[kevingambrell]

Well Im glad I didnt spend out money on this product. I understood from the HobbyCNC web site the aupport had to be got from the Yahoo newsgroup. So i went to the group applied for membership and got turned down! Im a member of loads of astronomy groups and activly participate in many of them. Why would I be refused membership for a comercial product support group?
Stupid beyond comprehention.

Regards kevin

P/s on principle I shall look for another source of controler board

[sendkeys]

try again might have hit the wrong button or was thinking u were a spammer. But it's wrong for sure.

[kevingambrell]

I have just re applied, il give it one more try, I would like to use one of the boards but not if I cant get support.

Thanks for the reply

[itsme]

Hi there,

Apparently membership is only for paying customers. I think you can only become a member once you've already bought one of their products.

The main reason why I went with Xylotex and not HobbyCNC was for this very reason. I had many questions that needed answering before I bought a board and HobbyCNC's setup didn't work for me. I wasn't keen on sending HobbyCNC many emails with all my questions and often wanted a broader opinion on a particular subject (from other owners). Xylotex has a similar support setup, however you can join the group without being a paying customer - this somehow gives the feeling of a more relaxed atmosphere.

I guess I can SORT OF understand why they do it this way, but it seems that it may be losing them some customers. Who knows???

Regards
Warren

[ger21]

You have to purchase the product before you can join the support forum.

[rippersoft]

You can post your questions here and the users of the product will be more than willing to answer them, if they can. What questions do you have?

[CNCRob]

That would make me look for other alternatives also.

Hi there,

Apparently membership is only for paying customers. I think you can only become a member once you've already bought one of their products.

The main reason why I went with Xylotex and not HobbyCNC was for this very reason. I had many questions that needed answering before I bought a board and HobbyCNC's setup didn't work for me. I wasn't keen on sending HobbyCNC many emails with all my questions and often wanted a broader opinion on a particular subject (from other owners). Xylotex has a similar support setup, however you can join the group without being a paying customer - this somehow gives the feeling of a more relaxed atmosphere.

I guess I can SORT OF understand why they do it this way, but it seems that it may be losing them some customers. Who knows???

Regards
Warren

[Evodyne]

Guys,

I do NOT own the hobbyCNC products. After reading Kevins post I did apply, just to test the waters, stating "I am looking for support for HobbyCNC products as recommended on their web site". I DID get approved.

Lance

[kevingambrell]

I got a reply from NobbyCNC. I sent this:
Dear Sir
> I am about to purchase a board from you, his my be
> prevented due to the Yahoo group hobbycnc refusing my
> membership. I am a member of a number of groups and
> have not been refused before.
> Why has my membership been denied and how can I get
> support with out the membership? I would like to buy
> your product but it is looking more unlikely as events
> unfld.
> Please respond before I make my decission.
>
> Kind Regards Kevin Gambrell

I recieved this:

Group is for customer support...until you purchase from us you are not
a
customer. Simple.

Regards,
Dave Rigotti
HobbyCNC.com

To be honest I find it stagering how a company can try to sell a product with the kind of mentality. Yes Ok if I had not stated that I intended to buy the product I could understand it but I said in my application to the group that I was trying to find out more about the board.
Well to sum up id rather carry on with out CNC than buy from them.
To be honest I looked around the net and there are much better boards out there for not a lot more money so thats what il do.

All the best Kevin

[widgitmaster]

http://www.campbelldesigns.com/breakout-board.php

Try this LPT interface, it works like a charm!
Eric

[Nige]

I ordered a HobbCNC board in June for delivery to the UK.

It never arrived...

I have no proof it was lost in the post or even if it was ever sent, but their attitude was simply 'tough'...

If I send a product in the post and it gets lost the least I will do is offer to send another at cost price, if not free...

The product may be OK but the customer service needs a little work...

Nige

[kevingambrell]

Well After this I will be looking to source another choice of boards. To be honest I thought that this kind of mentality had all but gone from businesses but it seems not.
The part I find strange is the fact that this is an American company, I lived in Boston for almost 10 years before moving back to the UK. In those 10 years I came to the conclusion that customer relations was the most important thing when doing business in America.
I guess that this goes to show that there are exceptions to every rule. I would not buy from HobbyCNC and I would not recomend the web site to any one.


Regards Kevin

[HobbyCNC]

Well Im glad I didnt spend out money on this product. I understood from the HobbyCNC web site the aupport had to be got from the Yahoo newsgroup. So i went to the group applied for membership and got turned down! Im a member of loads of astronomy groups and activly participate in many of them. Why would I be refused membership for a comercial product support group?
Stupid beyond comprehention.

Regards kevin

P/s on principle I shall look for another source of controler board

Kevin,
Our support group link on our homepage, the ONLY place to apply for membership, clearly states the the reason for the group and the rules to apply for membership. Below is a cut and paste of it:

HobbyCNC support group for owners of Hobby CNC products. This is a moderated group and open to customers of Hobby CNC products only. THIS IS NOT A GENERAL CNC INFORMATION GROUP. Your membership is by permission only and can be revoked at any time. When applying for membership please tell us who you are AND what you have purchased from us in the comment field. Without this information, your request will be deleted without a reply.

Seems simple enough. The above should answer your question "Why would I be refused membership for a comercial product support group?"

Our order/contact web page has an email address where questions ("support") can be asked and answered before a purchase.

The CNCZone also has a group for HobbyCNC which we actively particpate in. We are also members of several other open forums such as DIY-CNC, CAD_CAM_EDM_DRO, CNCfoamcutters to name the most popular ones. Altho we prefer to answer questions in our Yahoo group as ALL members of the group can learn from the answer.

So in summary, you can get support for our products by just asking us a question directly or by the variuos avenues mentioned above without being a member of our Yahoo group.

And yes, we recognize the fact that you are free to spend you money where and how you see fit.

Dave Rigotti
HobbyCNC.com

[HobbyCNC]

I ordered a HobbCNC board in June for delivery to the UK.

It never arrived...

I have no proof it was lost in the post or even if it was ever sent, but their attitude was simply 'tough'...

If I send a product in the post and it gets lost the least I will do is offer to send another at cost price, if not free...

The product may be OK but the customer service needs a little work...

Nige

Nige,

I'm SURE our answer to your query was NOT simply "tough". Can you copy/paste the entire emails of this for all to see?

Email us your full name and approximately when you purchased your product and we'll be happy to send you a copy of the post office reciept showing the product was shipped.

Dave Rigotti
HobbyCNC.com

[jc286006]

all that i can say is i have had very good service and support from hobbycnc every time i have had to ask a question they have answered back sometimes within minutes. while i am only starting in this hobby i would not hesitate one second to recommend this board it is of very good quality and very easy to assemble even for a newcomer to this hobby i do have some experience assembling circuit boards in the past but i think as long as you can read the english language and follow directions that it is almost a no-brainer to get a working product the first time with a little patience and a little bit of common sense

[Chris D]

all that i can say is i have had very good service and support from hobbycnc every time i have had to ask a question they have answered back sometimes within minutes. while i am only starting in this hobby i would not hesitate one second to recommend this board it is of very good quality and very easy to assemble even for a newcomer to this hobby i do have some experience assembling circuit boards in the past but i think as long as you can read the english language and follow directions that it is almost a no-brainer to get a working product the first time with a little patience and a little bit of common sense

I second that opinion too. Hobby CNC is providing a good product at a great value. Sure there are other products to choose from as with anything else in life. Their policy about joining their support group is very clearly stated on their regular home page so it really should be a question. Even though I personally do not like that sort of policy, it is their way and it has worked good for me. It also seems to keep the "Static" down to zero on that support site so when looking through the archives, you are only looking at good information.

But, to each his own.

Chris

[John S.]

Nige,

I'm SURE our answer to your query was NOT simply "tough". Can you copy/paste the entire emails of this for all to see?

Email us your full name and approximately when you purchased your product and we'll be happy to send you a copy of the post office reciept showing the product was shipped.

Dave Rigotti
HobbyCNC.com

Dave, unless your laws are different to UK laws the Distant seller regulations say that any shortfall is the responsibility of the sender.
Any followup such as tracking and searching is your responsibility NOT the buyer.

John S.

[phantomcow2]

I cant say I am displeased with my driver board kit.
Yea I had a difficult time getting it all together, but Dave sent an already soldered board at a reduced fee. Which works, the board works nicely I will say. Of course this is my first driver board ever so there is not much I can compare it to.
But whenever I post on the yahoo group (a decent amount as I am full of questions), I get a response usually within an hour. Thats impressive...

[skippy]

"Dave, unless your laws are different to UK laws the Distant seller regulations say that any shortfall is the responsibility of the sender. Any followup such as tracking and searching is your responsibility NOT the buyer."

So you are saying that if someone like Dave from Hobbycnc sends a product to a customer in some foreign country (or even within the US) with proof of dispatch/postage and then the product is lost by the postal service in the foreign country or the customer decides he wants a freebie (not that that happened in this case), that Dave should send another one? I don't agree but hey, each to his own. Sadly, I suppose this is why many US vendors will only sell to US and Canadian customers as they don't want the unnecessary hassle.

[ESjaavik]

It should not be a problem. We do this all the time. Items are sent as registered post. If the postal service has a signed receipt, it's an internal problem with the customer. If not, our insurance covers sending a replacement. But so far that has not happened to us as far as I'm aware of. From time to time we need to make the customer aware of who at his site signed the receipt though. Since the risk is low, so is the insurance cost. But then this is in Europe, it may not apply in USA.