Where is the option for zero stars....!
In case you are not going to read my long ass, two week & counting (yet just in its infancy), saga of my customer service experience with ICON Fitness below, just note that if you choose to buy a piece of ICON fitness equipment (NordicTrack, ProForm, Free Motion, Golds Gym, Weslo, Weider, Health Rider, UTS & Lotus) be warned that if anything goes wrong with the machine, expect to be frustrated as hell by customer service. My suggestion, stay away!
So here goes my tale of woe:
Purchased a NordicTrack stationary bike. The resistance controls were not functioning properly. Tried calling ICON customer service. Waited on hold for about an hour and finally gave up. Tried the chat function and the screen indicated that the wait to get somebody via chat would be about 1 1/2 hours. Sent an email. Took over a week to get a response. Initial response was difficult to understand and seemed to be written by somebody who is illiterate. This was the directions/request from the initial email I received (a direct quote from the mail):
"If you use the machine with just manual run the resistance all over and see if it will stay with you."
Responded immediately with a more detailed description of my issue. Received a second email response the next day. Again, another difficult to understand mail requesting I upload a video of the response of a certain part to an adjustment of the resistance. That email noted that this would probably require some disassembly of the machine. However, no instructions nor links were provided on how to properly disassemble the machine to access the part. Here is the direct quote from this 2nd mail:
"Plastics will more than likely need to be removed in order to see the eddy mech, cable and resistance motor. Please video what the motor and eddy mech are doing while trying to adjust resistance."
What the hell is an "eddy mech"?, which cable?, what does the resistance motor look like? which "plastics" do I remove to reveal these mystery parts?
So I write a response to this second cryptic email to see if I can get further details on what they are asking of me. Surprise! The email was sent from an address that didn't accept responses.
Since I was up early (ironically to do a work out on this very machine), I thought I would try initiating a chat hoping that it was a less busy time of the day and I would get through quicker. I was able to get through. I entered my serial number and model number of the machine. An agent on the other end of the chat came online. I explained that my quest for resolution in the repair of my machine has taken almost 2 weeks at this point and has consisted of 2 vague, hard to understand emails coming 24 hour intervals. She came back with this:
I don't show that your machine has been registered with ICON. Please go online, register, and contact us again. Please note that it may take about an hour after registering online for it to show on our end.
WTF! Your customer service dept have responded with two cryptic messages already that indicate the model number and serial number of my machine! While I I am pretty sure that I have registered this machine, why didn't any of the people sending the emails indicate that the machine was not registered!?
I have all dealt with frustrating customer service departments in the past (Comcast, DIRECTV, Dell Computers, wireless carriers). However, the level of incompetence in this situation has inspired me to write my first yelp review. I will keep you all posted.
To be continued...... read more