With the responses so far from numerous HFC customers it is indicative of a lack of proactive customer service. It should not be left up to customers to endure long waits for orders and having to contact HFC for updates. I can honestly say my recent experiences have soured my taste for HFC products. I can always buy them used I guess.
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OK, as the OP I will jump in here. There are a lot of good points here from every direction regarding supply chain issues and the cause. I have to admit I don't really fully understand the issues and causes of long overseas lead times and also admit I don't really care as long as our leaders fix it.
The real issue here is what I have been driving at. So you have a company with great products with great quality. You currently have supply chain issues and have barely initiated an in-house machining operation. Your customer service effort is, for the lack of a better term, minimal. So in response to all of these issues you hold a massive 60% off sale designed to do what all sales do, that being an increase in sales volume. And the result of this big sale and resultant big increase in order backlog is a massive increase in lead time, little to no communication with customers, while you pocket your customers' money to do with as you please while leaving them to pursue order status. Instead of building raw material and finished goods inventory while developing your machining operation prior to the sale to buffer lead times you do so while being slammed with orders. As a wise business owner friend once said, "Price, quality, service. Choose two." I guess it is up to the customer whether buying these products at a big discount are worth the customer service headache. Myself, I am not so sure.
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Yes, history is replete with companies making and selling a terrific product that failed due to lack of product support. I certainly hope this doesn't happen to HFC as I love their products.
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To my knowledge HFC has 2 types of dealers: those that have bricks-and-mortar locations and the others that are virtual and sell via the internet. I have used both types in the past and am told it is difficult to sell their products when HFC has highly discounted price sales direct to consumers. This makes sense as the dealer pricing would be close to that of the direct discounted price. Also, many consumers are conditioned to only buying product during these big sales and wait to buy additional products until the next sale. I would imagine HFC to be increasingly dependent on these discounted sales.
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balihog, I do have a Silnote Epirus Master Reference USB cable and it is indeed a fine-sounding cable. That being said, the reason I originally posted this note is to receive information on problems in ordering High Fidelity Cables, not to have this thread hijacked by someone soliciting sales for some other cable brands. Please refrain from further such attempts. Thank you.
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sts, couldn't agree more. It has become a personal decision as to whether the price, whatever that might be, is worth the customer service problems.
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This is the reason I am posting. I have been contacting them for months now and all I get is excuses and a new delivery date that is never met. I just thought someone might have some insight into this rather unusual situation. Thanks.
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Yes, I agree that the holdup is non-beneficial to HFC but mostly on the backs of their customers. After all, they have the use of our money since we paid when placing orders. I just wonder why they held a big sale if they had not yet achieved a robust machining process to support the increased volume of orders. Sounds like a recipe for disaster IMO. Then again, perhaps it is something else they will not Reveal, pun intended.
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Thanks for the responses so far. I am not necessarily that concerned about the long lead times as it seems nearly everyone has them these days with the possible exception of Amazon who has their own delivery system. For me the biggest issue as stated above by others is the total lack of communication and the false promises. I wonder how many businesses with great products have gone belly up due to inadequate customer service. As a good friend of mine who owns a silicone medical device business once said, "Price, quality, service. Choose two."
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Well, wouldn't you know, I finally received an email from Casey that my Reveal power cable is shipping today. They did promise to ship overnight and unfortunately it shipped ground 🙄, but who cares, a few more days matter little in the almost 60 days it took to ship. So hopefully all those who also have orders with HFC will get their long-awaited products shortly. I can say honestly that I have little stomach for another customer service experience at HFC but there are always used products from private parties. Not to mention other upgrade paths like DACs, amps, tubes, other cables, and various tweaks. I still maintain that HFC products represent some of the best sonic upgrades I have heard in 50 years of audio.
And to answer aniwolfe's question, yes, I did try the Chat and sometimes they responded (Brit and Casey) but it was sporadic.
Best of luck to all.
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Lol! They will get payback by calling you every single day for the next 6 months with an order update.
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My life, as with most people, is filled with work, demands, problems, and activities. I use music and audiophilia as an escape, a respite, a rest, a distraction from all of these worldly issues, and I value these relatively infrequent moments greatly. To have music wash over me is cathartic and therapeutic. To have audiophilia become just another problem in my life and not provide an escape is hugely undesirable. No product performance, no improvement in sound, no great value, no huge price discount, nothing is worth the loss of my escape.
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You know, I was in the medical device business for 40 years and had my own company for 20 years. My customer service model was to contact customers regularly without their having to contact me, especially if an order were late. I know this model has largely gone by the wayside with online info, emails, chat windows, and lean staffing, and it has become more difficult to obtain information like order status. By no means is HFC unique regarding the complaints listed above but in my mind the old school customer service would benefit any company with regular customer communications, whatever "regular customer communications" comprises.
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