Last week I received an email from Geoff Barrall, CEO & Founder of Data Robotics Inc. makers of Drobo the “storage robot”.
I was thrilled at the opportunity to share my story with Mr. Barrall and provide valuable feedback on how “the Data Robotics team is getting it”.
I ordered my Drobo on September 9th and it arrived September 10th. I was thrilled, it reminded me of my first Mac! The packaging is awesome.
And then the excitement ended. I am deeply disappointed with my Drobo and the Data Robotics “team“.
- Telephone support, if you are lucky to get through, is not equipped to handle anything beyond basic troubleshooting. This includes uninstalling and reinstalling the software, swapping between USB and Firewire connections, if that fails they create a case to be handled by a “senior engineer”. Since September 15th I have had a case open with no resolution and no communication from Data Robotics since September 19th. I have followed-up via telephone and email, only to be advised I must wait for an email response.
- Within days of receiving my Drobo, the price was reduced in excess of $150. I called the Drobo sales department and requested a price adjustment.
Philippa McEvoy-Olson, Inside Sales Channel Manager sent me the following email.
To answer your question, I have checked with my director and she let me know that since this is a price reduction by the manufacturer on drives and not Drobo we cannot price protect the drives. If they are unopened and unused they can be returned within 14 days of invoice (you are within this time frame).
This is significantly different than what I was advised at the time of purchase. I specifically inquired about the return policy as I was concerned with the units performance with my large Aperture library. I was reassured by Denise Poole, Inside Sales Representative for Drobo, about the companies 14 day return policy.
As of this writing, I can only share my experience and disappointment with the team and not the storage robot. The product is not performing at speeds comparable to other Firewire 800 storage solutions however
I suspect this is something that can be correct. If this is corrected the product will live up to the promise!
Stay tuned….
Update October 16, 2008…still waiting. I keep exchanging emails (at least they are responding) with someone in customer service. We have exchanged countless emails the past week for something that could have been answered with one call. Someone needs to talk to them about efficiency. He had me do a test today that I think illustrates my point.
Transfer times for a 1.34 GB Quicktime Movie file.
Drobo to Mac 2:27
OWC to Mac :22 seconds!
Update December 3, 2008…I give up! This thing is on it’s way back to Drobo for a full refund with the assistance of my credit card company. You have been warned, do not expect any concrete assistance from Drobo, either my unit was DOA or this thing is a cow. Either way it is unusable to me.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Alex, sorry to hear that you got a lemon. Especially after you were so hyped about the product and expected it to perform and maybe exceed expectations.
It is sad to see a company not support or stand behind its products. Thanks for the heads up.
Your lucky you get email responses. I have been waiting for a week now and haven’t gotten a call back or email. Waiting 45min on hold for tech support. Is this legal what they are doing.