Rant & Rave time

[PainterD]

I just got thru an ordeal with Shark motorcycle audio (rant time)
As some of you may remember, I have the Shark 600 watt amp with the cordless remote installed on my '96 1100 Shadow. I loved the amp with the SD card slot and FM radio. It works very well, however, I recently noticed they just came out with the same 600 watt amp, with a CORDED remote, which I think will work better for me. I can turn it on, change radio radio stations and control the volume from my left handlebars, being able to keep my hands on the controls, instead of the cordless remote. The cordless remote needs to be faced toward the amp to work properly, which I found to be cumbersome and not safe making adjustments while riding. So I order just the new amp, not the speakers, for a reduced price, which was nice (this is my 3rd amp I purchased from them)

So I send the money from my Paypal acct. and wait. I wait until I recieve an email stating they would send out the amp. I wait 1 week and nothing. I email them every day and still, no reply. It's been 1-1/2 weeks now and finally after sending email after email, I finally get an email from them with a reply, "what is your order number"? How the hell do I know? They don't reply to any of my emails, when ask for a number I'm supposed to know (do I have ESP?)
So they email me back (the same day! That's a surprise) with a number (about 20 digits long) and that's it, nothing else. So I assume this is my order number. Then I email them once more, asking if my amp has been shipped. Again, no answer, no repley.
What the....?
I get home from work and the amp is in the mail box today!!! Finally. (RAVE)

I just don't get how some companies stay in business. They seem to have very poor customer assistance.My first two amps were delivered here in 3 days, now this? I guess someone had their wires crossed or something.

However, I still do like their amplifiers and will probably order more if need be in the future. This ordeal just set my patience back a few notches is all.
There, I got that off my chest....

[CrazyDave]

Sometimes even in the best companies bad glitches happen

[rmccutchan]

Then: CUSTOMER SERVICE

Now: CUSTOMERS SERVE US

[vito]

Think maybe their volume is up this time of year?

[Convict1997]

I'm having a similar issue with ebay user sharkmotorcycleaudio. The mute button fell off my amp so I sent them an email asking what I needed to do about having that fixed under warranty. I didn't receive a response so I sent another email. In response I got an address. No other instructions. When I asked for more information, the response was "Did you send it to the address? What more can I do?" Finally, after about a week and a half, I get enough information to send the amp in. I received verification that they received it on 4/3. On 4/11 I had not heard anything so I emailed them. Got a response "I just sent it". I guess it was a good thing I reminded them. Today, I receive the package. Now, the amp I sent is the chrome 100 watt model. The one I received in return is the black 100 watt model. Not only is it the wrong one, but this one is scratched up, the input connection is corroded as if it's been sitting outside, and there are tool marks on the back which lead me to believe someone has already opened this one up. I emailed them today and get the response that they are unavailable until 4/15. I'm interested to see how they handle this situation.

[PainterD]

Yes, it's pretty sad when they can't post if there is a problem in the company. Atleast let people know what's going on. I can understand a death in the family, etc. or something like that, that's why I tried to be patient with them, but they never did have any excuse for the delay they put me thru.
Atleast you got some kind of an answer.

[John Hopkins]

It's like everything else, you think about doing or getting something, you put the money aside, you place the order and you want it right now, you can't wait...supermarkets with long queues at the checkout, how many of you leave your shopping because of the queue and walk out without it, dentists, you gather your courage and phone for an appointment, but if you have to wait...working the last week at a job, waiting to be posted overseas, airport security...The human male just has to get on with it, we can't waste our time waiting...If aliens invaded us and started to exterminate us I would want to be right up there at the front of the queue..

John.

[rkforrest]

I Highly doubt you were actually Dealing with Shark directly.Most Sellers are Just Drop Shippers for stuff they sell.

[PainterD]

UPDATE...

It appears that the fine people at Shark are having customer service problems and were down for a brief time (I got an email now that they're back up) So now I understand why the problem with my order.
The email I recieved wasn't even from the Shark service dept., it was a from another email site.
Yes, I'm sure this is a busy time of year for them, being riders are getting back on the road early this year and thinking about adding tunes to their bikes.

I'll be posting some parts on the FOR SALE board soon and my used 600 watt amp that came with the cordless remote will be included with that stuff (no remote included however, it broke) which I never used anyways.

For anyone interested in buying the Shark amp with the cordless remote, I suggest against it. The remote is junk and doesn't work very well while riding. The time delay it takes to make adjustments on the amp is not only inconvenient, it's not too safe to do while riding. I used the buttons on the amp to make adjustments because it was instant and just as easy.
If you plan to get the 600 watt amp, get the new version with the attached cord remote instead. The remote at the end of the cord is small and easy to mount at a convenient location on your left handlebar for easy access (just use you left thumb to make adjustments without taking you hands off the bars)
The 600 watt amp with the cord remote sells for $89 right now, which is a pretty good price I think. Just sayin'.

[RJDoles]

I worked for a large multi-national company. That company was really committed to customer service over the years. Customer service was one of the first things, besides my job, that they cut as the economy tanked in 2008. Our call center went from 8 people taking service/support calls to 3 people.

I had an engineering/training position but at times, I was asked to help out in the call center when someone was sick or on vacation. We had a call tracking system that showed up on a monitor in the corner of the room. It gave us statistics on each day's calls. It showed how many calls each person took, the longest call, the shortest call, how many people just gave up etc.

With 8 people working the phones, I would typically receive about 30 calls a day. With three people working the phones, I would typically average 50 calls a day and there was usually 3 to 5 calls parked in my phone queue all day long.

The phone system is hands-free, you have a headset on and you hear a beep and a customer is there. As soon as the customer hangs up, you hear a beep and the next customer is there. It is impossible to get a break with that system. It worked OK when there were 8 people because you would get a lull once in a while. When your phone was idle, you could sign off you phone to go to the bathroom or for lunch. With 3 people you never got a lull.

The call tracking showed the number of "abandons". That was the number of people who gave up before getting a human. Before 2008, our goal was zero abandons. After 2008, we were told that number didn't matter anymore.

The first 5 minutes of many calls was the caller just wanting to vent about being stuck in a queue for a half hour or more listening to elevator music and then every minute or so the recorded message saying "Your call is important to us".

I sent an e-mail to the market manager for North America asking him what I should tell these people who are so angry and just want to vent for the first few minutes. He immediately came over to my desk and told me to tell them to "Get used to it" and then he walked away. He came back over a few minutes later and said having 8 people in the call center was too expensive and we were never going back to that. He explained that I would have to be diplomatic about it but tell them that the long wait is the "new" normal.

That is the way American business is run in 2012 so I will pass it on, "Get used to it".

Ride safe!