Good Bose Story

[BarryL]

I know a lot of people here poo-poo Bose. But here's a great customer service story, at least for me.

I had one of those LifeStyle systems or whatever they called them with the 6 CD changer and the little speakers. Bought it about 12 years ago for my office.

About a month ago I walked in one morning and just like that, the CD player wasn't working. So I called up Bose support to see if there was a reset button or something. They said I could send it in for repair - they have a fixed price repair policy - which would cost me about $220. Or, I could purchase any Bose system to replace it at 50% off, or I could buy their top of the line 321 Home Theater system for about $550 CDN - retails on-line at Bose for $1799.

Better to have a new system than repair an old system. But I had to package everything up and ship it back before they would sent the new one. (Too bad, I was hoping to keep those little speakers). I couldn't get the speaker stands in the box, so I taped them to the side and shipped it. Three business days later, my new system arrived.

I decided I would get better enjoyment of this system at home attached to my TV than in the office, where I can't pump up the volume anyway.

Yesterday I pop open the box, and realize that I shouldn't have sent back the speaker stands because they were bought separately. Duh. Now I'm going to have to buy new ones. But hold on. This is Bose. They may still have the stands I sent them. So I called them up just now.

The Bose guy says they may still have the stands, and asks me to hold. He comes back on and tells me that he's shipping new stands out to me today, gratis.

Wow, I say. That's really great.

He says, yeah, we should have told you not to send the speaker stands.

I say, we'll you couldn't have known I had stands.

He says it's their job to know.

So now I'm a raving fan of Bose for their customer service. All through this process, from the failure of their equipment after more than ten years to resolving my stupidity and trying to take the blame for it, they took control and made it impossible for me to have any reason to even consider taking my business elsewhere. They were reliable, responsible, empathetic, prompt, courteous, friendly, and handled everything beyond the level I would have expected as my standard for excellent service.

[GMichael]

Glad you are getting the stands back. Hope you enjoy your new system for many years.

[BarryL]

Glad you are getting the stands back. Hope you enjoy your new system for many years.

Thanks.

And not my old stands, but new stands. May even have them before Christmas!

They're smart that way. I would cost them more to track down the old stands in some warehouse and package them up and hold them for p/u or shipping.

But I'm pleasantly surprised that they didn't try to haggle something out of me, like we'll sell you new ones for half price or make me pay for the shipping because it was my fault I sent them back in the first place. None of that. The guy gets back on the phone and inquires, You have black speakers, right.

Me: Affirmative.

Bose: I'm sending new stands out to you and they'll ship today.

Me: Could you send them to my home instead of my office?

Bose: Could I have your postal code (Canada has postal codes, US has zip codes).

I provide my postal code, he affirms my address. Done. Thanks for calling Bose.

Great service as service should be. That's how you win customers!

[ForeverAutumn]

Glad you are getting the stands back. Hope you enjoy your new system for many years.

You're so diplomatic.

Barry. That's a great customer service story! Didn't you also have a good experience with Bose when you had problems with their ear buds? I might be thinking of someone else.

You know, I don't mind paying a little more for something if I know that I can rely on the company to stand behind the product when there is a problem. More companies should follow this model. Word of mouth is a powerful tool...especially in today's internet world.

[GMichael]

You're so diplomatic.

Barry. That's a great customer service story! Didn't you also have a good experience with Bose when you had problems with their ear buds? I might be thinking of someone else.

You know, I don't mind paying a little more for something if I know that I can rely on the company to stand behind the product when there is a problem. More companies should follow this model. Word of mouth is a powerful tool...especially in today's internet world.

Maybe, but the story seemed to be focused on the customer service side of things, so I did as well.

It's always good to see a happy story. Too often we only hear the bad about companies. As much Bose bashing as we see around here, you have to give them credit where credit is due. Not many companies would have even bothered to look for his old stands let along replaced them with new ones at no cost.

[Mingus]

The people working at the Bose Store are also very friendly. The last time I was there, a saleman approach me with a huge smile, shook my hand and slap me in the back a few times and loudly said, "What can I do for you buddy?" I thought he knew me or something.

[nightflier]

Well I guess that's why a $550 system retails for $1799. It's all how a company chooses to use the money they generate. When I used to drive an Audi I had a similar experience. Service at the Audi-VW dealer always went like this: I drove right past the long line of VW owners waiting in their cars, a well dressed gentleman with a clip-board opened my door, asked a few questions, and then asked how I wanted my cup of coffee while he walked me to the air-conditioned lounge with plasma TV & cable. I'm going to guess that technically, the Audi is not much different than the VW, but the service is impeccable. I suppose that a Bose speaker is also no better than a Sony, but the service... well you get the idea.

[BarryL]

Well I guess that's why a $550 system retails for $1799. It's all how a company chooses to use the money they generate. ...I'm going to guess that technically, the Audi is not much different than the VW, but the service is impeccable. I suppose that a Bose speaker is also no better than a Sony, but the service... well you get the idea.

...which is as it should be. All purchases come with implied promises - that you will get what the company promises. The real test is when something goes wrong. When that happens most companies won't even stand up for their basic promises. They'd rather spend a lot of time, money and effort wearing you down rather than winning you over.

You may be right that you get what you pay for, but usually you don't even get that. And whatever you buy, you paid for it. And if as a business you are going to aspire to brand excellence, then it has to show at every point of customer contact. It takes effort and it wins customer loyalty. Bose did it right and made me feel good. Service sucks so badly in most places that they look like heroes. If this kind of thing happened every day I wouldn't have to tell this story.

So to me they are service heroes and the brand is great. If you choose to buy Bose, great service is part of the package. And yet for that guy in Massachusetts, he does this everyday for someone. He didn't ask for proof of purchase or even check with the Canadian distribution centre to see if I was telling the truth. He didn't have to open a file and get approval from his supervisor. They had a process in place to guarantee customer satisfaction before the customer called.

Here's what's more typical. Air Canada bumped my wife and I off our honeymoon flight because, they said, we didn't call the airline 24 hours before the flight. But I have non-refundable, non-transferrable tickets, I said. Choosing another flight wasn't an option. Then she made a big stink about it, while holding up the rest of the customers. Finally, after talking to a supervisor, we were moved up to business class seats, and told that they were only doing that because we were on our honeymoon. Not because they have a policy of f-ing their paying customers, but because the customers are morons and they know best how to run a ticket reservation system. 20 years later I still hate Air Canada, even though their service isn't any worse than anyone else's and is probably better. But their attitude remains the same.

My experience with Bose today was absolutely the exception, and it was fantastic. Praise be Bose, for their entertainment components and their service.

[poppachubby]

Praise be Bose, for their entertainment components and their service.

Hahaha. Hey Barry, I'm glad everything worked out for you. Let's not forget, Bose are content to sell you something for $550 which retails for $1800, and most likely still at a profit! Praise be Bose, for their profit margin and their bottom line.

[nobody]

I always see people trash Bose and I'm not really gonna go buy any of their gear myself. But, they thrive because they give people what they want, which includes products that have a great amount of ergonomic appeal and it seems great service. Both of those factors are huge to most casual music listeners and are rarely found in the more esoteric products many on here are more fond of because of other priorities.

Many of us around here like messing with equipment and don't mind having to futz with things and get up and down to flip over records and hook up stacks of components and all sorts of other stuff. Most people just want something they can plug in, press a button on the remote control and enjoy effortlessly; something will last and where someone will fix it if it doesn't. Bose seems to be excellent at filling those needs.

[nightflier]

Of course, if it doesn't sound good, then no amount of service and ergonomics will address that. It still has to do the one thing it is supposed to do and that is play music. What is irritating, aside from the price, is that Bose also claims to sound better than comparably priced systems, and that is simply not the case.

[Mingus]

The friendly Bose salesman almost talked my brother in law into buying the Accoutimass 16 Speaker System. Good thing my brother in law was running late for an appointment and had to leave the store before deciding.

[Swish]

Since you listen to that crappy prog, you may as well listen to it on a crappy Bose system.

Sorry, I really couldn't resist. Never been a Bose fan but that's a good story.

[MasterCylinder]

To my ears, the BOSE systems sound fine except for the low end.

With the right EQ and the added sub, it ain't bad at all.

[GMichael]

I miss my Bose system. But I miss the car it was in more.

[ForeverAutumn]

To my ears, the BOSE systems sound fine except for the low end.

With the right EQ and the added sub, it ain't bad at all.

I have a Bose computer speaker system in my home office that I plug my iPod into. It's two tiny speakers and a sub. For what it is and for what I paid, it sounds pretty damn nice and kicks some pretty high volumes. But it definately needs the sub.