Bad service with AV123 (1 Viewer)

[Robert Ross]

*edit* For those just now reading this, the problem has been resolved (as you can see from reading further down), and has quite the happy ending. Instead of steering people away from purchasing anything from this company, I hope this topic encourages them to trust them and see that they are an honest company that has the occasional hiccup which they were able to compensate for. Good day. *edit*

I know everyone loves this company and their speakers, and I'm sure this won't keep people from buying from them, but I just have to let people know of my discontent. I bought a set of 5.1 Rockets from them back in November and I have been very happy with the way they sound. But at the end of May (May 30th, to be exact), my sub quit working. It looked to be an amp problem, so I called up customer support and they gave me an RA# and told me to ship it back to them for repair. So far, so good.

I wrote the RA# quite large on the side of the box and shipped it out. On April 18th, I still hadn't heard anything about the sub, even though they had received it on the 5th, so I emailed Greg Marberry (the representative I talked with) and asked how it was coming along. He sent back that they hadn't received it yet, so I sent him the tracking number and he said he would look into why it wasn't in the system.

I waited until the 26th, and STILL hadn't heard anything back, so I contacted him again to see what the problem was. Two days later he finally responds back that they found the problem. apparently it was my fault for sending it in a plain box (I no longer had the original box it came packaged in) and not writing the RA# on the side of the box, even though I DID write it huge numbers. I let him know that I did write the numbers and he sends back that, yes the RA was on there, he was just taking receiving manager's word for it. This still doesn't explain why they didn't get my package when it first came. I have to applaud the receiving department's great work. On this last email (April 29th), Greg tells me the amp has been replaced and it's ready to be shipped. At this point, I'm a pretty aggitated but just glad to know I'm finally getting it back.

Well May 10th rolls by and I still don't have it. So I contact him once again and ask if it's been shipped. Oh, well it turns out they were outta boxes and had to wait for more to be received in, but they got some in a couple of days before and my sub should be ready to be shipped out the next day and they'll send me a tracking number as soon as it leaves. Yay for me!

.....It's now the 16th, and I received no tracking number. I can only assume they didn't ship it out. It's been a month and a half since this fiasco started. I was hoping to have my sub back by the time ROTK came out on DVD, but looks like they may not happen. I'm going to contact Greg yet again to see what happens, and what BS excuse he gives me.

As I said at the beginning of my post, I know how much you all love this company and I doubt it will dissuade anyone from buying from them, but I have to let others know of this bad service. I will post back here when I hear anything more.

Thanks for your time.

 

[Wayne Ernst]

Wow, that really seems like a long and drawn out RMA process. Best of luck to you in getting this situation resolved.

 

[Tony Genovese]

Your goal is to take away sales, vent your frustration, something else? I understand you're pissed, but stuff like this happens. If it happened every day, AV123 would not be as successful as they are. So I'm not sure exactly what your intent is.

 

[Tom Vodhanel]

Hi Robert,

I'm very experienced with the "check and balance" act smaller manufacturers tend to utilize to make sure nothing falls through the cracks in these kinds of situations. No matter how vigilant, every now and then something does manage to fall through the first safety net(many times this can be traced back to a simple inter-office email that never made it thru to the recipient). And in extremely rare circumstances, the *ball* may be dropped a couple of times for the same customer. This is just something that can happen. I know AV123 has the same reputation as SVS in this regard...we both sweat every detail to try to keep these instances EXTREMELY rare.

Of course if you are the unlucky customer that suffers through the situation... you are wondering how the company with such a great reputation for customer service has allowed this to happen. That is natural to some degree(as is the desire to vent a little frustration). I'm sure av123 will be in touch soon to have everything straightened out to your complete satisfaction(and they will probably appreciate your comments on the situation...as this can only help to minimize the chances of another customer falling through the same *crack* in the future).

Tom V.
SVS

 

[Mark LS]

Good Evening...

You can bet I will walking into the office at 9:01AM tomorrow morning with this post... :frowning:

I will personally look into this... and get to the bottom of it before mid day...

Please --- if I may... could you e-mail me your complete name and e-mail address with telephone number(s)... I owe you a call... and an apology... [email protected]

Thanks TV for your comments... and just like you guys... we DO have many checks and balances in place... Does the odd situation occur... you bet... Solved two of this over this weekend actually...

In any event... we'll get to the bottom of this post haste...

With humble apologies...

mls

 

[MichaelDDD]

Wow. You gotta love service like that! ^^^

Very nice.

 

[Robert Hoffman]

And the power of the internet.

 

[Robert Ross]

Thank you Mark for your response. I was really hoping a representative of the company would see this and respond. That's one of the reasons I posted my problem. I'll send you that email.

 

[PaulKoss]

Mark's email address is plastered all over these forums. Personally, I would have contacted him BEFORE I started a campaign in the forums. Mark has an excellent track record for responding to customer concerns. I am not saying this because I have any sort of special relationship with AV123. In fact, to date I have had only one dealing with them - I bought one of their products and returned it because it was not to my liking. They promptly refunded my money no questions asked .

 

[Mark LS]

Thanks for these replies...

This was the first thing I thought about at 4:30AM when I rolled out of bed...

I'm on it... and I will reply post haste...

Wishing you all the very best...

mls


(By the way... if you think for a minute that negative reports like this won't hurt my company (or sales) because we have a good track record... you are wrong... In this mornings mail I received three messages about quality concerns AFTER these folks read your message... The power on the Internet is always in the "on-position" for me personally and professionally... So... while you may think that your message won't "dissuade" same folks from buying... I can postively ASSURE YOU that you are wrong... Your message was powerful and understood... Now it's up to me to get to the bottom of this... and to make it right by you TODAY... and I shall)...

 

[Chu Gai]

It's the responses by Mark & Tom that I find enormously encouraging and compelling reasons for people to consider their offerings. While some sales can be lost from an unhappy customer, such prompt attention and concern I think attracts even more customers. Good job gentlemen!

 

[Tim Ranger]

This is probably the first time I've ever read anything about poor service from AV123. Sounds like you were a victim of Murphy's law on this one. That doesn't help when you're waiting for a sub and "hanging". The fact that Mark personally jumps on it so hard is why I really love buying direct. People like Mark, and Tom and Ron at AVS and Mike and Brenda at ACI work darn hard to take care of us AV junkies

 

[Edward J M]

MLS gets a huge thumbs up here for acknowledging the problem, not making lame excuses, and apologizing. THAT my friends is total class.

Based on this response alone, you can bet money the entire RA process will get a hard look from A-Z, and maybe a few guys will have MLS-sized boot prints on their sit-upons because he is 100% right - this type of thing CAN have a negative impact on the bottom line.

Superior CS and the ability to turn on a dime are the two biggest strengths of an internet based company; lose either and start acting like a big, nameless, plodding OEM....you might as well hang a proverbial "Closed For Business" sign on your website home page. With MLS at the tiller, that won't happen.

 

[Mark LS]

Good Afternoon...

I first must once again offer my sincerest apologies... and flatly state that you've correctly put forth all of the information as noted in your post.

I've just spent the last hour carefully stepping through EXACTLY what took place with your specific item... and re-inventing part of our R/A to Tech Room handoff process. I want you to know that we have SOLVED this problem... I'm 100% satisfied...

I have to admit to being surprised (stunned is more like it) when I read your post... The plain box DID throw us for a loop (from your local pack + wrap) and the unit did come in damaged... but NONE of that should have mattered one hoot... The ball was dropped... and we all (collectively... Greg, Josh, Suzanne and myself) figured out why...

We have all decided here that we need to apologize in a BIG WAY... so we would like you to accept one of our wonderful UFW-10's (you can pick the flavour... but we may be out of stock on some of them today) as our way of saying... We Are So Sorry...

Please do let us know sir...

Wishing you all the very best...

mls

 

[Robert Ross]

Well all I can say is...wow. I really wasn't expecting this. I was just hoping to get my sub back by this week. But a whole new sub....heck, not just a new sub, but a step up from what I had (I keep re-reading the post to make sure I'm seeing the right model). I thank you. You represent your company well and if all goes well (i.e. when my sound system is complete again), your company will have totally redeemed itself in my eyes, and I will purchase from you again in the future (after all, I do have to eventually upgrade my speakers from 5.1 to 7.1, and your speakers do sound amazing). I will get in touch with you, and thank your again.

I will keep everyone posted as to how this all turns out.

 

[Mark LS]

Please Please do Robert...

The guys had to stop me from asking you if I could install it myself on my way home from the NY GTG we have planned
for this weekend in Saratoga, New York

In any event... I will send you my mobile phone number so you and I can chat along the way... I'll be in NYC from Thursday night forward... so I can help with any questions etc.

Thanks once again for staying the course with us... I'm excited for you...

All the best...

mls

 

[gregD]

I am simply gobsmacked!... what integrity!

Just yesterday I would have insisted that I wouldn't even consider buying speakers online... well, OK, maybe a sub.

Obviously, I'm gonna havta re-think my position.

 

[JeanVanDam]

Wow.. not bad!
Do the Rockets only come in one color?

 

[Chris.R]

No the Rockets come in Rosewood and Ebony. There is also talk over at the av123 forum about another wood. Check it out! they have sample pictures of the potential otehr colors. By the way I just received my Rosewood Ultra HT package and the two 750's I have had time to unpack are gorgeous!!!

Once again MLS shows what true customer service is all about!

 

[Adil M]

I'm going to use this thread to post a note real quick.

I know this was not your intent, but I hope in the future posters don't use these forums as a podium to manipulate companies like AV123 to go above and beyond.
An email directly to him (online company head) would have been the best alternative. Mark came through splendidly. Based on his past posts, I'm not surprised. It's nice when things are taken care of publicly and even nicer when taken care of privately. This is an excellent rep to have.
OTOH, it is nice to know that these companies are not perfect, b/c I'm always wary of something that looks too good.
Congratulations to all. Threads like this move companies to the top of the list for future purchases.