Angry Customer Day!!!!!

[Monsta-Tone]

Hey guys,
I wanted to post this here so that everyone can see that I try to be as honest as possible.
I am seeking honest opinions, not looking to start a war, and I certainly am not looking to talk smack!
I simply want to make sure that I am offering the best customer service possible.
I recently had one of the cleanest Mark III's I've ever seen in my shop. The guy said it was making a noise that sounded like capacitor hum or possibly 120 hertz.
He sent the chassis to me, I fixed a few small things and performed the standard Tune-Up, which consists of replacing the filter caps, cleaning all pots and jacks, cleaning and re-tensioning all tube sockets, and giving it a thorough test drive.

I could not get the amp to make the sounds he described, but one of his 6L6's does rattle like a mother until you tap on it gently. I'm thinking this is the root of his noise issue.


I got this email this morning after I asked if he had received the amp:

Yes I did. What type of epoxy (brand and style) did you use to fix the
wobble in the 6L6 tube? It looks nice.

The amp doesn't seem any different really. The noise is still there,
maybe a little less. If I keep the master volume down as low as possible
I don't notice it as much.

Here is the email I sent back to him:

I used 5 minute epoxy for the tube.

As for the noise, I'm not sure where to go from here. It was dead silent
here.
There is some hiss when the gain is cranked and the amp is up a bit, but
less than my DC-10.

Is it possible to try it with other speakers?
I simply could not get it to make any noises other than the hiss of the lead
channel.
What settings are you using?

Then, he sends this email:

If you couldn't detect a problem then why did you proceed with an unneccesary repair? I sent the amp to an expert because I'm certainly not one. Step #1 of my Scope of Work was to troubleshoot the problem then proceed with the tune-up if the caps were the culprit. If there was no problem then stop and save the customer some money. I think I have a bag full of perfectly good capacitors and $175 less in my bank account. Good customer service will win repeat business and word of mouth advertising.

So.....under the lack of coffee, I re-read all of his emails. He did specifically state that if the capacitors were the culprits, then I should proceed with the tune up. Oops!
The majority of older amps that I get receive a tune up immediately, then I check all voltages, etc. then on to the test drive. I look at it the same as I look at the tires on my car. I change them before they start giving me problems. Now, I fully understand that most people will simply drive them into the dirt because they either cannot afford new tires or just can't be bothered with maintenance. Either way, this is how I look at older amps!

I can understand the guy's frustration.
It's early still and I only have 1/2 of my coffee in me, but I'm trying to keep the peace.

I only charged the guy for the tune-up and performed the other repairs under the same cost.
Other repairs are, re-glue one of the tube bases because it is wobbly, and repair a bent faceplate (which I might add looks as good as new), and check out the Reverb circuit and make sure it is up to snuff.




In the end, and in the interest of good customer service that can always be improved upon, I sent him a partial refund.
I returned $100 out of the $150 that he sent.
I also covered return shipping, which was $43

Hi Ed, Here is your partial refund. In total, this equals $143 with the return shipping. Thank you for your business.

So.....I need opinions. Any and all suggestions will be greatly appreciated. I have done business with many BB members and have always tried to make sure that they got the best service possible.

 

[Monsta-Tone]

Here is the email that I sent to him:

Well....
I am sorry you feel that way. I will refund most of your money.
I will, however, keep a portion of the money for my efforts.
I did repair the tube.
I did clean all pots and jacks and tube sockets.
I did repair the faceplate.
I did return all parts.

The standard procedure when an amp arrives for a tune up is to perform the tune up. I did re-read your emails and you did request that I perform the tune up if the caps were the culprits.
I will refund $100. Not because I am feeling brow beaten, but because I did not read your emails as thoroughly as I should have.
The tune up is viewed as a preventative measure, much in the same way as replacing the tires on your car before they give you problems, not after you have a blow out.
Do whatever you like. I feel that I am being very fair about this.
I will post all of this on the Boogie Board in a very non-committal way so that others can decide for themselves before sending their amps to me.

Thanks,
Andy

As always, I returned all parts that were replaced, just incase the amp ever becomes worth a large amount of money.

 

[Monsta-Tone]

What a freakin' morning! :lol:

I ended up sending the refund to the wrong email address!
We worked out our differences and can both see each other's side of the story. He refused the refund.

I want to leave this up here though because I feel like I can always do better. Again, any input would be greatly appreciated! I don't want to be an electrical contractor anymore and am in hopes that I can eventually become a full time tech. :lol:

 

[Vigo1999]

What a freakin' morning! :lol:

We worked out our differences and can both see each other's side of the story.

with this i think you really hit the spot. THAT'S the kind of attittude i look when doing business and want to be treat as a customer. with both sides respecting each other the deal will flow like water donwhill, easily. a good deal is a win-win one, not those kinds where only one side wins.

and yes, time for your coffee!! (or maybe one of those beach beauties :wink: ).

have a nice day bro!!

G.

 

[Old BF Shred]

Sometimes trying to be fair means "taking one for the team". I admire your sense of ethics.
I'm glad you guys worked this out.....always better to do this when possible.

I am sure he will eventually appreciate what you did, especially as the amp ages and he DOESN'T have the problems usually associated with that age.

Merry Christmas

 

[GIG4FUN]

aside from what you did here..(YOU handled this like people I run with and myself as well...we're a great bunch here for sure...I commend you)

a thought on the trouble:
I wonder if he has a dirty power/RF etc. at his house.

 

[RJ2213]

this is how things should be handled. i work in a small computer store and have worked for others in the past, because my current shop treats customers like this i am happy with my job and proud of who i work for because of it.

many people can fix things or sell things, what i want is someone who cares about the customer and handles situations by seeing both sides of the situation instead of being greedy or egotistical.

 

[Monsta-Tone]

That's how I feel too! I would rather pay a little more or deal with them being a little slow than put up with a jerk!
I've really come to the point in life where I just won't do business with someone I don't like. If the 1st impression is bad, I just don't care to take their money or give them mine!

 

[TimeSignature]

Good customer service man.

 

[Geiri]

Dude you handled this admirably.

If I were living in the states you'd be my main amp tech and I wouldn't regret a dime payed to you for your services. Please move to Iceland so you can work on my mk4 when it's time comes.

Have a merry christmas and a rocking new year.

Geiri

 

[Jacko123]

You handled that very professionally. You ended being compensated for your work and left the customer feeling like he didn't get cornholed. Hats off.

 

[Monsta-Tone]

Thanks guys! I was hoping that I had done things right.
It's hard to tell sometimes what the correct thing to do is.


Geiri,
Although the thought of Icelandic Warrior Princesses is very enticing, I think I'm allergic to glaciers!
It's snowing here right now and I don't even want to leave the house!

:lol: I would definitely be up for a visit though! :lol:

 

[mikey383]

I think you handled that very professionally. Honesty and admitting your errors are very commendable traits. Your rates seem very reasonable too. I've found that honest people in the tech business are very hard to come by, and very few want to make it right if they have made errors (unless more money is involved, of course).


I just about freaked out when I started reading your post. A friend of mine just had his Mk. III worked on by a guy and still had problems after he got it back. I thought for a moment you may have been the tech he took it to. Then I read your location and the rest of the post and realized that wasn't the case.

My friend had a bad varistor in his. He emailed me a few weeks ago and asked me what I thought was wrong with it. I told him it sounded like the varistor and offered to fix it for him, but he didn't get the email until after he had already taken it to a tech. A week, two 2.5 hour round trips, and $300 later, he got it back and it was still blowing the fuse. He called the guy and the guy told him he tried it out in his shop and it worked fine. He finally brought it to me and I swapped out his 6L6s (NOS STR 420s that the tech had just put in) and it was all good then. Dude charged him out the a$$ for a varistor and a cap that didn't need changed, and gave him a bunk pair of 420s. He was kind enough to pay me, even though I didn't want it, but he insisted I take it. So I sent him home with a backup set of tubes since I felt like I didn't deserve what he gave me.


You're an electrical contractor too? That's what I did for over 10 years before the economy tanked. Kinda odd how being an electrician can lead to working on people's amps I wish the economy would get moving so I can get out of doing factory maintenance and get back into the field.

 

[Monsta-Tone]

Wow! That is crazy!

I just talked to another guy who sent his Tremoverb. The guy told him he needed all new LDR's and bunch of other stuff.
He took it in because one of the Mode switches was bad.
The guy wanted $300!!!!!!!

I told him to send it to the Mother Ship and it only cost $200 or so to have the factory refresh it and do the tech service bulletins!



All I want to do is make an honest living and not be a contractor anymore! It's snowing right now and I'm supposed to already be 150 miles away from here. :lol: It's a low motivation day! :lol:

 

[Geiri]

Hey monsta

There is no snow in southern iceland. It snows here in the south maby 3-4 weeks a year and there are no glaciers in the city of reykjavík except those we put in the whiskey

If you ever decide to visit Iceland be sure to let me know. I'll be your personal tour guide and beer drinking companion while my wife and kids take care of yours.

 

[mikey383]

Wow! That is crazy!

I just talked to another guy who sent his Tremoverb. The guy told him he needed all new LDR's and bunch of other stuff.
He took it in because one of the Mode switches was bad.
The guy wanted $300!!!!!!!

I told him to send it to the Mother Ship and it only cost $200 or so to have the factory refresh it and do the tech service bulletins!



All I want to do is make an honest living and not be a contractor anymore! It's snowing right now and I'm supposed to already be 150 miles away from here. :lol: It's a low motivation day! :lol:

Some techs are shady, because they know they can get away with it. People take their stuff to a tech because they don't know how to fix it, and some techs take advantage of that by telling them a load of stuff that they won't understand.

The dude my friend took his amp to told him it could be his PT, because some Mesas came with inferior Chinese transformers....after my friend told him it was blowing the fuse as soon as he plugged it in, switches off...transformer is out of the equation at that point. I had a bad feeling about the "tech" after he told me that.

I thought about doing tech work on the side, but tube amps are in the minority in this area. Everyone uses some sort of Crate or Line 6, or some other solid state crap. I'm not about to try working on that stuff.


I hear ya about being your own boss man. I've never seen so many morons as I have working in a factory. Leadership doesn't have a clue, the workers don't have a clue, even most of the maintenance doesn't have a clue. People who have ran their lines for years calling me over to wipe the dust off a photoeye because it isn't reading. :roll:

 

[Monsta-Tone]

I hear ya about being your own boss man. I've never seen so many morons as I have working in a factory. Leadership doesn't have a clue, the workers don't have a clue, even most of the maintenance doesn't have a clue. People who have ran their lines for years calling me over to wipe the dust off a photoeye because it isn't reading.

:lol: :lol: :lol:

I hated doing maintenance work! We had Drill Operators who would unscrew a light bulb so that they could shut the drill down and call for an electrician.
Crane Operators who would disable the limits and drive them into walls, etc.

Some people will do almost anything to get out of working for a few minutes!

 

[mikey383]

:lol: :lol: :lol:

I hated doing maintenance work! We had Drill Operators who would unscrew a light bulb so that they could shut the drill down and call for an electrician.
Crane Operators who would disable the limits and drive them into walls, etc.

Some people will do almost anything to get out of working for a few minutes!

It's amazing what some people will do, isn't it?

I loved doing maintenance in electrical. Shutdowns, PM switch gear, that kind of stuff. I hate having to do maintenance on general machinery. I have to wonder sometimes if some of them are trying to get out of doing 5 minutes worth of work or simply don't know what the hell they're doing.

I seriously had a lady call me to her line last night because of dust on a photoeye. She's worked the same line for 8 YEARS!!!! Her machine kept alarming every 5 minutes for almost 3 hours before she finally called me. I asked if she had checked all the eyes, and she said no. The dust builds up on them at least once a week. I've been there for a year and a half and know that. Wiped the eye and everything worked fine again. :roll:

 

[Monsta-Tone]

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

I worked at a mine for about a year. There were guys that had been working there for 40 years. The still couldn't fix the stuff that had been there for 40 years! They could change a motor, but that was about it.

You should have seen how they acted when they had to fix a PLC or a Variable Freq. Drive! It would take them about 4 hours of just walking around it, looking at it, before they would call for a part. They knew that one of us younger guys would have to bring the part and then they would fix it and make the older guys look good.

They would ***** about never getting raises, but wouldn't take a test to go up a level. And, they had garages full of stuff that they stole from the mine. I tried to tell them that if the place was not profitable, then they would never get a raise and that eventually they would loose their jobs. The place closed down last Christmas and laid off 900 people! That's 1/10th of the population of this town!

The Shop Steward would always tell me, "Slow down Andy. You're making us look bad." :lol: :lol: :lol:
Now, when I see him, he says......"We got screwed Andy, good thing you got out when you did." :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

[#2121313]

Hey Andy, have you ever thought about working for Mesa? Just a thought, but isn't Mike B getting close to retirement, you'd think there would be some movement and the need to hire another tech...you'd have to relocate but you'd be set, and would have to deal with snow any more either! lol

That would be the ultimate job for you huh!? Probably wouldn't even count as "work", would be more like play time!