has anyone had problems with wadia service?

the guy from whom i purchased my unit no longer represents wadia. even when he did, he had no service department anyway. and as i explained, in the past, i have had no difficulty contacting wadia (for example, i had previously contacted them to get a replacement part). that's why the current difficulties seemed so suspicious. the reason why i posted on audiogon is because i wanted to get a sense of whether other people have had the same problem with wadia. after all, a lot of these high end audio makers are shoe-string operations that are susceptible to cash flow crises. so when i had problems even getting someone from the sales department to answer a call, i started to wonder about what was going on at wadia.

frankly, it never occurred to me to contact some dealer from whom i didn't buy the unit because the warranty is written from wadia to me - as the warranty is written, i am the one who is responsible for getting the product to wadia.

i don't fault seattlehifi for providing vigorous defense of wadia; after all, as a dealer of wadia products, he has a vested interest in protecting the integrity of the wadia brand name. it is not my objective to assail the reputation of wadia.

Companies merge all the time and those that do it well ensure maintaining high levels of customer service are first and foremost; this should be especially true in an industry such as audio that is not a crucial staple rather it relies upon customers willing to spend disposable income.

I thought it curious that after Seattle Hi-Fi's offer to help, Paperw8 went on bemoaning his experience. It could have all ended right there on a positive note.

If you want results you have to use the systems that are already in place. Dealers are not the middlemen - they are the front lines. And repairs are not marked up in any way by a dealer so there should be absolutely no hesitation to contact a wadia dealer in your time zone and put them to work for you. Wadia dealers exist to serve the needs of existing and prospective wadia customers.

Even the largest and most profitable manufacturers, say for example the B&W group, don't allow direct contact between consumers and the corporate office. If a consumer chooses to handle their own service they can download a form from the company website (which requires a bit of navigating), complete the info, and email or fax back. At a later time, the consumer will receive an email or fax response with instructions.

No live support outside of the dealer network. This type of structure is quite commonplace and efficient for all parties involved. Many times dealers can troubleshoot or offer solutions / quick fixes which would save the customer time and tmoney.