APC requested my feedback: here it is

[Anonymous user]

Solicited by email after my recent "three-tripper" to APC support for suggestions about how to make their product or service better, the survey system then failed to register my feedback so I'll offer it here.

In a nutshell, I suggest APC be open and honest about their products.

T/F? APC circuitry permits batteries to overcharge and overheat and swell inside their UPS, sometimes to the point of making the RBCs impossible to remove without damage to the case.

True.

T/F? APC does not provide the standard rating for batteries (Amp-hours), using instead one (volt-amp-hours) which multiplies the standard by a fixed number (the battery voltage) instead, giving the impression that their products have a higher rating.

True.

T/F? APC "does not aid" users' attempts to learn which batteries are installed in which RBCs, preferring to give the impression that the only way to service APC UPSs is to replace entire RBCs.

True.

T/F? APC prefers giving a vague answer which might lead to an immediate sale to a brutally honest one which would almost certainly sacrifice an immediate sale for the possibility of a better long-term relationship.

Unknown.

[Erasmus_apc · Accepted solution]

Feedback is feedback no matter where it's provided, and many members of our higher level support teams lurk around on these forums so this is a decent place to post. We appreciate feedback, positive or negative, but sweeping claims based on an experience with a very small number of unspecified units or one negative experience with a customer service representative is just that, not an accurate characterization of APC as a company. I'd just like to clarify a few things:

dnelson wrote:

T/F? APC circuitry permits batteries to overcharge and overheat and swell inside their UPS, sometimes to >the point of making the RBCs impossible to remove without damage to the case.

True.

This can potentially happen to batteries within a UPS of any manufacturer. With our units we only tend to see it on the smaller-scale UPS systems of previous model generations. Many of these did not use temperature-sensitive charging systems or have the safeguards our more recent models do. Also, we can see this issue in units where high temperature, battery age, frequency of use due to power issues, etc. come into play.

dnelson wrote:

T/F? APC does not provide the standard rating for batteries (Amp-hours), using instead one (volt-amp-hours) >which multiplies the standard by a fixed number (the battery voltage) instead, giving the impression that their >products have a higher rating.

True.

This is true in terms of information gleaned from our website. However, phone/email reps are allowed to give the actual amp-hour rating of the batteries inside a UPS, the battery cell voltage/total charging voltage, and the number of batteries in an RBC. They are not allowed to give battery harness, fuse, or detailed charging system specifications, since these can fall under one of the following: a) proprietary corporate info, b) can present shock hazard to customers if we encourage them to modify/work with those parts, c) related to b; can void warranty/EPP.

It sounds like you had a poor experience with one of our phone reps, which is unfortunate.

On a separate note, this information can be found in a public knowledge base here (if the link does not work, the KBASE ID is 1046):

http://nam-en.apc.com/cgi-bin/nam_en.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=1046

dnelson wrote:
T/F? APC "does not aid" users' attempts to learn which batteries are installed in which RBCs, preferring to >give the impression that the only way to service APC UPSs is to replace entire RBCs.

True.

This is not supposed to be true, but it is again unfortunate that you were not able to get this information from our CSR's. We do post some information about which battery manufacturers we use in our public K-Bases, including KBASE 2533 and KBASE 564. Our support reps are allowed to give out what battery mfg. provides a certain RBC for us. Keep in mind, however, that for many batteries we use multiple manufacturers, and giving the manufacturer for an exact unit on a store shelf or already purchased isn't possible. Naturally, as you can imagine, it does benefit APC greatly to sell its own batteries for revenue, but that doesn't prevent us from at least giving out the necessary info to those customers who are also suffering in this global climate and who wish to attempt their own battery replacement.

We appreciate the feedback and if you have any specific information on who you spoke with or other information that was not provided to you, we can address it. Hopefully the above comments clarified some of our support techniques and improved your outlook on APC.