Emotiva Customer Service is Horrible!

[VanPT]

First off, I apologize for the following rant and completely understand if you don't want to read it. However, if someone is considering buying any Emotiva (Emo) products in the near future it may be worth your time. This rant is not about the actual product, as it is terrific! It is about the lousy customer service you receive after. Of note, I am in Canada.

I purchased my UMC-200 Processor last December. Received in fine order, easy to set up and as mentioned is a terrific unit, even out performing my old Rotel 1066, which was no slouch! The unit performed perfectly day in and day out until early Sept when it basically stopped working. I Received an error code and the unit would not turn on (power light would go purple). The following is the timeline of my nightmare since:

Early Sept - Call Emo to explain the issue. Talk to someone who seems very knowledgeable and advises he knows what it is (power board) and will ship one out, easy install I'm told.

Middle of Sept. - After not receiving any information or email I call Emo back. No record of the conversation and no record of any part being sent out. It was my error for not getting the guys name but otherwise it was like I made a ghost call.

End of Sept. - Finally receive the power board. Does not fit properly but I get enough screws in to hold it down. Fixes the error code and not turning on. However, new problem. It takes 10 minutes to get sound. All sources, not the amp. I call Emo back and after being put on hold for 20 mins am told it is the PCB board and they will be shipping one out.

Middle of Oct. - After waiting 12 days and not receiving the PCB board I call Emo back. NO PCB board sent! I finally receive an email saying it has been sent, first email I have received thru the process.

Early Nov. - Receive the PCB board, it is not easy to put in but get it done. Does not fix the problem. Call Emo back. They are not sure what it is so I arrange to send the unit back... at a $40 cost to me! They tell me 2 weeks turn around time.

Nov. 15 - Emo receives the unit as per tracking #.

Nov.26 - Call Emo to find out the status of the unit. Told the person I need to speak to not in and will call back.

Nov. 29 - After waiting 3 days I get NO call back from Emo. I call back and leave another message. Finally get a call back and am told the unit has not even been looked at!!??

So in three days it will be 3 months of not having a UMC-200 that is functional and I am mighty pissed off and have let them know that. I've also been on their boards but preaching to fans of the Emo is not really getting me anywhere.

When I purchased this unit I was on the understanding that they had good to great customer service. IF others out there have heard the same then this post is a warning that that is not the case. I have received no apology or anything else from Emo and to be honest when you talk to them they appear exhausted, likely from the hundreds of calls they get. I also have a Emo sub but in regards to the processor I have not decided what to do yet. One thing is for sure, I won't be purchasing anything else from them.

 

[Adam]

Sorry that you also went through this. I have at times posted my own bad experience with both their products and customer service. Their utter lack of follow through, either on actually sending out a replacement product as promised or calling back, was my experience. They even somehow, after several e-mail replies for sales and a couple for service, shifted my e-mail address into their spam folder (so they claim) the instant that I reported that my amp had died. Yeah, right. They seemed to take the "procrastinate until he goes away" stance with me for some reason, although I was always nice and courteous when I contacted them. Hmmm, maybe if I had been more abrasive...

 

[3db]

First off, I apologize for the following rant and completely understand if you don't want to read it. However, if someone is considering buying any Emotiva (Emo) products in the near future it may be worth your time. This rant is not about the actual product, as it is terrific! It is about the lousy customer service you receive after. Of note, I am in Canada.

I purchased my UMC-200 Processor last December. Received in fine order, easy to set up and as mentioned is a terrific unit, even out performing my old Rotel 1066, which was no slouch! The unit performed perfectly day in and day out until early Sept when it basically stopped working. I Received an error code and the unit would not turn on (power light would go purple). The following is the timeline of my nightmare since:

Early Sept - Call Emo to explain the issue. Talk to someone who seems very knowledgeable and advises he knows what it is (power board) and will ship one out, easy install I'm told.

Middle of Sept. - After not receiving any information or email I call Emo back. No record of the conversation and no record of any part being sent out. It was my error for not getting the guys name but otherwise it was like I made a ghost call.

End of Sept. - Finally receive the power board. Does not fit properly but I get enough screws in to hold it down. Fixes the error code and not turning on. However, new problem. It takes 10 minutes to get sound. All sources, not the amp. I call Emo back and after being put on hold for 20 mins am told it is the PCB board and they will be shipping one out.

Middle of Oct. - After waiting 12 days and not receiving the PCB board I call Emo back. NO PCB board sent! I finally receive an email saying it has been sent, first email I have received thru the process.

Early Nov. - Receive the PCB board, it is not easy to put in but get it done. Does not fix the problem. Call Emo back. They are not sure what it is so I arrange to send the unit back... at a $40 cost to me! They tell me 2 weeks turn around time.

Nov. 15 - Emo receives the unit as per tracking #.

Nov.26 - Call Emo to find out the status of the unit. Told the person I need to speak to not in and will call back.

Nov. 29 - After waiting 3 days I get NO call back from Emo. I call back and leave another message. Finally get a call back and am told the unit has not even been looked at!!??

So in three days it will be 3 months of not having a UMC-200 that is functional and I am mighty pissed off and have let them know that. I've also been on their boards but preaching to fans of the Emo is not really getting me anywhere.

When I purchased this unit I was on the understanding that they had good to great customer service. IF others out there have heard the same then this post is a warning that that is not the case. I have received no apology or anything else from Emo and to be honest when you talk to them they appear exhausted, likely from the hundreds of calls they get. I also have a Emo sub but in regards to the processor I have not decided what to do yet. One thing is for sure, I won't be purchasing anything else from them.

Sorry to hear your pain. I hate dealing with companies liek that. It makes me want to go out and "touch" some one in the company if you know what I mean

 

[TLS Guy]

I have never bought an EMO product, but I have seen reports of excellent after sales service. I have met the guys form EMO and their seemed very nice people. May be things are slipping and they are loosing sight of the details and not following through. This seems to happen to a lot of companies small and big. We have had these sort of complaints with speaker and sub companies, and often times is a prelude to bankruptcy, which is a real hazard in this industry.

 

[jinjuku]

This seems to happen to a lot of companies small and big. We have had these sort of complaints with speaker and sub companies, and often times is a prelude to bankruptcy, which is a real hazard in this industry.

I wouldn't go quite that far. There are simply too many excellent customer service stories involving Emotiva at this point (if it isn't an HT Pre-Pro ). To the OP: request Emotiva ship you a whole replacement unit from stock. They can repair the unit they received from you and sell it as C-Stock.

 

[ImcLoud]

Sorry to hear about your issues, it seems anytime I do hear "horror' stories about emos service it is from international customers, not sure if that is a coincidence or practice, but every time I have dealt with them it has been excellent customer support... Good luck with your pro hopefully it comes soon and never gives you another issue..

 

[Adam]

...it seems anytime I do hear "horror' stories about emos service it is from international customers...

Where exactly do you think Tucson is?

 

[its phillip]

Tucson is the capital of Tuscany, Italy, right?

 

[Adam]

Tucson is the capital of Tuscany, Italy, right?

I wish!

 

[wilejoe]

Where exactly do you think Tucson is?

The OP did state that he was from Canada

 

[rnatalli]

You think IMO customer service is bad, try Onkyo Seriously though, I hope this works out for you.

 

[Adam]

The OP did state that he was from Canada

Yes...but I didn't.

 

[bang4bucker]

feel sorry to hear that. i was so angry when i received my pre amp in a damaged condition but the packaging was good. odd isn't it ? but luckily ashley from emotiva gave me a replacement pre amp without i have to ship it back to emotiva. lucky me ! i sold the damaged pre amp for little cash

 

[VanPT]

I wouldn't go quite that far. There are simply too many excellent customer service stories involving Emotiva at this point (if it isn't an HT Pre-Pro ). To the OP: request Emotiva ship you a whole replacement unit from stock. They can repair the unit they received from you and sell it as C-Stock.

I may considering doing this if I don't get the unit back in perfect order soon. To be honest I doubt they would even go for it, as I mentioned they have not been particularly concerned at all through this process. It's been screw up after screw up... Besides, I've pretty much rebuilt the thing with the parts they have sent out anyway, it is like having a new unit!

 

[fuzz092888]

You think IMO customer service is bad, try Onkyo Seriously though, I hope this works out for you.

Oddly enough I've had pretty good experience with Onkyo CS, then again, I haven't actually had to send anything to them. Only talked to them a few times, asking questions and seeking advice.

 

[Adam]

Yes...but I didn't.

Yikes, rereading that, I sound like a d**k. Sorry, man. I'm embarrassed that I forgot the smiley. So, here goes.

 

[fuzz092888]

Yikes, rereading that, I sound like a d**k. Sorry, man. I'm embarrassed that I forgot the smiley. So, here goes.

Great now you're a smiling d**k. I'm sure that's an image I'll be able to forget quickly.....not

 

[Adam]

Great now you're a smiling d**k. I'm sure that's an image I'll be able to forget quickly.....not

Well, not if you keep your eyes open.




My official apologies to the OP.

 

[ImcLoud]

Adam you should be more like me, just get used to sounding like a dikc and you don't notice it after a while...




see no smiley needed...

 

[herbu]

OP, sorry for your ordeal. It is not surprising the company has lost a customer. One trial like yours will do it. Having some experience from the company side of the equation, (not in Emotiva), I have seen good and bad practices and execution of Customer Service and the call-takers. Not making excuses, but there can be a number of reasons for such a poor response that range all the way from a particular call-taker having a bad day to an internal IT/system problem to a company policy that is less than focused on after-the-sale support.

Usually when there are mixed reviews, (some people say it is great, some say dog lousy), it is an indication that a company wants to do right, but is having trouble with resources and execution. None of that matters to the customer. The company who recognizes the problem, identifies the cause and fixes it will survive. Those who don't, won't.

Adam was making a little inside joke when he referenced being "more abrasive" to the call-taker. You can see in the rest of his post that he does not really do that, and he's right. It is rarely fruitful. Remember, these call-takers make their living talking to unhappy customers. It is the rare gem of an employee that does not become tainted in time... and even more rare to find one who is actually spurred to helpful action because of your aggression.

If you assume the company mgmt does indeed want to do right, the most helpful course in an experience like yours is to escalate up the chain and find one of these people. Sometimes you can simply ask the call-taker to speak to their supervisor. Sometimes you need to get to the supervisor's supervisor. Sometimes you can do some web searches and find contact info for an exec in the company. Execs gets customer complaints all the time, and have a regular process to forward them to the execution team. And believe me when I tell you every large company has mid and low level mgmt who garner no respect by virtue of their own worth, so relish in the opportunity to throw their weight around and tell other mgrs/engineers "You must take care of this NOW because it comes straight from Mr/Mrs Exec".

Old timers who "grew up" with the execs LOVE to hear this from some useless whippersnapper, regardless of his/her level. I would usually tell the punk something like, (I'm busy. You can tell Mr/Mrs Exec I said to kiss my a**". Of course I would take care of the problem, and send a private note to the exec letting him/her know it was done. But in the meantime, I got to watch the jerk have hissy fits. But the point is, the problem was fixed, always, if possible, when it came down from an exec.

Can't say what the cause of your runaround was, but from what I hear, it sounds like Emotiva wants to do right. While it shouldn't be your responsibility, sometimes finding the right contact in the company is the path of least resistance.