Don't buy anything from Emotiva

 

Silver Member
Username: Dmitchell

Ottawa, Ontario Canada

Post Number: 755
Registered: Feb-07
Anyone who has been following thing thread:

https://www.ecoustics.com/electronics/forum/home-audio/461307.html

is aware of the problems I am having with my Emotiva order. I finally spoke with them today. I had to to call them - after leaving a phone message and an email! I waited all morning for them to respond to me and after 1/2 a day I called them. Obviously they don't care.

I told them I wanted my money back on my LPA-1 order, and I also cancelled my XPA-2 pre-order. I will never deal with them again.

Abysmal customer service. I honestly don't know how a company that relies on reputation and word of mouth expects to stay in business when it treats their customers like this.

I can totally understand shipping snafus' - it happens. What I didn't like was the way they tried to make it look like it was somehow my fault.

Sorry if this post seems rather angry and negative. I wanted to vent, and to let my friends on here know what to expect should they deal with this company.

Dave
 

Gold Member
Username: Nickelbut10

Post Number: 1296
Registered: Jun-07
Point taken David. I will make it a priority not to buy or recommend a purchase from this company. Cheers.
 

Gold Member
Username: Artk

Albany, Oregon USA

Post Number: 6584
Registered: Feb-05
I was already uncomfortable with what I've seen from them and wouldn't have bought from them..good warning however.
 

Silver Member
Username: Dmitchell

Ottawa, Ontario Canada

Post Number: 756
Registered: Feb-07
Should have stuck with Outlaw. The one time I dealt with them I was quite pleased with the level of service.
 

Gold Member
Username: Artk

Albany, Oregon USA

Post Number: 6585
Registered: Feb-05
I like Outlaw service just don't care very much for the sound.
 

Silver Member
Username: Dmitchell

Ottawa, Ontario Canada

Post Number: 757
Registered: Feb-07
What don't you like about the sound, Art?
 

Silver Member
Username: Jazzman71

Phoenix, AZ USA

Post Number: 121
Registered: Dec-07
Don't blame you a bit David. He||, I'm angry and I didn't even buy the d^mn thing! From what I've seen on A'gon, they have fooled a lot of people on their CS.
 

Gold Member
Username: Artk

Albany, Oregon USA

Post Number: 6587
Registered: Feb-05
"What don't you like about the sound, Art?"

Pretty bland to me...not offensive or anything just not very musical IMO.
 

Gold Member
Username: Frank_abela

Berkshire UK

Post Number: 2797
Registered: Sep-04
Now hang on David, I read that thread on the Emotiva site and Doug was clear that you should call Cathy on Monday. Yes, he could have been a little more considerate with his 'you misunderstood' wording but he retracted that nicely and apologised and was very keen to say they would fix the problem.

You can't really expect much more than that can you? He did what he could in the circumstances.

Regards,
Frank. (not an Emotiva dealer...)
 

Silver Member
Username: Dmitchell

Ottawa, Ontario Canada

Post Number: 758
Registered: Feb-07
Point taken, Frank. I guess what I found distressing is that I had to call Emotiva, after I had sent a very descriptive and concise email to them AND had call previously called and left a detailed phone message.

What I was expecting was a courtesy call saying "we received your message and are working on it". Maybe I was expecting too much?

When I spoke to Cathy she in fact did mention that they do arrange for brokerage and the Dann G. individual should not have addressed that particular portion of my problem, since he is not involved in shipping.

Just seemed like an awful lot of confusion.
 

Bronze Member
Username: 70chevelle

Post Number: 48
Registered: Sep-06
So what was the end result? Did you cancel the order or are you still receiving the amp?

I tend to agree with Frank's thoughts on this. While the message board banter could have been better, I didn't find it offensive. Even if they were out to scam you, they dropped the ball by not getting the product to your door. They had no way of keeping your money under those circumstances. I've read some posts about internet vendors not responding to requests for RMA's until after the 30 day term has expired, but that isn't the case in this situation.

It seems to be a chain of errors from the clerk who completed the shipping information, to the office personnel not returning emails or calls. Of which the office personnel are the biggest concerns. Mistakes happen, it's how you follow them up that matters. Now that they've followed them up, what was the end result?
 

Silver Member
Username: Dmitchell

Ottawa, Ontario Canada

Post Number: 760
Registered: Feb-07
I cancelled the order and received a refund for it. I also cancelled my pre-order for the XPA-2.
 

Silver Member
Username: Unbridled_id

ChicagoUsa

Post Number: 222
Registered: Mar-04
I have to agree with David on this, the first two responses to his questioning could be construed as not being customer friendly.
 

Gold Member
Username: Artk

Albany, Oregon USA

Post Number: 6588
Registered: Feb-05
Mistakes happen, however a chain of mistakes speaks to how you do business. I had the same experience with Music Direct and will avoid doing business with them.
 

Silver Member
Username: Dmitchell

Ottawa, Ontario Canada

Post Number: 761
Registered: Feb-07
It's really too bad because they do have some cool looking gear. For me it's a matter of principle, I prefer to take my business elsewhere.
 

Silver Member
Username: Hawkbilly

Nova Scotia Canada

Post Number: 178
Registered: Jul-07
Shipping across the border is rediculously common place. If the answer to David's inquiry was anything other than "we'll fix it" then there is a problem. Who the heck just ships to Customs and leaves the rest to the Customer to resolve ? Without telling them ? Absolutely no need for it, and it's a poor business model, in my humble Canadian opinion of course.

Hopefully the plus side is a change for the better. It may not benefit David, but hopefully the next Customer.
 

Gold Member
Username: Frank_abela

Berkshire UK

Post Number: 2804
Registered: Sep-04
As David says above, the person who answered seems not to have been the person who should have answered. It does seem to be a comedy of errors unfortunately, but it looks like they were honourable and returned David's money when he cancelled the order, so it's not like they're trying to be dishonourable or anything. I think it was just an unfortunate sequence of events. I agree, however, that David could expect to have his call returned. It certainly makes sense for a company doing mainly online business to ensure that their communications methods are tip top, but who knows? This could just have been one of those days...

I say note the incident but don't tar the company unless there's more evidence to be had.

Regards,
Frank.
 

Silver Member
Username: Jazzman71

Phoenix, AZ USA

Post Number: 127
Registered: Dec-07
Good points Frank. Particularly since this incident ran counter to most of what others have read and heard. Should their responses (or lack of) have cost them David's orders -- absolutely; but not their reputation.

Agree about shipping across the border Chris, but look at their FAQ. They state that they ship almost exclusively to the continental US. They even have separate instructions for foreign orders that frankly would cause me to avoid them if I was out of the US. A little odd in this day and age -- but hindsight being 20/20, they certainly don't try and hide it.

Going forward, I think good advice for those outside the continental US would be to use extra caution, discuss foreign shipping with the company and make sure they are comfortable that the proper arrangements can be made before buying.
 

New member
Username: Rpa1man

Post Number: 1
Registered: Sep-08
I work in shipping and receiving and yes on occasion mistakes are made. International shipping can be a royal pain if the paperwork is not 100% correct. We are all human and I'm sure the folk at Emotiva will on occasion make an error. Don't damn the whole company because of it.

Emotiva has outstanding customer service. They have moderators online day and night most days. I can't recall the thread but Dann gave his home phone number to a customer to help them with a problem. It was a weekend day. That's about as good as customer service will get in my opinion.

I've had my own personal experience with there customer service. I purchased an RPA-1 and had a question. I emailed support and received an answer withing 24 hours from Lonnie who happened to be at the factory in China at the time. I was totally impressed that Lonnie would take time from his day at the factory to answer my question.

Considering the small group of employees they have, I think they do darn well.

Paul
 

Platinum Member
Username: Nuck

Post Number: 10848
Registered: Dec-04
Good post Paul, and welcome.

However, the 'shite happens' school does not always apply, as David was most concerned with the snarly service that he recieved, not just the border morons.

Maybe the boss needs to spend all his time in the phone pool? Maybe on the Emotiva forum? dunno.


If the boss is so good, he should be in on the hiring process apparantly, so as to spread his goodwill and understanding to augment the website that states free shipping.

Caveat emptour?
 

Gold Member
Username: Dmitchell

Ottawa, Ontario Canada

Post Number: 1454
Registered: Feb-07
That's it exactly Nuck.

I understand that fukups happen, and I'm the sorta guy to forgive and forget - but when I'm treated like shite and told it was my own fault, then I get upset.
 

New member
Username: Rpa1man

Post Number: 2
Registered: Sep-08
Understood guys but one mishap should not damn the whole company. If men or women were not allowed to make any mistakes in marriage everyone would be divorced so many times that keeping count would be impossible. Maybe I'm just too forgiving.

I prefer to buy from a brick and mortar but I couldn't find anything that could touch Emotiva price/quality for less than 2 to 3 times the price. And a 5 year warranty plus 30 day in home trial was too good to pass up.

The RSP-1 and RPA-1 I purchased replaced a Carver C-1 preamp and NAD 2200PE power amp and there is absolutely no turning back for me. I'm actually contemplating purchasing their new cdp when it arrives.

I don't believe this is a regular thing with Emotiva. Everyone has bad experiences with companies but as long as things turn out well in the end that's what really matters. Happy you got your money back Dave. Just sad that you didn't get to hear the Emotiva gear in your system. I truly believe you would have been very happy. But that's my opinion and you know what they say about opinions.

Thanks for letting me share my feeling on this matter and Dave I'm sorry to hear and read about your experience.

I probably missed it but what did you decide to purchase?
 

Gold Member
Username: Dmitchell

Ottawa, Ontario Canada

Post Number: 1455
Registered: Feb-07
Thanks for the post Paul.

I don't believe either that one bad experience should damn an entire company. I also don't believe my post will really have much bearing on the success (or lack thereof) of Emotiva.

It is a shame that I never got to hear the XPA-2 in my system - I was really looking forward to that.

Anyway, the story turned out to have a happy ending. I ended buying Bryston, and much like you never looked back after buying Emotiva, I never looked back after buying Bryston :-)

Mind you, that's comparing apples to oranges.
 

Platinum Member
Username: Nuck

Post Number: 10852
Registered: Dec-04
Again, Paul, we all like to see a happy music lover.
Single indidents have brought great pain to big companies as well, this is just a bump in the road, albeit to a friend of mine.
Let it go, for certain.

Cheers man.
 

New member
Username: Rpa1man

Post Number: 3
Registered: Sep-08
Would love to hear Bryston someday but don't want to tease myself as I could never afford it. Not to mention my wife is not into music like I am and any financial decision of that magnitude would have to go through her. Ain't gonna happen.

I can't imagine you will need to upgrade in the foreseeable future. I've read nothing but good about Bryston. Congrats to you on that.

Paul
 

New member
Username: Rpa1man

Post Number: 4
Registered: Sep-08
Hey Nuck,

Music is definitely a subjective issue and everyone hears differently. So the main point of this hobby is to find the system that fits your bill and suits your taste. What else is there to say on the subject? Don't know.
 

Gold Member
Username: Dmitchell

Ottawa, Ontario Canada

Post Number: 1456
Registered: Feb-07
Bryston can be had on the used market for about the same as you would pay for a new XPA-2 ($799 USD). If you figure in shipping to Canada (assuming you are in Canada) and customs/brokerage, you're looking at 1k.

This could pick you up a used Bryston 3B.
 

New member
Username: Rpa1man

Post Number: 5
Registered: Sep-08
Right now I'm very pleased with the RSP-1/RPA-1 combo. If anything I'm tossing around with the idea of speakers but toys are on hold right now with winter coming and the whole oil thing. You know what I mean.

Iwill google the 3B though for fun.

Thanks,
Paul
 

Gold Member
Username: Dmitchell

Ottawa, Ontario Canada

Post Number: 1457
Registered: Feb-07
It's a slippery slope...
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