Dodgy SPU quality and a tale of woe with an Ortofon RS-212D...

[hifi_dave]

IMO, every large company must produce a duff product occasionally but it's how they rectify the problem that really matters.

[Marco]

Hi guys,

Thanks for your comments of concern about my cartridge and tonearm. They are much appreciated and show the true community spirit that we have created here on AoS

IMO, every large company must produce a duff product occasionally but it's how they rectify the problem that really matters.

I completely agree, Dave. Therefore at the moment I'm simply allowing Ortofon and/or Henley to resolve the situation to my satisfaction at their earliest possible opportunity.

For reference, the sequence of events up until now has been as follows:

23rd November 11: received faulty SPU cartridge from Ortofon, leading to mishap with tonearm. As directed by dealer, returned cartridge to Henley by Special Delivery. Spoke to dealer about him attempting to fix the arm. It was arranged that I would bring the tonearm to his shop the following day, which I did.

24th November 11: Henley confirm receipt of the SPU, and acknowledge the fault. Went to dealer, as outlined above, but unfortunately he could not fix the arm. As it was late in the evening, near closing time, the tonearm was returned to Henley by the dealer the following day in order for it to be sent back to the manufacturer.

25th November 11: Dealer confirms that the tonearm has been sent to Henley.

{Weekend then follows}

28th November 11: Dealer confirms that Henley have received the tonearm. No confirmation yet that it (and the SPU) have been returned to Ortofon.

29th November 11: Informed by dealer that unfortunately he didn't have a chance to call Henley for an update.

30th November 11: Dealer confirms that both the tonearm and SPU have been returned to Ortofon. I've asked dealer if I'm getting replacements or the original items repaired to the required 'as new' professional standard, and am told by him that he "presumes" that it will be the latter, in order to have the items returned to me in the quickest possible time; an arrangement which, should it be honoured as agreed, I would be happy with.

Dealer promised to come back to me today (1/12/11) with an update from Henley, regarding the above, and whether Ortofon have now received both items, and if so, an approximate E.T.A (back to me) for both the repaired and/or replaced tonearm and cartridge.

I am currently awaiting said update. Once given, I will report here, and from then will update the thread whenever I receive new information. This will therefore provide a written account, for reference, of how long it has taken Ortofon (and Henley) to resolve the matter to my satisfaction

To date, it is 6 working days since the problem occurred and was reported. I am reasonably happy with progress so far.

Marco.

[MartinT]

We're watching this unfold with great interest, Marco. Here's hoping for a good result.

[Marco]

Cheers, Martin!

1st December 11: Advised by dealer (who had left a voicemail on my mobile, just after 3pm, which I've only now discovered because my phone had been switched off) that Ortofon now have both items in their possession and will be producing a report either tomorrow or Monday.

After the report has been carried out, I will know whether my tonearm and cartridge will be repaired or replaced. It has been envisaged that I should have both items back to me by the end of next week at the latest.

I'm happy with that for now

Marco.

[YNWaN]

Well, to be honest, that's quicker than I expected - so that's good.

[henley]

We took this incredibly seriously and I have been personally communicating with the CEO of ortofon regarding this and would expect an answer by the end of play today. The cartridge was collected by us and DHL'd straight to Ortofon.

For what it's worth, the failure rate with ortofon is less that 1/1000 as thier QC really is way above the norm. That's why we took this one so seriously.

Let's face it, we all make mistakes and there isn't a manufacturer that never has a QC issue, despite what other posters think but it's how you resolve the mistake that matters, and I sincerely hope that the OP leaves this one smiling.

Assuring you ALL of our best attention at all times.

Laurence Armstrong
Managing Director
Henley Designs

[Marco]

Brilliant stuff, Lawrence... Nice to see you here, and much appreciated!

Marco.

[selfaddict]

I think this incident is going to end up very well in deed for you Marco. Big respect to Mr Armstrong to take his time and explain the situation on the forum, this kind of customer service is very rare now days unfortunately .

We took this incredibly seriously and I have been personally communicating with the CEO of ortofon regarding this and would expect an answer by the end of play today. The cartridge was collected by us and DHL'd straight to Ortofon.

For what it's worth, the failure rate with ortofon is less that 1/1000 as thier QC really is way above the norm. That's why we took this one so seriously.

Let's face it, we all make mistakes and there isn't a manufacturer that never has a QC issue, despite what other posters think but it's how you resolve the mistake that matters, and I sincerely hope that the OP leaves this one smiling.

Assuring you ALL of our best attention at all times.

Laurence Armstrong
Managing Director
Henley Designs

[Marco]

Indeed, Juha, and not only that, Lawrence has kindly offered to send me a set of these rather nice LW-800S headshell cables, with his compliments, for my inconvenience:

http://www.ortofon.com/index.php?opt...187&Itemid=181

How many other importers/manufacturers would do that?

That is what you call 'going the extra mile' for your customers, so hat's off to Henley (and Ortofon) for their superb customer service. I hope to have all three new items with me shortly. As they say, 'all's well that ends well'....

Thanks again, Lawrence!

Marco.

[prestonchipfryer]

First class service Marco. Not often seen in these days of mass consumerism.
Best of luck.

John