Garmin's graciousness and goodwill

This may have been covered previously and if so I apologize in advance
about bringing it up again. I will also warn that this may be
longwinded but it's all real.

I had never owned or used a GPS but am very tech capable and had
finally come to a point where I had a legitimate need for a simple GPS
to use for auto travel in a very large metropolitan area with very
heavy traffic. I purchased a Nuvi 265WT just prior to the release of
the 2010.10 and 2010.20 maps so I used my "nuMaps Guarantee" to update
to the 2010 maps when they were released. I was happy as a lark until
my unit began malfunctioning and showing that I was driving in fields
and streams and losing voice commands while headed down the interstate
with an unobstructed view of a clear sunlit sky. After several resets
and reloads of the 2010 maps I made call to Garmin tech support who
had me perform a reset as per the instructions I've provided in
another thread with the support tech asking me to try using the unit
for a couple of days after the reset to see if the problem returned.
The support tech promised to call me two days later to check to see if
the unit was performing properly and to assist with a return for
repair if needed. The unit functioned fine initially but once again
began showing me driving where there were no roads and losing the
voice commands. The Garmin tech who had promised to call me back never
did and my frustration with both the unit and the company began to
increase. Since that time I had been way too busy to sit on hold for
an undetermined amount of time while waiting to speak to tech support
once again. Two weeks ago the unit was stolen from my vehicle.

Despite my recent experiences with the unit I had purchased as well as
the company which had manufactured it along with a schedule which made
it semi-prohibitive to learn the use of a different GPS from another
manufacturer I made the decision to replace the stolen unit with one
that was identical. The replacement came loaded with 2010.10 maps and
when I connected it to my PC and registered with Garmin online I was
prompted to update to the 2010.20 map. Before doing so I decided to
call tech support to ensure that updating to a map which was released
prior to the purchase of the unit would not count as my one free map
update as described by the "nuMaps Guarantee" which states to wit:
"To receive one free map update, register your nuvi at
http://my.garmin.com within 60 days of acquiring satellites. For more
information, go to www.garmin.com/numaps." Everything written about
this guarantee seems to state that as long as I register within 60
days I can then do a one time update for free. It DOESN'T say that I
have to perform the update within 60 days, only that I must register
within 60 days.

So, I make the call and sit on hold. When I finally get to speak to a
tech he initially tells me that the update to 2010.20, a map product
which has been out for a while now and was out PRIOR to my latest
purchase, WILL count as my one free update. I then explain that the
wording on the manual and on the website is ambiguous at best and
leads a person to believe that all they have to do is register within
60 days. I also tell him that the 2009 version as well as both
versions of 2010 have incorrect data and I'm completely sure of this
because they all list my home address as a business which I used to
run from home in my spare time but which has been defunct for over 5
years now. I even asked if I could hold off on updating to 2010.20 and
wait for a newer version to come out before updating. At that point he
told me that a newer version was due out in around 30 to 45 days and
that I could wait and update to that version. I asked if he could send
me an email stating that I could wait and update to this newest
version and he said he couldn't do that but that he would make a note
on my account stating that even if I was unable to update to this
expected newest version until my 60 days had passed I would still be
entitled to that update. He then gave me his name and phone number so
that I could call back and verify if needed. Armed with this
information I thanked him for his time and ended my call. About 4
hours later I received the following email from techsupp@garmin.com:

"Mr. XYZ,

Thank you for contacting Garmin International. I will be happy to
assist you with this. I did some more research on the Nu Maps
guarantee. I wanted to let you know that I mis-informed you about
what you can do with the update. The Nu maps guarantee does limit you
to the map update that is available at the time of registration.
Since you registered the unit today, November 5, 2009, you will be
limited to the 2010_20 map update. I apologize for the mistake. I
wanted to make sure that you were aware of this and that it would not
catch you by surprise. So you will need to go ahead and download that
2010_20 update as that is the only one that will be available for
free.

If you need further assistance please contact one of our Product
Support Specialists at the number below.

Best Regards,

ABC D."
(names ommitted for obvious reasons)


Maybe I'm being an ass about this but I promise that I will tell
everyone who cares to listen about what I've been through with Garmin.
By my count out of two calls to tech support I've been lied to twice
and their advertising is misleading at best. Other manufacturers may
do business the same way but I didn't choose to do business with other
manufacturers and this will definitely affect my choices in the
future. On top of that my replacement unit hasn't shown that I'm
driving in fields and streams yet but it has lost the voice
announcements twice already and to get them back I had to turn the
unit off then back on. I'm halfway afraid to update to the 2010.20
maps because I wonder if the unit will start showing that I'm driving
where I'm not. If I can't depend on the unit to at least show me
actually driving on the roads I'm on then I wonder if I can depend on
the traffic routing which is one of the biggest reasons I selected
this unit.

Thanks for allowing me to vent and I apologize if I bored you.

who asked wrote:

"...lied to..." is strong language and implies that the person
deliberately chose to deceive you. I suspect tech support was simply
telling you what they thought was right. At least that is what I might
choose to believe.

ymmv... Bob

Hmmmm.

"Lied to" pretty much applies then, yes.

On Tue, 24 Nov 2009 17:04:39 -0500, Bob Bailey


I might believe it also IF it had happened only once. Should I ever
promise to call you and then fail to do it I'll hold you to your
belief that I haven't lied to you. As for me, if you promise to call
me and then don't I'll consider it a lie unless you die or are
stranded on an island somewhere.