Atomic Amps - Tom King won't return my amp - IT'S BEEN A YEAR!!!

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LiveHardDieFree said:
ASM boys.......sounds better, works better, looks better, is better.
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Agree 100% coupled with the facts of this threads content caused me to not even consider going with a company run pretty much by one man. A buddy sent his CLR off to be repaired and it was sent back without part it was diagnosed as needing. I will say I owned one for about two years and never had an issue with it and I fully regret selling it due to it's stellar tone!
However, when it came to getting back into frfr all things considered Friedman was the clear winner!
Friedman is a real amp company with top shelf tone, QC, and will back their products with consistent customer support.
 
I can say I had a great experience with Atomic. My out of warranty Active CLR wedge (non Neo) fell about 2 feet onto concrete. Found that the 12" speaker magnet spit in half. Contacted Tom with pics. Within hours he emailed me back agreeing it was a weird split. Told me to pay to and from shipping and he would replace at No charge. That was awesome!
 
My experiences with Atomic have been positive. Without knowing the depth of the customer service problems being reported on forums, it's easy to get the impression that this is rampant. I'd like to think that problems are hugely in the minority, statistically, and that Atomic makes good on any LEGITIMATE customer service issues. Specifically what that means will vary according to the customer and the situation.

I've seen musicians totally hosed by small shop companies, unfortunately, and it sucks. At the same time, I've seen individuals (with solve-able customer service issues) use any and all opportunities to go for the jugular, asking for a mile when all they really should get is a couple inches. I wish it weren't the case, but small companies also have to protect against that, too.

I recently witnessed a long-time neighbor in good standing who decided to lawyer-up and sue over an unfortunate accident that involved some relatively minor landscaping. But instead of a discussion to talk about payment for damages in real terms, they went straight to a lawyer, and in the end all they've accomplished is creating ill-will amongst friends. Makes me wonder what people are thinking sometimes.
 
I'm glad you and a majority are happy (that's how it should be). The question is how a business handles normal repairs. Do they send it back in a timely manner? Do they make an effort to address the situation equitably?

I am not one to be litigous or be an asshole, I just want my repaired power amp unit back. If it was a big company, I could blame corporate greed or stupidity. However, my frustration has been that when respectfully asking for the status of my repair about once a month, half the time there is no response and the other half with "Sorry, had an issue with X, Y, Z. Will ship in one week."

Because I'm out almost a grand and a usable amp, it's frustrating. I'd rather up front honesty ("look we screwed up, let us compensate with x") than delaying games.
 
yyz67 said:
I'm glad you and a majority are happy (that's how it should be). The question is how a business handles normal repairs. Do they send it back in a timely manner? Do they make an effort to address the situation equitably?

I am not one to be litigous or be an asshole, I just want my repaired power amp unit back. If it was a big company, I could blame corporate greed or stupidity. However, my frustration has been that when respectfully asking for the status of my repair about once a month, half the time there is no response and the other half with "Sorry, had an issue with X, Y, Z. Will ship in one week."

Because I'm out almost a grand and a usable amp, it's frustrating. I'd rather up front honesty ("look we screwed up, let us compensate with x") than delaying games.
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Yea... I didn't wait more than a month. Sometimes you have to be an asshole to get stuff done.
 
I am glad the last two posts popped up with great perspective and truths shared. Not my intent to cast doubts, slam Tom or sway people's decisions. I actually go all the way back to the top loaded POD drop into real tube amp Atomic put out almost 10 years ago -anyone remember that rig?

I will reiterate that amp (can't remember what it was called) and the CLR I owned worked great!
 
cragginshred said:
I actually go all the way back to the top loaded POD drop into real tube amp Atomic put out almost 10 years ago -anyone remember that rig?

I will reiterate that amp (can't remember what it was called) and the CLR I owned worked great!
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Reactor FR? That's what I am trying to get back (the power amp unit).
 
This is OT, but I thought it was cool that they included some Atomic candy with my Atomic CLR neos. :)
While supplies last.
atomic_candy.jpg
 
Sixstring said:
Wouldn't that be a question for Friedman?
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sure...but it was well known when they first started making the ASM they were a tweaked B52 design. Didn't know if some had insight into whether or not that was still the case. Was discussed around here quite a bit.
 
Lots of talk on here about customer service. I work for massive company with a great portfolio of hardware and software based storage products. We cost more than our competitors but we hold largest market share. I hear again and again from customers that they continue to pay a premium for our products because our customer service arm of the organisation is second to none. We continually go above and beyond in supporting our customers and resolving their issues. I always hear that the decisions to move away from our competitors were a result of them not having good customer service. As far as personal music equipment repairs go, I had my Mesa RA-100 serviced under warranty. I pestered the guy for 5 months to get the amp back. He was a small 1 man shop, really good at his job, but just took on too much work. Next time I need a repair (which will be never because I now own AX8 ;)) I'll use somebody else just because this guy cannot provide a reasonable turnaround times. This is not as bad as what some people have been saying here, but is a real example of what helps me (and others) make our purchasing / service decisions. Anyhow, my 2 cents ...
 
I believe the ASMs use a licensed power section from B-52. Dave is quite open regarding this. The cabinet and (I believe) speaker is different from the B-52.
 
Ben Randolph said:
I did wait quite a long time for a repair issue last year, but eventually Tom did get back to me. In the end he called personally and was very friendly and apologetic and did not charge for the repair.

That said, it is better that communication happens in the first place rather than a customer being forced to post in a public forum to get Tom's attention.

I agree that a year seems eggregious. Hopefully you get some communciation and resolution.

Good luck!
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Did you find a phone number for him?
 
benjaminb said:
Has anyone else had poor customer experience with Tom King from Atomic Amps? I sent him my wedge over a year ago and he has yet to repair it and will not respond to emails.

Really not cool.

This is easily the worst customer service I have ever seen. Short of taking him to small claims court, does anyone have a suggestion how to get my gear back?
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He was fast to process my $600 order but I can't get a response to return it.
 
Rain said:
That's odd. I had an issue last year, and he called me back after hours and helped me over the phone for 20 minutes. Is it possible emails are getting blocked? Try posting and messaging on their Facebook Page..
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I've posted on Facebook and Twitter plus emailed from two email addresses. Still nothing.
 
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