Do not ever EVER forget to unpair your Tazer, you WILL pay

[kogar]

Great example of not "doing the right thing" for a customer from the ZAutomotive people.

I was phoned by a dealer that a custom EcoDiesel JL came in and he was calling down the list of people that said they wanted one. Basically, it was "Do you want it or do I call the next person?" Hell yes I wanted it. Wasn't really ready, because I was pretty happy with my '18 JL, but I always wanted an EcoDiesel. So, down to the dealer I go...test drove it, loved it, agreed to start the sales process. Oh, what miserable fun that is...haggle on trade-in, haggle on price, haggle on financing. It's exhausting. But we came to an agreement and ink was signed. Then they started pulling off my mods from my '18 to put on my new '20. Awesome.

They hand me my little Tazer JL and a few other small pieces pulled form the interior and I drive my shiny new Jeep home.

Aw, crud, forgot to "unpair" the Tazer. No worries, sent a note to Zautomotive support outlining the situation.

"No problem," they say, "just send $50 and we will send you an unmarry key."

I blink twice while reading the email from "Samantha," puzzled that the company I handed $350 to would see this as an opportunity to extort more money. I explain the situation again, indicating that this isn't a transfer to a different owner, and offer to show the paperwork that I, the Tazer owner, traded in my 18 JL for a '20.

"It's your fault you forgot to unpair, so now pay us $50,"

Let me tell you, I'm 100% certain that $50 is going to somebody else. I'm done with them. I don't care how "good" this product has been for the last two years. They're not getting another damn dime from me. I'll even hand money to a flippin Jeep dealer to reprogram for my 35s.

/RantOver

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[rustyshakelford]

Man that’s a pain. Can you run up to the dealer and unmarry the tazer from your trade in? If all you’re needing done is the tires and tpms sensors changed, drive over to us and I’ll do it for free

Brett

 

[kogar]

Man that’s a pain. Can you run up to the dealer and unmarry the tazer from your trade in? If all you’re needing done is the tires and tpms sensors changed, drive over to us and I’ll do it for free

Brett

I don't think they want me crawling around inside it now, yanking out the connectors to get the bypass in there, etc. In fact, I think it already went off to another dealer. That ship sailed, unfortunately.

I'm grateful for the offer to recal, but I have friends locally that can help (although I've always wanted to visit Navasota).

 

[rustyshakelford]

I don't think they want me crawling around inside it now, yanking out the connectors to get the bypass in there, etc. In fact, I think it already went off to another dealer. That ship sailed, unfortunately.

I'm grateful for the offer to recal, but I have friends locally that can help (although I've always wanted to visit Navasota).

Well dang, the dealer would’ve been the easiest solution but glad you have another avenue. We have a tazer on my wife’s JL but honestly for the majority of folks the features aren’t used. We bought a laptop and program just for programming jeeps and it has been a huge success for us.

Brett

 

[kogar]

We have a tazer on my wife’s JL but honestly for the majority of folks the features aren’t used.
Brett

All I used was ASS elimination and speedo recalibration. Tazer was definitely overkill. That's why when they said "Give us $50 or you don't get to use the Tazer" my response was to laugh.

 

[OminousSkitter]

What program did you buy? A tazer is almost certainly overkill for me. Though, if someone is looking at getting rid of their married tazer....

 

[MarkY3130]

I wonder what kind of issues this causes for the next owner of the traded in Jeep?

 

[MacJack]

Well dang, the dealer would’ve been the easiest solution but glad you have another avenue. We have a tazer on my wife’s JL but honestly for the majority of folks the features aren’t used. We bought a laptop and program just for programming jeeps and it has been a huge success for us.

Brett

What software did you purchase to program your Jeep and any cables?

 

[Jmonroe]

Flip side of the coin, if it was free & easy what would there be to discourage someone from stealing my Tazer if they can easily bypass the security built into it? While it's unfortunate you forgot it in the heat of the "battle" I think it helps protect all of us.

Also, it's something I can totally see myself doing.

 

[OminousSkitter]

Not even looking at theft, the pairing/marriage process keeps people from buying one and using it for countless Jeeps for any of the more-static settings that don't require it to be plugged in.

 

[rustyshakelford]

What software did you purchase to program your Jeep and any cables?

Hptuners and their mvpi2 with smart link cable

Brett

 

[kogar]

Flip side of the coin, if it was free & easy what would there be to discourage someone from stealing my Tazer if they can easily bypass the security built into it?

Also, it's something I can totally see myself doing.

Totally understand. But as I mentioned, I have LOADS of proof that I'm still the same owner, traded the vehicle, etc.

I just made one, teeny-tiny $50 mistake, according to them.

Plain and simple: It's a disrespectful way to treat actual customers.

 

[scrape]

What do you honestly expect dude. If you could get free licenses just by making up some sob story about how you sold your jeep and forgot to unmarry (not saying your story is BS, but a lot of people would make up BS stories), then people would buy a tazer, program all their settings, get a fresh license, and then sell the thing or use it on a buddy's jeep. Putting a reasonable price wall in pace should prevent most of that. And $50 is more than reasonable. I would have charged you full price.

 

[MarkY3130]

Count me in the group that thinks Tazer is being reasonable. I think for that niche sector it is a necessary rule. Programmers have been around a long time and I’ve seen some that don’t allow an unmarry key period, and others that charge for it.

I don’t think tazer or others view it as a revenue stream, but rather as a protection of the business model.

 

[kogar]

I don’t think tazer or others view it as a revenue stream, but rather as a protection of the business model.

Protecting a business model is about protecting against fraud and abuse of a product, service, or feature. I'm doing none of those. This is just punishing a customer for a simple, and extremely rare, mistake. You're welcome to disagree with me, but as somebody who has run (and sold off) a successful business, that's NOT how you maintain customer satisfaction.

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