Where does customer service rate with you ????

[joessportster]

All to often now days I find customer service suffers for 1 reason or another. I often chalk a lack of service up to apathy by American consumers. Ie.... If they feel like the $$ is good there willing to overlook poor service. I grew up with the expectation of getting exactly what I pay for and receiving top rate customer service. No matter if I buy a 10.00 item or a 1000.00 item. I remember my first experience with poor service. I bought carpet and all was great right up till dellivery when the ouners daughter acted like an *** and actually suggested I could buy elsewhere ( no refund of course ) since I had already paid I was stuck but rest assured they got no reccomendations from me. Fast forward 25 years and the problem is worse Which leads to this ?? Where do you place customer service on your list of prioritys when buying audio gear ??? Are you willing to overlook poor service for better sound ??? Joe

[elitedemo]

although not exactly sound related but a distant cousin being the tv world, my samsung plasma in our upstairs puked after a short 2 year life and being 1 year out of warranty, after a quick phone dealing with their customer service and me asking if they would send out the boards for me to repair they did one better and covered the full cost of a sending a tech out to fix, although still broken the other parts are now on order (going to have complete new tv guts after theyve replaced over 50% trying to troubleshoot) and im waiting but very pleased with dealing with them as samsung has been nothing but pleasant

i think most companies in general want to be known for good customer service and service should go hand in hand with dealing with audio as many problems can arise that a company should step up to the plate and deal with, if a company rubs you wrong be it with poor service or anything else and wont rectify the problem the only way they feel it is by withholding the allmighty wallet

[dtel]

I think half the time were just happy to be able to understand what they are saying. I think phone and sat/cable companies are the worst for service.

I remember once the sat company switched satellites which made the receiver not get most of the channels, they would bring you a new receiver for free but you had to sign up for 2 more years of service. What choice did you have, finish you last year of your present contract with only half of the channels your paying for?

I haven't run across and audio problems so I never had to deal with any of those companies, yet.

If the price is low enough on something that is reliable (by reviews) bad service wouldn't be as bad as if you pay full price and keep getting bad service, over and over like my wife has had with her phone. Like when you have a phone problem and the company admits it's a serious software problem but almost refuses to do anything and it's under warranty and also has there "special insurance". They act like there doing you a favor.

[jhoak]

Customer service (or disservice) ranks VERY high with me. I will gladly pay a bit more for pretty much anything if I know that I’m going to get good service and support as part of the deal.

In my last couple of jobs I chose vendors based NOT on price but on ongoing customer service. In most instances I had the home phone numbers of the vendors and absolutely knew that if I ended up in a tight spot I could call on them and they would deliver for me.

I find it sad that internet sales have driven most of the independent audio retailers out of business. I would MUCH rather pay my local shop $100 or $1000 for an item knowing that I had real person who stood behind it than save a few bucks by ordering on line. Alas the world we live in today does not support that business model. It’s all about “cheap, cheaper, and cheapest”.

[Beechnut]

Haven't done this with audio but with firearms, yes. Have a store that works on commission and a couple of sales reps I've built relationships with. I'm loyal to them and their service. No issues paying extra for their times BS'n with me, letting me shoot things, going the extra mile and such. I suspect I could do that with an audio store if they were willing to do the same. Hell, I tip well when the service is exceptional. We all love to be pampered and catered too.

[Groomlakearea51]

Customer service is probably #1 in any buying decision. In particular, local. I can save 30% buying out of town (minimum travel distance 90 miles round trip), but if I walk into the local place and "eyeball" the sales rep, and they are good folks, they understand what is important, nor only for me, but for the survival of their business.

[H]

[Cal Blacksmith]

Customer service, to me it ranks up there with quality and price.

We were sending our son to a private school and when I complained to the office staff that the money they spent to remodel the office might have been better spent to put airconditioning in the classrooms (it gets 110 F in the summer and averages high 90s) a clerk told me If I didn't like it, we should go some place else, so we did.

[soundbound]

If I get bad customer service, they don't get any more of my money and if I get good customer service, they do.

[Gilbert]

I think phone and sat/cable companies are the worst for service.

That might, I say just might, have something to do with those services being severly limited in your area.