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Husqvarna’s robotic lawnmowers have suffered a technical fault – now customers are raging against the company.
–Photo: Press/Husqvarna–
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Just hours after installing the robotic lawnmower, it stopped working.
Ali Kouchek, 37, is one of several affected customers who are now furious with the manufacturer Husqvarna.
– It feels terrible. I feel cheated, he says.
It cost over 25,000 kronor and it took him two days to install boundary wires.
Ali Kouchek, 37, was hoping for his new robotic lawnmower from Husqvarna would save many summers of toil in the future. But only 36 hours after the installation, he became aware of other bids.
– It quit altogether. I took the mower to the dealer who promised that it would be repaired. Eventually I learned that it was the circuit board, the battery and the software that went wrong, he says.
Five weeks later, he still has not got his robotic lawnmower back. He has contacted the dealer several times and requested a repurchase. The dealer refers to contacting Husqvarna, while Husqvarna says the opposite.
– It feels terrible. The machine has been in the workshop for a longer time than at my home. I feel cheated and would have liked better communication, says Ali Kouchek.
—-Ali Kouchek, 37, dissatisfied customer.
–Photo: Private–
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Extensive error – shuts down days after installation
Ali Kouchek does not seem to be alone in having a troublesome robotic lawnmower from Husqvarna right now. According to Today’s industry For parts of this year’s product range, there is an extensive technical error, which means that the mowers, just like for Ali, stop working just days after they have been delivered to the end customer.
How many machines and models of Husqvarna’s robotic lawnmowers are involved is still unclear. When Aftonbladet reaches Husqvarna’s press manager Åsa Larsson, she says that the problem is a fault with a subcontractor.
– This is a batch of a faulty component mounted on a circuit board by one of our subcontractors. However, the problem only arises after installation and a period of use and therefore the problem was not discovered in our regular quality control we do before delivery, Åsa Larsson writes in an email.
“Total silence towards customers”
Ali Kouchek is also not alone in feeling overlooked by Husqvarna’s communication and customer service. On the company’s Facebook page, Husqvarna is criticized through outraged comments from customers who have also been affected by the problem.
– Your continued total silence towards your customers is puzzling, writes one customer.
Ali Koucheck agrees. He says that he would have liked to receive compensation, but that his dealer has announced that the machine must be repaired at least twice before access to the compensation from Husqvarna.
– They could also have been a little more humble. I wonder why there is not just a general recall of all devices that are obviously faulty, he says.
—-Husqvarna regrets the situation that has arisen, says press manager Åsa Larsson.
–Photo: Janerik Henriksson / TT–
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Husqvarna: “Sorry for the situation”
When Åsa Larsson at Husqvarna hears about the customers’ anger – and is asked why the lawnmowers have not been recalled – she answers this in an email to Aftonbladet:
– First and foremost, we want to deplore the situation that has arisen. It is sad that some customers feel that we have broken down our communication. As we currently have limited sales directly to end customers, most of our customer relationships are handled via our network of resellers.
She says that the reason why the products have not been recalled is the result of an “overall assessment where we weighed in that it was not about product safety and that it was a percentage of relatively few mowers”.
Åsa Larsson points out that Husqvarna offers all retailers a compensation program. In addition to this, each retailer, as responsible for their own business, has the choice to further compensate their customers.
Information indicates that some customers are not offered this compensation and that it may vary between different stores.
At Ali Kouchek, both the lawn and the frustration continue to grow.
– The only one who is happy is actually the neighbor guy, who has been guaranteed an extra job cutting the grass, he says and laughs.
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