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HELP! I am trying to return a faulty Arc and sadly Sonos' customer service has been the worst I've ever encountered!

  • 14 December 2023
  • 22 replies
  • 375 views
J
Userlevel 1

Hello

 

Has anyone recently returned a product? If so can you please let me know how you did this and which method you used to contact Sonos? I’ve contacted the support number live chat, support@sonos.com and even ceo@sonos.com out of sheer desperation but can’t get anywhere! I purchased the product directly from Sonos so if this happened I could rely on their customer service but so far it’s the worst I’ve experienced. 

 

I have a faulty Arc and contacted customer support who offered to replace the product. They sent an email the following day which said I would receive a follow up email with options on how to return it. I didn’t receive the follow up email and despite following up that email 4 times and contacting their online chat a further 3 times I am yet to receive any instructions on how to return the faulty item.

 

It’s now been almost month and each time I speak to customer support I get equally evasive replies that I’ll receive an email within 24-48 hours or the representative will follow up with the Product Returns team and get back to me. I’m a loyal Sonos customer who owns several products and has purchased and recommended Sonos products to friends/family but after this experience I don’t think it’s worth it and would not recommend this company to anyone! 

 

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Best answer by Corry P 15 December 2023, 10:26

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22 replies

Corry P
Userlevel 7
Badge +18

Hi @jnnnn 

Welcome to the Sonos Community!

Sorry to hear of the trouble you’ve had - we aim to do much better!

Looking at your case now, it currently belongs to a senior member of staff, so I expect it to now be handled once the US offices are open once more (I am in Europe).

However, I can send you what you need via a direct message here on the community - please check your messages!

I hope this helps.

"Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen." - Albert Einstein
J
Userlevel 1

Hi @Corry P 

Thanks for your reply. Unfortunately the form you sent me doesn’t work and when I fill it out comes up with an error message. What would you suggest instead?

 

J
Userlevel 1

@Corry P 

UPDATE: I’ve now contacted live chat for the 5th time who told me to call the hotline and escalate the case to level 2 support. I called the hotline and after being passed around multiple times from support to technical (who cancelled the previous return ticket and attempted to issue a new one) I ended up speaking with someone in level 2 support who said they would look into it with Product Returns and get back to me. I spent a total of 1.5 hours on the phone and countless other hours chasing this up via other means. In short this has been a huge time wasting venture and Sonos need to review their service systems as it shouldn’t take contacting a company over 12 times to make good on a product warranty. 

 

 

Corry P
Userlevel 7
Badge +18

Hi @jnnnn 

In short this has been a huge time wasting venture and Sonos need to review their service systems as it shouldn’t take contacting a company over 12 times to make good on a product warranty. 

I completely agree! Please be assured that I will get someone to look into this for you. Thank you for your feedback!

 

"Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen." - Albert Einstein
J
Userlevel 1

@Corry P I’m still waiting on this and to mark the 1 month anniversary of contacting Sonos support I received an email stating I’m no longer eligible for a refund on a product that I was previously told by Sonos I was eligible for. This is ridiculous! 

Corry P
Userlevel 7
Badge +18

Hi @jnnnn 

I’m sorry to hear that! I just looked at your case and there was activity on it yesterday - someone recreated the Return Order (the last one was failing), so I’ll Direct Message you the link and RO number again.

I hope this helps.

"Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen." - Albert Einstein
J
Userlevel 1

Thanks @Corry P but the link doesn’t work and says the RO number is invalid. I received an email with a shipping label however I wanted to select the Advanced shipping option to have the new product sent out so I could use the packaging to send back the faulty item. Can you please let me know how this can be done? 

Corry P
Userlevel 7
Badge +18

Hi @jnnnn 

Apologies - that one was my fault! I have sent you a working link via DM, along with a few instructions.

I hope this helps.

"Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen." - Albert Einstein
J
Userlevel 1

@Corry P - Thanks for your reply but the form still isn’t working and each time I submit the form I get an error message that it won’t submit. 

Corry P
Userlevel 7
Badge +18

Hi @jnnnn 

I’m sorry to hear of the continued issues you’ve had in trying to return this Arc. I can see that a supervisor called Atom sent you an email about 5 hours ago, after you posted here, and has taken ownership of your case - they should get back to you by tomorrow. This is an out-of-the-ordinary situation which requires investigation and will unfortunately take a bit longer than expected, but I am convinced we will get this fixed shortly.

I hope this helps.

"Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen." - Albert Einstein
J
Userlevel 1

Thanks very much for the update! 

M
Userlevel 2
Badge +2

Sorry to say, I’ve the same problem with an ARC. 

I called support Dec 8, analysis done, return agreed to, ticket issued. I was told to expect an email. 

I’ve not received an email despite initiating 3 non-productive chat sessions and one non-productive phone call to support. In essence upon each contact I was told the issue had been escalated but that there was no one available to chat/speak to directly. 

Hopefully this query will result in some help. 

J
Userlevel 1

@Mythicbeast sorry to hear this and good luck! I’ve wasted so much time dealing with Sonos’ customer service over the last 6 weeks and they have only just found a solution to arrange the return (I’m still waiting for the actual replacement though). They clearly have serious issues with their return processes that need to be addressed but judging by some of the posts on these forums it’s been an issue for a long time. 

 

I emailed the support email, used live chat, emailed the CEO and called the hotline but the only way to get a response or someone who could look into the issue was via these forums and by calling the hotline and asking to speak with a level 2 customer service representative. 

 

It’s really tarnished my love for the brand because no other company seems to have this much trouble arranging what should be a very simple return for a faulty product.

 

M
Userlevel 2
Badge +2

I pm’d CorryP to hopefully fast track this. I’m glad I found your thread. 
 

I’ve reverted to TV sound, ugh, because the ARC garbling and blasts of static became too annoying. 
 

 

Corry P
Userlevel 7
Badge +18

Hi @Mythicbeast 

Please see my DM to you. I believe you will be contacted shortly (though with the holiday season, I cannot say when).

I hope this helps.

"Common sense is the collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen." - Albert Einstein
M
Userlevel 2
Badge +2

Thank you @corryp, received an email this morning to get the process started.

Will continue to post as process continues. 

M
Userlevel 2
Badge +2

@jnnnn (I’m still waiting for the actual replacement though)

Any luck yet? You were at 6 weeks when you stated this. I’m at around 4 weeks, no further communication since the email requesting name, serial#, etc. 

R

I have had same experience. Product didnt work when i received. Family gift that doesnt work the day they opened box. Frustrating. Receiving run around by sonos. chat and phone call resulted in no action.   Put in for advanced return but not received replacement. Elevated to level 2 but link they sent doesnt work. Beyond disappointing with a company that charges high prices but doesnt stand behind their products.  Matter of short time before another company takes their market share.   

 

J
Userlevel 1

@Mythicbeast Yes! I finally received a replacement ARC on Dec 31st so around 7 weeks since first contacting Sonos. For whatever unknown reason the returns form they sent me kept coming up with an error (sounds like the same issue @RCS - Rob is having) so they agreed to do an Advanced shipping option without requiring a credit card which was good because I didn’t trust Sonos to actually send the replacement once I’d returned the faulty product with the Standard shipping option. 

Good luck - I hope you get a response soon! 

M
Userlevel 2
Badge +2

@jnnnn Happy to report I have received the “RO” email, completed and returned the form. Requested “advanced” return. 
‘Now waiting another “5-7” days for replacement arrival. 

M
Userlevel 2
Badge +2

Very Happy to report receiving my replacement Arc today. 
 

3 weeks, 5 days after initial trouble call to Sonos. I guess not bad with the holidays and all. Maybe.

 

BUT, Sonos still needs to redirect some resources to complaint communications. 

M
Userlevel 2
Badge +2

Final Resolution

The replacement Arc suffered the exact problems as the old one, occasional random loud bursts of static and garbled/echoed TV sound. 
So, I dug further into the forum and found a few posts about others having similar Arc issues. 

Bottom line, I pulled the Ethernet cable from the Arc and now operate my Sonos system on straight Wi-Fi. 
No problems for the past week…

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