WW has a new US distributor so in theory, the support should improve now that there are "boots on the ground" for this growing customer base.

 

45 minutes ago, Ron Lefebvre said:

I doubt you would get a better response from any of them. That is the way companies operate today. its very frustrating.

It is.. not, if you pick the right company.

I accidently fried my entire motherboard for my CM3 by plugging in the USB into the wrong port. Virpil's documentation explicitly says not to do this. None the less I reported it, cause what's the worst answer I can get. A day later, Virpil gave me two choices, they would send me the replacement part, or I can send it to them and they would repair it. I opted for the former. It came in the mail a week later with an instructional guide as-well video incase that wasn't enough. I swapped the board out no biggie. The same kind of support goes for VKB.

WinWing on the otherhand makes good products but their CS and Warranty support is notoriously atrocious, Joe's comment is just one of many. However for Virpil and VKB you'd be hard-pressed to find the same kind of reputation.

17 hours ago, MrBitstFlyer said:

From a single post on Avsim?

I have used the their Orion 2 stick and throttle without any issues whatsoever.  Smooth and accurate kit, been a pleasure to use.

Sure, but for me personally, it's not about the product, it's about their attitude. I have a personal 'thing' about companies who treat customers in that way. I save my hard earned cash for those who take care of their customers.

Edited January 13, 20242 yr by Rocky_53

Original poster doesn't trust online reviews so asks for online reviews and people can't trust the manufacturer based on the very first 1 online review 😄couldn't make it up!

It is depressing how some want to do not nothing but jump on people without any real contribution to the thread.  The OP asked a valid question, and most with common sense would understand what was meant by "on-line reviews".  I shared my experience as did others and the OP can make up his mind accordingly.  Maybe other's positives experiences will sway him, maybe not, but to just try and humiliate people in these situations is just childish.

This got me Googling all of these manufacturers.  I like the look of the VKB throttle that is offset (would be great for flying the SR22). however, I went to VKB's webiste and almost everything is shown as out of stock.

For the Winwing, there are quite a lot of negative reports out there in webland.  Eg.

https://forum.dcs.world/topic/299831-winwing-orion-2-is-a-disaster/

So, to summarize, we have five Avsim users with direct experience with WinWing HOTAS and every one reported they liked their gear, with a single support issue... and this is a company to be avoided at ALL COSTS! 😆   Okay, carry on.

I have the WinWIng Orion 2 Throttle and Joystick with the extension.  I enjoy their product.  Coming from an old CH HOTAS setup it is a huge improvement.  I did pay a lot for shipping yet the product arrived within 5 days very well packaged and protected.  However, I believe they now have a North American store and this is not the case.

I do not have any experience with Virpl or VKB or Thrustmaster.       

My one issue is trying to use some of the 3 position toggle switches in FS 2020.  I would like to have Gear Up,. off and Down for my Commanche.  When I fly with my Yoke, I still use the switches on the throttle for various functions.  

On 1/12/2024 at 11:42 AM, eslader said:

Original poster doesn't trust online reviews so asks for online reviews and people can't trust the manufacturer based on the very first 1 online review 😄couldn't make it up!

Where is the original poster ?

9 hours ago, odourboy said:

So, to summarize, we have five Avsim users with direct experience with WinWing HOTAS and every one reported they liked their gear, with a single support issue... and this is a company to be avoided at ALL COSTS! 😆   Okay, carry on.

I just registered here since I was researching on what I should get, yet, I honestly don't like your attitude after all based on simple things: 

1. You are on a high horse for the fact, that you don't understand what he is saying. 
2. Strawman arguments are not a good basis 

3. Just to make it clear: It is about how the customers are getting treated. The hardware of the other users is currently working, but what if it stops to? The user is precisley talking about the customer service expierence. If the other people have not needed to reach out to cs - how should they be able to say anything about that? But still, one negative example is a negative example. Especially if it means that you wasted hundred of dollars or euros straight to the trash bin. I am not even able to wrap my head around that you do not seem to understand this. In essential you are saying "Oh, the other people have had luck so far, their hardware is working, but one had to reach out and learned that he just wasted a few hundred bucks, so, nope, thats nothing we should critize WinWing for, lol, you guys are ridiculous" 

But yea, carry on. 

Best regards from someone that works in the cs. Someone that would get instantly fired for that behaviour that the winwing cs put on. 


 

2 hours ago, Godot said:

I just registered here since I was researching on what I should get, yet, I honestly don't like your attitude after all based on simple things: 

1. You are on a high horse for the fact, that you don't understand what he is saying. 
2. Strawman arguments are not a good basis 

3. Just to make it clear: It is about how the customers are getting treated. The hardware of the other users is currently working, but what if it stops to? The user is precisley talking about the customer service expierence. If the other people have not needed to reach out to cs - how should they be able to say anything about that? But still, one negative example is a negative example. Especially if it means that you wasted hundred of dollars or euros straight to the trash bin. I am not even able to wrap my head around that you do not seem to understand this. In essential you are saying "Oh, the other people have had luck so far, their hardware is working, but one had to reach out and learned that he just wasted a few hundred bucks, so, nope, thats nothing we should critize WinWing for, lol, you guys are ridiculous" 

But yea, carry on. 

Best regards from someone that works in the cs. Someone that would get instantly fired for that behaviour that the winwing cs put on. 


 

Great first post! 👍 

I am a retired business owner. I worked in the oil and gas business for thirty-five years, after leaving the USAF. The O&G is a 24/7 industry. If you wanted to survive as a business, you needed to meet customer's demands 24/7. I made sure that we went out of our way to address ANY customer issue, be it sales, service, or parts related. Still, there were times when we couldn't meet the customer's expectations. We once lost a valuable customer over a misunderstanding. He never purchased from us again until I had sold the business. I relate this because no business is perfect. Businesses are people working toward a common goal. Mistakes will happen. Misunderstandings will cause lost orders and upset customers. In these cases all you can do is move on.

I purchase a lot from Amazon. They are mostly quick and accurate. Before buying a product from them I look over the reviews. I do not use one or two negative reviews to make a decision to buy or not. It is my experience that two types of people write 90% of the reviews. One group will leave good reviews. The other group will leave negative reviews. Ninety precent of us will only write a review if the product or service exceeds our expectations or is really and truly horrible. So, I look at the percentage of 1 vs. 4 and 5 reviews. If the 1s equate to more than 10 % I look more closely at competitive products. If the 4s and 5s are over 80%, I generally buy the product.

In the case above, none of us know why the customer's complaint wasn't handled properly. Was it a customer service rep. who dropped the ball or company policy? We just know the result. I use the Thrustmaster Warthog system and have for over 10 years. I also have the Honeycomb Alpha and Bravo. Both systems have never given me any issues. I remember an old saying that I think applies to flight Sim products. Best Product, Best Service, Best Price ... Pick any two.

 

On 1/13/2024 at 8:52 AM, Joe L said:

most with common sense would understand what was meant by "on-line reviews".  I shared my experience as did others and the OP can make up his mind accordingly.  Maybe other's positives experiences will sway him, maybe not, but to just try and humiliate people in these situations is just childish.

Yes, well, MarcG seems out to prove the old adage that common sense ain't so common. 😉

 

17 hours ago, Beagle12 said:

Where is the original poster ?

He's right here. I'd replied earlier but the click on "send" must not've taken because the original reply was still sitting as a draft.

 

16 hours ago, Godot said:

I just registered here since I was researching on what I should get, yet, I honestly don't like your attitude after all based on simple things: 

Best regards from someone that works in the cs. Someone that would get instantly fired for that behaviour that the winwing cs put on. 

 

I think you're entirely right. Some companies can get away with bad customer service. PMDG comes to mind, but that's because they turn out excellent products every time, and individual manufacturing defects aren't a thing with software. On the other hand, WW can turn out stellar hardware 90% of the time, but if I'm in the 10% I want to know they have good enough customer service so I end up getting what I paid for. I'm not a huge fan of gambling with my entertainment money.

My conclusions from reading this whole thread is that I'd probably be really happy with WW, assuming I got a good copy of their product. But the same is true of VKB, and their customer service is apparently quite a bit better such that if I were unlucky enough to get a bad copy, they'd make it right.

 

cheap plastic rubbish, mine broke within  a month