Platinum Stages reviews and complaints

Don't Purchase a pole from Platinum Stages Kevin! I recently sought a pole for my apartment complex and specifically stated this to Kevin over the phone about how I didn't want a pole that would ruin my ceiling. I told him I wanted to purchase a stand alone pole and asked if it could be cut to fit my apartment. He assured me that it was no problem, he would have it sized to my measurements given. I talked to him several times to be SURE that the pole would fit and submitted my measurements to him via the payment comments. On the receipt I was emailed, it showed he changed the measurements to 2 inches below what I had submitted to ensure the fit. However, when I got my pole it was 10ft tall even though I submitted 8.5 feet measurements! After calling him back to complain he changed his story saying that all the stage poles come at 10 ft and you have to buy extensions to shorten them. I told him I had spoken to someone prior to purchasing specifically about the length because it was important for my living situation (Even though I knew I was speaking to him). He said he didn't know why someone would tell me that because all of the stage poles were shipped at 10ft. I told him that whomever I had spoken with wasn't very knowledgeable of their product because they should have told me that instead of lying and also adding it to my receipt as if it were being done. That's when he spoke up to say It was him whom I'd spoken with and that yes, he is knowledgeable of the products he sells, then proceeded to sell me the extension. NO WAY ARE YOU GETTING AN ADDITONAL 54.99 OUT OF ME! I contacted XPoleUS and Heidi and Stephanie helped me very well. Plus I paid several dollars LESS for an extension through them. I wish I would have purchased from my pole them in the first place. They were nice and after resolving matters with them I felt better about my purchase. Kevin is a swindler. He was just looking to make a sale any way possible. BEWARE!

I ordered a pole and case from Platinum Stages in November, which they promised to ship to arrive before Christmas. However, they failed to do so (responded by saying that they custom each pole to order...which is absolutely not true). When the shipment arrived, both the case and pole were damaged (even though the box was fine). The pole looked like it was used: scuffs, nicks, and scratches all over the pieces. Some areas had deep scratches which would have been unsafe to use.

The company promised that they would ship a replacement within 24 hours. It didn't happen for another 3 weeks (even though they had already received the damaged originals). When the replacement pole and case arrived, it came in even worse condition. The chrome fittings had rust inside. There were even more scratches over the poles and the case arrived destroyed (several latches broken off, major impact damaged and scratches). There were marks from shoes rubbing against the pole.

Platinum Stages claimed that the damage was caused by UPS. However, how could there be this type of damage when each pole piece was individually wrapped in plastic in a flight case, packaged within a box? It has been over 2 months since the order and they still have not sent a functioning, new pole. When asking for a full refund, they even had the audacity to try and charge a re-stocking fee and to retain the original $50 shipping fee's even though it was their fault.

Horrible company, I would NEVER recommend anyone go through this. Just search for "Platinum Stages" in Google and you'll see more complaints than positive testimonials for the work and service they provide.

This is a long review, just warning you, but it might be worthwhile to read if you are thinking about purchasing from this company:

I so wanted to like you Platinum Stages, and I gave you so many chances, but there are some major flaws with your manufacturing and service.

I spent a lot of time researching poles, and Platinum Stages seemed to be the company of choice according to google. I did read about a few complaints, but figured hmm…I guess there are rare cases where things go wrong, or maybe the person installing it was just doing something incorrectly.

Well, I got to see for myself what those people were complaining about. I ordered a multi-piece super pole, with a 2 foot extension and a vaulted ceiling mount. I did read all the information online before purchasing, and everything seemed legit and simple.

I also live in Orange County, so I was so happy when I found out I could pick up the pole from their office and save on shipping. Little did I know that I would have to make several trips back to the Platinum Stages’ office for defective parts. I don’t even know how somebody out of the area or out of the state would have had to deal with a problem like mine!

So I ordered my pole on a Sunday, and got a call the next day that it was ready to pick up. I’ll have to admit that it was nice of them to have my order ready so fast.

I picked up my pole and brought it home, and started putting it together right away since I knew there was only a 7 day return policy. I got all of the multiple pieces of the pole together, but my top coupler piece was not fitting into the top mounting plate or the vaulted ceiling adapter. It wouldn’t go in even a little. My boyfriend even measured the piece with a caliper and found that the coupler was a fraction of an inch too large for the holes in the top mounting plate and the vaulted ceiling adapter. We also found that the locking pins were not fitting in the base piece. Even after lubricating them, neither of the two included pins would go in. Either the pins were crooked, or the base piece’s hole for the locking pins was not drilled straight. There was no way I could fix any of these problems myself because they were manufacturer’s defects. I reluctantly drove back to Newport Beach to get some help.

It turned out all three parts were defective! I’m not even exaggerating. The locking pins or the base had to be replaced (I’m not sure which because Kevin took all the pieces to the back and I didn’t see what he did.) After that, they seemed to be going in ok. Then he examined the problem with the top coupler. I was right; it was too big to fit in the top mounting pieces. He brought the coupler to the back, and came back with it and it was fitting. I looked at it later and it appears he did not replace it, but rather had just filed it down with whatever mechanical saw or filer he had back there. I’m not complaining about not getting a new piece, I mean whatever would make the pole work was fine with me.

So okay fine…the top coupler was fitting nicely into the pressure mounted non-slip top plate. I asked Kevin to show me that it fit into the vaulted ceiling adapter (since that would be the one I would be using) and HMM it wouldn’t fit in! There are these little screw-like things that go into the side of the vaulted ceiling adapter’s hole (you’ll have a hard time picturing this if you don’t know what I’m talking about, and I’m going to talk about those a little later, or more like complain about a different issue involving them later.) Anyway, the little screw-like things were out of the way, and the coupler was still not fitting into the vaulted ceiling adapter! Kevin took the piece to the back, and indeed, the vaulted ceiling adapter was too small. Kevin gave me a new one. Other people in the office were like, “oh what’s the problem?” and Kevin shouted something in response like “the bearings are off! That’s never happened before!”

Somehow I am reluctant to believe that…

I went home happily thinking everything was solved (although I should have been more angry. THREE DIFFERENT DEFECTIVE PARTS! All in my one order!

Had to install it Thursday because Wednesday, I was busy purchasing a ladder for my high vaulted roof, an electric drill to screw the vaulted ceiling adapter into my roof, and a drill adapter piece…all which I purchased for pretty much no reason because the pole ultimately did not work out for me and I ended up returning it. Wednesday I was also busy moving around heavy furniture, which was also a complete wasted effort since I ended up returning the pole.

I know this review is long, but as you can see, there are a lot of different problems going on here.

So you could imagine how stressful it is to have to install your pole in a hurry because you only have 7 days to return it, especially when everything is going wrong.

Thursday, we got the ceiling mount in place and connected the pole. Everything seemed okay, until we tried to put the pole on spin mode. The pole was rubbing against the edge of the mount! With much frustration, we began to dissemble the pole, because I knew I did not want a pole that was meant to spin, but was not working properly. We were starting to decompress the base and looked up and saw the pole was instead unscrewing between some of the multiple pieces of the pole because of the friction from the top coupler rubbing against the vaulted ceiling adapter! That was very SCARY and DANGEROUS to me, because what if the pole had completely unscrewed itself between the top pieces and it all fell down on us? Those are VERY heavy pieces, which would be falling from 12 feet above.

Friday, the last day I could make it in to return the pole, I had everything packed back into the box, convinced I did not want to keep this poorly designed pole. Went back again to the Newport office for the third time in the week. First I talked to Kevin again. He was like “oh, our vaulted ceiling adapters are only designed to fit 45 degree ceilings. Your ceiling must be more than 45 degrees.” I was like, uh, that doesn’t sound right at all. There is no way my ceiling is more than 45 degrees. Duh! Kevin started to suggest something about getting a block of wood and attaching it to the ceiling…and in my head I was just like whoa there! Solving a potentially dangerous problem with a block of wood? Uh how about hell no!

Kevin seemed especially cocky and unwilling to help that day. It’s like, oh I’m sorry Kevin…am I troubling you with YOUR defective parts’ problems? GEEZ! I just got to the point. “I don’t want to keep this. I want to return it.”

He said, “okay, you’ll have to talk to Kim about that” then he disappeared.

Waited for Kim for several minutes while she was on the phone, then explained the vaulted ceiling issue to her. I was very frustrated because this was the 4th separate problem with my pole that I had to explain. She started talking about how those little screws in the vaulted ceiling adapter are meant to grasp the coupler to be able to increase the angle so the pole can work with a highly slanted ceiling. Clearly she and Kevin were not on the same page. Anyway, I was just shocked to hear that explanation. Uh two screws holding my pole in place so it doesn’t slide out of the vaulted ceiling adapter? No thank you.

I told Kim, “why don’t you explain these things beforehand?”

Kim replied, “it’s in the instructions included in the box for the vaulted ceiling adapter.”

Strike 5: I did not receive any instructions in my package for the vaulted ceiling adapter, just the pole instructions.

I tell Kim “you know that’s very dangerous not including all the instructions in the box if it’s so much more complicated then you make it seem online.”

Kim replies, “yes it is dangerous. You should have called us and we could have mailed you the instructions.”

I ask Kim, “the multi-piece pole is meant to be broken down after each use. So you expect me to climb up on a ladder to reach the vaulted ceiling adapter on my 12 foot ceiling, and unscrew the coupler every time I use my pole?”

“Kim replies, “well that’s why most of our buyers go with one-piece poles.”

I tell Kim, “Why don’t you tell your buyers about all these details on your website before they make their purchases?”

Kim replies, “well we have an 800 number. You could have always asked.”

Uh NO! If you have a website that allows online purchases, all the information needs to be on the website. About how vaulted ceiling adapters are for 45 degree ceilings at most, and how the vaulted ceiling adapter is for semi-permanent poles. And uh, INSTRUCTIONS.

Finally, Kim begins to process my return. She mentions, “you know what I’ll just waive your re-stocking fee.” Ohh yippee. You’d have to be crazy to expect me to pay a 40 something dollar restocking fee when I was the one being caused all the inconvenience!

Did you notice that there was no apology whatsoever from Kevin or Kim? Just confrontations and arguments. Hello sex industry related workers…your customer service needs some major work!

To summarize, I am a nice person who rarely complains, but this was a well-deserved complaint. I am not going to say “DO NOT BUY YOUR POLE FROM PLATINUM STAGES.” Platinum Stages has some cool poles, and they do seem to be made of sturdy material. I could imagine that people who have ceilings of average heights might get along just fine. Studios probably love their Platinum Stage poles. I’m just extremely unsure about their reliability and the company’s dependability. I mean, 3 separate manufacturer’s defects for one pole? Forgotten instructions posing potentially dangerous situations? Come on, what are the chances? I know I’m not a pro stripper, but I do know what I’m dealing with here. They claim that their poles are perfect for college students, housewives, and everyday people. I’m just saying…if you are a one-time pole buyer like me…think about it. I should have gone with Lil Minx from the beginning. Now I have a bunch of annoying holes in my vaulted ceiling, but at the very least I’m just glad I was able to get all my money back.

I’m just being honest and thorough and trying to help so people don’t have to go what I went through. I should have listened to the other reviews. If you are out of state….just a precaution for what you might have to deal with...it could be a HUGE hassle for you guys. People shouldn’t have to go through so much trouble to get a working pole.