( 2 reviews )
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Posted: 08-17-2009
I purchased the Smooth Fitness 7.1 about a month ago. It took 2 weeks for delivery, then another week to get someone to my home to set it up. I paid extra for the premium delivery and setup and needed to take 8 hours off of work because it was not property coordinated by Smooth.
Once the machine was set up, I was so happy to get started. Then the other shoe dropped, so to speak. The machine only worked for about 5 minutes. The thing stopped in the middle of my very first workout!
I worked on the machine for a while, thinking that I had done something wrong. The LCD screen never went off, but the belt just stopped moving. I turned it all the way on and off. I disengaged the safety key and reinserted it. I cycled the LCD screeen -- and it blinked at me for a few times. I tried kick-starting the belt and that worked! Hurray! I worked out for a few more minutes -- then the LCD blinked all "8"s at me and the belt stopped again. OK. Now I was upset!
I called customer support -- no answer, only an answering machine to leave a call-back number. After an hour wait, they let me know that the only option was for them to call a repairman and that I'd have 2-3 days to wait for a repair guy to call me to schedule an appointment.
Two days later the repair guy called me and scheduled an appointment. He showed up exactly on time and he was very efficient and professional with a very unhappy customer.
I was shocked when I heard the results of his work: turns out this brand new machine requires a new motherboard and a new motor. And the housing around the motor and the incline knob is so poorly manufactured that it rubs together and makes a loud popping sound when the incline is engaged! Surely this will result in a cracked housing at some point in time.
Needless to say, I am a very unhappy camper. I did extensive research on this machine and read nothing but glowing reviews. I'd like to let others know about my experience. This machine is terrible and expensive, a truly bad combination. -
Posted: 08-17-2009
I purchased the Smooth Fitness 7.1 about a month ago. It took 2 weeks for delivery, then another week to get someone to my home to set it up. I paid extra for the premium delivery and setup and needed to take 8 hours off of work because it was not property coordinated by Smooth.
Once the machine was set up, I was so happy to get started. Then the other shoe dropped, so to speak. The machine only worked for about 5 minutes. The thing stopped in the middle of my very first workout!
I worked on the machine for a while, thinking that I had done something wrong. The LCD screen never went off, but the belt just stopped moving. I turned it all the way on and off. I disengaged the safety key and reinserted it. I cycled the LCD screeen -- and it blinked at me for a few times. I tried kick-starting the belt and that worked! Hurray! I worked out for a few more minutes -- then the LCD blinked all "8"s at me and the belt stopped again. OK. Now I was upset!
I called customer support -- no answer, only an answering machine to leave a call-back number. After an hour wait, they let me know that the only option was for them to call a repairman and that I'd have 2-3 days to wait for a repair guy to call me to schedule an appointment.
Two days later the repair guy called me and scheduled an appointment. He showed up exactly on time and he was very efficient and professional with a very unhappy customer.
I was shocked when I heard the results of his work: turns out this brand new machine requires a new motherboard and a new motor. And the housing around the motor and the incline knob is so poorly manufactured that it rubs together and makes a loud popping sound when the incline is engaged! Surely this will result in a cracked housing at some point in time.
Needless to say, I am a very unhappy camper. I did extensive research on this machine and read nothing but glowing reviews. I'd like to let others know about my experience. This machine is terrible and expensive, a truly bad combination.
