Hi,
I was a fan of Bang-Olufsen far before they commenced their Indian operations.
I have purchased their products from Germany, Dubai & Singapore then. Their products & service were amazing. My first B&O products had their manuals in German. I was surprised that within a week of sending the companies' headquarters(Denmark) an email, I received a physical copy of the manual in India. Another time, the companies' website pertaining to the wallpapers & screensavers were down. On sending an email to the system administrator about this, I was astounded to receive a HANDWRITTEN letter of apology from the company with a CD containing ALL wallpapers & screensavers of the company. I still have the letter and CD preserved to this day as it represents an apex for how far a company will go to service its customers!!
Recently, I paid for a Beovision 7-55 in India WITHOUT a demo of the model purely on my faith in Bang & Olufsen. I was extremely sad that after the contracted delivery period of four weeks, I did not receive any intimation from the company about delivery. An email sent to Denmark on the 13th did not elicit any response. After this, I called customer service in Denmark on the 2nd of March and was assured that a person would call me immediately. I did not receive any feedback still. I then mailed the companies' MD, Mr.Jakob. Still no reply. I called Denmark again and was told that Mr.Jakob will not provide replies to customer feedback. I was also told curtly that proceeding legally would be my wish without any clarification being made about a solution to the issue(assurance of delivery, customer service....). I have asked for a refund now.
I am extremely saddened by this callous attitude by a company that I once held in the highest esteem. For any company selling a luxury product, going out of its way to satisfy a customer is very important. The company seems to have lost its focus now. If anyone has faced a similar experience, let me know.
Arun.
