Getting Rigol to respond

[ToBeFrank]

I have a warranty issue with my Rigol DS1052e. I have been unable to get a response from Rigol. For those of you that have got a response from them, how did you do it?

[hacklordsniper]

I never managed to do it... 

[saturation]

Did you try going through the vendor your bought it from?

[DavidDLC]

I was not able to find you location in your profile.

If you are in the USA try www.rigolna.com I put a request and the response from a representative is very good, in my case I had a technical question about the signal generator.

BR.

[ToBeFrank]

I'm in the USA. So far I've tried rigol.com, rigolna.com, and Riko Instruments. Riko is the place I bought it from and is supposed to be an authorized distributor. I'm outside of Riko's return policy now so they have no obligation to take it in for warranty. I guess I'll try phoning the number on the rigolna.com web site next.

[Bored@Work]

Good luck. I never managed to get any useful response out of Rigol. Not even when threatening to buy their gear. You have the advantage of being in the US, where Rigol has an own subsidiary. This doubles your chances of getting an answer. However, two times zero is still zero, and from my point of view Rigol is shitlisted as a supplier.

[Zero999]

Aren't they the cheapest supplier?

You get what you pay for.

So it looks like you've got nothing to loose by buying a low end 'scope and hacking it to a high end one. It invalidates the guarantee but if there's no guarantee in the first place it doesn't matter.

[FreeThinker]

You say you have a warranty issue but are outside the returns policy? so which is it Is it?.. out of warranty or have you voided it? If you outline the problem someone may be able to help.

[ToBeFrank]

You say you have a warranty issue but are outside the returns policy? so which is it Is it?.. out of warranty or have you voided it?

Distributors have a return policy (usually 30 days or so) in which you can return defective items. After that the only recourse is the manufacturer's warranty and you have to deal with the manufacturer.

If you outline the problem someone may be able to help.

One of the knobs is cracked. It still works fine and isn't much more than a cosmetic issue, but I'm thinking about selling it so I'd rather it not have a cracked knob. I'm fairly certain it came with the cracked knob as I haven't done anything to crack it. Unfortunately, I didn't notice it until now.

[beerhunter]

Something does not sound right here. I have contacted Rigol NA in Ohio 3 times about firmware issues and parts and have received responses very quickly. I even had a short phone conversation with a support engineer and was very happy.

So you are basically in need of a knob to replace your broken one. Contact parts and see what happens. Remember you will get more with a dash of honey than a cup of vinegar.

[ToBeFrank]

Something does not sound right here. I have contacted Rigol NA in Ohio 3 times about firmware issues and parts and have received responses very quickly. I even had a short phone conversation with a support engineer and was very happy.

So all of the other people confirming they don't get a response means we don't have the special touch?

So you are basically in need of a knob to replace your broken one. Contact parts and see what happens.

Got the contact info for parts?

Remember you will get more with a dash of honey than a cup of vinegar.

And now you're implying I'm not being nice in my emails to Rigol. You are incorrect.

[Bored@Work]

Something does not sound right here.

Yes, and what is wrong here is Rigol.

I have contacted Rigol NA in Ohio 3 times about firmware issues and parts and have received responses very quickly.

I don't know what you did to get a response.  I am not in the US, and I can tell you that Rigol in China and Rigol in the US give a fucking fart about requests, even when you are about to buy some of their gear and just need some confirmation about a detail.

I even subscribed as one of their "Advanced members" on rigol.com in the hope to get help and information. That subscription brought me some Rigol newsletter spam, and that's it.

I even had a short phone conversation with a support engineer and was very happy.

See, I seriously doubt there is such a thing as a "Rigol support engineer". It is like Bigfoot. Some people have seen one. Some people even have photographs. Some people believe Bigfoot exists. I don't, because I couldn't get hold of one.

Contact parts and see what happens.

What is this ominous "parts"? Do you have more inside information about Rigol, and some secret contacts to get parts?

Remember you will get more with a dash of honey than a cup of vinegar.

I for myself can say that I can hardly make it any sweeter than expressing a wish to buy some of their gear - but that didn't get me any answers. It is like being in a shop, showing the salesman a bundle of money, pointing to some wares, and telling the salesman "I am interested in this, please.". And then watching the salesman just completely ignoring you.

Let me finish by quoting one of Rigols company guidelines

We respond to our customers’ needs with speed and agility; we demonstrate dedication to our customers’ success by being flexible and accountable; we strive to build and sustain the highest degree of customer satisifaction.

What a steaming pile of lies.

[VIPR]

If you are within the USA I hear that you can contact Chris Armstrong. He is supposedly the general manager of their US office. Here is his info:

Chris Armstrong
General Manager
Rigol Technologies
7401 First Place
Suite N
Oakwood Village, OH 44146
toll free: 877-4-RIGOL-1
office: 440-232-4488
fax: 216-754-8107
email: carmstrong@rigol.com

[beerhunter]

Want some cheese with that whine?

[Bored@Work]

Want some cheese with that whine?

Alcohol? That would explain why you believe you talked to Bigfoot, aka a Rigol support engineer. Consider cutting down on it.

But hey, If you are happy dealing with that shithouse, I won't try to prevent you from doing so.

[ToBeFrank]

If you are within the USA I hear that you can contact Chris Armstrong. He is supposedly the general manager of their US office.

Thank you. This was the ticket. I got a response from Chris within 15 minutes and a response from someone to help me within 45 minutes. He said they got my email that I sent to info@rigol.com but had no record of my support requests on their website.