HELP Electrocompaniet stole Christmas


What a mess:
After finally deciding that spending money on the latest EMC-1 parts mod, I contacted Electrocompaniet's distributor back in October to arrange to bring my EMC-1 MkII to him directly in PA so as to avoid RT shipping risks and expense for this 50 pounder. All was set for a Christmas week mod, as I was to be in NJ visiting my relatives that last week.
I called on Christmas eve to arrange a drop-off time, and was told that Christmas Day noon would be fine, but that I had to arrange the deal through a dealer! Yikes! So I remembered Fathers & Sons and called them, arranging for the paperwork and profit to be credited through/to them. Fine. So I drove 2 hours through a nasty winter storm to arrive at Warshaw's house, where he said he'd NOT perform the mod if my EMC-1 didn't have a serial number on it, as there was a grey-market guy in New York who sold a few of these this year. I assured him that mine indeed had a serial number, was produced in spring '01, and bought used by me in summer '01. He said OK, and lugged the player into his house, saying he'd call me in a couple of days to pick it up. Great!..............
I returned to NJ and watched the storm intensify....
Two days later I called to arrange a pick-up hour, and Alan told me that he did NOT perform the mod because the player had been originally sold by a Danish dealer, and NOT through him, so he had made a decision to NOT support any players not originally sold thorough him. No warranty repars, parts, nor mods!..............
I was stunned, couldn't convince him to make an exception since he had never asked me to provide a serial number beforehand, and I went through a total of a half-day of driving through a storm to accomplish this mod.
He just told me to come pick it up at my convenience. I glumly arrived on Saturday and retrieved my untouched puppy, where Alan said that unfortunately I had to share the victimization of the gray-market. I asked if I should contact a Danish dealer to see if a board-swap could be done (of course thinking he didn't really know the answer), but he thought that Electrocompaniet wouldn't support my player either! I asked with some incredulity what was going to happen with all the players that people have when they move from one country to another (!), but he said that this policy was the only way they have of penalyzing the gray market.... I suggested that in THIS CASE he should have installed the mod because of his lack of due diligence in assessing the production/sales history of this particular CDP, ESPECIALLY given my enormous effort in delivering it to his doorstep on Christmas Day.... I left sadly but gracefully.
WHAT SHOULD I DO? I contacted the Danish dealer but he's not responded. Should I contact Electrocompaniet directly and try to arrange a board swap or purchase the parts mod "kit" and instakllation directions (I'm pretty familiar with boards and soldering)? Should Alan have acted differently? Isn't the world getting small enough so that internationally-sold products should have protected lives independent of sales point?
PLEASE HELP!
A Happy and safe New Year to all!
Ernie
subaruguru

Showing 5 responses by fs_audio

All,

Just so that everyone is aware, we are the dealer that Ernie went through to have the upgrade done. I WANT TO BE PERFECTLY CLEAR: ALAN'S DECISION TO NOT DO THE UPGRADE HAD ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO WITH FATHER & SON AUDIO. IT WAS HIS DECISION AND AS THE US DISTRIBUTOR, HE HAS THE RIGHT TO MAKE THIS DECISION.

Keep in mind that regardless of which dealer Ernie would have gone through, the EXACT same scenario would have occured as this upgrade MUST be done by the US distributor, dealers are only a contact/middleman.

Please don't let this reflect upon us, Father & Son Audio, as we have NO control over what Alan decides to do. Given what Ernie went through to get his player to Alan, maybe Alan should have done the upgrade, I don't know, at this point, I am not sure what the right answer is. However, Alan has to draw the line somewhere.

This is really a sucky situation, and I feel terrible about the whole thing. I am VERY sorry that this happened.

Paulwp and TWL are 100% correct in their summary/explanation of this situation, and I couldn't have said it better myself (except for TWL's statement that mods are simply a way to get more money out of folks, true sometimes, but NOT in this case).

Give me a call Ernie and maybe we can figure something out. I don't know what yet, but we can work on it together ;-)

P.S. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, ALWAYS be 100% certain as to exactly what you are getting when you purchase a product on the used market!

Best Regards...Mike - Father & Son Audio
Sheesh...What a mess! :-(

Ok...I am going to try and make this quick and to the point...

First...I have the UTMOST respect for Alan and consider him a friend. His intentions and practices have ALWAYS been ethical and to the highest standards that any dealer or customer could ever ask for. I will NOT be dropping the Electrocompaniet line any time soon. As long as Alan is the distributor, I will continue to carry Electrocompaniet. Electrocompaniet couldn't ask for a better person to represent their line. Finally, Alan is a human being just like everyone else and I believe that we all make bad decisions at times (not saying he did or didn't in this case by the way). So, those who have never made a bad decision or made a mistake, feel free to start chucking stones :-(

Trelja...HOW DARE YOU COME ON A PUBLIC FORUM LIKE THIS AND STATE SUCH TERRIBLE THINGS ABOUT SOMEONE (Alan)! Whether true or not, this is NOT the place for such things. I am SHOCKED that someone would do such a thing. You should be ashamed of yourself! I am curious, would you say such things to Alan's face?

Ernie...Sorry I have not contacted you yet, been trying to figure out what the heck would be the best solution for everyone. Just be patient and we will get this figured out. I will give you a call later today.

Finally...Either myself or Ernie will post a message in this forum with the details of the solution myself, Alan, and Ernie decides upon. Until then, please try and be civil with one another ;-) At that time, I (or Alan) will also post a concrete and definitive policy that will deal with "grey" market units (I will post it on my website also).

Finally...Because of the nature of the internet, it is easy to feel safe in front of your computer while spewing venom. PLEASE remember, there are actual human beings on the other end that are just like you. There is nothing wrong with stating your opinion, but do it in a manor as if the person or group you are speaking to is standing in fron of you, in the flesh.

Best Regards...Mike - Father & Son Audio
Sean,

I believe your post is directed at Father & Son Audio, not SoS, correct? Just want to make sure Stewart of SoS is not skewered for something I said.

My comments in regards to what Joe stated about Alan have to do with the method of delivery, NOT about Joe himself. Keep in mind that Joe's thoughts are ONE person's opinions of another and very personal in nature. This is just NOT the place for such things. Whether these things are true or not, they have NOTHING to do with this specific situation. I don't even know Joe, I am only speaking of this specific situation. I am sure he took no offense from my statement, nor should he. Let's stay professional, eh?

I think everyone just needs to calm down, take a deep breath, and give Alan (and myself) a chance to rectify the situation to the satisfaction of all involved.

I will refrain from posting again until the situation is resolved, at least I will try ;-)

Best Regards...Mike - Father & Son Audio
Trelja...Please forgive my emotional response. Simply a defensive reaction to your statements, which I should have toned down before posting.

Best Regards...Mike - Father & Son Audio
Ljgj...For the record, the price I offered you for a new ECD-1 is what we, Father & Son Audio, sell ALL new ECD-1 units for (give or a take a few bucks). I was giving Ernie a HUGE discount because I was simply trying to help him out with an alternative in a sucky situation.

For those that care, Ernie and I are still trying to work something out. I am sure he will let everyone here know the details if/when we decide on the best solution.

Best Regards...Mike - Father & Son Audio