Moderators dtel's wife Posted June 17, 2006 Moderators Share Posted June 17, 2006 Between Dr. Who and myself we were able to remember Ms. Barbara's first and last name. Our plant tour was lead by the Plant Manager and we asked to speak with Ms. Barbara. When we got to her area in the plant, he called Ms. Barbara off the production line and Dr. Who and I personally thanked her for you. Boy was she surprised. She was real appreciative of the acknowledgment. Klipsch has been very generous allowing us to tour the facility, speaking with Jim and Ray. This is a trip every forum member needs to make. I am most impressed by the attention to quality. Every effort and I do mean every effort is given to quality control. When you first enter the factory there is a huge sign that says "The next visitor may be our next customer." That says it all. Everything I saw is based on that one statement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay481985 Posted June 17, 2006 Share Posted June 17, 2006 Oh WOW!!! Thanks alot Dtel's Wife and DrWho!!! I wish to have seen her face [] thank again for thanking her on my behalf. I thought that no one would remember but I was wrong. BTW who is she? what does she do? what part of the RF-83 does she build or does she see the speaker from start to begining or is it assembly line style? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators dtel's wife Posted June 17, 2006 Author Moderators Share Posted June 17, 2006 The factory has a huge board with the employees names and each position they have qualified to fill. Ms. Barbara is one of only five people that were certified in final inspections. If I am not mistaken she has over 20 years in at the factory. To be a final inspector means you have qualified for every position in the factory!!!!! More on this later. Jay, she was so overwhelmed. These factory workers are not accustomed to outside recognitiion. I do not think the workers realized how much we, the consumers, pay attention to detal. I think they probably thought that sticker on the back was just BS. You know, a company's way of finding out "who let the bad one out." However, IMO PWK did not BS and she worked under his command for many years. This is a very small town, very much like Picayune, MS, population 10,616 according to road sign. Therefore, it is my belief each and every worker at the Klipsch factory in Hope values their job. However, it is also my opinion that these people have no idea how much attention we, the consumers of Klipsch, pay to detail. Like, "who signed off on my speakers"....that is really far out thinking for most of the factory workers. In today's world of business it is rare to find people so dedicated to quality control. Everything about the Klipsch factory screams QUALITY. I found out today that inside every speaker made in Hope there are initials in pencil. Those initials indicate who did the finishing work on the speakers, i.e. sanding. Can you believe that? That's just friggin(to coin a phrase from Dr. Who) amazing. They used to place stickers inside the cabinet boxes to indicate the person who did the finishing work. Someone else told me at some point they were "hammered in" . I will post more on this kind of stuff later. The quality control just blows my mind. Real quick, they even have charts showing "first time correct" for finishing work and a separate chart for "first time correct" acoustics. These show monthly averages. Klipsch goal is 96%. It is rare this goal is not met or exceeded. I hope I answered most of your questions and didn't ramble too much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay481985 Posted June 17, 2006 Share Posted June 17, 2006 You're not rambling, I hoped someone had that much info. Hopefully you get the time to complete what you said you will post later. But I should have linked my photos of the rf-83..... http://forums.klipsch.com/forums/4/724319/ShowThread.aspx Now you're making me want to open the speakers just to see the intials and whom they were that made my speakers through the way. 96% is a great rate of first time correct! and you said first time correct acoustics??? So they actually evaluate and listen to the speakers? What company does that other than the specialty companies? I bet no one does this anymore and most companies probably cannot wait until the delivery guy takes custody and drops them off in the big box companies...... Thankfully I invested in a good company. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skonopa Posted June 17, 2006 Share Posted June 17, 2006 That is correct, they actually hook up and listen to every speaker, and if they find one that fails, they will go back and correct it. But as was said, they had a 96+% first-time correct rating, which is very impressive. I highly doubt Bose even does anything like this. Also, a minor correction, the big sign at the front says "The next inspector will be the customer". Hell, one of the first things I did when I unpacked my brand new RF-7s those four years ago was to give them a good looking over. Yes, I am impressed with the attention to detail and care that is given, and these folks here do take pride in their work, everything from something as simple as putting the speaker in the box to something that takes a bit of skill such as applying the gorgeous finishes. These people are as much craftsmen as anything. This is something that I will have in my house for a long, long, time, and it is very much appreciated on my part that they created something that I am proud to have in my home, not only to listen to, but to also show off like the fine piece of furniture, that I honostly think a good quality pair of speakers are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay481985 Posted June 17, 2006 Share Posted June 17, 2006 do they listen by ear or by computer? Bose meh they probably shot them out of the plastic mold in the thousand awaiting drivers and boxed waiting on the dock to be shipped from china Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skonopa Posted June 18, 2006 Share Posted June 18, 2006 do they listen by ear or by computer? Bose meh they probably shot them out of the plastic mold in the thousand awaiting drivers and boxed waiting on the dock to be shipped from china They do test them with computer, so they can get actual measurments to make sure everything is within spec. I should've asked, but I would not be surprised if they give the occasional few a good listen by ear as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colterphoto1 Posted June 18, 2006 Share Posted June 18, 2006 This one is really a beautiful story. This is what makes me wish I'd been at the factory tour this year- to meet the PEOPLE. Because behind all the fancy engineering and all of the lovely products are those meticulous, kind-hearted souls known as Klipsch employees. I have experience with some of them, being stationed here in Indy. It's very cool to have Trey and Steve Phillips drop by every few weeks to tweak my system or just sit down for a movie or concert. But to meet the folks who put our babies together, and especially Jay's story of asking for thanks to be given to the inspector of his first (?) and brand new top of the line babies. Imagine what that meant to Barbera! Can any of you think to when a customer or client of yours has gone out of their way to look you up and personally thank you for excellent service? Very cool of you all to do this- Jay, Dtels, and Doc. Very cool.[H] M Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colterphoto1 Posted June 18, 2006 Share Posted June 18, 2006 The 'hammering in' referred to above relates to the stamped initials (a metal die punch struck with a hammer makes the indentation on the 7-ply) found on some Heritage cabinets. I have Heresies that bear these markings on the back edge of the side panels- serial number, USA, and the initials OD. LS cabinets bear the same marking but with the single N initial. Maybe there should be a letter writing campaign thanking the current employees for their graciousness in allowing us to view them at their jobs this week? Michael Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay481985 Posted June 18, 2006 Share Posted June 18, 2006 Thanks Michael, I was hoping someone would remember what I posted as that thread became quite large real fast. But as fate has it, Dtel's wife and DrWho remembered and thanked her, hope that made her day! As with the first, they are the first I guess real Klipsch Speakers from Hope, as I have the Promedia Ultra and iFi which are both made in china. I am glad that I have such devoted employees to the company that I brought my first real speakers from. Also I am damn proud to hear that they test each model before they ship them out. In a world like today with the make them today, ship them today, sell them today, I find it is rare to find a company devoted to what their original purpose was when they were founded. The whole test process sorta reminds me of Leica, in which their lenses are argueable one of the best lenses in the world. They test and make sure everything is right before they ship them out, from personally inspecting them to hitting them with a barage of test environments and scenarios. once again I am proud to show my Klipsch pride and it has been ever so more re-enforced from what has been told to me by other forum members Thanks Barbara Miller these RF-83 are an extension of the devotion you bring to Klipsch everyday for years to come for me. and Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colterphoto1 Posted June 18, 2006 Share Posted June 18, 2006 Hey Jay, hate to burst your bubble with the quality issues with your new speakers, but look carefully under the name tag on the backs- there's a HUGE HOLE in the cabinets, right there in the back- how on earth did they miss that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay481985 Posted June 18, 2006 Share Posted June 18, 2006 oh those that can be explained! Triple ports there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colterphoto1 Posted June 18, 2006 Share Posted June 18, 2006 it was a joke, son. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay481985 Posted June 18, 2006 Share Posted June 18, 2006 I know and I wanted to show off the triple ports [] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunburnwilly Posted June 18, 2006 Share Posted June 18, 2006 I know and I wanted to show off the triple ports []Those ports look like a kitty cat paradise !!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skonopa Posted June 19, 2006 Share Posted June 19, 2006 I know and I wanted to show off the triple ports []Those ports look like a kitty cat paradise !!! It is funny that you posted that as this reminded me of that one thread that somebody posted a year or so ago, complete with pictures, about how his cat got up inside his RF-3s. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skonopa Posted June 19, 2006 Share Posted June 19, 2006 This one is really a beautiful story. This is what makes me wish I'd been at the factory tour this year- to meet the PEOPLE. Because behind all the fancy engineering and all of the lovely products are those meticulous, kind-hearted souls known as Klipsch employees. Yes indeed! It is these folks that take an idea and make it a reality. And not just the engineering part. We all love to talk about the engineering aspect and think how cool it would be to be a speaker designer. What about the folks down there in the factory, on the line, that has the often thankless job of actually making these things in sufficient numbers, but to maintain the quality in each one, for us common joes to be able to take home and listen to. It was an awesome oppurtunity to get to meet and thank these people for the hard work and dedication of making the Klipsch brand a reality. If something went wrong with a speaker, people are quite to raise a huge fuss, but how about those of us that have been enjoying perfect, trouble-free sound all these years. How we forget the people that are behind making that possible. I wish I thought of taking a quick look behind my RF-7s before heading out to Hope, as it would've been cool to track down the person that signed them. I have looked back there before and remember seeing the name when I first got them. Once I got them setup, I never bothered to look behind there since. I'll have to go look behind there again as soon as I get a chance to see who it was that signed them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.