Bose Corporation Consumer Reviews

Asked to have a plastic swivel that attaches head part to earpads. I got non-English speaking customer service - offered me a 25% discount for a new headset. Mine is brand new less than 6 uses!!! I was watching a video on Bose.com as to how to clean the earpads and in doing so snapped the swivel that hold the earpiece in place. I wanted nothing more than directions where to send my headphones to be fixed. I got nothing but ridiculous conversation- selling me a new headset.

What happened to BOSE. This is absolutely shocking to have this experience. I have over 5 different units from complete surround sound, alarm clock, speakers, aviation headsets and I never ever expected such lack of professionalism. This is so sad to see a company have a direction to destruction. I'm shocked!!!

FRAMINGHAM, MASSACHUSETTS -- I bought a Bose system 3 years ago... long out of product warranty. I called the Bose helpline and they asked me to send it back to get it replaced. A couple of things here say how "above and beyond" Bose is in standing behind their products. One: It was well after the advertised time the Bose help desk would be closed. Two: The item was well out of its warranty but after troubleshooting with me, the tech said "That's odd. I want to take care of this." And he waived the repair fee and paid for the shipping too. WOW! I really respect how they stood behind their stuff.

MADISON, WISCONSIN -- How long would you expect a $499 CD/clock radio to last? Longer than 25 months? That's what I thought despite the fact that the product is only warranted for 1 year. I succumbed to the Bose Corporation marketing and hype and took the plunge in December 2003 - purchasing a Bose Wave Radio/CD as a very special luxury my husband as a Christmas present. Interestingly, I was replacing a clock radio we got from our bank FOR FREE that eventually quit one day (after a mere 15 years). We liked the features of the Bose Wave - the fact that the music turned on quietly in the morning and gradually increased in volume to awaken us, plus the sound of the speakers was wonderful.

Unfortunately, what I don't like is that IT JUST QUIT WORKING AFTER 25 MONTHS! When I contacted Bose I was told I could pay to ship it back to them (the shipping would cost me about $25) because the closest service center is a 3-hour drive. Plus, I would get the added pleasure of including $150 for the repair that would be warranted for one year. I THINK NOT! My husband and I decided to take our chances, go to Target, and buy a cheap clock radio with CD player rather than play "stupid" again with Bose.

When I related my frustration and my disappointment in an e-mail about their expensive premium product quitting after 25 months, I was given a "lecture" about how I should become an informed consumer, read the warranty literature before I buy; I should understand that electronics have many small components that can fail, and that I should use a surge protector (however, they couldn't guarantee that a surge protector would prevent similar things happening to their products nor will Bose endorse any brand of surge protector). I guess it's all my fault for believing that an expensive product would last longer than a cheap mass market clock radio - shame on me!

When I purchased the $495 clock radio with CD player, my expectation was that it would perform far better than any other product, because it was priced multiples of what other clock radios sold for. I also expected that it would last as long as one expects simple electronic products, with limited moving parts, almost forever. The quality of the sound was excellent. I never had any complaints about it. However, I was completely dumbfounded when the product stopped working gradually with no rational explanation.

After three years, the sound started sounding grainy and within a week, nothing worked except for the clock. My biggest disappointment was the lack of compassion Bose has for its customers. After spending that kind of money, you would think that we were a little more important to them that they would leave us abandoned with no recourse on servicing an item that nobody else can service. In the age of internet communication, you know that they better change their policies or they too will be a dinosaur.

This is a simple complaint about what should have been a simple repair - a simple home repair. An inexpensive fuse, less than a dollar, will cost me $75 plus shipping to have it replaced by Bose. Alternatively, for $300 or 400 I could just replace the whole system. In the past, when my stereo equipment quit working, I have opened the case and looked for fuses that might have blown and replaced them. Sometimes that worked, sometimes not. I tried that this time and found a blown fuse; however, I found that the blown 2 amp fuse was soldered in place on the circuit board. Puzzling. Why would a company solder a common, inexpensive fuse in place?

I wrote the company to see if there was a simple answer or if I could purchase a replacement part. Buying a new board seems a rather silly way to replace the fuse, but thought it was worth consideration. The reply detailed their corporate policy of restricting the sale of Bose parts as well as repair and system replacement details. I will not be buying Bose products again as a matter of principle. Perhaps there is some new obscure engineering reason to solder that fuse in place, but I was not given that answer - only marketing. Unfortunately for me, I just can't see the logic of spending a few hundred dollars when one just might do the job.

I purchased a Bose Wave music system multi-CD changer. I had the original before my divorce and my ex has it. I enjoyed the Bose so much I went out and spent over $850.00 for a full system which I could not really afford. I believed in the product of the brand name. All I had was trouble with my new system. First of all, it does not read all CD types. I call tech and they were no help at all. They keep sending me update CD€™s for the system, however the updates was not for my WAVE Radio. No one had an answer at all why some of my CD would play and some not. I use a cheap SHARP CD player to play three CD€™s.

I also used my Pioneer from my car with no problem. I send back the player and I still had the problem of CDs not able to play. I would get an ERROR system. WHY? No one at Tech Bose could say. They just sent update CD just to keep me quiet. By the time I got the wrong update CD€™s by Bose, it was too late to return the system. They would not take it back. It got to the point where I had to label my CD€™s if they wear playable on Bose or not. BEWARE OF BOSE...

I just received my new Bose Wave radio as an upgrade on my old one after 8 years. The thing has no buttons... only a remote. I called the company and was told that I could purchase additional remotes for $10.00 each. There is no holding place on the radio for the remote and the radio is a cripple without the remote. I don't know about anyone else, but keeping track of remotes is not on my #1 list of things I want to do for the day. I had an optional remote on my old radio, and never used it. This will not be fun.

I have a Bose surround sound system. It is approximately four years old. Recently, lightning caused the system to go down. It was after five on a Friday evening but I called the customer service line just to check their hours. It was answered by a live person who spoke very good English!! He walked me through a few checks on the system and diagnosed what he thought the problem was. I ordered the part he recommended and was told to call back when I received it so someone could walk me through the installation of it.

The part arrived very quickly and I called them back. Once again I was able to talk to someone almost instantly. They helped me put the part in and it was working again within five minutes. This was the best customer service I think I have ever received over the phone. Kudos to the Bose Corporation. All others should follow their example!!

In the middle of the night our Bose Wave turned itself on, flashed, and then went dead. Our lamps would not work. I checked the electric panel, tried to reset the breaker and was greeted with a blue spark. The breaker could not be reset. I just paid an electrician $240.00 because my wife's $300-400 Bose Wave clock/CD player created a "dead short" and tripped our 20 amp circuit breaker. Other electronics such as an LCD TV, DVR player, and my 1983 vintage clock/radio were unaffected after the Bose Wave was unplugged.

The Bose Wave had no external evidence of any malfunction. Our warranty expired in 2006. Bose offered to fix the Wave for about $110 + one-way freight. My wife wants to fix the Wave and I want to just recycle this time bomb. Has anyone else had a similar problem with this product?

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS -- I've had my Bose Quiet Comfort 3 headphones for a few years. Frankly, I use them typically on business travel and maybe used them 25-30 times. The left channel went dead, and initially thinking it was the cord, I went to the Bose Store. They determined it was the internal connection point that went bad. I was told since they were out of warranty, I could replace the set for $100. There was no repair option. The headphones were a gift, and I'm really annoyed that they broke in the first place given the original cost was somewhere around $350 - $400. I haven't decided what to do yet.