How does it make you feel when you try to contact a mfg about their product with tech questions and they ignore you? I understand many places are suffering from a lack of help due to plandemic but when you repeatedly leave messages over a course of weeks and get no reply it sticks in my craw. I've spent my hard earned dollars on their equipment and a simple answer to my question would go a long way to endearment. When you leave a voicemail and no one bothers it's not only frustrating it's disrespectful, so much so that I don't ever want to buy their products again even if they are of good quality.
RE: a highly-regarded manufacturer of tube amps. A Psvane KT-88 blew up my amp, and I needed a cardboard shipping container to accomodate its return it to the factory far away from me in the USA. After badgering by emails (to which I was informed that a show was coming up and they were very busy with preps for it) I waited THREE months before I could return the unit for repair. My dealer had to intervene constantly at the show to have them send me a replacement box. I don't know about you folks, but I live for music - it is daily nutrition for me. Without an amp .... SO much for after-market service.
Fortunately, I have had great experiences dealing with numerous companies. My most recent experiences were Pass, Bricasti and McIntosh. All were efficient and superb. Years back I had experience with Bryston and they were rock solid too. I have to say that it's pretty cool that when you call, reach the company and are talking to a principle and you mention your name, he knows what you own.
Avalon Acoustics has totally ignored both my Emails and phone calls. I spent many thousands of dollars on a pair of their speakers, which I love. The company, unfortunately, is inaccessible.
I guess I have been really lucky ... Had my Cary slp98 preamp upgarded and they did extra things for me at no charge and right on time, Had tech questions on my Cary 200ts DAC and responses within 24 hours. In my office I have Emotiva monoblock xpa1s that were having a few issues just before the 5 year warranty ran out, not only did Emotiva fix the issues but because they determined some other things that would eventually fail a long way down the road, they replaced the caps etc all at no cost and within a few days. I recently purchase a set of Odyssey Kismet amps from Klaus, the left amp came with an issue due to shipping, not only did Klaus replace the left damaged Amp he upgraded it and so it would match replaced the right amp. That is what I call customer service at its best. Maybe it's luck, maybe it is picking the right vendors, I don't know but within certain limits I am a tough to please person and all three of these firms have been exceptional in service. You can argue sound quality, micronuances etc, but service is not subjective it is an actual event and these firms performed above and beyond.
Sutherland phono stages - incredible support by Ron Sutherland (answers the phone himeself) who spent over an hour talking about a power supply upgrade for $350 and then guided me through the installation of the board. He said he is honored to have me have his product in my system - unbelievable.
Integrity hifi - answers the phone and tells you exactly what configuration to buy, helps with setting it up, and supports it when you have questions.
VPI - fantastic support of van den Hul cartridges which they have recently started distributing, including setting one up for me at their factory/offices on a competing turntable!
Townshend Audio - Got through to Max Townshend himself who recommended a different capacity product and apologized for their lack of questioning the application and sent me the right one.
Symposium Acoustics - Owner answers the phone himself (Peter) and takes the time to understand the application and budget and makes the recommendation in the humblest way.
Music Direct - I'd buy from them again in a second.
Only bad experiences are from dealers who don't have time for you after you've bought the product and don't see a future purchase on the horizon. Won't mention their names.
I've need been in that situation but close. it only happens if i buy out of my Country. But all has been good for me . I noticed you never put down the question to Us was is a stupid question Freddy?
The thing is, even if you're swamped, and can't get good help, it's trivial to auto-respond to say something like this:
"Thank you for your email, we are currently 1-3 days behind in email, we appreciate your patience and we'll get back to you at that time. If this is an emergency, please contact the dealer where you purchased your magic_box"
And if you want to look really professional, for a handful of dollars (literally almost nothing), you can put in place a service where you take trouble tickets and then have technicians take a look at the tickets and get back to customers. There's no excuse for bad service in the 21st century. The tools are there to provide good service, they're cheap, and easy.
Like others above have noted, poor customer service makes me vote with my wallet and buy from others.
In my experience, I've received excellent customer service from the following to name a few, in no particular order: Ascend Acoustics, Rythmik, VPI (both Mat and Harry personally), Rogue Audio (Mark & Nick), Manley (EvaAnna), miniDSP, GIK Acoustics, Bob's Devices, Soundsmith, SweetVinyl, Herron, Oppo, Dr. Feickert, Brent Jesse, VTV amplifier, Music Direct, GIG Harbor Audio, Reference Analog, Audio Advisor As to poor customer, the one that stands out to me as horrible is Emotiva - based on my experience with the UMC1 and how they handled the whole situation (complete lack of integrity). Will never buy another Emotiva product and sold all of the pieces I owned.
The best Customer Service is one that isn’t required. Perusing this thread reveals a preponderance of complaints about streamers. Since streamers are glorified computers , and therefore subject to all of the same network issues all IT has, this is not surprising. I have never had an issue with an amp, speakers, CDP, or even turntable. Until streamers came along, I never knew that Audio companies required Customer Service departments. My two worst experiences in CS were Sony and Arcam. I never received any answer to phone calls, email, and certified snail mail. Fortunately I was able to return the Arcam (thank you, Music Direct) but unable to return the Sony (eff you, Crutchfield). I had to deal extensively with CS with Bluesound and Bryston. Bluesound CS went from being exemplary at first to very difficult over the years—I think they became to big for their own britches in sales volume. Still, they ultimately resolved my issue. Bryston is indeed excellent in support, I just wish the product itself didn’t require so much attention, and I am much happier since I sold it. My two current streamers are Melco and Cambridge Audio. I have no idea what their CS is like because they work beautifully.
Aerial Acoustics is amazing. When you call them the developer and owner of the company, Mike Kelly answers the phone and helps you directly. Always pleasant and helpful.
I bought a Peachtree amp500 through Underwood Wally, hooked it up in my complicated bi-amped system and thought the amp was dead. Wally and Peachtree were more than gracious and rushed a replacement amp out to me in 2 days. It turned out that there was nothing wrong with the first (or the second) amp they sent me. I just made an error with my hook-up. I am telling this to heap praise on Wally and Peachtree.
Unvetted stories on a forum regarding customer service are not always the best source of information on this subject, but they are very predictable.
How exactly are you proposing to vet my or anyone else's story? Is my story so bizarre to you you propose I spun it from yarn?
What kind of customer are you? The customer service you get depends on you and you do not know what is taking place on the other end of a conversation unless you are told. Customers with bad manners, or who seem to have endless insults, or who don't "listen" may not get the customer service or results they are seeking. It could be, when you tell a company you will never buy from them them there is a sigh of relief.
Where did you derive any of that? On my second voicemail I may have let them know I previously left a message and hadn't heard from them. On my third unresponded to call you bet I let them know I wasn't happy. If a company sighs a relief when I won't buy from them again because they couldn't take a minute to answer a question then who exactly is the loser?
There are customers who buy fake, look-a-like, or counterfeit products who then expects the real company to support the product. According to a GAO (US gov 2008 study) searching for the absolute best price on a product is likely to lead a customer to a fake, look-a-like, or counterfeit product at least 43% of the time.
Both items in question were bought new in the box from a retailer and shipped to me directly from the factory. Both items are registered and both still under warranty.
@benvenuto Now that my friend is great customer service! If I ever make a change from my Parasound Hint I'll keep them in mind.
@audio-union
There are always at least 2 sides to a story and a witch hunts work both ways. Anyone could be next in the sights of someone seeking revenge or just to cancel someone or something.
Unvetted stories on a forum regarding customer service are not always the best source of information on this subject, but they are very predictable.
What kind of customer are you? The customer service you get depends on you and you do not know what is taking place on the other end of a conversation unless you are told. Customers with bad manners, or who seem to have endless insults, or who don't "listen" may not get the customer service or results they are seeking. It could be, when you tell a company you will never buy from them them there is a sigh of relief.
There are customers who buy fake, look-a-like, or counterfeit products who then expects the real company to support the product. According to a GAO (US gov 2008 study) searching for the absolute best price on a product is likely to lead a customer to a fake, look-a-like, or counterfeit product at least 43% of the time.
On the other hand, there are good and bad people and companies in all industries and walks of life.
Wow! That's a leap! It's as simple as I said. I had questions for one company and issues for another. The results were the same for both I called, was unable to reach a live person, left a message with the appropriate department or person as instructed, waited over a week in both cases, rinse and repeat.
Retailer: Upscale Audio is excellent, consistently. Music Direct is also outstanding.
Manufacturers: Audioquest is stellar, I love that brand. Manley Labs is outstanding and Eveana Manley personally contacted me to make certain the issue was resolved. REL has been very helpful when contacted, and quickly at that. The ultimate, for me, is Balanced Audio Technology (BAT). When I call they always answer. I had a very intermittent problem (about once every three weeks) and one of the owners (Steve Bednarsky) offered to pay freight both ways due to the strange issue/problem (warranty is freight paid only back to the customer, typical of most manufacturers). The problem was corrected and the unit was returned very quickly. Other questions I had regarding a new and forthcoming BAT amp were answered each time I called. I also received additional emails and phone calls regarding updated information and target delivery date on the new model, unsolicited by me. I bought it and they delivered it on time to my dealer, Upscale Audio. I'll buy more BAT gear, they have earned my business, for life. And the product build quality and sonic performance is outstanding.
I am right there with you. I have a Matrix Audio Element X and the wireless connectivity has died. I've written to them twice already over the past week and absolutely no reply from them. This is a $3400 network streamer that is less than two years old and they obviously feel no responsibility to reply about their product failing. Buyer beware.
I feel for you and I always dread calling when I have a problem, just me. Have to explain and deal people… yuck!FedEx obviously dropped a Hegel H390 from truck pretty damn hard on one side of the box It crushed the hard foam packing inside about 3 inches on the source and volume knob side of the amp. No physical damage at all but knobs were inoperable. The H390 setup was quick and easy and yes it sounded amazing but I had to use the remote. I called the dealer (dread) and an hour later he called back and told me Hegel America is sending you a new H390 I was elated! Also since you have music keep that H390 until the new one arrives. 3 days later I had a new amp. Packed up the damaged one and sent it out per Hegel America instructions postage paid. Happy ending! Good experience with Hegel and Dedicated Audio
I did have the Line Magnetic distributor flag all my ads when I tried to sell the new gear I bought from them 2 years later. Spent thousands wanted to make a change so listed the gear that I bought from them. I got a few very rude and insulting emails from the distributor and all who inquired about my ad were told it was grey market even after I sent the receipt to the distributor. I lost much on the resale and stopped buying anything they imported YMMV
I have to say I've never really had any issues with manufacturers - PS Audio, Denon, Schiit, Buchardt, Denafrips, Periapt, REL, SVS, VPI have all stepped up, gotten back to me in a timely manner and fixed any issues that I've had to my satisfaction - I had problems with PS Audio, Denon and Schiit products concerning defects that were under warranty and all were resolved - Schiit made me pay for shipping and insurance back to them. VPI sent me a (paper) template for cartridge alignment for a Traveler, SVS took a sub I didn't buy directly from them as a trade-in for an upgrade, REL responded to my questions about crossover settings for use with my speakers, and PS Audio always responded to me with various questions/suggestions for best usage. So-so service: McIntosh when trying to get parts for my (admittedly) ancient 70's solid state amp - rep couldn't hook me up with replacement volume pots, didn't know where I could procure them, and referred to the amp at one point as a "boat anchor". OK, fine; don't expect companies to have replacement parts for 50 year old products. I found and customized a couple to work so, happy ending. If you allow me the indulgence of expanding this to online retailers, I've had very good experiences with Audio Advisor, Vinshine, Apos, Drop (sometimes you can wait a while for products to ship), Blue Jeans Cables, KAB. Now this allows me to vent about Shenzhen Audio, from who I was 1.) first sent a Topping D90 with the graphics printed upside down on the front, and they offered me $20 to keep the unit and no other option, and 2.) sent me a Topping (see a pattern here?) A50 headphone amp with an Australian power adaptor - was not given an option to pick on the website, but it was being sent to the US...Anyway, it took a month of emails back and forth with them always being very polite (and always asking for me to post a positive review of them ) but never understanding what I needed, to the point of me sending them pictures of what they sent me with a big "NO" next to it and a picture of what I needed with a big "YES" next to that one.
Ha, this is a great list of guilty people that need to trudge before all and feel our shame. I would like to add to the list: Van Alstine, B&W and Linn. Van Alstine actually suggested I just throw their amp away, which I did.
Great service: Dynaco (any tech worth their salt can work on it and schematics are public), Magnepan, Decware, Audible Elegance (a local shop in Cinci) Fortunately the good out number the bad.
I love when people passively aggressively respond to well meaning posts only to have people like JohnD come back with a declaration that when he calls they always answer the phone while tribute signalling his equipment llst. These shops may have neen responsive now they are part of a conglomerate where nobody answers the phones like at mcintosh where i am still waiting for a call back and yup my next amp purchase was Levinson. Not to mention PS Audio where i am still witing for my DAC update call back. Both are now dead to me.
I have received excellent customer service from the following.
EgglestonWorks Upscale Audio - from Kevin Deal directly Audio Mirror - from Vlad Bazelkov Dehavilland Amplifier - from Kara Chaffee Manley - from Evana Manley directly Audio Advisor
These people really care about their customers and their products that they make or sell.
There are always at least 2 sides to a story and a witch hunts work both ways. Anyone could be next in the sights of someone seeking revenge or just to cancel someone or something.
Unvetted stories on a forum regarding customer service are not always the best source of information on this subject, but they are very predictable.
What kind of customer are you? The customer service you get depends on you and you do not know what is taking place on the other end of a conversation unless you are told. Customers with bad manners, or who seem to have endless insults, or who don't "listen" may not get the customer service or results they are seeking. It could be, when you tell a company you will never buy from them them there is a sigh of relief.
There are customers who buy fake, look-a-like, or counterfeit products who then expects the real company to support the product. According to a GAO (US gov 2008 study) searching for the absolute best price on a product is likely to lead a customer to a fake, look-a-like, or counterfeit product at least 43% of the time.
On the other hand, there are good and bad people and companies in all industries and walks of life.
You may recall the guy in another country whose speakers were dropped off at a station and he was supposed to drive hours away to pick them up. A forum member instructed him to "Use American ingenuity". "Do you want them or not?" he says. "Just go pick them up, and suck it up." The guy paid for direct delivery to his house.
Or another guy that didn’t get his speaker grills after months of waiting. A member’s response, "why would you possibly want grills anyway?"
When I was upgrading my phono amp couple of years ago I wanted further information about the van den Hul 'The Grail SB'. So I phoned the company. AJ himself answered the call and answered all the questions I had. I bought the piece. It is wonderful. And so is AJ and his company.
Some very good tips here. Love the ’tester’ pre-purchase question idea!
My best experiences have been with:
Innuos- based in UK/Portugal but always same day responses. Nice job boys!
Pass Labs- Kent will pick up the phone after 1-2 rings ready to give you intelligent, educated suggestions. Nelson Pass replies to all emails.
My friend Vlad at Audio Mirror. Works another full time job and assembles, upgrades and ships his products. And returns calls in the eves. Talk about a one man show! I love supporting him.
I love when companies like Bryston offer some items with lifetime warranties. Sanders Sound- Lifetime Warranty
I say this to all professional reviewers: In every opening paragraph review always include the length of warranty and whether it is transfers to future owners please! By putting in the fine print at the end of a review you are saying "Warranties Do not Matter’.
Agree with the OP. I work hard for my money and when I come to spend it I expect the potential recipient to work just as hard to take it off me! Some companies these days don’t seem bothered whether you purchase their product or not. Have had many inquiries ignored, but it’s their loss, I just look elsewhere.
My beef is with Technics and parent company Panasonic I've made it known on other threads. I bought their SUG700 a fine piece no issues but I wanted to know more about the product than in their manual so I tried the phone numbers in the manual only one worked and referred me to a nonworking email. I started randomly calling numbers close to one of the nonworking published numbers and actually got a guy at Panasonic that gave me a number at Technics to call,I called it and it referred me to a non-working email address. I gave up but take the opportunity when presented to say good product customer support not so much. conversely Emotive,PSAudio,I got a human on the other end.
Regarding equipment issues, there are numerous negative customer service experiences I’ve experienced. Two stand up companies are Belles and Van Alstine. They are great and are willing to go the extra mile.
I bought a new Parasound JC2 from a great local dealer. Unfortunately, it had a defective power supply. I sent an email to Parasound, to which Richard Schram personally replied. The next day, a new replacement was on its way to me, even before I put a return label on the defective one. That's about as good as it gets for customer service in my opinion.
I’ve experienced excellent customer service from the following: Magnepan Underwood Wally Peachtree Audio Vacuum Tube Audio (tubes4hifi) I agree that “Covid,” has become a convenient excuse for anything & everything.
I wouldn’t know, several of my components are from Bryston. Besides from devastatingly underrated audio chops, their build quality is one of the best I have ever had, and the way they stand behind their components is absolutely second to none!
Really great service with Ortofon. And with manufacturers, if they don't get back to me right away to answer questions, generally their distributor has a go to contact at the factory and the answers are provided within several days. Really over the years I have had a handful of issues but things were sorted out every time....even with behemoths like yamaha, pioneer and sony...where one might expect more of a chance of being ignored. Dinged corners on books, broken plastic teeth in CD players, broken stylus, questions on firmware and features, corrupt firmware, turntable belts that break in too short of time, and etc etc...all fixed. Even Reverb did what they pledged to do here just recently.
Nice choice of words……plandemic. Lol. I don’t think anyone gives a rats #%s about anyone anymore. Big corporations are the worst and the smaller ones don’t have the manpower. This 200 plus yr democracy may be on its way out. I can say that vpi almost never responds to my inquiries.
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