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[Shane Presley]

So I'm starting to think that I'm going to get what I'm paying for here.... Besides the various delays, paperwork screw ups, and pre-charging my credit card days before any ups shipment notifications, I finally get some lights.  Lights that I have literally ordered weeks ago. Now I understand they are coming from china, so I'll give them some slack on delays.  But the build quality of these fixtures and lack of mechanical assembly consistency well....  So far I've opened 6 of my 16 PROPAR336s and I had to take apart 3 of them to re-seat the front face because it was jiggling around.  Then today I get a shipment of 4 FURY spot fixtures for a club install,(which the club guy has been waiting forever), and two of them have to go back for out of box failures.  One display doesn't work and the light doesn't respond, but the fans are running, so I know it has power.  The other, the colour wheel has issues it is not behaving like the other two, which seem to be working for the moment.  I'm really thinking of boxing these lights up, and sending them back.  the only thing that is holding me back is that they are LED, and the club keeps baffing my trackspot bulbs when they power them all at once.... ya ya I know teach them how to fire them, or patch them differently, well I can't do the later, and to teach them well, that ain't working either....Anyways I just wanted to let everyone know what they might get buying into this light weight Chinese junk

[Steven Leonard]

Good to know! I must say I was tempted with these! They are so cheap and look professional! Good to hear the real story!

Thanks for the review!

[Matt Melberg]

Got to say, that is very unusual.  All the products I have gotten have been flawless (for their price that is) except for a couple of demo units that had been shipped everywhere and probably had taken some abuse.  Usually, all the fixtures go through an inspection here in the US before they ship out, eliminating the problems you describe.  Please give Will @ Blizzard a call and tell him what's going on, I am sure he will rectify the situation very quickly for you.  As for the shipping delays, he is still dealing with very low quantities of product at this point and doesn't have the buying power to have thousands of fixtures in stock at any moment.  He has to wait for stuff to ship from China.  This will get better over time.  Sorry you are having so many problems, as a Blizzard dealer this concerns me greatly.  Please let me know if there is anything I can do to help you out.

Matt

[Shane Presley]

Yup I understand their woes, and I think that is the problem, that they are trying to get me the fixtures so quickly, that they may have let a few bad one's get through.  I literally powered up the one head... it did a short warm up, then died.  The fourth one I fired up(after I had the profile dialed in lightjockey), worked except for the colour wheel.  I'm sure it's a calibration thing, cause open white was at like dmx value 43 instead of 0-8.  Anyways I hope they can turn these around quickly because I have a bar owner that has been waiting for these since ugh October !
Thanks for the contact name Matt, but I am intimate with Will, we have conversations like... "Hi Will are my lights here yet".
"Yeah they shipped , they are on a plane"  
Two days later "Will have you shipped my lights yet".... "Oh sorry those weren't your lights"

[Shane Presley]

SO I just got off the phone with Will at Blizzard, and he is sending me an UPS tag to return the units for repair. Obviously they are disappointed about my comments here (bad news travels fast), and I have probably lost any "dealer" privlages I might of held with them. Having said that, I posted this and my previous conmments in full recoignition that this could happen, and thus will probably end my purchases with the line. I wish them the best, and will be in contact with them up until the warranty ends on the fixtures I have purchased to date.  I hope my RGBAW pars arrive soon so I can start the clock.

[Shane Presley]

Will - Blizzard wrote on Thu, 09 December 2010 14:17

Hi Shane (and everyone else), We try really, really hard to make sure that every single one of our products reaches the end user in pristine condition.  Obviously this has not happened with your purchases and that just means we have to try harder.   As for me being disappointed, I'm most disappointed that you are having problems with your fixtures.  It pains me greatly to see people having problems with our stuff. We will make sure that every single unit you bought is perfect and hence we're sending you a tag to ship the stuff back to us that seems to have been angry upon unpacking.   I take praise in our products with a grain of salt, and take issues very seriously.  If there is something that needs to change, it will, and it will be done quickly. I doubt that will change anything for any of you, but please feel free to ask any questions you might have regarding our products, customer service, warranty, anything.   Thanks, Will

I just wanted to say that I appreciate Will's efforts to date, as there are probably circumstances which are causing delivery, issues etc. I apologize for "airing the dirty laundry", here and probably used this forum inappropriately but my frustration had come to a head. I am currently working with Will to sort out these issues, but passing fixtures back and forth across the international boarders is not a desirable task.

As Will may or may not know I have been supportive (on PSW) of the Propar336 to the point where I have sold off my pars and dimming to purchase a good qty of them. I am interested to see any changes to be implemented.

Again my apologizes to any who have read this feeling it should be a PM.

[James Feenstra]

were the boxes themselves damaged?

if so, it was most likely not blizzards fault. ups has a nice habit of breaking stuff coming to Canada.

I recently did a club install and had a few of the 'new' american DJ lights we bought have issues straight out of the box

it seems that qc isn't super great with the Chinese made stuff

[(Brian) Frost]

I just got 6 puck lights and I have to say they all came out of the box built solidly and looking good.  One knob was a bit deformed but functions fine.  I think they look good and have a solid build.  I wish they were a bit brighter but, 4 fo them covers a small stage decently well.

[Shane Presley]

James Feenstra wrote on Sun, 12 December 2010 12:40

were the boxes themselves damaged? if so, it was most likely not blizzards fault. ups has a nice habit of breaking stuff coming to Canada. I recently did a club install and had a few of the 'new' american DJ lights we bought have issues straight out of the box it seems that qc isn't super great with the Chinese made stuff

The boxes were what I would call "soft" from handling, but not damaged - the interior sytrofoam was intact - nothing looked damaged on the fixtures, no marks etc... All four boxes looked similar in condition, and all four travelled the same way... I'm wondering if they would of made the trip better inside another box.

[John Livings]

Hi Shane,

Like many I am Guessing, follow the threads looking for Information on the more
technical aspects of things we may not understand.

This includes product/service advise.

A purchase of one light or any piece of equipment is a decision I do not take lightly.

When a contributer offers an observation on a piece of equipment, This is a good thing for most readers, Maybe not for you or a supplier...

I welcome All observations from Professionals on this and other boards, I use them as tools to make  decisions.

It is curious that "Will" did not use his full name, And had his post removed (I am
guessing that is what happened).

Looking forward to more posts from you.

Regards,  John  

[Will Komassa]

Hi John,

I've changed my display name.  I am a new user to PSW and was not familiar with the requirements. My apologies if I offended anyone.  I certainly had no sinister intent in not providing my whole name.  I'm not typically a forum user so your world is a little different than I'm used to.  

That said, I did feel compelled to chime in, probably because I am the owner of Blizzard Lighting, LLC, and I personally stand behind every product we sell.  We really, honestly do QC every single fixture before it leaves us on its way to the customer.  

It is very painful to me to see our products portrayed in a negative light because we try so damn hard to make everything perfect.  In fact, my reasons for starting Blizzard Lighting were largely due to my disenchantment with other lighting manufacturers.  Our goal is to provide a better product backed with better support at a better price, and that isn't just some stupid marketing scheme, I promise, that is what I and my company aim to do.

With that in mind, my staff and I personally try to do everything possible to ensure every user receives a perfect experience.  As I said in my earlier post, that did not happen in this case and all I can do is say that we'll try to do better still.  

Thanks again, and please just let me know if you have any questions.

Will

[Thomas Bishop]

Will, thanks for the comments and welcome to PSW!

[Russel Murton]

I would love it if you started to think of an Australian distributor. We want to try your lights down south.

Although that means you'll need to come up with 240volt versions to expand to here and Europe.

[Jeff Wheeler]

Will, I am glad to read your post and see your interest in the forum.

I imagine you may be unable to comment on all the specifics of this particular transaction, but in general, would it be your practice to offer a deep discount, upgrade fixtures to better ones, throw in a couple movers, or whatever, in order to support a dealer who may be in danger of losing a client because of an inability to get working products to the dealer in time for the dealer to meet the schedule he promised his client?

I am not interested in the reason for the fixtures being faulty or the cause of the back-order; these things happen to every supplier at times.  How the manufacturer or stocking distributor works with the dealer and their end-customer to try to make everyone happy is very important.

Every manufacturer should be easy to deal with when things go smoothly.  When something goes wrong, what they are able or willing to do to make the end-customer happy matters a great deal.

[Will Komassa]

Hi Jeff,

We try to ensure that every transaction goes off without a hitch.  We absolutely support our dealers and do offer make-goods in some instances.  It varies case-by-case.  In this case, Shane has a few more fixtures coming from us and (though he didn't know it until just now), we'll definitely do something on the price for him.  

We also work really hard before the sale to try and understand the customer's requirements.  

I agree with you, it is much more telling what happens when things go wrong than when they go right -- kudos make me smile, but I take them with a grain of salt.  We shine a much brighter light (ba dum bum) on our failures to make sure they are never repeated.

Merry Christmas and happy holidays to all of you, and if you have any other questions, please just let me know.

Will

[Greg Adams]

Hi Will,
I was looking at your Puck RGBA's and was interested in purchasing 20-24 of them,and to say the least i am a little concerned now.
I live in Ontario Canada,and,you guys got back to me and said there is nobody that handles Blizzard Lighting.

Before i spend around 2.5 thousand on something i cant see,touch,handle, see it in action in person,i tend to be a little uneasy after one say cheap build,another says wish it was brighter.

I am not bashing your business or yourself.I would just like to be able to see this in person.

Thanks and Merry Christmas.

[Thomas Bishop]

Here's an idea:  Log off PSW, find the number for Blizzard Lighting, then CALL them!  Why are these concerns, criticisms, and requests aired in a public forum?  Unless a company TRULY deserves to be bashed (or praised) then why would you do so for the entire world to see?  Greg, if you want a demo unit then call them and ask for one.  Will shouldn't have to do business through PSW or find out about mistakes in quality control from here.  Step away from the computer, guys.

[Shane Presley]

Thomas Bishop wrote on Sun, 26 December 2010 01:14

Here's an idea:  Log off PSW, find the number for Blizzard Lighting, then CALL them!  Why are these concerns, criticisms, and requests aired in a public forum?  Unless a company TRULY deserves to be bashed (or praised) then why would you do so for the entire world to see?  Greg, if you want a demo unit then call them and ask for one.  Will shouldn't have to do business through PSW or find out about mistakes in quality control from here.  Step away from the computer, guys.

I wanted to post my experience here so the next guy doesn't spend 2.5K, in my case more like 6K - to find out that SOME of the product isn't living up to an expectation. I too would have liked to have "kicked the tires" on these items before purchasing. After hearing about Blizzard I did some investigation after James F spoke about them HERE, and said he was impressed. My next step was to search the net and youtube to see if anyone else was impressed. I found some videos with some DJ's liking the products,(which should of been a sign )  but I thought I'd give it a whirl. I ordered 12 propars out of the gate.  I got 2 within a week or so, the rest to follow a couple months later - but I do like that product. I think there are some supply issues, and quality control issues at the moment, and I hope they are remedied soon. I have been working with Will on fixing my current woes as well. I can offer Greg a "mixed review" on my experience with Blizzard to date. Getting stuff back and forth across the boarder is a challenge when buying anything new or used so beware of that. I would be happy to talk to you off-line Greg if you have any questions about the Blizzard products I have own and have used to date.  Propar336, Fury, Colourstorm 252 and soon to be rocklite RGBAW.

BTW - I see a product "bashing" on here every other post... "OH my itech crashed, my sd-8 locked up etc..." in my opinion - this was no different, other than the company owner is now present on the forum....

http://srforums.prosoundweb.com/index.php/m/579570/17131/?sr ch=failed#msg_579570

[Greg Adams]

If i go through all your posts,will i find you commenting about how badly another companies product is,or,how you had bad dealings with them?
I am not sure you get points for brown nosing here...

[Greg Adams]

Shane,
I would like to hear from you,I spent a  over 10 thousand with a company in the US,I wont mention the name of the business,(to keep the white knights away)
It took over 5 months for them to fill my order.
I for one appreciate you explaining your experience,because it was the same company i was ready to deal with.

Thomas,nobody was bashing Will,someone was letting the rest of us know what they were going through with a certain product,and i understand what he is going through.

[Thomas Bishop]

Greg Adams wrote on Sun, 26 December 2010 09:57

If i go through all your posts,will i find you commenting about how badly another companies product is,or,how you had bad dealings with them? I am not sure you get points for brown nosing here...

I am only assuming this is directed at me since there is no quote or addressing of anyone in particular...  I'm sure I've said that I like Product X over Product Y but I certainly have never started a thread with the sole intention of bashing a product or company.  As far as "brown nosing," I couldn't care less about Will, Blizzard Lighting, or their products specifically, so I certainly am not trying to gain points.  I'm happy with the companies I deal with for LED's and have never been impressed enough with Blizzard's products to warrant a demo (but if I were going to drop thousands of dollars on gear I would certainly get a demo unit first, even if it meant buying a small number of fixtures).

I do think it's pretty cool that the owner of a company is checking up on forums to manage customer service.  Although there's really no reason why he would have to monitor PSW to find out about issues with his product.  I certainly understand your frustrations, Shane, but this is an issue to take up with the company rather than bashing them on an international (and permanent) forum.

"I told them no pickles on my burger but there were pickles anyway!  No, I didn't take it up with the company, but everyone's gonna know about my pickled burger that I was forced to eat!"

[Adam Whetham]

Thomas Bishop wrote on Mon, 27 December 2010 10:20

I do think it's pretty cool that the owner of a company is checking up on forums to manage customer service.  Although there's really no reason why he would have to monitor PSW to find out about issues with his product.  I certainly understand your frustrations, Shane, but this is an issue to take up with the company rather than bashing them on an international (and permanent) forum. "I told them no pickles on my burger but there were pickles anyway!  No, I didn't take it up with the company, but everyone's gonna know about my pickled burger that I was forced to eat!"

Speak for yourself... I had to air my Crown Audio issues on PSW for them to even do anything about it after their 800 number blew me off.

After seeing my post Crown called me and did finally address the issue (As I noted on page 2 of the thread).

Sometimes vendors deserve it when the normal escalation points fail. Believe me, I deal with issues like this at my day job at a fortune 500 company. No one is exempt.

as for your taking it up with the company already ie: the pickle reference. I believe Shane's second post in this thread has already covered that base:

Shane Presley wrote on Thu, 09 December 2010 07:41

Thanks for the contact name Matt, but I am intimate with Will, we have conversations like... "Hi Will are my lights here yet". "Yeah they shipped , they are on a plane"   Two days later "Will have you shipped my lights yet".... "Oh sorry those weren't your lights"

I see nothing wrong with Shane's choice in airing his experience and feelings towards the situation, this coming from a CSR. Not saying I always agree with it. But there have been many times its been warranted in my line of work also. Its how the vendor responds that is a big eye opener.