A few years ago, my father gave me a pair of Bose’s QC-2 headphones. They were awesome. I wore them while working at coffee shops, on airplanes, and to get the most out of my Brahms and Decemberists.
Last week, alas, I broke a piece of plastic on one side of the headphones. It’s the bit that slides along the headband and swivels. It’s a pretty key element, especially given that piece of plastic cost Bose less than 8¢ and they charged $300 for the headphones. I knew the headphones were no longer under warranty, but I figured I could buy a replacement. I would’ve been happy to pay, say $10 for this 8¢ piece of plastic.
Bose, however, wouldn’t settle for a profit margin of 12,400%. Nope. The only option they’re willing to give me is to trade in my QC2s along with $100 for a new pair of QC15s. (When I told them I wasn’t interested, they replied, “Apologies, but unfortunately the part you are looking for is not something we have available to sell individually.” Does that mean that actually do have them but are unwilling to sell them?) I’m sure the QC15s are quite spiffy, but my QC2s have a lot of life left in them — if only I could get this part.
Not only do they lose me as a customer, though, they also make an enemy. I’m going to work very hard to build a computer model of the part so that I and others can print their own. Hopefully that will put a dent, however small, in their profits. Every time I wear my headphones out, people ask me what I think of them. I used to give glowing reviews. Now I’ll have nothing but vitriol to offer.
And a final suggestion to every consumer products company out there: if the functionality of your $300 product can be lost for want of an 8¢ piece of plastic, order lots of extras. Send one or two along with the original product and make it easy to order more. Make it dead simple for your customers to like you instead of hate you.
(Later: I do have to give Bose credit for one thing: they responded quickly, both via email and Twitter. Their responses were ridiculous, but at least they didn’t leave me wondering.)
