John Wood Audio, a tale of woe

[Puffin]

It seems that he may have suffered some kind of personality disorder/illness?. I have read on Wigwam that there are satisfied owners out there who have nothing but praise for his work and that he "is a really good bloke". Strange.

[Marco]

I’m sure he was, Rob, before things went tits up, as is often the case with ‘one-man bands’, but when the going gets tough, then appear to go into hiding. We’ve been here before with Vantage Audio, and to some extent, Arkless Electronics….

I’d like to get to the bottom of this matter, and try to obtain a positive result for Geoff, which is why the issue is being discussed here.

Marco.

[Thetiminator]

I wasn't aware that this thread can also be found on other forums. So what exactly is the agenda of the OP by doing so?

Separate from that is the issue of asking someone to build you a bespoke piece of audio kit. I have long learnt that it is always best to turn down such requests. If things go wrong, or the customer is not entirely satisfied, the effort and money spent on building the item is all a waste of time. In this day and age of high expectation and quick dissatisfaction, I am surprised that there are still people about who are willing to take on such projects.

"I wasn't aware that this thread can also be found on other forums. So what exactly is the agenda of the OP by doing so?"

I thought it should have been reasonably clear that the OP is sharing his experiences -
a) Others can be warned and make an informed decision as to whether or not they would be happy to deal with this guy - and rightly so as it could save other people time/money
b) to put pressure on the seller to increase his chances of recompense - and rightly so too.

Your post suggests you have sympathy with the seller i.e trying to satisfy an awkward customer by trying his best to provide a custom build and then being unfairly targeted on the forums....at least that's how it reads to me.

Reading e-mail the order seemed pretty straight forward and he was clearly happy to take it on and take the OP's money.

"In this day and age of high expectation and quick dissatisfaction" - the unit wasn't working! Bloody picky customers eh?

A worrying/foolish post coming from someone in the trade IMO and I'll be marking it up for the 'dealers to avoid' list...

[Marco]

That’s a bit harsh, Tim, especially the last sentence... I suspect you may have misinterpreted where Stan was coming from.

Stan, there are numerous traders here who supply bespoke equipment all the time, with zero problems. There’s no reason that providing such a service should be an issue, as long as you’re properly organised, are very clear about what work has been agreed with the customer, the timescales required to produce designs (and honour them), and don’t take on more work than you can realistically handle.

Marco.

[StanleyB]

A worrying/foolish post coming from someone in the trade IMO and I'll be marking it up for the 'dealers to avoid' list...

I am honestly not interested in taking any money off you if that is the kind of attitude you show towards anyone in the trade who asks for further information. Most disappointing is your assumption that I am taking sides. With that kind of thinking on your part, is it worth anyone to bother commenting in this thread? You are the type of guy that scares off people from joining forums or contributing. So let this be a severe warning to anyone else who wishes to post any further comments in this thread. You stand the chance of being accused of taking sides if your reply does not conform to the expectation of Tim the Terminator.

[Macca]

. So let this be a severe warning to anyone else who wishes to post any further comments in this thread. You stand the chance of being accused of taking sides if your reply does not conform to the expectation of Tim the Terminator.

I'll take that chance

There doesn't really seem to be any grey areas in this which is why Marco has agreed to host it. The issue has been twice to court and the whole thing is clear-cut. Payment was made for a specified new item a used and faulty item was supplied instead. I can understand traders not wanting to see a trend of name and shame' threads since it is true that some unscrupulous customers can be deliberately awkward, whether to get a discount, or something for nothing, or just for attention seeking. This is obviously not one of those situations and I fully support Geoff in his attempt to retrieve his money.

[StanleyB]

I'll take that chance

There doesn't really seem to be any grey areas in this which is why Marco has agreed to host it. The issue has been twice to court and the whole thing is clear-cut. Payment was made for a specified new item a used and faulty item was supplied instead. I can understand traders not wanting to see a trend of name and shame' threads since it is true that some unscrupulous customers can be deliberately awkward, whether to get a discount, or something for nothing, or just for attention seeking. This is obviously not one of those situations and I fully support Geoff in his attempt to retrieve his money.

My question does not relate to any grey area. It is a done and dusted case. What I am asking is why have it repeated as a thread in several forums? Do we want to be a carbon copy of other forums, or bring a refreshingly new approach to what is said and done?
If a trader was doing that with one of their products they would be accused of spamming and shilling.

[take5]

Stanley, Im with the others here and see no problem in running this thread. As a community, we should be able to warn each other about folks to avoid.

I would be interested to hear what "refreshingly new approaches " you would suggest.

[Macca]

My question does not relate to any grey area. It is a done and dusted case. What I am asking is why have it repeated as a thread in several forums? Do we want to be a carbon copy of other forums, or bring a refreshingly new approach to what is said and done?
If a trader was doing that with one of their products they would be accused of spamming and shilling.

Not at all the same as a trader spamming and shilling. The more forums this is presented on the more potential customers of this company/individual will see it. Thus hopefully providing an incentive for said company/individual to settle the matter in an honourable fashion.

The fact that issues like this are very rarely raised on forums is indicative to me that the vast majority of hi-fi businesses are honest and straight forward and deliver good products and services.

[Rick E]

Put simply, if you are offering a service that you cannot provide, then you should stop taking money from customers and do something else for a living. Just like my own chosen trade, you are as good as your reputation. Once that's gone, it's gone for good.

This particular case is a one way street. The man lied in court to try and suggest that a used item had been ordered with a sold as seen waver. That's low. Basically, he doesn't deserve to stay in business. IMO.