Lightspeed Headset Story-Wow

I have a Lightspeed 15XL ANR headset and I like it. It really cuts down
on the noise. However, when I pulled it out to go flying a couple of
weeks ago, I discivered that the headband was broken. I was depressed.
I have had it for about 18 months and I figured I was going to be
royally screwed trying to get it fixed. I called Lightspeed on Monday,
October 3rd-described my problem and they gave me a choice: Send it to
them for repair or they would send me a new headband.......no charge!
It looked simple so I opted for having the parts sent.

The new headband arrived on Wednesday. As I was dismantling the headset
on Wednesday evening I realized two things: First, I discovered another
broken part on the yoke that holds the earpiece, and secondly, these
puppies are a major pain to put together! With my tail between my legs
I called Lightspeed on Thursday again figuring that they were gonna say
"too bad, so sad. Now it will cost you."

Nope. They said, "Here's a return authorization number and send it
over." I sent the new headset back with it, plus the old parts via UPS
on Friday, Oct 7 and it arrived in Portland, OR on Monday the 10th.
They sent me an e-mail saying they got it and were doing the repair. On
Tuesday, I got another e-mail that said it had been shipped.

UPS delivered it today, Wednesday, October 12. New headband, and
earpiece yoke. Plus they replaced the ear seals! All no charge except
for the $6 I paid UPS to get it to them. I tested it out today and it's
as good as new.

I'm impressed. In this day and age of customer "no" service, these
folks did OK in my book.

- - -
Al
1964 Skyhawk
Spokane, WA KSFF

Al Gilson wrote:
I'm impressed. In this day and age of customer "no" service, these
folks did OK in my book.

I had a similar experience with LightSpeed, i.e., me breaking
my headset, long past warrantee expiration, and them offering
multiple choices of repair (for pretty much nothing) or trade-in
for an upgrade (I picked the latter choice though); neat. When
time came to buy another headset (for passenger) the choice was
easy.

--Sylvain

"Sylvain" wrote:

I'm impressed. In this day and age of customer "no" service, these
folks did OK in my book.

I had a similar experience with LightSpeed, i.e., me breaking
my headset, long past warrantee expiration, and them offering
multiple choices of repair (for pretty much nothing) or trade-in
for an upgrade (I picked the latter choice though); neat. When
time came to buy another headset (for passenger) the choice was
easy.

Bose treated me the same when I broke my set.

Seems like this is the norm in the aviation headset business, where
competition is fierce. Alas, that's in sharp contrast to the GA
avionics business, where choices are few.

--
Dan
C172RG at BFM

Dan,

Seems like this is the norm in the aviation headset business, where
competition is fierce.


Not at all. Google a little for messages in this group with regard to a
brand name starting with Pe... Google some more for a brand name
starting with D and C. You'll be surprised.

--
Thomas Borchert (EDDH)

In article ,
Thomas Borchert wrote:
Seems like this is the norm in the aviation headset business, where
competition is fierce.


Not at all. Google a little for messages in this group with regard to a
brand name starting with Pe... Google some more for a brand name
starting with D and C. You'll be surprised.

Huh? Are you suggesting that David Clark has less than stellar customer
service?

As I recall, David Clark pretty much set the standard for customer
service, even for out of warranty products.



JKG

Jonathan,

Huh? Are you suggesting that David Clark has less than stellar customer
service?


I am suggesting that people have reported here that they have been charged
for DC service/repairs. Some quite heftily. That's all.

--
Thomas Borchert (EDDH)

Al Gilson wrote in news:rYmdnZbmWMXlWdDeRVn-
:

Snipola
I'm impressed. In this day and age of customer "no" service, these
folks did OK in my book.

That service is so impressive it almost makes me want to buy something
from them even though I don't fly (yet)!

That is almost unbelievable. Maybe there's hope for humans yet!

Brian
--
http://www.skywise711.com - Lasers, Seismology, Astronomy, Skepticism
Seismic FAQ: http://www.skywise711.com/SeismicFAQ/SeismicFAQ.html
Sed quis custodiet ipsos Custodes? Supernews Sucks!

Skywise wrote:

I'm impressed. In this day and age of customer "no" service, these
folks did OK in my book.


That service is so impressive it almost makes me want to buy something
from them even though I don't fly (yet)!

That is almost unbelievable. Maybe there's hope for humans yet!

Brian

Brian,

Their service *is* impeccable, but only because it has to be. Buy
yourself a set of David Clarks, and you will most likely have no
Customer Service experience, what so ever.

Happy Flying!
Scott Skylane

Scott,

Their service *is* impeccable, but only because it has to be.


It simply ain't so. Or do you have any valid statistics to prove your
statement?

Here's what I observe: Lightspeed came out of nowhere into this already
crowded market - and now they are one of the top players, possibly
right at the top. They have been in that position for almost a decade,
with no "dents" in their sucess. Would they be this successful or would
the company even be commercially viable if a high percentage of sold
products would require repairs? Could they offer products as
feature-rich and innovative as they do for the comparatively low prices
that they have, if they had to spend most of their money on repairs?
That seems very unlikely - or selling aviation headsets has even better
margins than I assume it has.

--
Thomas Borchert (EDDH)

In article ,
Thomas Borchert wrote:
Here's what I observe: Lightspeed came out of nowhere into this already
crowded market - and now they are one of the top players, possibly
right at the top. They have been in that position for almost a decade,
with no "dents" in their sucess. Would they be this successful or would
the company even be commercially viable if a high percentage of sold
products would require repairs? Could they offer products as


I've seen enough anecdotal evidence to convince me that Lightspeeds have
a higher incidence of failure and required repair than David Clarks or
Bose sets. Over the years, I have tried the Lightspeeds, along with
Bose and David Clark, and it's pretty obvious that the Lightspeed sets
do not have the build quality of the competition.

However, Lightspeed has managed to package impressive performance into a
comparatively inexpensive package. The Bose is a better performer, but
at twice the price. When I think of investing $1,000+ on an aviation
item, I'm thinking of panel investments, not headsets.

I just wish that I could use the Lightspeed sets. They are too wide and
too tall (excessive padding IMO) for my 6' 3" frame to use in the
Cherokee.



JKG