AudioFreaks are Nice Guys!

Just thought you might like to see true customer service in operation guys

I was looking through their sale list the other day and it advised to call or email for details on cables. I tried to call but it was diverted to a mobile which was switched off. Professional!

Sent them an email and got the following, curious reply,

"Dear Sir,

We are well aware of your purchasing habits through Audiogon as we are in your apparent interest in Avalon Acoustics speakers expressed through Mr. John Roberts of Midland Audio Exchange some time ago (as well as a demonstration he provided).
We regret we have no Cardas cables of the kind you mention on a reduced price offer and is highly unlikely we will in the future. I am confident Audiogon will be able to supply those at a cost that would suit you.

regards
Audiofreaks Ltd"


Now forgive me but having bought kit through MidlandAudioXchange that was supplied by this company I would have expected a slightly more cordial response. I therefore responded with the following:

"Dear Sir,

Either you have a limited understanding of the subtle nuances of the English language or you appear to be offended in some way by my honesty.

Still alienating potential buyers by replying in a seemingly terse manner seems to be poor business. I have purchased three items from John all imported by your company and purchased without wasting John's time. I will not be making the same mistake in future."


.....only to receive this response.....

"Dear Sir,

I am happy to accept my very limited understanding of subtle nuances of the English language as well as unlimited understanding of your "honesty". Incidentally, my command of your (seemingly) mother tongue is probably superior to yours, but my modesty would not allow me to accentuate such an immateiral ingredient.

It is probably due to the former above mentioned element that I failed to understand any offence my comments would have generated. If so, I apologise profusely. Perhaps it is your own sense of "honesty" that may have generated all the sentiments that have prompted you to respond to my mail.

I applaud and commend your prudent use of the term "seemingly" when mentioning terse manners as it is nothing but a speculative assumption.

Our sincere thanks for purchasing three (!?) items we import (which ones they would be as we think we would be advised of that by Mr. Roberts) and my deepest respect to Mr. Roberts for even conducting the business with our products with any member of the public who has a habit of choosing between a legitimate UK source and Audiogon.

I totally agree with your decision not be making the same "mistake" in the future. It would be nice whether the mistake was the product and its quality, the price you paid (which I would like to hope was slightly higher than those offered on Audiogon) or something else. As a matter of company policy which has kept us in healthy business (with ethics, princples and without alienating potential credible customers) we do not promote or market discounts and deals, but products with quality and substance

Yours sincerely,
B Bozic
Director
Audiofreaks Ltd"

Now forgive me here guys, but am I misinterpretting this or is this supposed representative being a complete imbecile? Does this suggest to you that business ain't what it was and he feels threatened by the Internet?

Sadly if this is the kind of customer service one can expect from a major UK distributor (as an existing client I might add!) is it any surprise that UK dealers are suffering so much?

Any thoughts re Mr Bozic?

 

er
howq would they know about your audiogon dealings
and what the hell has it to do with him.
id be tempted to reply stateing that the reason for shopping outside of the UK is so you dont have to deal with tossers like him
Tosser!

 

When I had my Conrad Johnson nu-vista phono stage, the proprieter of Audiofreaks kindly offered me replacement Nu-vistas at four times the price I was able to source them from elsewhere.

Understandably I didnt get back to him.

I suppose in your case he is acting as a distributor protecting the interest of his dealer network.

He seems however to be saying in no uncertain terms...

'' we dont want your business ?!?''

This suggests to me he has been having some form of conversation with MAX (have you fallen out with him by the way?).

When I was talking to him about the Nu-vistas, he did seem - to put it politely ''a character''.

Im glad that he imports such quality brands into the UK though, so I can forgive him a lot for that!

I also think its a shame he does not seem to appreciate the importance that the second hand audio market has in generating sales of NEW kit. .. after all, if people werent able to sell their own equipment, they wouldnt buy replacement products... all logical stuff, but he seems to have missed this?

What are you going to do now mate?

 

So let me get this straight.

You legitimately bought kit second hand from audiogon and as a result Audiofreaks are no longer are prepared to sell you any more of their products

Strange kind of business they run.

 

Ahh good old Branco !! Reknown for his customer service attitude

In my few dealings with him (re my PV-10) I've been somewhat surprised at his rather patronising approach

 

Ridiculous. It amazes me how anyone who seems to take such an approach to selling stays in business.

 

I too have heard stories of the mythical Branco but I do find this quite remarkable.

To clarify, I have bought a number of items from John who is great and as far as I am aware he remains on good terms with me. So no idea what this guy is on about really.

I guess he feels the threat of the internet and does not wish to deal with anyone unless they are prepared to line his pockets to the max. Take the Cardas Golden Reference Interconnect. Branco charges £950, doesn't hold many lengths in stock, and I am informed the wait is about a week for delivery.

Same cable on 48hour Fedex from the US dealerships costs £400, landed with taxes etc. So £550 for Branco then, unless of course you can use a keyboard and would prefer your goods earlier!

What I hate is these old distributors, who have exclusive rights in the UK, making a large amount of money for doing virtually nothing. It is my fervent hope that the opening up of the information superhighway will see the passing of dinosaurs like this and the restrictions on choice that they convey!

Funnily I was thinking of buying some kit from his sale list. Suffice to say I am now going to bring trhe stuff in and might well sell some Cardas just to take the business away from the ****

 

Isnt it a bit.....er....unethical to copy complete emails from people?

 

I don't think so Jeremy, there was nothing to indicate the information was private and confidential. I just thought I would share his comments.

Maybe some could tell a IT novice like me, are emails in some way confidential? don't you think that if people behave in such a fashion other people should be aware so that they can make a balance judgement?

I just wish these guys would justify their existance in the industry somehow. If I actually enjoyed spending money with UK dealers then I would. BTW, I have it on good authority that a well known Flat earth stockist in a major town had net takings of precisely zero for two weeks this month! Makes you wonder doesn't it

 

DOn't know for sure, although businesses use disclaimers such as:

The data contained in, or attached to, this e-mail, may contain
confidential
information. Please do not copy it for any purpose, or disclose its
contents
to any other person.

An e-mail response to this address may be subject to interception or
monitoring for operational reasons or for lawful business practices.



Has he got a footnote?

Surely your work for the good of other consumers in a Watchdog sense!!

 

I guess I dont know the rules and stuff. I guess fair enough if the dealer is being as rude and arrogant as that one then we should know. I just dunno if I would like my emails copied and pasted and then read by a lot of potential customers.

Hmm could be his own fault though, perhaps he will change his ways.

But it might be something worth looking at because someone could post the wrong email and get into a lot of trouble because of it, especially if a dealer is fighting to keep some grain of pride.

B Bozic still sounds like an ass though

 

The guy sounds like an utter dick but I'm sure that in his grand business scheme your small potatoes otherwise you would get the red carpet treatment i'm sure.

I have a wealthy friend who has a spanking new 911 turbo I have noticed that the quality of toadying we get is much improved when his car is parked outside and not my Golf...

Based on this I fear that there are many more buyers of high end audio than I had once assumed as, on the whole, turning up at a high (ish) end dealers with £1500 budget for a purchase makes you a charity case and as for a "deal", yeah right when pigs fly..

The two exceptions to this I have found are Infidelity in Kingston who despite much time wasting on my part (although I have bought a few carts and bits) are always polite and treat me like a human being rather than an inconvenience and JJ at SOM who I bought have bought a few bits from with a decent deal and a smile, a good dealer IMHO.

I strongly suggest you write back to this chap and tell him what you think of him and where he can stick his cables and/or other products, preferably sideways and ungreased.

 

i think the reposting of emails in order to support coments is important in order to avoid percieved libel or slander (can never remember which is which). in this case the guy obviously has some criteria for selecting his customers that mike doesn;t meet. as it's his business then it';s his choice however i would have thought it foolish to refuse to deal with someone for the reasons stated. i could understand the problem if mike had done extensive demoing at one of this guys places and then bought over the internet but knowing mike i doubt this is the case.
cheers

julian

 

Too true Julian,

one thing I don't do is waste dealer's time and buy cheaply s/h or off the net. Still, it's his loss at the end of the day and he seems happy with it.

It is totally indicative of the arrogance that pervades the high end in the Uk however. I really fancy starting the hifi equivalent of a car import business just to get the old school tie brigade to change their ways. I reckon enough people would buy from a direct importer of lightly used or ex dem gear. It would be nice to be able to offer new kit at less outrageous prices but in all honesty that would involve cracking the cartel, not an easy prospect.

I would be interested to know however, how many of you who prefer not to order from the US, would order from a UK site that had sourced the kit for you?

 

i would, so long as the usual waranty etc applied

 

Merlin you have some pm on the subject

Cheers
Jeff

 

thanks for that Jeff. I understand why you want to keep somethings private, especially the bit about the Alsatian and the warm KT88

Wonderful Character this Branco chap! He's spent the whole afternoon issueing legal threats, telling me he can find out where I live, and now says he doesn't want to talk anymore:cry:

Seems another one of the guys trying to control the marketplace is getting hot under the collar chaps

In the meantime, anyone be after any of the excellent Cardas cables please PM me. I can get them for about 50% of the cost that Audiofreaks market them for and being cables there is no risk. Plus by buying from me, you are making a stand for free trade

 

that sounds like its touching on a tad more than a legal threat


will you be getting cardass tonearm wire?

 

mike,
i think there is definately a market for either imported (voltage corrected) kit or good 2nd hand gear with (as pennance says) a decent warranty.
tom tom audio has gone down this route for naim gear and james gets praise from all he deals with thanks to his good nature, excelent kit and full years money back guarantee. yes his gear is a little more expensive than buying it from ebay or loot etc. but then you get the chance to demo kit, and the reassurance that he's not going to evaporate once your cheque clears. certainly he and people like him are my first port of call when looking for new kit.
cheers


julian

 

What's a tonearm Mr P?

If it's the same size as a Tone leg or a Tone belly, I think shipping costs might make it unviable.