Haze made a post and asked everyone what they expected as far as customer service based off of where they were getting their audio equipment from but I don't think he ever really got the answer he was looking for. I read the post and I think honestly he hit the nail right on the head with his thoughts but with a few differences I see.

1. I love talking to people about anything audio related. Hell I have been know to be on the phone with people for hours talking options lol.

2. However as much as I love doing that I still have to keep in mind that I am managing a business and I have employees to pay and lights to keep on ect.

3. That being said offering advice on what pairs with what and how best to achieve and end goal is not always the easiest thing to do. Example:
Potential customer A calls and ask for and upgrade. Conversation goes back and forth with different options and questions to narrow down what is the end desired result. Potential customer A purchases said equipment. Now potential customer B calls and says hey I have this this and this can you tell me how to wire it up to achieve the best sound...now the inner audiophile in me wants to just blurt out what needs to be done and spend the hour helping this guy out...but the business manager in me cant do that because I as a professional spent a lot for time learning how to do this and an hour of my time spent is an hour of time I could have made say 90 an hour doing an install.... However I still give the advice and potential customer B hangs up never to be heard from again....

4. So my problem I see is this....I offer complete tech and customer service to any and all CUSTOMERS of mine. I can not however spend my time telling someone how to wire up a system because they decided my prices were too high and chase the bargain deals ebay....Now same potential customer B now calls back complaining that the way I told him to wire it up caused a speaker to burn out an its now my fault...well we all know that more than likely it was fake of shotty equipment that caused this issue not very likely the simple basic install advice I gave. So what do I do here?

5. These issues force us as a business to not want to offer advice to to someone not a customer simply because we loose money. Both in time spent and now in giving an extreme discount to potential customer B in hopes to avoid him bashing us everywhere he can even though both he and I know it wasn't my advice that caused his issue.

6. In closing I would just like to say that I am not trying to be rude or mean or an a**. Simply put because of the large number of people on this planet that are dishonest and try to take advantage of every possible situation we as a business have to put in policies to protect us from losses like this or we will go under very quickly. This policy is that if you are a customer then you get that customer support all the time. If you bought your stuff form ebay or a big box store it is not fair to us to loose money explaining to you how to do something you don't know how to do. Bluntly you didn't pay for that service.

Please don't take this post as an insult to anyone. This is a situation that just happened and I felt it went along perfectly with hazes post and wanted to share.

I have to add that by no means will I stop offering suggestions when asked....I just simply cant give some one step by step instructions on how to install a system that wasn't bought from my shop. That service is included in the price of all our equipment...I mean would your plumber and say hey how do run the plumbing in my new bathroom because I went and bought everything on my own but I don't know how....no I don't think you would.

 

I absolutely support your logic on this!!! Business is business and Customer A absolutely deserves your undivided support.

Customer B is why we have forums and in many cases Customer A can get second and third and fourth opinions as well.

DIY comes with risk. I will gladly pay the overhead built into the product cost in exchange for product support / warranty when warranted.

T

 

I agree on your principle of what you can, and can not support. The post you are referencing is not geared in that regard . It is more in line with the fact that a lot of us get pm's on how to set things up that some vendors cannot provide the level of support needed to achieve the end result the user had purchased from. That is why biketronics was mentioned repeatedly. They can and would go every way possible to provide the end user exactly what was needed.

 

I see the distinction you are making and your right not everyone can provide the higher level of support that some can. That being said though that is exactly what this forum is for am I wrong? I mean I know a lot about this stuff but I definitely do not know everything and never will for that matter. I will defiantly admit that some of you guys probably know quite a bit of the tech better than me with no shame in saying so. Hell I sent a customer to Tailwind not to long ago on a mounting question because I had not personally done that job so I didn't have the answer but I knew he did. Helping people out is one thing but just flat out expecting a business to give away their....lets call them "tricks of the trade" that has given them and edge of some competitors is kind of absurd. Its one thing to ask a friend for advice when he has knowledge that you don't have but entirely a different thing to ask someone that makes their living that you don't know personally that makes their living off of having that knowledge to just give it to you for free.

 

Agree with both post above. Slye has hit the nail on the head for me great to get recommendations , good deal on items , friendly people to hand over hard earned money to but what good is it if said vendor has no means to help end user to the finish line.

This is where BT rocked when they first came out with 4180 for 2014 bikes Bill must have spent hundreds of hours fighting flash after flash, then the retro kit he spent lots of time with many different head units to find proper setting's that worked with 4180 to share never sold anything that he did not know how to make work.

I think it is obvious that with all the stereo pro's here that are not vendors that are getting so many pm's on how to make system work that this is the week link.

 

Very fair point as well. My question to that is how exactly am I as the Vendor supposed to help you to the finish line if I am never asked? It's hard to say what advice or equipment you would need if the question is never posed to me by a customer.... I agree completely that if I am going to sell a product I should know the ends and outs of that product...now for some creative ideas that haven't been tried at he shop I say ask if anyone has tried it. I love helping people to their end goal and the second it reaches out of my relm I am upfront an honest. I go back to Tailwind again. He showed up at the shop and just simply said...."I am missing something" We listen to his setup and I gave him the best guidance rout I could offer...To my knowledge he loved it. It did exactly what he wanted it to do. So again I cant help if I am not asked ya know.

 

So I started on this forum not long ago with my head completely up my ****, now it is only partially up my ****, but the consumer reviews and technical guidance on this forum was simply exemplary. I did install 2 packaged systems (JM and BT) and in those cases detailed audio installation instructions were provided. The only expectation I had regarding product support was if the directions were jacked up / incomplete, products did not function as expected, or I needed DSP programming. When I purchased different individual speakers or amps from random vendors I only expected pre purchase product facts and also the product to work.
This is where vendors will define their individual policies based on customer service goals and standards. BT is clearly a leader in the sled audio world and has set such bar really damn high. Keep in mind, the basically sell their own brand so the accessibility expectations are high to begin with and they have met such expectation.
Regardless, you have to pay to play regarding vendor product support and install support. Unless I choose to help a Brotha out in hopes that I will gain a future customer, but I take no responsibly regarding such individuals install with products they bought on eBay.
Even if I buy a speaker from Billy Bobs audio shop, I only expect the shix to work as advertised and if they can spare some product knowledge along the way, it's greatly appreciated. If I buy a water heater at Home Depot, are they responsible for holding my hand regarding installing it?
Now if I purchase a package, I expect basic installation instructions at a minimum. Basic tuning of that package would also be extremely helpful but not expected. Enter vendor customer service standards. BT has always available for product support Mon - Fri. I have BABs shop # and cell # and chat with them regularly about product info and in many cases on Saturday or Sunday but they too know that my green shix has been put in their pockets and will continue to be.

Good discussion as managing customer service standards AND managing customer expectations is pretty damn important.

I will violently reiterate that this forum is an amazing resource and within this dialogue we cannot underestimate the role that professional installers AND do it yourself forums have in this process. Just cause u bought the water heater, gas line, and pvc at Home Depot, it does not mean they are obligated to teach u how to install it.

Just sayin!!!

T