My Pioneer nightmare

sounds like the ulcer i got from my panasonic reciever-it never worked from the first day(intermitent sound problem-sometimes it worked )it was in the shop for 120 days when i got it back it did the same thing-it went back for another extended vacation(had about 2 weeks of use so far)after 150 more days i finaly recieved a email from panasonic ( i had sent about 150 emails , this was first reply back) they said they would replace asap-6 more weeks and i recieved a replacement-- the cheapest reciever they make, i had the top of the line sada10---hmmmm 800$ retail against 125$ retail, i told them what they could do with the replacement-6 more weeks till refund arrived-basicly 8 months of ulcers--- i would never recomend or buy another panasonic or technics product ever again no matter how good - they have no clue about cusomer service, i feel the blood pressure going up just remembering -

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No, I do not work for Pioneer. Loose the ------- already!

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Where did he say the unit was defective? It was damaged in shipping. How is that Pioneer's fault? I have shipped plenty of packages out UPS/USPS/FEDEX and they show up badly damaged many times.


Pioneer made a reasonable effort. What more can you ask for? They sent him two units within five days. That is pretty impressive. If shipping is the problem which it clearly is in this case, don't blame Pioneer.

When dealing with service centers and the company directly make sure to always get the case number, the persons name and id number and keep a record of when things happened.


A repair for any equipment under warranty should take no longer than 15 business days. As a customer you have every right to have equipment that works and if it fails, to be fixed/replaced in a timely manner, and remember there's always places like the BBB and such that may look into matters for you.


I bought a pioneer 25disc changer a few years back at Best Buy and after 2 months of use it developed major problems trying to load any cd. I took it into best buy and they said no problems, got it back and it failed again, so back to best buy. They claimed the problem was an alignment issue and all fixed. Got it home and it didn't work. Now mind you at the time the closest best buy was 1 hour away, so I decided to call Pioneer and the lady was really helpful and told me to take it to my local service center. Took it there and they tried to fix it and still the problem was there when I got it home. Pioneer said bring it in again, and I said I'm tired of this, and she said please bring it again and if the problem can be recreated, we'll replace it with a new unit. Sure enough they did just that. I would hope with a TOP OF THE LINE piece of equipment you can get at least that level of service. I mean a hundred dollar CD player is fairly cheap to replace but it seemed that there was a 3 tries and make it right even if they had to replace with new, policy.


Also from my personal experience, never except B/refurb/reman stock as replacement for an item that was bought new and still under the original warranty. I went through that with Toshiba, NEC and IBM and it was scary how bad the replacements they sent me were. Just caused me major headaches and in the end either my money got refunded or the companies had to replace with a brand new unit.


So let your customer service center and Pioneer know your not going to let this slide and want a timely resolution to your problem. Also contact your Pioneer dealer and tell him about your problems and let him know how you feel about buying such an expensive peice of equipment that breaks down and then you are stuck with subpar replacements.


-Brian

(edited for some corrections)

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Hmm let's see.. Pioneer was the one that packaged the unit, right ? According to his original post they chose to use inferior packaging material than they use on new units. In that case Pioneer has to take part of the blame. You can't just stick a heavy receiver in a box without adequate protective materials ship it and then blame the shipping company because it was damaged. Secondly, replacing their top of the line receiver with B stock is just completely unacceptable. They should make an attempt to repair his unit and if that is not possible then send him a NEW unit. I mean the thing was still under the original warranty. If you accept a B stock replacement you are bound to head for more trouble in the long run. Just my $.02


-MarcW

Everybody---thanks for the replies

I'm in the CE business as a rep for several companies and I have a sense of how things should go. I actually don't have a problem with a "B" stock replace as these can be better than "A" stock in that they typically are upgraded to address any know issues with the original mfg goods.

The problem that Pioneer has is in execution (unbelievably poor packaging for their "B" stock I've seen two so far, and both were identically BAD (the service center where I took both couldn't believe it either---their jaws about hit the floor when they saw the packaging and resultant product damage.

Again, this is not a $300 piece---I spent $2500--and bought into the ELITE product concept---including the full 2 yr warranty.

I think my problem is that I'm stuck in a part of Pioneer whose perogatives are limited (what kind of replacement unit can be authorized). As the 49TX is out of production and there are no more to ship---I have asked for the new model 49TX-I---but have been turned down so far.


I was hoping that maybe someone from Pioneer would be lurking here and might come to my aid---I'm trying to break through to a higher level of management--above the CSR "robot" on my case. At this point, the "robot" is basically ignoring my requests.

Sommers, I feel for you. I had a similar experience with a Denon 3802. After 3 months the unit experienced failure in the front right and left channels. My dealer told me to take it to an authirized repair center, which I did. After 10 days it was returned to me and to my suprise the problem had not been fixed. My next step was contacting Denon directly, by phone and email, to which they never responded. As a last resort I tried the repair center once again, they sent it off to Denon and eight weeks later they sent me a refurbed unit as a replacement. This unit I thought was okay, until I was watching a movie, after 2 hours the unit shut off, and starting getting worse and worse, it went into a "protect" mode. Why? to this day I do not know. I didnt want to go down the same road again, so instead of going through my dealer, or the repair center, I asked my dealer when the Denon rep is due in to thier location. Basically I met the Denon sales rep at my dealers store, and explained the senario to him. He took back my 3802 on the spot and told my dealer to give me a new boxed 3802, and Denon would take care of everything with my local dealer. My suggestion to you is find out when the Pioneer rep is due to drop by and make a personal visit and explain youre situation, it worked for me maybe it will for you as well.

K-Pills

Good suggestion--I"m an independent rep for various CE companies (Maxell, Olympus etc)---but no Hi Fi mfgs----so, I should be able to find a Pioneer factory guy via one of my accounts. I was waiting for Pioneer to do something to solve this---and, in fairness they have tried--sending two "B" units out----just hard to believe that they'd pack them in such a manner---I mean, this is a $2K plus product---for heavens sake

My point to them is that the MSRP's on the 49TXi and older 49TX are the same (aren't they?) and if they were willing to send me a new 49TX (if they had any to send) then why not the newer model?

I'm sure it's a budgeting issue in Pioneer's Service Dept division---but, hey, I have certainly done my part to cooperate

The longer this goes on---the more "hard nosed" I find myself

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Wow, as an owner of Denon's product I hope to never have to go through that to get service. I never was a fan of buying a new product and having it replaced with b-stock. I'm glad the Denon Rep made it right but I still think Denon should send you a nice apology for all the time and trouble you had.


To Sommers and everyone else:


Alot of times the CSR people you call and deal with don't even work for the company whose product you own. We have 2 big telemarketing firms in my town, and they have handled CSR for At&t, Gateway computers, Credit Card companies and others stuff (and of course the As Seen on TV too). Sometimes just calling back and getting a different person is all you need to do to get a decent level of response to your problems, sometimes you have to take drastic measures such as catching the dealer rep and letting him know your problems. I wish you luck since you bought something that Pioneer touts as an "Elite" product and they should honor your purchase as such.

Sommers,

I sympathize with you!

I have been mulling over the idea of purchasing a Pioneer Elite receiver, (VSX-45TX).

Until this problem of your receiving poor customer service and run-around treatment ends, I will consider purchasing another brand of A/V equipment.

I will be watching this thread very closely to see how Pioneer rectifies this issue with a customer who purchased one of their top of the line pieces of A/V gear.

I think we should all do the same.

Craig

Sorry to hear about the run around...it's enuff to make one pull their hair out!


I had a situation with Yamaha a couple years ago. Long story short.


The unit failed and was repaired through the store I bought from. It failed agian shortly there after. This time it was unrepairable and I would nor settle for a refurbed unit. They gave me store credit for the amount I had paid. I applied that to a new and better unit. So for about an additional $100 I got a much better reciever.


Of course, I made sure to contact Yamaha directly and start a case number and xeroxed all copies of mailing and receipts.


I think getting a hold of the local Pioneer representative is the way to go!


Good luck and keep us informed of the progress...or lack there of.