icon got their act together.
Of course, you ultimately want to buy a treadmill that is problem free, however, treadmills are complicated machines and some do have problems out of the box. In addition, you may have questions about the set-up or how the machine runs. All I can say is be patient if you are put on hold. And if you cannot get the right answer ask for another service rep. Consider using email for your questions so you don’t have to wait on hold.
If you just bought a treadmill and have a problem or question, be patient. You will eventually get your answer.
One last note…if you are buying a budget treadmill consider getting an extension on the warranty. It is worth the extra cost.
