[Katun]

Speaking of good customer service. I just wanted to extend my sincere thanks to Head-Direct. If anyone orders the HE-500, HE-6, etc in the future, just know that their customer service is top notch. Fang and his crew are extremely generous, and treat each and every customer with respect. I had a bit of trouble (especially with the customs) as well as a few other things, and they have been the most delighted to help out, every time. Top recommendations from me. I respect them highly.

 

[lazysleepyboi]

Quote:

Not to let Grado off the hook, but try to consider the number of headphones that Grado has made and is making.  Then consider the number of LCD-2s that have been sold since they came on the market < two(?) years ago, their only model, BTW.
 
I've had my 325is for a year with no problems.  I sold my LCD-2s.  They had no problems, either.
 
Food for thought or meaningless?  You decide.

the number of grado headphones vs the customer support you receive should not really effect anything. The two in my opinion are unrelated because even if a company is making more products, you still want to receive the best customer service you can. When you buy a product, there's a warranty guarantee and you believe that companies will stick with that 100%. If more headphones is proportional to customer service than I'd rather the business model of companies be that they should keep their headphone manufacturing to 2 models. If you're saying that it's ok for grado to neglect customers based on the fact that it has more models, that's bogus in my opinion. Companies have a choice when they make new products and when they take a stance in hiring people to respond to emails and calls. Grados apparently have been good for you, but I like the reassuring feeling that when i deal with a company, they stand by it and give me the speedy and informative responses I'm looking for. 
 
And the part where you sold your LCD-2s, it's not really a big deal to be honest. It doesn't speak about the quality of the headphones nor does it add to the question about grado vs audeze customer service. Some people like certain headphones, others don't. If you look on the forums, it'll be apparent that everyone has their own taste, so the fact that you kept your grados is nothing but saying that you prefer the sound signature on them

 

[wind016]

I never had problems with my SR325i headphones either, but I was practically treating them like thin fragile glass after my experience with several SR125i headphones.

 

[bbophead]

Quote:

the number of grado headphones vs the customer support you receive should not really effect anything. The two in my opinion are unrelated because even if a company is making more products, you still want to receive the best customer service you can. When you buy a product, there's a warranty guarantee and you believe that companies will stick with that 100%. If more headphones is proportional to customer service than I'd rather the business model of companies be that they should keep their headphone manufacturing to 2 models. If you're saying that it's ok for grado to neglect customers based on the fact that it has more models, that's bogus in my opinion. Companies have a choice when they make new products and when they take a stance in hiring people to respond to emails and calls. Grados apparently have been good for you, but I like the reassuring feeling that when i deal with a company, they stand by it and give me the speedy and informative responses I'm looking for. 
 
And the part where you sold your LCD-2s, it's not really a big deal to be honest. It doesn't speak about the quality of the headphones nor does it add to the question about grado vs audeze customer service. Some people like certain headphones, others don't. If you look on the forums, it'll be apparent that everyone has their own taste, so the fact that you kept your grados is nothing but saying that you prefer the sound signature on them

So then I take it that my reply was meaningless.
 
 

 

[lazysleepyboi]

 
Quote:

So then I take it that my reply was meaningless.
 
 

sorry, i guess my response came off as a bit too strong than what i was intending. I don't think comments are meaningless, for me, your comment didn't add anything. Everyone sees something different in a comment, so maybe someone else will take your point in a different view. I completely understand what you mean, and it kind of adds to what others have been saying. Grado has been in the game longer than audeze and they have a lot more products. But in no way should more products constitute poorer customer service. That's just my view since I've had a bad experience with warranty service before so this kind of speaks out to me in a way that makes me distrust grado. Sorry again if i came off as too strong

 

[jerg]

Best warranty (maybe not customer service but still) is and will always be that of Koss's. Life-time no-questions-asked replacement/repair warranty, all you pay is shipping and a flatrate (a few bucks) fee. You could literally spray paint a Koss hp neon green, mail it to Koss with a slip explaining this as an accident, and get a replacement back a few weeks later.

 

[Joelby]

Quote:

How I wish my story was unique.

The unique aspect I was referring to was having multiple $1000+ phones fail around the same time. I'm sure no experienced member of the forum is going to deny Grado has their hands full with QC issues.
 

 

[ricmiclaw]

Quote:

Speaking of good customer service. I just wanted to extend my sincere thanks to Head-Direct. If anyone orders the HE-500, HE-6, etc in the future, just know that their customer service is top notch. Fang and his crew are extremely generous, and treat each and every customer with respect. I had a bit of trouble (especially with the customs) as well as a few other things, and they have been the most delighted to help out, every time. Top recommendations from me. I respect them highly.

I'll let you know whether I agree with you.  I'm still waiting for tracking information for the replacement HE6 that was supposed to be on its way last week.  I gave them my complete address and telephone information but they confirmed an address without a zip code.  I immediately notified them of the problem and they already seemed aware of it but they have not responded nor have they communicated with me since then.  They only said tracking information to follow.  Last week.
 

 

[ricmiclaw]

Quote:

Anyways, thanks for the extensive writing and I'm glad that everything worked out in the end. Great to know that there are companies you can count on. Oh yeah, i wanted to ask, since you have both the LCD and HE-5LE, how would you compare them? 

 
I have the LCD2 and had the HE6.  The HE6 right driver failed and I'm waiting for a replacement.  The LCD2 is spectacular.  It needs power to drive properly but it's just wonderful.  Among the most beautiful sounding headphones I have (and I have some very expensive headphones).  The HE6 also sounded very good for the short time I had it prior to failure.  It requires enormous power to drive correctly but, when driven with the right amp, my limited experience suggested that it will also sound wonderful.  When I have more time with it, if I remember, I'll provide an update.  If you don't see one, feel free to ask.
 
 

 

[ricmiclaw]

Quote:

Not to let Grado off the hook, but try to consider the number of headphones that Grado has made and is making.  Then consider the number of LCD-2s that have been sold since they came on the market < two(?) years ago, their only model, BTW.
 
I've had my 325is for a year with no problems.  I sold my LCD-2s.  They had no problems, either.
 
Food for thought or meaningless?  You decide.

Well expressed opinions are always food for thought; never "meaningless".  However, the issue here is the comparison of Grado versus Audeze customer service.  Audeze owned up to problems with their product and made sure that, despite the inconvenience of a failed driver, and then a damaged replacement, I didn't have to pay one thin dime for my troubles (even though the Audeze warranty, just like Grado, "requires" the customer to pay shipping to them).  With Grado, perhaps the problem with the unit wasn't as widespread for the PS1000 model as the Audeze driver failure problem was for the LCD2.  Under those circumstances, Grado enforced their warranty requirement for me to pay shipping to them.  Absolutely no problem with that.  It's what their warranty says.  
 
My problem with Grado was that they acknowledged the problem was a warranty issue and then failed to perform the repair or did it so poorly that it was DOA on return.  At that point, in my opinion, Grado should have paid for the shipping back to them or, at the very least, after receiving it from me for the second time and determining that the unit still needed the same warranty repairs as it did when they first had it, they should have reimbursed me for the second shipping charges.  I also didn't care for their failure to notify me of the first shipment back to me as the unit was left at my front door and could have been stolen. I also didn't like that, upon completing the second warranty repair, instead of sending my property back to me, they sent it to the cable mod man who supplied them with the balanced cable mod for them to install under their warranty.  They didn't ask me and they had no right to send my property to a third party.  In these cases, if my PS1000 had been stolen from my front door or if I was having problems with the cable mod man (both hypotheticals but not unrealistic), I might have never seen these $1,700 headphones again.  
 
Would Grado have offered to replace them under such circumstances?  Well, they wouldn't reimburse me $31.83 for the second shipment for their failure to properly perform warranty services.  So, I think their actions put $1,700 of my property at risk of loss or theft and did so without my permission.  Should they get a pass on this deplorable level of customer service because they're a bigger company than Audeze?  No sir.  Not with my money.  I have to work too hard for my money to have such expensive property handled with such a cavalier disregard for me.  If they are too big to give me better treatment than that, they are too big for me to put any more of my hard-earned dollars into their products.  I respect and honor howsoever other people choose to manage their affairs and risks in life.  But, speaking solely for myself, I do not choose to do business with companies that treat me like Grado did.
 

 

[ricmiclaw]

Quote:

I never had problems with my SR325i headphones either, but I was practically treating them like thin fragile glass after my experience with several SR125i headphones.

 
The question is how does the company treat you when you have problems.  When there are no problems, that's great and there's nothing to talk about expect whether you like or dislike the product.  When there are problems, a whole new net of issues comes into play.  Did the company honor its warranty?  Did they communicate well?  Did they show respect for you and your property?  If they didn't do something right, did they own up to it and cover any extra associated costs or did they stick the costs of their negligence on you?  These are just some of the questions that arise when products have problems.  Change the product from headphone to automobile.  If you had a flawless car, that's a gift.  If you ran into problems every now and then, did the service department take good care of you?  Did they fix the problem on the first try?  Did they make you come back again and again?  Did they try to just wear you down?  Did they just run out the clock on the warranty and then deny you coverage?  Add in whether the person having these issues is wealthy to the point of not caring or worked like a dog to earn the money to cater to his love of music.  Ask the same questions of how you'd feel depending on the answer to this last question.  I repeat a point made earlier in this thread: The customer relationship begins, does not end, at the point of sale. 
 
 

 

[ricmiclaw]

Quote:

The unique aspect I was referring to was having multiple $1000+ phones fail around the same time. I'm sure no experienced member of the forum is going to deny Grado has their hands full with QC issues.
 

 
I get you.  I focused on the wrong point.  Thanks for clearing that up.  I did have really rotton luck.  It would be interesting to see how many people owned affected LCD2s, HE6s and PS1000s (like me, all of which failed within a few weeks of each other).  I remember from statistics class many decades ago that rolling a pair of 6s 10 times in a row might be unusual because there is a defined probability of rolling a pair of 6s in any given roll.  However, over a large number of rolls, 10 straight rolls of 6s might not actually be a completely freakish event.
 
 

 

[ricmiclaw]

Quote:

Best warranty (maybe not customer service but still) is and will always be that of Koss's. Life-time no-questions-asked replacement/repair warranty, all you pay is shipping and a flatrate (a few bucks) fee. You could literally spray paint a Koss hp neon green, mail it to Koss with a slip explaining this as an accident, and get a replacement back a few weeks later.

That's some warranty.  To me, it expresses a company's confidence in their products.  Although, about 20-25 years ago, I bought a Pontiac Grand Prix that had a dangerous computer control problem.  About one weeks after buying the car, it would just turn off when I hit the brakes.  Not every time, though.  Maybe only once in 20 times.  The problem was you could never predict when it would turn itself off.  
 
About that time, to demonstrate the confidence it had in the reliability and safety of its products, Pontiac announced that anyone buying a Grand Prix could return it, no questions asked, within the first 30 days after purchase so long as it wasn't damaged.  The policy applied to any Grand Prix purchased within the preceding 30 days so I returned it to the dealer the very next day.  I figured "what are the odds of getting another Grand Prix with precisely the same defect?" so I exchanged it for another Grand Prix.  The odds of getting a second Grand Prix with precisely the same defect turned out to be 100%.  G-d is a comedian.

 

[ricmiclaw]

Quote:

 


sorry, i guess my response came off as a bit too strong than what i was intending. I don't think comments are meaningless, for me, your comment didn't add anything. Everyone sees something different in a comment, so maybe someone else will take your point in a different view. I completely understand what you mean, and it kind of adds to what others have been saying. Grado has been in the game longer than audeze and they have a lot more products. But in no way should more products constitute poorer customer service. That's just my view since I've had a bad experience with warranty service before so this kind of speaks out to me in a way that makes me distrust grado. Sorry again if i came off as too strong

This is great.  Instead of swapping personal insults, we exchange mutual respect.  There really are some great people at Head-Fi.  
 

 

[ricmiclaw]

Let's keep this going.  We don't have to limit the discussion to Grado versus Audeze.  What do you folks think should be the minimum standards of customer service?  Should a company be willing to modify, in the customer's favor, terms of a warranty where the circumstances would justify it or should the terms of the warranty be rigidly enforced, ala Grado and "customer pays shipping costs" to them even when they screw up? What do you think are the minimum communications standards for good customer service?  Is there even basic agreement with my premise that customer service just begins when the product is sold (e.g., that they don't just go out of their way to make a sale but let the buyer twist in the wind when there's a post-sale problem)?