has anyone had problems with wadia service?

Roxy54 & Paperw8-

Until you have read a manufacturer to dealer agreement you cannot claim that my position is unsupportable. It is quite supportable in fact.

Furthermore, most high end manufacturers prefer that the dealers serve as a buffer between themselves and the consumer. Most will even turn the consumer back over to their local dealer. Sure, this is not the case with repairs as most dealers can't take the time to test & repair on site nor do they stock the parts to each piece of gear that they represent and sell.

Really, who better than Wadia to work on Wadia? I never said I planned on repairing his unit or taking delivery of it - all I offered was to put him in touch with the powers that be. This is a service that any authorized dealer would do - it takes 2 minutes at most and everyone moves forward. My sole agenda was to assist as I had the information that he required. Finally, these are not public contacts and therefore I would not post them in the thread.

Paperw8 brought up krell and bryston as examples. So, if you needed, say, a replacement remote control or the optional bryston remote and you call Krell or Bryston directly - where will they direct you? Why?

I don't think that you have a strong foundation to argue against the fact that dealers exist to serve consumers and that manufacturers, who choose to operate with a dealer base, are set-up to serve their dealers and distributors.

It's mildly disturbing that I offered to put Paperw8 in touch with one of the higher-ups at Wadia so that he can get his unit repaired and voice his concerns about the breakdown in the consumer repair process but instead he has made me out to be some sort of villian and now Roxy54 thinks that dealers are not the front line between the product (consumer end) and the manufacturer. Um....okay guys....sure. You are both absolutely correct and I happily wave the white flag.

I do not wish either of you ill-will but I really have nothing more that I could say that I haven't already said.

I will forward the link to this thread to the powers that be at Wadia as I would still like to see a resolution and because I believe Wadia, being the company that they are, would also wish to see Paperw8's issues handled professionally and expediently.

It seems we're going round and round and I don't think you understand what I am saying - though I have tried to explain myself numerous times.

The entity that exists today is NOT the entity that wrote the warranty cards nor is it the same entity that you were able to reach via phone 2 years ago. The website content is also likely from the older entity. On this we can all agree?

The new entity is part of a much larger entity and perhaps some of the small independent charm has been lost in that, for the time being, you cannot simply make a call and be connected to a human that will handle your service request.

I understand this and you understand this. So, are we again in agreement?

Now add to it that it is the peak of summer, you called on a Friday, and there is a national hifi show on in CA and you perhaps gain a bit more understanding regardng your expectations of this recently formed larger entity.

Knowing this, and not being able to change it anytime soon, and because you require service, I offered to put you in touch with a human at Wadia - As dealers we are armed with numerous contact information that a consumer is not likely to find or obtain. I maintain that consumers should go through authorized dealers if the manufacturer has chosen a dealer base to distribute it's products.

I would postulate that any dealer in Wadia's extensive dealer base would assist you with this but I happened to see your post and was quick to offer my assistance without any knowledge of the who/from where/when as I don't really need to know any of that.

I have no agenda other than to get you in touch with a person that can help you. Period. I don't own stock in Wadia nor do I need to defend the situation - it is what it is and I can be a part of the solution if you so desire. The ball has been in your court from my initial posting.

Feel free to contact me if you would like my assistance. If not, I wish you the best of luck.

Seattlehifi - I commend your willingness to help! What I am amazed at though is your continued defense of the un-defenseable. Wadia products have continued to be marketed via the same website; if your suggestion above is correct and it hasn't been updated over the last two years that speaks volumes about the lack of customer foresight and therefore service that the new owners have. Additionally, they continue to ship product with the same warranty information, my 171I is only a few months old. If the information continues to be incorrect one could ask why the dealer network hasn't pressed them to update it and shipping materials versus having frustrated and misinformed customers that they then have to deal with? Excepting for the direct slight you feel above, I think you're chidding the wrong people.

08-04-12: Seattlehifi

I will forward the link to this thread to the powers that be at Wadia as I would still like to see a resolution and because I believe Wadia, being the company that they are, would also wish to see Paperw8's issues handled professionally and expediently.


this would probably be a better way to go because there is a problem at wadia, and if making the higher-ups aware of the problem leads to improvement then everyone who needs service on a wadia product benefits. my thinking was that it would be better for you to post the information that you offered to share with me privately because anyone who attempted to contact wadia for service would almost certainly have a similar experience to my own. but i would appreciate if you would follow up and inform your contacts at wadia about this thread because what i am reporting is something that definitely needs to be addressed.

i have been attempting to contact wadia for weeks, so the audio show to which you referred is not the reason why i have been unable to contact anyone at wadia.

for your own information, i would suggest that you go to the wadia website and attempt to follow the service information posted there and you might better understand what my experience has been.

as to the warranty obligations, unless wadia declared bankruptcy before being acquired, the warranty obligations of wadia are now the warranty obligations of fine audio SpA so it doesn't matter that the warranty was written by the truewave llc (dba as wadia digital) entity. it may very well be the case that fine audio prefers the service model that you propose (where customers contact local dealers) but we as customers have to rely upon the information that is publicly distributed by the manufacturer.

Seattlehifi,
I want to make clear to you as well that I thought you were very considerate in trying to assist Paperw8.
I had no criticism for you at all. My point was simply that any business, especially one of Wadia's stature (and price points) should not make basic mistakes like the ones that caused his negative experience. What goes on in the back room (mergers etc.) is not the customers problem.
You tried to do a good thing, but they were negligent.