ffq-lar Posted March 13, 2011 Report Share Posted March 13, 2011 Send it back and insist on a refund? First though--sounds like your tension is still where the problem lies, unless you are catching the thread on something. My money is on the tensioner. Obviously your machine s not working properly for whatever reason so you should be a squeaky wheel and make some noise. Customer service can make or break you, so I am sorry for your frustrations. Stamp your feet and pitch a fit. Holler enough to get their attention (and hollering here on an open forum will get you some attention--email Charlie a link!) Good luck, Joan--and when you are up and running, give us updates on your progress. It really is the most fun job you can ever imagine! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asmfjmc Posted March 13, 2011 Report Share Posted March 13, 2011 Send me Charlie's email address in a U2U and I will. I have told him I want a refund but he told me no that they didn't give refunds! He didn't give me any recourse to persue so I told him maybe I needed some legal advice and that is when he finally got me in touch with the service tech. He told the guy he would pay him but I paid him so then I sent Charlie the bill registered mail. He got the bill and I have yet to be reimbursed!!! If I could do it over again I would not have bought a Prodigy-they have no instructions for assembly and no users manual!!!!!!!!! I just want to quilt----how hard should that be when you spend that kind of money. Thanks for your encouragement!!! Joan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quilting Heidi Posted March 13, 2011 Report Share Posted March 13, 2011 It sounds to me like you need to get a lawyer and get your money back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustSewSimple Posted March 13, 2011 Report Share Posted March 13, 2011 Does your state have "Lemon laws?" If so, you can probably get your money back without a lawyer. Also, did you pay for it with a credit card? Check with your card company = they may refund your money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandra Darlington Posted March 13, 2011 Report Share Posted March 13, 2011 That's a real shame! I hope you get this resolved asap. At this point I think I would try to sell it and buy an APQS machine where you will have great customer service. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asmfjmc Posted March 13, 2011 Report Share Posted March 13, 2011 I so wish I would have bought a APQS machine... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ffq-lar Posted March 13, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2011 You have recourse. Get an advocate if you are afraid to take on Prodigy yourself--your DH, a forceful male friend, or anyone you know who is schooled in the law. As noted above, dispute the payment if you purchased with a credit card. Contact your state Attorney General's complaint department. If nothing else, this will get some attention and get your machine looked at again. It is important to document everything. Sit down now and list dates--when you purchased and how you paid, when you took delivery, when you contacted Prodigy, when and who came to repair the machine, and any other contact you have had. Having this info will help if and when legal action need to be taken. Make them take it back as long as you can prove it's the machine--they will scream "user error" at you, but stand your ground. They may also force a replacement on you--and that's fine as long as it works! I hope you end up with a machine that works or cash in hand to purchase something () else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ffq-lar Posted March 13, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2011 Joan, Charlie's email is cpresler@rhtc.net I have emailed him a link to this discussion--I bet he won't care, but at least it may raise his BP a point or two! Bad bad bad customer service Charlie! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merryjo2003 Posted March 13, 2011 Report Share Posted March 13, 2011 Any company can have a machine that just seems to have problems right out of the box. I got a Baby Lock Quest several months ago and had nothing but trouble with it. I talked to the store owner and he had me bring it in and exchanged it for another brand new machine sealed in it's box. He wants his customers happy! So far, no problem with the new one. Anyone can have a problem or be missing a part, etc., but it's the customer service and how they handle it that makes the difference. I always list "Customer Service" right along with the "features" on the machine. I think you need to pitch a fit until they resolve your problem or give you a new machine! It's just not fun to have to go to that length to get them to respond. It kinda sours you on the machine, even when it does work correctly. You still have that bad feeling in the back of your mind. I hope they can resolve this to your satisfaction. Someone told me once that an unhappy customer will tell 20 people their story. A happy customer may tell 4 or 5 people about her experience. That sure can be a lot of bad press. It's really worth their time to resolve this quickly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
francine Posted March 13, 2011 Report Share Posted March 13, 2011 I hope you get help how disappointing (and expensive) to get your machine and not be able to quilt. This is why when somebody asked 'which machine" a couple months ago i told my story about Prodigy's presale hassle. If they are that bad before the sale....? I have NEVER been sorry i got my Millie. The APQS family rocks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltmonkey Posted March 13, 2011 Report Share Posted March 13, 2011 Originally posted by Merryjo2003 Any company can have a machine that just seems to have problems right out of the box. .......... I think you need to pitch a fit until they resolve your problem or give you a new machine! ......... Someone told me once that an unhappy customer will tell 20 people their story. A happy customer may tell 4 or 5 people about her experience. That sure can be a lot of bad press. It's really worth their time to resolve this quickly. Wise words The sad thing is, this might be a very "easy" fix. I hope they resolve this soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kristiequilts Posted March 13, 2011 Report Share Posted March 13, 2011 Joan, did you say it was a Sharon Schamber Prodigy Machine? If so, maybe you should let Sharon know what kind of a company she has put her name behind/on. I'm sure she would like to know that you aren't getting any satisfaction from the company. That would be a good place to start. She has her own website, www.sharonschamber.com. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CWBowser Posted March 13, 2011 Report Share Posted March 13, 2011 I hope you can get it resolved. Contact Sharon and keep e-mailing Charlie. Maybe if he sees how many people are seeing this problem and will not buy or recommend a Prodigy machine due to bad customer service and no help that may get you some resolution. The money aspect seems to be the bottom line. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Georgene Posted March 13, 2011 Report Share Posted March 13, 2011 I hope you get satisfaction soon, but I know it will be a trying time getting it all resolved. Good luck and take care of yourself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katydids Posted March 13, 2011 Report Share Posted March 13, 2011 I'm sorry you are having to deal with this. When you pay a large amount of money for a product, you expect the company to stand behind their product. You may want to contact the Better Business Bureau in the county that the company resides. You can file a complaint with them for free and they will contact the company on your behalf and seek a resolution. They will work as the mediator and basically have a "hearing" and decide who is at fault and what needs to be done to resolve the complaint. It works, I have had to go this route in the past. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dixieqwv Posted March 13, 2011 Report Share Posted March 13, 2011 Adam Chenevert purchased a Prodigy also and had problems? I forget. You can find him at http://realmenquilt.wordpress.com/ He is getting ready to teach his Wholecloth class at MQR. http://www.mqresource.com/home/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=435:wholecloth-design-and-execution&catid=64:longarm-quilting-classes&Itemid=95 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IQ'd Posted March 13, 2011 Report Share Posted March 13, 2011 For those of you who may not know, I am the one who has tried and tried to help Joan with this machine. When she first got it I was shocked that there were no set up instructions, there is also no users manual or CD. OK I have worked on many domestic sewing machines and have also had my Millie for a few years now, I can help her! The very first thing was the upper tension. It was so tight that you could not pull the thread through at all. Sure, loosen the tension. I loosened it so much the nut fell off the end and there was still too much tension! I followed the thread path and the only place the thread became tight was after the main tensioner. It has a pre tensioner on it that looks like the tensioner on the turbo winder. I personally spoke to Richard and his wife (can't remember her name right now) to try to get this resolved and we could not get the thread loose enough. the bobbin seems fine. (While it may be nice, I don't believe that you have to have a TOWA gage to set your bobbin tension) She then calls Charlie expecting some help and all she got was attitude! After a few calls to him he finally sends a service tech to her house and he works on it for a few hours, sews on it a little and declares it fixed. I go over there yesterday and we load a quilt. At first the machine is sewing fine and then it starts skipping stitches and shredding the thread. She had a 3.5 new needle in it and was sewing with Glide with the magna bobbins. I am not sewing fast when the problems occur. We put in a new needle (4.0), I loosen the top tension as much as possible, and I slow down even more. I made sure the needle was in correctly and the bobbin is ok. Then I start again, same problem even sooner this time. I switch to Bottom Line thread, still the same problems. I have no idea what is going on with this machine but there is definately something wrong with it. As compared to my APQS machine this looks and feels like a good machine but the lack of customer support and lack of caring on the owners part is incomprehensible to me. I wish that I had told Joan to get an APQS but I wanted her to explore other machines and get the one she wanted. We looked at another Prodigy before she decided to get this one. (It is a Sharon Schamber machine) She e-mailed Sharon a while back and never heard from her regaurding the problems she was having. I am just sick about the problems she is having. Joan is the best friend one could have and she doesn't deserve to be treated this way. (No one does!) Here's hoping that all this ranting will result in some positive action on the part of Prodigy to resolve this problem machine. I realise that any company can put out a bad machine, but it is how they respond to it should tell you about their character. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IQ'd Posted March 13, 2011 Report Share Posted March 13, 2011 When I first went to try to change the needle I had to take it out with pliers! That tells you that the machine wasn't inspected very well at the factory! Also Charlie should have offered to have the machine reinspected at the factory. I am not against Prodigy in particular but the way they have treated Joan is unwarranted. Also they should have pointed out about the Prodigy users group on Yahoo. Since there are no users instructions having others to talk to about Prodigy would have been nice to know! Originally posted by Sparkle 6.) Finally have you considered returning the machine to the factory for inspection and for them to look at it. You may want to do this. I know each machine is hand built, and does have a final testing before it leaves the factory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustSewSimple Posted March 13, 2011 Report Share Posted March 13, 2011 Another thought, If you quilt for profit you may can claim damages against the company for your business loss. You can't quilt a customer quilt without a machime. Looks like they might owe you a new machine. Personally, I'd just want my money back so I could buy a different brand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IQ'd Posted March 13, 2011 Report Share Posted March 13, 2011 What happened to Sparkle's reply? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IQ'd Posted March 13, 2011 Report Share Posted March 13, 2011 Joan is thinking about using the BBB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ffq-lar Posted March 13, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2011 I sent Charlie an email directing him here and scolding him mildly for offering such a good product (which we must agree, it is) without support or service. He emailed back thanking me for the info. Maybe something will come of this thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IQ'd Posted March 13, 2011 Report Share Posted March 13, 2011 Linda, At least Charlie replied to you! Joan sent the bill to Charlie regaurding the service tech (which he said he would pay) and she has had no reimbursement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chermitch4 Posted March 13, 2011 Report Share Posted March 13, 2011 I have a Sharon Shamber's Prodigy.Richard and Sandy came to set it up because it took so long to get my machine!!!I was really glad they came to set it up because I don't think I could have set it up myself!!!I love my machine but the customer service is very lacking!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeeAnn Posted March 14, 2011 Report Share Posted March 14, 2011 Have you contacted the company directly? (or am I missing something?) If Charlie is a dealer then Prodigy may want to know what is going on instead of having their name blasted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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