Life-time GHL ION probe

[IKD]

I was sent a replacement probe and two small A and B solutions.

Ok good. I was asking @Josh Kraft as well if he received a new probe (and how his experience has gone)

 

[Josh Kraft]

Ok good. I was asking @Josh Kraft as well if he received a new probe (and how his experience has gone)

Yes, I have. Results are consistent for me and probe health is staying 100%. I test once a day, using high precision mode.

 

[Ales]

Any news?

 

[Dave-T]

It's been a couple months since an update. @Matthias Gross, can you please let us know the status of US shipments of ION Directors (not sensors)?

 

[Dave-T]

Crickets. Sigh...

 

[Matthijs]

Good news!

ION Director is back!

Grtz,
Matthijs

 

[Ales]

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for all of us that the probe problems end and all is well.

 

[robbyg]

I just watched the production video and OMG!!
I am no Electronic Engineer,,, Oh wait I am one .
This probe looks like it is really expensive and hard to manufacture. Just looking at the video and I am thinking how long would it take to make a thousand probes and then making enough to keep up with replacement orders and warranty replacements plus new orders. The production line staff alone would cost a small fortune!


Anyway Hats off to GHL, I have honestly never seen a company stick with fixing a problematic product this long.

 

[BeanAnimal]

I assume the SMT line is not just for probes, but rather in-house production for all of their boards across the product line.

 

[JaysLittleOcean]

Still waiting for 2 probes that I ordered. Will accessories also be available on November 10?

 

[Dave-T]

Has anyone in the US received ION Directors, since the announcement?

 

[robbyg]

Has anyone in the US received ION Directors, since the announcement?

As usual !!

 

[JaysLittleOcean]

Unfortunately that seems to be the norm now. I received a replacement probe to my original shipment when the Ion Director first came out and was delivered in the fall of this year and that probe had problems right out of the box I am only able to test magnesium and nitrate. It's starting to fail and I still haven't received a replacement to that probe nor the probes I order from vendors over 1 year ago and from GHL about 3 months ago. But let's introduce an industrial line of products of which the ION Director is not offered as well. Sigh.

 

[BeanAnimal]

I known absolutely nothing about their business or market breakdown but overall this is a small hobby and a niche product space. ION and its problems has to be a financial albatross and maybe the industrial line and other new business is the only counterweight or hope to keep it afloat. I could be patently wrong as well.

Whatever the case is, I am a heavily invested customer and as much as I like my hardware, the insanely bad dashboard, unfinished API and lack of foreseeable change is starting to erode my goodwill rapidly.

 

[JaysLittleOcean]

Just got this response from GHL. Ridiculous in my opinion. Can't get the ION Director production to a point that sustain even a minuscule level of customer satisfaction. Definitely never going to invest in another GHL product moving forward.

 

[Sisterlimonpot]

Just got this response from GHL. Ridiculous in my opinion. Can't get the ION Director production to a point that sustain even a minuscule level of customer satisfaction. Definitely never going to invest in another GHL product moving forward.

I can't read what's in the screenshot. Can you paste it in a post?

 

[JaysLittleOcean]

Sure when I have a chance I will pull the screenshot convo from the ticket.

 

[BeanAnimal]

I can't read what's in the screenshot. Can you paste it in a post?

I assume it basically says that they are working as fast as they can, but the probes are complex, supplies are limited, etc.

Again, just assumption on my part, but anecdote here and there, GHLs response (lack of) and Occam's Razor would point to tremendous problems with production and reliability and a no win situation where either probes that are certain to fail and create bad publicity are shipped, or further silence is met with some backlash. I further assume that the calculus shows that silence will do far less damage than post after post about new probes failing.

I don't envy the position, but (again my speculation) this mess is bleeding into things like a dashboard refresh that will never happen, capital expenditure on faster hosting, etc.

 

[RickSanford]

I sent a note to Vinny this week asking about order status. I paid for mine in March of '22 and have been exchanging quarterly or so notes with him for the past year on status. Sounds like more shipping delays between Germany and the US - and an intentional stop to shipping until after the New Year.

Really frustrating. But I get that I placed my order later than many of you here....

This is the email exchange I had with Vinny this week:

Hi Rick,

I'm the correct contact for order updates.

As of now, we're waiting to hear back from Germany on when we can expect to receive the next batch for North America. With the holidays coming up, they may want to avoid shipping around that time because carrier delays are pretty common. I recommend checking back in 3-4 weeks. By then, we should have some new info to give you.

Thank you as always for your continued patience and support.

With best regards,
Vinny Altamirano

GHL Representative North America

Homepage: www.aquariumcomputer.com & www.ghlusa.com
E-Mail: [email protected]
Phone: +1 (910) 216-9092

Warehouse address:
5212 Carolina Beach Rd., Unit D, Wilmington, NC 28412

-----Original Message-----
From: Richard Sanford
Sent: Tuesday, December 5, 2023 4:51 PM
To: GHL USA Sales <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: Order status #W-1439

Hi Vinny,

Any visibility to when I’ll see my order? I saw the note from corporate on 11/2 about deliveries resuming on 11/10.

My order was paid in full 20 months ago.

Thanks for any insights you can provide. If there is someone else I need to contact for status - please advise.

Many thanks,
Rick

 

[BeanAnimal]

Millions of items are shipped from Germany/EU to the US every day and holiday deliveries mean extra staff to ensure on-time. I honestly think shipping is the least of the issues here.

Maybe somebody from Germany can correct me if I am wrong, but my understanding is that the typical Christmas "break" in Germany is 2 to 4 weeks depending on accrued PTO? Not that I think vacation is the issue either.

Like I said, I don't envy the position of GHL and the ION-D mess. Best of luck to those of you still waiting.