Kino flo diva lite 400 vs ???

Richard Andrewski · November 18th, 2009, 06:31 AM

Hi Chris,

Welcome back and thanks for your comments.

We don't have any 'magic button' to turn this kind of post off other than taking care of normal business which any manufacturer or seller of equipment must do in the normal course of events. Because some issues will happen from time to time, its just the nature of manufacturing of any kind from the most expensive product to the least expensive. Honest manufacturers take care of the issues in one way or another. That's why you don't see more of these kinds of reviews on Cool Lights; because we do take care of issues we are told about and if we are told about them. Can you please everyone? No you can't. Does everyone understand how service works? Not really. You can find posts about 'DOA' or problematic units from the most estabilished manufacturers right here on this board with no evidence they ever contacted a manufacturer about their issue. The most common response will often be, "did you contact the manufacturer or dealer?"

I do believe your review kind of leaves the impression that we didn't try to do anything about the situation or didn't even know about your issue. A fair review normally mentions all the issues and if the manufacturer was given a chance to fix the issue and what happened when the fix was implemented. A review is nothing other than one person's snapshot of his experience and does not reflect necessarily what the experience of others will be. The fair review takes this into account and also mentions good points which you don't really do. Because just as popular software progresses and is revised, so is hardware over time when you have manufacturers which are interested in improving their status vis-a-vi other competitors as we are. Are there manufacturers that don't revise or improve? Sure, but we're not one of them. We've hardly been sitting around as anyone who's been watching us will testify. We've come a long way in three years to thousands of customers and thousands of fixtures out there now.

On your particular issue, you first wrote to us in July. We had an issue with bolt spacers on some lollipops, not all, and we prescribed a fix. You didn't seem to follow it and you said you wanted to "investigate a kino lollipop" to see what the differences were between ours and theirs. That was the last I heard until today. Normally the process works like, an issue happens, we're notified, we prescribe, the customer does whatever and is either happy or we go to the next step, etc. Its a dialog and takes both parties to continue it until satisfaction.

On the other comment, I don't know of anyone selling a fluorescent unit that would prescribe as best practices, shipping the unit with the tubes in it. That's why we offer a free foam-padded tube carrying case. Because I do consider that is a best practice to remove the fragile tubes before any transport--whether across town or across the country. I know that some people transport the fixtures with the tubes in them but that doesn't mean its right or that we put our stamp of approval on it or that they should blame us if a tube breaks. Other manufacturers, if they offer such a carrying case, its an accessory you pay more for. Ours comes with each unit as part of the offering. Even our least expensive unit the CL-SFT1 Kit comes with a padded carrying case for the monster 200w flo bulb which no other manufacturer of a similar bulb offers. All flo tubes are fragile and we want to encourage the best handling of them so that's why we include them.

Good luck Chris and sorry you felt you had to vent here on dvinfo.net. Please drop us an email if there is anything further we can do.

Chris Scherf · November 21st, 2009, 10:54 AM

Richard-
Just a couple of points: I did in fact apply the fix that you suggested, exactly as you suggested. I really believe it's an issue of the materials used, not a defective unit. And, I am glad that I contacted you first, because I too consider that best practice. What I'm posting is not "venting" at all - it's an honest review of my experience with your product for the sake of others who are curious about purchasing your lights. That's why I started my post with: "Just a quick note on my experience with the Cool Lites 4-bank dimmables... not sure if others have this problem..." I think I was quite fair, and the tone of what I wrote is not at all slanderous against CoolLights.

As for transporting the fixtures in the light, you're probably right. Really I was comparing the clips used to hold the tubes in place to those on other flouros I've seen, which are sturdier, in my opinion. But in general yes, it's probably best to transport them separately.

November 18th, 2009, 06:31 AM	#16
Richard Andrewski Major Player Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Shenzhen, China Posts: 781	Hi Chris, Welcome back and thanks for your comments. We don't have any 'magic button' to turn this kind of post off other than taking care of normal business which any manufacturer or seller of equipment must do in the normal course of events. Because some issues will happen from time to time, its just the nature of manufacturing of any kind from the most expensive product to the least expensive. Honest manufacturers take care of the issues in one way or another. That's why you don't see more of these kinds of reviews on Cool Lights; because we do take care of issues we are told about and if we are told about them. Can you please everyone? No you can't. Does everyone understand how service works? Not really. You can find posts about 'DOA' or problematic units from the most estabilished manufacturers right here on this board with no evidence they ever contacted a manufacturer about their issue. The most common response will often be, "did you contact the manufacturer or dealer?" I do believe your review kind of leaves the impression that we didn't try to do anything about the situation or didn't even know about your issue. A fair review normally mentions all the issues and if the manufacturer was given a chance to fix the issue and what happened when the fix was implemented. A review is nothing other than one person's snapshot of his experience and does not reflect necessarily what the experience of others will be. The fair review takes this into account and also mentions good points which you don't really do. Because just as popular software progresses and is revised, so is hardware over time when you have manufacturers which are interested in improving their status vis-a-vi other competitors as we are. Are there manufacturers that don't revise or improve? Sure, but we're not one of them. We've hardly been sitting around as anyone who's been watching us will testify. We've come a long way in three years to thousands of customers and thousands of fixtures out there now. On your particular issue, you first wrote to us in July. We had an issue with bolt spacers on some lollipops, not all, and we prescribed a fix. You didn't seem to follow it and you said you wanted to "investigate a kino lollipop" to see what the differences were between ours and theirs. That was the last I heard until today. Normally the process works like, an issue happens, we're notified, we prescribe, the customer does whatever and is either happy or we go to the next step, etc. Its a dialog and takes both parties to continue it until satisfaction. On the other comment, I don't know of anyone selling a fluorescent unit that would prescribe as best practices, shipping the unit with the tubes in it. That's why we offer a free foam-padded tube carrying case. Because I do consider that is a best practice to remove the fragile tubes before any transport--whether across town or across the country. I know that some people transport the fixtures with the tubes in them but that doesn't mean its right or that we put our stamp of approval on it or that they should blame us if a tube breaks. Other manufacturers, if they offer such a carrying case, its an accessory you pay more for. Ours comes with each unit as part of the offering. Even our least expensive unit the CL-SFT1 Kit comes with a padded carrying case for the monster 200w flo bulb which no other manufacturer of a similar bulb offers. All flo tubes are fragile and we want to encourage the best handling of them so that's why we include them. Good luck Chris and sorry you felt you had to vent here on dvinfo.net. Please drop us an email if there is anything further we can do. __________________ Richard Andrewski - Cool Lights USA - RED #114 http://www.coollights.biz

November 21st, 2009, 10:54 AM	#17
Chris Scherf New Boot Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 7	Richard- Just a couple of points: I did in fact apply the fix that you suggested, exactly as you suggested. I really believe it's an issue of the materials used, not a defective unit. And, I am glad that I contacted you first, because I too consider that best practice. What I'm posting is not "venting" at all - it's an honest review of my experience with your product for the sake of others who are curious about purchasing your lights. That's why I started my post with: "Just a quick note on my experience with the Cool Lites 4-bank dimmables... not sure if others have this problem..." I think I was quite fair, and the tone of what I wrote is not at all slanderous against CoolLights. As for transporting the fixtures in the light, you're probably right. Really I was comparing the clips used to hold the tubes in place to those on other flouros I've seen, which are sturdier, in my opinion. But in general yes, it's probably best to transport them separately.