Polk Customer Service is - No Service!

dschwandt

:mad:
First off, does any know how long Polk speakers are supposed to last under normal to light use? I have a pair of M5's I purchased back around 2000 and one has a bad driver. Polk does not have a replacement - COME ON, IT'S A BASIC 6" SPEAKER! I have been emailing with Eric Wong from Tech Support and after his last ridiculous response indicating - buy more speakers from us or send me your speaker and we'll try and fix it, but, oh my I, can't guarantee we can do it. I tired of being a peed on customer. Does anyone know who I can speak with having authority to actually try and take care of a customer?

Thank you.

Not happy with Polk Customer Service.

zarrdoss

uasually they have been top notch for me and even sent me new polly-switches for 20 year old speakers at no charge. if they dont have any they dont have any, I would look for one used. And one cannot say they can fix it for sure without checking it out first.

Good luck

George Grand

Most of us get great service from .......... Eric Wong. You did too.

Montoya

Your speakers are eight to nine years old what are they suppose to do you are far past the warranty period. I would be content just knowing they are going to try and fix the problem the speaker is old it has been in service since 2000 even under light use that is a long time period.

shack

How the hell have you been "peed on"? It's a 9 year old speaker by your own admission and the model originated in the mid 90s. What more do you want them to do besides make an effort to fix it...especially when there are no replacement parts? It was a $100 MSRP per speaker when new. Find a used pair and be done. Polk owes you nothing and and their offer to try and fix it is more than you deserve and is more than generous on their part. Your expectations are unrealistic. Oh and BTW it is a 4 1/2 inch driver.

ben62670

Wow. Polk CS is by far one of the very best companies for Customer Service out there.
OK the speaker is nine years old.
A six inch speaker is not just a six inch speaker.
Eric offer to try to fix a speaker that is way beyond warranty.
Pfft you have the nerve to complain.
Try to contact other speaker companies with your same complaints. I'll bet you will have a hard time even getting through, and then when you do I can almost guaranty that you will get no service on a 9 yo speaker.

Edit: Does dsch stand for ****? Just curious
Thanks
Ben

lightman1

I've never had a problem from Polk. I needed new drivers for My SDA's. Called 'em up, gave my address and a package was on my porch in four days. I'm not familiar with anything 2000 to present, but maybe the replacement drivers aren't an in stock item.
Double G said it. If you spoke to Eric, you're gonna get good service. Let them help you. It may not be an overnight, magical experience, but they will help you.
Patience Padawan, patience.

zarrdoss

these are the plastic surround speakers right?

lightman1

shack wrote: »

How the hell have you been "peed on"? It's a 9 year old speaker by your own admission and the model originated in the mid 90s. What more do you want them to do besides make an effort to fix it...especially when there are no replacement parts? It was a $100 MSRP per speaker when new. Find a used pair and be done. Polk owes you nothing and and their offer to try and fix it is more than you deserve and is more than generous on their part. Your expectations are unrealistic. Oh and BTW it is a 4 1/2 inch driver.

I see shack has both six-shooters polished and ready to go.:D

Toolfan66

Upgrade dumbass.

Everytime i have talked with Eric he has been very helpful as he was with you.

Try craigslist and go away.

Toolfan66

Does dsch stand for ****? Just curious
Thanks
Ben[/QUOTE]


In this case yes.

zarrdoss

we have a really nice thread where you can make some replacements from a paper plate some tin-foil and a penny.

dschwandt

Perhaps I was a bit pre-judgmental of Polk's CS department as it seems many of you are happy campers and have had good service. I have Klipsch and Pioneer systems that are older than my Polks and I thought I bought a better pair of speakers in Polk, that's all.

xj4094dg

I recently went through this exact process. I found a pair on ebay for 39.00, and even though one woofer did not survive the sh!tty packaging from a non-forum party, I now have two spare tweets and used the one good woofer to replace the one I had blown. Polk told me if they did have the replacement it would have been 60.00. Find some used. Be happy. Its going to be fine...really.;).

PS. I just ordered a spare tweeter for my LSi 7's (another shipping/packaging victim). Only 80.00 shipped! Should be here tomorrow.

LSife is sweet...

ben62670

zarrdoss wrote: »

we have a really nice thread where you can make some replacements from a paper plate some tin-foil and a penny.

That's funny right there:D

ben62670

dschwandt wrote: »

Perhaps I was a bit pre-judgmental of Polk's CS department as it seems many of you are happy campers and have had good service. I have Klipsch and Pioneer systems that are older than my Polks and I thought I bought a better pair of speakers in Polk, that's all.

A little bit;)
Stick around and learn something. Like others have suggested get some off the bay and be done with it, or just get some newer Polk's. Polk speakers are very hard to beat bang for the buck.
Ben

Toolfan66

zarrdoss wrote: »

we have a really nice thread where you can make some replacements from a paper plate some tin-foil and a penny.

Kevin thats some funny **** right there.

Toolfan66

dschwandt wrote: »

Perhaps I was a bit pre-judgmental of Polk's CS department as it seems many of you are happy campers and have had good service. I have Klipsch and Pioneer systems that are older than my Polks and I thought I bought a better pair of speakers in Polk, that's all.

Really dude try Craigslist or ebay.


Larry.

lightman1

dschwandt wrote: »

Perhaps I was a bit pre-judgmental of Polk's CS department as it seems many of you are happy campers and have had good service. I have Klipsch and Pioneer systems that are older than my Polks and I thought I bought a better pair of speakers in Polk, that's all.

Sometimes you have to realize it's time to turn loose the Chrysler LeBaron because you can't get the parts anymore. Go ahead and buy the '72 Camaro. Parts can be had on the cheap anywhere. Then when you get her running, you wonder why you ever bought that other thing.
More power and better sounding.



.02
Russ

Toolfan66

I was wondering what they looked like. all this over that?

Dude really, Upgrade.

There's always Bose!!!!!!

lightman1

TOOLFORLIFEFAN wrote: »

Really dude try Craigslist or ebay.


Larry.

Let him speak, Larry.
Or else I'll set in on you. See my previous posts.;)

Toolfan66

lightman1 wrote: »

Let him speak, Larry.
Or else I'll set in on you. See my previous posts.;)

since you asked nice.:p

ESavinon

Polk customer service is top notch. The best i've dealt with.
Try ebay for a replacement driver or better yet buy a new pair of bose speakers :rolleyes:

Sherardp

I knew as soon as I read the OP thread it was getting shot down. 8yrs is quite a long time, follow up with Eric and send them in. Best bet.

Face

Try walking into a car dealership and complain about a problem the day after your warranty expires.

danger boy

dschwandt wrote: »

:mad:
First off, does any know how long Polk speakers are supposed to last under normal to light use? I have a pair of M5's I purchased back around 2000 and one has a bad driver. Polk does not have a replacement - COME ON, IT'S A BASIC 6" SPEAKER! I have been emailing with Eric Wong from Tech Support and after his last ridiculous response indicating - buy more speakers from us or send me your speaker and we'll try and fix it, but, oh my I, can't guarantee we can do it. I tired of being a peed on customer. Does anyone know who I can speak with having authority to actually try and take care of a customer?

Thank you.

Not happy with Polk Customer Service.

Your speakers are nine years old.. they have held up well in that time. I have 20 yr old speakers.. and I would not expect Polk Audio to fix them for free or have replacement parts in stock for a 20 yr old speaker.

If they do have replacement parts for my old speakers.. I expect to pay for the parts and install them myself.

If you like your M5's enough.. look on Ebay for replacement parts or a pair for spare parts or a new pair. IF you're not tied to them.. look for a newer pair of Polk Audio speakers.

good luck in whatever way you decide to go.

Gempler

to the op, are you talking about the funky triangular shaped plastic enclosure "M5" sourround speakers or the "monitor 5"?
if it is the monitor 5 i think there is still a pair of them for sale in the flea market section of these forums. check it out...
http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=79099

comfortablycurt

christophermuto wrote: »

to the op, are you talking about the funky triangular shaped plastic enclosure "M5" sourround speakers or the "monitor 5"?

He's referring to the funky triangular shaped ones.


As others have said, these are some fairly old speakers, and they can't be expected to keep an excess stock of parts for everything they've ever made. These aren't exactly higher end speakers as it is, they probably didn't really anticipate many people trying to fix them. The few times I've had to deal with Polk CS, I've been nothing short of thrilled. Excellent customer service.

Where do you have these speakers installed? Are they part of a surround system, what location? Depending on what you're using them for, I'd upgrade to some better speakers myself.

Jstas

Eric Wong is an easy going guy and even easier to deal with. How anyone could call a response from him ridiculous is beyond me.

As far as the M5, dude, really? M5's?

Besides, unlike the OP thinks, if it is an M5, they have two 4.5 inch woofers, not 6 inch woofers. Makes me wonder if you even know what you are talking about.

But the M5's were out when the old RT series was out (pre-RTi) and there aren't many of those speakers around or drivers for support. That's like, at all, not just at Polk Audio. Also, the speakers were first made back in 1994 I think? Not sure on that one. But 2000 was probably a closeout year for them given Polk Audio's product cycle life. On top of that, new in 1996, they were $199.95. Not exactly a high dollar speaker back then.

I think your original post is out of line. They made an offer to help you in any way they can. They can actually rebuild drivers. The problem is finding the parts they need for that specific speaker. Substituting parts changes voicing in the speaker and it will cause problems with accurate reproduction and matching original performance. Most reasonable people would have gotten that response and at least sent the item in.

But no, not you, you chose to go to a forum and register just to trash the CS guy and demand to talk to someone higher up. That's admirable of you. :rolleyes:

And then, your second post is an underhanded jab disguised as an apology at Polk Audio as a whole and simultaneously serves to instigate AND question the integrity of Polk Audio and it's products.

You really know how to win friends and influence people.

Glad it's not my company. I would have called you the **** that you are and sent someone around to collect all the Polk Audio products in your house and then slap you upside your head without even giving you a kiss on the cheek.

sucks2beme

Most companies stock replacements after it goes out of production.
When it's gone, it's gone. They normally paln for 5-7 years stock.
Same for generic drivers. When the stock is gone, it's gone.
I've screwed around a lot of company's speakers besides Polk.
It's very hit and miss after a few years. Some using an over the counter
driver are easy to get. Others are specific to a model, and that's where
the trouble starts. If Eric can get you some driver specs, you could try to source
a close generic replacement. Welcome to to the real world.

jflail2

lightman1 wrote: »

Sometimes you have to realize it's time to turn loose the Chrysler LeBaron because you can't get the parts anymore. Go ahead and buy the '72 Camaro. Parts can be had on the cheap anywhere. Then when you get her running, you wonder why you ever bought that other thing.
More power and better sounding.



.02
Russ

Quit pimping your SDA's Russ