After nearly a year of moderate use my #125 General from Lionel's Coke 125th Anniversary set suddenly quit running in forward. The reverse unit cycled normally, but when it came to forward... nothing.
Having purchased the set late last December on a most excellent sale from Amazon, I called Lionel customer service on Monday, November 19th. Although I expected to be on hold for quite some time, I was put through as quickly as I could navigate the voice menu.
After a short, efficient conversation with a customer service rep during which I learned that a printout of my Amazon invoice would suffice for proof of purchase date, I received a warranty return authorization number in an e-mail and packed the engine so I could take it to the post office Tuesday morning. I was a little surprised that the service department wanted the tender also, because the loco runs without the tender and the problem was with the loco.
On the morning of Monday, November 26th I received an e-mail from Lionel that they had received the locomotive. On the morning of Thursday, November 29th I received an e-mail from Lionel that my General had been shipped back to me. Wow!
On December 4th I received the repaired General. Two weeks and a day since placing the return authorization request call! But wait, there's more! Not only does it run like it's brand new, the TrainSounds in the tender are a lot louder and much clearer than they were when I returned the engine. Needless to say, I now have a better understanding of why they wanted the tender along with the loco.
This truly is a shining example of superb customer service.
Pete
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