How bad is SunPower customer service?

[zzzzyyyyxxxx]

Their yelp review is really bad, with a lot of people complaining customer service being not responsive after installation
On the other hand, I could not find any customer service reviews for other brands, say, LG and Panasonic. So I'm in a dilemma now, should I choose a brand with bad reviews or no review...

P.S Admin note, please no links to any solar reviews sites unless it is our site sponsor www.solarreviews.com

[Kendalf]

On Yelp you'll only find reviews of service providers. LG and Panasonic do not provide installation services, hence no reviews. You can find more reviews of solar install companies on solarreviews.com, and perhaps search for reviews of local solar systems written by people who purchased LG or Panasonic panels.

[J.P.M.]

As an opinion, yes, it's that bad. As a matter of opinion, I think Sunpower's customer service interface munches the hairy root. For all that they appear to be not doing about it, I'd say they don't care about customer service more than a wet fart.

I've had a Sunpower system for > 4.5 yrs. The system works great (and note: Just like other quality equipment - no better, no worse), but I stopped trying to communicate after a couple of years of getting no more than moronic answers from 20 something twits in some foreign country boiler room sweat shop who could all be replaced with paper clips and who do no more than repeat the same marketing crap I've seen since before I bought the equipment.

Not that I'm surprised. All that only makes their marketing B.S. and hype about best and most efficient more ironic and cynical.

I've been saying so around here for almost as long as I've been posting.

Buy other stuff because you can get the same system quality and system reliability (if you choose installers wisely) for a lot less money up front with more long term system cost effectiveness.

[zzzzyyyyxxxx]

On Yelp you'll only find reviews of service providers. LG and Panasonic do not provide installation services, hence no reviews. You can find more reviews of solar install companies on solarreviews.com, and perhaps search for reviews of local solar systems written by people who purchased LG or Panasonic panels.

Thanks for the explanation. The problem about reviews for service providers, or installers, is they only do installation... So most of them get very good reviews based on their installation work. I do find those "SunPower by XX" installers have good reviews, too.

[zzzzyyyyxxxx]

As an opinion, yes, it's that bad. As a matter of opinion, I think Sunpower's customer service interface munches the hairy root. For all that they appear to be not doing about it, I'd say they don't care about customer service more than a wet fart.

I've had a Sunpower system for > 4.5 yrs. The system works great (and note: Just like other quality equipment - no better, no worse), but I stopped trying to communicate after a couple of years of getting no more than moronic answers from 20 something twits in some foreign country boiler room sweat shop who could all be replaced with paper clips and who do no more than repeat the same marketing crap I've seen since before I bought the equipment.

Not that I'm surprised. All that only makes their marketing B.S. and hype about best and most efficient more ironic and cynical.

I've been saying so around here for almost as long as I've been posting.

Buy other stuff because you can get the same system quality and system reliability (if you choose installers wisely) for a lot less money up front with more long term system cost effectiveness.

I read a lot of your post in this forum. Learned a lot and I totally agree with you that solar is commodity. I.e., One should buy a "ford", not "mercedes".

The reasons I'm still considering SunPower are:

1. They are only about 10% more expensive, than LG Neon R + Enphase (quoted by another reputable installer). I have a small system (3.5kW), so the difference is only about $1,000.

2. Aesthetically they do look better with their Invisimount.

3. Everything is under SunPower's name, so there's no pointing fingers if something is wrong.

One the other side, I'm really worrying about their customer service...

[Kingram]

I have contacted SunPower customer service 4 times and they did a good job addressing my needs , calling them gets the best results but chat seems limited.

[zzzzyyyyxxxx]

I have contacted SunPower customer service 4 times and they did a good job addressing my needs , calling them gets the best results but chat seems limited.

Thanks a lot for the input! A quick Q: Do you usually contact your installer first, or SunPower directly? Thanks!

[Kingram]

I have never contacted the Installer , I go through the Solar company (Sun Solar Solutions ) or Sunpower and they send out the Install company (Titan )

[MQGalano]

Sunpower support is all automated support. They will send your call to a call center and most of the time the only thing they will do is ask you to wait while they look into it. I have a sunpower system sitting on my roof and it has been nothing but a pain. I love there product but there service is sub par.

[Kingram]

Pain - What problems are you having with your system?

[J.P.M.]

Sunpower support is all automated support. They will send your call to a call center and most of the time the only thing they will do is ask you to wait while they look into it. I have a sunpower system sitting on my roof and it has been nothing but a pain. I love there product but there service is sub par.

So you love systems that are nothing but a pain. I'd guess that also means your happy to have paid a premium for Sunpower and get the same annual output as other quality but less expensive equipment. ?

[MQGalano]

the pain is when you have problems with the system customer support is bad. Like in my last post all calls are taken by a call center that takes at least 15 min in a phone cue.

[J.P.M.]

the pain is when you have problems with the system customer support is bad. Like in my last post all calls are taken by a call center that takes at least 15 min in a phone cue.

I too own a S.P. system. Good equipment, but no better than other quality stuff.

Based on early experiences, I gave up on any expectations of professionalism on the part of their customer service dept. after about 4 or 5 attempts at communication with useless outcomes. To me their customer service dept. is an embarrassment.

[JSchnee21]

Just to say, if you really like/want SunPower panels you can purchase them from a number of local installers (depending on where you live). You can then pair them with optimizers, micros, or string, and whatever racking you choose. Check installer reviews on EnergySage, Angies List, word of mouth, etc.

Definitely choose a reputable installer with good reviews and at least 10 yrs in business. Many of the large installers will have access to Panasonic, LG, etc. so you can directly compare pricing on systems with the same (or very similar) inverters and racking. That said, panels are a commodity and modern panels from any number of mid tier Chinese/Korean vendors (Hanwha, Trina, Jinko, etc) are really just as good and significantly cheaper (at least for your installer). But if your sold on an all black panel, then yes, your're going to pay for premium SunPower, NeonR, or Panasonic Black panels. Also keep in mind these panels will under perform their white back sheet counterparts due to the added heat -- especially if they are mounted nearly flush to your roof.

Whatever you do, do not buy SunPower AC panels with integrated micros. These seem to be having multiple issues from the recent posts here on the board. Enphase seems to be improving, but if it were me, I'd still go with SolarEdge (again). I went with Panasonic (330W) last year for my install (over the Neon2 320W). The NeonR was not out yet, and because of limitations in my roof square footage I wanted the highest efficiency possible at the time.

Best,
Jonathan

[zafris]

I have contacted SunPower customer service 4 times and they did a good job addressing my needs , calling them gets the best results but chat seems limited.

I agree, chat seems to be limited, but, and it's my experience, SunPower customer service are very professionals and resolve my problem quickly.