oraclesean

oraclesean's Stats

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January 27, 2015
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March 1, 2015
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oraclesean's Reviews

Garmin - Vivosmart Activity Tracker (Large) - Black

Garmin Vivosmart Activity Tracker: Track your steps, calories, sleep and other health data, and enjoy access to a free online fitness community. This activity tracker reminds you to move when you sit still for too long, automatically sets a daily step goal based on your current activity level, and has a sleek, invisible OED display that comes to life when you get a call or text.

My last ever Garmin purchase

Customer Rating

1.0

Posted by: oraclesean

on March 1, 2015

I purchased one of these devices right after Christmas and it died less than 30 days later. BestBuy said I should contact Garmin, but Garmin said to take it back to the retailer, so I had to argue with customer service to get it exchanged. This was after I had to wait over a week for Garmin customer service to respond with a canned "Thanks for contacting us" email. Yes, they really do take a week or more to answer emails, which is outrageous.

So, I got my replacement VivoSmart from BestBuy on January 28 and yesterday (February 28) the new device started failing in the same way—flickering or disappearing display, and the display was no longer responding to swipes, double taps or long taps. The touch sensitivity had been going on for a few days but I didn't take much notice until the OLED started flickering and fading yesterday morning, after which I knew it was dead. (Yes, I updated and was on the latest firmware and the device had plenty of charge.)

No way was I about to deal with Garmin "customer service" again, and wait for days for a generic response. I took it straight back to the store. This time I was just looking to get a refund. I don't shop that much at BestBuy so a store credit doesn't do me much good (BB has my money and I don't). I figure it's well inside the warranty period and I'm not about to give this a third try after being bitten twice. BUT, all the BestBuy "service" people would do was a store credit. Despite the "We stand behind your satisfaction" sign on the counter, the manager refused to budge. He was borderline rude and inflexible, and even when another employee suggested that we could use the store credit to get gift cards, he blew her off. I really just wanted to take my business elsewhere, and from now on I will—I've learned my lesson about Garmin and BestBuy both. Poor customer service once you have my money doesn't translate into repeat business.

As for the device itself, I really wanted to like, even love it. It paired with my existing Garmin HR strap, a big plus, but my Garmin cycle computers pair directly with Strava, while the fitness tracker forces me to user Garmin's Connect app, which has an awkward UI and is clunky. The alarm feature is nice (I loved having a silent, vibrating alarm on my wrist) and never failed to wake me without disturbing my wife, but it lacks the ability to set multiple alarms or have flexibility in the alarms themselves. It's a single time for either weekdays or every day only. The FitBit allows multiple alarms and you can select the days you want. The lack of flexibility in the alarm setting would be excusable if you didn't have to drill so far into the Connect app to change it. Also, the app needs to be periodically restarted to rediscover the device, perhaps 2 times a week, when it just decides it doesn't want to connect, or if you're using multiple Garmin devices (I also have an Edge cycle computer). So it doesn't seem to have been well thought through.

On a positive note, the battery life was exceptional. Even with Bluetooth on, it would last for 6-7 days, making charging an infrequent and quick process.

But that doesn't overcome the obvious manufacturing defects, short lifetime, and poor customer service on both Garmin and BestBuy's part. I don't have any confidence in Garmin's ability to produce or support the products they manufacture, nor in BestBuy's commitment to their customers, so not only will this be my final Garmin purchase, it will be the last purchase of any product through BestBuy. With so many options available to consumers, vendors must compete on service, and too many others will gladly and cheerfully accept a return and refund your money within the warranty period. Had I purchased my VivoSmart up the street at REI they would have done a refund with no questions (I've returned defective electronics there in the past where a direct refund or gift card was offered) and there is no difference in price. Why would I patronize a store where a problem is treated as an annoyance instead of an opportunity? Thanks for the memories BestBuy, and learn the lessons taught by so many other big box electronics retailers like Circuit City who treated customers as an endless, disposable commodity.

No, I would not recommend this to a friend.

+5points

9out of 13found this review helpful.

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Garmin - Vivosmart Activity Tracker (Large) - Slate

Nice device but poor service from Garmin ruins it

Customer Rating

2.0

Posted by: oraclesean

on January 27, 2015

I really want to like this device. It works with my existing Garmin HR strap; it tracks sleep; it has notifications. BUT, there is so much it could do better.

I really like the idea of a vibrating alarm on my wrist, but changing the alarm is a pain and it would be really nice if you could create multiple alarms (one for weekends vs. weekdays, for example).

The Garmin Connect software is... not the greatest. It's an unfriendly UI compared to so many of the others out there. I'd love it if I could sync with the software of my choice.

Notifications are not customizable. You get notified for EVERYTHING. I'd like to be able to turn off certain notifications. It does not reliably remain connected via Bluetooth, so it constantly (dozens of times a day) vibrates to let you know that the Bluetooth connection was lost or reacquired.

Activating the display is touchy. You have to tap it pretty hard to get it to wake up.

The fatal blow was that after a little over a month the display stopped working. The device itself was still tracking sleep and movement, generating alarms, syncing, etc, but nothing was visible on the display.

That in itself isn't the bad part. I'm OK with the idea that I may have gotten a single bad device out of a batch and that's what warranties cover. It was the customer service (or lack of) that ruined it for me. I work for a company that prides itself on service (time to answer incoming calls is <4 seconds and our service agents fully answer emails within 20 minutes) so I was a little taken aback to see that Garmin asks for 3 days to respond to your email. OK, 3 days it is. I sent my support/service request and put on my patient customer hat. I waited a week. I sent another. I waited another week. Still no response from Garmin. After a little research I come to find that this is pretty typical of the company—slow, lousy service. I also learned that multiple individuals are experiencing the same display failure.

I'd love to give this a higher rating, and I suspect that firmware updates may resolve some of its shortcomings, but the lack of service from the manufacturer is inexcusable. I'll probably just return this for a refund and wait for another company to improve their offerings to match the features of the vivosmart and purchase that in the future. I'm definitely done buying Garmin devices!

No, I would not recommend this to a friend.

+7points

8out of 9found this review helpful.

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oraclesean's Answers

Garmin - Vivosmart Activity Tracker (Large) - Black

How does it recharge?

The description says it has rechargable batteries but the "What's included" only shows the band and a manual but no cable. So how do you recharge it?

It includes a charging cable that the band fits into. It's a little touchy but recharges the device in an hour or two.

9 years, 2 months ago

Posted by:

oraclesean

Garmin - Vivosmart Activity Tracker (Large) - Black

Product Reject

I've only owned my Vivosmart since mid-October and already the screen seems to be cut off as well as lines running through some of the characters. Is this covered under warranty? If so, how would I go about getting my vivosmart sent in for repair?

I had the same issue. Garmin will replace or repair your tracker but you have to actually pay for shipping and wait for a replacement from them. If you want something faster, they'll sell you a new one and refund your purchase once you return your old one, but you still pay for the shipping. I returned mine to BestBuy, but I had to argue for the exchange because it was outside BestBuy's 15 day exchange period, even though Garmin says you can return items to the store during the warranty.

9 years, 2 months ago

Posted by:

oraclesean