Proviation customer care problems
 

Has anyone had trouble with the after sales service provided by these guys? Seems invisible, they dont answer emails and no return of calls

I wont buy from them again...be aware!

Proviation has always been helpful
 

I've often had cause to go back but only to ask about the products I've purchased. For example, I bought an Icom transceiver and needed some additional accessories; again for a Vertex. They've always been helpful and called me back with further advise as required.
Perhaps an off day?

All the best.

Harold.

Proviation
 

I wouldn't ordinarily write, but inthe past I had cause to read about another aviation supply company on Pprune and it put me off buying there, such is the power of the Pprune.
However in this case I wish to side most strongly for this firm from whom I have just purchased again (Bendix AV8OR Ace); I purchased the wrong Memory card however the lady at Proviation actually arranged for the correct card to be sent along with returns packaging for me to send back the other free if charge.

This contrasts with experiences where we have had truly lousy service from other, larger, companies; particularly 'forgetting' about my order, simply not updating me at all.

Not here. Communication is good by which I mean I have consistently had excellent service on the telephone and a thoughtful after sales experience to boot.

This last order promptly made me return to this post as something had to be said on the basis of recent experience. I wouldn't want to see it marred due to other threads about 'that other company' with which I thankfully haven't traded with.

I have only bought one item from Proaviation, but I was very pleased with the service and the price.

I recently had an issue with an order and only managed to get through to sales - not support whose line was busy. It did get sorted out eventually though and whenever I talked to people or emailed them they were helpful.

I ordered a Cessna towbar on 24th Feb, and Proviation took the money straight away through Paypal. Then nothing. I chased by email on 29th Feb, and was told delivery would be in "1-2 weeks". Then nothing.
I chased again by email on 13th March, got no response.
I chased again by phone on 23rd March but got the 'Customer Services' answer machine. The machine said it would call me back but it didn't.
Still no towbar and £84 spent. Ever tried complaining to an answer phone?
Are they still trading?

Pro Aviation
 

It seems many people have had different experiences with ProAviation.

I have regularly bought from FlightStore and Transair, but recently had cause to try ProAviation. Due to various reports on PPRuNe about people having not the best experience, and having failled to get a response from them on a previous occasion, I called them to order and was pleasantly surprised. Same products for less money and next day delivery. Delighted! Cheaper than FlightStore (which, to be fair, takes some doing), and very helpful staff who threw in extras that others had declined to.

It's just the one experience, but it was very positive.

Proviation
 

Oh. Ordered some wing stands for my glider 2 days ago from these people before I read this strand (I know, I know....). I'll keep you posted as to progress....

Well, the update to my comment was that my order eventually got filled, about 6 weeks after I'd placed it. I managed to get in touch via sales, and had a pleasant Email conversation about what had gone wrong with the order process and had no indication that the company was other than honourable. However, it does seem that my experience was not an isolated one.

A 6 week waiting time for me too. The first and last time I ordered from Proviation was for something small. I forget what it was but perhaps a stopwatch clip for a kneeboard or something equally unimportant. This was perhaps a year ago now but I've not been back when another more punctual outfit exists.

Proviation delivery update
 

Further to my promise for an update, today I celebrate 50 days since they took payment and my order remains unfulfilled. Three separate promises of delivery along the way all passed without event. The compensatory easter egg was lovely but I'm now wondering whether I should ask for milk or plain chocolate pennies for my christmas apology.

Oh, nearly forgot....


AAAARRRRGGGGHHHH !!!!!!!!

I recently bought a lightspeed II headset from them - it got to me within 24hrs of the expected delivery time & they spent a lot more on postage than they charged me in order to meet the deadline so I'm pretty happy with them & will buy again.

I also recommend the lightspeed II - apart from excellent noise cancelling capability the blue tooth functionality means I can use it as an indiscreet hands free phone kit on the way to the airfield, wandering round Tesco etc. :E

Good weekend all, enq.

I remembered this thread from before.

I ordered a yoke mount / clip holder from them just over a week ago. The payment was taken promptly. Their order confirmation suggests items will "take 2-3 days" and "We try to ship most orders on the same day", but nothing has arrived yet. The item was in stock at the time, and is still in stock. The tracking status on my request says ""Your order is currently being prepared.", We are in the process of picking and packing your order. Look out for this order status changing very soon. We try to send all orders placed before 1500hrs on the same day."

How long does it take to pick and pack a lightweight paper clip with a mount on it? I called them a few times - no answer. I have sent an email, though I am not hopeful at the moment.

It seems some people rate them highly, but I am joining the group who dont. These guys arent a patch on Transair or Flighstore.

Very familiar story going on here. Today I googled Proviation attempting to find out if they had gone bust - found this thread instead.

We've got the same problem - order placed on an item that's 'in stock', expecting dispatch same day and delivery in three. Two weeks later and no information. Tried calling, tried emailing (three times over the course of a week) and no answer, no reply, no item.

The money was taken immediately (so that part of the company seems pretty prompt :rolleyes: ) which started to make us think that the company was bust or perhaps it was a bogus website or something. My partner sent one last email informing them that they were to cancel the order and refund us or we would be claiming the money back off the credit card.

That sparked a response promising to get the order dispatched by Friday.

We're have zero faith in Proviation now and don't trust them to honour the warranties or deal with any after sales issues. The order is cancelled.

My advice is to avoid this company like the plague.

The stories above seem very mixed but are the reason why Mrs DGG and I buy everything on Barclaycard so if there is a problem a Section 75 claim will get your money back from Barclaycard. Who I assume just retrieve it from the retailer.

In the past where the retailer was clearly a shyster; Barclaycard even threw in a £5.00 apology.

DGG

As a follow up. I did get a reply to my email informing me the plate holder clip thingy was being dispatched, but there was a late delivery in the US, who in turn hadnt informed Proviation. I followed up with a reply and asked why their website said the item was in stock, and is still in stock, but they had to wait for something to be sent from the US. They didnt reply :*

It seems to me that Proviation is just a middle man. You order from them, they take your money pronto, and then they order the goods from (maybe) multiple suppliers. This differs from Transair and FlightStore who presumably have a large warehouse with their own stock, and an up to date and reliable stock inventory system. I wont bother ordering anything off Proviation that I want ASAP. Transair will generally get you your stuff to your door within 24 hours.

Proviation Customer Service
 

Dear all,

We were uncertain about replying on here, and unsure whether companies are allowed to post; therefore we'd just state the following:

- We will try to address issues on the forum but can't comment openly on orders but just on general service related queries.
As will become clear below- we need to concentrate on our service and not spread too thinly to responding on forums. We have a Facebook page, email, blog and phone where you can ask questions about orders.

*Please also use live chat online to communicate with the company on our homepage at >> Proviation Pilot Shop - Leading Flight Equipment, Pilot Supplies, Aircraft Equipment, Aviation Headsets *

- We want to re-assure, and defend the company. It's a young company, built on sound values, and since Pprune is big- it seems prudent to at least say "hello- here we are". Threads such as this can be incredibly damaging, especially to small companies (which we are not ashamed to be).

We have ventured into offering products not previously available in the UK. We learnt from the US and Canada where pilots are treated to a much larger range. We saw some great products to make available in the UK. We are proud to be an Aircraft Spruce approved distributor- and Sportys- where we meet all their requirements.
We hold good stocks of all day-to-day pilot essentials. We only hold a smaller stock of new products. If we need to order more, we always email our customers to let them know.

We perform 'special-orders' for some products; especially aircraft parts. We promulgate the despatch times in-store and by email immediately having received an order.

We have been approved to sell ALL items in our store- either by approved dealership direct with manufacturer, or through one of their distributors. You will ALWAYS have full manufacturer back-up insofar as Warranty and ALL warranty matters are handled IN-HOUSE. We will also arrange free collect & repair on ANY item which develops a fault.


If anyone has ever been left without information- we apologise. There's nothing worse than being in the dark. We are working to improve this with addition of customer service staff.

About the business:

We're over 5 years old. We date back to 1999 in aviation consultancy. We're a family-run business. We have a good supply chain. We hold more and more stock all the time. We're lean, and efficient. We aim to survive in a difficult market.
We are well funded, and have a super customer base whom we respect enourmously. We have served over 20,000 customers worldwide.
We don't spam our customers. We price match. We price check. We offer longer warranties on most products. We offer a free return service. We collect and repair faulty items. We have a very, very broad supply chain- if you need a product we don't sell, we can find it and supply.

Areas we can improve on:

We have repaired our email which was being subverted by problems with 1&1 and spam filters. A lot of messages weren't coming through.

We need to be more realistic- some specialist items like wing stands were made from scratch. Our store only lets us show a 14 day max wait. We have asked the developers to fix this. In the meantime we email about wait times.

Some customers posting on here ordered items manufactured-to-order. We were not realistic about the delivery times and we apologise sincerely.

Most common products are in stock at all times. We have tested the market and did find a number of cases where our competitors couldn't deliver but didn't communicate this. We were hoping to ensure we never did the same.

We have at least 4 people to answer phone calls at all times. A substantial investment in this service to ensure no call is unanswered.

We are delighted to be part of the UK and European aviation scene. We are run by pilots - and post on here in our other guises as aviation geeks. Our management comes from the world of airline and business aviation and airline quality management. We also have a vested interest in air safety and have a background in air safety investigation and research.

'Proviation' comes from 'Professional-Aviation' - an aim to bring professionalism to all aspects of flight- including private flight, to make the skies safer. We started to sell pilot supplies seeing a gap in the market for new products.

Going forward:

We took on call staff (as above) and opened a second small warehouse in the south East. We have a superb supply chain backed by the largest suppliers in the business. We are becoming main dealers on more and more lines and we are investing in bringing new products to market, especially for the iPad.

We hope to give you a good service everytime you come into contact with us- so look forward to speaking to you.

Sincerely, we hope this post serves to communicate the business in the best way possible, and that it is well-received.

Best wishes.

Update as of July 2013: New online chat service is a sure-fire way to leave a message or get an instant response if you need to query an order.
Shortly there will be a dedicated phone number solely for customers who've already ordered.

This is a fair post and it's nice to see a company being open and up front as to how they work, and what they aim to bring to the market (as opposed to being defensive and combative) and promising to resolve some issues that some people have clearly experienced. Customer Services is a rare thing these days, but the posting here, to me, is admirable. I think there is a market for some US manufactured items not for sale by the other well known aviation companies. Good luck...

Do Not Buy from Proviation
 

They take your money and then nothing!
They havehad £600 of mine for 8 weeks claiming they have had non delivery of their stock....
That I can accept.... but it is when they will not respond to E Mails -Voice messages - or any type of communication that I find really infuriating. As for Pay Pal they just do not want to know!

My advice buy elsewhere!

However, still the same issues continue...........
 

Had the misfortune to spend £1,140 with Proviation recently.

They took my money on the 25th Jan, then emailed me on the 31st Jan to say they didn't have any in stock, but they'd be in stock within a few days.

I said OK.

The unit turned up on 6th Feb.

It was faulty, so I emailed them that afternoon asking for a replacement.

No reply by lunchtime on the 7th Feb so I emailed again.

No response by that evening, so I filled in the on line return form.

Phoned twice on the 8th Feb, no reply, but didn't leave a message as I was away for a long weekend.

Phoned 3 times on 11th Feb, no reply to any of the calls, leaving a message asking them to ring me back on the first call of the morning.

Phoned my credit card company on 12th Feb to instigate a dispute and charge back procedure for the amount I'd paid.

On 13th Feb, a sudden flurry of activity, 3 emails in quick succession offering to pick up and replace the unit.

I'd already ordered elsewhere so declined and asked for a collection and refund.

The collection was requested for the next day (the 14th) and I got a tracking number back and enquired if this was for a collection as requested. Surprise, surprise, I didn't get a reply. I stayed in all day.................

And guess what? No collection happened

On the 15th I got another email with another tracking number which STILL didn't tell me when the collection is due to happen and which claimed ( inaccurately) that the email on the 13 th HAD told me when the collection was due, but that it didn't happen because of an ' exception'.

i'm sure some people on the forum will have had a good experience with this shower, but I can tell you, I'm never ordering from them again!

Shame... They seemed in their previous post to be trying to make things better and I genuinely hoped they would be a company one could order from in the future.

I think this is why so many companies are folding these days (generally). Only those who offer good customer service; have good online processes; have a good reputation; and most importantly are lightning quick to deliver will survive. Thats why I shop online now, and in the UK and in the aviation world, Transair are second to none. Pretty much anything I order, arrives the next day, and it's the right product, it works, it does what it says on the tin, and so on. Because I trust them, I wont use anyone but them now.

don't forget.....
 

.... if you enjoy wearing your discrete Lightspeed Zulu II headset around Tescos, make sure you buy the obligatory "Pilot Inside" (apologies to Intel...) T shirt.....

proviation
 

hi

returned a small item last month (5 yr warrenty) have not benn able to contact them since either by e mail or phone anyone have an update

Would not use them again. Ordered an item which was in stock. Paid for next day delivery 4 weeks later 5 phone calls and 3 emails. It eventually turned up. I did get my delivery cost back but the lack of a sincere apology from the company would not entice me back.

I bought the clarity aloft headset through them. They took the money and didn't deliver. After I contacted them they said they had a lot of fraud to deal with. It was time sensitive so I cancelled the order and got refunded. I later ordered it again having had to borrow a headset for a few flights and paid through PayPal. I had no problems at all. My only complaint is that they didn't know I'd been charged the first time and didn't contact me to say they thought there was a problem. I had to chase them instead.

I would order through them again but not for anything urgent and not with a credit card.

Breaking radio silence a little here, but this is an update to our last post:

I'm very receptive to the comments on here in an aim to keep service standards high. We're one of the only internet-based businesses to have had a thread started, while a lot of our competitors have avoided this. So we have to face the music! I'm sure all mail order companies have problems from time-to-time; we can only respond to the main concerns here. I for one set out our service levels based on my own experiences- good and bad, with internet (especially aviation and marine) e-commerce stores.

High-value orders: Such as the Dynon order and Clarity Aloft- we have a traffic light system from our payment processor. These often raise 'red light' concerns and we hold despatch and request billing details from customers. There is a lot of fraud in electronics at the moment, and we have been stung more than once. We regret any delay this causes, but it's always to protect the cardholder. We normally email customers as soon as we receive the order and ask them to confirm their billing address. This pretty rare however.

Our warranty service for repairs is comprised of extended warranties, and a commitment to free returns. For high value items we'd arrange a collection, repair/replacement, and return. For headsets, GPS, and essentials, we also try to loan out equipment so you don't go without.
We're still stretched on manpower, so warranty requests have been picked up slower than I'd like- we're issuing a new email address to catch warranty requests via the site, and enable us to intercept these as quickly as possible, using technology a little better!

As usual, we'd appreciate any concerns or requests for info to be directed to our orders email address.

[We permit these factual responses to customer complaints posted here, but will not allow this to include self-promotion in the forums. Paid-for advertising is, of course, encouraged. Mods]

Hope to go on serving your needs well in 2013. All the best. .

proviation customer care
 

ok so the other day i was pretty fed up as i could not make contact with proviation either by phone or e mail / they have now contacted me and i am completly satisfied with there after sales / i will be a little more patient in the future

thanks & sorry nick

Refund received
 

Thought I'd give an update........

I finally received a refund on Friday 1st March (5 weeks after payment was taken from my card and 3 weeks after my first complaint).

That's good (though my credit card company would have refunded me anyway).

What's not so good is Proviations attitude that it is perfectly acceptable to ignore customer complaints for a week or more (or perhaps until the customer posts a complaint on PPRUNE?), or indeed, if we look at merret's first post........ 3 weeks or more.

Overall.

Did I get my money back? Yes.

Am I happy with a shoddy, second class service? No.

Will I buy from Proviation again? Absolutely not.

Never Again Proviation !
 

Be Warned! Never Buy Anything from Proviation Unless You Are Prepared to Lose your Time and Money.

It has been already 5 months and the order has not arrived yet from Proviation.

1. 13 Nov 2012, Order #O-13900 was placed. 2 Twin Handle Leather cases with handling and shipping at a cost of £185.95.
2. 13 Nov 2012, the full amount of money taken from Credit Card.
3. 28 Nov 2012, sent an inquire email.
4. 2 Dec 2012, Nick replied saying that the order was taking extra unexpected longer time from a supplier.
5. 18 Jan 2013, emailed again to request mailing the order or refunding in full.
6. 21 Jan 2013, Nick responded saying he would be checking with the supplier to see if stock was available.
7. 14 Feb 2013, emailed Nick again, requesting for sending the order within 2 weeks, which according to his website the stock was available at that time. Or if he wished, he could refund the full amount.
8. 14 Feb 2013, Nick emailed back and claimed he wanted to make sure that the delivery address was correct and promised I would be receiving the order within 2-4 days.
9. 1 March 2013, Nick was asked again why the order was not received as promised.
10. 6 March 2013, received Nick’s email saying this time he would use UPS, provided I would pay extra fare for the express service.
11. 7 March 2013, I emailed back to Nick saying that I would be able to wait an extra few days, since I have been waiting for such a long time, it would not have had any difference for me.
12. 7 March 2013, on the same day, Nick answered that he is sorry, saying that this time, only one case remains, and he needs to order more stock.
13. The cycle continues ...

I ordered a Go Pro camera but after receiving an email to say it might be sometime in April or May.... and will be sent on first come first served basis felt that laying out £374 odd was a bit too nebulous to wait for an item and seemed a bit strange as if the Company wait for orders and money before getting the stock in.
So asked for refund, after all they have a 'consumer orientated' policy and refunds guaranteed etc etc....
Was told a couple of times money is being refunded and to date nothing and no replies except one from 'Nick' telling me that Paypal want to take the money from their bank account.....and he was trying to sort it.... nothing since.....several calls this week, no replies/answer machine/being fobbed off with Nick isnt there and no idea when he might be??...
I am actually feeling quite sick that I placed trust in what appeared to be a genuine company and they have taken my money, I should add that the money was taken on the day I cancelled the order! Its not like it's tenner .....
:yuk::ugh::*

Proviation are utter Carp and nick has no idea of the simple principles of customer service.

I eventually received my 900 pound life raft, but it was without doubt the worst service I have received from any company. I cancelled the order, emails ignored, replies not sent for days on end. Nightmare.

I think they are basically honest, just useless, so I'm sure you will eventually get your money back. They seem to disappear a lot.

Last night, after putting reviews of Proviation on consumer sites, one of which I understand 'they are a member', part of my money was refunded yesterday evening. I wrote an email to them and pointed out that there was an outstanding sum still due.

Today Nick rang and we spoke about what had happened and how disappointed I was and so were others. I said that his communication was appalling and that his customer care needs a lot of work. I pointed out that we as customers were not cash cows but people who were not only sending him money for goods but placing our trust in him which he has betrayed.

I suggested that he did not offer such customer care policies if he couldnt live up to them and that if he was to sort everyone out now and also publicly let people know it may help towards restoring some faith in him.

It may interest you to know that he operates with him and his wife/partner, and they use a call centre hence perhaps the reason for the strange responses when telephoning.
I said I would tell people that my particular problem has been resolved.

However, I would never use this company again and will say that Nicks problems are due to himself and not of Paypal/his customers/his 'call centre', nor anyone else. If you run a business then you face whatever that brings with it, personal problems aside -thats life you deal with it-I dont believe he runs his business using good practice and would advise that he review his methods.
I hope those who are still waiting to get matters resolved do so without further delay.
:)

I was also disappointed with non delivery and less than prompt communications. Refund did eventually happen but far too many broken promises.

Trying to decide whether to buy a Sportys SP-400 at the moment but with Proviation appearing to be the only UK supplier I'm a bit wary.

In the opinion of you guys, would I be better to buy from Sporty's USA, paying the Import Duty and getting no legal assurances, or buying from Proviation and getting the backing of UK / EU law? Price ends up about the same.

As far as I can tell, if they have something in stock (ignoring what their website says) then you are likely to get items quickly and well packages with no problems. If something isn't in stock (and the people in the call centre wont know whether it is in stock or not) then its a lottery - but no one has ended up out of pocket - just very frustrated.

What you you do?

Proviation is a bona fide company, accredited by consumer organisations
 

Hi there. To address some concerns; we are always going to see delays on some orders not in stock, however we are increasing our deliveries from the US to weekly orders.
The SP-400 transceiver is on an order already.
We also recommend the FTA-310, which just came available as an alternative.
Yes, we are a family run business but this shouldn't be touted as a bad thing...We started very small, but growing efficiently. We all operate the company full time around the clock. We have a good team working behind the scenes in despatch as well as taking calls. While someone on the phone is not always up-to speed on all products, we'll always try to call you back with more information as we have a lot of real-world product expertise.
Our stock management is tied into the website, and we have probably the most comprehensive and far-reaching supply network of any aviation store in Europe. And, we have excellent relationships with all our suppliers. So whereas some stores will sell-out, we will always do our best for you and your order to procure stock via the fastest means possible.

Aviation stock management is a balancing act- no aviation product is mass-consumed; and some stock can sit on shelves for months or even years! These are symptoms you may encounter further down the supply chain too.

Anyone is welcome to direct any outstanding concerns or enquiries to feedback'at'proviationshop.co.uk. While I am aware we have been behind on our emails, this is improving, but some recent PayPal-related issues have caused us horrendous problems, and to save this happening to anyone else, we've removed PayPal from the website. It'd be unprofessional to go into too much detail here, but suffice to say that they can impose radical account changes in order to manage their business, which can have a less than positive impact on the business which has to then supply a huge amount of information in order to maintain smooth running of the account.
In the case of the camera below, PayPal debited the account before our account entered issues, which delayed the refund. However we did explain on the site the lead-time with the camera at the time, which has proven incredibly popular.
With regards to the missing bag for dwmk- this was lost on the way to Australia by a company who took on Australiasia shipments- we now use UPS, for the better. We sent a new bag, which wasn't quite what he wanted. We refunded him in full, and let him keep the bag. So he now has a free case. We do sincerely care about customer care.

Finally, we have gone to great lengths to gain accreditation to just about every consumer organisation going- including SafeBuy, Trusted Shops, ISIS, ShopSafe. Trusted Shops especially gives you an extra level of buyer protection. They will cover you up to £2,000. We go to great lengths to be audited by these organisations.

Aside from these, we built the business, and named it, around 'professionalism' - and this is what we hope to bring to every dealing.

Again, we can't post regular updates or answer order queries here, but it always seems sensible to answer these concerns publicly. We do value the support of all of those who have tried us for the first time (we are now into out 5th year) and accept it may be difficult to try out a new firm. Thankfully we have served a huge number of customers over the last few years, mostly without any problems. We do hope some people may take the time to express occasions where they have had good service, since unfortunately the title of the thread has attracted some of the more problematic experiences.

Wish best wishes
~ 'Proviation'

Further to my comment on 3rd Oct last, I am prepared to take Nick's explanations at face value and have just placed an order.

Sincerely hope all goes well.

DGG

Unacceptable
 

Order placed 21 April, paid for by Paypal. No delivery or replies to requests for updates after 12 days.
Order cancelled after 18 days and refund requested, still no reply.
Request repeated and as per above email, forwarded to 'Nick'.
Still nothing, Paypal dispute raised, it will be interesting to see if that does the trick.
You judge :hmm:

The problem is these days on the internet, service is everything. For me the 3 key things are 1: Up to date stock items displayed on the website 2: Super fast delivery 3: Good customer contact solution by email or phone, with a quick resolution. I feel a bit sad about writing this because the comments from Nick seem genuine and heartfelt, but from comments on here his company in my opinion exerts none of these consistently at the moment. There is a reason why Transair do so well ;-)

I think if Nick can actually sort out his supply chain problems / stock issues and be able to delegate customer service to trained and reliable people, just maybe there is a good honest bit of business to be had. I agree there is a market for a UK distribution point for some of the mainly US products, but if it isn't quicker and easier and less hassle than ordering direct from the US anyhow, its pointless. But I do wish Nick and Proviation well and hope there will be positive comments too.

Placed my order on PM of Wed 8th, just had an email from UPS to say it was left in my front Porch at 11.39. Have asked Mrs DG to check it's the right stuff.

AFE PPL book set ordered on 21st Jan. Part order came through. HP was damaged. Got replaced a week later. Book 3 (NAV/MET i think) didn't arrive.

1-2 Months of phone calls and emails still no Book 3.
Sent letter to one of their offices about taking legal action.

Got Book 3 on on 22nd of March.

Oh almost forgot, they gave me a £5 voucher of next Proviation order. How kind:mad:

L