Cape Town - Solar Install Quotation

Mike Hoxbig said:
PFS needs to hire someone dedicated to only comms. Poor Steve must be swamped from all the recommendations to deal with him...
Click to expand...
Yep - they lost my sale because I had to chase him 3x (and resend the same info) and I came from an existing referral - so it's really bad.

I sourced my 18x 540w panels, 8kW Sunsynk inverter and 20kW Freedomwon elsewhere. It seems like unless you have a HUGE order they're just too busy and seriously dropping the ball.
 
_kabal_ said:
Same here, paid on the 31st, and all the comms has been myself asking for updates.

It was "only" 50K, but if we have to wait weeks for delivery, that money could earn interest in money market account
Click to expand...
I paid for full kit in mid March, collected batteries after 1 week, inverter a few days later. Phase 1 install then took place. Panels were available at the time but no roof hooks. Then my panels disappeared. Finally received both panels and hooks last week (30 May) and managed to get them installed. That's 2 and a half months after payment. Just letting you know so that you don't feel alone, the global supply chain is currently messed up, and it affects all suppliers, not only Powerforumstore. Fortunately I trust Steve and I know that their operation is legit, but I hear you, it can be quite disconcerting and frustrating to wait that long. Unfortunately this is also what causes many to buy from those dodgy Ipsum Lorem sites. :(
 
Last edited:
shadow_man said:
Yep - they lost my sale because I had to chase him 3x (and resend the same info) and I came from an existing referral - so it's really bad.

I sourced my 18x 540w panels, 8kW Sunsynk inverter and 20kW Freedomwon elsewhere. It seems like unless you have a HUGE order they're just too busy and seriously dropping the ball.
Click to expand...
Don't forget, I also chased him up a few times too for you.

Bad Steve, bad! :)
 
Mike Hoxbig said:
PFS needs to hire someone dedicated to only comms. Poor Steve must be swamped from all the recommendations to deal with him...
Click to expand...
True, Steve was swamped, but he now has Andre Swanepoel and Andre Grove assisting, so better times ahead.
This doesn't solve the supply chain issues though, it's here to stay for a number of months, and the load-shedding forecast doesn't help either. People think that now is a great time to be in alternative energy, and they are somewhat correct, the problem is that getting the stock (that you want) is difficult, and that's hugely frustrating for both sellers and buyers.
 
RonSwanson said:
True, Steve was swamped, but he now has Andre Swanepoel and Andre Grove assisting, so better times ahead.
This doesn't solve the supply chain issues though, it's here to stay for a number of months, and the load-shedding forecast doesn't help either. People think that now is a great time to be in alternative energy, and they are somewhat correct, the problem is that getting the stock (that you want) is difficult, and that's hugely frustrating for both sellers and buyers.
Click to expand...
Then communication is key.
No communication doesn't work - unless you expect to have infinite demand - and don't care if you alienate potential customers.
 
shadow_man said:
Then communication is key.
No communication doesn't work - unless you expect to have infinite demand - and don't care if you alienate potential customers.
Click to expand...
That's pretty sad to hear. Without invalidating your experience, I have always found Steve to be on the ball with comms though, and I am pretty sure that things are better with the new help.
 
Mike Hoxbig said:
PFS needs to hire someone dedicated to only comms. Poor Steve must be swamped from all the recommendations to deal with him...
Click to expand...
They are for sure swamped, he told me yesterday he's just trying to get everyone's Hubbles delivered.
Kudos to him though, he returned my call after I phoned him, so it's not like they are ignoring queries.
I'm just so excited my Hubble is here.
 
Katelknaap said:
They are for sure swamped, he told me yesterday he's just trying to get everyone's Hubbles delivered.
Kudos to him though, he returned my call after I phoned him, so it's not like they are ignoring queries.
I'm just so excited my Hubble is here.
Click to expand...
They may not intentionally be ignoring it but some do slip through the cracks due to being swamped.

Having someone dedicated on comms to deal with each and every query will at least help people feel that they are not being ignored...
 
Andre Swanepoel only deals with Sales, not sure what the other Andre's role is. Anyway, that's what Steve told me after I chased my order through Andre. He told me then that he (Steve) deals with the logistics/deliveries.
 
Anyway, if anyone is struggling, I have a Whatsapp number through which they communicated with me. I also phoned and contacted Steve directly via this number. I can PM the number if anyone wants to try and make contact that way.
 
I received my 12 panels and Inverter this morning, now just waiting for the battery. Steve does try to communicate, and that is comforting. Can't say the same about Andre S. at some stage I thought I had been scammed of R86K to be honest.
 
Onemaxup said:
I received my 12 panels and Inverter this morning, now just waiting for the battery. Steve does try to communicate, and that is comforting. Can't say the same about Andre S. at some stage I thought I had been scammed of R86K to be honest.
Click to expand...
Yea, Andre S does need to be chased up a bit more from my own experience with him.
 
RonSwanson said:
That's pretty sad to hear. Without invalidating your experience, I have always found Steve to be on the ball with comms though, and I am pretty sure that things are better with the new help.
Click to expand...
I've been updating on my experience in this channel as it happens - rather to share than to complain.

When I first called Steve he told me there was a long wait until he could attend to me, which I understood (your wait for your seat at the busy restaurant analogy).

The interaction and advice was good, although I guess you should expect to have a Sunsynk + Hubble + JA Solar supplier recommendation if you go that route.

The order experience was good and I was advised that if I paid at the time I would get better pricing, be in the queue etc. The clamps/hooks were slated for a 2 week wait and the batteries for 3 weeks. The point here is those delays were ascribed to harbour issues already. I accepted that.

The payment had to be confirmed (there is no automatic confirmation) and then there is no tracking (which is a Power Forum system weakness - maybe someone from MyBB can help there, with some automation :)). All of the deadlines were missed. Steve updates on request.

The point here is that it was Power Forum's decision to demand full payment upfront, so they must plan for antsy customers thereafter. We don't all have R100k+ lying around.

After pushing somewhat I was sent the partial order, so that's a relief, although useless with no battery. The order number was wrong, so it was stressful to see my order closed before it was delivered. At least that is sorted.

The battery was promised 'between Monday and Wednesday' which dates came and went and the update is now 'unknown' so that is a concern. The problem here is Hubble, who ship directly but don't themselves have tracking.

So I trust Steve and appreciate the advice and feedback I have received. He seems to genuinely want to help as many people as possible with their systems. With hindsight, I believe I could now have an installed and working system if I had shopped around more, especially w.r.t the batteries. Companies can grow too fast.
 
RonSwanson said:
powerforum.co.za

Hubble battery delivery delay.

powerforum.co.za powerforum.co.za
Click to expand...
The other thing is if you push too hard, Hubble is going to push their manufacturing process to meet the pressure, and you end up with faulty batteries. Better to wait for a quality product, same as not rushing an installation.

Otherwise if time is of the essence, go with another good battery that is readily available...
 
RonSwanson said:
powerforum.co.za

Hubble battery delivery delay.

powerforum.co.za powerforum.co.za
Click to expand...
Thanks for pointing this out. It's refreshing to finally get a firm answer.

Two phrases caught my eye though:

'waiting impatiently' : if you had to pay upfront and 3 promised delivery dates have elapsed then many of us have actually been really patient.

'fighting for stock' : hopefully they are referring to themselves as resellers and not the end customers - i.e they are indirectly pointing fingers at Hubble. If there is an objective system with transparent tracking, that doesn't happen. I have no idea how many customers got their orders ahead of me because they were less polite.

I inherited a role once where our call centre was flooded due to late orders and I introduced 'flow' into the process. Tracking queries dried up and our quality control improved within days, and it was all based on basic 'lean operations' thinking.
 
Chris.Geerdts said:
Thanks for pointing this out. It's refreshing to finally get a firm answer.

Two phrases caught my eye though:

'waiting impatiently' : if you had to pay upfront and 3 promised delivery dates have elapsed then many of us have actually been really patient.

'fighting for stock' : hopefully they are referring to themselves as resellers and not the end customers - i.e they are indirectly pointing fingers at Hubble. If there is an objective system with transparent tracking, that doesn't happen. I have no idea how many customers got their orders ahead of me because they were less polite.

I inherited a role once where our call centre was flooded due to late orders and I introduced 'flow' into the process. Tracking queries dried up and our quality control improved within days, and it was all based on basic 'lean operations' thinking.
Click to expand...
Yep, the "waiting impatiently" I think was meant to be "waiting patiently".
And all resellers are "fighting for stock" not only powerforumstore, some have dirty tricks like ordering whole containers speculatively without even having the orders from their customers. It's a very popular battery.
 
RonSwanson said:
Yep, the "waiting impatiently" I think was meant to be "waiting patiently".
And all resellers are "fighting for stock" not only powerforumstore, some have dirty tricks like ordering whole containers speculatively without even having the orders from their customers. It's a very popular battery.
Click to expand...
Yes, I think you are right about both of those. 'patient, but frustrated'. :)

The second post is actually super-informative:

powerforum.co.za

Hubble battery delivery delay.

powerforum.co.za powerforum.co.za

PFS is pointing out the problems they are having getting answers out of Hubble. I can feel their pain and it's useful to know the reality behind the scenes.

The problem is not stock shortage, but the transparency of the processes. Once PFS has paid Hubble for a battery they have a right to some type of tracking update, which will reduce pressure on Hubble's call centre as well. I've done turnarounds with fulfilment processes myself and the results can be dramatic.
 
Mike Hoxbig said:
The other thing is if you push too hard, Hubble is going to push their manufacturing process to meet the pressure, and you end up with faulty batteries. Better to wait for a quality product, same as not rushing an installation.

Otherwise if time is of the essence, go with another good battery that is readily available...
Click to expand...
These batteries are made in China, so I'm sure the production line is already pushed to the limit...
 
Indeed sad when one ends up being a victim of one's own success.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X