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I have a few B&O purchases I'm considering. Nothing major right now, but few small things that are not available on-line, like a Core and Beo remote, maybe a m3. My local Chicago area dealer closed so I'm in search of a new dealer. Boston was recommended to me by an associate at the old store, but I didn't ask why and he never explained. Their on-line reviews are not great (not that this matters too much). All the US stores are hundreds or thousands of miles away so location doesn't really matter.
Any recommendations?
Thanks,
Stan
Dom
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DMacri:+1 for the Boston store. I have nothing but good experiences with them.
Are you in the Boston area, or have you dealt with them remotely?
1.5 hours drive. Nearby?
This thread reminds me how differently distances are viewed in the US in comparison with the U.K. Sometimes when I switch iPads or computers I get a warning from the (probably US based) service provider that someone in London is trying to log on to my account etc etc. I'm 220 miles away from London, but obviously just next door in US terms.
I'd recommend Nick at B&O Wilmslow. Not in the US, but hey, maybe more accessible to you than some of your alternatives!
Graham
vikinger: 1.5 hours drive. Nearby?
My friend who lives in Dallas is always driving between Dallas, Austin and Houston and they are around 3-4 hours apart. Just the norm there.
I've always found the majority of the US B&O dealers to be helpful. When I was in Miami, always visited the South Beach store (I think it's closed now) and, although I only bought a pair of headphones, the dealer would always spend some time chatting - he was the one who convinced me to buy a BV12-65 when I returned to the UK. He was the only dealer I'd seen who still had a 12-65 on the wall. Boston store was pretty good, too.
I too have had good experience with the Boston store -- from technical help, incl. knowing when to forward questions to B&O -- to simple customer accommodation, like custom delivery methods and storing purchased goods undelivered.
However, even they are changing a bit. One of the original proprietors is joining our pipe&slippers brigade, and they now keep some less-experienced sales help in the shop in addition to one or more of their "regulars". They are also trying to expand their reach: beoboston.com no longer points directly to their dealer page at bang-olufsen.com, and their main web site is now thevisiongroupboston.com. Grow or die, so that could be a good sign, or it could carry the risk that they'll fail -- or find their other work more profitable than a B&O store! They still do sell some used equipment, which here in the USA is a rarity.
Your other concern would be installation service, and then warranty service. They do some limited setup in the store; space is tight, but certainly programming the remote (if even necessary). But you aren't going to be driving your equipment back to Atlantic Systems in Boston for repairs. Lucky for you, @Razlaw has said a B&O service tech was dispatched from Chicago to him. (I had a problem with a BeoVision 10 in Orlando and couldn't get anybody dispatched from West Palm Beach!)
That said, I can imagine that some or all of those Yelp reviews are true. Yes, they are nice to me, but I have already bought something. And I have never tried to make a return. You could look for reviews of the Cincinnati store; it's several hours less of a drive...
vikinger: 1.5 hours drive. Nearby? This thread reminds me how differently distances are viewed in the US in comparison with the U.K.
This thread reminds me how differently distances are viewed in the US in comparison with the U.K.
An old saying I've heard is that one difference between the US and Europe is that over here 500 years is considered a long time, while over there 500 miles is considered a long distance.
I remember when they lowered the speed limit to 55 mph, driving across Texas wasn't a trip, it was a career.
ETA: I think the closest dealer to me now is about 1200 or so miles away, at least. Which essentially means that as far as I'm concerned there are no dealers, no place to inspire impulse purchases, get me hooked on a product, etc. i am amazed at how poor the B&O dealership network is now in the US.
Jeff
I'm afraid I'm recovering from the BeoVirus.
moxxey: vikinger: 1.5 hours drive. Nearby? My friend who lives in Dallas is always driving between Dallas, Austin and Houston and they are around 3-4 hours apart. Just the norm there.
Even people in the USA have a hard time understanding the vastness of Texas. We have friends in Houston, and I travel to Austin fairly frequently. It only took 3 or 4 times for my wife to stop asking if I was going to look up our friends since I'll be "close by".
I often speak with European co-workers that visit our company HQ in the SF Bay area. "Are you going to check out any of the country while you're here?" "Yeah, we're going to LA, then Vegas, then Grand Canyon, then Yosemite, then back to SF" "Are you staying for 2 weeks?" "Huh? No, 5 days". smh
Thanks for the tips.
I don't plan to buy anything big in the near to mid-term future. I have some B&O in practically every room, and bought an Eclipse last year (when my local dealer was still selling B&O, and the local service center had not closed). After having had a B&O store less than 15 minutes away for 20 years, it's hard adjusting to not having someone I can just call, and they know me.
I was leaning toward Cincinnati, but then "my guy" said Boston. I'm really surprised Cincinnati can sustain a store (when Chicago, DC, Texas, etc. cannot). It's not a huge city... must be the Proctor and Gamble folks or Kentucky horse farms like B&O... I would hate to start building a relationship and have the store close (and I'm clearly not going to buy enough to keep it open).
Stan: moxxey: vikinger: 1.5 hours drive. Nearby? My friend who lives in Dallas is always driving between Dallas, Austin and Houston and they are around 3-4 hours apart. Just the norm there. Even people in the USA have a hard time understanding the vastness of Texas. We have friends in Houston, and I travel to Austin fairly frequently. It only took 3 or 4 times for my wife to stop asking if I was going to look up our friends since I'll be "close by". I often speak with European co-workers that visit our company HQ in the SF Bay area. "Are you going to check out any of the country while you're here?" "Yeah, we're going to LA, then Vegas, then Grand Canyon, then Yosemite, then back to SF" "Are you staying for 2 weeks?" "Huh? No, 5 days". smh
Yeah, back in college I worked at a store in Orlando, Florida where we'd get tourists, usually from the UK, who'd say, we were thinking of driving down to see Key West and maybe eat lunch there, what do you think? I'd say, good plan, if you mean eat lunch there tomorrow. Florida is a very long state not counting the keys. Plus whenever I got down there on the long, mostly 2 lane road I'd always seem to get behind someone towing a 35 foot boat behind a VW microbus.
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