Way back in 2005 I reviewed a new-comer to the home audio market and I loved it. But what happens when you have to use Sonos customer service?
A couple of weeks ago one of those original units finally gave up the ghost so I got in touch with Sonos on Twitter to see if there was anything that could be done. But after more than a decade of daily use I wasn’t sure what they could really offer.
@Sonos Our original ZP100's has died after 10yrs of great service! UK repair centre? Thanks https://t.co/wu8m0vDx4v pic.twitter.com/yqPUVJEqUu
— Automated Home (@ottomate) January 3, 2016
Once I got the contact details from their Twitter account I got in touch with the customer services department. Amazingly they offered a replacement unit for £79+VAT. That price includes advanced delivery of the unit (with 14 days to return the old one) plus a free UPS collection of my old unit heading back to the Netherlands.
I was even more delighted when a few days later I received what looks like a brand new Connect:Amp (RRP £400) instead of the refurbished ZP100 I was expecting!
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New Connect:Amp (top) meets the long-serving ZP100 (bottom)
That original Sonos review in 2005 was the first time we ever handed out an Automated Home Top Tech Award, and it’s as deserved today as it was back then. Brands that go the extra mile for their customers are few and far between these days, but they gain a loyal following.
So if a Sonos system sounds like a good idea to you now, it’ll sound even better if you have to use their customer service a decade from now. Well done Sonos.
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Good for you.
But I keep wondering if the same thing would happen if you used your private Twitter account and didn’t link to your own review…
Ah @Moskus, how this cruel world has made you bitter and sceptical 🙂
We checked before publishing. This was NOT a special deal for Automated Home.
M.
Fantastic – always good when you get service beyond what you can reasonably expect!
(I hear that Naim’s customer service is pretty amazing too! 😉 )
@Phil – exactly 🙂
+ 1 for excellent customer service. I have several CR100 controllers bought on Ebay which I could not get to connect to my system. Contacted Sonos through the website and they pushed an update through as well as talked me through getting everything set up again. They could quite easily have said – get lost as they don’t sell or support stand alone controllers any more.
@Mavis – good to hear
I’ve had to contact their support a couple of times, and I’ve always found them to be incredibly helpful, and speedy sorting out returns.
I think they look at your purchase history to see how loyal a customer you are. I got similar deal on an out of warranty repair.
I have to say, sonos cs is amazing my play 5 stopped working i have to say i was GUTTED to say the least i had it just over 12 mnths and thought here we go, however i called them up and BOOM literally 3 days later my replacement unit arrived. No mess no fuss just pure impact lol i have many sonos players and i have only had a fault with one in about 6 years. Amazing product LOVE SONOS!!!!!!
I have always loved the look of Sonos, but not the price.
Google Chromecast Audios with my own amps and speakers have provided me with a whole house home audio system for less than the cost of a single new Sonos Connect Amp.
Good to hear someone still has good CS though, perhaps they could lend some of their advisors to BT?
@Will – Chromecast Audio is a neat product but that’s comparing apples with oranges. You need to add the cost of comparable quality amps and speakers for starters. And I’d have had no music for the last decade if I’d been waiting for it 🙂
I looked at Sonos years ago… and decided on to use Vortexbox (ie Logitech media server) and Logitech Touch player (and more recently a Raspberry Pi + DAC ) so that I could explore sample rates above 44.1 Khz using my own good hifi gear.
I’m a huge fan of Sonos, bought my first ZP100 in 2005 and now have 9 rooms in my house with music – a mixture of ZP100s, ZP120s, Play 5s and Play 1s – they all work flawlessly together and support pretty much every music service going as well as local content.
Yes, it’s not cheap, but I can’t think of another technology product that is still updated regularly with new features and still working after 11 years, this in itself is a huge achievement.
Just had a great response from customer service. 2 new cr200s after originals went faulty. Small fee as they are nearly 5 years old (before the app was available for phones etc) but they arrived within 2 days and free return postage to Netherlands for faulty units. Great service.
I wish I could sing Sonos’ praises at the moment but sadly I can’t. I have 2x Play 1, a Play 3, a Play 5 and a Connect Amp. Last week I bought a used ZP80 and it wouldn’t update to the latest software. I called Sonos and they tried a few things before saying the unit was dead. They want £249 for an exchange unit. A new one is only £309. I don’t be taking them up on their offer.