Best customer service? Mondial designs!

I don't know how relevant this is to you guys in the States but I am very impressed with Quad ( I live in UK)
About 15 years ago somebody I was working with had some ESL's which needed a complete service. He phoned Quad and was given a price and was told that it would take 2-3 weeks. A few days later a job was taking him past the Quad factory so to save transport he just took his ESL's to drop them of. Not only where the staff very friendly, they also serviced on that very same day so he could pick them up on his return, he also got a quick factory tour and was never charged a penny.
Myself, I recently bought an old 520f amp, which is long out of production, which had a noise problem under some circumstances. An email to Quad's chief service engineer was promptly answered and he suggested upgrading to 520m (balanced input modules) at a cost of 85pounds. Happy that they were still available over ten years after this amp ceased production (theres no follow-up model) I ordered the necessary 2 modules and was told that it would take 8-10 days for them to reach me. Since they hadn't arrived after 2 weeks I phoned again and was surprised that the receptionist remembered me instantly and was very apologetic, turns out they were moving hence the delay and she couldn't give me an exact date for delivery.
Three weeks later I received FOUR of those modules completely free of charge as an apology for the delay.
Result: one happy customer who is about 100 pounds better of than he thought. And the amp is deadly silent again.
Problem: I need to find another 520f to upgrade to make use of the 2 extra modules.
Morale: Good customer service is a beautiful thing and should be more appreciated.

Krell,PASS and First Sound

I bought a used Krell KST100 some years back, no manual, I mailed the Krell people and sent me, at no charge, a brand NOS manual for my amp, two days later dropped me an email to learn if the manual arrived safely here in Mexico City.

I am currently using a Pass x250, running single ended cables WO XLR jumpers, I mailed PASS and Nelson himself responded with very valuable information, and sent at no charge 2 pairs of gold jumpers for my amp.

Finnaly, Emmanuel Go - fantastic. I bought a First Sound passive preamp (vintage), Emmanuel gave me all the information needed to learn about this unit while I was bidding for it, once aquiered he offered me at no charge an upgrade of several parts in order to bring it up-to-date. Incredible service indeed.

Congratulations to this three companies (Krell, Pass, First Sound)

Fernando

Several years ago, I took a well-out-of-warranty Aragon 4004 MKII amp to a local repair facility, and when picking it up, they advised that Mondial Design supplied the needed part gratis -- certainly top notch customer support!!

While this was before Klipsch's purchase, by the latest post in this thread, it sounds like Klipsch has stepped into Mondial's shoes quite nicely -- good to hear, since along with the Aragon 4004, I'm using an Acurus 200x5 amp for H.T.

I have been dealing with Steve Donalson
Aragon Technical Support Specialist
Klipsch Audio Technologies
[email protected]
1-866-781-7284

Over some issues on some older Acurus products. What great help, fast response and friendly attitude. Klipsch Audio's purchase of Mondial Designs has NOT lessened the GREAT customer service! It couldn't get any better than this.

I had a good experience with Mondial too. I short-circuited my speaker cables on one channel and burnt out a little device sitting where the power comes in. They sent me one free and I was quickly back in business again. Thanks Adam.

Just bought a D2A here at Audiogon, sounds like I made a wise decision. A little service goes a long way.....

I am also a big fan of Mondial Designs, both their products and their service. Paul in customer service is truly helpful, and sat patiently through my many questions, giving me a lot of details about their designs and philosophy. It paid off: I now own 3 Palladiums, 1 8008BB, and 1 8008ST, running the front three channels, the two side surrounds, and the rear pair, respectively (Aerial speakers). I have have also had experience with Acurus amps, and still have a pair running a second system in another room. Great value. My customer service story is that on one of the Acurus amps, the light on the power switch stopped working (it was about four years old at the time). I called Acurus, and didn't even have to get past the woman who answered the phone. She dropped a replacement switch in the mail, which I got two days later. Turns out they changed vendors on the switch since they made my amps, so it didn't really match the other two switches I had on the amplifiers at the time (I've since sold one of them). When I called her back, she volunteered to ship two more of the new style switches, so all three would match, all for free. Yeah, I'm kinda picky, but they went out of their way to make it right, on out-of-warranty amps. Well, sometimes it's the little things that pay big dividends for companies like Mondial Designs. Three months, a few auditions, and several conversations with Paul later, I dropped $12K+ on the Aragon amps described above. Great products, great company. Your experience is similar--what Mondial got from giving you the service and replacement pieces was only good will--no money yet. But I'll bet you'll seriously consider their products in the future. Jeff

Okay my 15 minutes are up, but I meant to say add phenomonal customer service to the list. And yes I was still too lazy to look up the spelling.

Okay I'm back. Here's my story. I bought a used Aragon Soundstage from an ad here in audiogon. The unit was advertised as 3 months old in MINT Condition and in Perfect working order. It was rated a 10/10 on the AGS. Before the unit was shipped, the seller called me and told me upon close inspection there were some scratches that weren't noticeable and that I could still back out. I wanted the pre/pro so I said okay. He told me who would refund my money if I was unsatisfied. When the unit was delivered there were some scratches on the side that I thought were very noticeable and some on top. The ones on top looked liked they were attempted to be fixed with black marker, but the marker didn't blend very well. To say the least, it was not 10/10 on the AGS. But the caller did tell me about scratches and what is unnoticeable to some may not be to others. But I digress. When I plugged it in, there were some glitches. Symbols randomly appeares which were not in the manual. The manual referred to Appedinx A to program the remote. There was no Appendix A! I also had to keep pressing a button to get the rears to work in Dolby Digital. It should be automatic. Finally, the rears could not be adjusted or would they emit a test tone on set-up. I called Mondial Designs and talked to Anthony. After a little trouble shooting he informed me it sounded like the problem was a chip. Initial units had this "bug" and it has since been resolved in an upgraded chip. He told me to simply take it back to the dealer and the dealer could fix it under warranty. I told him I bought it through Audiogon. He then said to ship it back to the seller have him fix it and then have him send it back since the warranty covers only the original owner. I didn't want to risk damage in shipping or trust someone I didn't know with this. So I asked if I could pay Mondial to do it since they were within driving distance for me. He said they would do it AND FOR FREE!!!!. Next day I dropped off the unit to Adam. I asked them about the remote and appendix A. They said there was a seperate manual for the remote (I didn't receive it.) I then asked how much it would cost to replace the cover since it was scratched. Paul said he'd look at the price list. Adam returned in 5-10 minutes said he fixed the problems by putting in a new chip. He also gave me a new manual for the remote. AND GET THIS, he replaced the cover with a new one for FREE!!!! Yes for FREE!!!! I was floored, amazed, grateful...you find the word! I mean they could have easily charged me for the cover and the chip or they could have told me to go screw myself (not a pleasant picture I assure you). Instead they stood behind their product and replaced the cover which was not even their problem. Currently I own an Aragon 8008BB, an Acurus 200x3, and now an Aragon Soundstage. I will continue to buy their products because they offer great quality and value. Now I will add phenomonal (if that's how it's spelled) to the list. Kudos Mondial Designs and thanks Adam, Anthony, and Paul. You guys are the best!!!!!

I too had a pleasant exp. with that company. They went above and beyond to make me satisfied with their product and service. A very fine company indeed!!!