...not even the great John Lewis, can match Richer Sounds for quality of service...

You may remember that I bought a Fatman Blu a year or so back, from Richard at Richer Sounds. For an extra £20 he sold me their extended warranty, for peace of mind and the fact that if I didn't use it, I could claim it back.
Well, the Fatman Blu had a problem so on Friday I called Richer Sounds customer service but as it was 17.01 and they close at 17.00, no-one picked up. "Ah well," thought I, "I'll call again on Monday".
Saturday, mid morning and I am lying like a beached whale across the sofa, watching crap on television when my mobile rings. Unknown number, do I pick it up or ignore it? Always a question. I picked it up and a voice on the end of the phone states that she missed a call from me last night and she is from the customer services team at Richer Sounds and how can she help me.
I was flabbergasted, I am not aware of any company that actively chases problems up but we went through my details and she told me to take the amp into the local branch and they will test it and have the unit repaired.
I unplugged the system and in my lunch break on the Monday, I took the amp into the Milton Keynes store, from whence it came originally after a superb sales job by Richard. I really wish that I had taken the name of the chap that served me on the return unit because he was also excellent. He replaced the amp there and then, it was so simple and painless and it left me with a nice warm fuzzy feeling and the certainty that I would be recommending their service. It is almost a pleasure to spend money there and I can't say that about any other store, not even the great John Lewis (and they are really good), can match Richer Sounds for quality of service, both sales and support.

It's not as if I have spent a huge amount of money there but I may well be on the look out for another amp in the next few years, an upgrade on the Fatman Blu and Richer Sounds will be my first port of call. It is very obvious that the people there know their stuff and they have a love of audio and it is so good to see a company that has pride in its knowledge and staff, and as someone who worked in retail for a good few years in my younger days, Richer Sounds is quite an amazing and unique organisation, who genuinely put the customer first and have service levels that other shops dream of, and that includes their customer service team that called me back..

Go and spend some money there, go buy a record deck to play your vinyl on, invest in a Fatman Blu and take their advice on speakers and don't forget the pre-amp. They will make you very happy at a budget price, go on, go and buy some valves, you know you want to...