Hifi Tower

[esprit]

Has anybody out there had a bad experience with a local company HI-FI Tower ?

Just a word of warning that they are "sharks". In Febuary I wanted a particular Sub Woofer and after searching the above company had one in stock which they delivered free. Now THB 24,000 is only a mid range price but it was what I wanted. I was away on business for a while so did not install until recently. Problem is there is a fault as it does not reproduce the signal from AV unit. When setting it up I get sounds which suggest the amplifier is OK and when I use my old SW it works fine so the cable is OK.

So my wife rang to ask them what to do. Their answer:; " If I think it is faulty you can bring it back. If you think it is an installation issue we can come out " So not knowing what the problem is we thought it would be better for them to come out and check it, and their answer then was:-

" Our standard call out charge to check installation is THB 15,000 but if we find it is a faulty unit we will take it back to repair and charge you THB 10,000 for collection". Now that is not a "Farang" price as my wife is Thai.

This unti has a 1 year guarentee so as I said this company are nothing but sharks so avoid them at all cost, I shall in the future. Except that now I shall have to spend the time to take the unit back myself as sure as hell I am not giving them 10,000 THB for the priviige.

Edited April 25, 2011 by esprit

[JackA]

Not knowing where you stay, I cam most certainly help you

if you are in the Pattaya area, but please give a bit more details

about your home theater equipment (AVR etc.).

A lot of times, you need to specify Sub output LFE (+main).

PM me if you need further assistance.

Prices given are indeed over the top...

[soundman]

Did you test the unit in the store before leaving? If so, and it was obviously working, isn't it possible that you have made a mistake in the installation of the unit?

Getting back to the business in question.

While the call out fee is a little on the high side in my opinion, I cannot see how this company is wrong when the product you purchased only has a RTB (Return to base/point of sale) warranty.

Use another example - your 3 month old 32" LG LED TV has a problem, are they going to come out and fix it on site for you. No. Are they sharks?

Note: Mahajak charges (or used to many years ago) 10,000B for a service call which includes one professional AV tech. and one assisstant.

[powderpuff]

Never heard of them.

Soundman - Piyanas WILL come out for free. That's why they are the hooking bull in this market. 5 STAR. Highly recommended.

[soundman]

Never heard of them.

Soundman - Piyanas WILL come out for free. That's why they are the hooking bull in this market. 5 STAR. Highly recommended.

That's interesting. Good on them. Most likely incorporated into their pricing structure though.

Do they have a minimum spend for free on-site service? How much do they charge if they are not at fault?

[Phil Conners]

Granted, this is way out of my league, I don't know the first thing about high end sound equipment, but common sense tell me that 10,000 baht to come out and take a look at a piece of electronic equipment sounds like a lot of money. Is this normal then I'm definitely in the wrong business! Years ago when I had a problem with one of those big clunky rear projection TV's I had Numchai come out with a van full of techs to fix it in my house, no call-out fee other than the repair cost.

[soundman]

Granted, this is way out of my league, I don't know the first thing about high end sound equipment, but common sense tell me that 10,000 baht to come out and take a look at a piece of electronic equipment sounds like a lot of money. Is this normal then I'm definitely in the wrong business! Years ago when I had a problem with one of those big clunky rear projection TV's I had Numchai come out with a van full of techs to fix it in my house, no call-out fee other than the repair cost.

Its like cars Phil, the more expensive the car, the more expensive the service. A BMW costs three time as much to service compared to a Hyundai, even though the cost (not the selling price) of the spare parts is comparable.

Hi End audio, whether it be professional PA or home stuff usually attracts service bills to match.

Check this out:

http://www.piyanas.c...&id=585〈=en

Cost nearly the same as a cheap new car.

(but the total cost of the raw materials is negligable; all R&D, marketing & tax )

[esprit]

Did you test the unit in the store before leaving? If so, and it was obviously working, isn't it possible that you have made a mistake in the installation of the unit?

Getting back to the business in question.

While the call out fee is a little on the high side in my opinion, I cannot see how this company is wrong when the product you purchased only has a RTB (Return to base/point of sale) warranty.

Use another example - your 3 month old 32" LG LED TV has a problem, are they going to come out and fix it on site for you. No. Are they sharks?

Note: Mahajak charges (or used to many years ago) 10,000B for a service call which includes one professional AV tech. and one assisstant.

It was delivered to my works so no it was not tested at that time and as I clearly said I did not install it until recently. Also I clearly stated my existing sub works fine ( same make by the way ) so no it's not the install. So if you consider 15,000/10,000 THB is a "little on the high side" then perhaps you have more money than sense, for me I have more sense than money so IMHO then yes they are sharks. And by the way I have a Samsung LED 55" which developed a fault after 4 months and YES they did come out and fix it for me no problem but of course that was a differant company with obviously better ethics. You work for HIFI Tower by any chance ?