Hi Folks,

I would discourage anyone from doing business with Cermark. I purchased my second Cermark Pitts a couple a days ago from my local dealer. The dealer had purchased the plane in anticipation for a Christmas sale.

The unopened box was in excellent condition with no visible signs of damage. I brought the plane home and opened the box the next day for inspection. The top and bottom right wing tips were wrinkeled. I was not alarmed at first because I thought the wrinkels were due to loose covering due to long journey from China. However, upon closer inspection it became obvious that the covering was wrinkeled because each wing tip was broken.

I immediately contacted my local dealer who owns a small one man shop. My dealer happily said bring it back and that he would contact Cermark. My dealer contacted Cermark 1 day after the the factory sealed was broken and the box was opened for the first time.

Cermark told him they would not replace the wings because he should have reported the damage within 11 days of purchase. He explained that he reported the damage 1 day after the factory sealed box was opened by the customer. He also told them that it was impossible to know there was any damage untill the model was taken out of the box. They told him that he should have known somehow that the model was damaged even though the outter shipping box and the factory box showed absolutely no signs of any damage. Cermark said they would not replace the wings. However, they would sell him another set plus shipping.

I was present during my dealers discussion with Cermark and I could not believe what I was hearing. Since my dealer did nothing wrong I thanked him for spending the 45 minutes on the phone with Cermark and I told him that I would contact Cermark. I was appauled that they did not support their local dealers but I was still convinced they would support their customers.

I called Cermark and told them of my purchase. I told them this was the second Pitts purchase I had made. I bought this second Cermark Pitts because I had worn out the first. To make a long story short they told me they would not replace my wings. They said the dealer should had known the plane was damaged even though the box showed no signs of damaged. I explained that the only way the dealer could have known the plane was damaged was if he broke the factory seal and opened the box and took the plane all out of the box. I explained that I would not, and have not, ever bought a new plane from a previously opened box. I told them that I have bought over 30 planes from dozens of manafacturers and I have never received a plane in a previously opened container. Why should they expect this dealer to open a factory sealed box that shows absolutely no signs of damaged prior to a sale??

The bottom line is that Cermark does not and will not stand behind their product. They will not even stand behind a damaged plane 1 day out of the box after purchase.To make matters worse, there is no excuse for treating a customer or dealer this way. It is obvious that Cermark could care less about either. I strongly urge all existing and potential Cermark customers to avoid doing business with this dispicable company.

I have done business with them also. I had an older Cermark Sukhoi. The all white version. Anyways, I flew it a few times and loved it. But on one flight, my ST75 died when it was 25' up and was in the middle of a turn. So you know what happens to bricks with wings at that altitude. The fuse was trashed. So I called up Cermark and asked to see if they had a replacement fuse. They did and said it was $75. That's a lot for a fuse, but cheaper than a new plane. So I bought it. Recieved it in a few days and put it together. Nothing fit right. Stuff wasn't glued good, Was a pile of you know what. I put it together the best I could and flew it. I flew it twice and came in for a landing and the fuse. broke in half on a landing that was good. I called and told them that the fuse they sold me was a pile and broke in half on a landing. They said sorry, can't replace it, BUT you can buy another one for $75. I said no thanks and would never do business with them again. I never will and every time I see the Cermark name I get bad, bad vibes. THEY SUCK.

I like companies, like Tower. I order a bunch of stuff from them and received that today. I ordered an APC 17-6, but they sent an 18-6. I called and in less than 2 minutes the lady said my right prop. was on the way and to keep the 18-6. I like doing business with them.

Thanks for the heads up Scott.

I love reading stories like this and am always amazed. I'm absolutely shocked that Cermark was treating their distributer in that fashion. Here he is, performing his obligation to his customer by contacting the OEM about a defective product and is getting slammed! What kind of position does that leave him in? Wow.

IowaSilva, you got the shaft too. I wonder if they get their replacement parts (built up) from a different factory. Sounds like it from your experience. I'm not siding with them, but am wondering what their response would have been had you contacted them prior to putting the new (POS) fuse together with the rest of your aircraft. Judging from what I'm seeing here, they probably would have told you to fly a kite. Too bad..........

Thanks for submitting your posts. You did your duty to us other potential customers.

Sorry to hear about your bad experience, but I am also gratefull that you posted to this website.

Too bad, I like the looks of the Pitts, and it WAS on my list of planes to buy.

I will definitely be looking for something else now.

Sounds good to me. I am only fond of one of their planes but a major part of any purchase i make is customer service. I suggest to the 163,000 RCU members that we "boycott" the company until they make good on your problem. Maybe that'll wake'em up. [sm=thumbdown.gif]

I read about some Cermark customer service problems on this site, when they came out with the first Pitts several years ago. Kept me from ever buying one of them.

IowaSilvia, I had one of those all-white Sukhois too. What a POS! Nothing fit right, and it did indeed weigh a ton.

The glass cowl was lop-sided. I managed to deal with all the other problems, but the cowl simply would not fit. I called for a replacement; the fiirst question the guy asked was, "Have you started building it yet?" I allowed as it was almost done, albeit with quite a bit of what I considered extra effort.

He basically told me tough bananas, since I had already begun construction. What the hell??? Not only did he tell me I was SOL, but he said it in a tone that suggested I was idiot for bothering him with this in the first place.

No problem. I'll never bother them again.

Cermark?

You guys listening? Word travels fast- and your sales are sure to plumit. Maybe you guys should step up and make it right- just a thought.

Cermark. Not meaning to gang up on you, but a buddy of mine has your Pitts ARF and it's a nice flyer. I was strongly considering buying one, but no way, not with that customer service. My money is going else where. Somewhere I'll be taken care of in a case of a broken plane out of the box.

Make this right.

Well,,, they will see this now since I just sent them the thread link.
But whether they have time to look at it is another question. I think if I was Cermark's marketing director I would look at this very closely and make some changes fast. I'll quote RcPilet,,,,,,, More than just a thought IMHO.

EEE-GADDS !!! Even my email to them got rejected.

To:[email protected]
Subject: Mail System Error - Returned Mail

Scott,

I'm so sorry to hear of the headaches they have inflicted on you and your LHS. THIS IS NOT RIGHT!!! It's ludicrous for them to think anyone should suspect damage when the factory sealed box is undamaged. Sounds to me the parts may have been damaged before they were placed into the box. Hmmmm.

Thanks for the post. They just lost me as a potential customer.

I'd like to see this post go out on a broader spectrum.

Mark,

Anything you can do?

Try customers[email protected]

Scott, sorry to hear about your problem. You might be interesred to know that Cermark has a history of dubious customer service.

Back in January 2001 I was assembling a Cermark Pitts my wife had given me for Christmas and I was appalled by the numerous defects the kit had. It actually took more time to correct all the defects in that ARF than it's taken me to assemble some kits! For a complete blow-by-blow go to: http://webpages.charter.net/rcfu/Kit...ermarkS2B.html

Since I like building, I just plowed ahead and after about 3 weeks of evening work had a very nice Pitts bipe which I enjoyed flying for 2 seasons.

Other less experienced builders assembled the plane ACCORDING TO THE INSTRUCTIONS and had very bad results including catastrophic wing failures. These problems all resulted from obvious design and construction defects. One modeler, I recall well even documented the failure of the cabane struts (resulting in lost top wing in flight) with pictures and several letters to Cermark, but got NO SATISFACTION.

Word to the wise: Buy a Cermark product and you're on your own......

I took that from the Cermark link page here in RCU. Was kinda curious about the word "service" spelled with a C. But that's what comes up in the text. Someone else can give it a try and see if it goes through.

Thanks,,,

Their Pitts was also on my short list of kits to buy. But not any more. Who needs to spend money with a company that won't support the products they sell.

If you look at the Glider section, you will see my thread about a Cermark Easy Electro-72
I was in straight and level flight when the glider went hard nose over like a Well Witchers rod
into terra firma. Post Mortem showed that the servo support plate was "glued" to the two
fuse longerons that were screwed to the fuse sides. Needless to say the "glue" joint failed
I put "glue" in quaotes as the glue was probably spit.
Cermark offered to sell me a new wing. How appropriate.
In otherwords, tough.
Vector Flight sent me new covering after I crashed one of their planes (MY FAULT ENTIRELY)
Cermark? Not my money honey

This is one of the best threads I've seen on here. Usually a big argument starts with a thread like this and some guy says he received the best service ever from a suspect company. It seems Cermark is more consistent than these other customers...consistently bad service!! Sounds like this thread is definitely warranted and I too would never buy a product from them until something is changed there for the better. Pathetic Cermark!!

Having owned several Cermark planes and other stuff, I too sent them an email to the customer service contact yesterday. No response yet, but it did not get returned as undeliverable (yet).

Hey Sturtz, you didn't forget the cover sheet on your TPS Reports in your email to them did you? No wonder they "blackholed" your message.. LOL

I loved that movie Office Space and the weird guy you just posted a picture of. Funny stuff.

I wonder of Mr. Cermark drives a 911 to work and walks around with a coffee cup all day saying..... "Ahh yeeeaaaahhhhh....."

Customercervice is a misspelling.
Might try customerservice instead.
Not siding with Cermark you understand. I remember the LAST Cermark Pitts story here and decided back then to never do biz with em.

I had great luck with the Easy Electro 72 but had to buy a replacement wing for it. They are great for selling you replacement parts, I gotta admit. The replacement parts were entirely due to my errors and not the plane itself.
Wont buy anything else from em tho.

I've been flying a Cermark Pitts for a year and just had an accident with it when I flamed out at a bad altitude and had to put it down in some rough terrain. Tumbled it and beat it up pretty good. I was going to buy another and just start over but... think I'll look around after reading this. Hey... that Goldberg Pitts is also a fantastic choice! I have attached a picture of mine that I have not yet maidened. Very nice arf!

I am curious here on taking this a different direction. Now i am guessing that a large part of the operation of this site relys on advertising which enables us to get more "gimmies" out of it but when a straight forward situation like this comes up, I wonder if RCU should not get involved a bit on an investigation to determine if future advertising by company's at fault should continue. After all, they sell the advertising, we see the plane and buy the plane and get a raw deal sometimes.

You have to admit that whether or not you like RCU, it has darn near cornered the market on this stuff and should apply some pressure to these distributors who advertise to take care of problems.