Magnepan Service HORRIBLE???

Hey Etmerritt33,

I just noticed this post and I'll point out a few things that may help soothe things out a little. I visited the Magnepan factory while driving cross country recently and I can vouch that they do indeed, have VERY few actual workers. The lady who does the repairs had broken a foot and she was hobbling around in a walking boot. I bet that probably slowed down repairs as well.

Basically what they do, is they set up shop to produce 1 of their speakers at a time for awhile, and then switch to a different model. So for a few days it could be MMG's, then 20.7's, then 3.7's, then 1.7's, then 12's, then CCR's, etc... If your speakers happened to arrive after the 3.7's were just made, and repairs are last to get worked on... I imagine it would be quite a wait.

I recently purchased some 3.7's new that took about 6-7 or so weeks to arrive to the dealer I picked them up at. I have no idea where my order was placed in their line-up cycle.

Anyways, I think low staffing is one of the reasons we're all able to buy their speakers relatively cheap and still be made in America. Add that to them making models in batches and the repair lady with a bum foot... and it could take awhile.

I'm not saying change your mind on anything, but I can totally vouch for the company bending over backwards for me on more than one occasion when they didn't have to. They've been one of my favorite companies to do business with. Sorry you had a bad experience, but it doesn't sound typical with all the raving I read all over the web about them. Hopefully things get sorted out for you!

-Bardo

I spent some time at the repair department when I visited the Magnepan factory a few months back. Just to answer a few questions, it's a separate department, not part of the regular production line although it's on the factory floor and interfaces with it. It's a very specialized, customized operation that lavishes a great amount of loving care on even their older speakers. They'll actually build obsolete drivers from scratch if necessary, as I learned when I mentioned the damage to my Tympani.

The downside of this is that the repair department is highly dependent on the skilled person who runs it. When I was there, they had a backlog because she had been out for five weeks with a broken leg. The other guys at the factory tried to keep up but things slowed down to a crawl. She had just gotten back and she was working on crutches! They'd brought back a former repair department employee to serve temporarily as her hands in an attempt to clean up the backlog.

I'm not sure if this has anything to do with the current problem, but I thought I'd pass it on because it indicates both their dedication to customer service, and some of the problems that can occur in a small company like this (though large by high end standards) -- if one highly skilled person is out, there may be no one with the knowledge needed to replace them.

To address a point someone else made, it may also be impractical to rapidly accommodate increased demand. The entire factory operation involves a surprising amount of skilled labor. If there's a surge in demand it can take a while to train new people up, not to mention that you can't just hire people if the surge is going to be temporary, e.g., there's been a new product introduction. Some audio companies have gone bankrupt when they expanded rapidly to accommodate a surge in demand, from a good review, say, only to have demand fall off. I don't know what the case is at Magnepan, but I do know that the .7's have been selling like hotcakes. It's a welcome success for the company, but I can see that the sudden increase in demand would strain their production capacity.

Also, I'd say that the company does care very much about their customers and reputation, success notwithstanding. Cost control is a strong priority, which is why Maggies are so blessedly inexpensive, but also why they don't have things like 3-way binding posts and wooden crates. Sadly, you can't have it both ways (I've been griping about those binding posts for years). Also, that the people I met at the factory and to whom I've spoken on the phone couldn't have been nicer. It's been years since I was at a trade show, so I don't know what the story is there, but the people I've dealt with over the years have always been great.

When Fedex mangled one of my Tympanis (forklift through the box), they paid not only for the repair but for the cost of shipping. I don't know if that would include a new shipping crate, but it can't hurt to ask.

Not the first time I've had trouble with speaker shipments, years ago UPS trashed an AR-11 I sold to someone.

Wait...you had damages to some CJ gear also!? Brother, this has to go down as the absolute worst of worst-case scenarios I've ever heard of! I'm feelin' yr pain but I'm curious, if CJ's kept you waiting for close to 2 months, how come this thread's only about the speaker manufacturer?

Chazro...the OP said he sent the CJ back to the seller to let the seller deal with it and the seller refunded his money. He kept the Maggies, thus he is only dealing with the repair of the Maggies, not the CJ.

Apparently the OP is still in touch with the seller of the CJ and knows how the repairs are going?