Guys, I can't recommend Kessler. So many quality and customer service issues. Furious

OldCorpse said:
True enough. But at the same time, unless the OP is lying, this is extremely egregious behavior by Kessler - this shouldn't happen even once. Gear can break, and stuff happens to anyone, even the best. It's not about that. It's about how the company responds, and here the response has been disqualifying. Stuff breaks, and perhaps that's reason to avoid motion control gear from Kessler, but the bigger problem is the customer service. One mixup is one thing, but continuous failure - yeah, that would put me off the company. YMMV.
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Exactly. But it also has to do with the cheap quality of the gear. When I first got my Kessler stuff I was:

1. Impressed by how smooth the motion was and the general metal construction. I had a slider previous to it that wasn't as good.
2. My jaw dropped at how shitty the motion control set was. I could not believe that I had paid hundreds of dollars for this. Right from the beginning I knew that there were going to be issues with the plastic. Within 2 weeks the 12V socket cracked. And who uses a 12V cigarette lighter socket connected to a mini car battery with a shoulder sling? I felt like this had been pieced together in a garage. And the power outlet on the remote control just ups and breaks off when we try and plug the power cable into it.

Generally I'm ok with 1 year warranties because the vast majority of products will last much longer than that. But not this. The low level at which these things broke is astounding. Wire connections to the battery detached due to bad glue or solder. Power plug breaks off the remote due to bad solder. Plastic housing cracks around the cigarette lighter outlet simply due to the expansion forces applied to it by plugging in a 12V plug.

This is all stuff that is so mind boggingly low-level and should never, ever happen.

And their customer response to it is simply "sorry, we don't cover it"?!?

I literally felt compelled to blast my experience across as many message boards as I could and my top short term company priority right now is to move us OUT of Kessler as FAST as possible. How's that for a response?

Their motion is great. But their customer service and reliability makes it all moot.
 
My 3 controllers and 5 12v cable plugs are tough.. Mine get thrown around, travelled halfway around Asia with me unprotected in a backpack. You really must of been unlucky... Touch wood :)
 
Ive taken my cineslider all over the world. It gets mis-treated & abused all the time. - Just like our crew. It's never had any issues that can't be sorted with a quick twist of an hex key. Shame I can't say the same about my crew...
 
Paul Hudson said:
I am saying that because on two occasions I have seen Kesslers products brought on to profession, heavy duty, fast moving sets and both times I have seen them fail, catastrophically. This is my own observation. Their products are simply not heavy duty enough to stand up to the rigors of being thrown about on a ten ton truck with other heavy gear. However, it seems you have made your decision. If so, then why ask our opinion?
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Their stuff, referring to the pocket dolly and basic control kit, isn't enough to even be transported around in the trunk of a car and used for 6 hours a *week*. And their support sucks. It's slow, wants your money, and basically is not dependable for working professionals like us that need quick turnaround for projects that are scheduled. If your stuff is still working, great. But pray that it doesn't break while you have projects in the next 1.5 weeks or else you're looking at expensive rental fees. And repair fees when they refuse to honor their warranty and instead blame you for screwing up your own gear.
 
Owen Rennie said:
My 3 controllers and 5 12v cable plugs are tough.. Mine get thrown around, travelled halfway around Asia with me unprotected in a backpack. You really must of been unlucky... Touch wood :)
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I don't know what gear you got. Certainly doesn't sound like mine. And Kessler support has decided that they'd rather have us pay for everything than to help out with the quality control problems.

Seriously, I'm hemorrhaging money and time dealing with this ****. Three $100 rentals periods. 2 jobs postponed that clients aren't happy with. A new $250 controller and $100 battery that never should have broken in the first place with our gentle handling. And now I'm looking at a possible $150 repair bill plus shipping charges just so that I can fix this up enough so I can sell it and get it the HELL out of my sight.

I can think of many, many ways that Joel over at Kessler could have handled this better. My emails were urgent. I told him I had projects lined up and we needed working gear immediately. He didn't do anything to make this customer's life easier. I've gotten better service from the maker of a stupid *pressure cooker* that I bought (GSI Outdoors). I called them, a human immediately picked up, I told him one of the valves on the lid wasn't working, and he shipped me an entirely new lid immediately, no charge. I got it less than a week later. For those who don't know, the lid of a pressure cooker is essentially 80% of the cooker and has all of the essential parts on it. The other half is just a metal shell.

GSI Outdoors has got a customer for life and an advocate for life.

Kessler has lost a customer forever, one who would have bought, many, many more sliders (I've got 3 Varavon sliders on order, and more coming up). And someone who will always recommend people to NOT buy Kessler.

Good going.
 
FWIW: I own Kessler gear and wish I didn't. The gear (K-Pod, Hercules Head & Pocket Dolly) is OK for what it is, but their service sucks. Each of the three times I've called them I got more bad attitude than service.
 
Sad to hear this... I couldn't care less if the gear is "pro" or not if the service is not there when you need it.

In comparison, I bought a Cineroid EVF and the NP-F adapter became sluggish after 5 months use. I talked to 3DB and they made sure a new, and updated version was sent right away no questions asked..... The new adapter is perfect!

And this is from Cineroid affiliates, a brand people still foolishly believe is inferior to Zacuto and Alphatron.

Good service is the way to make people buy what you need, and when we buy what we need, we enable the manufacturers and resellers to improve gear and sell that. Instead of resting on the laurels, thinking everything is ok, because it's always been and we are "pro".

Thanks for sharing OP
 
Owen Rennie said:
How can you say not for professional use? When guys like Tom Lowe shot half of Timescapes with their gear.. The shuttlepod and cineslider can handle the weight of epics and Arri and such. The cinedrive is a very advanced tool also. So why would it not be considered professional? I find that rather silly
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Ask Tom how much he paid (if any) for his Kessler gear. I think Kessler was a big sponsor of his work. And that is how it works. You get high profile people to use your products.
Of course if I got free stuff to use I would think it was great, even if it only worked for a little while. I still don't understand why Panasonic has not sent me a free GH3!!!!
 
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