[AnakChan]

The manufacturer is still responsible for communicating this to the customer. Good communication is part of the deal of good customer service. Perhaps Fitear aren't willing to do much in hope of not "rock the boat" in the traditional Japanese thinking, but it doesn't mean they can do NOTHING like how Fitear usually handles it, and that's the difference in how to keep the customers happy. If Jaben wants to do bulk shipping to cut on their own cost, negotiate a term for them so that they must send out within a certain time period eg every second week of the month and not at Jaben's own convenience whenever they like and put in as a clause in a partnership contract. If Jaben are delaying payments, send out collectors.  If Jaben is doing all of these behind the backs of Fitear and customers complain directly to Fitear, then access the situaiton and rethink the partnership deal and change the business model/threaten to go direct instead (many CIEM does direct, it's not impossible, plus if the local distributor is ruining your brand for their own gain, what harm is it then for going direct? In the case of Japan it's really their willingness in finding someone to handle the English and implementing a system to take payments, a particular fear of adopting IT technology here is holding them back here too). I think the excuses you are coming up with are rather poor to be honest and just further highlights the lack of willingness more than anything.

What do you call good communication to the customer? "It's your distributor's fault for the delays.". Is this what you define as "good communication"? That is -very- unprofessional finger pointing/name blaming in front of the customer. With regards to the issues between the manufacturer & distributor, why are you providing guidance on what action to take? Isn't this topic the public aspect of what the customer sees in terms of delays? Seems you're changing the topic here.

We agree to disagree. I think such expectations of customers are very unreasonable and is a clear indication of how (in)decent the person's character to be.

 

[nudd]

What do you call good communication to the customer? "It's your distributor's fault for the delays.". Is this what you define as "good communication"? That is -very- unprofessional finger pointing/name blaming in front of the customer. With regards to the issues between the manufacturer & distributor, why are you providing guidance on what action to take? Isn't this topic the public aspect of what the customer sees in terms of delays? Seems you're changing the topic here.

We agree to disagree. I think such expectations of customers are very unreasonable and is a clear indication of how (in)decent the person's character to be.

It is very indecent of the manufacturer to turn a blind eye to the acts of its non performing distributor.

If the distributor is not dling a good job, it is incumbent on the manufacturer to terminate the distribution relationship. Lets say i buy a fitear in Australia, it will cost me 50% more after the exchange rate compared to the yen equivalent.

With that sort of mark up Jaben better be doing their best to give me the bet setvice possible otherwise why am i paying the mark up?

If they are still trying to nickel and dime me, after this unethical mark up then fitear shpuld pull the distibution rights as the distributor is the unprofessional and unethical one that is damaging fitear's relaltionship and market reputation as well as profitability and market penetration.

 

[hkppl]

 
So Fitear is expanding their market to Mainland China, and has setup a Weibo account for better direct communications with Chinese customers? It seems a good move to them, just hope the high demand in China won't slow down their service to other overseas customers....
 
About the customer services, I think there is no doubt that Fitear is responsible for accessing the performance of their local distributors, and take prompt actions against those that are not doing well, in order to keep their reputations and customers in that local market.
 
Btw, I really hope Fitear will apply 3D scanning of the ear like UE and Westone did for their customers. This should save both time and resource for their distributors and customers, and hence better customer experience.

 

[AnakChan]

It is very indecent of the manufacturer to turn a blind eye to the acts of its non performing distributor.

If the distributor is not dling a good job, it is incumbent on the manufacturer to terminate the distribution relationship. Lets say i buy a fitear in Australia, it will cost me 50% more after the exchange rate compared to the yen equivalent.

With that sort of mark up Jaben better be doing their best to give me the bet setvice possible otherwise why am i paying the mark up?

If they are still trying to nickel and dime me, after this unethical mark up then fitear shpuld pull the distibution rights as the distributor is the unprofessional and unethical one that is damaging fitear's relaltionship and market reputation as well as profitability and market penetration.

You are right about a non performing distributor which is why I wrote above :-

You're only partially right that the manufacturer is to assess the distributor & if the distributor doesn't perform to the manufacturer's expectations for the manufacturer to find & move to another distributor.

But that's not the topic. The topic is why are customers blaming FitEar for the delays when the distributor takes a percentage but not responsibility for the delays.

So on your 2nd part you're correct the distributor better be performing. If I were a customer that's what is be demanding from the distributor (or retailer).

 

[nudd]

But that's the point of this thread. Apparently the distributor has been doing this kind of thing and people are complaining to FitEar and FitEar continues to let it happen.
 
If it is one time, then that is the distributor's fault. If it keeps happening, then what can you conclude except that FitEar is implicitly authorising the distributor's behaviour by allowing the distributor to go unpunished.

 

[AnakChan]

But that's the point of this thread. Apparently the distributor has been doing this kind of thing and people are complaining to FitEar and FitEar continues to let it happen.

If it is one time, then that is the distributor's fault. If it keeps happening, then what can you conclude except that FitEar is implicitly authorising the distributor's behaviour by allowing the distributor to go unpunished.

That is a silly argument. It seems some of the disgruntled FitEar customers are happy for the distributor to accept his/her percentage without having any responsibility.

The maker is responsible for selecting a distributor that will help promote its name & proxy the sales of his products but again and again I've mentioned, that is -not- the topic. But the topic is about customers who complain about delays to receiving their products & blaming the wrong party for it.

 

[nudd]

That is a silly argument. It seems some of the disgruntled FitEar customers are happy for the distributor to accept his/her percentage without having any responsibility.

The maker is responsible for selecting a distributor that will help promote its name & proxy the sales of his products but again and again I've mentioned, that is -not- the topic. But the topic is about customers who complain about delays to receiving their products & blaming the wrong party for it.

 
We have to agree to disagree. But I don't see how you get to the point where you think they are happy for the distributor to accept his/her percentage without any responsibility.
 
Do you think anyone is happy to pay way more for buying something in another country other than Japan? If they can get it cheaper, you don't think they want that? If they can somehow force the distributor to not aggregate all orders and instead send their iem out on time, you don't think they will do that?
 
What power do you think the customer has to make the distributor do anything? What if I go to the distributor and the distributor says "you must wait a minimum of 18 months after sending impressions. Take it or leave it".
 
The customer can either accept if they want a FitEar, or they can decide to not get a FitEar. If they really want a FitEar, they are willing to put up with some crazy nonsense imposed by the distributor, but ultimately it is FitEar who allows the distributor to get away with doing these things.
 
The only way to change things is for FitEar to look at what the distributor is doing and if FitEar still does not change things, then at some point people will get angry and frustrated enough not to buy any FitEar at all.
 
FitEar may be fine with that. But it is a pity and it makes people angry with not just the distributor but also FitEar.

 

[AnakChan]

   
We have to agree to disagree. But I don't see how you get to the point where you think they are happy for the distributor to accept his/her percentage without any responsibility.
 
Do you think anyone is happy to pay way more for buying something in another country other than Japan? If they can get it cheaper, you don't think they want that? If they can somehow force the distributor to not aggregate all orders and instead send their iem out on time, you don't think they will do that?
 
What power do you think the customer has to make the distributor do anything? What if I go to the distributor and the distributor says "you must wait a minimum of 18 months after sending impressions. Take it or leave it".
 
The customer can either accept if they want a FitEar, or they can decide to not get a FitEar. If they really want a FitEar, they are willing to put up with some crazy nonsense imposed by the distributor, but ultimately it is FitEar who allows the distributor to get away with doing these things.
 
The only way to change things is for FitEar to look at what the distributor is doing and if FitEar still does not change things, then at some point people will get angry and frustrated enough not to buy any FitEar at all.
 
FitEar may be fine with that. But it is a pity and it makes people angry with not just the distributor but also FitEar.

 
'cos of all the complaint posts are blaming FitEar for the delays. I'm hard pressed to try to find a post about a complaint blaming the distributor for the delays. Please do show me the posts that blame the distributor for the delays.
 
I face no nonsense with FitEar here. Other Japan customers get their FitEars in a timely manner (usually 4 weeks). I checked if FItEar were doing any prioritisation of local vs global & they don't. They process orders as they receive them and treat local orders indifferent to global ones. The only prioritisation could possibly be with professional or celebrity orders but that's hardly any impact to regular ones.
 
If you're a customer, then act like a customer - complain to your local retailer/distributor. if you're a retailer/distributor then complain to the manufacturer. Manufacturers can stick or change distributors at their discretion. Customers poking into manufacturer's business without knowing the background/agreements should stop.
 
End of this topic and move on.

 

[nanaholic]

What do you call good communication to the customer? "It's your distributor's fault for the delays.". Is this what you define as "good communication"? That is -very- unprofessional finger pointing/name blaming in front of the customer. With regards to the issues between the manufacturer & distributor, why are you providing guidance on what action to take? Isn't this topic the public aspect of what the customer sees in terms of delays? Seems you're changing the topic here.

We agree to disagree. I think such expectations of customers are very unreasonable and is a clear indication of how (in)decent the person's character to be.

 
Good communication is "we acknowledge your complaint and will look further into the matter".  NOT "not our problem, please discuss with distributor directly" (literally what I got as a reply).  This is fairly easy to understand for how to handle CS matters and doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out.
 
My original issue with Fitear wasn't even delivery related, but that the Jaben staff in HK claims that he had been personally trained by Suyama-san in the art of ear mold taking and that I shouldn't take another ear mold from audiotologist. I merely asked Fitear to confirm whether that is true or not (in a polite Japanese email - yes I speak Japanese, I lived in Japan for many years before, I worked and is working in a Japanese company, I know Japanese business culture) because as a general rule I just don't trust HK sales people, Fitear brush me off and said it's not their issue with the reply I mentioned above. How am I suppose to confirm the claim of Jaben's staff without official input from Fitear? I can't. Fitear doesn't have an official certification for partnership as far as I know back then (2 years ago). So do you think that is unreasonable on my part? I personally don't think so. That's just poor costumer service no matter which way you cut it and I don't believe it is unreasonable in my part.
 
Also I'm not providing guidance - you are making a claim that Fitear can't do much in regards to how poorly their distributor behaves, I'm countering that claim with some very standard business practices that there are things that Fitear CAN do. This isn't topic changing here either.
 
Finally I think AnakChan you are the one being too protective and defensive of Fitear. I don't think it is indecent of a person to take their claims directly to the manufacturer when the distributor is misbehaving and the customer having no influence or power over the distributor. And your claim that the wrong party is being blamed is the real blame shifting because ultimately Fitear chooses to partner with its distributors, so they have some responsibility (especially in Japan were everyone talks about sekinin - taking responsibility). In my line of work as a business development manager in one of Japanese largest electronic manufacturer I get blamed or get directly asked for our company's product all the time that is sold through local channels, so I don't see what makes Fitear the special snow flake that it should be shielded from such communications.

 

[AnakChan]

Good communication is "we acknowledge your complaint and will look further into the matter".  NOT "not our problem, please discuss with distributor directly" (literally what I got as a reply).  This is fairly easy to understand for how to handle CS matters and doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out.

My original issue with Fitear wasn't even delivery related, but that the Jaben staff in HK claims that he had been personally trained by Suyama-san in the art of ear mold taking and that I shouldn't take another ear mold from audiotologist. I merely asked Fitear to confirm whether that is true or not (in a polite Japanese email - yes I speak Japanese, I lived in Japan for many years before, I worked and is working in a Japanese company, I know Japanese business culture) because as a general rule I just don't trust HK sales people, Fitear brush me off and said it's not their issue with the reply I mentioned above. How am I suppose to confirm the claim of Jaben's staff without official input from Fitear? I can't. Fitear doesn't have an official certification for partnership as far as I know back then (2 years ago). So do you think that is unreasonable on my part? I personally don't think so. That's just poor costumer service no matter which way you cut it and I don't believe it is unreasonable in my part.

Also I'm not providing guidance - you are making a claim that Fitear can't do much in regards to how poorly their distributor behaves, I'm countering that claim with some very standard business practices that there are things that Fitear CAN do. This isn't topic changing here either.

Finally I think AnakChan you are the one being too protective and defensive of Fitear. I don't think it is indecent of a person to take their claims directly to the manufacturer when the distributor is misbehaving and the customer having no influence or power over the distributor. And your claim that the wrong party is being blamed is the real blame shifting because ultimately Fitear chooses to partner with its distributors, so they have some responsibility (especially in Japan were everyone talks about sekinin - taking responsibility). In my line of work as a business development manager in one of Japanese largest electronic manufacturer I get blamed or get directly asked for our company's product all the time that is sold through local channels, so I don't see what makes Fitear the special snow flake that it should be shielded from such communications.

As per above :-

If you're a customer, then act like a customer - complain to your local retailer/distributor. if you're a retailer/distributor then complain to the manufacturer. Manufacturers can stick or change distributors at their discretion. Customers poking into manufacturer's business without knowing the background/agreements should stop.

End of this topic and move on.

 

[wmyjkl]

Anyone knows how to order a pair of 335DW in America? Seems Aloaudio donot sale it.

 

[Limexx]

Feel like buying some cables. I feel that copper cables suit me most, many people recommend 335DW users to get silver cables, but I tried some silver cables I think I still prefer copper  cables as I like really really warm sound and Im using the Onkyo DP-X1. 
 
Im considering between Toxic Cables and Plussound, which do u guys recommend  ? 

 

[mtthefirst]

  Feel like buying some cables. I feel that copper cables suit me most, many people recommend 335DW users to get silver cables, but I tried some silver cables I think I still prefer copper  cables as I like really really warm sound and Im using the Onkyo DP-X1. 
 
Im considering between Toxic Cables and Plussound, which do u guys recommend  ? 

I had tried different Toxic cables on my MH335DWSR and DP-X1 (Virus, Silver poison, Silver Widow, Piccolinos). So far, I preferred piccolinos the most. The problem for piccolinos is it break so fast. I have two piccolinos and had to reterminate the connector 5-6 times in the past 18 months.
 
If you really like the warm sound try Virus. It give you enough warm with slightly touch of trebles extension.

 

[joshuachew]

Tried the Sr against my stock 335 and I prefer the stock version more. The Sr makes it sounds closer to a K10 (which I already have)

 

[Limexx]

Tried the Sr against my stock 335 and I prefer the stock version more. The Sr makes it sounds closer to a K10 (which I already have)

yea same. i prefer the stock 335, i hate treble ! but i feel that the bass is enhanced though.