Grundig S. 700 repair service question
Edward Gosfield III, MD
Hello All
My well cared for 1995 Grundig Satellit 700 has had an output channel
fail,(spitting, popping, and dropping out--sounds like a bad capacitor
but what do i know about this digital stuff) and needs repair.
Lextronics in Menlo Park, official US agents for Grundig, inform me that
out of warrantee service is available on the East Coast or West Coast
from only two places. They assure me that this particular form of
failure is not a 'common' problem. Anyone else with a similar tale of
electronic woe?
E. Coast out of warrantee service available only from : Bavarian Radio
Works (617) 447-4299 (Whitman MA)
When I called Bavarian today to ask a few questions and find out bench
rates i got a voice mail system only, with no human available. They
have not yet returned my (morning) call although i left a message
requesting info on rates and shipping procedures.
Having spent about 5 years in the high end audio business, i know the
difference between good service and the other kind. I am still making
up my mind about Bavarian and Grundig.
Has anyone had any experience with this service company?
The limited availability of Grundig service certainly makes me think
very hard about whether i will buy any Grundig product in the future.
--
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mailto:egos...@nni.com
Rob Lilley
Dear Edward
I own several Grundigs including the 700 and deal with Bavarian Radio
Works on matters regarding other German radios as well. My experience
has been:
Bavarian Radio Works is a fine outfit and it's owner Ross Hochstrasser is
very helpful and knows German radios back as far as they go. However, be
patient, it's only Ross. He has limited staff and is spread very thin.
Ross will spend time with you and your problem once he gets to you. This
is finely tuned "old world craftsmanship" here, if you just want fast
service, go to Radio Shack.
I do know how you feel though. I get steamed up when I deal especially with
computer firms that have endless forms of branched and looped telephone
quing.
Rob
Belvidere, NJ
Edward Gosfield III, MD
Rob Lilley wrote:
> ...[snip]
> Bavarian Radio Works is a fine outfit and it's owner Ross Hochstrasser is
> very helpful and knows German radios back as far as they go. However, be
> patient, it's only Ross. He has limited staff and is spread very thin.
> Ross will spend time with you and your problem once he gets to you. This
> is finely tuned "old world craftsmanship" here, if you just want fast
> service, go to Radio Shack.
I received a return call from Ross today. He seems like a very nice
guy, who is basically interested in repairing classic radios for
hobbyists/collectors. Through this activity he was noticed by
Lextronics, sole USA agents of Grundig, who invited him to do
post-warranty repairs on Grundig radios. He is the SOLE operator of the
business, and has all the work he can handle and more. We had an
informative, frank discussion regarding repair of Satellit 700 and
Grundig products. His bench rates are quite reasonable in today's
market, but his turnaround time is currently 4-6 weeks for Grundig
repairs. (His custom restoration of classic radios takes longer, but
that is a luxury/hobby market.)
In my previous life in the audio & video sales and service business, i
found that excellent turnaround was 10 days to 2 weeks, acceptable but
frustrating was 2 weeks to 4 weeks, and anything over that led to
constant customer complaints and frustration.
In the case of Grundig, this is certainly not Ross' fault.. There is a
lot of Grundig service to be done on units out of warranty, but only 2
small independant service companies are used by Lextronix. They are
quite busy, due to the success of the products. Grundig in Germany is
not responsible for this service situation, since it is set up by their
agents here. Grundig may or may not be in a situation to improve this,
or even care about it, given their current difficult economic situation.
Users of Grundig equipment may be interested to know that while the
Grundig YB 400 has been found to have characteristic failure modes (e.g.
through user error in AC power supply selection and use), the Satellit
700 has no particularly common failure modes. Each unit requires
relatively extensive diagnostic workup. The 700 has entirely CMOS
electronics, which are very susceptible to static electricity. Exposed
metal parts and the speaker grille are grounded internally, but
otherwise static discharge is a danger to the electronics.
Grundig presents itself as a 'class act', and wishes to appeal to an
up-market consumer. They would be well served by adjusting their
service policies to allow easier access. Lextronix would also do well
to increase the availability of service, or they will end up with lots
of frustrated customers, and the word of mouth will be bad for business.
>
> I do know how you feel though. I get steamed up when I deal especially with
> computer firms that have endless forms of branched and looped telephone
> quing.
Given the size of Bavarian Radio Works' operation, he would get little
work done if he had to answer each call in real time. I've been there,
and I don't blame him for the voice mail, as long as folks get their
calls and questions answered. He was certainly friendly, helpful, and
informative on the phone. I look forward to good technical service. It
will probably run around $65-$80 for the 700 repair. That' s around 25%
of the current value of the equipment--about as high as one would want
to go, i think, especially since a flash of static may kill the radio
again. BRW has a policy of calling customers if the repair will be over
$100. I hope I don't have to receive such a call!
Ted Gosfield