[SuperU]

   
Jason thanks for the response.
 
It was the same type of question but a different product.  In my case a Lyr vs Lyr 2.  Got almost the same responses.  It is in the FAQ and descriptions.  I had read those prior to the email.  So I did a lot of research and with the help of others from the Head-Fi Schiit forums I got the information I needed and bought the product and love it. 
 
That said some folks would have said never mind and bought something else.
 
I was not looking for flowery or hand holding.  I was looking for specific information. He could have emailed back, "exactly what do you want to know?".  I never got that far.  If my question had been answered in the description and FAQ then it would have been my bad, but it was not.  Since this is not the first time this topic has been mentioned, there must be a segment of your customer base that is looking for flowery prose and hand holding.  As was mentioned above by another member some folks appreciate short direct responses.  Some do not.
 
Thanks again for your personal response.
 
And I still love my Schiit...

I would like to add my .02 cents to this.
 
When I made my first order, I got the same kind of short responses. I was close to just not continuing. And in fact, had it not been for all the huge praise I had read here about Schiit in the forums, I too would have not purchased.
 
I want to be careful that this is not misconstrued as not being happy. Even with the considerable problems that FedEx caused me and Schiit, I am, overall, very pleased.
 
However, what I had to do was adapt real quick to the super short responses. So I took to sending super short questions. One at a time. And exchanged MANY emails. But did get what I was looking for eventually. 
 
Personally I would opt for more helpful and complete responses if I could choose. An approach that didn't make me feel bad for having questions. Customer service is your face to the world, after your website. 
 
I was very pleased that I was getting responses from Nick late on a Friday or Saturday night (can't remember) so that part is impressive.
 
And I'd like my preferences made known as well regarding this, Jason. I agree with MWSVette.

 

[Audiotic]

Positive: http://www.cnet.com/news/for-a-headphone-amplifier-6-watts-per-channel-is-huge/

 

[rovopio]

When i ordered my uber, i read the "getting connected" section but still have some confusion. It was probably updated since the time i ordered the uber, or the specific question that i ask wasn't there at the time i asked, because now the guide is pretty complete and i don't have to ask what i asked then, after re-reading the guide -> getting connected just now.
 
Basically i asked two dumb questions that seriously can be answered by google, but i send them an e-mail too.
 
Nick did answered my two questions, the questions in hindsight was seriously dumb. So, short as it may be, he didn't told me off and he didn't say something like "you can actually google that yourself". So, yeah, that was good.
 
I have no experience of Schiit's after sales service, and hopefully i won't ever need it. But i decide to buy their products partially because of the after sales service reputation they have. And reading their Schiit's head-fi online book, i reckon they are very capable engineers.
 
I was thinking about typing about my really horrible experience from other company's after sales service, but decided against typing about it in the end. Maybe North Americans have more options available, partially due to laws implemented both to protect buyers and the business. And due to regulations regarding accountability, you can actually get your rights as customers from many companies. The same can't be said for some other parts of the world.
 
So, provided that Schiit's after sales service standards are the same worldwide, I'd rather buy stuff from Schiit than having had to experience very, very pleasant experience i went through with some other brand before buying, and then stonewalled, waited, stonewalled some more, outright rejected, and the highlight, blatantly lied to, mere 2.5 months later when their product failed.

 

[bearFNF]

My experience with the service side for the two issues with products I own was very good, quick resolution and response to queries on technical details and the process for replacement.

 

[MWSVette]

  The "B-Stock & Closeout" section will not be there for long and expecting a person to extensively mine the website is not the best idea, especially if the information is not there. Hopefully they will add the "Archived" section that I suggested. In the past when Nick didn't come up with an answer I had to guide him with a repeat email to get close. I've seen the "there are plenty of other options out there" statement on their website and thought that wasn't polite and should have been stated differently.
On a positive and important point, if one has a problem with a purchased product, they seem to have superb customer service.

 
I agree StanD.
 
Again I want to say Schiit makes great audio products at great prices. 
 
While the response I received was not helpful they did respond very quickly and I am sure if I had a problem I would get the same quick response.   To date I have not had any equipment issues or failures and if I did from everything I have read that is where Schiit shines, after the sale service. 
 
If I was buying a $79.00 Fulla being blown off on a question is no big deal. Its $79.00 who cares.  But if I was buying a Ragnarok for $1699.00 and a Yggdrasil for what ever price at its release.  I would expect a somewhat higher level of before sale customer communication than "its in the description and FAQ".
 
And as I stated earlier, in my business I have often wanted to say "there are plenty of other options out there", however I try to be a little more diplomatic about it, lest to many of them take me up on my suggestion.
 
As Schiit moves into the higher dollar audio market they may find customers expect a little better.

 

[money4me247]

I don't think the CS at Schiit is bad at all. Nick just has a very no-nonsense approach and succinct attitude. he will answer your question in the briefest amount of words required. if you are looking for a more in-depth explanation, many of the head-fi members on these forums are quite verbose, so you can post your query here!

 

[Mr Rick]

  I don't think the CS at Schiit is bad at all. Nick just has a very no-nonsense approach and succinct attitude. he will answer your question in the briefest amount of words required. if you are looking for a more in-depth explanation, many of the head-fi members on these forums are quite verbose, so you can post your query here!

Exactly!!

 

[crixnet]

Now that you mention it, I have to say that Nick at Schiit is not a very good pre-sales company representative. I've had similar terse, bordering on pissed-off-sounding replies from him that were off-putting. Had I not really believed that Schiit products were worth pursuing, I would have blown off buying from the company, strictly on the who-gives-a-f@#k attitude I got from Nick.
 
I don't know Nick from Adam. Maybe his forte is tech support, or something, but people skills and customer relations ain't it, for sure.
 
I've had to rephrase my pre-sales questions several times, in attempts to coax a more than non-helpful, terse reply from him. And I was looking to spend more than a grand on Schiit equipment. 
 
God knows Jason is busy with more important things, but Schiit is a small company with loyal patrons. It would behoove him and the company to have a better customer relations point man staffing the Contact Us email queries.
 
Just saying.

 

[kstuart]

 

  As an owner of 2 Schiit products, I can't say anything negatively about the hardware. However, I wish I could say the same for their customer service. At first I did not want to make a public post calling the Schiit guys out because they seem to have a good reputation within the community. I even messaged Jason privately about the issue and its been 2 weeks. The fact that he did not even respond or acknowledge my complaints towards one of his staff Nick, just shows me the degree in which he actually gives a damn about his customers. This whole situation was dealt with extremely unprofessionally. As a business owner myself, treating a valued customer like this is unacceptable. So much for brand loyalty. 
 
This is a long post but I call things how I see it. I'm sure a lot of you praise them for their service, but I feel that fellow head-fi'ers should know about both the good and the bad. I asked info@schiit.com about the differences between a modi and modi2 (I was contemplating which to buy at the time). The conversation is posted below (verbatim).
 
Me: Hi Schiit Audio, I am ready to buy a Modi DAC. However, I am not sure what are the differences between the Modi 1 vs Modi 2. If you could shed some light on this that would be greatly appreciated! Regards, Kevin
 
Schiit: This is covered in the product description and product FAQ on the website. Nick T.
 
Me: Hi Nick,Thanks for the fast response. However, after going back and forth a couple of times between the two pages I could not pinpoint where the differences between the Modi 1 vs Modi 2 are listed. That is why I decided to e-mail you guys as a last resort. Your help is appreciated in advance. Regards, Kevin
 
Schiit: It’s in the copy, and on the FAQ tab.
 
Me: Thanks but no thanks.
 
I don't know why he could not have given me the answer directly. Is there anything that he has to hide?  I followed up in a friendly manner and said that I could not find it anywhere on the website (and there are no comparisons between the modi1 vs. modi2 on the schiit website) hoping that I would get an answer from the tech directly. I was told the same thing to check online. I admit if it was online, sure I'd give it to him, but the fact that it is not online and Nick would not type a few extra words and take a few extra seconds to do what he is paid to do is unacceptable from any point of view. 
 
Sorry, just thought I would share this rant with you guys. Maybe my expectations were too high given what I've read online about them. I just don't feel like they deserve all that credit especially when you have customer service representatives who don't even answer your question directly and try to impose a superior attitude towards you. 

I did not reply because I do not reply to PMs.
 
Also, I see nothing wrong in how Nick handled this. Maybe I need to have him add a sig line that says, "I am not a salesperson. We do not have a salesperson. If you want flowery descriptions and gushing prose, you're going to be disappointed."
 
Sorry if that ruffled your feathers.

I did not see anything wrong in how Nick handled this.
 
But...
 
I remembered all the very lengthy descriptions of differences between the three different types of Modi on the web site, so I assumed that Nick was referring to something specific.
 
However, I just went to schiit.com and there is actually no text about what is different between the Modi 1 and the Modi 2.  The text acts like there never was a previous Modi version.
 
So, I agree with Jason in terms of customer service in general, BUT I think that Nick is factually wrong (like me he was confusing "difference between the three models of Modi 2" and "difference between Modi 1 and Modi 2").

 

[StanD]

:
I don't know Nick from Adam. Maybe his forte is tech support, or something, but people skills and customer relations ain't it, for sure.
 
I've had to rephrase my pre-sales questions several times, in attempts to coax a more than non-helpful, terse reply from him. And I was looking to spend more than a grand on Schiit equipment. 

Nick responds very quickly and at hours I did not expect to hear from him, which is commendable. However his responses are a bit terse. I will agree with what you said, "people skills and customer relations ain't it." Maybe he needs a weekend off to chill and have some fun.

 

[MWSVette]

 
Now that you mention it, I have to say that Nick at Schiit is not a very good pre-sales company representative. I've had similar terse, bordering on pissed-off-sounding replies from him that were off-putting. Had I not really believed that Schiit products were worth pursuing, I would have blown off buying from the company, strictly on the who-gives-a-f@#k attitude I got from Nick.
 
I don't know Nick from Adam. Maybe his forte is tech support, or something, but people skills and customer relations ain't it, for sure.
 
I've had to rephrase my pre-sales questions several times, in attempts to coax a more than non-helpful, terse reply from him. And I was looking to spend more than a grand on Schiit equipment. 
 
God knows Jason is busy with more important things, but Schiit is a small company with loyal patrons. It would behoove him and the company to have a better customer relations point man staffing the Contact Us email queries.
 
Just saying.

Exactly crixnet,
 
I am sure Nick is both a great guy and engineer.  Not everybody is a patient communicator. 
 
And to an earlier post, I never stated all customer service at Schiit was bad.  I only tried the one time and it was not bad it was just not near as helpful as it could have been.  Everything I have heard and read is that after the sale they will bend over backward for you.
 
Often though its the pre-sale customer service that makes or breaks deals.  You only get one time to make first impression...
 
And yes, the Head-Fi forums are where I now go to get and when I can give info as I know sometimes it is difficult to get from Schiit.  I guess what disappoints me is that I get better info from our forums than I can the source.  The Head-Fier community has been a wealth of info on this great hobby of ours.
 
Again I am not attacking Nick, the short responses work for him and from some of the replies, it works for some of Schiits customer base.  Just not all...

 

[Mr Rick]

  Nick responds very quickly and at hours I did not expect to hear from him, which is commendable. However his responses are a bit terse. I will agree with what you said, "people skills and customer relations ain't it." Maybe he needs a weekend off to chill and have some fun.

 
I would imagine that if Nick took the weekend off, when he returned to work on Monday he would have several hundred emails to answer.
 
I know for a fact he was answering queries last Sunday because one was from me. I certainly did not expect an answer on the weekend but I got my answer within an hour. 
 
I call that dedication above and beyond the call of duty.

 

[crixnet]

For the record, I really dig Schiit products and their company story is great. I know that they're small and their focus is on designing great products at budget prices. The anti-salesman stance they espouse is also commendable inasmuch as there are no commissions to pay, keeping prices down for all of us. That's all great. All I was saying about their pre-sales customer relations was that it was overwhelmingly unhelpful and unnecessarily attitudinal. Persistence and patience, plus all the FANTASTIC answers from head-fiers like you and others, resulted in a sizable sale for Schiit. 
 
So, my thanks to Schiit for producing great products and my thanks to head-fi for providing great information that I couldn't get from Schiit. Bottom line, it's a symbiotic relationship that benefits guys like me, and Schiit, without a doubt. That said, if some prospective customers don't know to come here for answers, Schiit would likely lose a lot of sales. Admittedly, that's none of my business, but it is their's.
 
I appreciate Schiit and only want the best for them, however that takes shape.
 
 

   
I would imagine that if Nick took the weekend off, when he returned to work on Monday he would have several hundred emails to answer.
 
I know for a fact he was answering queries last Sunday because one was from me. I certainly did not expect an answer on the weekend but I got my answer within an hour. 
 
I call that dedication above and beyond the call of duty.

 

[MWSVette]

   
I would imagine that if Nick took the weekend off, when he returned to work on Monday he would have several hundred emails to answer.
 
I know for a fact he was answering queries last Sunday because one was from me. I certainly did not expect an answer on the weekend but I got my answer within an hour. 
 
I call that dedication above and beyond the call of duty.

That is beyond the call of duty, especially if they only work Monday thru Friday.  If the reason for the short curt answers is overwork then that's not on Nick.
 
In my business that would be called being understaffed and that would be on me.  If there is that much email traffic then maybe they need add some weekend staff to soften the work load on Monday.

 

[SuperU]

In my opinion, there is nothing wrong with someone trying to help one make the best choice possible, and even sell the person after helping them find what they are looking for. I find good sales people very helpful.
 
And I think Schiit could benefit from a move in this direction. Not that they need to hire a big sales team and drive up the costs, but a subtle move in that direction would be useful in my opinion.
 
In my case, a whole slew of events transpired that could easily have angered me. And I appealed to Jason for help. He immediately connected me with Alex who resolved my problem within about 15 minutes. So overall, Schiit is responsive. Had my initial impression been more favorable before all the problems happened, I would have been even more impressed. It is hard to fix a so-so first impression.
 
And personally I like Nick. He ultimately came around and helped me. However, let me say this... the amount I spent in total was considerable for me. At least that is how I felt then. Now, I'm ready to spend more - like I just got my new LCD-X today. I want to get a better amp and DAC. And that first impression left lots to be desired.
 
What I wanted from Schiit was a bonding experience. A feel good moment. Just someone to tell me I was not crazy and be supportive. I didn't get that. And while it can be argued all day that it isn't necessary, by the number of voices raised here saying something similar - I think it would in fact be helpful. 
 
That first contact and sale leaves a lasting impression. I'd have to rate mine as a 5 on a scale from 1 - 10. Not terrible, but not the bonding moment I would have liked to have had. 
 
I will probably buy more from Schiit. The Ragnarok/Yggy is in my sights. But I wish I had had a better first experience. And I like the Schiit I bought. But there is definitely a feeling that I wish was considerably better. I had read all of Jason's book and felt a definite bonding with him. That's where it stopped.
 
If a company came along with equal quality and gave me more of a sense of support and belonging, I would probably buy from them instead. 
 
If I sound torn, I am. I do love my Schiit. But the customer experience I had left a whole lot to be desired.
 
Just saying it like it is.