As a long-time and loyal customer, I must express my disappointment and feeling of being let down by your services today. Recently, I encountered a concerning situation with my Power Point Premier surge protector, which began emitting smoke and making clicking sounds. Fortunately, I was present in the room and quickly unplugged the device before any further damage could occur. Additionally, my PSaudio Direct Stream DAC no longer powers on, adding to my frustration.
In response to these issues, I promptly reached out to your customer service team on three separate occasions. During these calls, I explained the situation and hoped to arrange repairs for the surge protector, assuming it required new capacitors. However, I was informed that repairs were no longer offered for the Power Point Premier, and my only option was to spend a considerable amount on a replacement. This left me quite disappointed, especially when considering that other reputable companies like Mcintosh Labs continue to repair much older equipment.
Furthermore, my second call was an attempt to seek guidance on checking the fuse of my DS DAC. While your team did provide instructions via email, the information shared did not match my model, and I encountered difficulty opening the unit due to different screw placements and overall design. Consequently, I had to make a third call to seek further assistance, with the hope of receiving relevant pictures to help me with the fuse check. However, as of now, I have not received any follow-up, leaving me feeling frustrated and as if my time has been wasted.
As a loyal customer, I expect better support and service when facing issues with products I have purchased from your company. It is disheartening to feel abandoned and left to deal with these problems on my own after years of being a satisfied customer. I kindly request that you reconsider your repair policy for the Power Point Premier surge protector and provide more accurate and helpful guidance for customers experiencing technical difficulties with their products.
I sincerely hope that you can address these matters promptly and restore my faith in your company’s commitment to its customers.
Sympathy here from me. There is an unfortunate side to taking to the forum for a customer service issue. I’ve had nothing but positive experience with PSA sales and service. The problem is others potentially interested in PSAs products poke around on this forum and think from a post like this it is the norm. And are turned off. Same for taking to the forum to report a hardware issue in general. It is human nature to lash out when trying to resolve an issue with a product, but it can also lead to a skewed perspective compared to the many thousands of other customers in the field who are delighted with the product and the service. It is also human nature not to take to forum like this to express total satisfaction with PSA. Again, sympathy for your service issues but I just felt compelled to temper any misconceptions with my own experience, which has been exceptional. Well above the norm in this industry and I’ve been playing the high end audio game for 30+ years. Hope all gets resolved quickly to your complete satisfaction.
One critical factor that distinguishes a great company from a mediocre one, in my view, is their commitment to customer care and support following the purchase of a product. Let’s consider the example of Mcintosh, a company that exemplifies exceptional customer service by repairing a 40-year-old amplifier, demonstrating their dedication to customers. On the other hand, let’s examine the situation with Power Point Premier, where there might have been an issue with the power supply that PS Audio could have repaired. This raises concerns about investing in another $6000 surge protector/AC generator, knowing that they may not offer repairs or support in the future.
The primary purpose of a surge protector is to safeguard your equipment, making it all the more disappointing when it fails, leading to issues like your Direct Stream DAC blowing a fuse. When incidents like these happen, customers expect the manufacturer to stand behind their products and provide necessary assistance. Unfortunately, if a company fails to do so, it can leave customers feeling disillusioned and hesitant to make further investments.
In summary, excellent customer support after the sale is a crucial aspect of what sets a company apart from its competitors. It not only ensures customer satisfaction but also builds trust and loyalty, which are essential for any company’s long-term success. When customers feel valued and taken care of, they are more likely to remain loyal and recommend the company to others. Therefore, investing in exceptional customer care can lead to a more successful and reputable business.
Indeed. There are various reasons for that. The most common being parts availability. It’s not unusual for parts used in older, discontinued products to no longer be available. The suppliers no longer make them, the technology has advanced rendering those parts obsolete and hence no longer stocked, etc. We deal with that parts obsolesce problem way more often than you may think in the manufacturing sector (particularly mine, aerospace). When our stores are depleted, we either have to find a suitable replacement or just stop supporting the product.
I have had McIntosh repair equipment that was absolutely ancient.
And my hifi rack is full of Pass Labs components partly because of Nelson Pass’ principle that his service department shall not operate as a profit center. And also that if they built it, they will service it regardless of it’s age. That gives me a sense of quality and confidence.
Pass is something of a pathfinder dealing with parts supply. He strongly favors using NOS semiconductors he knows to be unusually good. Even down to an usually good lot. When he stumbles on a semiconductor type being produced by a company that seems to have hit the high-performance jackpot, he stocks deep with all the pieces he can get before it goes away. Smart. First Watt is a great example of how that works in practice. I have zero doubt every First Watt piece he has produced will be serviceable pretty much indefinitely.
Just as a point of interest most production parts contracts only guarantee availability for a fixed period of time. 5 and 7 years is common with 10 years being about the max. unless the parts are generic off the shelf pieces (common fasteners for instance).
After that the availability is no longer guaranteed and many times the tooling is scrapped as part of the original contractual agreement. If parts can be produced after that time the pricing reverts back to prototype and the cost can be 10 to 100 or more times the production piece cost. Many parts simply cannot be reproduced if the tooling has been scrapped.
I can empathize with his dilemma, concern, frustration and need to go public on the forum. In his opinion PSA could have done better. I’ve similar experience and had to go to the Forum to get resolution as well. It is what it is. I had considered bringing it up off Forum, and thought best to give PSA a chance here. Some have had no issues with PSA product, contrary to my experience, 3/3 with issues.
Yes sure, but this is not much different for a unit in or out of production, assumed standard parts are available. My point was, why not repair an old unit if possible and if the owner is ready to spend a meaningful amount for repair instead of spending much more for a replacement.
It’s clear that this is often borderline meaningful for old units, but why refuse a repair generally from a certain age on (except if the durability of the product is clearly limited for too many parts in the circuit). The latter would be a main reason in my understanding. Just as better brands for dish washers offer much longer repairs than standard brands.
I understand that from a certain age, it makes no sense anymore to offer repair in most cases…but some brands are too quick with that. The Power Plant Premier seems to be from around 2009, so around 14 years old, which is quite a bit, yes. Not sure since when repairs are refused for it, but would todays P20 owners agree to a non repair policy for theirs (initial release around 2017) from latest 2031?
I think the repair policy is another good indicator to judge a brand (besides product innovation at the time of release), as it shows durability and customer orientation. But I’m also aware that this often even has no real priority even for much more expensive brands. I just wouldn’t spen much money for those if avoidable.
Obsolescence happens in almost everything. There is a whole industry of repair shops that would be happy to repair obsolete products. The only thing you need to do is find a reputable one that will do a good job.
Usually the problem with that can be that proprietary knowledge of measuring points and values are needed for more complex or unusual products. But to change a blown cap or so should be possible for everyone indeed. To find out why a power plant regulation doesn’t work (aside of obvious damages) could be more difficult maybe.