Author Topic: Your Thoughts on Philippine Audio Stores? (Read 113022 times)

levi · « **Reply #360 on:** Oct 20, 2004 at 01:24 AM »

Quote from: groucho on Oct 19, 2004 at 08:41 PM

Pasensiya na kayo kung ignorante ako......

Buhay pa ba 'yung Ceratec? Was looking for it but could not find it. But then again, I had not been to MegaMall in ages.

close na ang Ceratec

levi · « **Reply #361 on:** Apr 13, 2005 at 12:45 AM »

mYKi · « **Reply #362 on:** Apr 13, 2005 at 07:41 PM »

I just had an experience with warranties that I would like to share with others. I have bought my B&W speakers, B&W subwoofer, Pioneer Universal DVD player, and 2 NAD CD players from Sights and Sounds in Shangri-La from 2003-2004.

1) Aug. 26, 2004 - I bought my first NAD C542 player from S&S for P19,000
2) Dec. 2004 - I bought my 2nd NAD C542 player for my sister
3) Early Feb. 2005 - My player lost its analog out. Everything else was ok. I brought it to S&S.
4) After 2 weeks - they still don't know what the problem is
5) Feb. 18, 2005 - Jun from S&S tells me that they only offer 6 months warranty on parts so I need to pay for the part which they estimate at P5,000!!! When I checked my S&S warranty card, it did mention 6 months on parts. I then argued that when I bought it, he said 1 year warranty.
6) I asked for the number of the NAD dealer and I complained. Studio Systems said the warranty is indeed for 1 year. However, they said I still have to pay the estimated P5,000 because I misused the player. They said I used bad quality CD-Rs. I told them I only have a few Benq CD-Rs.
7) Studio then said they will give me a brand new unit, after I give the P5,000.

We then discussed this issue lengthily at PinoyDVD (http://pinoydvd.com/content/index.php?option=com_smf&Itemid=28&expv=0&?topic=4755.220)
9) I escalated the issue to NAD International by e-mailing them. I got a response that they will work on my problem.
10) S&S said they have the replacement unit already. I paid the P4,500 (discounted) and picked up my unit.
11) Studio then said that I don't have to pay the P4,500 anymore! But I told them S&S already collected it from me since they would not release the replacement unit.
12) A month after, April 12, 2005, I picked up my P4,500 refund at S&S.
13) When I picked up my check, the owner of Sights and Sounds was there and he reprimanded me on why I had to broadcast the issue at PinoyDVD. I told him to read my posts and to know that I just wrote what I experienced. He told me to publicly apologize to Sights and Sounds. I disagreed since all I did was tell the truth. The discussion then proceeded to turn sour and he put the blame on Studio Systems. I told him I was a loyal S&S customer and I brought so many of my friends to them... it was only becuase of the incident that I decided to never buy from them again. When I told him my good experience with Listening in Style, he told me that they were only 1 family. That the B&W distributor was even his cousin. After 30 mintues of reprimanding me and saying that I had no right to destroy their business, he then said, just get your money! The damage has been done.

Now it is obvious to me that the owner of Sights and Sounds does not know the meaning of CUSTOMER SUPPORT. I was a customer!! And he reprimanded me like I was his lowly employee.

bumblebee · « **Reply #363 on:** Apr 13, 2005 at 08:49 PM »

hayaan mo na lang mYKi. meron talagang mga taong ganun mag-ugali. nde na natin mababago yun.

s2kov · « **Reply #364 on:** Apr 13, 2005 at 10:15 PM »

that would only mean Sights & Sounds should be avoided!

zap|JDM · « **Reply #365 on:** Apr 13, 2005 at 11:32 PM »

that sucks.

i even bought my plasma tv from them, just a month ago. oh well.

Jakob · « **Reply #366 on:** Apr 14, 2005 at 04:20 AM »

Quote from: mYKi on Apr 13, 2005 at 07:41 PM

After 30 mintues of reprimanding me and saying that I had no right to destroy their business, he then said, just get your money! The damage has been done.

they did it to themselves (destroyed their business), for not taking care of customers (even loyal ones like myki). anyway, they have not right berating you like that.

v0elker · « **Reply #367 on:** Apr 14, 2005 at 06:57 AM »

kapal naman ng mukha nya, sila dapat mag-issue ng public apology

alexg · « **Reply #368 on:** Apr 14, 2005 at 07:53 AM »

Thanks for the post, I will add them to the list of stores I need to avoid!

sandawa · « **Reply #369 on:** Apr 14, 2005 at 08:21 AM »

the shop owner has self-destructed. within 90 days magsasara yan, otherwise, he'll be losing a lot of money.

alexg · « **Reply #370 on:** Apr 14, 2005 at 08:28 AM »

Funny enough, there are a lot of stores in the Philippines whose sales people are very rude! I guess these days customers are demanding better service, so those that cannot provide it will eventually lose and close shop!

If you shop in the US or in Europe, customers are given better attention and service. When I returned to live in the Philippines from the US, I was so shocked with the attitude of some business establishments here, they make me feel that I owe them something if I buy from them, in addition, some of those sales people does not know what they are talking about!

av_phile1 · « **Reply #371 on:** Apr 14, 2005 at 10:53 AM »

Quote from: mYKi on Apr 13, 2005 at 07:41 PM

13) When I picked up my check, the owner of Sights and Sounds was there and he reprimanded me on why I had to broadcast the issue at PinoyDVD. I told him to read my posts and to know that I just wrote what I experienced. He told me to publicly apologize to Sights and Sounds. I disagreed since all I did was tell the truth. The discussion then proceeded to turn sour and he put the blame on Studio Systems. I told him I was a loyal S&S customer and I brought so many of my friends to them... it was only becuase of the incident that I decided to never buy from them again. When I told him my good experience with Listening in Style, he told me that they were only 1 family. That the B&W distributor was even his cousin. After 30 mintues of reprimanding me and saying that I had no right to destroy their business, he then said, just get your money! The damage has been done.

Now it is obvious to me that the owner of Sights and Sounds does not know the meaning of CUSTOMER SUPPORT. I was a customer!! And he reprimanded me like I was his lowly employee.

If it came from a salesguy, I can easily dismiss that as the rumblings of a misguided employee. But since it came from the owner, the incident cements in marble the anti-customer policies and attitudes you can expect from this store. I don't know about you guys, but I for one will never patronize this store.

av_phile1 · « **Reply #372 on:** Apr 14, 2005 at 11:07 AM »

Quote from: alexg on Apr 14, 2005 at 08:28 AM

Funny enough, there are a lot of stores in the Philippines whose sales people are very rude! I guess these days customers are demanding better service, so those that cannot provide it will eventually lose and close shop!

If you shop in the US or in Europe, customers are given better attention and service. When I returned to live in the Philippines from the US, I was so shocked with the attitude of some business establishments here, they make me feel that I owe them something if I buy from them, in addition, some of those sales people does not know what they are talking about!

I've known this disparity for a long time since I first experienced shopping in the US and the wonderful tales my friends there told me about how different their aftersales service is compared to what we have here. I agree with some capitalist writings, notably that of Alvin Toffler when he said the age of consumerism and SERVICE in market-economies are now prevalent in first world countries. That was a good 20 years ago. Customer-centric policies take precedence to ensure long-term customer patronage over business priorities for short-term profits. Hence, return policies have matured so that there is always the benefit of the doubt bestowed on the customer. No questions asked, when you return a defective item. In contrast, local stores prefer to suspect that the customer wants to put one over them, so returns of defective merchandise are often frowned at and made difficult.

This country still has along way to go to empower the consumers and make service the priority. This community has a small percentage of audiophiles in its membership. But I believe, we can make it a powerful instrument for furthering the interest of the audiophile consumer by acting as one in boycotting stores that make us look like fools, while they laugh all the way to their banks.

itgbkj · « **Reply #373 on:** Apr 14, 2005 at 11:13 AM »

What are the names of the stores again?

Sights and Sounds AND Listening in Style

got it... black-listed it. Thanks for sharing your experience.

levi · « **Reply #374 on:** Apr 15, 2005 at 02:06 AM »

According to Myki Sights and Sounds only.

mYKi · « **Reply #375 on:** Apr 15, 2005 at 03:20 PM »

Quote from: zap|JDM on Apr 13, 2005 at 11:32 PM

that sucks. i even bought my plasma tv from them, just a month ago. oh well.

Suggestion lang, did they give you a Yellow Warranty Card which is printed by Sights and Sounds?

If they did, return it since if you read the fine print, it will say that they will honor 6 months warranty for parts. If they didn't, then good for you. In my case, they simply attached it to my receipt.

Myki

mYKi · « **Reply #376 on:** Apr 15, 2005 at 03:25 PM »

Quote from: itgbkj on Apr 14, 2005 at 11:13 AM

What are the names of the stores again?

Sights and Sounds AND Listening in Style

got it... black-listed it. Thanks for sharing your experience.

Correction, the owner of Sights and Sounds only said they are 1 family because I told him that I was very happy with Listening in Style.

So don't blacklist Listening in Style.

mYKi · « **Reply #377 on:** Apr 15, 2005 at 03:34 PM »

You know, local consumers are partly to blame. Like me for example, sobra akong mahiyain and I don't complain. Sa Hong Kong, expert sucker ako. Palagi ako nabebentahan ng bulok and nahihiya pa rin ako umangal.

Even with my local purchases, nahihiya rin ako. It was actually my first time to complain and get a result because of the prodding of fellow PDVD people.

So I guess if most of us will really demand great service, and we will not settle for anything less, then maybe in the future our local stores will be similar to US stores.

Actually, noong napagsabihan ako ng Sights and Sounds owner, medyo napatahimik ako.... kaso, noong sumosobra na, and nahihiya na rin ako kay Jun (yung salesman niya na kaibigan ko), eh I had to defend my position.

Last week naman, napabili ako ng motherboard. So nag-recommend sila ng board para sa akin and I trusted their recommendation. Pag uwi ko and nag-research ako.... eh lumang model na pala yung motherboard. It can't even handle DDR400. So ayun! Nahiya nanaman akong mag-reklamo. :-) Anyway, okay lang, tumatakbo naman yung computer ko.

Let's just be more vigilant in demanding our rights as consumers.

av_phile1 · « **Reply #378 on:** Apr 15, 2005 at 06:12 PM »

I guess Pinoys are by nature not as assertive as in other countries. Though I must say that Pinoys in the US as just as assertive as their white brothers. It seems the culture of consumer assertiveness has rubbed on to them.

Here, I can understand the meekness of consumers, perhaps because they'd rather not be harassed by the more assertive sales guys and proprietors.

But that should change, if we want to uphold our consumer rights.

taggart · « **Reply #379 on:** Apr 15, 2005 at 10:27 PM »

lumabas din tunay na kulay niya. he's right on one thing though...he's ruined.

not your fault of course myki but by his own hand.

i also had good experiences with dealing with Listening in Style. good service too.

i agree with us not being assertive enough regarding our consumer rights. then again, the gov't also didn't help much in this matter.(lack of consumer protection laws) sa states naman i think sobra sa consumer protection...why? some consumers buy something and just return it after 30 days or so even if it works as advertised just because they don't like it anymore or got bored with it..etc. that's just wrong IMHO.

zap|JDM · « **Reply #380 on:** Apr 15, 2005 at 11:47 PM »

Quote from: mYKi on Apr 15, 2005 at 03:20 PM

Suggestion lang, did they give you a Yellow Warranty Card which is printed by Sights and Sounds?

If they did, return it since if you read the fine print, it will say that they will honor 6 months warranty for parts. If they didn't, then good for you. In my case, they simply attached it to my receipt.

Myki

thanks for the heads up Myki.

they did gave me a yellow card, and i returned the limited warranty card for my toshiba ptv awhile ago. auditioned the c542 again, cant resist the urge to take it home, now minus the yellow card(parang football

) hehehe

Reymer · « **Reply #381 on:** Apr 16, 2005 at 12:26 AM »

I would like to share my bad experience with S&S Shangri-La. When I tried to audition a pair of Mission Speakers, the salesperson just hooked them up to a Denon AVR, played a DVD movie and then left me. When I asked for an Audio CD, I was made to wait for 15 minutes dahil wala daw silang makitang Audio CD. I just left without saying a word. Hindi talaga sila marunong magtreat ng customers!
Kaya ng bumili ako ng NAD C542 last December, sa Sony(Avid) Robinsons Galleria ako bumili, and I got it for P18K lang and the unit is sealed dahil I ordered it 2 days before. Sa S&S P19K na, bad treatment pa aabutin mo.

allvin_98 · « **Reply #382 on:** Apr 16, 2005 at 03:09 PM »

Kawawa naman ang Sights and Sounds.tsk tsk tsk... makaka-survive pa kaya sila? kasi imagine mo thousands ang member ng pinoydvd eh hindi na bibili sa SIGHTS AND SOUNDS tapos cyempre yun mga friends of friends pa ng mga members ng pinoydvd eh pagsasabihan nila na wag sila bumili sa SIGHTS AND SOUNDS.tsk tsk tsk

mYKi · « **Reply #383 on:** Apr 16, 2005 at 05:08 PM »

Quote from: zap|JDM on Apr 15, 2005 at 11:47 PM

thanks for the heads up Myki.

they did gave me a yellow card, and i returned the limited warranty card for my toshiba ptv awhile ago. auditioned the c542 again, cant resist the urge to take it home, now minus the yellow card(parang football ) hehehe

Good job! Ibang klase ang FINE PRINT ng limited warranty card nila. When the owner of S&S was berating me, he said, "Hindi naman kami ang nagsabi na 6 months lang ang warranty sa parts eh, ang Studio ang nagsabi noon! (and then tingin siya sa employee niya na si Jun) Diba Jun?! And sagot ni Jun, "Hindi po. Wala po silang sinabing ganoon."

Haha! Tapos I pointed out their yellow warranty card which was all over the counter... I then showed to him the 6 months on parts clause in their card... and sabi niya "Ahhh. Hindi naman iyan ang pinag-uusapan natin. Binagyan ka namin ng ganyan na warranty card kasi walang warranty card sa loob ng box ng NAD. Pasalamat ka sa amin kasi kung hindi sa card na iyan, eh di wala kang panghahawakan. We are doing you a service."

Sabay ang answer ko, "So your telling me that your salesman's word when he told me 1 year warranty for the products I bought from you does not hold? Since it all boils down to a yellow card?"

Hay naku!

Anyway, mas makakamura ka pa siguro kung sa Spectra ka bumili ng NAD C542 since I bought mine sa Shang ng P19,000 but I'm sure mga P18,000 lang sa Spectra iyon. Although I have no buying experience from them pa.

mYKi · « **Reply #384 on:** Apr 16, 2005 at 05:12 PM »

Quote from: allvin_98 on Apr 16, 2005 at 03:09 PM

Kawawa naman ang Sights and Sounds.tsk tsk tsk... makaka-survive pa kaya sila? kasi imagine mo thousands ang member ng pinoydvd eh hindi na bibili sa SIGHTS AND SOUNDS tapos cyempre yun mga friends of friends pa ng mga members ng pinoydvd eh pagsasabihan nila na wag sila bumili sa SIGHTS AND SOUNDS.tsk tsk tsk

Actually, ang desired scenario eh hindi sila magsara.... the less stores we have, eh the less choices din. Ang maganda eh ibahin nila ang policy ng customer support nila. From my impression, ang tingin ng owner na iyon is to simply get our money, end of story.

And hindi naman sila magsasara since mga less than 5% lang tayo ng market nila. The other 95% eh hindi naman pumupunta sa PinoyDVD.

zap|JDM · « **Reply #385 on:** Apr 16, 2005 at 06:13 PM »

on my part naman, ive got no issues sa S&S, from the Boss to the staff, he even gave me a free Bello rack when i purchased the Toshiba PTV.

then i got my NAD C542 for 17500 yesterday.

as for Spectra, cant ask for more, Jim is a nice guy to haggle with.

groucho · « **Reply #386 on:** Apr 16, 2005 at 07:32 PM »

Quote from: zap|JDM on Apr 16, 2005 at 06:13 PM

as for Spectra, cant ask for more, Jim is a nice guy to haggle with.

Exactly my sentiments. I have had a chance to buy a couple of AE speakers for my pop from Spectra. No hassles. Great guy to do business with.

mYKi · « **Reply #387 on:** Apr 17, 2005 at 09:00 PM »

Quote from: zap|JDM on Apr 16, 2005 at 06:13 PM

on my part naman, ive got no issues sa S&S, from the Boss to the staff, he even gave me a free Bello rack when i purchased the Toshiba PTV.

then i got my NAD C542 for 17500 yesterday.

as for Spectra, cant ask for more, Jim is a nice guy to haggle with.

Wow. Swerte mo naman. :-) Post your comments on your NAD C542 at the corresponding thread at the Audio section. Maybe if I also bought a plasma TV from S&S they would have treated me nicely. hehehe

zap|JDM · « **Reply #388 on:** Apr 17, 2005 at 09:34 PM »

thanks. so far very happy na ako sa c542, i hope this contentment lasts

redkoji · « **Reply #389 on:** May 21, 2005 at 06:30 PM »

Hope you don't mind if we comment on some items

6) I asked for the number of the NAD dealer and I complained. Studio Systems said the warranty is indeed for 1 year. However, they said I still have to pay the estimated P5,000 because I misused the player. They said I used bad quality CD-Rs. I told them I only have a few Benq CD-Rs.

"Sorry for the misccomunication in regards to your player which was mistaken for the other items for servicing at the moment. As for the estimated P5,000.00 cost of repair we never said that you have to pay that amount. We repeat that it was an estimate and subject to negotiation with NAD Asia HQ "

7) Studio then said they will give me a brand new unit, after I give the P5,000.

"Again we never said that you have to pay us this amount for the replacement. What we recall is that Sights & Sounds, call our our office and demanding a replacement of unit, wherein we haven't received the unit for evaluation. Immediate replacement can only be made within 30 days purchase of the customer from the authorized dealer and should includes all accessories, packing materials and owners manual are intact. Without any actual physical evaluation at the moment, we inform S&S the extent of consequence if they proceed without the proper proceedure."

We are sorry that you experience such situation and we hope you understand our side.

Quote from: mYKi on Apr 13, 2005 at 07:41 PM

I just had an experience with warranties that I would like to share with others. I have bought my B&W speakers, B&W subwoofer, Pioneer Universal DVD player, and 2 NAD CD players from Sights and Sounds in Shangri-La from 2003-2004.

1) Aug. 26, 2004 - I bought my first NAD C542 player from S&S for P19,000
2) Dec. 2004 - I bought my 2nd NAD C542 player for my sister
3) Early Feb. 2005 - My player lost its analog out. Everything else was ok. I brought it to S&S.
4) After 2 weeks - they still don't know what the problem is
5) Feb. 18, 2005 - Jun from S&S tells me that they only offer 6 months warranty on parts so I need to pay for the part which they estimate at P5,000!!! When I checked my S&S warranty card, it did mention 6 months on parts. I then argued that when I bought it, he said 1 year warranty.
6) I asked for the number of the NAD dealer and I complained. Studio Systems said the warranty is indeed for 1 year. However, they said I still have to pay the estimated P5,000 because I misused the player. They said I used bad quality CD-Rs. I told them I only have a few Benq CD-Rs.
7) Studio then said they will give me a brand new unit, after I give the P5,000.
We then discussed this issue lengthily at PinoyDVD (http://pinoydvd.com/content/index.php?option=com_smf&Itemid=28&expv=0&?topic=4755.220)
9) I escalated the issue to NAD International by e-mailing them. I got a response that they will work on my problem.
10) S&S said they have the replacement unit already. I paid the P4,500 (discounted) and picked up my unit.
11) Studio then said that I don't have to pay the P4,500 anymore! But I told them S&S already collected it from me since they would not release the replacement unit.
12) A month after, April 12, 2005, I picked up my P4,500 refund at S&S.
13) When I picked up my check, the owner of Sights and Sounds was there and he reprimanded me on why I had to broadcast the issue at PinoyDVD. I told him to read my posts and to know that I just wrote what I experienced. He told me to publicly apologize to Sights and Sounds. I disagreed since all I did was tell the truth. The discussion then proceeded to turn sour and he put the blame on Studio Systems. I told him I was a loyal S&S customer and I brought so many of my friends to them... it was only becuase of the incident that I decided to never buy from them again. When I told him my good experience with Listening in Style, he told me that they were only 1 family. That the B&W distributor was even his cousin. After 30 mintues of reprimanding me and saying that I had no right to destroy their business, he then said, just get your money! The damage has been done.

Now it is obvious to me that the owner of Sights and Sounds does not know the meaning of CUSTOMER SUPPORT. I was a customer!! And he reprimanded me like I was his lowly employee.