My Paradigm Warranty Experience (1 Viewer)

[WayneO]

Well I recently had a driver unglue itself from the basket on a 10mo. old Monitor 11. They said bring the speaker in or just the driver if I was handy. I took the speaker in and had a replacement within a week. I felt this was OK. Being you bought new speakers, if I brought them home and they didn't work, I'd expect a refund or another pair period if they had them in stock. Your problem got solved but I'd put the blame more on the dealer than Paradigm. Did they have another pair available and refuse to give them to you? If that's the case I'd clearly let them know that they won't be getting more of your business and you'll recommend others to avoid them as well.

 

[ChrisWiggles]

IMO, the dealer could have provided you with a new pair if they were available, or let you take home a similar pair in the interim while they ordered you new speakers or replaced the driver. You should have taken this up with your dealer, not harrassed the manufacturer.


BEGIN RANT/
That being said, what the HECK is with impatient people who demand the sun and the moon? They ordered a driver for you, it took a week, and yet you email repeatedly, and call repeatedly like every day or so? Do you expect the regional service rep to come to your house and bring you milk and cookies and Signatures as an apology? You got a broken speaker. Bummer. It was fixed in a relatively timely manner. Sure the DEALER might have acted a little better, but what else would a speaker company do besides ship you a new speaker, or a new driver?

You want them to email you the "details." Of what!?
Of how SPECIFICALLY the driver will reach the dealer? Like the route the UPS van takes or what? Do you want to know in advance that UPS van #74 driven by Moe will handle your package?

You emailed and they said it would be there by the 18th. It was there a day early and you now have a perfect speaker. I don't see what the problem was...

/end rant.

 

[WayneO]

I think you have to use capital letters on the "/end rant" for it to be officially recognized as such in the post.

 

[Kevin. W]

Find another dealer to do business with. The speaker should have been replaced on the spot. When I first bought my Mini Monitors when I got into HT the foam in the speaker had shifted during shipping and you could see it hanging behind the driver. Called up my dealer who said their should be no interference with the sound. Same answer I got from an e-mail from Paradigm. Yet my dealer said if I wanted too they would do an exchange. And that was the first time I had ever bought from the store.

Kevin

 

[AlanZ]

1) I have been a satisfied customer of Paradigm for several years. I have had one defective speaker (an Atom). I took it back to the dealer and they just replaced it on the spot. This is how it's supposed to work. But don't throw the baby out with the damn bath water. Paradigm makes a superb product that has been the choice of many of us on the forum.
2) There is NO COMPANY ON EARTH that you can compare to SVS when it comes to customer service. Their customer service is so far above and beyond any and all expectation that it's ridiculous. They even saved my marriage for cryin out loud....how many companies can you say THAT about, huh????

 

[Helder]

I had the woofer of one of my six-month-old Studio 20 speakers damaged and the Paradigm official dealer here in Brazil changed the woofers of both speakers, promptly. I was amazed with the attention I got tu: .
The only problem is that here the prices we pay for these speakers are almost the double of the ones found in your country :frowning: .

 

[GregClarke]

Thanks to everyone for viewing and the feedback.

I have owned Paradigm for almost 20 years. This is the first problem I have had. I have no problem with the dealer and will definitely make future purchases there.

My issue is with buying a new speaker that someone from Paradigm has certified to be ready for my use.

Am I just out for free stuff? I don't think so. At first I was just angry, but after thinking about it I did expect some kind of incentive to make future Paradigm purchases. I was expecting too much from Paradigm customer service, but you never know until you need them.

 

[Kevin G.]

THANK YOU CHRIS WIGGLES FOR BEING THE VOICE OF REASON IN THIS THREAD!!!!!!!!!!


Obviously most of you guys do not deal with the public on a day to day basis, the theory that just because you had a small bad experience with a company, and they, therefore, naturally, OWE YOU something, completly mystefies me.
NOW, do I believe in customer service? YES, resoundingly, YES!! I have to practice it every day, BUT... we have created a monster that will not lie down, because we listened to a few and gave them something in the past, EVERYONE feels you owe them something the minute they even walk in the door. (some people even use this method to get all kinds of free s&*t in their everyday lives)

That's just my take on the downward turn that's going on out there thes days.
Yes Greg I agree that the dealer should have done something and at the very least taken care of everything and reduced your inconvenience.
Does Paradigm owe you something in the future? No.
Tony, although I know that these forums are for opinions, You've obviously had a bad experience, but please don't shove your rant down our throats

 

[Gerald Wise]

First of all remember what they say about opinions and don't let some of these people get to you. I would agree with most on the dealer dropped the ball first on this one. But once you contacted the manufacturer they dropped the ball, they should have taken over and made you happy. That being said I would never deal with paradigm after hearing this because you can always pick a bad dealer by accident but when the manufacture gets involved and drops the ball it says alot.

 

[Evan M.]

Greg, what kind of free stuff do you want?? I think your dealer screwd you as others have said. If you want free stuff talk to them. Maybe they can give you 10% off or something on your next purchase. You should have balked originaly when they said they were going to order a new driver for you. I personaly have never heard of a dealer NOT replacing a defective speaker with a new one if it was brought back the next day. Paradigm is a very good speaker however they are such a huge almost global company now that it would be hard pressed to expect perfect customer service. I really think you shot yourself in the foot by not speaking up. Also, shit happens, you really can't expect every single speaker will be perfect and pristine out of the box. To think that it would be, even after the "testing" is rediculous. Ask SVS or any other small and excellent customer supportive company, which also tests their equipment before it goes out,if they ever have issue with speakers having problems when they arrive to the customer. Of course they do......I don't care how good the product is and how nice they are.
Tony - Yes they choose who is their dealers but do you have any idea what it takes to become a dealer? I do not but I have several friends in the business field and I know those company of the products being sold do not come over to the establishmesnt and give them a 300 question test followed by a physical and psychiatric exam . This is what happens when you deal with a company that is not direct and has a middle man. It is not a perfect system. Sure there are the exceptions but I do not think it is the norm, unfortunately, anymore. I do agree with your viewpoints that if a company screws you than move on to a different company. This is what ultimately hurts company's....the almighty dollar.....not complaining on a forum.

 

[BrianAe]

I agree with Chris. I don't see the problem here. It only took 10 days. Now, if it was something like a receiver that had problems right away then I'd want a new one just for the piece of mind. However, a blown driver is a blown driver and after 10 days it was as good as new.

 

[Evan M.]

VERY WELL SAID KEVIN!!

 

[Tony Genovese]

But complaining on a forum will make others aware of the treatment you received.

 

[Evan M.]

You are very correct Tony, but I think for a company like (and as big as) Paradigm it would not even make them blink if a few people from lil' ol' HTF has a few issues. I think for a company like SVS the ramifications of negative press from a forum would be much greater.

 

[Kevin G.]

Erik,

Please do not let this dissuade you from, at the very least, trying out the dimes.
You would be doing yourself (and your ears) a disservice.

 

[ernie.bin]

I'll agree with kevin.

No, paradigm does not owe you anything.

Manufacturing defects happen. It's a fact of life with any type of product. The dealer should have replaced it on the spot, but 10 days is not unreasonable for a replacement part either.

The whole point of going to a B&M is so that you don't have to deal with a manufacturer. If your B&M can't handle things in a satisfactory manner, find a new one.

 

[Tony Genovese]

But if the dealer doesn't satisfy, the manufacturer's response shouldn't be tough noogies, at least a manufacturer who cares about customer service.

 

[ChrisWiggles]

I am also wary of people using these forums and others as a bargaining chip against various AV companies. The "I want this and that and the other" so I will complain on the forums, and hope they move mountains for me.

This all being said, I do not mean to sound overly negative in this thread. If *I* were the dealer I would have replaced the speaker pair with another pair on the spot regardless of how expensive, or inexpensive the product was, and if I didn't have them in, I would have given him a demo pair of something similar until a replacement pair came in. The dealer *could* have done a better job rather than just the bare minimum. But I DO think it is unreasonable to expect a manufacturer rep to drive several hours just to replace a defective unit on a relatively entry-level unit. The correct thing to do was to take up your wishes with the dealer.

I think the original post had very little in the terms of usefulness to anybody. Legitimate gripes about customer service should be taken up with the company, and if things are not resolved, THEN perhaps it might be informative to discuss what happened on the forums if it is not an isolated case. CS issues have arisen in the past on these and other forums, and often things are taken out of context or one-sided. I can't recall how many threads in the past I've seen about horrible service, only to finally get a post later on from the company or person in question that totally gives a whole other perspective to the issue.

Please be a little understanding when bashing companies or dealers. Things take off like wildfire on these forums, and misinformation can spread quickly, to very detrimental results.

 

[WayneO]

So true. Like the the Hsu STF-2 gasket problem for instance...........

 

[Erik.Ha]

I'm not sure where the "ten days til he got a new driver" thing started since I was so pissed at the retailer for not just handing him a new one on the spot that I ignored this whole aspect of the story, but 10 days to wait for a defective driver to be replaced is TOO long as well.

In the event the retailer didn't fix the problem immediately, Paradigm should have fedexed him a new one (preferably a whole new speaker, but at the minimum a new driver) OVERNIGHT at their cost. THAT EQUALS TWO DAYS MAX!

UNACCEPTABLE.

End of story.