Stan wrote:

Do you know where "B and O" is coming from?

trackbeo wrote:

What he (& I above) *meant* to say was, "It would be most kind of you, if you could query your service tech how his dispatches work and from whom/where. Oh, and whether all service is done by truck-roll or if there is a depot for walk-in/delivery service? Thank you."

McRib wrote:

i've spoken w hermit through email but never stopped in. bo carefully selects their authorized service centers and those locations basically get a"monopoly" on that region's potential service dollars. so it's a mystery why one would close. and with no outlined replacement, even stranger.

 

Really not much of a mystery.  Here's the explanation from the website:  "Thanks to all our customers over the past two years; you've been wonderful, but there simply weren't enough of you!"

Stan wrote:

"Thanks to all our customers over the past two years; you've been wonderful, but there simply weren't enough of you!"

And that, in a nutshell, is pretty much it! Their greatest fans on this site will continue to defend the company until the very end but they are falling in number, slowly, steadily, with an almost insidious certainty!

Denmark shut down all Chicago offices last spring and let go most employees.  New York B&O play office became new North American office but mainly marketing and sales.  Service and dealer support is all handled from Denmark now.  You have to call during Danish business hours.  New store opening in New York and all focus is there for the moment.  If you want good support call Bang & Olufsen Boston.  Only US store that has been in same location since 1988.  

Whaaaaa?

expoman wrote:

If you want good support call Bang & Olufsen Boston.  Only US store that has been in same location since 1988.

Puncher wrote:

Their greatest fans on this site will continue to defend the company until the very end but they are falling in number, slowly, steadily, with an almost insidious certainty!

e.g. 'Razlaw'?  👍

MediaBobNY wrote:

 

e.g. 'Razlaw'?

 

Silly me. I thought this forum was for people who liked B and O. But sadly it has largely become a site to attack B and O and to personally attack individuals who dare to like B and O such as you two have chosen to do. I have said nothing in this thread except for facts and expressed a hope. As you two feel the need to attack fans of B and O generally and more specifically me, here are some more facts. I have been buying B and O for many years. I own a 32 inch Avant, two pairs of Beolab 4000s, Beolab 6000s, 1s, 9s, 12-3s, 20s, V1, 10-40, 7-55, Essence, Core, old BS1, BS2000, BS5, BS3000,phones, answering machine, Beotime, M5. Also at one point had a BV7-40. All products have worked flawlessly with only three exceptions, one problem 20 years ago that was taken care of by B and O, one problem 15 years ago that was taken care of by B and O, and now the known issue in the 20s. There is no other brand that I have purchased that has performed as well or has lasted as long. As for service, I live three hours from Chicago and B and O is sending someone to fix the 20s. As mentioned in another thread, Beosound 5s are no longer connecting to the domain they used.

I contacted B and O customer support Friday night and they have already contacted me twice this weekend. Yes I am sorry that Abt no longer sells B and O. But I still have another dealer three hours away, just in the opposite direction in Iowa.

So yes I like the products, yes they all work well for me, yes I receive very good customer support, yes I find multiple customer service replies on the weekend a good thing, and yes I hope for the best for B and O. I am sorry that somehow that is so offensive to you and makes you feel the need to engage in personal attacks. And with that I will conclude my participation in this thread.

Razlaw, I'm not sure the negative feelings are, or were, expressed directly at you personally. 🙂

You've clearly been treated well, have had great service from your products, and have also had great service from the B&O Dealers you've come into contact with. Good things happen to good people, so clearly you're a good person!

As regards everyone being 'on a downer' about B&O, why would you think that was?  Nobody complains when they're happy with a product or service - they just (on the whole) say nothing, or give the odd bit of praise when it's called for. It's a sad fact that the vast majority of people become vocal (and take to social media and forums) when they are unhappy, or displeased at least.

Nobody, unless deluded, would say that Bang & Olufsen as a company are on an upward trajectory when it comes to product range and customer support. Dealers are closing, service centres are closing, the brand portfolio is shrinking, and technology is moving forward so rapidly even products purchased less than 5 years ago for thousands of Pounds/Dollars/Euros are becoming defunct and not supported. Bound to leave a sour taste? Hell yeah. And these are the people who are vocal on here.

I'm very much a realist. I love the brand, and I understand that a combination of arrogance (internal) and the furious pace of new technology (external) has really caught B&O out.  There are some great people who are simply firefighting at Head Offices around the world. Staff number have been slashed and their workload has quadrupled. Also, from experience, a B&O enquiry isn't just a 30 second phone call. One issue can rumble on for days or weeks - it's never simple.

So, Razlaw, keep being upbeat. This reflects your experiences - and that's a good thing.  Conversely, be understanding of the people who are having negative experiences.  They are on here as B&O fans at the end of the day - otherwise they'd just delete their account, buy an LG and some Sonos, and never come back.

Lee