Complaint Review: Asphalt Kingdom - Pontiac Illinois

 To summarize my experience with this product, a potential buyer of this equipment needs to take into account the following:

1.  Do not take at face value the reviews posted by the vendor on their web site.  Asphalt Kingdom claims that they have sold thousands of these asphalt sprayers but posted only 5 five star reviews.  Surely others have found problems similar to mine with this equipment.

2.  Get and review the manual for this equipment prior to purchasing it and callor email  the vendor to discuss all aspects of it.  I could not find the manual on their site and what I received with the product was not adequate.  There also was no diagram or discription as to how to assemble the box of parts.  When I contacted the vendor they asked me to call "Tim" which was highly inadequate.

The following are the facts regarding why the spray system was returned and why I should receive the entire purchase price back.

1.  I researched and purchased the apshalt spray equipment because the company doing this for my 300' driveway did an inadequate job requiring yearly sprays.  I also needed filler with the spray which was never provided.

2.  I was attracted to Asphalt Kingdom's website because of its 5 star reviews.  I should have been more cautious because they only had 4 reviews for the sprayer ordered and all were 5 star.  If they sold thousands of these you would think that there would be more reviews, positive and negative.  I tried recently to write a review about this item on their website and, even though I have an account & password  with them, I was prevented from doing so.

3.  The instructions provided for this system were for the 275 Gal. plastic container system & did not contain a diagram for connecting the valves, hoses, etc. required to put it together. ( I did open the hose, etc. box and could see what it contained.)  The instructions provided  for the 275 gal. system had several mixing and highly recommended testing recommendations which could not be done with the 55 gal. drum system that I purchased.  I contacted the company regarding this several times and was told that "Tim" would call me.  Tim called when I wasn't home and when I called him he was not available.  I finally did talk to Tim. 

4.  I went to the vendor's website looking for a manual at the time I was having these problems.  It said that the system was not avaialbe and may not be available in the future.  I concluded that there may be a problem with this ystem.  It is possible that the vendor now has a manual for the system that I purchased, but I saw none when I needed it.

5.  Under these circumstances I requested that the full purchase proce be returned.  They returned approximately 65% of the amount paid, including return freight charges. 

 The following summary are the facts to set the record straight as to why I returned the spraying system and why the entire purchase price should have been returned:

1.  I researched and purchased this type of equipment because the person who sprayed my 300' driveway was doing an inadequate job and hence it needed spraying again within 9 months..

2.  I was attracted to Asphalt Kingdom's website because of 4 five star reviews.  I should have been cautious because there were only a total of 4 reviews all of which were 5 star.  They now state they  have sold thousands of these systems and so there should be more reviews both positive and negative.  I recently tried to place a review on this product and was unable to do so even though I had an account and a password with them.

3.  I became disallusioned with the product because the instructions sent with the 55 drum system were for the 275 plastic tank system.  I read them several times and found that I could not test, and carry out other procedures with the drum system that were highly recommended in the instructions for the 275 gal. plastic tank system.  I contacted them for an assembly diagram and other information but they said "Tim" would call me.  Nothing was said about another manual for the 55 gal. drum system or that they had an assembly diagram. Tim called when I wasn't home and when I called him back he was not available.  But I finally did talk to him.   I did go on their website to look for a manual for the 55 drum system.  What I found was a note saying that the system was not available and may not be availabe in the future.  This indicated to me that there was a problem with this system.  I therefore decided to return the item because of potential problems I would have with this system. 

4.  The item was not returned because I changed my mind, or that I have budget problems, or because I can't follow simple instructions, but because of getting instructions that were inadequate and, when this information was not provided after several attempts, determining that I would have problems with it.  Accordingly, as I told them, I should have received back the entire purchase price.  Perhaps they now have an adequate manual on their website, but they did not have it when I needed it.  They did have  a video of peopel spraying a parking lot but that did not help me in anyway.

Mr. Horst Reichart states "This whole experience with this equipment was a nightmare."

We don't understand why Mr. Horst Reichart would say this when:

1) We shipped the machine and sealer in a timely fashion.

2) The sealer and machine were shipped to the client the same way thousands of others were shipped to other clients.

3) The machine wasn't even taken out of the box to attempt setup.

4) We answer our customer service and sales line all day long without hitting a voicemail system. We have live people waiting to take calls to help. If the person answering is unable to answer the question, the call is passed off to someone who can.

5) We accepted a return and followed our return policy clearly stated on the site.

Mr. Horst Reichart, if you purchase a computer from a company and it requires that you install a program, at least attempt to put the program in the computer to load it.  Don't rush back and return the computer because it required you to slide the program in to load.

Again,

According to Mr. Horst Reichart's own words:  "The system was returned in the very condition and boxes as it was shipped to me.  It was only taken out of the boxes because Asphalt Kingdom wanted a picture before it was returned."

Easy to refute: All one has to do is click this product link to view the machine which has the OPERATING MANUAL you can download right from the "Specs" tab on the page. One can click the "Photos and Video" tab to view clear pictures and videos of the machine.  It's very simple to set up and use:

I would suggest that any potential buyer of this equipment carefully review the website, make inquiries, compare this type equipement with other websites and make up their own mind.  Don't be swayed by 100% five star reviews as I did before ordering it from Asphalt Kingdom.   It is always wise to see some negative reviews as there genrally are.  This whole experience with this equipment was a nightmare. 

Easy to refute: All one has to do is click this product link to view the machine which has the OPERATING MANUAL you can download right from the "Specs" tab on the page. One can click the "Photos and Video" tab to view clear pictures and videos of the machine.  It's very simple to set up and use:

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In Asphalt Kingdom's rebuttal to my problems concerning assembly and use of this product(resulting in myeventual  return of the item) they state that they have a manual on their website for this item.  When I was having dificulty with this product I went on their website for directions and found that the website said that this item was unavailable and may not be available again in the future.  What they sent me with the product were the directions for a 275gal. system and not a manual for the 55 gal. drum system.

This included no assembly directions and some of the directions for the mixing and testing of my particular product could not be done.  I therefore concluded that I would have problems with this product and it needed to be returned.  I asked Asphalt Kingdom for the aseembly instructions and the other problems but did not receive an answer other than talk to "Tim" which I did and decided to return this product.  Under these cicumstances I should have been refunded my entire purchase cost instead of losing about 35% of what I paid in shipping, re-shipping and restocking fees.

Asphalt Kingdom's conclusion that this item was returned because of budget problems is completely false.  It is a fabricated reason without merit.  I would not have ordered the equipment if I had "budget problems."  The item was returned because. after reading the instructions, which were actually for the 275Gal. unit, it became clear that it was impossible to carry out some of the "highly recommended" procedures such as mixing the 55 gallon asphalt and practicing using the system.  Furthermore, there were no instructions for assemblying the box of valves and pipes.  In this respect the instructions for assembly and use of this product are  very lacking. I became frustrated by this lack of  information and  so decided to return it.  I did not feel that talking to "Tim" would be a substitute for the lacking manual and the potential problem with the system. The system was returned in the very condition and boxes as it was shipped to me.  It was only taken out of the boxes because Asphalt Kingdom wanted a picture before it was returned.  So, at the very least, the $180  restocking fee should not have been charged.  Also, the vendor charged me $140 to send the pump and box of pipes to me.  It only costs me $101, including insurance, to return it UPS. 

At AK we have the asphalt industries’ top customer service team.  We provide UNLIMITED phone and tech support to our customers for life, instructional videos and an owner’s manual for each product.

Mr. Horst Reichelt ‘s AK 2200-B was delivered to him in March of 2013 at 80 S. Shore Dr., Dover, Delaware 19901 along with the correct owners manual which is also downloadable directly from our website.  See for yourself if you think it is too complicated:

Public link to the marketing page where the manual can be downloaded to any computer: http://www.asphaltkingdom.com/pavement-sealcoating-machine-ak2200b.html

Direct link to the same owners manual: www.asphaltkingdom.com/support-files/AK2200-B_OPERATING_MANUAL.doc

Out of thousands of customers purchasing the very same unit in 2013, Mr. Horst Reichelt was the ONLY customer this year who despite multiple phone calls with tech support and customer service, decided that this simple unit was too complicated for him and finally ask to return the unit.  Not because of any defect whatsoever in the unit, but rather because he claimed it was too difficult for him to operate.

We have call recordings of each of the calls with Mr. Horst Reichelt documenting the effort made by the AK team to answer all questions. It became clear Mr. Horst Reichelt was also having a personal budgetary issue and we suspect that was the real motivation for the return request was not just his failure to grasp very simple concepts in equipment operating.

The return policy for all equipment is clearly stated: http://www.asphaltkingdom.com/our-policies.html

Please view what some of our thousands of happy customers have to say about our equipment and service: http://www.asphaltkingdom.com/sealcoating-testimonials.html