Dumbfounded by how poor the service was We had bought a product advertised as a hazer, expecting the typical characteristics of a haze machine. Upon it's arrival, it was an over glorified fog machine. Due to limiting circumstances, a fog machine is next to useless for what we needed it for. Upon contacting customer service to explain the situation, we were rudely told there was nothing that could be done to help our situation. The only option was to pay at 30% restocking fee, plus shipping, and have receive in-store credit. Now, why would I want more credit to a store that has treated me so poorly? Looking back, it's pretty comical how bad it was. There are a lot of great one-liners I now share with my friends that I gained from their customer service.

Cheap lights has cheap customer service We have spent a lot of money at cheap lights, but we will not be using them anymore. The man in charge was rude and condescending. They did not try and fix the problem and I ended up having to reorder the broken piece and pay almost the same price for shipping to get it in time. They said they would make sure I got my money back once fed-ex came and picked up the damaged material. (another thing I had to do myself) I called them to get my money back for the claim which again they were condescending and rude. They had a whatever attitude and didn't make anything right. They had no problem taking my money and had no problem putting all the blame on fed-ex and the manufacturer. We have spent thousands of dollars with them and they wouldn't hold to their word regarding fixing the problem. I am out over 380 dollars that they won't make right even though they said that if I got fed ex to pick up the broken piece they would reimburst me for the other charges. (when I had to reorder the piece of trussing to make our show deadline) They sell cheap stuff for cheap. Apparently the money you spend doesn't go toward customer service.

Bad products, Horrible customer service, Inconsistent and unadvertised policies I purchased some lights from them through their website which arrived extremely slowly and were packed sloppy with tons of loose Styrofoam peanuts. The website was hard to use and gave lots of problems with my credit card saying my address wasn't on file. When the lights arrived most were fine, although the quality was extremely poor and documentation was horrible. Three of the lights were too big and bright so I called to see if I could return them and get other lights instead. They said sure, but when I got a quote for returning the lights it was going to be almost as much as I paid for them and I decided to keep them. I still decided I'd want the smaller lights and ordered those on the phone as well as ordering some DMX cables. When that order arrived I found that the DMX cables were actually microphone cables. When I called to complain I was told "They will work fine" and I explained that I already had microphone cables and needed DMX cables which are a different impedance. The return manager (Phil) was extremely rude to me and finally said, "Fine, I'm not going to argue with you, you can return them." I then told him that the small lights I bought didn't do the color fade as described on the Stage Ape site. He then argued that there was nothing wrong with them and said that any returns would be for credit only! I told him that wasn't acceptable since they weren't as described and I wouldn't have ordered the lights or DMX cables had I known. He continued to be rude and finally gave me an RMA to return things, so I returned both of the two RMAs I had in one box. A few days after they signed for the package I called to see when my refund would be issued. I was transferred between many people before finally talking to someone in accounting that said I had been issued a credit for only about 60% of the value of the purchases. I asked why I was issued a credit and why it was not even for the right amount. She told me that I'd been charged a 30% restocking fee (!) and would have to talk with Phil. I said I had already had talked with Phil and had a disagreement with him and that he finally gave me the RMA numbers and said I could return the things. Later when I called back again I was told that I was being charged the restocking fee because there was "nothing wrong" with the returns. I was sick of dealing with them and wrote them a detailed letter explaining why I should have my money refunded and that I would dispute the charges with VISA if they did not return my money. A week later they refunded all my money except 10%. I finally had to file a dispute with VISA and VISA immediately gave me my money back citing how they have had problems with the merchant before and how I was correct that return policies need to be provided in writing BEFORE THE SALE. Do not shop with Cheap Lights, they are not trust worthy and will just try and take your money. Their shipping prices also seem inflated.

Terrible Customer Service (In-Store) Needed lighting for a company sponsored project. Walked into their Dallas store with two other friends. Viewed a great floor display for about 15 min until we stopped someone for assistance. We were told there was only one rep and we waited another 15 min until we stopped another of the 4 people that were walking around. He was extremely unresponsive when we told him what we were looking for and treated us as if he was sure we weren't going to buy anything. We were patient and asked questions about the different products but were repeatedly told "naw that's it". We settled with what we could and asked to buy three of one of the floor models we saw but after 10 min were told they were out of stock. I gave up at this point at even trying to get an alternate. All of the reps were at the counter "hanging" with customer-like people and could care less about selling anything. I have no idea how they stay in business with this kind of "unprofessional, backstreet, I'm doing you a favor" approach, especially when they seem to be in a good market with products that have demand (maybe that's the problem). The sad thing is that we weren't on a budget and would have sold up.

Not a reputable outfit (miss my friends at the old CheapLights.com) Famous Stages should change their name to Cheap-skates Lighting dot com. I've had been a long time customer of the old Cheaplights.com based in Houston for almost a decade spending thousands of dollars on gear over the years. While shopping online the other day on their website I noticed they had listed 10' AC power cords at $0 .. I thought what the heck and ordered (14) pieces as part of a larger $200+ order. When the sales team caught the mistake this guy Joe calls my cell trying to make it my problem. At first he didn't believe me when I told him the price on their own website and hung up. Then he calls back and was extremely rude saying he could not honor the order even it was their mistake. When I offered to pay for the cords at his cost and he told me his cost was none of my business. I canceled the entire order. Joe told me I should never order from them again. Rest assure I won't!!