Is Signature Solar the Real Deal? Our Review and Mystery Shopping Experience
If you have watched any of our videos, you may have noticed that we regularly recommend Signature Solar. One of the reasons why we do so is just the simple fact that they’re one of the biggest online solar retailers out there, so they carry almost all of the solar products we review at reasonable prices.
With that said, just having high-quality products in stock never tells the full story when it comes to deciding if an online retailer provides a positive shopping experience. As you guys know, we always want to be honest and impartial when it comes to making recommendations, which is why we decided to go undercover and mystery shop at Signature Solar.
We created fake names, addresses, and scenarios to engage with their sales and tech support teams, so we could actually get the real customer service experience and decide if they are still worth recommending.
Read on for a basic overview of the company, as well as a thorough breakdown of what we discovered during our mystery shopping experience.
Who is Signature Solar?
Signature Solar was founded in 2019. They’re an American online retailer that is based out of Sulphur Springs, Texas.
According to Signature Solar, they’re one of the fastest-growing online retailers in the solar industry. Having delivered to over 50,000 customers since 2019, we don’t really have any reason to doubt them.
In terms of their reputation within the industry, they’re known for carrying a wide range of EG4 products, having competitive prices, and their Texas-based support teams. They pride themselves on making solar power accessible to average people by offering high-quality products, expert knowledge, and reliable customer support. But how do they actually measure up? Let’s take a look.
Our Sales Call Experiences
When we started our mystery shopping test, our first point of contact was with the sales team. We wanted to test their willingness to help and, more importantly, we wanted to gauge their product knowledge.
To make sure any experience wasn’t just a one-off, we tried two calls, with each expressing a different need.
Sales Call Number One: The Hunting Cabin Solar Setup Scenario
Tiny Baby, who you might recognize from our videos, was the first to call. After a brief 16-second hold, he was greeted with enthusiasm and eagerness to assist. Pretty solid for an online retailer!
Tiny Baby posed as someone who had just built a hunting cabin and needed a solar setup to handle 6,000 watts a day for regular two-to-three day stays. After explaining the scenario, the sales rep asked come pretty reasonable questions, like whether the setup would be roof-mounted or ground-mounted, as well as the zip code for the cabin to estimate sun exposure and the average number of solar peak hours each day.
From there, she recommended the EG4 6,000W XP Inverter, an all-in-one solution that integrates various components, including fuses, charge controllers, and a generator port.
The representative was pretty thorough when she ran us through the details about the inverter and its compatibility with different batteries. However, she did momentarily forget Tiny Baby’s goal of having enough power for three days, which led to a minor recalculation.
Not really a huge deal, and she was quick to correct the mistake. From there, she continued to provide a solid recommendation for panels and other equipment that would work well with the inverter.
Sales Call Number Two: The Tiny Home Solar Setup Scenario
Next up, Robbie called the sales team from a different phone number, posing as someone setting up a tiny home. At five and a half minutes, the hold was noticeably longer than the first call, but nothing too crazy.
Once we got through to someone, we were also greeted by a less enthusiastic representative. Despite this, he quickly recommended the same EG4 6,000W XP Power Inverter, along with a couple of batteries. Honestly, this seemed like overkill for my needs.
When I questioned the necessity of such a large system, he suggested a smaller 3,000W inverter, which would have been a more appropriate suggestion to start with. This gave us the vibe that he was going hard for an up-sell right off the start. He also didn’t provide detailed information about solar panels until we asked. Even then, the recommendations were fairly vague.
Our Thoughts on the Sales Calls
In terms of product knowledge, both people we spoke to from the sales team performed reasonably well, though there were gaps in the information provided. Neither representative fully explained how the components would work together, or why they were all needed. There was also a bit of inconsistency between what one representative said about a component and the information provided by the other.
Tax Credit and Shipping Questions
After narrowing down what we wanted to order, we asked a few additional questions that we think a typical customer would be interested in hearing about.
Both representatives provided useful information regarding shipping and warranties. Orders over $3,000 qualify for free shipping, and they handle manufacturer warranty issues directly, which is a big plus.
When asked about tax credits, one representative referred us to a blog post for detailed information, which was better than offering no guidance at all. The other really wasn’t all that helpful.
Tech Support Experience
Moving on to the tech support team, we came up with a few plausible scenarios for product issues to see how well they could help us out.
Tech Call Number One: Anker Power Station Issues
We called in with a problem about an Anker F3800 Power Station and 200W Solar Panels we saw they carried. After being put on hold for 20 minutes, the representative returned with the expected response: to use Anker panels for optimal performance. While the long hold time was not ideal, the representative was polite and eager to help, indicating a high willingness to assist.
Tech Call Number Two: Inverter Setup Problem
In our second tech call, I claimed to have lost the manuals for two 3,000W inverters and needed help setting them up. The tech support representative quickly emailed the manuals and provided clear, step-by-step instructions. This call lasted only four minutes, and the representative’s efficiency and willingness to help were both really impressive.
Overall Experience and Our Evaluation
We graded Signature Solar’s service based on willingness to help, product knowledge, and the confidence level they inspired:
The Sales Calls:
Willingness to Help: 7/10
Product Knowledge: 7/10
Confidence Level: 7.5/10
The Tech Support Calls:
Willingness to Help: 9/10
Product Knowledge: 8/10
Confidence Level: 9/10
When evaluated as a percentage, the sales team earned a solid average of 73%, or a B Grade. Nothing incredible, but also not too shabby. The first call was definitely a more positive experience.
The tech support team scored an impressive average of 86%, a solid A - Grade. The hold times weren’t amazing, but they were fairly reasonable. Where they shone was how willing they were to help. We genuinely got the impression that they wanted to help us, which, having called into a lot of solar equipment companies in the past, we can promise you isn’t always the case.
Overall, we’d grade the experience with Signature Solar an 80%, or B - Grade. Not quite perfect, but really solid when you also consider the fact that their pricing is very competitive.
The Final Verdict: Will We Continue Recommending Signature Solar?
Our mystery shop revealed that Signature Solar provides a generally positive customer experience, with knowledgeable, helpful, and reasonably friendly staff, especially when it comes to tech support.
While there were some areas for improvement in the sales department, the overall service was pretty good for an online retailer. We definitely don’t feel like we’re sending you to the wrong place when we recommend Signature Solar. On top of that, they tend to have solid prices on some of the best products we have reviewed, so they also have that going for them!
If there’s something they carry that you have your eye on, you can also add code THESOLARLAB50 at checkout for $50 off your order.
🛒 Shop at Signature Solar (They’re legit!)
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Use Code: THESOLARLAB50 for $50 Off Your Order