Bill Legall-MillerSound speaker driver repair

email I received today from William Legall (unsigned)

From:William Legall <#####@aol.com>To:Brett McConnell <####@yahoo.com>Sent:Wednesday, April 25, 2018 12:41 PM

Subject:"Claim" went out

$180 “claim” was mailed to you today.
Someone brought to out attention the audiokarma comments from you. As you don’t like our work, we won’t have to worry about further shipping “claims” in the future.


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this was my reply

Hello The Many People Who Answer At And Reply From This Email Address (this email feels like its from Mr. Legall if I am not mistaken):
I made no comments about not liking your work. I did much research including buying other drivers and testing them before I sent you my Polydomes. I think your work is excellent.However your business practices seem very confused. Here are some suggestions that may help:
1) Keep business and personal emails separate--as in separate addresses.
2) Give everyone at your business their own email address.
3) Sign your emails or employ auto signing so customers have some idea who they are speaking with via email.
4) If you are closed on Sundays and Mondays, don’t read business emails on those days (instead of telling customers not to write you on Sundays and Mondays...I have never heard of that or experienced it from other companies, businesses....emails are not phone calls)
5) Pick up the phone and call customers if there is an issue.
6) Have a standard form customers fill out when submitting an item for repair or refurbishment.
7)Before starting any work on an item, check items that come in for any potential issues and check with the customer if there is any question that an item may have a defect or problem that the customer may not know about. This valuable business practice would have averted this unfortunate situation.
8) If a problem occurs you are the professionals, act professionally and get in touch with the customer. People sending you their valuable speakers understand some things are out of yours and their control and both sides can be reasonable when settling an issue I assure you.

Sending condescending emails about "claims" and emails all in caps exclaiming things like "NO CRACKS!!!!" is hardly what grownups do and is certainly not professional.I would not intentionally crack a rare Infinity Polydome driver that I sent to YOU--A SPECIALST--for repair, just so I could get $180 discount. I love my speakers! And what a pain it has been to deal with UPS. 

We could have just come to some sort of agreement instead of emails from you saying "NO CRACKS!!!! I AM DONE." Not professional, not adult.

Please know those Polydomes were the very first piece of audio gear I have ever sent out for repair--EVER. 

I will surely post this message on Audiokarma as well. People should know who and what that they are getting involved with when they send their precious speakers to you and your company and how you handle shipping damage when it occurs.

Thanks for your excellent Polydome refurbishments. I currently have two sets that function well, just one driver with unfortunate, mostly-cosmetic damage. I will enjoy them for many years to come.

Best to you and yours.
Thanks,
Brett

http://www.brettmc.com/

That is an excellent idea. Please let me know if these come through.

https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipMoYJiUxzNsv4uiOySEnifDpNOnMiB7gUVeknAzgB16BJjrjvbrj7rlEqDCsIEw...

Thanks for the pics.  That does look like it was dropped or something hit against that edge.  Really too bad that this wasn't noticed when Bill opened the box, if that's when the damage occurred?  Could have been done in shipping either way.  

Sorry that this happened to you, but I still stand by my very, very strong endorsement of Bill.

Wow. PBN’s endorsement makes Bill Legall’s status - “over the top”. Many thanks to The Great folks at PBN!!  That’s honesty combined with humility. Nothing better in my book. Thanks to Peter

Bretmcee:  I would first say Bill says in his website, to call-not email. I have spoken with him many times and he did a great job on my Wilson woofer. He gave me a price, but upon examining the driver, called me to inform me the repair was simple and along with my woofer, he would be sending me a 60% refund. I would have had no way of knowing the difference, had he not told me. I've found Bill to be very personable and honest, as well as extremely competent and fast. He's won me over as a life long customer.               Steve

These recent posts seem intent on damaging the reputation of Bill Legall of Millersound.

I don't see how including selective correspondence, including a bullying, coercive lecture on the way Bill runs his business, and how he should change to satisfy this person helps their case.  Perhaps I'm mistaken, but it sounds like a refund went out over this unfortunate interaction to quell the anger of a disappointed customer.  So to what purpose does continuing the march on a forum one doesn't normally frequent serve?

For what it's worth, Millersound is the classic mom and pop business, solely staffed by Bill and his wife Loretta.  There are no other people involved, no one works there as a handler or to shield Bill from anything or anyone.  The business is their life, and their life is their business.  Are they perfect?  Are any people or business?  Are they eccentric?  Yes, that's part of the experience, charm, fun, and why Bill is more an artist than technician.  That's why you can find others who can simply replace this or that on a driver, but Bill has earned a reputation for returning drivers that work optimally, and sometimes even far better than the day they were new or the way the engineers / manufacturers designed.  As @mofimadness mentioned, this looks like the first public complaints about Bill next to a mountain of happy interactions.

I admit bias on my part, as I've known Bill and Loretta a long time, regularly visit them socially, broken bread, taken road trips, and consider them more than friends.  But I also have witnessed how they run their business over these many years, watched Bill elagantly repair drivers (including many of mine) at a most reasonable cost to countless customers, and know there is no more capable, conscientious, passionate, caring, and honorable business going