Why does Garmin CS get such high marks?

[BigBry]

In the past, my Lowrance and HB products have performed as anticipated and required little interaction with their support.on the few instances I required support, the issue was resolved expeditiously. Many rave about Garmins support. Why so? If the product has a superior track record, people should not be contacting support. Right ? If they are contacted, the issue should be resolved to “earn” the title of “great support”. Seems Garmin is missing the mark in many instances. What am I missing here?

[ridge_runner91]

I've had garmins for a couple years now. I've only needed to contact them one time and I was happy with their customer service.

Had birds prior to the garmins.... I had several issues that required me to contact them. For the most part I was satisfied with their customer service as well.

Its well known that lowrance customer service is the worst in the business. Not sure what your point is.

[PMantle]

Have had three units and three different Livescope systems. Have never needed customer support.

[MichAngler]

I’ve never owned a Lowrance but I’ve heard the horror stories.

I do and have owned Humminbird products and I can tell you from experience the CS is hit or miss depending on who you get and the issue you have.

As for Garmin I have only had a few interactions with them as my Garmin products have worked better than others.

I will say the hand full of times I’ve dealt with them it’s always been knowledgeable, straight forward, consistent and quick to resolve the issue rather than make you jump though unneeded hoops.

The biggest thing is this is the only company that has reached out to me to try and solve an issue I had posted about here I never contacted them or asked for their help they just offered it up.

Take note Humminbird has people that spend time on these forums but they don’t tell you they work for HB but Garmin actually has someone here that doesn’t hide their affiliation with Garmin and is always happy to answer your questions.

This says so much about Garmin and even though I may give them grief once and a while that’s more about me and my opinions than them.

[Bill Reynolds]

The biggest thing is this is the only company that has reached out to me to try and solve an issue I had posted about here I never contacted them or asked for their help they just offered .

Garmin contacted me about a problem I posted here and I was shocked!! Never happened in 20 years with Lowrance.
I made a couple calls to Garmin CS early in my changeover from Lowrance. I just needed help with understanding features or procedures and I found them professional, knowledgeable and friendly.
Being an Engineer, I am very critical of design and manufacturing. In that regard, I like several design aspects of their network, including the fact that they use RJ45 Ethernet connectors and the Wake over Ethernet protocol sure beats the yellow wake up wire. I also like the cradle on the Echomap series, I like being able to easily remove the head unit for storage and security.
I still have a Lowrance HDS on my console, because of Lowrance’s superior mapping, and waypoint/trail management but It may be replaced at some point.

[86 inches]

Wierd thread... someone complaining about good customer service. Guess I've seen it all now.

[TheBarBack]

I have only owned garmin graphs on my boat, and honestly I've never had to contact cs for the graphs... however I did kill a pedal on my force and they overnighted me a new pedal! Don't think good customer support is a... bad thing?

[J D]

Had Lowrance.... never again. Their CS was a nightmare. Garmin... had a few times where I needed help. Could not be more pleased with their level of effort to get me up and running.

[Doz]

In the past, my Lowrance and HB products have performed as anticipated and required little interaction with their support.on the few instances I required support, the issue was resolved expeditiously. Many rave about Garmins support. Why so? If the product has a superior track record, people should not be contacting support. Right ? If they are contacted, the issue should be resolved to “earn” the title of “great support”. Seems Garmin is missing the mark in many instances. WHAT AM I MISSING HERE?

Just about everything is the answer to that question

[DonnieG]

I have used units from all of the Big 3. Years ago, before Al provided the forums for us to post questions, we mainly relied on Company Reps. In the world today we have other means.

Humminbird has Wayne P & SLYDoggie

Lowrance has NoCal, Basshopper & Marc M

Garmin has Todd & LWinchester

Should be very few times when we have to use Company Reps. When needed, I have sparingly used Company Reps from all 3 and never had a problem

Ask the Locals from each board who are fishermen like us.

THANKS Al for providing us with BBC

[Coho975]

In the past, my Lowrance and HB products have performed as anticipated and required little interaction with their support.on the few instances I required support, the issue was resolved expeditiously. Many rave about Garmins support. Why so? If the product has a superior track record, people should not be contacting support. Right ? If they are contacted, the issue should be resolved to “earn” the title of “great support”. Seems Garmin is missing the mark in many instances. What am I missing here?

Because they are simply heads and shoulders above the rest. Not every call to CS is because of a problem. When I switched to Garmin I called them a couple times for advice and guidance on how to get my electronics set up the way I wanted before purchasing. Sometimes people need a little insight on certain features.

[Les Young]

Maybe because these units have way more technology than what a lot of us have been accustomed to& it makes it way easier when a real live person helps you to understand. They’re outstanding in my opinion.

[Jwags13]

In the past, my Lowrance and HB products have performed as anticipated and required little interaction with their support.on the few instances I required support, the issue was resolved expeditiously. Many rave about Garmins support. Why so? If the product has a superior track record, people should not be contacting support. Right ? If they are contacted, the issue should be resolved to “earn” the title of “great support”. Seems Garmin is missing the mark in many instances. What am I missing here?

Lowrance customer service is absolute garbage. Garmins is ok to deal with and never had birds.

[NorthLanier]

Had Lowrance.... never again. Their CS was a nightmare. Garmin... had a few times where I needed help. Could not be more pleased with their level of effort to get me up and running.

Agreed. Their tech support is a joke. Going with Garmin this time. Hoping for a better product and experience.

[Kb444fishing]

1 when you call you either talk to someone in a minute or two or they call you back
2 the person you talk to is a fisherman. Usually end up shooting the bull lol
3 will take the time to walk you through whatever
4 never delt with the others but have contacted Garmin probably five times on stupid stuff on the force trolling motor and have been nothing but pleasant and helpful

[eyedabassman]

1 when you call you either talk to someone in a minute or two or they call you back
2 the person you talk to is a fisherman. Usually end up shooting the bull lol
3 will take the time to walk you through whatever
4 never delt with the others but have contacted Garmin probably five times on stupid stuff on the force trolling motor and have been nothing but pleasant and helpful

Yep, top notch!

[Les Young]

Agreed. Their tech support is a joke. Going with Garmin this time. Hoping for a better product and experience.

Ask & ye shall receive because that’s exactly what you’ll get.

[Toni]

I give them a 15 out of 10 for customer service because I busted the bumper on my Force trolling motor bouncing it off a dock. I opened a chat window with Garmin CS, the guy told me that part was backordered, expected in two weeks, sent me a link to an order form to fill out and when I said how much he said no charge. I even told him I busted it myself, happy to pay, he said dont worry about it.

My part arrived just over two weeks later. Now granted it's a $7.50 part plus shipping, but I have rarely seen a big outfit like that just give you stuff without charging you. So I think they do a pretty good job at covering the little things that keep customers coming back for the big things.