Lighting & Effects

[Mutha Goose]

So, not too long ago I made a major upgrade to my lighting rig that included 4 additional Blizzard Q6As and 2 additional Blizzard Fab5s (amoung other fixtures).

Of this order, there were two defective fixtures:

1. One Q6A: The reds did not work at all
2. One Fab5: The greens did not work at all

I shipped them out to Blizzard on 1/16 and had them back in my hands on 1/23 all fixed and ready to go.

Now-a-days with SO many companies dropping the ball on the service end of things, I figured a quick Kudos to Blizzard for taking care of business in a timely manner was in order. Keep up the good work guys... (now let's focus some efforts on the delivered quality side of things )

[dcastar]

Interesting - my experience with them has been the opposite.

Purchased (2) Weather Systems from them....  found that someone made a huge mistake in the carry-case design.  They basically said,  thanks for the tip, we'll update the design.  But sorry, you won't be receiving a replacement case after we fix the issue. 

You'll have to just use the cases we gave you that don't fit the fixtures.  Feel free to modify it on your own if you want.
Want a free T-Shirt??    

Laughable.

Further - last year,  I put a rush order in with them.   They 'forgot' about it,  left for the NAMM show, and didn't send out the order until late in the week after the NAMM show.   They offered no explaination, nor did they seem to care they made a mistake.    I opted to purchase a set of fixtures from a different vendor to provide needed coverage for that client...  but it was pretty ridiculous that they didn't seem to care they 'forgot' about a rush order that was put-in.

I gave them (1) last chance with this most recent order with the Fab5's and Weather Systems...  Never again.

[StratGuy22]

I have some bag cases that came with my yorkvikke speaker stands. They haven't been used much but look like they won't last long.

[BillESC]

As a Blizzard dealer I've certainly had more interaction with the service department than most end users and can tell you the guys are excellent and responsive.

[sbrett]

I had a problem with one of my Q12As--sent it in, got it back within a week or so, and the guys answered emails within hours.  Best customer service I've had in a long time.   

[Nusouth]

I have to second what Bill said. I too have had great service from Blizzard.

[DJStevieRay]

Hello,
I am Stevie Ray. I work with (not for) Blizzard Lighting. I used to work with American DJ as a moderator on their forum for a little over a decade, and as a product tester for American Audio. Almost 2 years ago I talked with Will from Blizzard about jumping ship, because I was very impressed with the quality of his products, his companies great support, and the direction he was taking his company, so now I am an unpaid administrator for his forums, which I set up , and I do some testing, among other things. I am best known for finding sites like this and offering support for Blizzard's products. Since I am not a paid employee, my powers within the company are limited, but I will give you as much help as I am allowed. I will try to be active on these boards and offer as much assistance as I can. Thank You.
Stevie Ray

[StratGuy22]

Good stuff.

I really like my 3NX's abd Fab5's!

[dcastar]

Hi Stevie Ray,

Nice to have you aboard!

For the most part, I'm happy with my Blizzard products.  Only cons, I've listed above.   Would it be alright to contact you directly (PM) here with any concerns / issues that come up in the future?

Thanks in advance!

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DJStevieRay wrote:
Hello,
I am Stevie Ray. I work with (not for) Blizzard Lighting. I used to work with American DJ as a moderator on their forum for a little over a decade, and as a product tester for American Audio. Almost 2 years ago I talked with Will from Blizzard about jumping ship, because I was very impressed with the quality of his products, his companies great support, and the direction he was taking his company, so now I am an unpaid administrator for his forums, which I set up , and I do some testing, among other things. I am best known for finding sites like this and offering support for Blizzard's products. Since I am not a paid employee, my powers within the company are limited, but I will give you as much help as I am allowed. I will try to be active on these boards and offer as much assistance as I can. Thank You.
Stevie Ray

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[DJStevieRay]

If you need to contact me directly, it would be better to hit me up at steve(at)blizzardlighting.com and if I can't answer it, I can can get it in the right hands.

[dcastar]

Just purchased (2) Fab5's... set them up / mixed-in with the rest of my lighting setup to program them.   Turned the power on and (2) of the Fab5's blew up... blowing heavy black smoke... and the smell of burnt silicon.    Great.   

Funny enough, the 4 other fixtures on that tree all were working fine.

Talking to Bruce in service right now -- RMA has been issued -- return shipping label on the way...

Also -- I find it strange that 2 brand new lights that blew up out of the box, have to be returned to the manufacturer, instead of to the vendor for a return/replacement.

[nchangin]

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dcastar wrote:

Just purchased (2) Fab5's... set them up / mixed-in with the rest of my lighting setup to program them.   Turned the power on and (2) of the Fab5's blew up... blowing heavy black smoke... and the smell of burnt silicon.    Great.   

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Curious to ask if they were plugged into same source as the other lights? i.e., power strip

[Mutha Goose]

That sucks. Sorry to hear that. I've had the same experience with Blizzard's poor delivered quatlity. A very high rate of defects out of the box. I had 2 of 6 fixtures in this last order, and 2 of 10 on my previous order. That is a 25% delivered quality failure rate. Granted, not a statistically valid sample size, but hopefully Blizzard sees it as a big problem that needs to be addressed before it kills confidence in their products... and I like the Blizzard fixtures.

And I agree; this new practice of having to send this type of defect back to the manufacturer rather than just getting an exchange sucks as well. More and more companies are doing this too. I don't see a good side of this for the customer.

[dcastar]

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nchangin wrote:

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dcastar wrote:

Just purchased (2) Fab5's... set them up / mixed-in with the rest of my lighting setup to program them.   Turned the power on and (2) of the Fab5's blew up... blowing heavy black smoke... and the smell of burnt silicon.    Great.   

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Curious to ask if they were plugged into same source as the other lights? i.e., power strip

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Yes -- same power source and strip, on the same light tree.

[gbprs1]

Just got 2 Fab 5's. One works fine, the other powers on but no light or display...so, back to Blizzard at $24 shipping to repair a brand new fixture. Not too happy, but love the light. It seems the quatlity control is severly lacking.

[nchangin]

Did you look at the hours on it? Also do a reset? It's in the menu I believe somewhere

[gbprs1]

There was no display to check hours or reset, it was completely blank. Only way I could tell the fixture was "on" was because of the fan.

[Bassist1971]

My two cents...After a lot of research, I bought 6 of the Q6A's about a year ago.  They were new in the box.  I had heard a lot of great things about Blizzard.  For the money, they seemed to offer more than the competition.  Unfortunately, I had a lot of trouble with my Q6A's (not responding, not powering).  I spoke with Blizzard's service department.  They were friendly and helpful with suggestions.  However, after having my lights fail at several shows, I decided to stop using them completely.  I hope they can improve the quality because when they worked, the Q6A's were pretty awesome. 

[DJStevieRay]

Sorry guys,

I need to get on here more often.

Bassist,

Are you running your Q6A's using DMX?  If so I know a simple solution to what may be causing you grief.

[DJStevieRay]

gbprs,

Who did you purchase from?  Most of Blizzards dealers will exchange a faulty fixture at no charge.