[So There]

I thought I'd share my Mike Pickett story, and encourage you to share your experiences, as I'm sure many of you have received excellent customer service from this distinguished gent.




It was a close thing. During the August earthquake in Napa, our Bryston 6BSST(C) almost shook off the top shelf of our equipment cabinet. The 96-pound amp sits eight feet off the floor, and it was teetering on the edge of its 200-pound capacity shelf. Following the 3am shaking, I groped my way up a ladder to push the amp back into place. Whew! A couple of weeks later, I emailed the illustrious Mr. Pickett and asked his advice as to how to best secure my Bryston gear (listed below). Via an extended email conversation, Mike gave the matter considerable thought and analysis and recommended an elegant solution: securing ground posts to the rear of the units (absenting the 6B, which has handy rear handles that may be used) and running high-strength cable (such as aircraft cable) to one (or two) securing bracket(s) on each shelf. This was far better than my proposal of using long bolts from the bottom of the shelf, through the feet, and into the chassis of each piece of gear. Mike explained cogently that it would be better for the gear to be able to move a bit rather than be rigidly attached to the shelving.

A few days later, a Bryston package arrived, with all the hardware necessary to affix the ground posts, not just for my Bryston Gear, but also for my other electronics. Mike noted in an email that Bryston was happy to supply these items without charge. Incredibly generous, eh? More than this, the time, expertise, and focused attention that Mike offered led to an ingenious and effective solution. What a guy! What a company!

I can only express my most sincere thanks to Mike for his expertise and generosity, and to Bryston for creating a customer-first culture. That's why my future gear will be Bryston.

Please share your Mike Pickett story. From California, I can't treat him to Tim's Bits, but I can offer my heartfelt appreciation. Besides, the gent has a great AudioCircle avatar, one worth a week's celebration!


Rich
__________________
Whiney Napa Valley

The means — Bryston SP3 | Bryston 6B-SST(C) - L/C/R; 4B-SST(C) - surrounds; 4B-SST(C) - rears | Bryston BDP-2 Digital Player; BDA-2 D/A Converter; Oppo BDP-105 | Paradigm Reference Signature S8 fronts; C5 center; ADP surrounds; S4 rears; two Velodyne DD15 subs | APC S20 | Pioneer Elite PRO-1130

[BrystonFan]

Wow!
Bryston really ups the bar on customer service.
 

[Grit]

They do! I had to send my BHA-1 in and Mike was great about staying in contact and letting me know what was going on. He's also shipped me some parts so I could DIY/field repair a thing or to at no cost.

I'm dealing with another well-known high end audio manufacture right now on an amplifier that started making a scratchy sound in one channel. I spoke to that company's "Mike Pickett"-equivalent on the phone as well as sent that person an email and a note with the amp. I asked that person to let me know once the problem was diagnosed (it's a 7 year old amp), because if it was something that could be a problem in the future with the other channels, I'd want to consider getting it proactively fixed while they had it.

They had the amp for three weeks (after it was signed for) before I emailed and asked what the status was. I was told they'd get to it the following week. Three weeks later, I got an automatic email from FedEx, stating I was going to be receiving a package from the company. So, I emailed again and asked what the diagnosis was, and I've heard nothing.

Quality of the equipment aside, that type (or lack thereof) of customer service is frustrating and makes me disinterested in being their customer.

Not only is Bryston's equipment OUTSTANDING, so is their customer service. Everyone I've had the pleasure of dealing with at Bryston, especially Mike, has been FANTASTIC!

- Garrett

[assafl]

Mike Pickett is indeed great. I replaced the SP1.7 with an SP3 and when I sold it (to someone in France) ran into difficulty converting the SP1.7 into 220V. Mike was very helpful sending schematics, and even doing some of the work and rerouting the package to France.

Also, when I moved to a 220V area, Bryston was happy to help sending schematics for the 9BSST so I could reconfigure it to 220. When I fried the SP3 Mike was very helpful to isolate the issue and worked with me to ship a replacement card quickly.

Of all the electronics and appliances I own, Bryston (and Espresso machine maker La Marzocco) were the most professional and accommodating of all manufacturers.

How I wish other vendors were as helpful as Bryston. Some will not give out a schematic, some argue that it is against their policy (or use the safety argument, as if finding my way around their equipment without a schematic is safer...). And it is not always a question of product price point. As an example, BSH and their Gaggenau brand are one of the worst...

Good work Bryston!

[Robert D]

These are for Mike







Best regards Robert

[BobRex]

So I gotta ask..... why do you have such a heavy amp sitting so high in the cabinet to begin with?  Doesn't the bottom of the cabinet make more sense?

[Robert D]

See Below

Left channel on my BP1.5 did not sound to healthy So I sent it in to Bryston for repair
Just another example of Mr Mike Pickett .

1st A great follow up always on the ball ....
2nd Email's with the findings
3rd A very good listener
4th I'm a happy client, Thank you Mike

Robert



-----Original Message-----
From: Mike Pickett [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Friday, January 16, 2015 10:14 AM
To: 'Robert Dankner Telecom RDF International'
Subject: RE: I put the Pictures On it's Mikes week On Audio Circle

Ha!  I didn't know that thread was there...

I think I need to try those stouts... The winner thus far is Amsterdam's Tempest, but I've only tried 10 or so...

Your BP1.5 is working pretty good, but we did find that the left input RCA connector was a bit loose.  It was messing with our noise measurements, and when we wiggle it around we lose signal momentarily.  We're going to change all the connectors, and run all the tests again on Monday.

Thanks,

Mike

-----Original Message-----
From: Robert Dankner Telecom RDF International [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Friday, January 16, 2015 8:11 AM
To: Mike Pickett (Bryston)
Subject: I put the Pictures On it's Mikes week On Audio Circle

Let me know what you think

Regards Robert

[So There]

So I gotta ask..... why do you have such a heavy amp sitting so high in the cabinet to begin with?  Doesn't the bottom of the cabinet make more sense?

You might well ask, BobRex . . . oh, you did. ;~}

It's because of a mistake. When we pulled speaker cable, I didn't have enough length to position the amp where I wanted it, on a lower shelf. Happily, this will soon be corrected, as I bought several Niles Audio 5W4D speaker/amp convenience outlets, and I'll soon be able to reposition the gear. Whew!

Rich
____________________
Still Shakin' Napa Valley

[So There]

It's Mike Pickett Week . . . again! 

PickettMan does it again! I'd posted earlier in this thread Mike's excellent thinking and generosity in helping me secure our equipment to cope with California's all-too-frequent earthquakes.

Recently, Mike helped me repair my Bryston 6BSST(C) amp. A speaker binding post developed a stress fracture in the outer plastic knob. I figured that I’d have to send this 100-pound beast (or at least one of the three hefty amp modules) back to Canada for repairs, and wasn’t looking forward to the vicissitudes and possible damage involved in shipping.

Mike let me know that I could effect a field replacement of the binding post. He responded quickly to my query, sent me clear instructions, helpful photos, and not one but six new binding posts and associated hardware. (The original post covers are opaque while the new ones are clear plastic.)

I've never had so much pleasure in making an onsite repair. Wow, the 6B's construction is impressive when you tear into the device! The parts are elegant and the design clean and robust. It was a joy to perform the post replacement, and it took less than 30 minutes, most of that carefully removing and reattaching covers and panels. I would not have had the confidence to perform the repair without the information and encouragement that Mike supplied. He is, like Bryston, a Canadian treasure.

As before, many thanks, Mike, for your expertise, clarity, and kindness.

Rich
_______________
Whiney Napa Valley

Delighted to own: Bryston SP3, 6BSST(C), 2 4BSST(C), BDP-2, BDA-2 . . . and more coming soon.

[Ron D]

Bryston has always been my benchmark on Customer Service within the Audio Industry. There are a few others out there who are reported to be very good but my barometer at least since the 80s, has been Bryston