Cocoa Beach, FL
please remove this post.....we are not a distributor so a lot of what i said does not apply
(Topic ID: 319013)
Quoted from Startek2:you go to sterns website and go to support....you get a form to fill out that has a big fax number on it....you fax a request for an RMA and....nothing....I call 1-800-kickers....and get a recording telling me to email....so i email....where is my rma? apparently tech support doesn't get fax's even though they show a fax number.....so i email my request for an RMA....i get back a note saying please contact your distributor for an RMA....my response: I AM A DISTRIBUTOR GODDAMMIT!!!
SO....APPARENTLY i need to become a pain in the ass to get service that used to be oh so good! So I need some help guys....the squeaky wheel gets the grease....if I as a distributor is getting this shitty of a service i can only imagine what the average user is going through! post your rants here maybe I will hand deliver them to Gary Stern myself! I MISS CHAZ!!
I always assumed there was a super double secret distributor phone number to call. My dream is shattered. Sorry this is so damn frustrating. If distros get this kind of support from Stern, us plebes are screwed.
Quoted from Startek2:you go to sterns website and go to support....you get a form to fill out that has a big fax number on it....you fax a request for an RMA and....nothing....I call 1-800-kickers....and get a recording telling me to email....so i email....where is my rma? apparently tech support doesn't get fax's even though they show a fax number.....so i email my request for an RMA....i get back a note saying please contact your distributor for an RMA....my response: I AM A DISTRIBUTOR GODDAMMIT!!!
SO....APPARENTLY i need to become a pain in the ass to get service that used to be oh so good! So I need some help guys....the squeaky wheel gets the grease....if I as a distributor is getting this shitty of a service i can only imagine what the average user is going through! post your rants here maybe I will hand deliver them to Gary Stern myself! I MISS CHAZ!!
Are you sure you’re going about everything the right way? I sent an email through their support channel and received an email the next day. Why are you faxing anything?
Quoted from ticktockman:Are you sure you’re going about everything the right way? I sent an email through their support channel and received an email the next day. Why are you faxing anything?
i d/l their repair request form and it would not let me save the PDF so i could not attach it to an email...so I faxed it using THE BIG FAT FAX NUMBER right on the form...that I guess doesn't go to tech support! We run a big million dollar company and we still send and receive faxes every damn day! Well I usually don't have to send stuff to the tech support because we are so damn good at what we do we don't often need tech support.....so obviously I guess I have to call the sales department and give them my two cents worth! When I call tech support to a company that I am paying $8000 fukking dollars for a game they need to pick up the god damn phone period! I am too damn busy to spend a little chunk of my day every day just to push the stone forward on one god damn repair! There is no excuse for this! pinball games especially need a live tech support available!
Quoted from Startek2:When I call tech support to a company that I am paying $8000 fukking dollars for a game they need to pick up the god damn phone period!
Yeah sadly that's the way it is now. I got my part in 2 weeks from first email last time though; don;t know if they could have given me a quick fix explanation.
Been dealing with this myself lately, as have more and more people. Stern tech support really isn't what it used to be, and I'm not sure that has to do with Chaz vs. Pablo or policy changes. I think it's the latter. Pablo is friendly and quick to respond, it just feels like he has to follow a script:
Step 1: Burn a new SD card or reseat this or that.
Step 2: Tell your distributor to get you a new part or send your broken part in to them for repair.
Step 3: If you bought used, go eat dirt.
Quoted from VALIS666:Step 3: If you bought used, go eat dirt.
I just busted out laughing at this one lol
Quoted from VALIS666:Been dealing with this myself lately, as have more and more people. Stern tech support really isn't what it used to be, and I'm not sure that has to do with Chaz vs. Pablo or policy changes. I think it's the later. Pablo is friendly and quick to respond, it just feels like he has to follow a script:
Step 1: Burn a new SD card or reseat this or that.
Step 2: Tell your distributor to get you a new part or send your broken part in to them for repair.
Step 3: If you bought used, go eat dirt.
You forgot step 4: if your game is out of warranty, see step 3.
Edmonton, AB
How long does it take for them to ship parts? I’ve been waiting since June 30th with no tracking number and am thinking if I should just order the parts from Pinball Life instead.
Quoted from Guidotorpedo:You forgot step 4: if your game is out of warranty, see step 3.
True, but for me out of warranty they bumped me back to Step 2: Maybe your distributor will bail you out. If not, enjoy your dirt.
This would all be easier to take if they weren't so incredibly secretive about how Spike 2 works on a deeper level, or how to do the fixes for the mechs on specific games. I was looking the other day and they haven't posted a tech video in 7 years, and that was the only one in the last 11 years. If they don't want to be bothered with supporting their customers post-warranty then at least put more information out there so we have a fighting chance to fix it ourselves.
C'mon stern. We're rooting for you. You need...
Less social media influencer nerds.
More engineer techy dudes to answer phones.
Balance.
Quoted from Startek2:you go to sterns website and go to support....you get a form to fill out that has a big fax number on it....you fax a request for an RMA and....nothing....I call 1-800-kickers....and get a recording telling me to email....so i email....where is my rma? apparently tech support doesn't get fax's even though they show a fax number.....so i email my request for an RMA....i get back a note saying please contact your distributor for an RMA....my response: I AM A DISTRIBUTOR GODDAMMIT!!!
SO....APPARENTLY i need to become a pain in the ass to get service that used to be oh so good! So I need some help guys....the squeaky wheel gets the grease....if I as a distributor is getting this shitty of a service i can only imagine what the average user is going through! post your rants here maybe I will hand deliver them to Gary Stern myself! I MISS CHAZ!!
It’s your fault for still relying on faxing.
Stern has ignored my repeated attempts to reach them via carrier pigeon and styrofoam cups on a string.
I’m gonna try a Fax next but I’m not hopeful!
Quoted from CrazyLevi:Stern has ignored my repeated attempts to reach them via carrier pigeon and styrofoam cups on a string.
I’m gonna try a Fax next but I’m not hopeful!
Could try morse code or smoke signals
Quoted from Pdxmonkey:How long does it take for them to ship parts? I’ve been waiting since June 30th with no tracking number and am thinking if I should just order the parts from Pinball Life instead.
I've been waiting about that long as well. Here's the response I got from Stern support when I asked for a status update on the parts. Not really sure what's going on.
"We have forwarded your status request to the Parts Department, and they will get back to you with an updated status of your order. Currently, our parts shipping team is updating there shipping process and all orders were placed on a halt. They will start shipping quite soon once they get everything sorted out. In advance, thank you for your patience!"
Quoted from Haymaker:Like when you said you were a distributor?
Yes all this then why did he say he was a distributor? He said it twice at least in his original post.
Then please remove because we are not a distributor? Maybe he is a distributor but We are not? 
Quoted from Haymaker:Like when you said you were a distributor?
Looks like it's immortalized, unless...
pasted_image (resized).pngQuoted from Atari_Daze:Looks like it's immortalized,
Yes. The internet is written in ink not pencil.
Even if removed you can often search the first few lines on Google and it shows up somewhere.
LTG : )
I’ve had nothing but great support from stern since I started buying NIB games last year.
They do great work despite the time wasting lunatics they clearly have to deal with on a regular basis.
Quoted from CrazyLevi:I’ve had nothing but great support from stern since I started buying NIB games last year.
They do great work despite the time wasting lunatics they clearly have to deal with on a regular basis.
Maybe you're a distributor?
Quoted from wisefwumyogwave:Maybe you're a distributor?
I'm going to distribute this comment to other threads.
Quoted from DaveH:I'm going to distribute this comment to other threads.
No need, he will do it himself by starting another pseudo clone thread of this thread.
I always had good support from Stern.... I am realistic and don't expect miracles though.
I don't envy them (or dealers for that matter) since a ton of pinball owners are wound up too tight and overreact and expect miracles from their overpriced toys.
Pinball is one of the hardest to please customer bases I can imagine.
I'm confused OP. You thought you were a distributor, had a rant, then realized you aren't a distributor after all? 
Quoted from Mr_Tantrum:I'm confused OP. You thought you were a distributor, had a rant, then realized you aren't a distributor after all?
I wonder if when he asked Stern for help if he told them he was a distributor ? That probably wouldn't go over too good.
He should have gone with being a whale instead.
LTG : )
Wondering if this has something to do with the difference between a "Distributor" and a "Dealer".
You can search for either one on Stern's site, and the lists are not the same.
No idea what the difference is, but there must be one.
Generally I think folks use the terms interchangeably.
Quoted from LTG:He should have gone with being a whale instead.
I'm a whale. You can be too. Too much pasta and onion rings gets you in the club.
Quoted from RCA1:Wondering if this has something to do with the difference between a "Distributor" and a "Dealer".
You can search for either one on Stern's site, and the lists are not the same.
No idea what the difference is, but there must be one.
Generally I think folks use the terms interchangeably.
One sells direct to consumer and the other to business.... at least thats what it's supposed to be. 
Quoted from Mr_Tantrum:I'm confused OP. You thought you were a distributor, had a rant, then realized you aren't a distributor after all?
Sometimes I don’t even try to figure out what’s going on.
Quoted from Electrocute:Sometimes I don’t even try to figure out what’s going on.
That way you can divert your therapy money into pinball money.
LTG : )
Quoted from CrazyLevi:I’ve had nothing but great support from stern since I started buying NIB games last year.
They do great work despite the time wasting lunatics they clearly have to deal with on a regular basis.
False. At least for me. I mean, look, we all varying experiences. But over and over I get nothing from stern. They just kick me down the road like a can and when I follow up they do the same thing. When I stop following up they breathe a sigh of relief and are ecstatic that their stall tactic work. I fix all the stupid small and medium stuff. I’m only reaching out for legit support. But stern wants you to reach out to a distributor and they have no interest in helping the end user.
By contrast, spooky and AP are on it. They want to support their customers. They want their end user to have a positive experience with their brand.
At least that’s been my experience with these 3.
yeah fax is still around.....yes i am old. only been in the business for 40 years. we were a dealer but Stern raised the bar and required things of us we were no longer interested in. No I am not the owner I am the senior tech. We still buy parts directly from Stern so I didn't know we weren't a dealer any more. As for the term distributor here you go...
dis·trib·u·tor
[dəˈstribyədər]
NOUN
an agent who supplies goods to stores and other businesses that sell to consumers:
"a wholesale liquor distributor" · "the movie's distributor booked the film into theaters"
There actually still are distributors around in the coin op business but gone are the days when they had huge warehouses and parts counters and in house tech support. They are still around but things have changed so much. Anyway I'll take the heat...I was just pissed off that getting some customer support these days anywhere is like choking a horse...There was a time when we were in the pipe for every new machine that came out. I have literally and truly unboxed and maintained nearly every new pinball machine that was introduced to the market since 1982. I am accustomed to calling the factory when I had a problem and working it out with the service department. ok well rant off....oh i have more to say.....but i forget this is about just pinball....We deal in all coin op amusement and vending and when I need a part or an RMA it should not take a damn week to move through one repair. I do not have time for that......
1 month later
Quoted from RyanStl:Was this resolved?
Hahaha, you really want to watch the world burn today, don’t you? 
Quoted from trecemaneras:Hahaha, you really want to watch the world burn today, don’t you?
I found a feature last night that let me catch up on old threads and I was bored. Thought maybe we could get some conclusions.
Quoted from trecemaneras:Hahaha, you really want to watch the world burn today, don’t you?
I AM A DISTRIBUTOR GODDAMMIT!!!
Quoted from jp1985:I AM A DISTRIBUTOR GODDAMMIT!!!
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