Trying To Get Customer Service From VTL Is Like Trying To Get Blood From A Stone!

Love my VTL ST 150 tube amp but trying to get ANY assistance whether be info,parts,emails answered is impossible from that company.Asked basic questions about what kind of MIT caps are used for their somewhat pricey $800 coupling cap upgrade and could not even have that question answered on the phone after email was ignored.I usually don't name names but Bea Lam is the most unhelpful customer service person for any company I've ever owned a product of!!!

 

Wow, This is surprising. I would have thought VTL is the kind of company that is built not only on what they sell but service as well. I have c-j gear, and yes it is expensive just like VTL, but those guys bend over backwards to help you, whether it is by email or by phone, they are great.

 

I've never dealt with them but I am surprised to hear that they would have bad customer service. One would expect service to be top notch.

That said, I really don't blame them for not wanting to share detailed information about specific parts. It could be considered proprietary information.

 

Ed at CJ is a top bloke,couldn't ask for better help.

 

I've had the same experience with VTL. For upgrades, they require that the unit be shipped from an authorized dealer. They will not accept direct shipments, and you cannot carry in an item, even though though I live about 25 miles away. I advised her that I found the policy to be "strange" and very unhelpful for their consumers. She didn't seem to care about my opinion. Very arrogant, and I've heard her husband is even worse.

Next time I am in the market for audio products I will definitely look elsewhere. There are lots of brands out there.

 

Audio Research and Magneplanar have provided me some of the best customer service I have experienced. Not surprisingly I keep buying from them.

 

I have had mixed results with VTL after service.

When my mono blocks (well, one of them) broke, I called them only to find that it would take more than a month before they could even take a look. At THEIR RECOMMENDATION, I instead took it to a repair expert (the only one they would recommend) and he took more than six weeks to figure out what was wrong with it because, according to him, VTL was not responsive to his questions about the product. Even he thought it was frustrating that VTL would recommend him and then not be helpful to him. After spending a couple of hundred dollars for nothing and waiting for almost two months, I took the unit back still broken.

As I could not live without music any longer, I ended up purchasing my current Audio Research amp from a local dealer, who just happened to be an authorized dealer for VTL as well. That dealer was kind enough to volunteer to have the unit fixed at cost. When that dealer sent it in to VTL for repairs, it took less than two weeks and the unit came back completely fixed. Go figure.

Anyway, after that experience, VTL will no longer be a product in my system in the future.

 

Wow, I'm completely stunned by VTL. I've had nothing but helpful service/suggestions from Classe whenever I've had a small issue with my amp or pre-amp.

 

Unacceptable. IMO VTL equipment sounds great, but whenever purchasing high end audio equipment equipment you have to be able to count on the manufacturer to fix it when it fails. There's a lot of other tube amp makers out there; ARC and CJ would never treat their customers that way.

 

I have a VTL ST-150 amp and one of its channels stopped working 6 months ago. I took it back to my dealer and they contacted VTL. VTL were pretty sure they knew what the problem was and could have instructed my dealer how to fix it, but they suggested the amp be returned to them so they could fix it and also do some updates (the amp was 2 years old). 2 weeks later I had the amp back, and it sounded better than before.

VTL couldn't have been better about the whole thing. They specifically told my dealer to get my amp shipped to them by a certain day so they could look at it before they closed shop for the holidays (this back in December).

I've read a few "VTL is terrible to deal with" threads on the web and don't know what to make of them. My experience has obviously been great. One possible explanation is that I went through my dealer and VTL seems much to prefer this. The bad stories about VTL seem to involve people who contact them directly.

Something else to consider is that the original poster probably came off as someone who wanted to figure out how to do the cap upgrade on his own. VTL has positioned itself as making tube equipment that appeals to people who are nervous about maintaing tube equipment, so it makes sense that they're more interested in dealer service than a DIY ethos. Contacting a company who markets itself as "making tubes user friendly" wanting what looks to be DIY info is probably destined not to go well.

But maybe I've misunderstood what happened here.

 

It is becoming clear from the posts that VTL factory sees its cutomers as its dealers who in turn deal with their customers the hi-end consumers. This is very unexceptable in today's modern mobile world. What if buy your VTL amp while you are living in NYC and then your company moves you to the outback of North Dakota, what are you going to do for a dealer then? :thumbsdn:

 

I have Convergent Audio Technology stuff and I asked Ken Stevens, on the phone, about differences between the JL1 and JL2, and he spent 30 minutes going into detail. He even told me about different iron used in his transformer.

 

A quick summary of my experience with VTL:

1.I purchase my VTL ST 150 from a dealer 2nd hand as a customer trade in.I try to purchase the 5 way binding posts and a manual from VTL by emailing them.

2.4 emails go ignored,2 phone calls also-on the 3rd phone call I get intouch with Bea in Customer service and get my manual.

3.I still try to purchase the posts (in which the 1st requested posts were incorrect or part was missing).

4.I am told they are coming but wait for weeks anyway.I'm sent the wrong posts again-call and Bea apoligizes:says parts worker did not understand her instructions-get correct posts soon after,Asked about returned parts(if they want them sent back) told yes-asked if I will be reinburst for shipping -got a no and a laugh

5.Ask about cap upgrade on wesite again all emails ignored-got in touch by phone eventually.Got some lame excuse from Bea saying why she didn't call me back was they were getting ready for showing.

6.Asked (by email) what kind of MIT caps included for $800 price-told it was propritary (basically just send amp money-and don't ask questions)

Sooo-pretty much figured out by now-they don't care a whole lot about me as a customer.Probably would have asked for more money for the amp upgrade I bet if they accepted it and once they had it in their hands

 

Maybe the couldn't understand your email with all the spelling errors.

 

I suspect that part of the problem is that you acquired the amp "second hand." In my own dealings with Bea, I noticed a real change in attitude once I informed her that I bought my mono blocks second hand. She was far more helpful when I had called for information regarding my preamp (which I had purchased new from a dealer).

I will say that she did walk me through the steps to fix a (minor) problem with one of the amps, and that she really knew her products. It was just the ridiculous policy of forcing consumers to ship through an authorized dealer that annoyed me. Although I live near LA, the closest dealer is about 20 miles away, and VTL is about 25 miles from where I live. It just doesn't make sense. It's not like I would have requested a tour of the factory, and asked to go to lunch with Bea and Luke.

 

I won't consider VTL in the future. Not worth the hassle. As others have said here, there are a lot of tube gear manufacturers.

 

I wonder if most high end audio companies are aware of places like this (SH Forums). Before there were places like this all you could depend on for advice was word-of-mouth or magazines (which we all know can sometimes be motivated by who buys adds in their mag). Ten years ago I would have never known that while being here on the East Coast someone was having problems with VTL service on the West Coast. I also wonder if most companies understand the impact of negative reports. If 3 or 4 years from now I hear a VTL amp and even if I think it is a great amp I am going to have that nagging little voice in me that says "are you going to have service problems". Finally, I wonder how many companies understand the difference in the effect of "needing service" and "getting good service". Almost any gear no matter how well it is made will occasionally require service, but what really effects me the most is whether that service goes smooth and right or whether it is nightmare.

 

Totally unacceptable behavior. I like their integrated and have recommend it a few times to friends, but never again.

 

Gosh, I get better responses from David Berning, who only does this part time and hasnt built my gear in 25 years...wow..

 

:thumbsdn:

 

This is disturbing information.

"High End Gear, Deserves High End Customer Service" If we are going to pay the kind of prices this type of equipment commands, we damn well better get "Yes Sir, How High? Sir" type of response from the "factory" repair team. Or else you buy another brand, ... screw 'em.

 

Agreed. I was considering trying a higher power VTL as my next move. It surprises me that some manufacturers think they can be this arrogant.

 

well, i wonder if they disclosed all the "rules of play" before someone purchased the VTL stuff, either by a dealer's advice or web sight warning, or in the manual?

Its OK to have whatever rules they want, but at least they should make sure its posted somewhere...like McIntosh does with its warranty policy.

 

This is disturbing news - I have VTL amps - love the sound, but now dread the inevitable service..

 

I bought my VTL IT-85 off of Ebay. After a few months of use, it began to get noisy in one of the channels and eventually died in that channel. I contacted VTL, I believe when it was just noisy, from the contact link on their web page. I was contacted by Bea Lam that she would need a little more info, such as the serial number. When I sent this info, I was shocked to find out that the amp had actually been stolen from a VTL dealer. Nice. Anyway, I had to buy a box from them in order to ship the amp, but once I did, I shipped it off. It took a while for me to get around to shipping it, and a short while to repair (I bought a $50 receiver to tide me over until it returned), but the tubes got replaced and the amp came back in fine condition, still going strong. All of my emails were answered, and Bea was helpful. Anyway, I think when grievances get aired on the internet, they tend to give an exaggerated impression of how bad things are, as people that agree chime in, and those who have had no experience with them shake their heads and ponder never using that dealer/manufacturer, while those people who have had no problems, don't know the thread is there or don't respond. I'm not saying their customer service couldn't use some work, probably every company should be constantly striving to improve things, just giving another perspective, so that this doesn't become a VTL bashing thread, which I think is different from a thread complaining about problems that have been had with VTL.