Page 2 of 3 FirstFirst 123 LastLast
Results 16 to 30 of 37

Thread: Ken At Upland?

  1. #16
    Senior Member 1audiohack's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2007
    Location
    Las Vegas Nevada
    Posts
    3,092
    Why?

    Ian aren’t you half way around the world and totally uninvolved in any of this business?

    Barry.
    If we knew what the hell we were doing, we wouldn't call it research would we.

  2. #17
    Senior Member BMWCCA's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Location
    Virginia
    Posts
    7,743
    Quote Originally Posted by 1audiohack View Post
    Why? Ian aren’t you half way around the world and totally uninvolved in any of this business?
    It would be a quick game of "Six-Degrees of Kevin Bacon" if you sought to connect Edgewound, 4313B, Giskard, gtimbers, saeman, and Ian together.
    ". . . as you have no doubt noticed, no one told the 4345 that it can't work correctly so it does anyway."—Greg Timbers

  3. #18
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Apr 2003
    Location
    Cincinnati Ohio
    Posts
    819
    4313B and Giskard are the same person

  4. #19
    Senior Member BMWCCA's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Location
    Virginia
    Posts
    7,743
    Quote Originally Posted by Triumph Don View Post
    4313B and Giskard are the same person
    I knew that but couldn't remember all of the sock puppets!
    ". . . as you have no doubt noticed, no one told the 4345 that it can't work correctly so it does anyway."—Greg Timbers

  5. #20
    Moderator hjames's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2005
    Location
    NoVA - DC 'burbs
    Posts
    8,547
    Quote Originally Posted by Triumph Don View Post
    4313B and Giskard are the same person
    Quote Originally Posted by BMWCCA View Post
    I knew that but couldn't remember all of the sock puppets!
    And both of them have been away for a long time!
    2ch: WiiM Pro; Topping E30 II DAC; Oppo, Acurus RL-11, Acurus A200, JBL Dynamics Project - Offline: L212-TwinStack, VonSchweikert VR-4
    7: TIVO, Oppo BDP103D, B&K, 2pr UREI 809A, TF600, JBL B460

  6. #21
    Administrator Mr. Widget's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2003
    Location
    San Francisco
    Posts
    9,720
    Quote Originally Posted by hjames View Post
    And both of them have been away for a long time!
    I called both of them about a year ago to see how they were doing. They are well, but have significantly stepped back from the hobby in general.


    Widget

  7. #22
    Senior Member BMWCCA's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Location
    Virginia
    Posts
    7,743
    Quote Originally Posted by Mr. Widget View Post
    I called both of them about a year ago to see how they were doing.
    Curious, does each personality have their own phone number?

    The Two Faces of Eve?
    ". . . as you have no doubt noticed, no one told the 4345 that it can't work correctly so it does anyway."—Greg Timbers

  8. #23
    Senior Member DerekTheGreat's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2019
    Location
    Warren, MI
    Posts
    592
    "Me, Myself and Irene."

  9. #24
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Apr 2003
    Location
    Australia
    Posts
    7,942
    I regret to inform all viewing this thread of another complaint relating to long over due time frames and loss of contact with Upland Loudspeaker Repairs involving an LHS member in Europe. The value of the drivers is apparently significant.

  10. #25
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Apr 2003
    Location
    Australia
    Posts
    7,942

    Cool

    For those curious. Most of those involved have come to me for advice on how to resolve the issue. I was instrumental in Ken becoming involved in the forums over 15 years ago, l have met Ken and have had a number of communications with Ken over the past five years but not recently.

    What’s happened to people caught up in this situation is concerning. It concerns me that l have referred a number of new customers to Ken over the above period.

    My advice is not to use this loudspeaker repair service until such time as an “acceptable grade of service” can be verified and is being maintained.

    If you have a repair with Upland which is now old consider the following:

    STOP sending in drivers for repair
    Putting the loudspeaker on EBay. Someone will buy it.
    Buying a functional driver from EBay or another forum member.
    As a collective group those with outstanding repairs may consider action with the support of a repossession Agent. Under local laws this maybe perfectly legitimate action.

    It’s alleged by all those who have complained that Ken offers to do the job in a few weeks. At the moment the normal values of a legitimate business for customer success don’t exist.
    -Work isn’t completed in a reasonable time frame.
    -Communication with customers is not being maintained or is non existent.

  11. #26
    Senior Member BMWCCA's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Location
    Virginia
    Posts
    7,743
    I'm very sorry to hear that. I hope the situation is rectified soon.
    ". . . as you have no doubt noticed, no one told the 4345 that it can't work correctly so it does anyway."—Greg Timbers

  12. #27
    Member mwaldron's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    SA, TX
    Posts
    33

    Wellness Check?

    Maybe somebody more locally could drop by the store, Most small business owners, that I know, that have survived this poo storm are drowning in their success and struggling to meet expectations? I know driving around the LA area is not an insignificant ask, but all of this is so totally out of character for a "forum friend" that has contributed so much to this community? We owe him the benefit of doubt??

    Mark

  13. #28
    Senior Member Chris Brown's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2005
    Location
    Northern California
    Posts
    165
    Quote Originally Posted by mwaldron View Post
    Maybe somebody more locally could drop by the store, Most small business owners, that I know, that have survived this poo storm are drowning in their success and struggling to meet expectations? I know driving around the LA area is not an insignificant ask, but all of this is so totally out of character for a "forum friend" that has contributed so much to this community? We owe him the benefit of doubt??

    Mark
    Well, as someone else pointed out earlier in this thread, he is still maintaining an active eBay store:

    https://www.ebay.com/usr/edgewound0z15

    There are new feedbacks that are less than a month old, so these aren't simply abandoned listings that are set to auto-renew. He is still selling stuff. He hasn't simply disappeared. Nothing wrong with a wellness check of course, but it really does sound like he is just ghosting people (ignoring people who he doesn't have a convenient response for) at this point.

  14. #29
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Apr 2003
    Location
    Australia
    Posts
    7,942

    Lightbulb

    I would suggest there is a real problem when you are invoiced to pay US$2,300 upfront for delivery in three weeks and for six months he hasn’t responded to emails for a delivery status.

    It’s simply unacceptable. He’s living off those funds and hasn’t delivered on the promise.

    A legitimate business doesn’t do that to its customers. Non on the planet that l am aware of.

    I don’t think popping by and getting a response that everything is okay changes the situation at all.

    The only person who can change this situation is Ken. It’s a mindset. If your not fully committed your wasting everyone’s time and money. The lesson to be learned here is you can’t do it on your own and you can’t sweep it under the rug.

    On Facebook he posts daily but doesn’t respect emails from customers waiting on their orders. This is the last thing older folks in this hobby need. It’s their passion and they are being screwed over by a lousy operator who is making them take the piss. I’ve been receiving complaints since before covid 19 including supply issues of my own. It’s not a new problem at all.

    My intent here is to make un suspecting people aware of the risks and to provide alternatives. He’s made himself the problem. No one else.

    Putting it in sharper perspective. If the customer doesn’t win no one wins.

  15. #30
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Apr 2003
    Location
    Australia
    Posts
    7,942

    Lightbulb

    I will also point out l have listened to Ken and offered detailed feedback and made recommendations towards change that will make his operation more effective and efficient.

    There’s lots of things he could be doing including calling for volunteers to support him. Allowing more focus on getting things actually done. I also discussed a review of work that is accepted once received and different workflows to avoid clogging up of a single pipeline.

    A volunteer who is retired or semi retired could prepare an inventory of WIP
    Reclassify priorities and work schedules
    Prepare a customer contact and call list
    Quarantine of jobs that are for reasons outside his control and respond to customers for action
    Goods inwards and outwards shipping
    Invoicing of work completed

    This could be a few hours a week for a volunteer once an agreed operating rhythm is established. In other words get everything up to date.

    I’m not the bad cop here at all. Far from it. I would like to send more jobs to Ken. This was discussed when we met but that’s gone out the window until this situation can be resolved.

    It’s up to Ken to take the initiative if he really wants to succeed. The mindset has got to change. The customer is Not the problem.

    It should never ever get to the stage of public venting.

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Similar Threads

  1. Edgewound / Upland Loudspeaker MIA?
    By Maxwelhse in forum Lansing Product General Information
    Replies: 58
    Last Post: 02-19-2022, 09:44 AM
  2. Upland Loudspeaker Service
    By kawasakitech in forum Lansing Product General Information
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 05-11-2015, 03:57 PM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •