recent eyebrow raising experience with D/V's retail division

[Quadly McQuadmeister]

I ordered a D/V SACD (The Chase Quad recordings) in August and it (apparently) never shipped. Inquiries went ignored after six weeks. After not hearing anything from D/V (previous purchases were always prompt and shipped complete, when there were multiple item orders and I have many of them), I opened a Paypal case. They said if I'd close the case, they'd send the SACD. But if you close the case, you lose the option to open it again. I suggested they send the SACD and I'd close the case. They refunded the purchase and said to repurchase, but the price is significantly higher now than it was then. So I'm looking for a used copy now. Which is unfortunate. I'm posting this just as an FYI. I appreciate what D/V has done for surround, and I know inflationary pressure is ubiquitous, but I feel that just sitting on orders because you don't like what the economy is doing is a little ethically suspect and arguably unprofessional. My faith in their customer service certainly suffered a body blow as a result.

 

[Quadly McQuadmeister]

That was two weeks ago, btw. so it's been well over two months. I'm pretty sure it's not "lost in transit".

 

[Quadly McQuadmeister]

Another thing I see (in general) is the shipping being adjusted so whatever the exchange rate might happen to be, the total never changes.

 

[fredblue]

the UK is currently in what we here might call "a dreadful pickle".

basically we're in deep shit, right upto our necks.

the Country is on a knife edge, with an ever-looming threat of financial collapse and an almighty cost of living crisis affecting millions, many services (including the Royal Mail who handle pretty much all the Post here) are constantly on Strike clamouring for better pay and working conditions and now we have a constitutional crisis with the Government in turmoil.

i am not defending DV and it does sound like things have gone somewhat awry in your specific case but i think some perspective and perhaps leeway may be something i might suggest right now seeing as the country the label is based in is in such disarray right now?

i'm not DV's spokesperson however it does seem in this instance the Royal Mail not functioning properly (and for 19 days in the month when they're on Strike barely at all) may have been the primary thing that affected your order.

that's unfortunate but i also do not think it is fair to cast aspersions on DV's reputation due to circumstances beyond their control.

given that the UK seems on the verge of meltdown at the moment and like i said logistically the likelihood is your shipment was affected by the Royal Mail's Strikes and something DV couldn't do anything about at the time, my advice would be to sit tight for now and wait until the Royal Mail strikes are over (which should be next month afaik) and place a new order when the dust settles.

i understand that means waiting and unfortunately swallowing increased costs as well of course but this is something we all are having to do in this country now, DV included.

 

[DuncanS]

the UK is currently in what we here might call "a dreadful pickle".

basically we're in deep shit, right upto our necks.

the Country is on a knife edge, with an ever-looming threat of financial collapse and an almighty cost of living crisis affecting millions, many services (including the Royal Mail who handle pretty much all the Post here) are constantly on Strike clamouring for better pay and working conditions and now we have a constitutional crisis with the Government in turmoil.

i am not defending DV and it does sound like things have gone somewhat awry in your specific case but i think some perspective and perhaps leeway may be something i might suggest right now seeing as the country the label is based in is in such disarray right now?

i'm not DV's spokesperson however it does seem in this instance the Royal Mail not functioning properly (and for 19 days in the month when they're on Strike barely at all) may have been the primary thing that affected your order.

that's unfortunate but i also do not think it is fair to cast aspersions on DV's reputation due to circumstances beyond their control.

given that the UK seems on the verge of meltdown at the moment and like i said logistically the likelihood is your shipment was affected by the Royal Mail's Strikes and something DV couldn't do anything about at the time, my advice would be to sit tight for now and wait until the Royal Mail strikes are over (which should be next month afaik) and place a new order when the dust settles.

i understand that means waiting and unfortunately swallowing increased costs as well of course but this is something we all are having to do in this country now, DV included.

Yep we've become the living embodiment of,

, and without a paddle!

 

[Quadly McQuadmeister]

Well, shipping the CD very definitely WAS under their control. Otherwise, I'd give them a pass.

 

[fredblue]

Well, shipping the CD very definitely WAS under their control. Otherwise, I'd give them a pass.

people make genuine mistakes.
DV offered you a solution to rectify things and you declined in favour of a refund, which they fulfilled.

 

[Quadly McQuadmeister]

Incorrect. I asked them to ship the CD I paid for a month and a half previous to the filing of the claim with PayPal. Facts matter and those facts, along without so much as an apology for any inconvenience are why I chose to post about it. I had as much sympathy for what the economy (here no less than there as you point out) has done to put us all behind the eight ball, but their either sitting on the order or losing it does NOT speak well for them. My money spends 100%, 100% of the time. Taking customers for granted shouldn't be part of any business plan irrespective of which way the economic winds blow.

 

[fredblue]

taking to a public forum to bad-mouth a great little company who have done so much for Quad feels like quite an unfortunate thing to do.

 

[Quadly McQuadmeister]

I don't dislike D/V. I dislike the way I was treated in this particular transaction. No company should be above constructive criticism. Nor should they DESIRE to be. I didn't "bad mouth" anyone. Further, companies don't have feelings. But by way of civility in disagreement, I will say anthropomorphizing inanimate objects or institutions is something we all do. I know I do. It may just be a one off situation. I hope it is. But I'm once bitten twice shy about purchasing new releases from them. If your experience differs from mine, your choice understandably wouldn't be mine.

 

[fredblue]

rather than order another copy of the CD and live with a small increased cost, you have chosen to publicly decry the company, calling them "ethically suspect" and "arguably unprofessional".

i call that bad-mouthing.

so i am going to stand up for DV because without them quite frankly Quad's fortunes would be scuppered and in this instance i feel over a CD purchase that regrettably went awry you are being quite objectionable, unreasonable and unfair.

 

[4-earredwonder]

taking to a public forum to bad-mouth a great little company who have done so much for Quad feels like quite an unfortunate thing to do.

Short of nominating Michael Dutton, CEO of Watford, UK's Dutton Vocalion for SAINTHOOD, I will only add that in these unfortunate times when the world in general, as poster Duncan alludes, is going to HELL in a HANDBAG ......NEVER has the virtue of PATIENCE been so sorely tested.

With shortgages, exasperated by 'supply chain issues' being felt all over the globe, we are all in THIS TOGETHER. The world literally shut down for almost 2 1/2 years due to a pandemic over which we had little control, Putin's savage invasion of Ukraine, a soverign nation, has created chaos not experienced since World War II .......and with world wide currencies plunging to record levels during inflationary times, I think it unfair to belabor an issue, which in hindsight, is SO picayune that you had to drag it unmercifully into this public forum!

For the past 6 years and at a time when the Major Record companies are charging upward of $300 for a single Surround disc with sometimes questionable peripherals, Dutton Vocalion for the paltry sum of £11.99 has bestowed upon QUAD LOVERS EVERYWHERE 2 superbly remastered albums which would otherwise lie fallow in the vaults!

So cutting to the CHASE, Mr. Quadly McQuadmeister, I'm CERTAIN in time your disc will arrive safely and securely and even if is does cost you one £ more, look what you're still getting for £12.99 at a juncture when MOST reissue companies would charge you upwards of $60US for the same privilege.

 

[jefe1]

Good post Mr 4ears
I don't doubt that DV dropped the ball in the original posters case. 6 weeks without a response is inexcusable. But one problem CD order after many successful orders is not enough to condem a company and I likewise sing and praise DV for what they have done for us.
Patience is the key word here a virtue which I have yet to master.

The world is in a sorry place and mail is no longer reliable off and on.
I hardly think DV held up shipping one CD so they could get an extra pound on reorder.
We here at QQ are a steady stream of revenue for them. They would be foolish to jeopardize sales with sloppy business practices.
I would cut them some slack for one bad situation concerning one sacd and just reorder it.

It's not like they promised us some signed slipcovers and than held up shipment.
Let me duck now.....

 

[Quadly McQuadmeister]

Re-read the thread. I didn't condemn anybody. I pointed out a problem with the purchase. Period. I stand by my post.

 

[ar surround]

A Moderator should probably wipe this thread as it is getting out of hand.

 

[Quadly McQuadmeister]

Hyperbole notwithstanding, I'm not attacking anyone. Surprisingly, I've found myself in agreement with these frequent posters many times in the past, even if they don't remember them. This may be the first time we've had a significant differing opinion on any topic on this forum. Civil disagreement should be well within the lines of discourse, as long as it STAYS civil. It's now fully two months out and I'm virtually certain that the order was never shipped or (and I don't discount this as a possibility with our formerly outstanding postal services) actually was lost in transit. But I inquired NUMEROUS times (re-read the thread) with no response WHATSOEVER. I didn't receive a response from D/V UNTIL I opened the Paypal dispute. THAT is what I found objectionable. Being a dissatisfied customer is well within my purview as a consumer and God help us should that purview ever change. As for Audiophool labels that charge 60.00 GBP for an SACD. I won't be purchasing them as I'm retired, disabled and every Dollar I spend I have to budget VERY carefully and that has been the case for far longer than this most recent round of economic headwinds. I had a problem with a purchase and I was surprised and dismayed by it. It was purchased as a gift to a friend, and the occasion for which it was intended is now long passed. I have every right to be disappointed and every right to say so. To borrow a turn of phrase from Thomas Jefferson it neither breaks your leg nor bruises your heel. Those "few" deflated dollars are a bigger percentage of MY wherewithal than it is of D/V's, of that you may be certain.

 

[jefe1]

Thank you for an eloquent and civil post Quadly.
I am sorry for your bad experience and hope it does not happen again.

 

[Quadly McQuadmeister]

I certainly don't bear any ill will towards D/V. I wish them continued success. The attention they've paid to some of my favorite Artists (Maynard Ferguson's British CBS, Chase's Epic and B, S&T's Quadraphonic back catalog offerings among them) are very much appreciated. I've also collected many of their earlier mono classical recordings (Vaughan Williams, Holst, various soundtracks and others) and find them very enlightening as well. They fulfill a critical need for a musical demographic that's increasingly underserved. It'd be nice if the World economy could return to a focus on mutual prosperity instead of an uncertain equality through randomly distributed misery. I just hope this period of geo-political irrationality is shorter and less chaotic than signs and portents seem to indicate. God save us all. Here's hoping for brighter days ahead.

 

[steelydave]

Just to let everyone know, at the behest of D-V's shipping guru Simon, I reached out to Quadly McQuadmeister and this situation has been resolved amicably, and his Chase disc is now on the way.

The problem arose from an IT error with D-V's payments processor - their system relies on PayPal generating an invoice which then creates a purchase order in D-Vs system, but for some reason the PayPal invoice never generated so D-V had no idea the disc had been ordered. The situation was exacerbated when Quadly's emails to D-V bounced - I'm working to drill down on what the issue is there (I need to see email headers from the bounced emails and he's not sure if he still has them) but I think it most likely is an ISP issue or a temporary internet DNS hiccup or something. Either way it was just a perfect storm of a couple of technical issues that combined to make it look like D-V was ignoring him when that wasn't the case.

We believe the issue with the payments processor is a one-off occurrence as there haven't been any other reported issues of this problem as far as we know, but if your order is slow in arriving please email Simon (I'm not sure if I should post his email address here for spam reasons, but it should be in your order confirmation emails) and he should get back to you quickly about the status of your order. I don't want to put a timescale on his replies, but he's always very prompt and cares deeply about customer satisfaction, so if you do email him and don't get a reply after a few days feel free to PM me and I can act as a go-between if there are email problems.

 

[DuncanS]

As a connected but related aside.

I ordered from Cherry Red via PayPal, it failed with the message 'could not contact my bank', so I switched to use another card, and this time PayPal worked and generated the order. When I decided to check PayPal for the first request, it had worked with the first card, and when I looked at my card account the payment had come off my card at the same time (so it had been able to connect to the card provider), no order generated, but I had a payment notification. So, I contacted Cherry Red, they could see my order with the 2nd card was all Ok, but nothing generated from the first, and no notifications for it from PayPal. They then looked at their Bank Account and saw the first payment! Contacted me and repaid the first payment.

PayPal is not without errors!