Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2016/04/17) */
The facts presented by [redacted] are completely false.
On 8/27/15, Vivid Leds was sent an e-mail from an independent contractor, who is a manufacturer's rep, named [redacted] with [redacted] in Kansas City. At that time Mr....
[redacted] asked our help for accessories to use with the Vivid Leds lights he chose for the project.
On 8/28/15, Mr. [redacted] introduced us through an e-mail to Shawn R[redacted] with Ozark LED, the same company as Mr. [redacted]. Mr. [redacted] came up with a count of fixtures and ask for help with the accessories bill of material based off the pictures of the building. Mr. [redacted] then asked Vivid to offer credit terms to Ozark LED, even though at that time they worked out of their house stating "Ozark is a hybrid distributor that operates as an ESCO and distributor." At that time, we informed Mr. [redacted] we only sell through distribution and he was adamant we offer Ozark LED credit terms. We stretched our policies to allow this. Since it was a high profile project.
On 10/7/15, the Vivid Leds warranty was discussed and all documents were sent to Ozark LED for review. Ozark LED asked for a 3 year warranty. Vivid Leds approved a 3 year warranty on all products with a 30% upcharge except for the inground lighting in question, offering only a 1 year warranty. We have this in writing. Ultimately, Ozark LED did not pay for the extended warranty so all products ultimately have a standard 1 year warranty.
On 10/15/15, after a conversation about waterproofing and Vivid's concern about the application of the fixtures, Mr. R[redacted], decided they would go with inground fixtures rated IP67 (waterproof, not submersible).
On 10/20/15, Mr. [redacted] sent an e-mail and stated that there is a new picture with exact dimensions. The picture of the building was completely different than what was sent before. There were never any photometrics, renderings, a site visit, or any solid reason Vivid Leds would select products for this project, however Mr. R[redacted] and Mr. [redacted] were adamant on the design and said they would show samples.
On 10/12/15, Mr. [redacted] ordered three samples for the project to be shipped Next Day Air.
On 10/27/15, a sales order came in from Ozark LED. It was a completely different style of fixtures ordered than were originally suggested by Mr. [redacted]. The amount of fixtures was greatly reduced and Ozark LED, upon sending the purchase order, accepted the fixtures as sold under the terms "All products on this invoice are manufactured to order, non-stocking items and cannot be returned for refund or credit." As written on the Vivid Leds Invoice and Order Confirmation.
On 10/28/15, Ozark LED submitted to pay a 50% deposit, according to the terms, by credit card, then changed their minds to a ACH transfer, then changed their minds again to an overnighted check. The materials were all delivered within the time frame estimated and the order was paid for, accepting all terms as written and confirmed.
On 12/16/15, Vivid was contacted by Shawn R[redacted] who asked for installation manuals. All manuals were submitted.
On 12/26/15 Vivid received this e-mail from Mr. R[redacted] "Just wanted to give you a heads up, we have one light that worked for about 2 days then seems to have "lost power." The coder seems to be working fine, it will receive data, and assign a number. The problem seems to be in the fixture itself. The light is extremely dim. FYI, it has been in a totally dry environment, so there is no foreign influence. Let's get another one on the way. I don't want to take it out until we get the new one here because it will be programming and wiring consequences, not to mention a big hole in the ground where it goes....and I don't want their system to be non-functional in the meantime. As soon as it arrives, we will swap it out and send the defective on back."
On 12/27/15, instructions were sent to Mr. R[redacted] to further diagnose the issue to make sure it is a defective fixture. Vivid asked to send a picture of the fixture so we could determine the issue for replacement. On 12/29, Vivid had not received response so we asked again. On 12/30, Mr. R[redacted] said "I'm not able to get you a photo at this time. Can we just go ahead and order one? If it's not defective, then we will just put it in our inventory." On 12/30, we asked Mr. [redacted] for a new PO and he was declined to send one but gave us a PO number for the purchase. Out of good practice, Vivid went ahead and ordered a replacement. WE HAVE NEVER RECEIVED THE DEFECTIVE FIXTURE BACK AND WE WERE NEVER PAID FOR IT PER MR. R[redacted] CONFIRMATION. The invoice is 4 months outstanding.
On 2/25/16, Vivid was contacted by Mr. [redacted] and asked if we would contact Mr. R[redacted] about defective fixtures. A voice mail was left and Mr. R[redacted] did not return the call for over a week. Vivid was then told by Mr. [redacted] that Ozark LED planned to remove all of the fixtures because of defects. This is the first Vivid heard about any defects other than the one replaced in December by our good graces. After several days of suggesting to Mr. [redacted] to help contact the customer and follow our written warranty procedure, Mr. [redacted] declined.
On 2/28/16, the office manager at Vivid began contacting Ozark LED as we were puzzled why Ozark LED had not contacted us for warranty or to help them find a better solution. Instead, we were informed they removed our fixtures and used another manufacturer's products. There was zero effort on their part to contact us for an opportunity to make it right.
On 3/4/16, Vivid finally received a response form Mr. R[redacted] and told him we would be happy to help with the warranty and forwarded our warranty terms again along with an RGA form and suggested they send pictures of the defective product and the application they were installed in. This was the last communication with MR. R[redacted].
On 3/7/16, Vivid received a voice mail form [redacted], whom we had never spoken in the past and was unaware he was involved with the project. Apparently he is Mr. R[redacted] partner with Ozark LED. On the voice mail he was referring to submersible fixtures being defective. The fixtures sold are not submersible but are IP67 wet rated. At that point, Vivid felt the product was either installed incorrectly or installed in an incorrect application. No one from Ozark LED contacted our office for a warranty claim before we initiated it ourselves and there was zero communication before that there were issues on the job site. Yet, they took it upon themselves to find another product, from another manufacturer, without consulting us about our warranty procedure or to see if we could help with the problem. As of right now, we do not know anything about the alleged failures as we have no paperwork, pictures, or anything solid in writing to go by. After several attempts to obtain pictures and the paperwork, Mr. [redacted] refused to send them so Vivid cannot process a warranty claim.
Mr. [redacted] claims Vivid says they would not do anything. As shown above, we have gone above and beyond to try and help, responding every time in a timely manner. Mr. [redacted] claimed he would "take care of" Ozark LED by finding the money to help them with their project repair. We have not heard anything from Mr. [redacted], Mr. [redacted] or Mr. R[redacted] since 3/7/16 until we received this Revdex.com complaint that is full of incorrect information.
Vivid Leds has never had a negative complaint on the Revdex.com and we have followed our publicly known warranty procedures, yet in this case, there has been no cooperation from the customer. If Ozark LED feels the incorrect fixtures were suggested for the project, they should make their complaint to Mr. [redacted] at [redacted], Inc.
Vivid Leds is more than happy to upload and submit order confirmations, PO's, our warranty documents, etc. as needed.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 7, 2016/04/29) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
This is not how it happened. Their service has been very unsatisfactory. The customer should not have to fight with the manufacturer. Vivid should work with the lighting rep and make the customer happy, not find excuses to get out of it.
Since this report was filed, we have had 2 other manufacturers that made mistakes, both made the situation right. One has approved to pay for the labor to reinstall several fixtures.
The bottom line, Vivid does not stand by its products and should not be in business if this is how they treat their customers. We have recommended to Mr. [redacted] not to carry their line and he has mentioned they have had another problem with them dealing with their other customers, again they didn't stand behind it in that situation either. It is a pattern with them.
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2016/04/17) */
The facts presented by [redacted] are completely false.
On 8/27/15, Vivid Leds was sent an e-mail from an independent contractor, who is a manufacturer's rep, named [redacted] with [redacted] in Kansas City. At that time Mr....
[redacted] asked our help for accessories to use with the Vivid Leds lights he chose for the project.
On 8/28/15, Mr. [redacted] introduced us through an e-mail to Shawn R[redacted] with Ozark LED, the same company as Mr. [redacted]. Mr. [redacted] came up with a count of fixtures and ask for help with the accessories bill of material based off the pictures of the building. Mr. [redacted] then asked Vivid to offer credit terms to Ozark LED, even though at that time they worked out of their house stating "Ozark is a hybrid distributor that operates as an ESCO and distributor." At that time, we informed Mr. [redacted] we only sell through distribution and he was adamant we offer Ozark LED credit terms. We stretched our policies to allow this. Since it was a high profile project.
On 10/7/15, the Vivid Leds warranty was discussed and all documents were sent to Ozark LED for review. Ozark LED asked for a 3 year warranty. Vivid Leds approved a 3 year warranty on all products with a 30% upcharge except for the inground lighting in question, offering only a 1 year warranty. We have this in writing. Ultimately, Ozark LED did not pay for the extended warranty so all products ultimately have a standard 1 year warranty.
On 10/15/15, after a conversation about waterproofing and Vivid's concern about the application of the fixtures, Mr. R[redacted], decided they would go with inground fixtures rated IP67 (waterproof, not submersible).
On 10/20/15, Mr. [redacted] sent an e-mail and stated that there is a new picture with exact dimensions. The picture of the building was completely different than what was sent before. There were never any photometrics, renderings, a site visit, or any solid reason Vivid Leds would select products for this project, however Mr. R[redacted] and Mr. [redacted] were adamant on the design and said they would show samples.
On 10/12/15, Mr. [redacted] ordered three samples for the project to be shipped Next Day Air.
On 10/27/15, a sales order came in from Ozark LED. It was a completely different style of fixtures ordered than were originally suggested by Mr. [redacted]. The amount of fixtures was greatly reduced and Ozark LED, upon sending the purchase order, accepted the fixtures as sold under the terms "All products on this invoice are manufactured to order, non-stocking items and cannot be returned for refund or credit." As written on the Vivid Leds Invoice and Order Confirmation.
On 10/28/15, Ozark LED submitted to pay a 50% deposit, according to the terms, by credit card, then changed their minds to a ACH transfer, then changed their minds again to an overnighted check. The materials were all delivered within the time frame estimated and the order was paid for, accepting all terms as written and confirmed.
On 12/16/15, Vivid was contacted by Shawn R[redacted] who asked for installation manuals. All manuals were submitted.
On 12/26/15 Vivid received this e-mail from Mr. R[redacted] "Just wanted to give you a heads up, we have one light that worked for about 2 days then seems to have "lost power." The coder seems to be working fine, it will receive data, and assign a number. The problem seems to be in the fixture itself. The light is extremely dim. FYI, it has been in a totally dry environment, so there is no foreign influence. Let's get another one on the way. I don't want to take it out until we get the new one here because it will be programming and wiring consequences, not to mention a big hole in the ground where it goes....and I don't want their system to be non-functional in the meantime. As soon as it arrives, we will swap it out and send the defective on back."
On 12/27/15, instructions were sent to Mr. R[redacted] to further diagnose the issue to make sure it is a defective fixture. Vivid asked to send a picture of the fixture so we could determine the issue for replacement. On 12/29, Vivid had not received response so we asked again. On 12/30, Mr. R[redacted] said "I'm not able to get you a photo at this time. Can we just go ahead and order one? If it's not defective, then we will just put it in our inventory." On 12/30, we asked Mr. [redacted] for a new PO and he was declined to send one but gave us a PO number for the purchase. Out of good practice, Vivid went ahead and ordered a replacement. WE HAVE NEVER RECEIVED THE DEFECTIVE FIXTURE BACK AND WE WERE NEVER PAID FOR IT PER MR. R[redacted] CONFIRMATION. The invoice is 4 months outstanding.
On 2/25/16, Vivid was contacted by Mr. [redacted] and asked if we would contact Mr. R[redacted] about defective fixtures. A voice mail was left and Mr. R[redacted] did not return the call for over a week. Vivid was then told by Mr. [redacted] that Ozark LED planned to remove all of the fixtures because of defects. This is the first Vivid heard about any defects other than the one replaced in December by our good graces. After several days of suggesting to Mr. [redacted] to help contact the customer and follow our written warranty procedure, Mr. [redacted] declined.
On 2/28/16, the office manager at Vivid began contacting Ozark LED as we were puzzled why Ozark LED had not contacted us for warranty or to help them find a better solution. Instead, we were informed they removed our fixtures and used another manufacturer's products. There was zero effort on their part to contact us for an opportunity to make it right.
On 3/4/16, Vivid finally received a response form Mr. R[redacted] and told him we would be happy to help with the warranty and forwarded our warranty terms again along with an RGA form and suggested they send pictures of the defective product and the application they were installed in. This was the last communication with MR. R[redacted].
On 3/7/16, Vivid received a voice mail form [redacted], whom we had never spoken in the past and was unaware he was involved with the project. Apparently he is Mr. R[redacted] partner with Ozark LED. On the voice mail he was referring to submersible fixtures being defective. The fixtures sold are not submersible but are IP67 wet rated. At that point, Vivid felt the product was either installed incorrectly or installed in an incorrect application. No one from Ozark LED contacted our office for a warranty claim before we initiated it ourselves and there was zero communication before that there were issues on the job site. Yet, they took it upon themselves to find another product, from another manufacturer, without consulting us about our warranty procedure or to see if we could help with the problem. As of right now, we do not know anything about the alleged failures as we have no paperwork, pictures, or anything solid in writing to go by. After several attempts to obtain pictures and the paperwork, Mr. [redacted] refused to send them so Vivid cannot process a warranty claim.
Mr. [redacted] claims Vivid says they would not do anything. As shown above, we have gone above and beyond to try and help, responding every time in a timely manner. Mr. [redacted] claimed he would "take care of" Ozark LED by finding the money to help them with their project repair. We have not heard anything from Mr. [redacted], Mr. [redacted] or Mr. R[redacted] since 3/7/16 until we received this Revdex.com complaint that is full of incorrect information.
Vivid Leds has never had a negative complaint on the Revdex.com and we have followed our publicly known warranty procedures, yet in this case, there has been no cooperation from the customer. If Ozark LED feels the incorrect fixtures were suggested for the project, they should make their complaint to Mr. [redacted] at [redacted], Inc.
Vivid Leds is more than happy to upload and submit order confirmations, PO's, our warranty documents, etc. as needed.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 7, 2016/04/29) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
This is not how it happened. Their service has been very unsatisfactory. The customer should not have to fight with the manufacturer. Vivid should work with the lighting rep and make the customer happy, not find excuses to get out of it.
Since this report was filed, we have had 2 other manufacturers that made mistakes, both made the situation right. One has approved to pay for the labor to reinstall several fixtures.
The bottom line, Vivid does not stand by its products and should not be in business if this is how they treat their customers. We have recommended to Mr. [redacted] not to carry their line and he has mentioned they have had another problem with them dealing with their other customers, again they didn't stand behind it in that situation either. It is a pattern with them.