What is up with harman kardon (bad customer support)

BjornB17

I'm used to getting great customer support from Harman Kardon but in the last 3 weeks they've been doing a terrible job.

I bought an AVR-340 receiver but one of the channels did not work, so i sent it back with their shipping label they emailed me and an RMA number. I haven't received my refund.

I've called 4 times in the last week (long distance call as they dont have an 800 number), and their system hung up on me twice while i was on hold, and the other 2 times i left a message since nobody ever got to me. Also, multiple e-mails to them have gone unanswered. They always say they will respond within 24 hours but so far I haven't heard anything.

I'm about to file a complaint with BBB unless i get my money from them :mad:

hockeyboy

I suspect it is just restructuring just like every retailer. I never have been a fan but suspect it will get better in time. Here is a Hoovers report:

Harman International Industries is loud and clear. It makes high-end stereo and audio equipment for consumer and professional markets. Its consumer group makes loudspeakers, CD and DVD players, CD recorders, and amplifiers under brands Harman/Kardon, Infinity, Becker, Logic 7, JBL, Mark Levinson, and others. Harman's auto unit sells branded audio systems through several car makers, including Toyota/Lexus and General Motors. Its professional unit makes audio equipment, such as studio monitors, amplifiers, microphones, and mixing consoles for recording studios, cinemas, touring performers, and others. KKR & Co. and Goldman Sachs abandoned an $8 billion leveraged buyout of Harman in September 2007.



Under the now-reneged-upon agreement, Harman stockholders would have received either $120 in cash for each Harman share they owned or they could have exchanged some or all of their stock for shares in the new entity. But amid a tightening credit market, KKR and Goldman Sachs said that unacceptable financial conditions at the stereo maker triggered a material adverse change that allows them to walk away from the deal. (Harman disagrees that a material adverse change had occurred or that it has breached the merger agreement.) As a peace offering, of sorts, KKR and Goldman agreed to invest $400 million in the audio-products maker's debt.

Harman's automotive products accounted for about 72% of the company's 2008 revenue, with auto makers Daimler and Audi/VW representing 18% and 11%, respectively, of 2008 sales. Harman added another name to its portfolio of premium loudspeaker brands in April 2008 by partnering with B & W Group, which owns the Bowers & Wilkins name. The agreement allows Harman to use Bowers & Wilkins technologies in its automotive unit. UK-based B & W, which outfitted London's Abbey Road Studios, makes and markets products under the Bowers & Wilkins, Classe, and Rotel names for home theater, hi-fi, and multimedia. As a result of its successes in the automotive segment, Harman's 2008 sales slid slightly in the consumer and professional segments while its automotive segment rose.

In its effort to diversify, the high-end audio company moved into the market for other gadgets, including Portable Navigation Devices, with disappointing results. Harman's performance has been hurt by aggressive price cutting by rival TomTom and others.

Feisty namesake and chairman Sidney Harman, the backbone of the company for half a century, has been considered a legend in the audio industry. He owns about 7% of Harman.

Lowell_M

BjornB17 wrote: »

I'm used to getting great customer support from Harman Kardon but in the last 3 weeks they've been doing a terrible job.

I bought an AVR-340 receiver but one of the channels did not work, so i sent it back with their shipping label they emailed me and an RMA number. I haven't received my refund.

I've called 4 times in the last week (long distance call as they dont have an 800 number), and their system hung up on me twice while i was on hold, and the other 2 times i left a message since nobody ever got to me. Also, multiple e-mails to them have gone unanswered. They always say they will respond within 24 hours but so far I haven't heard anything.

I'm about to file a complaint with BBB unless i get my money from them :mad:

I just had my AVR-635 repaired a month or so ago and everything went very well. I approached the repair through their email system and ended up in contact with 2 different tech's because one was going to be out of the office. Their emails each had a signature with their direct phone lines and email addresses and responses were withing 24 hours. (The repair was as simple as replacing the cap that the unit uses to hold setup memory, so I took the receiver to a local H/K repair place)

iskandam

I just shipped my AVR 247 last week for power supply-related issues. This will be my first experience with HK customer support. Hopefully everything works out without a hitch!

ViperZ

a_mattison wrote: »

(The repair was as simple as replacing the cap that the unit uses to hold setup memory, so I took the receiver to a local H/K repair place)

Holy crap! They still have not fixed this problem??? It has been around forever!!! My AVR510 needed this fix (which was super easy and parts are available from digikey), but AVR520 is still holding memory nicely.

Face

I'm not sure if I'll buy another product from them.

I had good luck with my AVR-240(?), but since they acquired Mark Levinson, they outsourced older ML/Proceed repair work to a bunch of crooks. IIRC, $125 to look at said item, which isn't that bad. But, if you choose to have it repaired, you must agree to pay a minimum of $700, plus parts. No thanks.

Lowell_M

ViperZ wrote: »

Holy crap! They still have not fixed this problem??? It has been around forever!!! My AVR510 needed this fix (which was super easy and parts are available from digikey), but AVR520 is still holding memory nicely.

For what it's worth... I discovered last night that they didn't fix the problem. I don't think my problem has anything to do with the capacitor. ...My digital inputs won't stay set to digital. I have autopolling turned off and if I change the source on the receiver and the source isn't turned on, the input setting will change to analog and I have to go into the OSD settings to cycle through the digital inputs until I get to the correct one to reset that sources input. Huge PITA!

So, customer service was great, but the repair shop that they sent me to (American TV) sucks ****.

ViperZ

a_mattison wrote: »

For what it's worth... I discovered last night that they didn't fix the problem. I don't think my problem has anything to do with the capacitor. ...My digital inputs won't stay set to digital. I have autopolling turned off and if I change the source on the receiver and the source isn't turned on, the input setting will change to analog and I have to go into the OSD settings to cycle through the digital inputs until I get to the correct one to reset that sources input. Huge PITA!

So, customer service was great, but the repair shop that they sent me to (American TV) sucks ****.

Looks like the control chip on the front panel is going (also a common problem, lol).

Lowell_M

ViperZ wrote: »

Looks like the control chip on the front panel is going (also a common problem, lol).

Looks like another month without HT for me.... :mad::mad::mad:

BjornB17

I just filed a complaint with the BBB since its going on a month without hearing a word from them (or receiving my refund).

BjornB17

P.S. if any of you have direct e-mail addresses or phone number to HK support, please PM them to me, thanks! They dont respond to my emails and phone calls to the addresses or numbers stated on their site.

Lowell_M

BjornB17 wrote: »

P.S. if any of you have direct e-mail addresses or phone number to HK support, please PM them to me, thanks! They dont respond to my emails and phone calls to the addresses or numbers stated on their site.

PM Sent

hockeyboy

I would call the corporate office and ask for David Karch. He is the Senior Vice President of Operational Excellence. Professionally state the challenge you are having to the executive assistant when you are transferred 202-393-1101. Almost guaranteed you will get passed down to the highest ranking customer service people at the company for quick resolution.

bevo77

How did your repair work with HK go? My AVR 354 died and I'm looking for a reliable source in D/FW area.

Kex

This is a very old thread, but I had excellent c/s from harman/kardon. A part was missing when I bought a h/k 147 a couple of years ago from the h/k eBay store (it was the calibration mic). They shipped it out without ever even needing a phone call (I sent them an e-mail) and I got it within 48h.

Check your warranty if you are the original owner (the duration may be two or three years, not just one, but I never needed mine so I don't remember exactly), then contact them via the usual channels. I like e-mail because it leaves a written explanation of the problem from the outset, and it forces you to carefully explain exactly what is going wrong and what measures you have tried so far (such as a factory reset, etc.).

Welcome to CP, BTW!

Hillbilly61

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