What is up with XenonDepot?

[Eagle62]

I had always been hesitant to give the HIDs a go and I finally ordered a set with the philips 4800K. XenonDepot shipped fast and the order got to my front door today but all that was in the bag was a set of bulbs.

Now, it's possible I made a mistake but I recall clearly ordering the entire KIT with the upgraded bulbs from their somewhat confusing website. However, I received no ballasts and no relays... so much for my install.

The bigger issue I found is customer service doesn't exist at xenondepot. Tried calling, was told I was #2 in queue and waited more than half hour listening to their repeating message. Wow, just wow, talk about bad first buyer experience. I had read some threads on here and how some folks had said service just isn't what it used to be, I didn't want to believe it since so many other people seem happy with their products but I experienced it first-hand. Just wanted to vent and was wondering if any other guys on here had gotten their order screwed up and what it took to get xenon depot to act on it. I'm contemplating just returning the bulbs and move on.

 

[DEUS-MACH1NA]

Been hearing too many anecdotal stories of Xenon Depot's lack of/non-existent customer service as of late. This latest story just cements it for me: Xenon Depot should be avoided if you value your money, time, sanity or have any semblance of common sense.

 

[Friggin Idiot]

You're not alone. Customer service is still there, but takes forever to get a reply. I sent an email on Feb 1, the response came Feb 11!
Try and call and get stuck on indefinite hold. A word of warning, their system hangs up automatically after 2 hours, so take the option for a callback!
All said and done, a dialogue that started with the email Feb 1 was finally resolved Feb 26 with a refund.
I had planned on going with the GTR Ultra.2 LED's but have been reconsidering since they own that brand as well. Xenon Depot, Morimoto, Retrofit Source, Headlight Revolution, & GTR are just some of the brands that are now all one with a very limited customer service department trying to catch up with all the questions and orders.

 

[Eagle62]

You're not alone. Customer service is still there, but takes forever to get a reply. I sent an email on Feb 1, the response came Feb 11!
Try and call and get stuck on indefinite hold. A word of warning, their system hangs up automatically after 2 hours, so take the option for a callback!
All said and done, a dialogue that started with the email Feb 1 was finally resolved Feb 26 with a refund.
I had planned on going with the GTR Ultra.2 LED's but have been reconsidering since they own that brand as well. Xenon Depot, Morimoto, Retrofit Source, & GTR are just some of the brands that are now all one with a very limited customer service department trying to catch up with all the questions and orders.

...and you would think since they're four companies merged into one that customer relations would be one of their priorities. Not so.

There is no gain in that, it'll catch up to them and soon they'll start losing customers when, in fact, they should be getting more but not with all the bad sentiment going around.

 

[SurgicalApple]

XenonDepot was phenomenal about a year ago. Unfortunately, the company was sold to some other conglomeration of several other companies. In turn, their amazing customer service took a dive of unprecedented proportions.

 

[SlickTRD]

You're not alone. Customer service is still there, but takes forever to get a reply. I sent an email on Feb 1, the response came Feb 11!
Try and call and get stuck on indefinite hold. A word of warning, their system hangs up automatically after 2 hours, so take the option for a callback!
All said and done, a dialogue that started with the email Feb 1 was finally resolved Feb 26 with a refund.
I had planned on going with the GTR Ultra.2 LED's but have been reconsidering since they own that brand as well. Xenon Depot, Morimoto, Retrofit Source, & GTR are just some of the brands that are now all one with a very limited customer service department trying to catch up with all the questions and orders.

I went from the Morimoto 2Stroke 2.0 to the GTR Lighting Ultra 2 and they are better in every way - brighter and more quiet. Unfortunately, both are brands are their's as well. And with COVID-19, they are having supply issues at the moment.

 

[SR5Bart]

I started ordering from them in 2014 when I bought my 1st 4Runner. After they got bought out the customer service they were known for is gone. I won't order another thing from them.

Once they reply they apologize left and right but nothing ever comes of it.

 

[jhguth]

...and you would think since they're four companies merged into one that customer relations would be one of their priorities. Not so.

There is no gain in that, it'll catch up to them and soon they'll start losing customers when, in fact, they should be getting more but not with all the bad sentiment going around.

What? No, they bought all their competitors, customer service is the last priority

 

[PAKM4N]

Same issue here. After they got bought out by Retrofit Source their customer service went down.
I had my xenon depot ballasts for about 10 months and went bad. They have still yet to ship me a new one. It's been like 2 months.

 

[jp.vegas]

I had always been hesitant to give the HIDs a go and I finally ordered a set with the philips 4800K. XenonDepot shipped fast and the order got to my front door today but all that was in the bag was a set of bulbs.

Now, it's possible I made a mistake but I recall clearly ordering the entire KIT with the upgraded bulbs from their somewhat confusing website. However, I received no ballasts and no relays... so much for my install.

You have a receipt, right? What does that say you ordered?

 

[jimmied]

Every post as the past few months makes it clown show now. Avoid at any costs.

 

[trey99ek]

One only ordered from them twice, so far no issues. I have an HID kit from 10b years ago and I just got there LED fogs. Check your order invoice, see if your wrong or they are and then go from there.

Sent from my SM-G960U1 using Tapatalk

 

[snapple13]

Bought my HID kit from Xenondepot 2 months before they got bought out. Had some issues with a relay during an extreme cold snap and contacted them by email with no response, then a week later by phone, aka now " Retrofit Source".
I explained what was going on, and how one relay wasn't working, as i swapped relays to confirm each ballast/relay worked.

I was told to take my truck into a shop and have someone diagnose the issue with their lighting, out of my own pocket.

So i just ended up ordering a new relay kit for $30 after that phone call.

Retrofit source is a terrible company.

 

[Eagle62]

I ended up ordering a separate set of ballasts. My original intended purchase was for a HID complete kit with the Philips 4.8K bulbs. When I ordered the kit, I selected it from their specific headlight kits menu. From there, I selected the H11: XTR HID KIT. When I went to choose my options, (there are 5 drop-down menus on that screen) I chose the Philips 4800K for “bulb color” choice which showed what seemed to be an additional price of $140.57. What I didn’t realize was that I was just buying the bulbs - no ballasts and no relays. Yet, this was the complete kit page. Don’t know if it’s just me but I found it confusing - specially when ordering something like this the first time.

What they should do is not mix up complete kits and a-la-carte items on the same page and if not, they should at least make it clear when you are buying a kit as opposed to when you are buying just a goddamm bulb.

What irked me about it was 1) I could not for the life of me get someone on the phone (yet they advertise a customer service number on their website); and 2) their website is NOT clearly organized. Had they given me the opportunity to talk with someone on the phone, I know this would not have happened.

What I found out they do now is chat. Even emails are left unanswered unless you alert them with a chat message and then you’ll get something.

Not much else to say other than it’s a learning experience and I admit it may have been in part my fault…. I’ll wait for the ballasts to come in and pray everything works out. I really hope I can enjoy the product and be done with the bad experience I had.

Thanks to all who chimed in.

 

[jawkdna]

Curious...
what's a good alternative to order from other than xenondepot?

 

[uh0h50]

Curious...
what's a good alternative to order from other than xenondepot?

I've had success and great communication with lightwerkz.net

 

[adrtoy]

I bought from Sparksmith and when I called them with a tech question someone answered the phone and helped. That was a win for.

 

[tacoyota]

DDM Tuning has great kits ranging from $60 to $100. Ive ran two of their lowest tier kits for 3 years no issues. I just picked up a mid tier kit for $80 + tax. Make sure you pay extra for the phillips ultra bulb. They pick up the phone whenever I called if that matters.

 

[Blazephantom]

I forget but is headlight revolution owned by retrofit source?

I ordered the xenon depot hid kit from them and only got one bulb. I emailed HR and had a new bulbs shipped out the next day.

 

[Friggin Idiot]

I forget but is headlight revolution owned by retrofit source?

I ordered the xenon depot hid kit from them and only got one bulb. I emailed HR and had a new bulbs shipped out the next day.

The Retrofit Source was born in June of 2005.
In 2010, TRS acquired the HIDPlanet
In 2017, TRS acquired LEDConcepts Lighting
In 2019, TRS acquired Xenon Depot
In 2019, TRS acquired Headlight Revolution and GTR Lighting

XenonDepot is already consolidated with customer service, shipping, returns, and the new less functional website.
Headlight Revolution & GTR Lighting might still be trying to consolidate operations. Though Headlight Revolution & GTR's website lists the new ATL address/phone number.