Grado Customer Service (Bad)


I decided to try out some Grado headphones and boy do I regret it.

I received them last week, (Feb 14th, 2024) and immediately connected them into the headphone jack and realized there was a problem with the 1/8" mini stereo plug. It was loose and the stereo image would collapse between mono and stereo and everything in-between. 

I tested the Grado SR 325X headphones on three different systems and I had the same problem which I don't have with my other headphones.

I let Grado know right away and had to wait a long time for a response. I explained everything and it sounded like they didn't believe me. They basically told me that this doesn't happen and somehow made it seem like my fault.

I asked for a label and they still haven't got one out to me and it's been five days now since my initial email to let them know something was wrong. 

This has been a horrible experience and I went from wanting to exchange them for a working pair to just wanting to return them back now. I won't buy another Grado product ever based on this experience. 

Just a heads up for anyone considering Grado.

bcgood

If you don't hear from them, you could always just buy a male plug for a couple of dollars and solder a new one on yourself, at least you won't be completely out of your purchase.

Sorry , but that is completely the opposite experience that I had with Grado.    During the height of Covid they went above and beyond for me.    Would definitely buy another pair of Grado phones. 

Yea Ella, I was thinking the same thing. I will do that perhaps or just pay out of pocket to send it back to them. But the way they've been acting I'm almost afraid if I send it back to them they'll pretend they didn't get it or something. I still can't believe they wouldn't take care of this though.

I spent 12 years in sales in the audio industry so I am extremely empathetic to dealing with customers on the other side. I've tried my best to explain everything and was patient in the beginning. I still have not escalated things or got rude to them but I did need to vent and let others know my experience. Hopefully no one else has to experience this.

oddiofyl, yes I was surprised because I had read several positive anecdotes such as yours.

Not sure if something has changed over there or not or maybe I just got unlucky who I ended up dealing with. Not really sure

 

I purchased them new direct from Grado

Good news is it looks like they finally emailed me a label to send them back to them.

I have had really good luck and customer service from Grado, both with headphones and cartidges (back in the day).  One time when I called, I even got John Grado on the phone.  He was very nice and helpful.

I like their house sound for headphones, although I own other brands, too.  But, overall, they have been really good to me, and many others.

And, if you have to get testy, please be nice.  They are all from Brooklyn, New York and are probably pretty inexperienced with coarse language :)

My only service experience with them was very positive. I had a pair of G1000s and the wood turned sort of grayish. I’m not sure how long I had them, but I think it was a couple of years. I sent them in and they sent a new pair. I didn’t expect that at all after such a long time of ownership. 

I had a good experience regarding one of their cartridges. They honored a warranty that had expired six weeks prior. It did take some time for them to get back to me but that’s not out of the ordinary.

Welp, I returned the headphones over a week ago. They emailed me back pretending not to receive any of my prior emails. I had to explain once again why I was returning them.

I kept it short and simple just letting them know they sent me brand new headphones with a bad plug.

They asked if I wanted a replacement and again, I didn't get into any of the previous emails I just politely said that I'd like to return please.

It's again been over a week and I haven't heard back. 

This is really bad on all fronts..

 

@bcgood Well internet law says that the sale is in your jurisdiction, assuming you purchased them online. From everything you’ve explained, I’d be aggravated myself. Isn’t there a way to call them?

I finally got a super short email basically saying it takes up to 10 business days to refund my card. Not sure why they ignored my other emails or took so long to get back to me. I really don't think I've encountered such bad customer service in a really long time.