Best and Worst customer service?

Best-Dunlavy Drew Rigby. Smart, friendly and helpful. From speaker placement to finishes.

Worst-Paypay. To call it customer service is to define oxymoron. There is no service at all. Only boilerplate computer generated email.

Best: Martin Logan, Madrigal, Krell, and Faroudja. Martin Logan not only has supported panel replacements on my unit (not free--but very reasonable), they have even given me some engineering help for modifications. I really can't say enough about the personal attention and help I've gotten every time I've called. My calls are returned very promptly and I've always been helped. I do understand ML's postion on drop shipping. It can create real problems with dealers, and mail order and deep discounters. It's too bad that some have felt cheated on this policy--but it is a business decision that one has to make and stick to. I'm not in the audio business--medical in fact--and it's true there too. When you make these kinds of policies there are a few individuals that suffer from it--but overall the company and it's dealer realtionships thrive. I know when you are that individual it doesn't really seam that way--even your dealer wants to help you--but it's the protection of the other dealers that's at stake. ML is against mail order and deep discounts (they only allow 10%). Their interest is in protecting the dealer--not hurting the customer.

Madrigal, Krell, and Faroudja have also given me excellent customer service. Quick turnaround time and personalized service. It's much appreciated--and it keeps the customer coming back.

Worst: I didn't know Sony had a customer service department--I thought it was just a phone system.

Abstract7 - I do not "feel cheated" as a result of ML's drop shipping policy. I WAS CHEATED by Martin Logan's failure to pay for a $350 shipping charge Martin Logan promised it would pay if I agreed to reinstate my order for ML speakers. Martin Logan's failure to honor its commitment to pay this charge not only constitutes "poor customer service," it is unlawful.

In January I sent Gayle Sanders, President of Martin Logan, a cordial letter explaining the situation and asking him to honor ML's promise to pay the $350 shipping charge. Mr. Sanders has taken no action to correct ML's error; in fact, he has not even bothered to respond to my letter. Is this any way to treat a customer who has bought 2 pairs of ML speakers? I would be glad to email you a copy of my letter to Mr. Sanders (or maybe I'll post it here). If you read my letter, I think you'll see that I have been treated very unfairly by Martin Logan. I think you'll also see that, despite how poorly I've been treated, I have remained reasonable. I will also gladly fax you my original order cancellation letter and the correspondence from Mr. Chern (ML's Sales Manager) stating that ML would pay the shipping charge.

In response to some of your other remarks, Abstract7, it is worth noting that my dealer is the one who -- after ML had delayed shipping of the speakers I ordered -- suggested that I ask ML to drop ship to me to avoid further delays. This wasan't an attempt to do "mail order" as you suggest.

In any case, your post seems to be an attempt to discredit my experience and justify ML's conduct. I have no doubt ML treats some of its customers fairly, and I'm glad you were one of these. However, my experience with Martin Logan is ALL negative. Your limited experience cannot undo this, nor does it justify or excuse the shameful way I have been treated by Martin Logan. Don

Djjd, I'm not trying to discredit you. It's clear you had a very bad experience. My comment about mail order is to protect the dealer in your new location--not the one that you are doing business with--that's why they wouldn't drop ship to you. I really do understand your point and frustration, but I also understand MLs policy and why they do what they do. As to the $350 charge--if they said they would pay it, and you have documentation that backs that up (when and who you spoke to that promised to pay the $350 shipping charge)--then keep calling them and write them--but I'm not sure it's Gayle Sanders that will deal with a shipping charge. I would also advise that you get your dealer involved in helping you resolve this. They buy a lot more than 2 pairs of speakers from ML and have a lot more clout--and if they are a good dealer they should support you on this.

As I stated in the previous post my dealings with ML have been excellent. In no way do I want to discredit what has happened to you. That's why we have these forums--so we can see the variation in what has happened--but I did want to share my positive experience and my experience in distribution and drop shipping (in an entirely different field) and let others know there are some serious business issues surrounding that. I do hope ML makes good on any promises to you.

Thanks for the advice and understanding Abstract7. As I mentioned in a previous post, I think it is important for people to post positive and negative experiences; only by considering a large sample of different experiences can one get a sense of whether or not a company is likely to treat its customers fairly. For this reason, your post is valuable too.

I did carefully consider asking my dealer to help address Martin Logan's failure to pay the shipping cost it promised to pay. However, I decided not to bring my dealer into this matter for 3 reasons: (1) my dealer was not responsible for the shipping delay that led me to cancel my order, (2) my dealer had no knowledge of ML's commitment to pay the shipping charge in exchange for my agreement to reinstate my order, and (3) it would be wrong to burden my dealer (with whom I've done business since the mid 70's) with a problem that ML is solely responsible for creating and resolving. I'll also add that after my speakers were delivered and I inquired with Martin Logan about its failure to reimburse me for the shipping charge, ML told me to see if I could get the dealer to pay the $350 shipping charge. So not only did ML not value me as a customer, ML apparently didn't really care about pissing off its dealer either.

As for ML's policy on the drop shipping issue, I think it is important to keep in mind direct/drop "shipping" to a customer is not the same as direct "selling" to customers. If a dealer suggests direct shipping, what possible harm could that cause? It's not like the manufacturer is competing with any other dealer by shipping to a customer after one dealer secures a sale from the customer. As I explained in a post above, other companies have drop shipped their gear to me (at their suggestion, not mine), so ML's unspoken policy on the "drop shipping" issue is by no means an industry norm. Also, my situation was highly unusual, and my ML dealer was the one who suggested the drop shipping option to prevent further delay. When companies like Martin Logan adhere to inflexible rules to the point where they can can no longer take into account such unusual circumstances, they lose contact with the customers.

In any case, my complaint isn't about Martin Logan's drop shipping policy (which I still think is silly and wasteful). My complaint is with Martin Logan's failure to honor its promise. I have now had to retain a lawyer to file suit against Martin Logan to recover the $350 shipping charge ML promised to pay. I'll leave my dealer out of it and focus on those responsible. Don