Here’s an exchange with Kitsune after I emailed them, frustrated by using their website several times. I have a thick skin, being in sales, and have to deal with cranky people often, and have (if I do say so) strong diplomatic skills for a peddler. Now I admit that I was a wee bit cranky (though I did say "sorry" twice!) and in a hurry in my first email, after being frustrated on several occasions with their website, but that was a test for him--to overcome that and see how he could help. He wasn’t interested. -PD
--- >>> (ME, 1st email):
Hi,
I have tried to shop gear at your website several times, most recently looking at HOLO DACs.
Your website is terrible! Sorry, but one can’t sort by product, brand etc easily at all. It’s so frustrating that I won’t come back. Sorry. ~Pat D
>> REPLY from them:
May 27, 2021, 12:43 AM PDT
"Patrick, you are the very first to say this.
Take care and good luck finding a product and website that meets your standards.
Best,-Tim"
KitsuneHiFi and HoloAudioUSA Tim Connor (Kitsunehifi) <support@kitsunehifi.zendesk.com>
>> My reply back to him:
Tim,
I am in sales and I know about customer service. I also use a LOT of websites, both retailers and manufacturers, so I am not an idiot or inexperienced. Yours isn’t user friendly when looking for a specific thing, like the Holo May, or for navigation in general.
The ideal reply would have been something like this:
"I’m sorry you’re having difficulty navigating our site. How can I help? Can I call "
Instead, what I hear/read is:
"I don’t give a crap. Take your business elsewhere."
Pretty pathetic. Don’t worry, I’ve found another DAC. Alvin from Sunshine Audio (sole distributor of Denafrips) is extremely helpful personally, and his site works fine.
Pat"
addendum:
" Seriously, that was such a polite "F off" you gave me. I might just have to post this on Audiogon to see if others have had a similar experience."
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I know the HoloMay is an amazing DAC, but I am also interested in customer service. I will extrapolate and guess it wouldn’t be good if I had a problem with one of their products. I’ll pass. I have had excellent customer service from places like Music Direct and Audio Advisor, and the brick and mortar retailers I’ve dealt with, like my current Vandersteen dealer in Tacoma WA (shout out to Advanced Audio and Victor/Bob). I know retail customers can be a PITA, but it comes with the territory.
