Lightspeed Comes Through!

As many of you know, while at OSH 2003 I had one of those inadvertent
"once-in-a-lifetime" conversations with the president of Lightspeed
Aviation. The story goes as follows:

I've had three pair of LightSpeed headset -- two 15s and a 20XL -- that I
have purchased over the last four years. The first one was purchased at OSH
'99, the second at OSH '00, and the last one was purchased at OSH '01.

Since then, they have ALL been repaired multiple times. Headbands have
broken. Cords have repeatedly broken internally. The ANR has become
unbalanced. Ear cushions have delaminated and flaked off. You name it,
it's happened.

On each occasion, LightSpeed's customer service has been remarkable. Each
time the repairs have been made (or parts sent) for free, cheerfully and
quickly. However, over time, I grew weary of things breaking, and decided
that our fourth (and final) pair of ANRs would be some brand OTHER than
LightSpeed. I had simply reached a point where I no longer cared how good
their comfort (the best on the market) and customer service was -- I just
wanted a pair of headsets that I could count on.

So, this was my mind-set when I wandered up to the Pacific Coast Avionics
booth, in one of the big exhibit buildings at OSH '03 last month. I simply
found a guy -- totally at random -- behind the counter, and told him I
wanted to be shown their BEST ANR headphones, but not to bother with
LightSpeeds...

Upon hearing this, he stopped and asked me why I didn't believe in
LightSpeeds. So I told him my entire tale of woe, highlighting each and
every design flaw that I had "discovered", and bemoaning the fact that,
while I LOVED the things, they just simply broke too damned easily. After
hearing this diatribe he stopped again, thought a moment, and then stuck his
hand out to shake my hand. He then proceeded to introduce himself as the
president of LightSpeed, Inc., and thanked me profusely for telling him
everything I had just said!

Needless to say, I was highly embarrassed, having just thoroughly
eviscerating the poor guy's company. But he went on to say that Mary and I
were the kind of customers that he NEEDED to keep happy, since we had stuck
with them through "thick and thin" during their growing years, and he then
proceeded to give me his business card, with the advice to "give me a call
when we both get back to the world, and I'll send you a pair of 20 3Gs,
absolutely free, just so you can see how far we've come."

He then went on to freely admit ALL of the design problems they had
encountered, and showed me on the new model how they had been overcome. I
eventually left, incredulous but willing to give them another shot.

When I got home, I gave him a few days to recuperate, and then gave him a
call. To my surprise, he still had my business card in hand, and asked me
if that was the address I wanted the new headsets sent to! He then again
thanked me for my years of loyalty. Again amazed, I sat back and waited for
over a week...

Well, they arrived today -- a brand-spanking new pair of LightSpeed 20 3Gs.
As opposed to my old LightSpeeds, this new model now has an auxiliary input
(for cell phones and MP3 players), a "bass boost" and "treble boost" (to
offset the tinny sound of music created when listening with ANR headsets), a
holster (for holding the battery box on the wall of the plane, thus removing
the weight from the wires), a beefed up headband, and re-designed ear
cushions (that won't delaminate). They look -- and sound -- great!

In the box was a note from Allan, stating: "This headset is given freely
for your use and enjoyment. May the accumulated improvements we've made
provide you with years of trouble-free flying! :-) "

Of course, the proof will be in the pudding as to whether their redesigned
features hold up in actual use -- but what more can I say? Can you beat
THAT for customer service?
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"