Great timing for an Emotiva interaction...

[ImcLoud]

I was just on the phone with my brother and going through AH at the same time, when I cam e across the now closed emo cs thread, he just told me he had a bad Emo toslink cable he bought a while back, he called to order a new one and they sent it for free when hearing his wasn't working!!! How that for CS? I know its just a $30 cable but them things are brittle and knowing my brother he probably broke it, and its out of warranty, and they send one? Not too shabby... I figured I would post the convo on here since I realize that you can make 20,000 customers happy and the 3 you don't satisfy, your fault or not will squawk like an injured crow while the 19,997 happy customers will go unheard {because they never say anything}....

I thought the timing was perfect so I shared, I still buy GM vehicles after recall after recall and more recalls, and when I go in there I have to wait for salesman because they are so busy...

 

[ImcLoud]

Well...let's go over the grievances from the thread you mentioned.
* No response or extremely delayed response to email
* 75% product failure rate (at least for this customer)
* Snarky comments from employees
* Sanitization of the forum

Maybe I'm biased, since I was the OP, but I'd say these are legitimate. And nowhere did I see any of these addressed directly. All people can seem to spout is "Emotiva takes care of their customers"...well...apparently not quite so well in at least this one case.

That's not really why I started this thread, just seemed like a funny coincidence, I myself was wondering if cs was slipping, then my brother tells me about the "chump" cable that he probably broke because I know he had it plugged into a d1 dac that was kind of hanging in his rack, and if you are familiar with optical cables, they don't like being moved around a lot or bent around, and it made me think, it is rare that someone comes on here and starts a thread saying they were satisfied with cs of a company, its normally Onkyo did this to me Yamaha did that {just examples} ect... I am evidence of this, I have been shocked by companies CS and never post about it, HSU shipped me a speaker with a tiny scratch I just mention it on the phone and they will not let me keep it and they go out of their way to refund me $100 {or so} for a scratch you can't see, non audio related but amazon sent me a package 2 days before xmass {a gift more my sister} and ups damaged it, they went out of there way to overnight this silly food steamer {overnight was probably more than the unit cost} so I would have it for xmass eve!!!, a bunch of times I have had great luck with cs and never post about it or tell anyone.. The 2 posts about emo made me realize this. I am in no way saying you don't have an issue, sure I would personally have made time to call, emailing about a product issue is not my style, I want to talk to someone, and with the holiday I can understand emo being busy, with their sales and the natural issue from the holidays, shipping horror with the weather, better them than me I wouldn't want to deal with it..

Emotiva has been good to me, I met the guys daughter and wife, as well as him and I can tell you they are just normal people... We spoke about the HVAC system in his house, lol... Some people forget this and think of a company as the "tyrant" vs the "little guy" and its not accurate, you have options, you bought emotiva because of the price, as did I, I would not have a stereo in every room if I had to pay $3000 for each amp, the resale for the stuff is very good, so sell it and buy from a different company, but I can tell you first hand if you didn't like Emo's CS, B&K will have you contemplating suicide!!! Yamaha had me double fisting whiskey sours and beating my wife {that's a poorly placed spousal abuse joke, showing the depth of heartache the company put me through, I know domestic abuse is nothing to joke about, I apologize}... I seen these people work, I own a bunch of their products and they have never once dissatisfied me, they seem to treat all of their employees as family, and they have treated me and my family good, If I did have an issue as you did with the non emails, I would have called them, I think that is where a lot of people had trouble with your story, just call them, I know we like to be digital and yah, it would be sweet if you could just Text Dan and say "my amp is broken" and another one was sent 2 day express and you could just throw the old one out, but that's not the way things work, sometimes us as the customer have to realize they are running a business and we aren't there only customer, should we be treated fairly and not be lied to of course, should companies stand behind their products and do so in a timely fashion with little effort from the end user, of course, so we live in a perfect world, NO... We are adults {well, kind of, in my case} and I would like to think that if my amplifier broke and I had to wait for service I can get over it, I see 5 year old kids with cancer at my wife's work that don't complain as much as some of the people I see posting about problems with their toys {I'm not talking about anyone specific}, I'm just saying we are worse than little kids with this stuff, and it is borderline shameful, that after all of that we can't let anyone say anything good about the company with out bringing up the closed topic...

I do apologize if I have offended anyone, just in rare form today, its snowing and the weather man said no more snow until next week, I think I'm going to go post on his blog that he ruined my plans to go sight in my new rifle...

 

[UrdnotWrex]

Thanks McLoud--and sorry, I didn't mean to imply that I'd taken offense. Your post is just as legitimate and relevant as mine was. Not every experience with Emotiva is bad, and I'm sure 98% are fantastic. I still don't agree with the attitude that I should "just call". I had a good reason for wanting to use email, and I don't think that should have been a problem. I have also experienced bad customer service, but didn't bother to share the story with anyone. What really irked me in the end was their removal of my thread without explanation. I don't like censorship. I have a deep disdain for it, actually...that's ultimately why I reacted the way I did, and tried to ensure that the experience I was trying to share with others got some exposure. I don't feel like sharing that bad experience amounted to acting like a 5 year old. I would certainly rather people shared their experiences (good or bad) so that I could make the most informed decisions possible. And I can also state that when I do have a positive experience, I leave good feedback (Amazon and Ebay).

 

[slipperybidness]

I will state again for the record, I have been happy with my Emo dealings (USP-1 and XDA-1). When the XDA went of sale a couple weeks after purchase, a quick phone call to CS and a couple of days wait and I had the difference refunded to my CC.

But, if they can't answer emails to CS, then they need to remove that as an option! End of story.

Either post the CS email and actually respond to it in a timely manner, or remove that as an option for contacting CS! Problem solved.

On a different note: IMC--you poor b@stard. Here the high today is 72F and the low is 48F. I might have to kick on the A/C today

 

[UrdnotWrex]

But, if they can't answer emails to CS, then they need to remove that as an option! End of story.

Either post the CS email and actually respond to it in a timely manner, or remove that as an option for contacting CS! Problem solved.

This is my thought process EXACTLY. Maybe we're the crazy ones, slippery...

 

[ImcLoud]

I also don't agree with censorship to cover up an issue, and I am a member at emo, but I have never posted there... A lot of companies like to keep their boards clean from bad press, for obvious reasons, that board that they are paying to keep up is coming from their advertisement/communications budget and you can not expect them to pay for bad press???? I know its personal for us, and it sucks that you weren't satisfied, but it is bound to happen, some say its impossible to make everyone happy and I am starting to believe it. If you need proof of this go to Amazon and read some of the reviews, there can be 2500 positives and 4+ stars and there will always be a couple 1 and 2 starz, sure the people got their money back or what ever, but they were not happy in the end, and that is all that matters sometimes... I have bought products with negative reviews and loved them, others buy the same thing and hate everything about it, I am starting to think its just Luck, mostly, since there are some legitimate bad products out there..

 

[UrdnotWrex]

you can not expect them to pay for bad press????

I would definitely never expect that. If they'd addressed the concerns in the post instead of being dismissive and removing it, people would have seen their good faith efforts and it would have amounted to good press in the end, rather than bad--just one man's opinion.

 

[Adam]

...I realize that you can make 20,000 customers happy and the 3 you don't satisfy, your fault or not will squawk like an injured crow while the 19,997 happy customers will go unheard {because they never say anything}....

Dude, no one knows the ratio for Emo, but it seems that you're trying to imply by your example ratio that those who get screwed and ignored by them are so far in the minority that we're just a bunch of whiners that should be ignored. I disagree. Plus, anytime someone comes on here and mentions anything bad about them, there's plenty of happy folks like you that don't go unheard.

 

[ImcLoud]

I will state again for the record, I have been happy with my Emo dealings (USP-1 and XDA-1). When the XDA went of sale a couple weeks after purchase, a quick phone call to CS and a couple of days wait and I had the difference refunded to my CC.

But, if they can't answer emails to CS, then they need to remove that as an option! End of story.

Either post the CS email and actually respond to it in a timely manner, or remove that as an option for contacting CS! Problem solved.

On a different note: IMC--you poor b@stard. Here the high today is 72F and the low is 48F. I might have to kick on the A/C today

I agree about the email, but they said to call, there is probably a mailing adress with a PO box there too, would you write them a letter saying your amp broke? C'mon, sometimes you have to use common {insert sense, courtesy, or anything else that will work here}... the best thing to do is "face to face", then a phone call, then email, and so on and so on.... Not being able to call during a lunch break is kind of hard for me to swallow, I read in your other post, you said something like "why should I have to use my time" and that to me was the eye opener, "why not?" how hard would it be to call from work? I see people make appointments at the apple store {crazy if you ask me} so its not like emo is saying make an appt. and call us between 1pm and 1:15... It can always be worse, and there are posted hours on the page you can look up before you purchase something, but you won't because "normally" it wouldn't be an issue...

Should they take down the email? I don't know, would they have answered it, I don't know? I don't know how many they get a day and how many people are answering them, but Ill bet its the same people that answer the phone, and if the phone is ringing I bet they stop answering emails and get the phone, and I bet they had a ton of phone calls during the holidays!!!!

We buy gear like emotiva amps because they are a "bargain", if they had to hire more help the price has to go up, so you deal with little issues, it can always be worse they can take your money and not ship, or just close the doors and screw the people that have warranties..., the stuff comes with a 5 year warranty and as far as I have heard they stick by it.

 

[UrdnotWrex]

I read in your other post, you said something like "why should I have to use my time" and that to me was the eye opener, "why not?"

Clearly we just have a completely different thought process...is it the customers job to make things more convenient for them or is it their job to make things more convenient for the customer? It's their prerogative which approach to take, but one is good for business and one is bad. And I seriously doubt they're getting enough phone calls to justify not responding to multiple emails for almost a month's time. Am I wrong? Maybe...but I doubt it.

 

[ImcLoud]

Dude, no one knows the ratio for Emo, but it seems that you're trying to imply by your example ratio that those who get screwed and ignored by them are so far in the minority that we're just a bunch of whiners that should be ignored. I disagree. Plus, anytime someone comes on here and mentions anything bad about them, there's plenty of happy folks like you that don't go unheard.

I know that, I was just giving an example, for all we know, there are mostly happy customers, could it be mostly unhappy, I don't think it would be since they have 30 day return, 5 year warranty, and are still in business... I have heard complaints, a few were out of country complaining about shipping faulty products back after the 30 days, I still haven't heard the entire story about your issues, I have heard people not like the processor issues updates, firm ware, and how long they take to get released and I don't think I will ever buy another pro from them, their amps have been good to me and I have no complaints about the UMC1 I got or the UMC200 but with the deals on Left over b stock refurbed ect AVRs that have preouts you can not justify buying a small label processor... Preamps, dac's, amps, cables, sure but the processor market is kind of hard for these companies to keep up with... They would do better to just designs chassis and use a denon internals for the customers that want matching gear in their rack...

And Urdnot, I am not saying you didn't have an apple to peal, Im just saying I personally would have called, if for no other reason to say "why havent you snawered my emails", sure they should have, but sh!t happens, that is my point, hopefully it doesn't happen to us, but sometimes it does and how we deal with it is how we deal with it, instead of calling you opted to post more and more, I'm not sure where in the country you are but rite now is business hours, and you are posting on here, how hard would it be to take 5 minutes out of lunch and make the phone call....

You are correct it is their job to make us happy, and cater to us pre and post sale, I don't know where that is written but it should be the law, its just not how life works...

 

[slipperybidness]

XSP Phono Pre!

I didn't feel like starting a new Emo thread, so I'll just derail this one

This looks pretty cool
XPS-1 Phono Preamp | Emotiva Audio | High-end audio components for audiophiles and videophiles, spanning 2-channel music systems, as well as 5.1 and 7.1 home theaters. Products include multichannel amplifiers, stereo amplifiers, and monoblock amplifi

 

[ImcLoud]

I didn't feel like starting a new Emo thread, so I'll just derail this one

This looks pretty cool
XPS-1 Phono Preamp | Emotiva Audio | High-end audio components for audiophiles and videophiles, spanning 2-channel music systems, as well as 5.1 and 7.1 home theaters. Products include multichannel amplifiers, stereo amplifiers, and monoblock amplifi

I wish that had an optical or digital out of any kind.......


I have to apologize to Gene this thread was not supposed to be a vehicle for the op of the other thread to continue his quest, lol... Kind of turned out that way though...

 

[UrdnotWrex]

You mentioned my post directly in your OP here. So I chimed in. Some other people were clearly in agreement with me, so they chimed in, too. But I'm done now--I've said all I came to say.

 

[panteragstk]

What is your quest? What is your favorite color?

 

[Adam]

C'mon, sometimes you have to use common {insert sense, courtesy, or anything else that will work here}... the best thing to do is "face to face", then a phone call, then email, and so on and so on....

Perhaps you can refresh yourself on my previous reports. In December 2007 when I called about my IPS-1, they repeatedly told me on the phone that I had to talk to Lonnie, and that he'd be right back and call me. I never once got a call from him. Not once. The one time that I talked to him on the phone was earlier in 2007 after they ignored my e-mails about my RPA-1 catastrophically failing and sending a power surge through my speakers, and he was very nice and said that they'd ship me out a new one that day...but five days later when I called to get the tracking number, I was told that one never got sent because he forgot.

 

[gene]

I agree about the email, but they said to call, there is probably a mailing adress with a PO box there too, would you write them a letter saying your amp broke? C'mon, sometimes you have to use common {insert sense, courtesy, or anything else that will work here}... the best thing to do is "face to face", then a phone call, then email, and so on and so on.... Not being able to call during a lunch break is kind of hard for me to swallow, I read in your other post, you said something like "why should I have to use my time" and that to me was the eye opener, "why not?" how hard would it be to call from work? I see people make appointments at the apple store {crazy if you ask me} so its not like emo is saying make an appt. and call us between 1pm and 1:15... It can always be worse, and there are posted hours on the page you can look up before you purchase something, but you won't because "normally" it wouldn't be an issue...

Should they take down the email? I don't know, would they have answered it, I don't know? I don't know how many they get a day and how many people are answering them, but Ill bet its the same people that answer the phone, and if the phone is ringing I bet they stop answering emails and get the phone, and I bet they had a ton of phone calls during the holidays!!!!

We buy gear like emotiva amps because they are a "bargain", if they had to hire more help the price has to go up, so you deal with little issues, it can always be worse they can take your money and not ship, or just close the doors and screw the people that have warranties..., the stuff comes with a 5 year warranty and as far as I have heard they stick by it.

Agreed. People have become anti-social relying too much on email/facebook and texting. How about dealing with a person face to face with a phone call. Things get done more efficiently with less misunderstanding that way. Emotiva is a VERY easy company to get on the phone during normal business hours. I have heard both sides of the story and UrdnotWrex has clearly expressed his grievances in the other thread. It's time to move on or move to another forum. Any remaining issues between both parties should be dealt with directly, not on a public forum, particularly the Audioholics forum. If that isn't satisfactory, the OP can file grievances with Consumer Affairs.

I wish the companies I bought household appliances from were as reachable and accommodating as most of the audio ID brands are. Instead I had to spend thousands on after-market service contracts to fix brand new appliances that conveniently failed right after their 1 year warranty expired.

 

[Adam]

Btw, do I sound more contentious lately?

Sorry, Irv. I'm not trying to come across as a disgruntled d-bag. I just didn't have anywhere near your experience, and I think that my experience is just as valid to talk about.

 

[Steve81]

Clearly we just have a completely different thought process...is it the customers job to make things more convenient for them or is it their job to make things more convenient for the customer?

A little devil's advocate on this point: convenience has to be balanced with practicality. A phone call can effectively resolve a problem in a matter of minutes. E-mail correspondence, even with reasonably quick response times by both parties, can take days, deepening customer frustration.

And I seriously doubt they're getting enough phone calls to justify not responding to multiple emails for almost a month's time. Am I wrong? Maybe...but I doubt it.

One more: for as much as we rely upon e-mail these days, it's not a perfect medium for communication. Between spam filters and gremlins, things can unfortunately go awry. One more reason to trust to a phone call as well.

 

[Adam]

How about dealing with a person face to face with a phone call.

Face to face over the phone...that kind of cracks me up.

Just poking fun. With video chats over FaceTime and Google Hangouts, talking "face to face" is getting a lot easier on cell phones. Honestly, I think it's great. I wonder how long it will be before we get that sort of thing with company help lines (if ever). I do agree that it's more personable than e-mail, because anything in text lends itself to a misinterpretation of the writer's tone. I might say something as a joke, but have it be read as an attack, for example.