You've missed the point. There is no communication in return, what are they meant to do?Originally Posted by mark214
Why does everyone gloss over this? I want to withdraw from the thread but it's frustrating to see no one address this. Even in Ken's spiel he didn't once take ownership and just offered again, a myriad of excuses.
I consider myself to be a friend of Ken's. But like kelossus said, no communication is a bit concerning. Especially when you consider he's had my lone woofer with supplied parts for over a year now and that every time I've asked him when it would be returned, all I heard was "soon." I'm just poking him with my finger, not a hot iron. Without that woofer, I've got two very pretty walnut coffins in my living room. Maybe I should just take the drivers out & set up 'em face up in the backyard to play cornhole? LoL. Triple points for those who can get their bag in the tweeter hole!I hope this works out well for everyone involved.
The behavior in this thread is depressing me. I always thought of everyone here as a friend.
As a fellow affected member, I understand how you feel and it is definitely frustrating.
Many forums I frequent have a "rate the vendor" section where members can air their opinions of goods and services. This normally doesn't include piling-on from those who have no personal experiences from which they can formulate their "rating". Members here letting us know of their impatience with scheduled repairs from Upland are useful to those considering using Ken's services in the future. Indignant contributions from those without personal contact with a vendor is really just "me-too" behavior that provides nothing of value to anyone. If you are seeking more drama in your life, just turn on Lifetime on your cable TV.
". . . as you have no doubt noticed, no one told the 4345 that it can't work correctly so it does anyway."—Greg Timbers
As an outsider, I see several complaints here about a lack of communication from a business, several more on another forum, about longer than expected repair times and no response to calls and emails. This is usually a "red flag", poor to non-existent customer service.
The response, finally, from this business is a long rant full of excuses and blaming everyone else from customers wasting his time calling about their service, to companies that produce in another country. It should have been a gracious apology to the customer base as a whole and some quick follow-up to each customer who is waiting for service or at least personal replies.
More than a red flag, this flag's on fire.
I don't care how good the product is if/when speakers make it home, after his rant below I wouldn't sent him anything. Shame on him for not taking ownership of his lack of replies, for blaming everything else in the world, for not outlining a recovery plan for his business that includes proper communication. Based on the rant below I suspect that he has no intention on making things right. This was an opportunity to move forward and improve communications and apparently he doesn't feel that he is doing anything wrong. Burning red flag.
Not evey service tech is a good businessman.
- Jeff
I agree completely and cannot believe anyone here chooses to defend business practice like that from Herr Haer. Or maybe even worse, try to conceal the very obvious and indisputable facts in PM s
I am an audio professional man for over 40 years and I recognize a rat when I see one..
So I need to have personally have dealt with Ken to be able to comment?Many forums I frequent have a "rate the vendor" section where members can air their opinions of goods and services. This normally doesn't include piling-on from those who have no personal experiences from which they can formulate their "rating". Members here letting us know of their impatience with scheduled repairs from Upland are useful to those considering using Ken's services in the future. Indignant contributions from those without personal contact with a vendor is really just "me-too" behavior that provides nothing of value to anyone. If you are seeking more drama in your life, just turn on Lifetime on your cable TV.
It's posts like this that made me feel the need to say something in the first place. A whole bunch of long time members like yourself accept whatever excuse Ken has. It's frustrating when someone who clearly has a character flaw is excused by few at every opportunity.
I'm almost certain there is an amateur psychiatric forum somewhere holding their collective breath for your next cogent contribution.
I have not personally dealt with Ken, either. But neither am I besmirching his character in a public forum . . . or making apologies for him.
". . . as you have no doubt noticed, no one told the 4345 that it can't work correctly so it does anyway."—Greg Timbers
This thread has been verging on the edge of civility for some time. That said, I do think it has been instructive and hopefully illuminating to those who can look past the personalities.
It is certainly unfortunate that Edgewound has been unable to deliver his services in a timely fashion and the apparent fact that his communication can be poor or virtually nonexistent hasn't helped.
On the one hand his work is very good. I've seen examples of his work and it is positively top drawer. Unfortunately I have also heard numerous tales of disappointment that delivery dates were missed and reaching out proved difficult. In a world where Amazon and others have raised the bar to set our expectations to receive goods hours after placing orders and shipping and tracking info verges on becoming spam, this "old world" model of the artist working at a high level but on his own schedule is a hard one to swallow for many.
Personally if I had a driver that needed repair I would likely still send it to Ken knowing that it might be a long time before it returned. If it was something that I needed right away, I would probably reach out to others. Leonardo da Vinci, didn't finish many of his commissions and really pissed off most of his patrons. He was a terrible business person, but a genius artist. I'm not saying that Ken is a modern day Leonardo, but there appear to be some similarities.
Widget
Before the OP opened this thread he asked me if it would be OK and I asked him to keep it civil. He did just that and has accepted Ken's apology. Anyone who hasn't directly had issues with Ken and is just throwing gasoline on a fire has the right to simply not use his services. Beyond that this is becoming far from civil and it's from people with no real skin in the game. I am glad it helped others make contact and there issues will be resolved as well. The purpose of this thread was to assist the OP in a resolution. Since that has been achieved there is no longer any reason to keep it open.
I will be shortly closing the thread but not deleting it.
Rob
"I could be arguing in my spare time"
Firstly...Thank you, Rob, Widget, Clark, BMW, Ian, and all that have so kindly chimed in on my behalf. It means more than I can express here.Before the OP opened this thread he asked me if it would be OK and I asked him to keep it civil. He did just that and has accepted Ken's apology. Anyone who hasn't directly had issues with Ken and is just throwing gasoline on a fire has the right to simply not use his services. Beyond that this is becoming far from civil and it's from people with no real skin in the game. I am glad it helped others make contact and there issues will be resolved as well. The purpose of this thread was to assist the OP in a resolution. Since that has been achieved there is no longer any reason to keep it open.
I will be shortly closing the thread but not deleting it.
Rob
Secondly...My global apology to those that I've neglected...purely without malice. I have my reasons, excuses, whatever...no one really cares to hear it. I'm a work in progress, and trying to get through some trying times. I'm busier than I have been in 15 years and, for that... I'm grateful.
Thirdly...There a few here that seem to have an agenda like Mrs. Gladys Kravitz. Sticking your nose into other peoples' business, and actually writing libelous statements about it on a global forum can come with it's own consequences. Those that engage in this practice might want to reassess your actions.
Fourthly...I'm going to post a video that I did a couple years ago on the reasons why some repairs take so long. This is when the pandemic started hitting hard...and too many people in my personal orbit started to die. It's also come to my attention recently that one of the historical founders of this site is not doing well. He's in my prayers, and the reason why I've had the absolute honor of becoming friends with three generations of James B. Lansing's family, the first of whom is his daughter.
The examples of the repair work that people actually pay for and receive is an absolute travesty. The attention that I pay to every driver on my bench is a sign of respect to The Lansing Heritage. Slapping a fresh foam surround on a 2235H is easy. I don't do easy. I do it complete. No compromises. My DNA is on it. The video is an example of why I do what I do. I've been a working musician, as well for 45 years, and I've experienced really bad workmanship. You get what you pay for.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-cMf8fACdw
As for being a business man? Maybe I'll quit and find a way to make more money...again. I tried it 10 years ago, and it didn't go so well...I'm not above trying it again...but somehow I think this business picked me. Maybe I'm just dellusional and arrogant and take my workmanship more seriously than most in this line of work.
Thanks again...Have a fine day.
Edgewound...JBL Pro Authorized...since 1988
Upland Loudspeaker Service, Upland, CA
Don't we all have a character flaw or two? Cut some slack.
With posts like "I hope I live long enough to be able to send my prized JBLs to Ken for his expert repair. "I'm almost certain there is an amateur psychiatric forum somewhere holding their collective breath for your next cogent contribution.
I have not personally dealt with Ken, either. But neither am I besmirching his character in a public forum . . . or making apologies for him.
You clearly have a bias and just as I have been critical towards him, for good reason, you have been the opposite. For someone who has no skin in the game you are making your thoughts loud and clear, just as I am.
And yes, it's a clear character flaw. I don't have to be psychiatrist to draw that conclusion.
Beating a dead horse now so I'll leave it at that.
Not when you have someones property and ghost them. You may have an excuse for it once or twice, but not repetitive.
No axe to grind, but that doesn't stop you from spinning that grindstone anyway. Maybe some self-analysis would be in order.
Go do something fun. Your outlook on life may improve. Save a koala.
". . . as you have no doubt noticed, no one told the 4345 that it can't work correctly so it does anyway."—Greg Timbers
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