Fan Diego Ceiling Fans & Lighting Showroom — Attraction in Rancho Mirage

I purchased a Minka-Aire / George Kovacs fan maybe 10 years ago. When the remote control failed to turn it on I contacted their support team. They were helpful and helped identify the model and told me the radio/motor controller was a still-available part, but they would not sell it to me directly. I had to buy it from one of their authorized dealers. So, I went to Fan Diego in Rancho Mirage. I was advised that if the $86 part did not solve the problem Minka-Aire would refuse to take it back. This struck me as weirdly hostile, and unlikely since Minka-Aire tech support had been so proactive and helpful. And it seemed extremely unlikely a new controller would not fix the problem. The remote worked. The fan is nothing but a DC direct drive motor in a stylish package. Surely the problem was the electronics in the radio or motor speed control. Not wanting to take any chances, I paid Fan Diego another $140 to install it. $86 for the electronics and $140 for expert installation by a Minka-Aire authorized dealer. What could go wrong? As you can guess by the name ‘Fan Diego’, they are all-in on fans. I had bought spare parts for other fans from them before, and they have been in business for a very long time. Well, long-story-short; big mistake. Had there been some risk the motor was the problem one might think it could have been tested on the repair bench first. But Fan Diego installed the controller and then discovered it did not fix the problem. They reiterated, Minka-Aire would not take the part back for a refund (especially as it had already been installed). They said my $140 could be used as store credit to buy a new fan from them, but I was not going to get a refund. I then re-contacted Minka-Aire; they “confirmed” the motor must be the problem. Surprisingly, they then said the motor had a lifetime warranty! Yay! But…only if I had the original store receipt. The fan was about ten years old; there was no way I was going to find the receipt. It is surprising to me that two companies with this sort of confidence in their products, and technical service capacity, would go from “lifetime warranty” to “our mutual customer just threw $232 away on our products but we don’t really care” yet that is what happened. Bottom line, learn from my mistakes. Don’t buy Minka-Aire products because their great support is an illusion, and their dealer network is fastidious about “the rules” but less than stellar when it comes to actual technical skill with wonky electronics. Don’t buy from either Minka-Aire or Fan Diego because they don’t really care if a customer’s $500 fan dies, and they throw another $232 away. I won’t be using my $140 store credit to buy another fan from either company. I would rather sweat.

UPDATE:

So I collected the dead fan, took it home and took it apart. I discovered the repair technician had made a basic (well documented) mistake. I emailed Minka support asking them to confirm my theory before I went to the trouble of standing on a ladder, rehanging and rewiring the fan. Never heard from them. After a few days I put the fan back together and it's working fine.

To their credit Fan Diego DID...

After two visits to the Rancho Mirage store and much deliberation, my wife and I decided on a fan for our master bedroom. We took it home and hired an outside electrician to install it, but when he opened up the box there was a wire detached from the motor. It was at the end of the day but I called the store and Patty agreed to stay open and wait for me to exchange it, which she did with a smile. She said it was one of the most reliable fans they sell, but when the second one was installed, it had a bad motor. I returned the next day and Patty & John couldn't have been more empathetic and helpful. They gave me another new one and agreed to have it installed for us at no charge. Some signals got crossed and the installer didn't show up when scheduled, but the next day he was on the freeway headed out of town with his girlfriend, but agreed to turn around so he could install our fan for us. Yes, we had some issues, but this company deserves five stars for their caring, efficient service after the sale. We just moved into a new house and we will be returning to purchase...

I purchased 3 fans from Fan Diego, total cost over $1800, the sales experience was fine. One fan was not working well after installed, lots of noise. Returned to Fan Diego with the problem, and wanted to return the fan for another brand, We were told by Phil Murphy that a large restocking charge of about 30% would apply since it was out of the box. Phil suggested he speak to the manufacture and see if they will replace it. After calling Phil for 5 weeks in a row he finally said a new motor was sent for us. We had it installed and all works fine. I asked Phil, who would pay for the 2nd installment, he thought the manufacture would, and after 6 weeks and many phone calls we are still waiting. Either Phil, is very forgetful or the company has instructed him to drag this on till we go away. There are too many other companies to purchase from that have no hassle...