Pro Audio Solutions Customer Service

[amishsixstringe]

I ordered a Vintech preamp from Pro Audio Solutions of Nashville Thursday because the price was right and sweetwater didn't have it in stock at the moment. At first, I was excited, because after placing the order online, I was called shortly after to make sure that I had the required power supply before they shipped my box from their Florida warehouse. I let them know that I had the supply and they could ship. He assured me that I would soon receive an email with a tracking number. Well, the weekend passed and no email. So, I called them up Monday morning to inquire about the tracking number. The person on the phone told me he'd have the warehouse send me the tracking number in the next couple minutes. That day, right before they were going to close, I called again, since I never received an email at all. He told me that the warehouse never called him back and that he'd have the tracking emailed soon. Today is tuesday near closing time and still no email. Now, I should be expecting the package in a day or two, but since I have no tracking number I can't leave my house for too long just in case the package arrives. So, I did that today....and no package. I guess I'll just sit here all week to make sure I can sign for it. A few minutes ago I attempted to email their customer service to let them know I'm a little upset and make another attempt at obtaining tracking. Seconds after I sent it, the email was sent back saying that the account was not available. So, now I'm getting a little steamed. The price was nice, but I really wish I would have just ordered from Sweetwater now. Have you guys had much experience with this company?

Neil

[shortyprs]

Obviously, I don't know anything about your situation. I have however, done maybe 10 purchases from Pro Audio Solutions without a hitch. One time the computer showed something in stock that wasn't. They had the manufacturer send it direct and it came maybe a week later than I would have liked. But they always answered the phone and were clearly trying to get things right. I'd say, call again but don't hang up without the right answer.

[Bryan Talbot]

I have, with mixed results...mostly results that make me avoid them.

In my experience, trying to do business with them strictly via phone or email is very dicey, little assurance of action...like your experience. The guy (I remember the name but won't mention it because I'm SUCH a nice person) did not return phone calls, messages, emails, or do callbacks. I got the impression that he was pretty much alone, overworked, and just didn't have time to deal with me, man. I was trying to get information that would lead to ordering something, but I said "f*#* this" and went elsewhere.

It's a pretty easy drive to there from my house; I could have gone over there and jerked them up by their shirt collar, but I have better things to do.

About a year before that, I called and inquired about an external hard drive, and the guy (somebody different, maybe with more authority) confirmed that they had the components (drive and case) and had the right person there to assemble them. That sale went smoothly.

It's weird when you go there. They are open to walk-ins, and have some stuff set up, but you get the distinct feeling that they aren't really in a "showroom" mindset. I didn't know any of this the first time I went there, and was surprised that I hadn't heard of them, when they carry so many product lines and are right there on 8th Avenue.

I think they're all about online ordering and dealing with people on the phone. Which begs the question, why the hell don't they put people in charge who give the impression that they give a shit and are on the case?

[amishsixstringe]

Originally Posted by NathanEldred

Maybe it's a good idea to find a company that has items in stock AND is good at communication and customer service?

Like Atlas??? e

The reason I ordered from PAS was that the shipping was free, the item was in stock, and it was 100 dollars cheaper than any other online source. 1595.00 shipped for a Vintech 273. I couldn't find a place that could beat them. Sweetwater gave me an estimate of 2 weeks wait on it. Still a little steamed that there's no email in my box.

Neil

[sodium glow]

I am not affiliated with PAS in any way but have done a number of transctions with them and I have known the owner for quite a few years. I'll forward him a link to this thread.

I do know that they have had quite a bit of turnover of employees lately though. Not that that is an excuse...

[Verbow]

My first experience was actually quite good. I ordered a bunch of cables, including a D-sub snake with Tascam compatible pins. Only problem was I glanced over my specs and really needed a Yamaha compatible cable and when I got around to actually needing the snake, I had owned the cables too long to qualify for their return policy. Warren, the salesman I dealt with, helped me troubleshoot the problem over the phone, then sent out a new cable right away with a Fed-ex label to return the old one. He also contacted Zaolla (cable manufacturer) to have them send me some different screws.

I found their service great...

[proaudio]

Hello:

I am the Operation's Manager for Professional Audio Solutions here in Nashville. While we can appreciate your frustration and are dismayed by your perceived experience with us, I thought it appropriate to set the record straight on this issue. The item you ordered (Vintech 273 - 2-Channel Mic Preamplifier with EQ based on NEVE1073) is what is Considered a BTO (Built to order). We make every effort to keep at least one of each BTO in stock at all times, however when a company our size maintains a relationship with over 70 vendors, and over 10,000 items we rep and with stock that moves as fast as it does it can be a challenge occasionally. Unfortunately, what has made your situation more difficult was at the time you ordered this, Vintech's (a small independent company as well) Operation Manager was in the hospital under serious conditions, which put any order we had with them for replacement units on BACKORDER STATUS. Despite the issue with Vintech, they expedited the BTO in less than a week (normal build time for these units is up to 4 weeks) and we (Pro Audio) upgraded you to 2nd day shipping from ground at no additional cost for your troubles.

Pro Audio Solutions is a 10 year old company that prides itself on serving its customers. If you were to ask ANY of our long term customers (which include many of the churches and recording studios in Nashville) you will find an extremely high satisfaction rating. While we do in many cases offer a competitive price, we are not in the business of just selling boxes of equipment like many of the competition out there, rather we are in the business of building long term relationships.

Again, we apologize for any perceived problems you incurred. Our desire is for all of our customers to be completely satisfied with their experience. In the future, it would be more helpful to call me directly to seek assistance as no one on a public forum like this will be able assist you with an order issue. I am here Monday through Friday 8:30AM to 6PM CST - 615-742-5291 ext 17.

Sincerely,
Philip A. Foster
Operations Manager

Originally Posted by amishsixstringe

I ordered a Vintech preamp from Pro Audio Solutions of Nashville Thursday because the price was right and sweetwater didn't have it in stock at the moment. At first, I was excited, because after placing the order online, I was called shortly after to make sure that I had the required power supply before they shipped my box from their Florida warehouse. I let them know that I had the supply and they could ship. He assured me that I would soon receive an email with a tracking number. Well, the weekend passed and no email. So, I called them up Monday morning to inquire about the tracking number. The person on the phone told me he'd have the warehouse send me the tracking number in the next couple minutes. That day, right before they were going to close, I called again, since I never received an email at all. He told me that the warehouse never called him back and that he'd have the tracking emailed soon. Today is tuesday near closing time and still no email. Now, I should be expecting the package in a day or two, but since I have no tracking number I can't leave my house for too long just in case the package arrives. So, I did that today....and no package. I guess I'll just sit here all week to make sure I can sign for it. A few minutes ago I attempted to email their customer service to let them know I'm a little upset and make another attempt at obtaining tracking. Seconds after I sent it, the email was sent back saying that the account was not available. So, now I'm getting a little steamed. The price was nice, but I really wish I would have just ordered from Sweetwater now. Have you guys had much experience with this company?

Neil

[melodic_disaster]

Think I ordered a few things from them a couple years back.

What I remember, they were fine except for items listed in stock that weren't.

Execution communication and follow-up is very important. So is a web page promising in-stock when its not.

It made me wonder ow much of their inventory is theirs or how much is third party fulfillment - does anybody know? I don't mind drop ship, as long as I know what I'm getting.

[ddageek]

Originally Posted by proaudio

Hello:

I am the Operation's Manager for Professional Audio Solutions here in Nashville. While we can appreciate your frustration and are dismayed by your perceived experience with us, I thought it appropriate to set the record straight on this issue. The item you ordered (Vintech 273 - 2-Channel Mic Preamplifier with EQ based on NEVE1073) is what is Considered a BTO (Built to order). We make every effort to keep at least one of each BTO in stock at all times, however when a company our size maintains a relationship with over 70 vendors, and over 10,000 items we rep and with stock that moves as fast as it does it can be a challenge occasionally. Unfortunately, what has made your situation more difficult was at the time you ordered this, Vintech's (a small independent company as well) Operation Manager was in the hospital under serious conditions, which put any order we had with them for replacement units on BACKORDER STATUS. Despite the issue with Vintech, they expedited the BTO in less than a week (normal build time for these units is up to 4 weeks) and we (Pro Audio) upgraded you to 2nd day shipping from ground at no additional cost for your troubles.

Pro Audio Solutions is a 10 year old company that prides itself on serving its customers. If you were to ask ANY of our long term customers (which include many of the churches and recording studios in Nashville) you will find an extremely high satisfaction rating. While we do in many cases offer a competitive price, we are not in the business of just selling boxes of equipment like many of the competition out there, rather we are in the business of building long term relationships.

Again, we apologize for any perceived problems you incurred. Our desire is for all of our customers to be completely satisfied with their experience. In the future, it would be more helpful to call me directly to seek assistance as no one on a public forum like this will be able assist you with an order issue. I am here Monday through Friday 8:30AM to 6PM CST - 615-742-5291 ext 17.

Sincerely,
Philip A. Foster
Operations Manager

AHHH I love the smell of BS!
Translaion $1500 dollar deal but we really don't care about the customer! Customer BOUGHT IT BECAUSE the price as right and in stock! When customer inquired we LIED!!! and guess what we never Called or EMAILED the customer ndsaid Whoops we F@cked up! we can get it to you byx date or your money back! NOOO Instead we get on gearslu tz and say were gonna glaze pver the fact the we DON'T CARE! or our sytem is so inept that the sales guy has no idea that this thing isn't in stock and were going to piss someone off! Whoops!

NNote to future gearpimps this is why you buy the guys in the wharehouse a piiza every once in a while so that when they see that a piece for one of your customers isn't there they tell you and you can put out the fire with minimal egg on your face!

[midnightsun]

Hmmm...... guess I am not the only one with frustrations with this company. The company won't return my calls or emails. My recent order is incomplete and they aren't available to provide any explanation. Just after posting something in the MOAN ZONE I did a quick search for Pro Audio Solutions and this is where I ended up.

Pro Audio Solutions Misery

This type of press could simply be avoided by exercising a bit of Knowledge, Service, Experience, and Integrity. Perhaps someone from Pro Audio Solutions will respond to "set the record straight" again-- never mind just returning my emails or calls.

Jon Lieberman
jlieberman@acsalaska.net

[Bryan Talbot]

Originally Posted by proaudio

...and are dismayed by your perceived experience with us...

Oh - so he perceived his experience to be just so, but he actually didn't, it was all in his mind...

[Randall]

Isn't this Warren Whites company?

[rrichard63]

Originally Posted by midnightsun

Hmmm...... guess I am not the only one with frustrations with this company.

No, you're not. As far as I can tell, when they don't have an item in stock, they just let the order sit there in their database -- no follow-up, no customer contact, no nothing. They do, however, charge your credit card immediately. They're good at that.

Back in February I had to fax them a letter threatening to file a complaint with the Middle Tennessee Better Business Bureau in order to get any customer service. It resulted in shipment of one item and a store credit for the other. Then on March 18 I ordered a couple of items to use my store credit. I still (May 14) haven't heard from them about which item is on back order, or discontinued, or who-knows-what. I kissed my money goodbye several weeks ago.

It's always possible that their in-store service to Nashville customers is very good. But, at the very least, they haven't got this new-fangled internet thing worked out yet. Maybe they should just remove the order entry mechanism from their website and stop pretending.

[sailcat]

One advantage of a forum like this is that it helps educate everyone. I think Philip A. Foster has taught us several things about customer service:

"While we can appreciate your frustration and are dismayed by your perceived experience with us, I thought it appropriate to set the record straight on this issue."

--what he's saying here, in a passive/aggressive way, is that the customer is not only wrong - he needs to be set straight, he is also delusional - he can't tell the difference between a real and a perceived experience.

-All the explanation about how BTO works and the poor guy at Vintech who was in the hospital is nothing but fog if the customer was not told any of that in his repeated attempts to get an answer. Mr. Phillip A. Foster needs to train his peeps to communicate, and to get him on the phone to provide the explanation when there's a problem with an order. All the explanation in the world is meaningless if it's not provided when it's needed.

"In the future, it would be more helpful to call me directly to seek assistance as no one on a public forum like this will be able assist you with an order issue."

--Again, the customer is wrong, and not only that, should somehow be familiar enough with the corporate structure at PAS to know that if he has a customer service problem, he should not call customer service, he should call Phillip A. Foster, Operations Manager.

And, I have to respectfully disagree -- everyone on this forum has been very helpful, both in tempering Mr Foster's assertions of a blemish-free customer service record with their own personal experiences to the contrary, and in encouraging each other to patronize the places where they don't get this kind of patronizing BS instead of the real information at the right time.

If anybody at PAS had just told Neil the story that Mr Foster tells us in his post, the first time he called, this thread would never have been started and PAS would have another happy customer.

I have never bought anything from PAS, and I don't have any basis except the above by which to judge their service, but this is a very competitive business. Music is the part of our lives where we get the most pleasure, and most of us work hard to keep it that way. My personal philosophy is to remove any obstacles to pleasure, and this kind of experience would fall into that category.

[digibird]

"Perceived experience"? That's rich. What a condescending phrase to use with a customer - and a really poor choice of words to share with all of us here = No Pro Audio Solutions for me.

I strongly recommend Sound Pure and Northern Sound & Light (NSL) - Call Us 866-796-6232 for your needs in the future.

[amishsixstringe]

This is quite old, but I actually got ahold of Vintech directly and let them know what was up. They said they didn't have any built, but had an order for one to be made from PAS (which was mine). It was not supposed to be built for some time, but instead they built one that day and had it overnight shipped direct from vintech and I was rocking in a day or so. Those guys rock.

Neil

[Phrygian]

Wow, Mr Foster not only fired off excuses but also passed blame on the customer. I'm sorry but excuses serve no one but one's self. Poor customer service here.

[Phrygian]

Originally Posted by amishsixstringe

This is quite old, but I actually got ahold of Vintech directly and let them know what was up. They said they didn't have any built, but had an order for one to be made from PAS (which was mine). It was not supposed to be built for some time, but instead they built one that day and had it overnight shipped direct from vintech and I was rocking in a day or so. Those guys rock.

Neil

Cheers to Vintech!

[rrichard63]

This is a follow-up to my previous comment on May 14. On June 6 -- nearly three months after placing my order -- I received two of the four items. On the Pro Audio Solutions website, all four items are shown as having shipped. There is only one tracking number shown, so they didn't ship two packages. As far as I can tell, they are just plain ripping me off for the cost of the two missing items. And that's after making me wait for almost three months, with no email or phone call and no response to my inquiry.

[Bryan Talbot]

They're going down...