Don

Don

Well Known Member
And it was a pleasant surprise, too!

Last night I was updating the database on my Aera 510 and was having trouble getting to the $99 bundled update. It had a year of nav, obstacle, and terrain rather than a single update for $49 - that I bought last April...or thought I did.

I called tech support and the guy said the reason I couldn't find the option was because I still had 2 months left on my subscription. That surprised and disappointed me. If I knew I had the subscription! I would have used it - and I really didn't think I'd bought a subscription. Well, without even asking, the Garmin rep saw I hadn't used any db updates and heard my disappointment, and extended my subscription for another year at no cost. I didn't even ask - he just did it.

That was excellent customer service. Compared to the last time I dealt with Garmin it was a night and day difference. That time my Garmin 195 died one day out of warranty and it cost over $100 to fix. One freaking day. That time I felt serviced while this time I felt served. So kudos to Garmin.
 
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2nd that

I had a similar experience with my 696. They gave me more than I expected and I was thrilled! Surprised and thrilled.
 
I have had good experiences. Their aviation division, at least for radio's, is located here in Salem Oregon. When the SL30 SB came out, I dropped it off to them and picked it back up in record time, two days I think. They met me at the reception counter and where very professional.

They are building a new building right now, next to the old one. We are going to be doing their lighting. Maybe I can figure out something in trade?
 
Count your blessings that you live in the US... In Canada, the *one time* database update is $149. If you want to be current, you pay that every 56 days. Highway robbery, I tell ya.
 
You are not being robbed by Garmin, its the very high cost the Canadian govt charges for the data. Dynon has a similar issue with them.
 
1. The Canadian government charges nothing for its data. It gave it for free to NavCanada, a private company that now gets to charge through the nose for the data.
2. There *are* other options. Skyvector.com generates their own data from freely available info. Jeppesen and others could do the same if they had half a mind to.
 
Snowflake said:
1. The Canadian government charges nothing for its data. It gave it for free to NavCanada, a private company that now gets to charge through the nose for the data.
2. There *are* other options. Skyvector.com generates their own data from freely available info. Jeppesen and others could do the same if they had half a mind to.
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Good to know where I can get Canadian charts door free. I wondered why subscriptions for Canadian charts were so blasted expensive.
 
Canada removes road signs from the Trans-Canada highway

Ottawa, Ontario, February 15, 2014.

Minister of Finance Jim Flaherty today announced that all road signs are to be removed from federally funded highways starting January 1, 2015. It is expected that this move will save over $75 million in annual maintenance costs, and is an important step in Canada achieving a balanced budget by 2015.

Control of federal highways will instead be transferred to Nav Canada, a private corporation that currently manages air traffic in Canada.

According to the Finance Minister, "Nav Canada will manage federal roads the same way it provides navigation information to pilots. It will provide map subscriptions to drivers who will be expected to use these charts to obtain critical information such as speed limits." Added Flaherty "We also expect this information to be made electronically on services such as OnStar, making it easier for drivers to keep up to date."

Parliament is expected to pass new legislation making it mandatory for all drivers to carry road charts when travelling on federal roads. Annual costs are expected to be under $1000 per driver. Penalties for not carrying these charts would include loss of vehicle insurance and possible criminal charges.

The federal government is also considering removing all marine navigation systems and transferring responsibility to Nav Canada starting in 2020. This will be part of a comprehensive review that will include an annual environmental tax on all vessels greater than 5 meters in length and all moorage facilities. This is expected to raise over $1 billion in revenue annually.
 
vlittle said:
...Parliament is expected to pass new legislation making it mandatory for all drivers to carry road charts when travelling on federal roads...
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Brilliant. Because what we really need is more drivers focused on something inside the vehicle rather than looking where they are going.
 
...just to clarify.... My tongue was firmly planted in my cheek.

First it makes you laugh, then it makes you think.

Coming back to reality, here's real info from Nav Canada:

"NAV CANADA is currently working towards the availability of an electronic version of the Canada Flight Supplement with a release targeted for late 2014."

the commentary is that it will be available for a 20% discount from the printed version... Which is ridiculous. Printing and disty costs should allow a much lower cost. I can already purchase CFS for a 30% discount.

Back on topic. It's nice to see Garmin focusing on our segment of aviation. Nevertheless, a $400 charge to fix a design error in the sl-40 is ridiculous, especially since they kept this secret until the warranties expired on the affected units. We have long memories, Garmin.

Btw, I had a 5 year old iPod replaced for free, including 2 way shipping because of a manufacturing defect..... That is the gold standard.
 
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vlittle said:
Coming back to reality, here's real info from Nav Canada:

"NAV CANADA is currently working towards the availability of an electronic version of the Canada Flight Supplement with a release targeted for late 2014."
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Don't talk about "reality" when discussing NavCanada. I have an email trail going back 5 or 6 years in which NavCanada *every year* says that the CFS and charts will be available "next summer", "in a few months", or "soon".

I predict they will never make it available. The economics don't support it. Everyone is so p*ssed at NavCanada dragging their feet on this, that when it comes available, they'll only sell *one* copy and everyone will just make copies for their friends anyway. They know this, so they want to be sure that one copy is priced to extract all of the value they can at once...

Btw, I had a 5 year old iPod replaced for free, including 2 way shipping because of a manufacturing defect..... That is the gold standard.
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When you've sold a billion iPods, you can probably afford to keep customers happy by replacing them from time to time. How many units does Garmin sell yearly across all product lines?
 
Snowflake said:
When you've sold a billion iPods, you can probably afford to keep customers happy by replacing them from time to time. How many units does Garmin sell yearly across all product lines?
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Hmmmm... When I was manufacturing avionics products, I provided a lifetime warranty. Small companies need to treat every customer like gold, to build loyalty and reputation. An unhappy customer tells all of his friends how he feels.

And he posts his displeasure on the forums.
 
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