Is good customer service about dead?


I’d like to know from other members of Audiogon how they find customer service today. Not the resellers so much as the manufacturers themselves. I had a bad experience with a really late delivery. I also have a tone arm I bought in a first production run when a setup manual was not yet available – the manufacturer will not respond to my emails. I wanted to audition a rather expensive pair of speakers that were not available in my area. I contacted the manufacturer (from his own website) to ask where I could go to audition and purchase these – but no response. I have however had amazing support from the good folks at VAC and Jeff Rowland.
So I am now searching for new speakers but customer service is my first criteria and everything else is second. I'll be looking in the 5K-10K price range. I’d be very interested in other people’s experiences.
dat1
The best customer service I've ever had, from any business, has been from Thiel.
My friend has a VAC based sytem and he gets great support from Kevin Hayes. I have a Coincident Technology based system and the support given by owner Israel Blume is simply superb. That`s two companies that I`d rate grade A in high quality product and service.Coincident has speakers in your price range.
I recently needed Zu Audio's support because of a mistake on my part. They came through with excellent customer service.
I have had great service from PSB, Acoustic Zen, Rotel, BAT, Parasound, and Wyred4Sound. In four out of six cases I rec'd attention from the owner or principal. In every case they were friendly and concerned and a couple even sent free parts as upgrades or out of warranty replacements even when I told them I had purchased their unit used. Far and away better than service for home appliances or cars in my experience.