@asvjerry
One example is SMc Audio with Steve McCormack and his associate Patrick, who are both extremely friendly and responsive and who do great work. They took time to have a few conversations with me years prior to me ever using their service. I have now had them perform all-out upgrades on one preamp and two different amplifiers and the preamp and one set of monoblocks still reside in my system. Successful and responsive communication can occur at smaller sole proprietor type companies but it requires time management/prioritization, focus on the work, and the ability to distinguish between actual prospects vs. habitual tire-kickers while treating both with respect. Other examples, at least in my world, have been Michael Kelly at Aerial Acoustics and Cees Ruijtenberg at Metrum Acoustics (now at Sonnet Digital Audio).
On the other side of the coin, for years I owned CD/DVD players from a small company owned by a talented and well-regarded designer who had been influential in the early digital audio world. I actually had two of their players upgraded by the company. While the sound of their players beat out several well-regarded competitors in my system, communication with the company was difficult and it was clear the owner/designer was the only person allowed make decisions (an autocratic culture), and that owner didn’t seem to like interacting with other people. When I finally sold my last player of theirs, regardless of how good they sounded, I never missed the communication difficulties or the feeling that getting service (if needed) might be difficult.
The ’small co.’ doesn’t have that luxury; likely doesn’t have Any.Truth to what you say, especially for successful entities, but there are also upsides to sole proprietorships such as not answering to anyone or to a group, scheduling your own day, quicker response to market trends, etc. Some who own small companies are people-people and some are techno-introverts....i.e., the very characteristics that make them good at designing keeps them from embracing all facets of customer service. A few are good at both.
Weekends for the little company guy exists as a concept, and happen when they do, despite what the calendar may show....;)
One example is SMc Audio with Steve McCormack and his associate Patrick, who are both extremely friendly and responsive and who do great work. They took time to have a few conversations with me years prior to me ever using their service. I have now had them perform all-out upgrades on one preamp and two different amplifiers and the preamp and one set of monoblocks still reside in my system. Successful and responsive communication can occur at smaller sole proprietor type companies but it requires time management/prioritization, focus on the work, and the ability to distinguish between actual prospects vs. habitual tire-kickers while treating both with respect. Other examples, at least in my world, have been Michael Kelly at Aerial Acoustics and Cees Ruijtenberg at Metrum Acoustics (now at Sonnet Digital Audio).
On the other side of the coin, for years I owned CD/DVD players from a small company owned by a talented and well-regarded designer who had been influential in the early digital audio world. I actually had two of their players upgraded by the company. While the sound of their players beat out several well-regarded competitors in my system, communication with the company was difficult and it was clear the owner/designer was the only person allowed make decisions (an autocratic culture), and that owner didn’t seem to like interacting with other people. When I finally sold my last player of theirs, regardless of how good they sounded, I never missed the communication difficulties or the feeling that getting service (if needed) might be difficult.