Thanks for the posts here guys. It's actually ironic that this thread popped up today, as Sean and I were discussing this very thing earlier this morning. We had the pleasure of attending a customer service seminar today, something that the company paid us for in an attempt to raise our service standards even higher, and I personally learned a little bit more about just how "exciting" good service can be...something that is exemplified and quantified here and on other internet forums out there in direct relation to AV123 from Mark on down through the ranks.
Specifically, the one fact that stuck in my head is that for every 3 people that are happy with their products, service, etc...and actually take the time to voice their satisfaction, there are typically 11 that voice their concerns about a negative experience. In other words, people are MUCH more likely (about 4 times) to post their negative experience than they are to post their positive experience(s). I have to agree that I am guilty of this as well...when I have a good product that I love and works well, I typically just enjoy the product and talk up the company to my friends and family, but never really take the time to share my satisfaction with the suppliers themselves or others on a public board such as this. HOWEVER, many almost feel an obligation of sorts to post their negative experiences with a product, in an attempt to "save" others out there from making the same mistake...especially when it's possible to do so via the same method they originally learned of that product. I know I'm this way with my GSM cellular service from AT&T...thought I'd slide that one in here as I almost through my phone out the window again today (great phone by the way, but the service is almost comical).
Over and over on this forum, we are accused of almost everything in the book by a select few people...from paying off our customers to post favorable reviews, to giving discounts on products to "happy" customers, to even logging into this forum under false names and posting these "hype" reviews ourselves. On one hand, I can see where this stems from...the Rocket following that has come to be is unlike anything I've ever seen, and I'd probably question it at first glance as well. That is, until I actually thought about it logically (something many seem challenged to do). Take a look at the thread, post, and view count, for example, that exists with Rocket on the entire
WWW. Though I'd love to take credit for posting over 15000 messages and reviews, viewing these pages 500,000 times, and starting literally thousands of threads relating to everything from speaker mounts to A/B comparisons, I don't think there'd be much time left in the day to actually do my job here if I actually did so. Take the pictures of these auditions, meets, the write-ups, etc, etc, and the job becomes even more difficult.
The fact is, Rocket owners are extremely proud of and happy with their purchase, and feel part of an almost "exclusive" (for lack of a better word) community that is nothing but enthusiastic, supportive, and generous. I can hardly believe the direction this all has taken. The generosity that our customers have shown us is simply amazing...people are actually opening up their own doors to audition their very own systems for interested enthusiats...I have to say this is a first for me. However, once you talk with these people, interact on the forums, and visit their homes, it's not difficult to see the appeal this presents. All of us are on this board for one reason...the music and movies. I don't think many of us go home at night and stare at the Rocket logo pasted to the back of the speaker for three hours...at least I don't. After a long day, Dark Side of the Moon with a glass of red wine, a dimly lit room, and 85 dB can be exactly what the doctor ordered...and that's what this is all about...the experience.
The "hype" (and I despise this word, as it indicates a sense of dishonesty and deceit) that is on this board is there for a very good reason...because the products speak for themselves and offer something very few can match...performance AND value. In addition, Mit, I completely agree with your last assessment...AV123 customers typically are web-savy individiuals, as this is how the speakers are sold...as such, they are obviously more likely to run across this forum and post their thoughts. However, there's no amount of money in the world that we could pay an unhappy customer from posting their experience here...as the motto of today's seminar states "Hell hath no fury like a customer scorned."
Also, to quickly address the compensation concerns, AV123 has never, and will never pay, or otherwise compensate anybody for their comments about our company. I'm not going to say that I don't enjoy reading this, though as far as an incentive is concerned, there is none besides the satisfaction of gaining a few friends.
Thanks again for the post (sorry that was so long...it's been brewing for a while...since the fourseasons post I read a while back).
