Conrad Johnson Repair Issues


The Post I Never Dreamed I’d Write
About two weeks ago I sent my beloved Conrad Johnson Premier-17 back to
the Conrad Johnson factory for repair because it stopped making any sound whatsoever. It apparently blew some internal component.
I soon received an email acknowledging receipt of the unit and an estimated bill
of about $523.00 not including parts.
On 10/14/2016 I got a phone message telling me the preamp was fixed & total charges were $579.00.
I called a few days ago to give my credit card info to pay for the repairs. The CJ
employee told me that “we also need to tell you that the unit was damaged during
shipping & the damages are not repairable because it involves damage to the structure of the unit & those metal parts are no longer available." The damage was not mentioned until that point.
Photos showed the actual frame of the preamp was twisted & bent. It looked like it had been dropped off a two story building without the box.
The repair manager felt it would be pointless to file an insurance claim because
they would automatically deny any claim where the box was not damaged & refused to assist me with any insurance issues.
The CJ phone rep assured me that Mr. Johnson, the owner, would call me that afternoon but he never did.
I did get a call from the repair employee who said they just want to
get my payment information & send my preamp to me.
I shipped U.S. Post Office & insured for $2000.00.
I’m shocked to have this happen with this company. I've had several pieces of equipment repaired by them with great service.
I would appreciate any advice. I'm a little shaken & confused.
I’m really shocked that this would happen with a company of this stature.
I've stayed with this brand over the years because of their reliability & reputation for integrity.
It really doesn’t look like shipping damage to me.Shouldn’t they at least be willing to
assist with insurance issues?
This is one of the more unpleasant customer service experiences I've had in a while.

128x128pereza
Scratches CJ Off my list no matter what.

They should never have accepted it to begin with, or notified you at the very start of the process, not afterwards. Also sounds like they overcharged you for a capacitor replacement.

Well, I'm a long ways from buying tubes again, but now I know.

Thanks for the update,


Erik
Much Thanks! pereza

Hope you are well and recovering from this whole issue. CJ will remain a stand-up operation in my book. Good to read that others have had shipping damage(s) in the past. No way could this have been a "1st time" episode.

Whom was the carrier that is responsible for said damage?
UPS? USPS? FedEx?

Thank you Pereza for your detailed thoughtful update regarding this matter, many of us were concerned regarding the outcome. It seems the guy at the top made this right but one might wonder why this situation had to get to that level to come to a satisfactory conclusion. At least that is my impression as it seems this was not in any way of your doing.


Your commentary concerning your enjoyment of Conrad-Johnson products most certainly mirrors my own, enjoy!

I would like to apologize for my comments,and I'm glad the issue was rectified.

I don't have CJ gear or was planning to buy any in the future.  So I don't have a dog in the fight.  But I have to echo erik above "Scratches CJ Off my list no matter what."

It does not seem ok to me that the owner of a major company has to become involved, and only after a public airing of what appears to be egregious behavior of one of his employees, if we are to believe the OP, in order to have the situation resolved.

At my company the employee would be severely reprimanded.  If it happened to me I would sell all my CJ gear and not take the B.S and praise the product.