The Middle Finger Award goes to Parrot Support!

SkySpy · Oct 2, 2019

Greetings fellow pilots! Attached is a photo of my finger that was injured by my possessed Anafi. I had contacted Parrot support about the camera calibration failure of my drone. There were other issues discussed during this call. Clearly the drone needed repairs or replacement. The support tech mentioned a possible exchange and said they would get back to me within 24 hrs. I stressed that it was important that they get back to me since i was in the middle of a job when this failure occurred. The 24 hrs came and passed, nothing. i called again. The agent said that the decision had not been made to replace it yet. I asked him what was so complicated about such a decision. He did not really have an answer. He assured me they would have an answer again.....in 24 hrs. I asked how I would be notified. He answered by email. Another 24 hours.....nothing. I called the agent again. This time he informed me that they were not going to take any action since the drone was still "flyable". I let him have it! I told him what I thought about their support team. He said he would send me a form for possible replacement. Meanwhile, I'm trying to complete the job I'm working with a malfunctioning drone. This morning I was forced update the control. I tried to cancel, but the fly button would not activate. I had no choice but to update in the field. When I landed the drone the motors continued to force the drone into the ground and would not shut off. I had no choice but to expose my hand to the whirling blades in an attempt to reach the on/off button. The result was this photo. Although I was really trying to justify buying a second Anafi this experience, both the reliability issues and now the lack of interest from Parrot support has changed my mine. This is very unfortunate since I really liked the drone. However, what good is a drone that is not reliable and a company that is unresponsive? They market this drone as a "drone for business". They have the thermal version that that sells for $2000.......

. Based on my experience I would no longer consider this drone for the hobbyist and much less as a business investment.

Jagerbomb52 · Oct 3, 2019

Thanks for your telling about your experience with Parrot. There has been a lot of posts that compares to your experience with the Parrot support. I have reached out to their Social Media group and relayed a lot of our concerns. Unfortunately they are only a small section of the company with limited resources to make changes. They are very aware of our concerns and are trying to make changes going forward.

As you might have gathered, Parrot is experiencing difficult times and the company is reorganizing to better serve Parrot pilots. This reorganization explains a lot of your concerns.
We are conscious not everyone is happy with us at the moment, but all of us are trying our best to improve our service.

Best,
PTC

SkySpy · Oct 3, 2019

Agustine said:
Thanks for your telling about your experience with Parrot. There has been a lot of posts that compares to your experience with the Parrot support. I have reached out to their Social Media group and relayed a lot of our concerns. Unfortunately they are only a small section of the company with limited resources to make changes. They are very aware of our concerns and are trying to make changes going forward.

As you might have gathered, Parrot is experiencing difficult times and the company is reorganizing to better serve Parrot pilots. This reorganization explains a lot of your concerns.
We are conscious not everyone is happy with us at the moment, but all of us are trying our best to improve our service.

Best,
PTC

Thank you for your reply Agustine. Despite my frustration, I have not written off Parrot just yet. Support should never leave someone like me waiting for an answer they have no intentions of giving. Any answer, even if it is not the one I want, is better than no answer at all. At least it keeps the communication open and the customer informed. I'm still willing to purchase a second Anafi if Parrot will simply provide me with timely, professional support. If they can't give me that, as much as I hate to, I will have to move another drone manufacturer.

Rocky the FS · Oct 3, 2019

SkySpy said:
... When I landed the drone the motors continued to force the drone into the ground and would not shut off. I had no choice but to expose my hand to the whirling blades in an attempt to reach the on/off button.

Ouch! How appropriate it was that finger!

The next time this happens try holding the left stick hard down until the motors stop. That has worked for me, but it took about 10 seconds. An alternative is to slide your hand under the drone, grab it around the body with fingertips below the prop arc, pick it up and turn it 90 degrees sideways. Or, you can just do the same from a hover. With a malfunction like this I would definitely NOT trust a hand landing.

munkyy · Oct 3, 2019

This is typical Parrot Support. It is terrible. They never call back when they promise they will, they blame you the customer for their shortcomings, and they sell inferior products to the industry leaders, namely DJi.

SkySpy · Oct 3, 2019

Rocky the FS said:
Ouch! How appropriate it was that finger!

The next time this happens try holding the left stick hard down until the motors stop. That has worked for me, but it took about 10 seconds. An alternative is to slide your hand under the drone, grab it around the body with fingertips below the prop arc, pick it up and turn it 90 degrees sideways. Or, you can just do the same from a hover. With a malfunction like this I would definitely NOT trust a hand landing.

Yeah, if there had to be a finger it might as well be the middle in this case. Lol I submitted my purchase receipt, flight data, etc. Parrot requested. I'm now waiting to see how they respond. The problem is I have jobs out there that are not waiting on me. I hope Parrot understands this.

SkySpy · Oct 3, 2019

munkyy said:
This is typical Parrot Support. It is terrible. They never call back when they promise they will, they blame you the customer for their shortcomings, and they sell inferior products to the industry leaders, namely DJi.

You know, I think this company can be a serious contender. Their camera is the best I have tested so far and a s photographer that is very important. The platform needs work. I'm willing to work with them if they will work with me. They need to support those of us who are trying to support them,

AnafiPilot · Oct 6, 2019

I'm sorry to hear about your dissatisfaction with the bird and the company.

My experience with both the bird (I'm on my 3rd warranty replacement) and company is different. I find the customer support responsive, cogent, and insightful. Occasionally there is a language issue, but for the most part, the personnel know what they are talking about and can convey it clearly.

The company has stood behind their product, in my case three times. 24 hours is a tight turn around for any corporate decision, and perhaps the people-pleasing tech should have been more cautious in their promises. They have taken at times several weeks to send the replacement drone, but considering it was a free replacement, I was willing to wait. Twice I was caught without a bird for work. The first time I hired a friend to get the shots. The second time another friend let me fly their bird so I could get the shots. I know the feeling of having an undependable or missing tool in the midst of a shoot, but it's not fun. But maybe there are ways around it.

Possibly, instead of pinning the Anafi to the ground to shut it off, you could have taken off again and tried another spot, or hand landed it. These are situations where a solid post-mortem analysis can provide great learning that improves future responses.

Bang for the buck, I don't see a better option out there. Anafi is a good tool and I'm happy to have it in my bag.

SkySpy · Oct 7, 2019

AnafiPilot said:
I'm sorry to hear about your dissatisfaction with the bird and the company.

My experience with both the bird (I'm on my 3rd warranty replacement) and company is different. I find the customer support responsive, cogent, and insightful. Occasionally there is a language issue, but for the most part, the personnel know what they are talking about and can convey it clearly.

The company has stood behind their product, in my case three times. 24 hours is a tight turn around for any corporate decision, and perhaps the people-pleasing tech should have been more cautious in their promises. They have taken at times several weeks to send the replacement drone, but considering it was a free replacement, I was willing to wait. Twice I was caught without a bird for work. The first time I hired a friend to get the shots. The second time another friend let me fly their bird so I could get the shots. I know the feeling of having an undependable or missing tool in the midst of a shoot, but it's not fun. But maybe there are ways around it.

Possibly, instead of pinning the Anafi to the ground to shut it off, you could have taken off again and tried another spot, or hand landed it. These are situations where a solid post-mortem analysis can provide great learning that improves future responses.

Bang for the buck, I don't see a better option out there. Anafi is a good tool and I'm happy to have it in my bag.

Thanks for your reply. Your third warranty replacement? I see you joined this forum in July 2018. So roughly you've had three replacements in one year? I agree that the Anafi is a very capable drone for the price, however dependability is also a measure of it's value. I own four drones. The Yuneec Breeze, a Yuneec Q500, A DJI Spark, and this Anafi. The only one I've had to contact service about is the Anafi. As for the responsiveness of service, I had to call them for the third time last week. After sending them everything they requested I did not hear back from them for the third time. Now the service tech is requesting I send a video from the flight of the most recent incident for which they have the flight plan data. Why did they wait for me to call them again before making that request? Besides, I was not taking video at the time of the landing incident.

As I mentioned earlier, I have a DJI Spark which has served me flawlessly for over one year. I bought this Anafi in June of this year and it has several issues over course of that time. No doubt, the Anafi is a much more capable drone than the Spark, but what good is capability without dependability and a service department that lacks any sense of urgency?

munkyy · Oct 10, 2019

I agree completely here with the dependability of the drone. Anafi’s are just not dependable. They fail for no apparent reason, and when they do, you are left in amazement looking down at your control in disbelief.

I purchased my DJI Macic Pro 2 after I bought the anafi, and I have not had one issue, not one.... Even the dji app has better information than parrots on the heads up display and flight data. Just search any video on YouTube, you’ll see. It just all came together as being a much more capable and useable device.

On the other hand, parrot struck out twice already. First anafi “Vertical Landing Camera error, grounded the drone for good”
Second anafi flew away 30 seconds after take off and never returned home.
And final strike was their customer service and support. Months later I am still waiting for the replacement. At least today I got an email telling me about the preparation of the shipment.
Never in my life have I been more frustrated than the snails pace the warranty replacement process is. Next email I will get will tell me that the person shipping it is folding a corner of the box. Next email will say he is applying tape... when I call back in, they will tell me “they are preparing the label”
next week I fall in they will tell me “they are handing it over to delivery” following month it will be on the way to the carrier....

:Sigh:

SkySpy · Oct 11, 2019

munkyy said:
I agree completely here with the dependability of the drone. Anafi’s are just not dependable. They fail for no apparent reason, and when they do, you are left in amazement looking down at your control in disbelief.

I purchased my DJI Macic Pro 2 after I bought the anafi, and I have not had one issue, not one.... Even the dji app has better information than parrots on the heads up display and flight data. Just search any video on YouTube, you’ll see. It just all came together as being a much more capable and useable device.

On the other hand, parrot struck out twice already. First anafi “Vertical Landing Camera error, grounded the drone for good”
Second anafi flew away 30 seconds after take off and never returned home.
And final strike was their customer service and support. Months later I am still waiting for the replacement. At least today I got an email telling me about the preparation of the shipment.
Never in my life have I been more frustrated than the snails pace the warranty replacement process is. Next email I will get will tell me that the person shipping it is folding a corner of the box. Next email will say he is applying tape... when I call back in, they will tell me “they are preparing the label”
next week I fall in they will tell me “they are handing it over to delivery” following month it will be on the way to the carrier....

:Sigh:

Your description of Parrot service is perfect!

Sadly I think the product has great potential, but this kind of service will doom the product before it has the opportunity to succeed. I have almost $1000 invested in this bird, yet they seem to feel my pleas for help are not valid. The most recent email response from them was to simply declare may case resolved.

Yesterday I was testing drones with a friend. He has the Mavic Air, The Phantom 4 Pro and the Mavic 2 Pro. All of his drones performed perfectly. By contrast, even in a short session as this was the Anafi showed some of it's some of it's flaws. As I started the drone the camera gimble went into one of it's common malfunctions. the camera pointed up and started slapping back and forth side to side. My friend asked, what is that, as he filmed it with his phone. I will attach this this footage later today. Once again I had to turn the drone off and back on again to get pass this. A minor inconvenience I suppose, but if you add this to all the other issues I'm having I see much more serious issues in the near future. Even my old Yuneec Q500 (circa 2016) has a very good diagnostic software that can identify issues before they crash your drone. All we have with the Anafi is a comatose service department.

The reason my friend and I were testing drones yesterday is because I'm considering purchasing either the Mavic Pro Zoom or the Pro 2. I had hoped I could depend on Parrot as a less expensive alternative. I see now that idea is not realistic.

Thanev · Oct 11, 2019

Mine fell from the sky Aug 26.
After almost daily phone calls,I received the FedEx tracking number for the replacement today when I called in.Viktor told me I should have received the email yesterday.Then after he verifies my email address my email buzzes letting me know a new email just arrived . Surprise.Fedex tracking # with the same rep's name attached to it.
I was told at that point that it should depart by NEXT Wednesday,and if it doesn't I should call them back.Yes, I should call them back to let them know it hasn't shipped yet! Now look at that level of customer service.
This company isn't even good enough to be a joke.I haven't laughed about my experience lately.