Tri-Tronics warranty/customer service/rant

[87Ford]

So, my $500 dollar Pro 500 G3 that I bought a little over two years ago won't accept a charge.  I get an intermittant flashing red light which, according to my owner's manual, indicates a failure condition in the battery pack being charged.  First call to customer service and a very friendly fella talks me through a process of charging the transmitter for a short time, removing the transmitter from the cradle for an hour, then charging again for just a couple hours...and repeating this several times.  If this doesn't work, which it didn't, I should call back and he will go further in attempting to help me resove the problem.  So, a few days later, when his instructions still failed to charge the transmitter, I called back and actually got the same guy.  Again he was very friendly and chatty while helping me.  This time he said I would need to unscrew the battery door, remove the battery, and then put it back in place.  This would "reset" the battery and it would then accept a charge and be "good as new".  Also, he told me that removing this battery door would compromise the unit's waterproofness and that he would send me a new replacement battery door in the mail that when secured would once again be waterproof.  The only hitch he told me was that if I I removed the battery and it was corroded and obviously a bad battery pack then I would have to just send the whole unit in.  Anyway, a couple days later I received the new battery cover in the mail and went about removing the battery just as he explained.  Well, I removed the battery door and out popped the battery AND a rather corroded and broken metal contact clip.  Third call to Tri-Tronics and this time I get a rather "bland" and "unfriendly" woman.  I explained the process I had gone through and that it probably needed to be sent in and repaired by them.  She asked for the product code which I gave her and then she told me that the warranty was up and that it will cost $125 to have it repaired.

This is my second Tri-Tronics collar and the first problem I have ever encountered.  I have so often sung the praises of Tri-Tronics products.  My first Tri-Tronics collar was bullet proof and lasted for years and years.  This one...not so much...  Five hundred bucks and it has an internal problem after just two years of light use.  A problem that is no fault of mine and it's gonna cost me another $125.

So, next time around I will certainly consider all of the other options out there.  E-collars seem to have come a long way latey and I don't think Tri-tronics is necessarily the best any longer. 

Done with my rant...thanks for listening. 

[wildweeds]

I don't understand the rant......................... the warranty is up,if it is up it is up................ no matter the useage.Yes the clip is corroded,but the warranty is up,for 125 bucks they will fix it. For a lot less than that you can solder a new clip on yourself.Iv'e had 3 TT collars never had an issue with any of them,Lost the transmitter to one and tried to get another but they told me it was a discontinued out of date model and offered me 30% off a complete new system if I sent the remaining pieces back.And for whatever this is worth................... the cheapie models work just as good as that pro 500.My sport 50 lasted 10 years and I used it ALOT.Sound advice is to charge it as directed when not in use.

[whitey]

As stated earlier. I have had nothing but great results with My T.T collars. Sure I have to from time to time get some replacement parts for them. But I also have to this on my Toyota.There is a level of prevenative maintence that one should do to keep them running smooth. 1 would be after use remove the battery but some dielectric grease on the contacts and allow the moisture to evaporate. Replace the O-ring from time to time. Stuff like that will buy years and spare you the pain of calling people and getting frustrated with the results.

or

send them out for repair to the http://www.collarclinic.com/

[87Ford]

I don't understand the rant......................... the warranty is up,if it is up it is up................ no matter the useage.Yes the clip is corroded,but the warranty is up,for 125 bucks they will fix it. For a lot less than that you can solder a new clip on yourself.Iv'e had 3 TT collars never had an issue with any of them,Lost the transmitter to one and tried to get another but they told me it was a discontinued out of date model and offered me 30% off a complete new system if I sent the remaining pieces back.And for whatever this is worth................... the cheapie models work just as good as that pro 500.My sport 50 lasted 10 years and I used it ALOT.Sound advice is to charge it as directed when not in use.

I understand the expired warranty thing.  Maybe you can understand this... I'm disappointed in a $500 dollar collar only providing two years of light use before having a problem that requires sending the unit back for repair at my expense.  And yes, I followed the "care and cleaning" as recommended in the owner's manual.

By the way, whitey, you cannot remove the battery from the transmitter without ruining the waterproof seal.  There is no O-ring on this particular model.

Whatever, you experts continue with your Tri-Tronics.  I'll consider the many other options next time. 

[87Ford]

for whatever this is worth................... the cheapie models work just as good as that pro 500

Oh, and thank you so much for that great peice of wisdom..

[bearpaw]

I have had several tri-tronics products and happy with all of them. I wore out many bark limiters and even though they seem to have a limited life, they seemed like the best I have been around. I usually sent them to the collar clinic for repairs until they were ready for the garbage. My training collars have all been longer lasting and still use my newest training collars regularly.

I'm sorry to hear about your unhappy experience. Maybe you should try calling again and see if you can get in touch with the more helpful guy and explain your situation. 

[whitey]

for whatever this is worth................... the cheapie models work just as good as that pro 500

Oh, and thank you so much for that great peice of wisdom..

What a smart A$$. Dick head.

[Stilly bay]

So, my $500 dollar Pro 500 G3 that I bought a little over two years ago won't accept a charge.

try contacting Customer service again, maybe you will get some one different and different results. I have always had positive experiences with TT and they make a good product

 you could buy a brand new pro 500 transmitter  for $284.50
http://www.gundogsupply.com/tritronics-g3-transmitter-pro500.html
 its still a big chunk of change but better than trying to breath life into a faulty transmitter that might give you headaches while training.

[JJD]

My luck with TT has not been great either.  I know for years, I read post after post (on other forums) as to how good TT warranty & service was.  How come everyone knew this?  It's because everyone seemed to have had to experience their service dept.  I switched to Dogtra years ago and have had no problems at all.  Friend had a 2 dog model that had the, one collar to another, switch go bad, and I will admit it was pretty cheezy, but my single dog models have been flawless.  I do not have any of the new offering from either company, but in the older model Dogtra, I do miss the positive click of the stimulation buttons that the TT's had.  Some complained at the time that the stimulation reostat control did not have positive stops between number, however, it never caused me any problems.

[Happy Gilmore]

email Kim Kripe. She is the Tri-Tronics rep. She lives in Monroe. She might have some spare parts laying around to trade out.

kcripe@tritronics.com