My smashed Garmin Forerunner 310XT
A month ago, a slight touch of wheels at the front of the bunch during a race rendered me unconscious but the worst damage, the most permanent, was the smashed screen on my brand new Garmin Forerunner 310XT. Only a few weeks old, my Garmin still worked but was unreadable and therefore useless. I use my Garmin everyday. I was heartbroken.
As a geologist’s daughter, I grew up with Garmin. I remember my dad bringing home a Garmin GPS that resembled a cellphone from the 1980s: big, black, heavy and, of course, completely cutting edge technology at the time. Since then our family has evolved with Garmin, owning several eTrex GPS’s, but it wasn’t until I started cycling that I got my own Garmin.
I loved my first Forerunner. It was a symbol that I was serious about cycling. I was dedicated enough to have a piece of sophisticated equipment. Fast forward to this year and I upgraded to a new Forerunner that was ANT+, waterproof, with all the bells and whistles for running and cycling. Then catastrophe: the crash.
Heartbroken.
Stuck with an unreadable Garmin, I sought out getting the screen fixed which, to my delight, was possible. However, since the damage was “my fault” the repair wasn’t covered by warranty and, with a price tag of over $100.00, it was like taking another hit on the cement. With nothing to lose, I decided to email Garmin, plead my case and hope for a Hail Mary. I never imagined getting the response I did but, perhaps, Garmin doesn’t get many emails like mine.
From the repair company:
Dear Sarah, The reason you see the charges for the replacement of your watch is because, unfortunately, physical damage is not covered under warranty. You clearly state that you had a crash with it and that is the reason for the cracked screen. You will have to contact Garmin either by e-mail at techsupp@garmin.com or call them at 1-800-800-1020 to see if they will agree to cover it and send us a Warranty Validation e-mail stating that. We cannot make decisions for Garmin. Kindest regards, Customer Service Representative
Raytech Électronique Inc.
My email to Garmin:
Hello, I am seeking warranty validation for repairs to my Garmin forerunner. Although I crashed it I am hoping for a Hail Mary since I only had it for a few weeks. I have been a loyal customer of Garmin and when I upgraded to my new unit I was devastated when I crashed it during a race. I was unconscious for ten minutes, lost 20 minutes of memory, lost my winning position after abandoning, and had to take a month off training but the worst part was the damage to my Garmin: a smashed screen. I just can’t train effectively without it. As any athlete, I am on limited funds so I am hoping out of the goodness of Garmin, since I only had it for a short time and I’ve been a good customer, you can grant me warranty validation for a simple screen repair.
With ambitious hopes,
Sarah Bonner
Response from Garmin:
Dear Sarah Bonner, Thank you for contacting Garmin International. I am happy to assist you. I am so sorry to hear about your crash. Since you are a loyal Garmin customer and we appreciate you, I did send your Warranty Validation form back to RayTech. Please contact us with any questions.With Best Regards, Garmin International
As you can imagine, I was shocked and amazed that a big company like Garmin would do such a thing for a small customer. I immediately sent a thank you email expressing my heart-felt gratitude. It’s probably not a big deal to them but it truly mean the world to me and it’s nice to know they value their customers. I can’t wait to get my fixed Garmin back. Garmin customer for life!
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