Bushnell Quality and Customer support very bad

mmalive · 2018-07-31T21:29:19.000Z

Hey guys, I just wanted to give you guys a heads up about the company, product support and personal experience with these guys.

I purchased a Bushnell Pro 1300 lumen flashlight around 10 months ago at Walmart. The tail switch starting becoming ” finicky “. The switch is ” finicky ” meaning it acts up. Does not rotate through modes, switch on/off correctly, or gets stuck. Of course the 90 days were up for any type of return to Wally’s They specify to contact Bushnell directly because it states warranty is 1 year from date of purchase.

Fast forward I contact Bushnell directly. Never got a live person on phone after numerous attempts. Left voicemail to indicate problem and for them to send email as another from of communication. They did eventually.

Customer Service specified send copy of receipt, packaging, pictures and description. I indicated that I tossed packaging when light was bought. The receipt was tossed once the 90 days was up because Wally’s will not take it back. The pictures are worthless because problem is internal electrical components of switch. I did not want to mess with removing anything because I was not trained and have not knowledge.

I explained the problem in detail. CS stated I had to incur return shipping charges to send light back, pay for return shipping if light were to be replaced, Bushnell WILL NOT be responsible if light gets lost during return/re shipment.

Wow, What type of customer service.product support is that? What a JOKE!!!

Needless to say, I WILL NO LONGER purchase or support the any Bushnell brand.

raccoon · 2018-07-31T21:37:32.000Z

Thanks for the heads up!

Is this what you bought?

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Bushnell-Pro-High-Performance-Rechargeable-Flashlight-1300-Lumens/49840413

It's got some pretty bad reviews on walmart.com

mmalive · 2018-07-31T21:43:00.000Z

raccoon city:

Thanks for the heads up!

Is this what you bought?

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Bushnell-Pro-High-Performance-Rechargeable-Flashlight-1300-Lumens/49840413

It’s got some pretty bad reviews on walmart.com

Yeah man, That is the EXACT 1. I did not find out reviews until later after light was bought. Way after 90 return period was up. Apparently, Bushnell knew about problem and FAILED to fix or make it right.The WORST purchase I ever made.

Lightbringer · 2018-08-01T00:03:08.000Z

I only recall Bushnell from æons ago when they made decent binos, but later when I see them becoming Yet Another Junk Purveyor like Bell+Howell, I knew they sold out and went waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay downhill.

Same like Bell+Howell, in fact. Like, didn’t they once-upon-a-time make office equipment? Now you get Tac-Whatever junk from ’em.

mmalive · 2018-08-01T00:05:58.000Z

Lightbringer:

I only recall Bushnell from æons ago when they made decent binos, but later when I see them becoming Yet Another Junk Purveyor like Bell+Howell, I knew they sold out and went waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay downhill.

Same like Bell+Howell, in fact. Like, didn’t they once-upon-a-time make office equipment? Now you get Tac-Whatever junk from ’em.

LightB, Lesson learned man. The reason I bought flashlight was name brand. I will NEVER touch another Bushnell again. Thank goodness I only own 3 total and did not get crazy and buy entire series

Lightbringer · 2018-08-01T00:13:27.000Z

Yeah, that’s why we’re here, to warn and be warned. Today was your turn in the barrel…

Lightbringer · 2018-08-01T00:34:08.000Z

That great sage, Tommy Wiseau, to Bushnell:

“You’re not good. You’re just a chicken. Cheap cheap cheap cheap cheeeap cheeeeeeap!”

youtube.com

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

mmalive · 2018-08-01T02:23:59.000Z

Lightbringer:

Yeah, that’s why we’re here, to warn and be warned. Today was your turn in the barrel…

Yeah man, being in the barrel is rough. Especially when $65 towards a decent light like Thrunite, Sorfirn, Nitecore, Fenix, Olight, etc…. Lesson learned for sure. Never make the same mistake 2 times especially with Bushnell.

Barkuti · 2018-08-01T12:00:00.000Z

This made me even more aware of how much money proper customer support can cost, and the correspondingly customer service dodgeing tactics brands make use of. Making sure to meet any and all conditions of a warranty can be seriously detrimental to the enjoyment of a product or service.

Is the lenght of consumer warranty periods hurdlesome? Here in europe it is a whopping 2 years.

I do not necessarily honour the warranty conditions of many of my appliances and stuff, call me :-D Mr FixIt. It makes me know (and even enjoy) the stuff way deeper.

Repair shops? Yes, please, good ones.

Cheers :-)

Henk4U2 · 2018-08-02T07:44:26.000Z

The mantra of consumer organisations in the Netherlands/European Union is different.
When you go into a store (brick and mortar or on the web).
You choose a product with certain specifications. And the small print on the box says X year warranty.
You put that product in your cart (real or IT), walk to the exit, pay the product and go home.
After a certain period the product no longer gives you xyz lumens (or ground coffee) when you push the button.
In Europe there is one party to address: the party that took your money.
EU legislators are aware that big corporations employ departments whose sole purpose is to wear you down.
That’s why the party that stepped in for the delivery of the product, must take care of the warranty of it.
They will have to offer you a deal to take away your grief. That can be a new product, or a new part (tail-cap).
Or a heavy discount on a new and improved version. Sometimes the warranty excludes the cost of labour.
When there are more bad reviews about a certain product, you even can address the department store directly.
They might have sold products to innocent customers while they knew that it were bad apples, so to speak.

Consumer organisations also preach: don’t under-estimate the power of social media.
You can suffer in silence while the CS dept of a big corporation gives you a run for your money.
It is more effective to start a hash-tag in which you share your experiences with innocent potential buyers.
Often such a complaint will get you a “transfer” from CS to Marketing (who is more worried about future sales).
Nothing is more damaging than a thruth that is different from the text in the brochure.

EDIT: if you had bought these from GB or BG or FT, you would have addressed GB or BG or FT.
So why don’t you address Walmart? They sold the lights to you, and took your money.

RobertB · 2018-08-01T14:59:38.000Z

Bushnell used to make good rifles scopes binoculars 40+ years ago. As lightbringer said, they’ve turned into cheap mass marketing garbage. They are now owned by a marketing company called Vista Outdoors. Surprisingly VO owns some good brands

Outdoor products

Bee Stinger,
Bell Sports,
Blackburn,
Bollé,
Bushnell,
CamelBak,
Camp Chef,
CoPilot,
Cébé,
Final Approach,
Giro,
Gold Tip,
Jimmy Styks,
Krash,
Millett,
Night Optics,
Primos Hunting,
Raskullz,
Serengeti Eyewear,
Simmons Optics,
Tasco,
Weaver Optics

Shooting sports

Alliant Powder,
American Eagle,
Blackhawk,
Blazer Ammunition,
Butler Creek,
CCI,
Champion,
Eagle Industries,
Estate Cartridge,
Federal Premium,
Force on Force,
Gunmate,
Gunslick Pro,
Hoppe’s 9,
Independence Ammo,
M-Pro 7,
Outers,
RCBS,
Redfield,
Savage Arms,
Speer Ammo,
Speer Bullets,
Stevens Arms,
Uncle Mike’s

mmalive · 2018-08-02T08:55:06.000Z

Henk4U2:

The mantra of consumer organisations in the Netherlands/European Union is different.
When you go into a store (brick and mortar or on the web).
You choose a product with certain specifications. And the small print on the box says X year warranty.
You put that product in your cart (real or IT), walk to the exit, pay the product and go home.
After a certain period the product no longer gives you xyz lumens (or ground coffee) when you push the button.
In Europe there is one party to address: the party that took your money.
EU legislators are aware that big corporations employ departments whose sole purpose is to wear you down.
That’s why the party that stepped in for the delivery of the product, must take care of the warranty of it.
They will have to offer you a deal to take away your grief. That can be a new product, or a new part (tail-cap).
Or a heavy discount on a new and improved version. Sometimes the warranty excludes the cost of labour.
When there are more bad reviews about a certain product, you even can address the department store directly.
They might have sold products to innocent customers while they knew that it were bad apples, so to speak.

Consumer organisations also preach: don’t under-estimate the power of social media.
You can suffer in silence while the CS dept of a big corporation gives you a run for your money.
It is more effective to start a hash-tag in which you share your experiences with innocent potential buyers.
Often such a complaint will get you a “transfer” from CS to Marketing (who is more worried about future sales).
Nothing is more damaging than a thruth that is different from the text in the brochure.

EDIT: if you had bought these from GB or BG or FT, you would have addressed GB or BG or FT.
So why don’t you address Walmart? They sold the lights to you, and took your money.

Did you read my post ENTIRELY? Re read it and you will see and answer your questions and comments.

I am far from social media buff. Got more important things with life to deal with. I posted on BLF to warn and give personal experiences with Bushnell flashlights.

nkresho · 2018-08-05T10:49:40.000Z

RobertB:

Bushnell used to make good rifles scopes binoculars 40+ years ago. As lightbringer said, they’ve turned into cheap mass marketing garbage. They are now owned by a marketing company called Vista Outdoors. Surprisingly VO owns some good brands

Outdoor products

Bee Stinger,
Bell Sports,
Blackburn,
Bollé,
Bushnell,
CamelBak,
Camp Chef,
CoPilot,
Cébé,
Final Approach,
Giro,
Gold Tip,
Jimmy Styks,
Krash,
Millett,
Night Optics,
Primos Hunting,
Raskullz,
Serengeti Eyewear,
Simmons Optics,
Tasco,
Weaver Optics

Shooting sports

Alliant Powder,
American Eagle,
Blackhawk,
Blazer Ammunition,
Butler Creek,
CCI,
Champion,
Eagle Industries,
Estate Cartridge,
Federal Premium,
Force on Force,
Gunmate,
Gunslick Pro,
Hoppe’s 9,
Independence Ammo,
M-Pro 7,
Outers,
RCBS,
Redfield,
Savage Arms,
Speer Ammo,
Speer Bullets,
Stevens Arms,
Uncle Mike’s

Reading this, I really hope I never have an issue with my bushnell ERS scope. Bought it a couple years ago because it was well talked about in the long range competitive shooter forums. Bushnell does still make some of the best scopes on the market (in their high-end line). Up there with Nightforce, Leupold, Schmidt and Bender, and the Vortex Razor HD series. Long Range Scopes: What The Pros Use - PrecisionRifleBlog.com The bushnell 3.5-21, while not the most popular, does fall somewhere in the middle of what they are running.

Lifetime warranty on the scope is the “no questions asked” version. They apparently have a number of warranty levels. https://bushnell.com/Support/Customer-Service/Warranty

Hopefully they kept the lifetime warranty support stateside, even if they outsourced the production of the flashlights to the lowest bidder in china.

I’m thinking (wishful) they have different levels of support for a $20 flashlight than they do for a scope that costs 100x more. I can say that the quality is there (for the scope) compared to the two bushnell flashlights I own. Not that the flashlights have given me any problems, but fit and finish (tracking, clarity, and light collection) is amazing on my optic.

mmalive · 2018-08-06T09:16:03.000Z

nkresho:

RobertB:

Bushnell used to make good rifles scopes binoculars 40+ years ago. As lightbringer said, they’ve turned into cheap mass marketing garbage. They are now owned by a marketing company called Vista Outdoors. Surprisingly VO owns some good brands

Outdoor products

Bee Stinger,
Bell Sports,
Blackburn,
Bollé,
Bushnell,
CamelBak,
Camp Chef,
CoPilot,
Cébé,
Final Approach,
Giro,
Gold Tip,
Jimmy Styks,
Krash,
Millett,
Night Optics,
Primos Hunting,
Raskullz,
Serengeti Eyewear,
Simmons Optics,
Tasco,
Weaver Optics

Shooting sports

Alliant Powder,
American Eagle,
Blackhawk,
Blazer Ammunition,
Butler Creek,
CCI,
Champion,
Eagle Industries,
Estate Cartridge,
Federal Premium,
Force on Force,
Gunmate,
Gunslick Pro,
Hoppe’s 9,
Independence Ammo,
M-Pro 7,
Outers,
RCBS,
Redfield,
Savage Arms,
Speer Ammo,
Speer Bullets,
Stevens Arms,
Uncle Mike’s

Reading this, I really hope I never have an issue with my bushnell ERS scope. Bought it a couple years ago because it was well talked about in the long range competitive shooter forums. Bushnell does still make some of the best scopes on the market (in their high-end line). Up there with Nightforce, Leupold, Schmidt and Bender, and the Vortex Razor HD series. Long Range Scopes: What The Pros Use - PrecisionRifleBlog.com The bushnell 3.5-21, while not the most popular, does fall somewhere in the middle of what they are running.

Lifetime warranty on the scope is the “no questions asked” version. They apparently have a number of warranty levels. https://bushnell.com/Support/Customer-Service/Warranty

Hopefully they kept the lifetime warranty support stateside, even if they outsourced the production of the flashlights to the lowest bidder in china.

I’m thinking (wishful) they have different levels of support for a $20 flashlight than they do for a scope that costs 100x more. I can say that the quality is there (for the scope) compared to the two bushnell flashlights I own. Not that the flashlights have given me any problems, but fit and finish (tracking, clarity, and light collection) is amazing on my optic.

Hey man, just wait until you have issues with your scope or flashlight. You will not play a great tune with Bushnell I assure you.

Imagine this. My flashlight is $65 tax included. Bushnell gave me a HARD TIME. You scope is 100x more. Do you really think Bushnell will fork out? Come on. They would not even fork out for $65 let alone 100x that amount.

So moral of story is BE VERY CAREFULL when buying Bushnell. They WILL NOT stand behind ANY warranty.

BTW, Mine was 1 year manufacturer warranty as stated on package. Owned for 10 months so still within time frame.

Lightbringer · 2018-08-06T15:50:57.000Z

Wellp, no idea where you at except “earth”, so if you have a Dept of Consumer Affairs, Better Bidniss Bureau, any agency to grex to, then do so. But only while still within the warranty period, else you’re SOL. But once you get your foot in the door, the clock pretty much stops. Or should.

Also, check the fine print of any warranty card that came-with. Maybe they did say all the above, ie, return it on your dime, they’re not responsible, blah blah blah. In which case their warranty was crap to begin with, and you’d be SOL anyway unless you’d do it their way anyway. And by buying it and not returning it immediately, you implicitly agreed to that warranty and those conditions.

That’s the reason I can’t bring myself to spend big bux on any Big Name flashlight. I don’t care what they claim the warranty is, if they’re gonna give me problems, then their warranty’s GFS anyway. So I’ll only get lights that I have a chance to repair on my own (and likely not be able to if I can’t get a replacement driver, or any other proprietary part), or if I’m willing to consider them disposable, or if they have good CS who’d likely honor at least a DOA without question (as Thorfire and Sofirn have, so kudos to them! XTAR, too, ’though it wasn’t a DOA but just a wonky switch).

You hear tales about, say, VOB getting major grief about his Jetbeam’s warranty (from memory; someone look it up if so inclined), so it doesn’t matter what’s claimed in any warranty if the mfr is going to move Hell and Earth to get out of it. Or just blackhole it and pretend it never happened.

Keep in mind, though, that lots of times when you’re told you have to ship an item back at your expense, it’s to keep yayhoos who don’t know how to use a light, or try running it with dead batteries, etc., from repeatedly shipping it back on the company dime, only to have someone test it and find out it works 100% and there’s nothing wrong with it, then have to ship it back again on their dime. This way, the one making the claim has to think hard before going through that expense.

Anyway, like I said, first check the terms of your warranty, then rear up and start howling loud’n’long ’til someone listens.

mmalive · 2018-08-07T07:48:30.000Z

Lightbringer:

Wellp, no idea where you at except “earth”, so if you have a Dept of Consumer Affairs, Better Bidniss Bureau, any agency to grex to, then do so. But only while still within the warranty period, else you’re SOL. But once you get your foot in the door, the clock pretty much stops. Or should.

Also, check the fine print of any warranty card that came-with. Maybe they did say all the above, ie, return it on your dime, they’re not responsible, blah blah blah. In which case their warranty was crap to begin with, and you’d be SOL anyway unless you’d do it their way anyway. And by buying it and not returning it immediately, you implicitly agreed to that warranty and those conditions.

That’s the reason I can’t bring myself to spend big bux on any Big Name flashlight. I don’t care what they claim the warranty is, if they’re gonna give me problems, then their warranty’s GFS anyway. So I’ll only get lights that I have a chance to repair on my own (and likely not be able to if I can’t get a replacement driver, or any other proprietary part), or if I’m willing to consider them disposable, or if they have good CS who’d likely honor at least a DOA without question (as Thorfire and Sofirn have, so kudos to them! XTAR, too, ’though it wasn’t a DOA but just a wonky switch).

You hear tales about, say, VOB getting major grief about his Jetbeam’s warranty (from memory; someone look it up if so inclined), so it doesn’t matter what’s claimed in any warranty if the mfr is going to move Hell and Earth to get out of it. Or just blackhole it and pretend it never happened.

Keep in mind, though, that lots of times when you’re told you have to ship an item back at your expense, it’s to keep yayhoos who don’t know how to use a light, or try running it with dead batteries, etc., from repeatedly shipping it back on the company dime, only to have someone test it and find out it works 100% and there’s nothing wrong with it, then have to ship it back again on their dime. This way, the one making the claim has to think hard before going through that expense.

Anyway, like I said, first check the terms of your warranty, then rear up and start howling loud’n’long ’til someone listens.

LightB, I am far from being incompetent or ignorant on how to use a flashlight man. The 1300 lumen version is built enclosed with rechargeable battery inside. Even then Bushnell WILL NOT honor warranty.

Bushnell is a JOKE of company. NO MORE losing my $$$ to them again.

MRay · 2021-02-10T22:34:33.000Z

My experience was similar. I purchased a Bushnell flashlight, it died, I contacted Bushnell support. They initially acted as if they would honor their “LIFETIME LIMITED WARRANTY”, I shipped the flashlight, …and then months later received a cryptic email indicating that they had received the flashlight and that no repair was necessary. They shipped the flashlight back to me with several documents, my initial excitement was quickly crushed when I discovered that not only had my flashlight NOT been repaired, but that they claimed that my “product falls outside of the warranty period”, …ok, we obviously have different definitions of “lifetime”, and no, I did nothing to violate their terms of their “LIFETIME LIMITED WARRANTY” …but they also included another document trying to claim that the flashlight wasn’t a Bushnell product, at least as far as the warranty was concerned (strange, as the name “Bushnell” is clearly printed on the product, and packaging) …and suggested I contact “Insight 2 Design” for repairs. …and yes, apparently Bushnell does have a relationship with Insight 2 Design to manufacture some of its products. To add insult to injury, Bushnell also directed me to their website and suggested that I buy a replacement product from them.

now, in all fairness, the new packaging for basically the same flashlight, Bushnell Pro 400 (mine is actually a Pro 350) for just under $50, indicates a “ONE YEAR WARRANTY” (they must have learned from their mistake), …so if you think $50 is a fair price for what is essentially a “one year” disposable flashlight, …Bushnell might work for you.

kramer5150 · 2021-02-10T21:15:02.000Z

Yeah the switches in those Bushnell lights are really dodgy. Mine corroded from the inside out. It was never submerged in water or exposed to rain. Probably condensation inside the switch housing from cold weather. It was my daughters girl scout camp light for a couple years, and for a while I used it camping/backpacking where it replaced my $urefire A2. I never used it with alkaleak, only eneloops. If you look closely at the second pic, you can see the green corrosion through the white plastic and even some oozing out from inside the metal. It was only used in an extremely low humidity environment.

I used to backpack with a guy who had CRAZY night-owl vision. I’m not exaggerating this either. Once his eyes dilated open, ANY amount of white light was blinding to him. So I used this light and a SF A2 for the 3x red LEDs… no problems at all, my buddy was happy and I was happy using eneloop-AA instead of CR123.

I took the switch apart and soaked it in isopropyl to try and clear it up. It worked for a while but it flickers now, and I can’t really depend on it. Its too bad, good light otherwise.

xxo · 2021-02-10T23:24:41.000Z

Sounds like these lights were not made or sold by bushnell, just that some marketing company licensed the name and had the lights made in China, much like S&W did with their knives and other junk that is sold under their name. Same thing with winchester, colt and others. The warranty is handled by the marketing company, not bushnell.

Lightbringer · 2021-02-11T00:09:39.000Z

MRay:

now, in all fairness, the new packaging for basically the same flashlight, Bushnell Pro 400 (mine is actually a Pro 350) for just under $50, indicates a “ONE YEAR WARRANTY” (they must have learned from their mistake), …so if you think $50 is a fair price for what is essentially a “one year” disposable flashlight, …Bushnell might work for you.

Ha! Funny you mention this.

Someone I know bought a light at WM a coupla months ago, started crowing about how many lemons it spits out, etc., but it croked a short while ago, flickered and not much else. Did the usual “snug up the retaining rings, if any” advice, still no joy.

He called me, cackling how he finally got a replacement after the company pretty much blew him off as far as any “warranty”. Went back to WM, bought another light (similar, but not exact), and right there in the parking lot unpacked it, tested it, and once he was sure the new one worked, boxed up the old light in the new box, and returned it. (I should ask if it was a Bushnell.)

They (return desk or whatever it’s called) just unpack the box to make sure the main goodies are in there (and sometimes not even, amazingly), then shove everything back, dump the box in a huge bin, and process the refund. Probably wouldn’t notice any diff between a FireHatchet 1200 vs 1500.

Dirty pool, I know, but he’s pist at the company. Can’t say I blame him.