A visit to the kingdom

[Regis]

I visited JBL in Northridge California on Wednesday to pick up some dustcaps in person as I didn't want them mailed. Got there on a hot smoggy typical San Fernando Valley afternoon and though I've lived there for decades, I never visited until now. Harmon Kardon has this place built up as a huge "business campus" for a variety of other business's as well. It goes on for blocks and blocks. The JBL manufacturing facility is pretty big by itself.

I get there and go to the main headquarter door and find out from the guards in the lobby that Pro Service is a couple of blocks away to the south. I ask if I could take a picture of the lobby and they were kind enough to let me take a shot or two. Here is the front of the building

[Regis]

Took some convincing for the security guards to let me take this pic.

[Regis]

Got to JBL Pro Customer Service. Ah, it's all e-commerce now or by the phone ordering. There is no service counter. You walk in on the left through the glass door and you're basically standing in the middle of the loading dock. A security guard got someone to come out of the warehouse to help me out.

I waited on the right side while this very nice gent tried to find someone in sales. I had waited about fifteen minutes and I got a phone number of a woman. He couldn't get ahold of her, so I started walking back to the car and about a block back, I decided to try calling. I got through. So I stopped and sat on a curb in the parking lot while fishing out my wallet for a credit card transaction. While sitting under the eucalyptus tree and telling Carla what I wanted, some suit type walked by with a mail pony in his hand giving me a curious look.

I almost wanted to say, 'hey buddy, a counter would've been great!' but that costs money to run. I had visions of being surrounded by stacks of speakers boxes, cool posters (well, I saw a few in the loading dock area...) and maybe they would've gave me a complimentary pair of LSR's for being the only idiot to show up actually looking to buy something <8^). I wrapped up the phone con and specifically asked that the dustcaps be boxed and then got in my hot little car and went home. It was interesting nonetheless and I'm getting my 4" dustcaps for my brother's 2214H's.

[Zilch]

"DO NOT JUMP OFF DOCK," and

"DO NOT CLIMB LADDER," either.


O.K., Got it....



"HELLO? [Hello, hello, hello....]

Is there anybody IN there...?"

[boputnam]

So that's where they keep us!!??

At least it's ventilated...

[Chas]

So that's where they keep us!!??

I thought that it was a new wide dispersion midrange array!

[scott fitlin]

What? No grand tour of where and how they make the JBL speakers?

I would think that the JBL factory would offer tours, and have little custom made chocolates shaped like woofers and horns, and JBL logos!

Oh well!

[Ian Mackenzie]

Another E Commerce debacle.......where are the humans

Ian

[scott fitlin]

Originally posted by Ian Mackenzie
Another E Commerce debacle.......where are the humans

Ian

Debacle or not, YOU are looking at the FUTURE! No BS, thats the future!

[Maron Horonzakz]

I ROBOT

[Donald]

I am not sure what it takes to get parts. I have e-mailed and sent a fax. No response. How do you get parts? 30 min phone call reading off part numbers and quantities?

[boputnam]

And, you'll find they're nice folks!

[Donald]

Nice folk answer their e-mail and faxes.

Especially when they are a business.

[boputnam]

Well, that may be, but in their world (but not of their design...), they are indeed nice people doing an awkward business, the best they can.

Get to know them - they are really quite helpful - and the time zone of JBL Pro, and it all works.

Thank goodness they offer this stuff, at all - and the offering is less and less, almost monthly...

[4313B]

Originally posted by Donald
I am not sure what it takes to get parts.

The same way it's always been done - visit any Authorized JBL Dealer and they will order the parts for you. Don't harrass the two people at JBL because they are busy filling all the orders for the Dealers. If you love ordering crap via the net go here. Just make sure you have all spyware removed first using SpyBot S&D along with Ad-Aware.