Topic: Davis Still in business?

[yamiacaveman]

I have to ask, because a recently sent in a support question and also so questions about purchasing a new weather station, and no respponse on either. A bit disappointing since I have 2 Vantage Pro 2's and need some customer support. But such is the way of many companies today.

[doubleohwhatever]

Yes, they're still in business.

Since they were bought by AEM, prices have increased (more than I think is reasonable to adjust for inflation) and their support has been less than awesome.

I keep hoping for a true competitor to emerge. I initially thought WeatherFlow might be up to that challenge but they've dropped the ball on their hardware. Fine Offset has a chance (they're getting closer).

Don't get me wrong, the current Davis products work well (not a fan of the new console though). If you're in the states and are going to by Davis hardware, I'd go with Ryan at scaledinstruments.com

[VaJim]

IMO....your best bet is to call them on the phone.  I've done it a few times and they were very helpful.

[yamiacaveman]

Thanks for the replies - all helpful and yes I have dealt with Ryan before and he is very helpful.

[sammity]

We, too, are definitely having quality and customer service issues with most of the Davis equipment we recently ordered. Sadly, I suspect @doubleohwhatever is spot-on in citing the buyout by private equity firm Union Park dba AEM https://www.davisinstruments.com/blogs/press/union-park-announces-acquisition-of-davis-instruments.

In our huge sample size of two new Leaf/Soil Moisture Transmitters, one had a Davis label on the box, and one had an AEM label... You can probably guess which one was dead on arrival (the AEM one). The one with the Davis label is the only Davis component that we haven't had quality or compatibility issues with.

I can also attest to the helpfulness of Ryan at https://www.scaledinstruments.com. I intend to buy through him in the future when I can. I'm also finding Prodata Weather Systems' "Davis Weather Stations Knowledgebase" https://www.manula.com/manuals/pws/davis-kb extremely helpful, thorough, and up-to-date. Bravo.

Like @yamiacaveman, I haven't had any luck getting email responses from Davis' customer service. The one time I tried calling, I waited in the queue ~45 minutes for the apparently solitary service rep (poor guy), who simply confirmed what I had discovered: that my new Solar Power Kit 6614 was not compatible with my new Vantage Vue Console (new WeatherLink Console), despite instructions in the Solar Power Kit manual for connecting to the Vantage Vue Console (the legacy console, I now understand - no mention of the new console). Not such a big deal if I had all the time in the world, but we're now nearly a month behind on our research project after monkeying with all their expensive equipment. I expected much better for the price.

My apologies for the rant - I generally give the benefit of the doubt once, but... Thank you to all who provide their expertise here!

[yamiacaveman]

Thanks sammity, I finally got email responses from the 2 I sent, I believe almost 2 months. I'm almost afraid to call them, waiting, is not one of my strong points, lol

[K2MIT]

IMO....your best bet is to call them on the phone.  I've done it a few times and they were very helpful.

The wait on the phone can be 30 - 40 minutes or more. I really wish they had a call-back system so I would not be on hold, draining my cell phone battery. 

(They are definitely in business.  i have purchased many parts to refurbish my VP2--I was unaware of the refurbishing program (doah).  I agree that Scaled Instruments is a great resource.  A bit lower on the price and fast shipping out of the warehouse.