Hello all,

I received my SNCF CC40100 39401 lok plus Etoile du Nord car sets # 41870, 41871 & 41872 on the first week of March. By the end of that month I had all the light hardware (slide shoes, wipers, etc) and light strips, just to be disappointed to find out that the cars made in China have trucks that won't accept the recommended sliding shoe.

This is known problem by M*. I contacted the M* representative in northern California late March. So far I have yet to hear back from Marklin USA. It has been more than 2 months...[:(!][:(!][:(!][:(!][:(!][:(!][:(!][:(!]

Tired of playing the invisible customer, I contact my german dealer, ETS, last week. The dealer and Marklin acknowledged the problem. The dealer asked how many trucks I need. I honestly need only a pair. However, feeling that I was and still very annoyed how Marklin USA treats their customers [:(!][:(!][:(!][xx(] I ask for replacement on all 16 trucks. It has been less than a week and they are on my way to California.

Now, for better words to describe Marklin USA customer service: It SUCKS! [:(!][:o)][:p]

When Marklin will get serious and show some respect to north american customers? Are they waiting for some class action to get their act together?

Ed

Hi Ed,

I recall that you complained about this issue already in the past and got a corresponding response and recommendation - to either contact your dealer or the Märklin Service directly:

https://www.marklin-users.net/fo...0&SearchTerms=etoile

BTW: Where the coaches were made has nothing to do with the problem; they come from Märklin.

And MOST IMPORTANT - the people in this forum here including you knew about it!!! [^]
I wonder why you didn't contact ETS right away - see also:
"We recommend you call the dealer first to see if they handle the service work you need or if they carry the part(s) you need. Märklin maintains a full inventory of all spare parts available, making it convenient for dealers to order. If there is not a Service Center near to you, please contact Märklin, Inc., Warranty Repair, 16988 W. Victor Road, P.O. Box 510559, New Berlin, WI 53151, 262-784-8854. "

My local dealer didn't know about this at that time either; so I decided to contact the Märklin factory repair service here myself, requested just the two trucks I needed and received them within 48 hours; needless to say w/o charge - they don't even want the old ones back. THANKS MÄRKLIN FOR THIS GREAT SERVICE!!! [^]

Hello Jeff,

I purchased those coache sets from my dealer in Canada last year. I wasn't aware of the truck issues concerning the installation of the pickup shoe (I must say that nothing really surprises me about Marklin quality since the Henschell-Wegmann nightmare). Do I have to get those replacement trucks directly from dealer only or will it have to order them from Marklin USA? What is the best way to go about it?

Thanks,

I am in constant contact with the M* representative in the bay area and since I purchased the light strips, CC couplers, wipers and sliders from him, that was the first person that I want to address the problem. He sent this question to Marklin USA and gave me an update a month ago that there was no answer yet. In any event, Hemmerich, how many people I have to contact here in the Marklin US "organization"to get an answer? Chasing them is not my job.



This is theory... quite often the waiting to parts can be ethernal, even some lok that was sent to them, I never got back...[:(!][:(!][:(!]. Hemmerich, you live in the land of well oiled german machine. If you tried to deal with them you jaw would drop many times over. [:0][:0][:0][:0]


My local dealer didn't know about this at that time either; so I decided to contact the M�rklin factory repair service here myself, requested just the two trucks I needed and received them within 48 hours; needless to say w/o charge - they don't even want the old ones back. THANKS M�RKLIN FOR THIS GREAT SERVICE!!! [^]

Surprising to see this apparent admission that even Märklin USA cannot get a response from Göppingen. Need more be said?

Hi Ed,
From whom did you purchase the SNCF set?

regards
Kimball

ED, did you contact MArklin USA yourself or did the deale rdo it.

In any case Befor casting stones on the water I would have contated Jeff at New Berlin. THey are very responsive.
AS Jeff Said they nheard of the Problem but no contact details. THey informed Marklin Germany of the problem who thenarranged a local fix but neglected to let New Berlin know.

SO M USA cannot do anything if M Germany fail to let them know.

Ed not sure if Lutz works for Marklin BUT at the mention of the M Name I think he stands to attention and salutes the flag.
Say anyting bad about M and you will cop an earful. as you just have.

Excellent, Edson . Could be by me ... [}:)]

Well, with all of his own sh** coming down on him now he almost gets my sympathy ... [xx(]

Hi Ed: From the above looks like you should just stop buying Marklin. Why not send off an email to them and see if that is their official policy.
My view is that Marklin want you to be a satisfied customer and buy more of their products. I would be interested in their reply (if you get one)

David

Agree. That is called "right hand does not know what left hand is doing". The company is in disarray.

I feel sorry for Ed that he had to put up with this. I feel sorry for Jeff too as he is caught in the middle. Jeff does try hard.

Hello,

Like I said once in another forum:
It's like to be in the pantheon of ferraristas... that company put their act together. They are no longer unreliable beauties, despite you have to dish out 10k for tune up.

I hope the same happens in Goppingen.

We all are M* aficionados and we all know that this company had better days and can do much better for their customers in US. Hopefully, whoever takes over this company takes better view of how better run it and can change the opinion of some of us.

I never met Mr Jeff Stimson from M* USA. I am sure that he trying hard. But like some other representatives before, he is the figure on the bottom of totem pole that is trying to answer for a sick patient.

Next time I will try to contact the factory service in Goppingen. Can someone give me the contact info for english speaking representative?

Yes Hemmerich, the SNCF CC40100 39401 lok plus Etoile du Nord car sets # 41870, 41871 & 41872 make a great set. They look great and mechanically they perform very well. The cars running qualities are excellent. As I said before, I wish this lok would come with full ESU/MFX sound.[V]

Ed

FIRST THINGS FIRST.

Thanks to Jeff for being proactive and being a member of this forum. This makes this forum a good way to bring matters like this to the attention of Marklin/Walthers in the United States.

Over the past twenty five years, I have had many very bad experiences with Maerklin in North America. Whether it was Gordon Book (Canada), or Walthers (prior to 1990), it was very hard to solve issues.

Working for a Maerklin dealer during the 1980s, I can attest to the inability to get parts, prices that were in some cases 80% higher than ordering from Europe, and selectivity made satisfying clients almost impossible.

Imagine if the Distributor did not order products from one country because he had a personal preference for DB over SBB. Imagine a Distributor who did not know about Export Models (other than Germany).

Imagine a Distributor who would delay part orders for the next major order. It sometimes could take 8 months to find out if you were getting a part.

No wonder we ended up ordering at first from Euro dealers and later from Maerklin directly.

If you don't live in North America, you cannot understand what we have had to deal with.

There have been a few exceptions. I must give a shout out to Ken Brzenk and Tom Catherall, who have provided first class information and service whenever required.

Jeff seems willing to continue providing a good level of service, so please, give him a chance, and let's see if we can improve things together.

@Lutz,

Maerklin, like any company, is not perfect, and makes mistakes ever so often. As members of this forum, we have the right to discuss positive and negative features of models, service and anything else relating to this hobby of ours.

For example, I have been advised to return my defective C-Track for replacement, but it seems that I have to return each track individually, because they won't replace the whole kit from the start set, just those tracks that already have broken clips, not the ones that will break today nor those that are likely to break tomorrow.

Or take the 39421, they got the motor and the footsteps right this time, but delivered the model with black pantographs. Go figure???

Regards

Mike C

Hi David,
I think there is no UK bank, for Kingsbridge Capital Ltd is a subsidiary of Austrian HARDT Group :

http://www.hardtgroup.co...tment/private_equity.php

Regards, Märc

DAvid.
Looks like Due Dilligence was thrown out of the window and purchase on Sentiment. OR they got a bigger discount due to the mountain of debt and then presumed that they could change work practices to an acceptable level.

Blast away from the good service bad service area of this topic.

I have never had a complaint about the attitude or willingness to help from the Marklin USA folks. I have met Jeff at a few train shows and attended some of his seminars. He really cares about the hobby and is quite knowledgeable. I had a long talk with Fred Gates at the NMRA convention n Philadelphia (several years ago) and even then it was evident (without him coming out and stating it) that they were not getting much support from Germany. Tom Catherall always responded quickly to questions and is quite knowledgeable when encountered at a train show. The folks who answer the phones in New Berlin try to help. The base problem is that they are getting little or no support from Germany, so you can't really blame them for the lack of service.

Jeff kept me updated regularly by e-mail when we were trying to find out if I could get my compact C-sines upgraded over here. He finally gave up and told me to contact Germany. That is a crappy way to run a business, but it is not (generally) the fault of the folks in New Berlin. Sure, they get frustrated with the lack of support they are getting and that could come out occasionally in short answers and a less than perfect attitude. That is only human. I have found them always willing to talk and to try to be helpful.

Just my perspective.

Ed, I've called the main service desk +49 7161 608 222 and when I spoke in English, the representatives were able to converse with me. I assume if they feel they were unable to do so, they would have transferred me to another agent. So far that have not happened. However they all have different language competence level and in one occasion I found myself always needed to reconfirm the answers I was given.

Hank: I agree. Gee, maybe they could attach a tag to the model to show that it was tested! What a novel idea!

So my newly repaired model with a sticker from Keuterman repairs (Dutch M* service) is maybe worth more than a new one