I purchased a Strikemaster Honda Lite on December 14 of 2013. I had issues with the powerhead running properly from the beginning. It did come out of it after a morning of fighting it. It ran smoothly until the 11th of January. I just finished cutting a hole and was walking to my next spot and the powerhead died. I went to re-fire the Honda and the recoil locked up tight. The motor had seized after 50 or so holes drilled. It held me high and dry the day before a tournament I was planning to fish. Luckily a good friend borrowed me his auger for the tournament. I understand that anything mechanical can fail and it was unfortunate it happened the day before a tournament. Why I’m writing this is because how it was handled after the fact. If I would have known how a warranty issue is handled with Strikemaster I wouldn’t have ever bought the Auger.
Here is how my issue was handled
1) 01/11/2014
I contacted the Store where I purchased the auger and asked about returning the auger. I was told that wasn’t an option and they gave me the 800 number for Strikemaster.
2) 01/13/2014
I called the 800 number and it was an automated system that referred me to one of their main service centers.
3) 01/13/2014
I called their main service center and was told they are busy and would have a technician call me back. Still waiting on that phone call back
4) 01/13/2014
I found out there isn’t a way to contact strikemaster directly via telephone and talk to a human. So I sent an email to them with my problem. The response back referred me to a Strikemaster Authorized Service Center in my Area.
5) 01/14/2014
I dropped the Auger off at the Strikemaster Authorized Service Center.
6) 01/15/2014
The Technician calls and tells me something internal broke and it had seized up. He told me he also needed to use email to communicate with Strikemaster and was waiting back to see what they wanted to do.
7) 01/17/2014
Technician calls and tells me the Powerhead now needs to be sent to Strikemaster. I sent an email to Strikemaster telling them I am not happy that it needs to spend another week being looked at before I get my auger back. I can't believe if their authorized technician told them the auger was toast they wouldn't send a new power-head immediately. I didn’t receive an email back in response.
8) 01/29/2014
I send another email to strikemaster asking what the status of my powerhead is. I received an email back telling me the powerhead hasn’t arrived. I contact the Store I bought it from again and she contacted her contact at strikemaster and I’m then told the powerhead never left the Strikemaster Authorized Service Center. I send an email to Strikemaster asking if they contacted the Service center to see if they would get it shipped out. Never got a response back.
9) 02/05/2014
I send an email asking the status of my powerhead. An hour later I receive a call from the Service Center that my powerhead arrived at their facility and I can pick it up.
It took strikemaster 24 days to resolve my issue. I sat without my $580 auger for what is looking like a third of the ice fishing season. I still believe Strikemaster produces one of the better augers on the market, but their customer service has got me wondering if Strikemaster/ Rapala is where I should be spending my $$$. Hopefully customers will read this and reevaluate where they spend their money. You could be without an important tool for a good portion of your ice fishing season in the event of a major failure covered under manufacture warranty.
