Fruggums

But they came back today. And this post is just to say what a bloody awesome company Etymotic Research is. After they received my headphones, they inspected them thoroughly. Every single aspect of it. And they were as thorough with repairs. My cable suffered a shallow cut after a mishap with scissors in the darkroom last semester. Sound wasn't affected at all - the ER-4Ps cable is tough and rugged. So a bit of tape and it was fine. I was experiencing some intermittent in the right channel, but wasn't sure if this was in any way related to the cable cut. 

Just to be sure, I contacted Etymotic. Their customer support is simply fantastic. You're talking to a real person, who knows what he/she is talking about every time. Each response is detailed and hand-typed (not copy-pasted from a set of answers). They read and understand what's wrong. Hardly any companies bother to do this anymore. Their phone support - there's no "Dial 1 for...", instead, someone jolly picks up the phone and is ready to help you out straight away. Really, this is what support should be.

So I decided to fork over the $50 to repair the cable. Because I don't want it breaking apart when I'm in India. 

But these guys go beyond the call of duty. Nobody says they have to inspect it. But they did. They found the cause of the channel fading (it wasn't the cable). More so, they found that both the pod stems were cracked (you have to know the ER-4P to know what those are). This is a common issue and happens due to the way the headphones are designed. 

This is where they stunned me though. The pair was just barely out of its warranty period. They replaced the cable and transducers for free. Then changed my filters, replaced the eartips and shipped it back by UPS so it got here in two days. Didn't ask for a cent. Essentially, I have brand new headphones. 

Being the loyal customer I am I have offered to pay them for it (well the cable at least) but I don't think they'll take it. Just trying to be fair and honest, I don't want to cheat them out of a charge. They would have asked for payment before shipping it if they wanted it. Or they really trust their customers (though they haven't asked me to send anything on the invoice either).

This is why I have such insane brand loyalty towards these people. 

Etymotic Research, I love you.