Does the name BOSE still stand for quality?

Ever bought a product from what you thought was a “stand up” company and after completing the purchase discover that the company was nearly impossible to deal with on any kind of rational level?  Recently my CD player died. My search of possible replacements led me to the BOSE WAVE System, because my generation knows, the very word BOSE means quality right? And besides, I figured when my sisters send me off to the “Home” I would have this great portable sound system that could go with me. I order the system, although, I must say I was slightly chagrined that Bluetooth technology was not built in feature  and is instead a $100 add-on. 

I am delighted when my new system arrives, however, the joy is dampened a bit when I see the dreadful words “Made in China”.  I open the Acoustic Wave System Box, next the box containing the 5-CD changer and last the small box containing the Connect Kit. In under an hour, I have the system unpacked and assembled, my favorite radio stations programmed, and I am listening to the demo CD. The sound is impeccable.

Ah what to listen to first, I put in a mix of CD’s and hit Random.  An hour into playing there is a crunching sound.   I remove one of the CD’ s, that has a brand new gash in it.  I recheck installation put in another CD into slot number 2 and CRUNCH GRINNNNNND the most gawd awful sound comes blaring through the speakers.   A second CD is destroyed.  Wow, the new CD player, brand new out of the box, straight from China is a CD destroyer.

I call BOSE, a very nice young man (#1) me to remove all CD’s  (I already had) tells me how to unplug the CD player and plug the power cord to the Wave unit (I already had) and instructs me to pack up the unit in its original packaging.   Next tells me how he is going to have UPS email me a pre-paid UPS label that I can put on the box and simply drop it off at my nearest UPS store, but oh wait, he can’t contact UPS until Monday because BOSE systems are down for maintenance so I will get the label early Monday afternoon at the latest. 

Monday afternoon I check my email, no sign of the magic label so I call in to BOSE when I finally get a rep (#2) on the line I am told that my email must not be accepting the emails that UPS is sending, please check the SPAM folder….I check no label, check the Trash folder, I check no label, well it must surely be my email because it has been sent and another will be sent out and I will receive it in two hours.   The scenario is repeated 2 more times on Monday. Young  man (#4) says wait a minute I think the rep before me sent a message to UPS that they should pick up the package from you.   NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That means I have to be at home for up to 3 days during all business hours waiting for the UPS truck to pull up that is why UPS is emailing me the label.

It is now after 7 PM on Monday and I know that in all likelihood UPS is not going to send me a return shipping label via email on this day.  Tuesday morning, I turn on my computer, no label from BOSE/UPS.  No label, call BOSE, rep says oh it must be your email is not accepting UPS labels.  At this point I have had it, I tell the young man on the phone that if I don’t have an email label by 5 PM this evening, I am boxing up all of the Wave components to ship back to BOSE, calling American Express to put a stop on payment. 

Tuesday, 1 PM, I get home from the dentist and there in my email box is a pre-paid UPS label.  Somehow that nasty email account of mine let this email come through (LMAO) to my Inbox.  I affix the label to the box and I am just about ready to leave for my next appointment of the day when the doorbell rings.  There stands a nice young woman from UPS with FOUR pre-paid labels to ship FOUR boxes back to BOSE. She was quite surprised to see that I already had a duplicate label of the ones she was delivering already on the box and asked if I had 3 more boxes!   It appears that all of the young men at BOSE have been requesting pick up labels instead of drop off labels (sent via email). 

I called BOSE and asked to speak to a supervisor, something they really don’t want you to do.  Once I had a young man on the phone that identified himself as a Supervisor, he would not let me talk.  His arrogance was really quite unbelievable.  All I wanted to tell him was that perhaps there was a programming error in that system maintenance software that had been loaded over the weekend and that something funky was happening when his reps requested a drop off label causing it to read on the other end at UPS as a pick up label.   Mr. Arrogance  did not want to hear what I had to say and instead explained to me that it was my email’s fault that I had not received the labels.   So this is how I am grading BOSE (please keep in mind I have had the product only a few days).

Quality on product  = D- (having to return a brand new product hours after receiving it BOOO)

Attempts to give good customer service:

            First Rep = A

            Second Rep = C

            Third Rep = C

            Fourth Rep = B

            Fifth Rep = A  (he actually gets the label to me)

            Supervisor = F

Recommendation to BOSE:   Maybe you should hire some detail oriented women who can actually provide Excellent Customer Service.

Postscript: Tuesday  afternoon: UPS showed up wanting to pick up 4 more boxes from me and the beat goes on....LOL

Postscript: Wednesday UPS again showed up wanting to pick up 4 more boxes from me and the beat goes on....LMAO I suspect I will see them a couple of more times this week.  

Postscript Thursday:  My shipment to UPS has been received and my replacement CD player is supposed to be delivered on Friday.  Praying that this one actually works.