Just got a notification that my EVO is on its way back after getting repaired. Long story short, on my last flight of the day and after switching batteries (first flight on a new unflown battery) the EVO decided to lose altitude rather quickly over some trees. Autel said the craft was "under pilot control" (it was but I was not imputing the altitude loss) so it did cost me $136 for the repairs. Initially I wanted to dispute the control claim but decided it wasn't worth the aggravation over just above a C bill in cost. So with that mini rant over, here's my take on Autel's CS and repair service.
First off, I truly expected a much longer repair and turnaround time. The crash happened just before the July 4th weekend. With what I had heard, I had resigned myself to early August at the earliest for return. Considering that it almost took a full week for the drone to ship to Washington from West Virginia courtesy of Fed-Ex, that I received a return shipping notification the day before yesterday was a pleasant surprise. Added bonus, the return shipping is by UPS which I personally have found to be quicker and easier to deal with over Fed-Ex. At least where I live.
Second, the promptness of the CS team on my initial repair inquiry was very quick. Since the crash happened after business hours (in Washington) I knew I would not hear back until the next day. They quickly responded once their "doors were open" the next day. Very professional and courteous. After a couple of emails back and forth along with sending the basic user info and photos of the damage, I had a shipping label and RMA immediately. Once the drone made it back to their facility I received a notification. Once they determined what needed to be repaired, and in my case the cost, I received immediate notification. Bottom line, the whole process was very well executed and professional in manner.
In conclusion, and though I still disagree with their pilot control conclusion, I have to give major kudos to Autel and their customer support and repair team.
So I expect the drone should be arriving sometime early next week as long as UPS doesn't have a issues, LOL. The only negative is I will not be able to fly for awhile since West Virginia is hosting the World Jamboree for the BSA and all of us in the ER where I work are on scheduled overtime with no allowable vacation or PTO authorized until theJamboree is over in early August.
At least the EVO will be back.
First off, I truly expected a much longer repair and turnaround time. The crash happened just before the July 4th weekend. With what I had heard, I had resigned myself to early August at the earliest for return. Considering that it almost took a full week for the drone to ship to Washington from West Virginia courtesy of Fed-Ex, that I received a return shipping notification the day before yesterday was a pleasant surprise. Added bonus, the return shipping is by UPS which I personally have found to be quicker and easier to deal with over Fed-Ex. At least where I live.
Second, the promptness of the CS team on my initial repair inquiry was very quick. Since the crash happened after business hours (in Washington) I knew I would not hear back until the next day. They quickly responded once their "doors were open" the next day. Very professional and courteous. After a couple of emails back and forth along with sending the basic user info and photos of the damage, I had a shipping label and RMA immediately. Once the drone made it back to their facility I received a notification. Once they determined what needed to be repaired, and in my case the cost, I received immediate notification. Bottom line, the whole process was very well executed and professional in manner.
In conclusion, and though I still disagree with their pilot control conclusion, I have to give major kudos to Autel and their customer support and repair team.
So I expect the drone should be arriving sometime early next week as long as UPS doesn't have a issues, LOL. The only negative is I will not be able to fly for awhile since West Virginia is hosting the World Jamboree for the BSA and all of us in the ER where I work are on scheduled overtime with no allowable vacation or PTO authorized until theJamboree is over in early August.
At least the EVO will be back.
