It may seem irrelevant to talk about Burmester's database because of the fact it is hard to imagine the significance it plays in the success of their products. This is not a fact to be ignored as this is integral to a very important aspect for the successes of the Burmester product line and its unrivalled customer service. As I’ve mentioned earlier, it is very normal for Burmester machines to be used for 20 to 30 years. Other than the product itself having the ability to run continuously through extreme rigorous tests, unprecedented in the industry, customer service also plays a major role in the continuing success of Burmester high end audio products. Burmester keeps not only a database of every single product they have released; they also have kept a large inventory of replacement parts for every Burmester product. Combined with a complete database consisting of design schematics, circuit diagrams, it allows Burmester engineers to easily repair machines from decades ago and restore them to its initial factory release state.
The most important database which is not as easily accessible is the archive room. During the creation of each Burmester unit, every part is carefully picked out and paired for optimum performance. Specific records of all that data for every single unit produced is kept in the achieve room. We were able to sneak a peek into the Archive room. The room contains the individual testing data for every single Burmester unit ever produced since 1977. The data is organized by serial number, and only the binders in this room contain the individual internal setting and data for your specific Burmester product.
With this preserved database, engineers will be able to tune and adjust your machine to Burmester standards and make them sound as if they just came out of the factory. Without this data, service technicians would never be able to repair product to its original specification when first manufactured.
Given the convenience of digital databases, one may wonder why Burmester continues to keep a hardcopy of all reference data which takes up space and more effort to maintain. Fabien explained that while all the data in the archive have been transferred digitally into computer databases, Dieter still prefers maintaining a hardcopy of all the records. It provides a very stable and safe backup in case anything was to happen to the digital database. Burmester would not want to risk their reputation of unparalleled customer service and their brand’s guarantee of lifetime support to its customers in case of a computer malfunction. This kind of dedication to tradition is rarely seen today, especially for a hi-fi equipment maker.
為什麼要介紹Burmester 的資料庫? 因為一個好的公司,不只產品重要,售後服務更是重要。Burmester 機器一用最少都是十,二三十年的。不但維修零件要準備充足,所有的電路圖和設計圖一定要完善。即使客人在二三十年後如果需要維修,都留有完整的資料和準備,能讓客人的機器回到如第一天出廠的工作狀態。
上面的圖片是所有生產過的全部Burmester 機器資料庫。不同於許多公司的“商業機密”,這資料庫是開放的,位於研發部門的辦公室。在這裡,可以找到777 (設計出的第一台Burmester前極功放) ,也可以找到最新的113。工程師可以很容易的找到設計圖,然後從下面的零件部門找到需要的零件。也可以參考設計圖,作新的開發。
資料庫聽起來很一般,但卻沒有那麼簡單。
還記得所有的Burmester 零件都經過精密配對嗎? 真正的秘密事實上在這裡: ARCHIV (存檔室) 。經不過我再三的要求,Burmester 有點緊張的打開了存檔室讓我看一眼,和讓我照張像,又迅速的關了起來。不要小看這存檔室,原來這存檔室是防火防水設計,外加大鎖。
這裡面保存的是自1977年以來Burmester所有出廠過的每一台機器內所有零件的測量數值。每一台! 沒錯,是按序號編好的每一台。也就是說,全世界只有這存檔室的資料才知道您的Burmester 機器內用的數值。
一台Burmester 機器如果隨便給一名技工維修,他也許修得好,也有聲音,可是這已經不是Burmester 的聲音了。因為技工可以找到一樣的零件,可是由於零件的測試數據不一,有ㄧ定的方差。說白了,在無法知道Burmester 內用的零件數據下,就算把設計圖送給我,我也作不出Burmester (柏林之聲) 。
所以Burmester 本身的原廠保固和Burmester代理的服務也是客人購買Burmester 音響器材非常重要的一選項。
說了那麼多,難道存檔室沒有電腦化嗎? 請放心,我也已經問過了。資料有電腦存檔。可是老闆Dieter喜歡傳統,也放心不下電腦,所以Dieter堅持一定要有硬式拷貝,不論是對他還是對所有客人都是一個保障。在這電腦化的時代,還能堅持這傳統,的確是令人不得不佩服的品牌精神。
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