Eurocopter after sales
 

Having a very painful time waiting for spares on EC120 on a 12 year overhaul.
Has anyone else been misled by Eurocopter blurb
"
Eurocopter has deployed throughout the years an expansive Network of customer service Distributors, Service Centers and Training Centers, made of more than 100 different members located in 35 countries around the world.
This Network is able to offer you, locally, the full range of Eurocopter products and services you need in your daily operations to keep your helicopters in the air, whether it is a spare part, technical assistance, MRO services, or training.
Wherever you may be, Eurocopter and its Network will provide you with a local solution to your requirement! "

Anyone know a good lawyer to run a class action against this gross misrepresentation?

Did you pre-plan your 12 year inspection and order parts ahead of time, or did you wait until it was down for maintenance to order parts?

Sounds about right - their awful servicing turnaround is well known within the industry. We kept a spare gearbox and sent our stuff to Canada.


phil

The parts were ordered 1st November and the Helicopter was delivered 5th January to a Eurcopter approved workshop. Since then not only have many of the service parts not come in but defective MGB which was found to have manufacturing defects were sent to Eurocopter UK in February who then sent them to France who then said after 2 months they could do nothing but could supply a reconditioned one from the US. Then Eurocpter US said they needed a part from Canada and allegedly were ready to ship one month ago. Eurocopter Uk who is allegedly handling this issue has put it in the exclusive hands of an employee on holiday and Eurocopter UK although claiming it is now to be shipped direct can not say if the MGB has been shipped or even if it is in an assembled state. Since this is now the latest item keeping the a/c on the ground and the one holding it up I am just giving you one small piece of the many inefficiencies in the whole system. Sadly there are many more also not limited to Eurocopter- Turbomeca not so hot either.:sad:

hoped I was dealing with a Eurocopter expert but seems I did not do enough homework as to putting the Heli with a group who manages Eurocopter better!:ugh:

That appears to be one big clusterf**k! It's not usually that bad over on this side.

Five years ago we had such trouble with the EC120 spares situation so it doesn't look as if things have changed. Had to get high authority to take a skid set off the production line as we were told there were none spare in the world. took six months overall, if we had been commercial operator we would have been dead.

Bell service is a million times better but we preferred the EC120 over the Bell product. You win some you lose some.

Why do we stand for possibly the poorest service imaginable at the highest price on an expensive product to start with, EC AG MDHI SK the list goes on the products are flawed the service is beyond bad. :{

Because if you are "small fry" you don't really stand a chance.

Fleet operators (large civil operators and the military) receive the manufacturer's highest priority wherein parts and technical support are factored into the operator's ongoing operations.

For single users or those with small fleets, well, they hardly register on the manufacturer's radar so to speak.

Producing spare parts and keeping them in stock just isn't defendable in the eyes of the manufacturer's financial controllers for while it may have longterm unwanted consequences you are still only talking about losing the odd customer and not a fleet operator and what's more, if all the manufacturers club together so that their lack of commitment to individual and small operators is the same, well - hey presto - you don't have anywhere left to go.

The world of the 21st century is about control, control by government and control by large organisations. Consumers will increasingly become "plebs" to be tolerated - and we will have no choice but to accept it.

I could be wrong - but I doubt it.

Indeed Grenville, I fear that you are right.:uhoh:

You're right on the money Grenville :D

I agree with you GF But there are a lot of plebs & if enough kick one of them could be made to see sense, poor customer support nearly killed MD & still could :sad: so there is hope

Trouble is most of us plebs just want to get on with the business of operating and maintaining helicopters - not lobbying the manufacturers but, for those who have the will, they should pursue it.

These kind of issues are ideally a battle for national helicopter associations but, in reality, they end up doing very little so it comes back to the individual owner or operator who, standing alone is, in a word, screwed.

It should not matter if we are a fleet operator or an individual -of course it makes commercial sense to look after the former however it is more expensive to run an inefficient organisation than an efficient one. Eurocopter could employ a low level statistician which would give them a very clear idea of spares inventory required-they could take a higher level one and even know from where the demands would come. It is just poor management.
Sadly the directors are over paid and under whelming. The great cry that if you pay peanuts you get monkeys-in this case we have monkeys eating caviar which causes dysentery.

Your experience is, unfortunately, borne out by the latest Pro Pilot survey:

http://sjdrimages.com/Mb/UserUploads/lPgs3VU32DK258.jpg

Let me assure you that EC are highly aware of their spares throughput. They (and other manufacturers) have this information available down to the last nut and bolt.

When I mentioned earlier that the manufacturer's highest priority is to fleet operators you have to bear in mind that even then they still don't pile-up spares on a special shelf for such customers - no, that would cost money and which, even for their "platinum" clients they are still not prepared to do. Instead they maintain dialogue with such customers (most of whom have fairly reliable utilisation patterns) and do their best to ensure that the necessary spares are available when required.

You mention poor management. The management of the manufacturers are quite capable of maintaining a sufficient spares stock and distributing it if they so wish but, it doesn't make commercial sense for them to maintain large spares stocks and for which reason they maintain their levels at a point where such items will constantly move.

Your caviar-eating monkeys are (in most cases) on remuneration packages which are performance oriented (certainly among the most senior ranks) and which effects everything. Their performance is measured through the company's share performance which is reviewed quarterly. They are not interested in longterm benefits, quite the opposite, they want continuously short-term gains which will bolster their bonuses and the bonuses to shareholders and this (in their minds) is not achieved by investing in a spares inventory which sits on shelves waiting to serve customers (as useful as that would be for their longterm customer relations).

You have to bear in mind that in many cases the manufacturers only buy in the powerplants to their products at the very final stage of assembly - for the same reason - because they don't want "unnecessary" assets sitting around any longer than is absolutely necessary. In other words, in terms of stock, the manufacturer will maintain those levels which are guaranteed to be used but will not maintain a reserve because that reserve affects their bottom-line which in turn affects the performance of the company's shares and ultimately senior management compensation. Most manufacturers will prefer to see you wait for their expensive spares (so they do not lose any short-term profit through so called "static inventory") while they order them from their suppliers or manufacture them during their next production cycle.

For small or individual operators who generally don't have the same predictable utilisation patterns as fleet operators and whose disappointment can have only limited consequences (in the eyes of the manufacturer) - then, as said earlier, you really don't stand a chance. Its a matter of pot luck really.

^^^^^^ I don't think Mr Guimbal works like that:p Perhaps that's why his company is such a success?

Mr. Robinson has made Rotary flight accessible to thousands who would otherwise have been outpriced,- but even that loyal and greatful band of followers is growing tired of having their wallets raped.

About time ALL Company directors were held accountable for actions which affect their company's future...This "empty the till and leg-it" culture is little short of grand-scale shoplifting.

Perhaps fleet -operators should insure their position by buying decent blocks of shares in offending companies.....Imagine an AGM where 4 or 5 shareholders stand up and say

"the board are driving this company into the ground, for short-term PERSONAL gain.-You, Mr. Institutional Investor, will be left holding an empty husk"

There have recently been just-such shareholder revolts....IT WORKS.

GF
I think a certain amount of tongue in cheek .
There is another problem the way tax is levied on stock that encourages low holdings. But as a stake holder in a company by supporting their bottom line I expect reciprocal support, if not I will either get rid of the product & buy competitors or move out of that market! this is what a lot of people are doing.
In any other product we expect warranty = P&L, Loan machine:E
Manufacturers to put right manufacturing \ design defects.
I know the men in white coats will be along soon, I have my hat & coat

You are all overlooking another reason why companies like EC, AW etc don't keep stock. Life limiting and manufacturers warranty.

Would you be happy having hyd hose fitted that only had 50% of its life left, as it had sat on a shelf just in case someone wanted it? Should the company sell parts like this and make a loss? What about having only a 6 month warranty on something that normally had 12, but again, had been sat on a shelf?

Essentially what this all means is they don't keep high stock levels, it costs money.

How this can be balanced is by having a solid supply chain. For EC products out of ECD this is pretty good, but the French aircraft.... Well, who knows what they get up to. ;)

No I would not like 50% lifed components, "hoses" if a commercial hose Co. can turn up on site & replace a hose within hours surely a multinational should be able to sort something out in a day, 2 max, remember these are a low volume parts as you pointed out, then warranty \ life should not a problem.
It is an excuse, as long as we accept this level of service this is what we will get.
Gear boxes should be stock