Versa feedback and experience

[Swoodruff]

I have been a loyal Fitbit user for several years owning several (4-5) over the years. My Fitbit Versa stopped auto tracking my swims about three weeks ago. I went online to check solutions and went through all of them with the last one being a factory reset. After avoiding this option I figured it was my only option so I did the reset. After I pressed the button on my watch it never started up again. I tried everything including consuming Fitbit customer service. In fairness my watch was a little over a yet old so it was no longer under warranty. They at first offered me 25% off buying a new watch and the 50% (I think). I was not happy with this as this was a factory reset that destroyed my watch, a function of the watch itself. In the end they sent me a form for a factory refurbished watch which I was OK with. 1 weeks before a 5 K swim I get the factory refurbished watch. When I receive it not only does the watch not work like my old one it’s battery discharges in less than a day. I call Fitbit again and it is because I am using a non Fitbit watch face, that I bought through Fitbit, and I use this he update and the quick view... all of which I had on on my last Fitbit that lasted 2-5 days. I call them again and the process starts again... 25% if I buy a new one and then  as they realize that they have let me down another refurbished model if I fill out a form. 

A month before mu 5K swim that I bought a Fitbit Versa yo help me train for this is my relationship with Fitbit. I am off to buy a Garmin tonight.

Moderator edit: updated subject for clarity

[MarreFitbit]

Welcome to the Community Forums @Swoodruff. I'm sorry for the late response and to hear about the inconveniences you've been having with your Versa. Thank you for the thorough feedback for the Fitbit environment, customer service and devices. This has not gone unnoticed and be sure that I will pass this along.

Fitbit has been designed to provide motivation and help you to reach your daily goals to success. Please know that we provide feedback to our team based on community posts and we are always working on improving our devices and overall environment based on that feedback.

In regards to the 25% discount option as per our Warranty Policies, please know that this is the best option to help you get back on track with the Fitbit family and I'm sure our team will be more than glad to help you further with this. While customer satisfaction remains our number one goal, the demands of running a global business require that we enforce our warranty consistently.   

[Swoodruff]

I would not agree. When the watch fails because I do a factory reset this should not happen. Further the way my claim was handled was the biggest failing of Fitbit. When your product works it works well, but the litmus test of a good company is how they handle things when they go wrong. Things went wrong for me and you did everything but stand behind your product. I am sure if someone wants to audit my account they would be embarrassed by how a once loyal customer was handled. As a case study, my daughter walked into Apple today in Portland, Maine with a phone that just died like my Fitbit, like my Versa her phone was a few weeks out of warranty. In the end they looked at their product and said this should not have happened and she walked out with a new phone because the product failed. As far as you having to do business this way as you are a global company, I am pretty sure Apple is a global company to a far greater extent than Fitbit. On the other hand Fitbit's response to me was well you are out of warranty so you can buy another watch that will most likely fail in a year again for a 25% discount. After pointing out to them that the watch failed after I used their factory reset they said they would give me 60% I believe, then when I was clear that I was not happy with this they offered me one time exceptional and sent me a factory refurbished watch that could not hold a battery for 12 hours with everything off and had the same issue my old Fitbit had. Then when I called into report the problems of the replacement I was assured that ALL replacements where factory tested before they went out and the manager on the line then told me that this was the fault of the team that tested the refurbished units not hers.... My daughter had a problem with her Apple and they addressed the issue and made her a loyal customer. Fitbit did not stand behind their product, took no ownership of the issue and just tried to get me to buy a watch just like the one that just failed for me. Which company would you rather work with?

In this response you just reinforced my belief that customer service is just lip service for Fitbit. Your company has developed a great product that when working is user friendly and productive. But the products have a short shelf life and as I pointed out above you do not support them.

I hope your team figures this out as this is not how businesses survive.

Kind Regards,
Scott Woodruff