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Nothing like having confidence in your product and services to offer a charged ‘Premium Service’.

So, one has to pay to get tech support. I suppose it’s better than nothing at all like previously. haha! It makes me even more glad I got rid of my Fanatec products!

So I’ve got a CSW F1 will I get this premium service or do I need to suck it up and pay for it? I think whoever came up with this idea just scared the hack out of potential buyers.

Yup, what a brilliant idea! Reputation for bad customer service > make people pay for “priority service” (i.e. actually getting a timely response). I’m surprised more companies haven’t already done this!

-_-

I think this is a bad move on Fanatec’s part. They don’t exactly have a widely trusted name to begin with. I’m all for premium service, but after spending almost a thousand dollars on a product, I expect to have premium service given to me for free. They are asking customers to shell out even more money to get service they should have had from the beginning.

Just my two cents.

In Fanatec’s defense, if you do spend almost a thousand dollars on the full CSW pack, you do get the service option for free.

Awesome, now you can pay to be ignored by them.

Fair enough. I think the service pack for those customers *should* be given free as I stated above. I still believe this is a bad move. But I will say this… It seems that more and more companies are doing this these days. For most companies, however, it’s to maximize profits, as well as giving the customer the illusion that they are important.

I hope, for Fanatec’s sake, that this isn’t a business tactic to squeeze more money out of their customers. I’d like to believe that Fanatec is better than that.

The point I am trying to make is that customers are what keep businesses in business. They should be treated accordingly. It’s hard for me to believe that Fanatec doesn’t know they have some customer service issues.

I just think Fanatec should focus more on those issues without making their customers pay extra for it.

Since you pointed out that Fanatec includes this premium service for free to their CSW customers, then I do say that’s a good thing, and I hope they continue along those lines in the future.

I just hope that Fanatec continues to work on customer service to those that decide not to pay a premium for it.

Absolutely! This is why we give this service for FREE to all existing customers of the ClubSport Wheel. In case something happens we will fix it within 48 hours or the customer gets a loaner. This is a strong commitment from our side and shows that we have full confidence.
And if you are a new customer you also get the premium servivce for free if you buy both rims at the same time which most of our customers do anyway.

Does that include me Thomas considering I had to import a CSW base and GT3 wheel from the US to Australia because it is still not available?

I love the wheel (and CS pedals).. and I have nothing but great things to say about it and I really hope this is included.

Thomas do I qualify for this service for free? I’ve purchased the CSW base and the F1 rim “only” back in November speding amost USD700. Thanx!

+1 It was/is in my plans to buy a CSR-E despite the “rumors” of bad after sales service, but after this I’m almost convinced that the “rumors” are here for real.
Just need to think twice before I put my money into something that will consider me as a “second class customer”

Of course it does. We are offering this service at the moment only in EU but will soon extend it to the US. Have you not received the email we sent?

This is a bit tricky as from a legal point of view you will be treated like an US customer. But I am sure we will find a way how to keep you happy as soon as our AUS service center is operational.

thanks Thomas great news! I haven’t noticed but with so many email addresses it’s difficult to keep up with all of them hehe.

I’ve bought all the items but I have not received an email either. Is this because I am US based?

I am actually thinking of getting the base and both rims, aswell as the V2 pedals (loved the V1 ones). So how does it work to get the full service for free, will it be added automatically?

The only thing which stops me from buying all this stuff at the moment is I would love to test for two days just to make sure I’ll love it as much as I want it :).

Fanatec/TJ, thank you for making the efforts to improving your company’s customer relationship service. To me you are showing that you care. What do the negative people want? For your company not to try to be better by not making changes?!! This is proof that you are serious to be here for the long haul. Thank you again!

it’s not everyday you see the head of a multinational answering questions in s forum. Kudos to Thomas!

I must say the customer support has improved in the last year…. Response time are oke (2-3 days instead of 2-3 weeks) and their constructively trying to help you sort the issue.

It’s a shame I have to use it every 3 months as the build quality of my GT3 RS v2 is really “made in china”….. Almost every firmware / driver update new issues arise. First it’s overheating, then signal loss, rattling fans and more…. and the beauty is, once you’ve received a replacement, the misery starts all over again! :(

Seriously Fanatec…. improve the designs of the wheels and stop cutting costs on production in China and make something with true German quality, as this purchase wasn’t worth my 450 euro’s……

A lot of businesses offer the option of ‘premium support’, I think it’s a decent option for Fanatec. But personally I’ve never had to contact support, as my Clubsport Pedals have performed flawlessly.

i,m so interested in buying csw with formula & gt m3 rim package plus club sport v2 peddals & rensport wheelstand, i must say tho there are 2 things stopping me at present 1st thing is the postage as this i think should be thrown in when you buy so much in one go & the 2nd thing is the fact as i,ve just found out that the product is assembed in china, not good in my opinon. fanatec you bang on about fine Germaneering & are charging a premium price for your product but chinese production umm. Thomas if you want more units shifted in this economic climate think about what you charge on postage.

LOL everything is made in China get with the times. Audi A6L’s are made in China and so is my iPhone 4. The phone while fragile because of its glass construction feels very nice. I’ve been in an Audi A6L and can say nothing but praise.

But hey, keep on being ignorant, your choice.

I suspect what people “want” is to have decent customer service without having to pay extra for it, especially since with Fanatec’s (lack of) quality, they’ll most likely be needing it. It’s not a good sign to charge for actual service. It also sends a sign that they are admitting to having a problem rather than addressing it. They are not necessarily “improving” it, They are making you pay for it.

I always had excelent customer service with Fanatec. Don’t know what you’re talking about.

The problems mostly come when the product is designed in china, they always seem to design the most cheapest of things. Assembly: anyone could do if they follow the correct instructions. If you want a German/European built product I hope you’re ready to pay excessive wages to guys wearing Stuart Weitzman shoes working on a production line :P

Nope. The problem is people using cheap products to justify the entire industry. If you pay 2USD for some crappy item you are obviously going to get crappy build quality etc. etc. If you pay for a premium product you are (unless you get ripped off) going to get very good build quality. Just a little fact: yo

Just a little fact: your things in your house, TV’s, appliances, desks, everything. Are made in China. Obutto’s are made in China. Vizio TV’s, etc.

I’ve been on the fence for a while about buying a Fanatec product, I think this is showing me that if there is still that many problems with the product that you have to tier the service and repair aspect of the business, this may not be the product line for me.

I can’t think of any premium Chinese brands, only premium knock-offs lol

Ascot Chang, Shanghai Watch, Tianjin Sea-Gull, I.T, etc. Tons of premium brands from China/HKSAR

A nice google search can take off your blinders and expose you to the real, not-Fox news brainwashed world

I’m not American, nor do watch American news. Why would I google search for products “I can’t think of”? lol

Another way of looking at it is: No one else offers this service when spending such a large amount of money on sim racing products. A loaner wheel? The chances of Frex providing that support is nil, and their products cost much more.

Only had 2 problems with my Fanatec wheel and both issues got resolved the same day. One was solved by them forwarding me new firmware. The other posting a complete replacement to me. If only all companies offered service as good as that!

You need to go the configurator and select the “ClubSport Series Premium Value Pack EU”. Then you can add the CSP V2 to your cart. If you test the products without damaging them you can always return them and get your money back within 14 days.

Gaz,

of course we could make a mix calculation and include the shipping cost. This is good for people from countries with high shipping costs and bad for others with shipping costs lower than the average. It will certainly not make the products cheaper for everyone.
There are some manufacturers of high-end simracing equipment manufacturing their products in Europe or the US. If you compare their prices you will see that they are in a complete different range and there is a good reason for it. If you would assemble the products in Germany you can easily double or triple the price.
It is possible to manufacture high quality products in China (iPhone, BMW etc.) and we have invested a lot of effort into this. The defective rate on all our products is well below 3% now but unfortunately there was an issue with a batch of motors of CSR E and CSW wheels which caused a lot of bad reports in the community.
Ironically the motors are made by a Japanese company and the Japanese have an even stronger demand for quality than the Germany.
But as this issue is solved now, I am sure that defectives will go down significantly.

hi thomas any discount in delivery on large orders say €1100 +

Hi Thomas, much respect for speedy reply, good to see ceo is not hiding behind closed doors. so how does one get discount applied? If any to the uk.

Thank you Thomas, appreciate you reply to us guys :). I’d love to get that wheel, lets go shopping now :).