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A certain well-reputed speaker stand maker who I've purchased 2 sets of stands from told me it wouldn't be worth his time to make customized top plates for the current set I own as it wouldn't be cost effective for him....that was after two emails. I asked him how much it would cost to make it economically effective for him, perfectly happy to pay a premium...no response, that was a week ago. What a flaming douchebag...I wont' say who because everyone loves him, and I did too, until I realized his customer service sucks ass.Thank you. Rant over.
Edits: 12/19/14Follow Ups:
How many times does he need to respond after he's already said he's not interested?
Imagine how boring the internet would be if folks were as civil here as they are in person.
Another 4 year old. Congratulations sir. Next time you collect your paycheck from McDonalds, perhaps you should buy a clue.
He didn't say he wasn't interested, he said it wasn't economically viable. Try reading. Perhaps your 2nd grade reading level wasn't enough for you to comprehend the situation.
If I paid you $1000 to do $100 worth of work because I don't have the time to do it myself, but I have the money to get it done, how ridiculous do you have to be to say no.
Stay out of the conversation if you have nothing worth while to add dipshit.
He probably means it he'd have to charge 10x what a local machine shop would charge for the same work. That qualifies as not economically viable. He's not interested in losing money on the job or charging you way more than it's worth. It's perfectly reasonable. It's also perfectly reasonable that he didn't bother responding after he already said no. Who wants to entertain some whiny beggar who can't take no for an answer?
Imagine how boring the internet would be if folks were as civil here as they are in person.
He has told you that it wasn't economically viable....in other words, he is not interested. Just because you can offer the money doesn't mean he has to offer his services to you.
Why do you think that good customer service means that he has to do whatever you want, just because you bought something from him once?
Good customer service means delivering what you paid for, and fixing his products if they break. It doesn't mean that he has to do anything that you demand.
Is there a limit on what you want him to do? Does he have to fix your car? Mow your lawn?
I feel sorry for him, and for anyone who has to deal with you.
Sometimes larger companies have a harder time setting up for a small run. If you need help any small fab shop should be able to get you something. If you end up not having any success with that let me know and I'll help you out at a reasonable price.
Mods; I hope this doesn't come across as advertising, just trying to help a guy out of a crunch.
Ain't likely to happen. Whether he makes inhouse or outsources, unless he is set up for custom work it does not make business sense to start doing custom work unless he has personnel sitting around doing nothing and excess unused capacity; neither likely in this day and age.
If he does not advertise he does this work why do you think he will; were is it written there is any obligation to do so. I am not sure what you do but for most businesses one offs regardless of price are more of a problem than it is worth. I am not sure why you need a custom tops; is it because you did not do your homework, originally? If your needs changed does he have new stands to meet it? If so, sell yours and buy new ones. If you bought a half ton pickup and later decided you need a one ton pickup do you think any truck maker is going to custom build a conversion kit for you? If you bought a McIntosh MC40 and later decided you want a Mc240, do you think McIntosh is in some way obligated to provide a custom kit for you to upgrade your unit or even cut a deal to take yours back in trade in?
It is one thing to expect a company to provide a service it advertises such warranty service, etc. and another to expect it to provide something it does not offer. If the top plates are made for removal and replacement with another stock plate, that is one thing but, your facts do not support that proposition. If it is designed to be removed, maybe you could have asked for a new stock sized set but, custom sized would still be asking too much.
In this case, I think you are in the wrong and naming the company is worthless as it is irrelevant. In fact it may constitute libel.
Don Brian Levy, J.D.
Toronto ON Canada
Your post makes sense. Is the OP satisfied with his original purchase? If so very cool. Want something else that isn't offered by a company? Find a company that makes it.
Seems easy. Forgive me if I'm missing something.
.
You seem to presume that he has to do the job. He doesnt have to.
Bill
Are we men, or are we volcanoes?
If it were my company I wouldn't want you as a customer. He explained it wasn't cost effective for him. You have no idea how disruptive your request may be to his business. In most cases, these are small companies with limited resources.
-Wendell
With folks who get on here and complain about poor service and then refuse to name the culprit? What a waste of a post!
Put on yer big boy pants and name him, for Pete's sake!!
-RW-
Agreed RW-
'In the grand scheme of things it doesn't amount to a hill of beans'
Now that you vented you should find another brand of speaker stands and don't give him your business anymore! That's the best way to get even!
The guy said that he wasn't interested, then didn't return your email for a week, so he's a "flaming douchebag"? Look in the mirror.
First real trip in years.
Sorry he's not around to be your slave.
"We are all in God's hands... and God is a malign thug."
-Mark Twain
What are you twelve?
Any business that claims to be committed to customer service certainly knows how to leave an "out of the office" automatic reply. It's not that difficult and frankly, should be expected from any reputable company.
I think I know where this guy is coming from.You want a custom top plate. Sounds simple right? Maybe not...
If this was my company, I would not be doing my own sheet metal work. Too expensive to buy a CNC cutting table, metal sheer, welding gear, etc. I would make my stands in sets of 50, or 1000. Or 1000, and I would get the CNC fabricator to order in the sheet stock for me, slap it on his machine, cut it, clean it up / blast it and paint it. In large quantities there would be NO way to do this cheaper than this method, unless I (a) won the lottery and opened up my own fab shop or (b) farm out the job to a Chinese company.
So, to get a stand with a custom plate he needs to
a) Pull two stands from production, scrap two existing plates.
b) Draw up new custom sheet on CAD, send to fab shop.
c) FAB shop will do a "single set" of plates, but they charge setup for each sheet each new CAD drawing. (They need to load the CAD program, and convert it to the file the CNC machine can load and interpret.) Then they need to set up the paint line for that specific color and type of paint. It's not like they have a complete paint line sitting in wait for every single pair of "Bob's Fancy Stands" that come through. If the guy owned his own paint line, maybe he would. But not if he's using a fab shop.
d) Time and runaround. By the time you CAD up the drawing, email it to Fab guy, then call him to set up a time to fit the cutting into his schedule... You're asking your fabricator to stop production on a large run to do a one-of of a product. So now there is shipping back and forth between fabricator or he has to go pick up the things, then package them. Ooops. They're a bit bigger and the shipping system he's set up for his regular stands won't fit. He needs to package these things by hand the old school way. Yikes.I think he's saying it's not worth his time because he knows you won't want to pay him what these are worth TO HIM, due to the time involved. You're probably thinking 25%. I'm thinking 250-500%. Yes, 2.5 to 5x the price of a mass produced set. And that's a bargain from someone who values their time.
So now for my next question.
Why the heck not mod or DIY your own set of his stands?
If you bottom plate is larger you can easier do a MDF adapter plate to mod the stand to accept a different speaker. Then you have a stand that can accommodate EITHER speaker since you can take off the adapter.Or, maybe you can put a new set of holes in the existing plate?
Just thinking out loud here...
Tell GM you want a customized Impala. As soon as they give you a custom non-standard option that car will start at $250,000.
Which is what handbuilt custom race cars cost. Which is why nobody ever asks GM to make a factory built custom Impala! They just go out and buy a Porsche.
Cheers,
Presto
Edits: 12/19/14 12/19/14 12/19/14
Errr , No...
Based on the OP , the issue is not too high an estimate or an unwillingness to do a custom plate , its poor customer service communication , no response to several emails asking for closure...Easy ,
Dear Sucker ,
We are not geared to do custom plates on our already overpriced stands , its not worth our time to do so and dont try asking again we wont be answering any question without an order for more stands ...Again congrats on purchasing our great stands , you are previlidged ..
Regards,
High End Stands
Edits: 12/22/14
Hey Presto,
Thank you for taking the time to write such a thoughtful reply. I completely agree that there is a possibility that the cost would be prohibitive due to the customization process. However, the MDF materials are not that difficult to work with, and this company regularly makes multiple sizes depending on the specific application. Also, if indeed the cost would be prohibitive, tell me that price. Don't assume I won't, or cannot pay it.
As far as your analogy to the Malibu, sure, I understand that too. However, I am not asking to customer one piece of a normally standard product. Any size and height can be made on demand, and honestly the pieces I am not requesting...the actual pillars, are just plastic.
Thanks again Presto. Have a good one.
If you want to try to DIY from MDF, let me know and I will give you some prepping and finishing tips.
It's not hard to get a beautiful finish on MDF if it's prepped properly.
Routering MDF is very dusty and the dust is not good for you though.
Cheers,
Presto
Thank you again Presto. I appreciate you trying to help me solve the issue. Since it has proven a bit difficult to get my stands fit to my desired speaker, I may just have to buy speakers with matched stands, such as the Wilsons.
Big J
"... only a very few individuals understand as yet that personal salvation is a contradiction in terms."
It is perfectly fair to name, names here...
I had a similar experience. My arm is being updated, so I removed the cartridge...a Benz LPS.
I thought this would be a great time to send it off to Benz for a look-see.....to make sure all is well. I offered to pay for this service, however, Benz told me they weren't set up for this and that I should send my cartridge to the dealer from whom I bought it. Oh well.....
Yea, it's always a shame when you don't get the level of service you expect, especially when you have paid, or are willing to pay for what you want. Of course that means when you do find someone willing to provide excellent service, you stick with them.
I have very seldom, if ever, seen anyone with an open chequebook.
Would the stands have to be shipped to him to add these top plates?
Maybe the shipping costs makes this project uneconomical to all concerned?
Even if that was required, I offered to make it worth the expense. The website also boasts a commitment to customer satisfaction. What horsepuke.
If the stands are steel, most metal distributors offer shearing device. The cuts are with in a 1/32 of an inch and are quite smooth. Hopefully the bases are flat, if they are should be pretty easy to do.
Try a metal shop or tool-and-die shop. They can cut, shape, drill, tap, and form steel or other metals into whatever you want, and the cost can be surprisingly low. If you can be a little flexible and your design to use scrap they have lying around, it can be *very* low. I had a pair of stands made for Sequerras some years back. Foot-square bottom plate of 1/4" steel, with three 1/4-20 tapped holes for feet to accommodate my uneven saltillo tile floors, welded to a heavy 3.5"-diameter scrap steel tube, which was welded to a top plate that matched the speakers, with a big hole in the top for sand/lead, and tapped for little upward-pointing tiptoes. Rock-solid, non-resonant, correct height, and all for about $100. It took about 30 minutes to figure how they would do it, and they had them ready the next day. I've had a number of things made, and the shops always enjoyed doing it; making something one-off is more fun and lots more creative than doing a run of 1,000. Besides, these guys (it *used* to be guys) love to show off how they can create something good from someone's half-baked idea.
And BTW, Presto is right - the stand manufacturer is *not* a metal shop; they are a manufacturer. Given the tiny size of the highish end audio stand market, I'd bet they hire a tool-and-die outfit to make all their prototypes, and assemble their products from pieces made outside; they might not be able to do it in house even if they wanted to.
WW
"A man need merely light the filaments of his receiving set and the world's greatest artists will perform for him." Alfred N. Goldsmith, RCA, 1922
Any competent machine shop or tool and die maker could fab up some plates for very reasonable money. And this doesn't require fancy-schmancy CNC machines and such - just a good set of calipers and a machinist who knows WTF he's doing.
If this was 40 years ago, I coulda knocked out a set for you in my Dad's machine shop for about $100. And I woulda used scrap stock, making that $100 entirely for moi! You shoulda seen the Mil-spec bongs we used to make, heh, heh!
-RW-
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