Yuneec Customer Service vs DJI Customer Service... Which is Better?

CAPTAINDRONE · Jun 7, 2016

So I've been given a bad luck gift of having a DJI Phantom 3 (defective) and a Typhoon H (defective). Both were very new and both have been returned to they're California location for repair or replacement. I have several other Phantoms which work amazingly (knock on wood).

I've never used the DJI Customer care nor the Yuneec Customer care before. This is a first for me, and I'm having to use them both around the same time frame.

What I plan to do is to make a final video of how the customer care of both was handled with regards to my situation. Such as: Were emails or phone calls answered/returned? How quickly were emails responded to and was the information helpful or were multiple emails required? How long did it take from start to finish (RMA # to having repaired/replaced drone returned). And equally important... is replaced/repaired drone in perfect condition or is it nothing but problems.

I use drones as an add on to my land Photography (I photograph events and key areas around my city) so the cameras on the drones have to be in top notch condition and the drone must be able to respond to commands, hover perfectly and stop on a dime. Here is an example of one of my land photography with the add on of a drone to cover a 10km run:
Now, the two videos below detail my problems with the TYPHOON H and the DJI PHANTOM. If you are curious to see how my interactions are going with each customer service, just have a look at the Video Description (in each video) which I update often.

This video is about: YUNEEC TYPHOON H problems

This video is about: DJI PHANTOM 3 problems

Intelien · Jun 7, 2016

Several reviews that I have read said Yuneec was far better. That was one of the reasons why I went with them.

glider · Jun 7, 2016

Wow. fully charged batteries? Sounds like you got a tested vehicle or a return; that would just tick me off.

This is why I always built my own copters; nobody to blame but myself. The camera RTF aspect drew me into buying a mass produced model. I just never fully trust them though. There's that nagging feeling.

That said, I wish my H would hurry up and get back from Yuneec. No crashes or odd flight behavior, but the camera just stopped working; would not power on.

I should add Yuneec tech support was prompt and to the point. I also mentioned I did not like the altitude estimate error (45 ft. vs 20 ft. actual) while hovering. They said that can be caused by faulty compass calibration, for which I assured it was done correctly. The only downside is 5 day shipping to Michigan. I just hope I get the backpack back; I had them note it was coming packed in it, they were ok with that. We shall see.

Big Al · Jun 8, 2016

I have yet to wait longer than 5-8 minutes to speak to someone from Yuneec in California. Far better than any of my experiences with DJI--this is one of the main reasons I went with the Typhoon H and sold my Phantom 3 Professional.

Sharpe · Jun 8, 2016

Yuneec UK - answered on second ring yesterday, knew exactly what i wanted and got the spare parts in the post same day. Great!

Laura Turbeville · Jun 8, 2016

Yuneec will always win at their customer service!

CAPTAINDRONE · Jun 8, 2016

So far no major complaints with the Yuneec service. Emails are answered quickly (although I have had two that were not answered & I had to send them again to get a response). Phone calls are answered quick and I love the call back option as it works!. My only complaint at the moment is speed. It took several emails to get a shipping label, long after an RMA was issued. Also from the date the RMA was issued to today has been 20 calendar days which can be a long time considering that I have not heard of the status of my "H" nor how long it will be until it is shipped back to me. If it was not for the fact that I have many drones, I probably would be a bit upset.

Now, I'm one of the "unfortunate" ones as I have also sent a Phantom back to DJI for replacement/repair, so I'm also experiencing their customer service for the first time. I've always heard it was bad but I think they took a page out of Yuneec's book because emails seem to be answered within a few hours and their online chat is pretty much instant. I have not tried calling them yet. They were quicker at issuing a shipping label after the RMA was issued.

CAPTAINDRONE · Jun 8, 2016

Oh... One area where I am giving points to Yuneec is that they posted a comment on my LEMON video of the Typhoon H. I also have a video for DJI showing the problem with their PHANTOM. DJI has not posted a comment on that video.

snerd · Jun 9, 2016

DJI gave me an RMA on Friday. Shipping label came that night. Shipped off Monday morning. So far, I'm surprised.

raymond captuo · Jun 9, 2016

wow 20 days is a long time...did they at least tell you if its a repair/replace? some kind of update or status?.....and i'm complaining about a week....

Mortalis · Jun 9, 2016

raymond captuo said:
wow 20 days is a long time...did they at least tell you if its a repair/replace? some kind of update or status?.....and i'm complaining about a week....

The repair on my Q500 4K took 7 weeks (Yes boys and girls, arrived on their doorstep March 18 and didnt get into a tech's hands until May 13) to get into queue and one week for the repair. I know I was not the only one as they kept telling that units that arrived the week before mine were in the queue the week before mine got there. Currently, Typhoon H's have been given priority over all other repairs for the time being. I don think I would be complaining about a 1 week, I think I would be praising the glory of the Yuneec service dept for that turnaround.
I've heard not so great stories about DJI's turn around times.

Marnix Verschraegen · Jun 9, 2016

Mortalis said:
The repair on my Q500 4K took 7 weeks (Yes boys and girls, arrived on their doorstep March 18 and didnt get into a tech's hands until May 13) to get into queue and one week for the repair. I know I was not the only one as they kept telling that units that arrived the week before mine were in the queue the week before mine got there. Currently, Typhoon H's have been given priority over all other repairs for the time being. I don think I would be complaining about a 1 week, I think I would be praising the glory of the Yuneec service dept for that turnaround.
I've heard not so great stories about DJI's turn around times.

I have had to send my inspire 1 back for repair. after 3 months i received it back, But still had some kind of problem and i had to resend it back again. In total i had to wait 6 months for the repair to be done how it should be been done for the first time.

/\/\ax2206

CAPTAINDRONE · Jun 9, 2016

raymond captuo said:
wow 20 days is a long time...did they at least tell you if its a repair/replace? some kind of update or status?.....and i'm complaining about a week....

Unfortunately no. I sent an email today and received a response that my drone had not been looked at yet. The email also said my drone was checked in two days ago. In reality it's been with them for almost a week now, but they only start counting days when someone gets around to checking it in.

So this may scare you:

I received an RMA on 20 May 2016.
I received a Shipping Label on 24 May 2016. Item Shipped on morning of 25 May 2016.
Typhoon arrives Yuneec on 3 June 2016 (yup... they use ground shipping from Canada).
Yuneec USA doesn't log it in until 7 June 2016

I would have thought Yuneec USA had a system whereby they add priority to an RMA#. So if the RMA# is 21 days old (as mine is), it would mean it has been waiting for service since then. But that's not the case which explains why some people seem to send their item to Yuneec and receive it back, all within a week and others (like me) will take well over 30 to 40 days from the time the RMA was issued. Disappointing.

CAPTAINDRONE · Jun 9, 2016

Mortalis said:
I've heard not so great stories about DJI's turn around times.

I have a Phantom in for repair at DJI. I'll get to experience the turn around time there as well.

Sparkorc · Jun 10, 2016

I have had great customer service from Yuneec UK over the past 8 months, from as little by return of post for a replacement ST10+ and up to 30 days for a complete replacement on a severely damaged Q500 4K after I recovered a fly away and sent off for inspection.

CAPTAINDRONE · Jun 11, 2016

UPDATE on my returned Typhoon H issue: Previously, Yuneec had taken several days to move my damaged Typhoon H from their shipping department to their repair department. Once in the repair department, the clock started and I was in the repair queue. At that point they advised me to check back in a week to get an update (that would have been next Thursday, 16 June). I'm not sure if Yuneec gave me a break due to how long I've been waiting since the RMA was issued (i.e., more than 21 days now), but late last night I received a notice that my Typhoon H had been repaired and was being shipped back to me. I believe Yuneec uses ground shipping to Canada, so that will be another 10 days until I receive it (which will make a month since I shipped it off).

The attached photo is a snapshot of the repair/costs. I'm sure some repairs are not listed there such as cracked upper body casing, loose arm motor, new battery, and more importantly the camera. My camera was the biggest issue. It could not be used for video recording because it was placing blue and white dancing dots all over the video (as seen in the video at the start of this thread), and since I'm a photographer, one can just not have this. If the camera is bad, no matter how fixed the Typhoon H is, it will be of no use to me.

CAPTAINDRONE · Jun 14, 2016

UPDATE: OK you just can't make this stuff up... read on. So far YUNEEC customer service is looking really good compared to DJI customer service.

As noted at the start of this thread, I had a new Phantom 3 Pro that had problems right out of the box. DJI should have either replaced it or given me a refund (since it came from their on-line store & that is the written policy). But no, they wanted to first check it out before either replacing, repairing or refunding. They sent me a UPS Shipping label. Phantom was sent to them and was signed for at their location on Monday. Are you ready for this..... They can't find it??? They even asked me if I had the correct address. HELLO... they provided the shipping label. I spent an hour with their customer service yesterday, but I could tell they were not to interested in assisting. See screen shot of chat below. (the green is DJI). I opened a ticket requesting them to sort this out & I have not heard anything yet.

mlpdx · Jun 14, 2016

Wow, CaptainDrone, thanks for sharing your experiences. I look forward to seeing your future posts on this, and I hope both of your birds come back soon; glad to see your H is soon be back in your hands . As a happy P4 owner and eager future prospective H owner, I dread the day when I have to send a bird off for repair and suffer the quiet indignity of waiting without knowing. Hopefully that's a long way off for me; sorry you had to do without both birds at once!

snerd · Jun 14, 2016

I got an e-mail from DJI today that my drone was checked in. Whew!

CAPTAINDRONE · Jun 15, 2016

mlpdx said:
Wow, CaptainDrone, thanks for sharing your experiences. I look forward to seeing your future posts on this, and I hope both of your birds come back soon; glad to see your H is soon be back in your hands . As a happy P4 owner and eager future prospective H owner, I dread the day when I have to send a bird off for repair and suffer the quiet indignity of waiting without knowing. Hopefully that's a long way off for me; sorry you had to do without both birds at once!

Thanks buds!

Well this is going to make for an entertaining video on my customer service comparison.