I ordered a pole from Platinum Stages because that is where the poles at the new studio came from. Previously, I had planned to order from Markstaar, because that’s where the poles at the old studio had come from; but I decided to go with Platinum Stages because I liked the ones at the new studio, and I knew they could provide very tall (over 12 feet) brass poles. I also thought it was a good thing that they focus specifically on dance poles (rather than generic brass tubing, like Markstaar).
As it turns out, Platinum Stages has terrible customer service and obviously does not care about “the little guy.” They might be good for a studio that’s ordering lots of stuff, but for an individual? All I can say is STAY AWAY.
The first time I called, I explained that I needed a tall pole and would be willing to bolt it to the ceiling (because I had a feeling it wouldn’t work on pressure alone at that height) and asked if it was possible to get a pole that you bolt to the ceiling but not to the floor. Yes, in fact, it was - they had a “semi-removable” option. I said I thought the height was at least 12 feet, and asked if they needed the exact measurement to place my order, and the woman on the phone (I didn’t make note of her name) said no, because the parts were “adjustable.” I said I’d like to go ahead and place my order. The woman starts rattling off stuff like, “Okay, so one eight-foot piece + one four-foot piece… wait, let’s do three four-foot pieces…” I stopped her and told her I was confused, what’s all this about “pieces”? She said, “Oh, so you want a one-piece pole?” Well, I thought I had made that clear. That should have been a red flag right there. And really, it was, but still I thought they were the best place to order from.
So the woman on the phone told me that yes, I would need to know the exact measurement, but I could go ahead and order the ceiling mount, put it in place, and then measure based on that. Then I could call them back and tell them the measurement, and they’d take the cost of the mount out of the cost of the pole I ordered. I thought that sounded weird, but good. So I ordered the ceiling mount and after much futzing with FedEx, finally got it.
Rusty put up the ceiling mount and we measured: 12 feet, 10 inches. I called them back to order the pole, and again explained what I was looking for and the woman I spoke to this time said it was noted in the computer. I told her the height and he said the tallest pole “of that type” they make is 12 feet, so would need to order a custom one. She also said they’d just had a big order go out and it would be about 2 weeks before they’d have any more brass poles in stock, but it would ship as soon as possible. I said that was fine, and ordered. The cost was $470.50.
I waited about three weeks and the pole hadn’t arrived yet, so I called Platinum Stages again. This time I spoke with a guy named Kevin. He said the type of pole I ordered wouldn’t be available for about 3 months (!!!) but I could use a 12-foot pole just as easily, because the height is “adjustable” due to a coupler at the top. (It was about $40 cheaper, and they did refund that amount.) Already I was having a sense of forboding, and I asked him several times if he was sure it would work and be safe. He said yes, it would work, and it was the same kind he had at his place, same height and on a concrete floor.
When the pole finally arrived, I was so excited I could hardly stand it. We went home to put it up and had some trouble getting the coupler to adjust to the proper height. A clamp and a wrench helped with that, but there were still other problems.
Now, at this point, I don’t feel like detailing every little problem we had with installation… but let’s just say, it took us a full month to get it to a point where we even felt marginally okay about it - and at that point, we had been on and off the phone with Kevin at Platinum Stages several times, and had ended up drilling a hole in the floor. (Because without anything bolting the base to the floor, any time I would throw my weight around it at all, the entire pole would dislodge from the floor. Not a good feeling. It was simply too tall to rely on pressure to hold it there.)
But even once it was bolted to the floor, it wasn’t secure. The entire pole itself would twist if I did a spin. Kevin acted like he didn’t believe Rusty or me when we told him this. He kept saying, “That shouldn’t happen.” We KNOW it shouldn’t happen; that’s why we’re calling!
Finally, after a few more weeks, it was clear we were getting nowhere. We had tried everything and it was just not safe or secure. I was talking to one of my dance instructors and she acted very surprised that they had sold me that type of pole. She said for anything over 10 feet, it really needs to be a permanent pole mounted to the floor and ceiling.
But more than just that, we were convinced the pole was not only poorly designed, but flat-out defective. Rusty called to see if we could return it. But even the higher-up person he talked to (and rightfully cussed out) would just parrot, “Our return policy is 7 days, unopened.”
What kind of idiotic policy is that? We wouldn’t have known it was fucked-up without opening it and installing it!
So we’re out almost $500 and that’s that. We would take them to small claims court, but we’d have to go to California, and I’m not sure it’s worth the headache. The main thing I want to do is make people aware of what happened. Once we buy a house or condo, we’re going to have a permanent pole installed, and I will NOT be purchasing it from Platinum Stages.
I strongly recommend that anyone looking to install a pole in their home NOT buy from Platinum Stages. You may get an unsafe, defective pole, have them disbelieve the problem as you explain it over the phone multiple times in great detail, and not be able to return or get a refund for the defective product.
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18 Responses to "Pole saga; or, don’t buy from Platinum Stages"
Wow that sucks. I was planing on purchasing their Platinum Stage. I emailed them once and got a reply 2 business days later :( Then I called to ask some questions and talked to a lady name Kim maybe that’s who you talked to. The only issue I’ve had with them is they do not show high quality photos of any of their products. Which is weird if you are trying to sale on the web.
Did You purchase with a credit card? Couldn’t you just ship it back and charge back? I’m sure they will do an about face shortly on this situation and you’ll be getting a call as The only way I found out about this company was from google search. And the only way I found your post and Flickr photos was that way to.
They usually say for every 1 person that complains there’s 20 theres 20 others that didn’t . Looks like I’ll be holding off on my order.
You should send this to http://consumerist.com/
Already sent. :)
What a drag for you.
Tony makes a good point. If you paid with a credit card you should be able to take it up through the credit card company. And if it’s American Express, even better. This is one reason I try to use Amex whenever possible. They are awesome about handling situations like this. The handful of times I’ve challenged a charge with Amex, they have always resolved it promptly and to my satisifaction. The cool thing is that the first thing they do is put a temporary credit on your account until it’s resolved. Basically, they trust their customers. Rare, but true.
I paid with a debit card (the downside to trying to get out of credit card debt…) so unfortunately I don’t think that’s doable. :(
I know this is unrelated and doesn’t help your current problem, but if you’re trying to stay away from credit cards, you can still get an American Express charge card. These you must pay off in full every month, but they are great to run your big purchases through because you still get all of the benefits like chargebacks, extended warranty, theft reimbursement, rental car insurance, etc. (If your budget is tight, you can simply make a payment on the card immediately after making the purchase and it’s as if you used a debit card.) For issues like this, Amex would simply credit the money back to the card immediately and take it up with Platinum Stages.
Anyway, I know comments like this don’t help after the fact. Maybe there’s a glimmer of hope that a combination of A) The Consumerist possibly picking it up and B) your blog’s pagerank and inevitable Google power will convince Platinum Stages to reconsider their asshattery.
Oh, shit, you’re results 10 and 11 for “platinum stages“.
I’m so sorry you went through customer service hell. Send your story to consumerist.com and see if they will help spread the word against Platinum Stages.
I’m not sure you’d have to sue them in California. Maybe that’s in the terms of the sale or there’s a forum selection clause on the invoice somewhere, but if not then you could probably sue them here since they willingly ship products to Georgia and are therefore doing business here. (Availing themselves of the benefits of the forum or something like that is the legal mumbo-jumbo if I remember correctly from first year Civil Procedure.)
You still may decide that small claims court is a pain in the ass, but at least if you filed it here you wouldn’t eat up whatever you’d make with travel costs.
You can still do a chargeback on a debit card. The banks will try to discourage you from doing so, right down to canceling your debit card and making you wait seven days for a replacement in the name of “security” — but it can be done.
Interesting. Thanks for the info, Sara and Bill. I may try to do the chargeback thing after all, in that case. I’ve been with the same bank for over 10 years, so maybe they won’t be hard-asses about it. And even if they are, that’s okay as long as I can do it.
Did you ever post this on Metafilter?
No… should/can I?
I emailed it to Consumerist.
Amber, you could post it to MetaFilter as an FPP but I’m not sure why/what you would do with it/etc. I suppose you could post it to AskMetaFilter in some way. It would get the whole “Platinum Stages sucks” thing way up there though.
Sorry to be annoying, but what’s an FPP? I looked on MetaFilter but I can’t figure out what that acronym signifies. (I am also very tired at the moment, so take that into account!)
OH! Tonight before class, my pole dancing instructor said she talked to someone at Platinum Stages and asked them to explain what had happened with “a situation with one of [her] students.” She said she refused to do business with them knowing what their customer service is like. The woman from PS apparently said she would “research it” and call me. I was floored! That was so awesome of her… I never would’ve asked or expected that.
[...] been busy with Sex, Wine and Chocolate planning, Sex 2.0 planning, getting back at Platinum Stages for sucking, and my actual 9-to-5 job. But I kind of hate “blogging will be light” posts and [...]
I think we should hold companies accountable for their poor customer service. Perhaps if enough people complain they will begin to see quality customer service as a business opportunity rather than a cost drag.
Over the last few months I have been using a great service that really has made a difference when dealing with CS centers. The name of the service is 321-CALL-LOG and it’s free to use. The website address is http://www.321calllog.com
I read so many awful things about PS while I was researching poles! Some people have had them litterally SNAP in half while they’ve been dancing on them! One woman I know was doing a demo at a fitness fair and it cracked right off at the base while she was doing a Fireman spin…and only about 10 seconds before she’d been demoing a shoulder mount- can you imagine what damage she could have sustained had it snapped during a shoulder mount?!
I did TONS of research before buying my pole, and I went with Xpole by Vertical Dance. Although the shipping’s been a nighmare (which totally isn’t their fault, it’s the fault of Canada Customs! I swear they’ve called me 5 times about my “telescope”) they’ve been totally helpful customer service wise- calling the customs agents to verify the contents of the package, etc. I haven’t heard ONE complaint about X, and I can’t wait to get it up.
Hi,
Sorry to hear about your pole drama. Sometimes it’s best to order from smaller companies. I personally like the X-Pole, it’s firm, easy to put up & take down & has been called the Cadillac of Poles. They hold up to 300lbs. I hear Lil ‘Mynx is good as well, they hold up to 200lbs but I have heard a few stories of them falling over while ladies were performing.
I use the X-Pole for my DIVA Night parties & it’s been well for me. Especially for the price.
Deon
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