SoundApproach does not honor its agreements


I need to let our community know about a terrible experience I just had with SoundApproach. Back in November this company ran a Black Friday sale for the Wireworld Platinum Starlight 8 USB cable. I ordered this cable with a 1m length. The listing said there would be a delay. I anticipated that the delay would be a normal reasonable delay. Nonetheless, my order was placed. SoundApproach accepted my money and took my order. The reasonable delay turned into many weeks. Then many months. I kept in email and once phone contact with their Director of Marketing who was always pleasant. As the delay stretched out to months the Director of Marketing felt that I had my order in place long enough. They would honor my price from my documented November 2021 order, refund my money, notify me as soon as the cable became available and honor my price net of shipping. I received notice from SoundApproach that the cable just now in May has become available. However, their Director of IT Operations has intervened and has openly emailed me and on the phone told me that SoundApproach will not honor its commitment and take a small loss on this one cable while standing by its agreement with a customer who is not a new customer to them. This is outrageous for a company to not honor its commitments to a customer, especially when it is in writing. This is dishonorable. I vigorously told the Director of IT Operations that this was not customer focused, not the way to treat a multiple repeat customer and that if this company was going to take a small loss on the cable due to an intervening price increase then they should honor their agreement to me and go back to their distributor or vendor for compensation. It was a frustrating call as I was frustrated that I could not get through to him that what he was doing was wrong. He gaslit me and hung up the phone on me. It is amazing that SoundApproach would treat a multiple repeat customer this way. I cannot stress enough that this is not the way to do business and until SoundApproach learns how to treat a customer, they do not deserve our business and I do not recommend shopping at SoundApproach. I recommend instead multiple other companies including but not limited to The Cable Company, Dedicated Audio, HifiHeaven and others.

Ag insider logo xs@2xkingbarbuda

Sounds like everyone who works there is a Director of something. Probably 2-3 people run the whole operations. Thanks for making me aware of their poor customer service, I will avoid them.

ozzy

What's the Director of IT Operations doing dealing with customers anyway? Doesn't this outfit have any Customer Service or even Sales people?

That’s a great question and I failed to ask him why he was involved in my written agreement with their director of marketing. I think buyers mainly shop there online. I have not ever spoken to a sales person there. However, I have not had the need to do so. I am so done with SoundApproach. I am a long standing customer of Ethan and The Cable Company and that will happily continue. 

What's the Director of IT Operations doing dealing with customers anyway? Doesn't this outfit have any Customer Service or even Sales people?

Sounds like SoundApproach stinks to high heaven. Hopefully this rip-off outfit does not stay in business a lot longer. 

I just want to clarify one other important thing. While I am looking forward to getting WireWorld’s new Platinum Starlight 8 USB cable. This whole debacle was not about the cable. This was to me, entirely about honor and keeping your commitments. When you make a commitment to a customer, you keep it, regardless if you miscalculated and you will suffer as a result. You always keep your commitments. Period. Not doing so is more costly in reputation and future business and one’s integrity than the small amount of money you might lose, in this case, on one USB cable to one customer. Honor, keeping one’s promises and being accountable is important in life. Forget about audio. It’s important in life. Thank you. 

Here is some followup: I contacted Larry the National Sales Manager for WireWorld and explained to him the above situation. Do you know what he did? He contacted Ethan at The Cable Company who stepped up and offered me the same SoundApproach Black Friday deal that SoundApproach went back on their *written* agreement with me to honor. Ethan gave me this deal here in May! I have done a lot of business with Ethan. But he didn’t have to do this. This wasn’t his issue. But he stepped up and made me whole when it was SoundApproach who didn’t keep their agreement. Kudos to Ethan, The Cable Company and Larry Smith at WireWorld for understanding how to treat a customer. I can’t tell you how completely impressed I am with them. But I can tell you how completely unimpressed I am with SoundApproach. So give your business to WireWorld and especially Ethan and The Cable Company. Goodbye to SoundApproach.

Take your refund and move along. Not worth dealing with companies that can't deliver product.