Bose repairs ripoff

[jamespearce]

I love my Bose headsets. I started with the Aviation X then bought the later A20 as a second set. They are fantastic and I think flight safety is enhanced by having clear communications and a quiet background with the ANC mode switched on.
However, and I would be interested to know of others experience when it comes to getting the Bose headsets repaired, I am not at all happy with the system one is forced into when a repair is necessary.

The earlier Bose Aviation X suffered from poorly designed yokes for the earshells and they snap very easily if the sets are carelessly handled. The new A20s have seriously beefed the yokes up and I can't see them ever suffering the same fate.
I contacted HSL, who, in the past have given superb service, to enquire whether the yokes are available as a part so I could make the very easy swap for the broken one. It really is a simple job and requires no special skills or special tools (only a small pozi screwdriver and a tiny torx driver) to perform the swap.
This is where the service becomes difficult. Bose will not supply the yokes to the public.
Given the numbers of yoke failures there must be, Bose (or their agents) have engineered a honey pot for themselves.
A form has to be submitted to HSL and the headsets posted to them so they can carry out an inspection (the yoke has snapped) and only then will they quote you. They will not quote over the phone so you have no idea at this point what the charge may be. If the quote exceeds your expectation and you do not want the work carried out, they will make a £30 inspection charge (the yoke has snapped)
I think this is sharp practice and unworthy of this otherwise fine company.
I ended up making a very neat and strong repair myself (even if I do say so myself) as I refuse to be held to ransom by this odorous practice. I suppose the business logic is, "if you can afford a set of Bose headsets, you can afford to fork out exorbitant charges for repairs".
Where once, there was limited choice of these high end headsets, there are an increasingly large number of competitors who may offer a more friendly and fair repair facility.
When all is considered, you pay large sums of money for a good product because you don't expect it to fail in the first place. If it does fail, it is reasonable to expect a more sympathetic solution for the problem.
I would be quite happy to share my repair techniques with anyone interested so that you too can avoid being ripped off.
Ps. I am now developing stainless steel yoke replacements for the Bose Aviation X. I have made the former and a bending jig - just awaiting the material now to produce a prototype and may offer them to others after testing if they look good and are successful.

[Ian Melville]

This is as much a criticism of HSL as it of Bose. They do good quality work and are repair agents for the vast majority of headsets available in the UK. They have in effect driven out all potential headset repairers, and any competition.

[ROB. THOMASSON]

Would it be possible to get the upgraded yokes 3d printed?

[jamespearce]

I'm just working on developing a pair of replacement stainless steel yokes for the Bose Aviation X earshells. I've made the bending iron and a former block and waiting for the material to arrive. If successful and they look good I may offer replacements for others.

[jamespearce]

Would it be possible to get the upgraded yokes 3d printed?

Now there's a thought. Is there a suitably strong material used in the printers? I presume a method of 3D scanning and some donor parts would be required? Would the scan resolution be fine enough?