My Teres 350 is on the way

Jyprez,

I would be happy to extend an invitation to you so you can hear a Schröder arm.

I think you may understand the supply/demand situation for the Schröder a little better after you hear and see one. While much ink has been devoted to how the Schröder sounds, not much has been written on the high level of craftsmanship that is delivered. The attention to detail that Frank puts into each and every arm he builds is really quite amazing and therefore time consuming. If I could swing it, I would hang an extra Reference on the wall as art, although that would be akin to owning a Porsche Carrera GT and not driving it...fast.

Merry Christmas, Steve

Dear Jyprez,
Just for the record. I never left anyone's mails unanswered for 14 months. If mails from a specific individual/server are blocked by my provider or the firewall, why not give me a call? Many audiophiles have done this, quite a few of them to gather tips on future system upgrades totally unrelated to my tonearms. I don't think spending up to two hours on the phone per DAY(!) answering questions deserves to be called poor customer service.
I do experience my own emails(replies) being blocked by the recipient from time to time. What would you do in such cases?
A minimum wage subordinate, as you like it to call would certainly NOT be able to answer all these questions with the same expertise or devotion. But you may be right. I should consider hiring low wage helpers or better, start a production line in China(or any other low wage country that gives a d*#n about workers rights or the environment), so that the world would be enriched by yet another mass-produced item that is a mere shadow of what it was intended to be. No lead time, flashy advertisements, dealers that offer to undersell their competition, all the blessings of todays fast way of doing business....
Now, from my point of view, that IS the ultimate undoing of a company.
I'd rather keep on producing something I can stand behind, something you don't see flogged on ebay or other sales platforms, something that, most importantly, will make you smile...
My apologies for sounding defensive, but I mailed those (2) people who said they never got a reply. Did I get a reply? No! Only so much one can do.

Still enjoying what I'm doing, despite the madness...

Frank Schröder

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Jyprez,
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You would be more than welcome to come for a listen (email me off line).
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I think once some one has heard what the Schroeder Reference can do for an otherwise revealing system, the concern about waiting would be tossed aside and the focus would turn to how do I place an order.
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I have never had problems with communicating with Frank. I usually email or pick up the phone. Frank has, on occasion over the last few years missed getting some of my emails and I have missed some of his replies due to spam filter issues or whatever. The phone always works and Frank has been more than generous with his time and excellent advice (try to remember that there is a 6 hour time difference if you call him….he does sleep on the rare occasion).
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I know of no one who waited for one of Frank's Arm's that begrudged the wait after dropping the Arm in their system.....most just smile a whole lot.
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Frank is a gem of a person and you will certainly enjoy knowing and working with him.
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Rgds,
Larry
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Thank you, Mr. Schroeder for your response. I'm sure you have better things to with your time than respond to my posts on A'gon. I was only responding to what I heard from other posters about responsiveness issues and I'm glad for all concerned that you set the record straight regarding your commitment to customer service - NOW GET BACK TO WORK! ;)

Seriously, however, I work as a business strategy consultant in the financial services industry. My observations reflect that fact that I have seen companies with fantastic products take their customers for granted only to see them flee the minute a competitor came along with a comparable product and better service. Innovation attracts new customers, service makes the innovation sustainable and I am pleased to hear you have a commitment to it.

As for production levels, obviously moving production to China is not the answer. Is there any answer short of cloning Frank Schroeder? It seems you may not be interested in being bigger even though you have the demand that many entrepreneurs would die for. That's you decision. But quality need not be completely compromised for the sake of improving productivity as I think many fine audio and non-audio companies have demonstrated.

Alles Besten und Froeliche Weihnachten,
Bob Mueller

Just to support Frank, I ordered my Schroeder thru Thom at Galibier and recieved excellent communication from both of them. I tried not to bother Frank much, out of respect for everyone else who was waiting too, but when I did he was always quick to reply. Also, I have had numerous problems with another manufacturer trying to get emails to work and in the end we have resorted to phone calls because niether of us can figure out why our computers seem to dislike eachother:-). Sometimes you gotta go with what works.

BTW, I am willing to be a Frank Schroeder clone if that job is available!

Matt