[jyle_t]

I thought Justin has proved on and on that his products are worth the wait. Not that its thaaat long a wait (think Xin). I waited 3 months for the Pico DAC, but i'm sure glad i've ordered it.

 

[rsbrsvp]

I, like many others find that Justin more often than not does not return calls or respond to most e mails. When that happens, I feel I am being neglected even though I am a paying customer. I have often turned to Spritzer or Kevin Gilmore when I have had problems with by BHSE to answer questions that Justin has not responded to, seemingly because he is busy and has work to do. Nevertheless, I also reason that it may be impossible for Justin to spend the time necessary to respond to what is probobly an overwhelming amount of business. I understand that he does not have all day to shoot the breeze with everyone and he probobly has to prioritise who he responds to based on the severity of the issue. I do believe at the end of the day he DOES preform and do beautiful work. I certainly would request of him to be a bit more responsive to peoples calls and e mails if at all possible because customers want to feel that the seller is listening and cares. But again- Justin is a trustworthy decent person who does get the job done and done right. I have concluded after purchasing 2 amps from him and dealing with this reality that he does listen to his messages and reads his e mails and he does care and aims to satisfy- it is only a matter of his putting priority on getting the job done rather than spending his time responding. Because I believe this is what is happening when i don't get a response- I do not feel neglected any more. He is listening- he is just working on solving the problem.

 

[forbigger]

Justin need to get a grip on the customer service side. I have the same experience with the OP regarding the turnaround time for him to reply to queries. But on top of it all, he is trustworthy and reputable guy.

Problem with him is that like what most people say in this forum is that he is a one man operation. Not like other company ie. Woo where Jack is the front runner for CS whilst his father and brother is in charge of production/technical.

Justin really need to have a person to run the CS side. He can employs part timer college or even high school person just to take care of the CS side. Doesn't need to be a full timer. Someone who comes in and spend 3-4 hours a day should suffice. And seriously, just by beefing up this part a bit, Headamp will easily become one of the leading brand in the business

 

[Scott_Tarlow]

If you havent noticed, like 200 pico slims have been preordered in like 2 days. He thought they were going to last a month. He is selling like crazy. My Pico DAC/Amp is #711, that is a lot of DAC/Amps. For a one man business, he is rolling. I am sure he isn't making a killing, given all his R&D and extra hours he works, but I don't think he is having too many financial problems, and I think HeadAmp is already one of the top headphone amp companies

 

[rsbrsvp]

I cringe when I hear rationalizations for a compay or an individual not preforming in one area being excused just because that company or individual preforms well in other areas.

Justin produces beautiful products-meticulously manufactured by hand crafted work. He is a perfectionist in his production and manufacture of amplifiers. It is obvious that he is one of the best in the industry in terms of quality and attention to detail. he is to be commended for this.

Justin has also proved he is a man of integrity and honesty. He does not lie or cheat anyone to the best of my knowledge. He is to be comended for this.

In the area of responding to customers e mails and phone messages, in my experience and from what I have heard from many others in PM's- Justins preformance is poor. Communication issues are serious, but they are seperate from manufacturing issues.

Proper preformance in one area does not justify poor preformance in another.
I do not have any ideas as to how Justin can improve in the areas where he needs it as I do not know his business and I am sure he knows better than me what he can do to fix the problem in the weaker areas in order to bring them up to the level of the stronger areas.

I really hope he succeeds because he is a great guy and we need him in the industry. I hope this forum will be an impetus for Justin to improve in the areas where he needs to rather than a "let him off the hook" forum because after all- he does make great quality products. Yes he does make great products, but there is no relationship between that reality and the reality that communications with customers must be improved.

 

[RKlages]

I just ordered a Pico amp/dac on 12/4 and visa card billed 12/7. Google also advised me that HeadAmp received my order. I too would like a confirmation of my order and an estimated delivery date from HeadAmp. All I have is a Google order number. I have left an Email and a phone message. Looking forward to receiving my Pico. It's only been a few days so I am not worried.

Rick

 

[Scott_Tarlow]

No, it is an excuse. It is your choice to purchase the product. Obviously if you purchase the product, you think that the quality product out weighs the sometimes shoddy CS. If you don't like it, don't buy it.

 

[ibis99]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scott_Tarlow /img/forum/go_quote.gif No, it is an excuse. It is your choice to purchase the product. Obviously if you purchase the product, you think that the quality product out weighs the sometimes shoddy CS. If you don't like it, don't buy it.

Im trying to think of a way you could be more wrong, but for the life of me I can't find one. That's how wrong you are.

 

[grawk]

He's not wrong. You choose whether the combination of customer service and product quality make the given price worthwhile. Every transaction involves compromise. Justin makes products that are known to be very high quality, with great performance, build quality, and reliability. He's sometimes slow with his communication and with his production speed. His prices are well below industry standards in terms of parts cost to final product cost. But he definitely doesn't have a sales or support staff, so you have to deal with him on his timetable for any service or support or pre sales questions.

 

[SoupRKnowva]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ibis99 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Im trying to think of a way you could be more wrong, but for the life of me I can't find one. That's how wrong you are.

im with grawk on this one, scott you're not wrong. You're exactly right. You can either pay the low prices that justin affords us with, or you can go elsewhere and pay the same amount but get a inferior product. Would you rather pay 500 for your new slim, and get faster email responses? or pay the 350 and maybe wait a couple days? those are the options if he were to hire more people to cover the customer service. The time/money all has to come from somwhere.

 

[grawk]

Having been to Justin's apartment, I promise he's not living high on the hog. He works all the time, and charges a lot less for his labor than I would.

 

[RKlages]

NT

 

[grawk]

The key is to hold him to reasonable standards. He's not amazon, and it's reasonable for it to take a week to hear back. This isn't some widget made in a factory supported by thousands of low paid lackies.

 

[estreeter]

Personally, given the quality control issues around some other amps, I think its great that Justin takes the time to get it right. That said, given a choice between a product with a delivery time > 3 months and one which will be at my house within a fortnight, I will take the latter even if it means paying more. If that makes me a lesser being, so be it, but Headamp isnt the only show in town. From this thread and others, I believe Justin would be quote relieved to hear that I intend taking my business elsewhere !

 

[ibis99]

Quote:

Originally Posted by grawk /img/forum/go_quote.gif He's not wrong. You choose whether the combination of customer service and product quality make the given price worthwhile. Every transaction involves compromise. Justin makes products that are known to be very high quality, with great performance, build quality, and reliability. He's sometimes slow with his communication and with his production speed. His prices are well below industry standards in terms of parts cost to final product cost. But he definitely doesn't have a sales or support staff, so you have to deal with him on his timetable for any service or support or pre sales questions.

So then maybe you can explain to me how I would know anything about his customer service BEFORE I make a purchase?

Also, I do not think spending $375 for an smp is cheap. I had far better service from HeadRoom when I purchased my $99 Total AirHead. So you point is moot.
Price and customer service are completely seperate issues.