T.C.Electronic is dead to me. I now boycott them.

[PhatBasstard]

I've typed and deleted a number of posts in this thread.

While I acknowledge that bongo is the victim of crappy customer service and I value his opinion,...I am loathe to jump on a public tar and feathering of TCE. Mainly because I'm a little leery of the pack mentality, bandwagon jumping and brown nosing that seems to have occurred in the first few pages of this thread, followed by the ego tripping that has ensued on the back 9 of this thread.

I will say that poor CS aside, my main gripe with TCE is their prices. If I pay $200 for a pedal I expect it to be properly designed (strike one), work as advertised (strike two) and be accompanied with top notch customer service in the event that it fails (strike three).

Maybe TCE gear is worth it but I'd personally never buy a TCE product because I'm blue collar (I wouldn't be surprised if this was the reason that bongo got the shart end of the stick). I can't afford their products because they are priced for the elite. That's okay by me; if I'm not their intended audience then I can reciprocated with my wallet. Rest assured that the feeling is mutual.

Admirable.
But when it proceeds from "Eric", Eric's manager and another manager from a different international branch (not to meantion Eric himself stated he couldn't get any info from several others), then I'm starting to crack the lid on the tar barrel.

 

[capnsandwich]

Ideally, yeah. I'd be surprised to see it.

TCE is more likely to view all this as a tempest-in-a-teapot, if they bother to view it at all. And even less likely to submit to demands or threats from a miniscule portion of their overall target market.

One can always hope, tho!

Well, I know that there are several companies represented by regulars here on TB, Just Thumpin'(Fodera) Roger Sadowsky (Sadowsky Guitars), Nino Valenti (Valenti Basses), Gard (Roscoe Guitars), etc. Maybe they have a local here who would like to help out in the situation. I read earlier in the thread where UKHTCE offered to help via PM but I would like to see what he has to say openly in the thread.

 

[MikeyP23]

Not appreciated, man. Let me tell you something about myself. I cannot stand to be "walked over" like a doormat, and I see other people letting themselves get stepped on all the time, and it pisses me off that nobody is standing up to the arrogant jerk that is doing the walking. That's another phenomenon that happens here on TB too much, is when some arrogant power tripper belittles and smears anyone that disagrees with him, and most people just look the other way.

....

Lol, I immediately thought of one certain person who is currently hosting threads in the General Instruction sub-forum. No names please....

 

[MultiScaleMale]

Not appreciated, man. Let me tell you something about myself. I cannot stand to be "walked over" like a doormat, and I see other people letting themselves get stepped on all the time, and it pisses me off that nobody is standing up to the arrogant jerk that is doing the walking. That's another phenomenon that happens here on TB too much, is when some arrogant power tripper belittles and smears anyone that disagrees with him, and most people just look the other way.

I think the power tripper has more power in his mind than reality.

 

[JAUQO III-X]

The "reality" is you're being rude, whether or not what you say is truthful - the two aren't mutually exclusive.

I can't tell if you're just arrogant, trolling (I know you're not A troll, since you're a regular) or incredibly ignorant regarding basic business practices and principles. cheapbasslovin was stating a fact. You are stating an opinion. There is a fundamental difference. I would be THRILLED to hear your rebuttal to his and my post on how a for-profit business, any for-profit business, can succeed if it does not satisfy any of its customers. Please feel free to provide specific examples.

Through your statements and insinuations that you know TCE's people at high levels, you have, to me and perhaps others, assumed TCE's mantle. Now back it up or continue doing the company you endorse a disservice. At this point, your endorsement, comments and lack of any valid argument or facts is more detrimental to my, and again, I'd imagine other's, opinion of TCE.

I was not being rude at all. My posts on Bongo's dilemma are no different from the many others in this thread. And all I'm going to say on this is that Bongo wanted results and I publicly offered to help him resolve the matter. And he has not taken me up on my offer.

I don't even care that much about TCE specifically, I just think it's messed up that some shill is in here claiming that a company he actively endorses has somehow achieved the impossible in order to invalidate a customer's complaint.

You should chill with the name calling.

Whats funny is I do not endorse TCE but that has nothing to do with me being able to help Bongo.

 

[bongomania]

FWIW I've been away from my computer all day, hence the "not taking you up on it." PM incoming in a minute.



To all, regarding Uffe--he has now sent me two emails, and they were both friendly and respectful, asking questions about the pedal. I will pass more along after he's given me some answers.

 

[LM Bass]

"Uffe--he has now sent me two emails, and they were both friendly and respectful, asking questions about the pedal. I will pass more along after he's given me some answers."


was expecting this part.

 

[PhatBasstard]

Uffe--he has now sent me two emails, and they were both friendly and respectful, asking questions about the pedal.

Interesting timing for the sudden interest/change of heart. Hmmm...

 

[Marlat]

I think 90% of the bad experience threads here on TB are like that. It comes down to which source you believe the most. With Bongomania's knowledge on compressors and his reputation on TB I find myself believing his side first. However, I would like to hear the other side chime in if that's at all possible.

No doubt, but, like in any other thread of this kind, I try not to make judgements until I have heard both versions of the facts in a dispute. Its kinda the same reason why I read more than one news source. Everything's not always as "fair and balanced" as it seems. That's not to say that the story's wrong, its the spin that's put on a story that can change how you perceive the underlying situation. There may well be no spin here whatsoever. Who knows? Like with anything else, I'd rather make an informed decision than jump on a reactive bandwagon. Clearly it looks like TCE have dropped the ball. OTOH "boycotting" them for effectively not allowing some person, unknown to them, to speak directly to a product engineer about a pedal when they don't normally do it? Seems kind disproportionate to me unless you have all the facts.

 

[Nikoubis]

No doubt, but, like in any other thread of this kind, I try not to make judgements until I have heard both versions of the facts in a dispute. Its kinda the same reason why I read more than one news source. Everything's not always as "fair and balanced" as it seems. That's not to say that the story's wrong, its the spin that's put on a story that can change how you perceive the underlying situation. There may well be no spin here whatsoever. Who knows? Like with anything else, I'd rather make an informed decision than jump on a reactive bandwagon. Clearly it looks like TCE have dropped the ball. OTOH "boycotting" them for effectively not allowing some person, unknown to them, to speak directly to a product engineer about a pedal when they don't normally do it? Seems kind disproportionate to me unless you have all the facts.

Why do Mark's points seem to make more sense than the rest of the responses put together?

 

[Happynoj]

Whats funny is I do not endorse TCE but that has nothing to do with me being able to help Bongo.

How can you help Bongo then?

 

[mike_v_s]

No doubt, but, like in any other thread of this kind, I try not to make judgements until I have heard both versions of the facts in a dispute. Its kinda the same reason why I read more than one news source. Everything's not always as "fair and balanced" as it seems. That's not to say that the story's wrong, its the spin that's put on a story that can change how you perceive the underlying situation. There may well be no spin here whatsoever. Who knows? Like with anything else, I'd rather make an informed decision than jump on a reactive bandwagon. Clearly it looks like TCE have dropped the ball. OTOH "boycotting" them for effectively not allowing some person, unknown to them, to speak directly to a product engineer about a pedal when they don't normally do it? Seems kind disproportionate to me unless you have all the facts.

Bolded for poignancy.

Mike

 

[mike_v_s]

Why do Mark's points seem to make more sense than the rest of the responses put together?

Weird, ain't it?

Mike

 

[MultiScaleMale]

Weird, ain't it?

Mike

If you want to spin it that way, sure it is. But you're taking one part of the complete reason and using that to say that the whole is "weird". For me, the "Eric Encounter" would be reason enough.

 

[barteroo2002]

I did think all of this was quite funny and mildly interesting.

No I'm just finding it odd! And a little bit scary...

Unsubscribed...

 

[MIJ-VI]

For the record, I'm not taking anybody's disagreement or alternate views "personally" at all. I don't mind if people doubt, we all look at other peoples' claims through our own filters, and I'm prone to doubting too. I'm not trying to get anyone to "do my bidding", only to express exactly how I perceive the situation, and what I am doing about it.

Uffe emailed me, I have emailed back, we'll see how that progresses. At this time I am fairly confident that the pedal is not "broken" but was instead designed badly. The pedal is a lost cause, but maybe Eric will get some retraining. And even if Eric was an individual bad apple, TC will need to step up its customer service platform. The process via the chat page went for weeks with no response, and the user forum is pretty desolate--there are very few replies to posts there, from TC or anyone.

Congratulations on your new position as a consultant for tc electronic.

 

[Eublet]

For my part, I'm always glad when things like this come out. It does keep companies honest and shows them where they need to improve. As someone who has had responsibility for customer service department in the Information Technology sector, I can attest at how difficult a job this is. Most of the "Eric" type employees are low-pay hired hands who may come and go in a matter of a few months. Getting folks trained and keeping them employed long enough to do their job effectively is a tough battle, especially as the company goes through growing pains. Being international only compounds the problem.

This kind of thing can help keep the train on track, so I'm hoping it does. I think TC makes some of the coolest stuff out there. Since I've started using their gear, I've picked up a few pedals for myself, and I have guitarist friends who have bought their pedals based on my recommendation alone. They all seem very happy. I would be very disappointed if any of them had a problem like Bongo's with regards to getting support for a product. From what I've seen, Uffe is a cool guy so I think he'll take care of this and work to make CS better on the backend.

 

[My name is Mudd]

If you want to spin it that way, sure it is. But you're taking one part of the complete reason and using that to say that the whole is "weird". For me, the "Eric Encounter" would be reason enough.

+1.

 

[MIJ-VI]

As by miracle... the TC Electronic NR-1 Nova Reverb of one of my customers died today. It simply doesn't switch on (the power supply works).

The pedal is still under warranty - I look forward to see how the customer service is here in the UK.

I'll keep you posted.
---------------

Regarding the fact the TCE will or will not be damaged by this thread, I think it will. The point is if it will be damaged significantly.

In the balance sheet, TCE management just need to balance CS with marketing/advertising. If the increase of revenues due to more marketing/advertising balances the revenues lost by poor CS I don't think they will care much.

I hope TCE is not turning in what Steve Jobs describes as "vanilla companies":
"They sort of turn into vanilla companies. They add a lot of layers of management. They get really into process rather than result, rather than products. They lose touch with their customers. Their soul goes away”.

Please do.

The [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] I've used for over 12 years is now ailing and I am seriously looking at the [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] as a replacement due to tc's reputation for sonic excellence, and said unit's dynamic ducking feature.

At the moment though it seems that I may have a spare power supply for the next Nano'...

 

[MIJ-VI]

Ideally, yeah. I'd be surprised to see it.

TCE is more likely to view all this as a tempest-in-a-teapot, if they bother to view it at all. And even less likely to submit to demands or threats from a miniscule portion of their overall target market.

One can always hope, tho!

Tea?