Bad Ken Smith Inc experience

[duke2004]

Well, i know that the good experiences I have had with folks like those at Lakland must be offset at times by "a bad corporate taste", so this story.

Bought some Ken Smith strings , 4 string set about 1.5 years ago. Never opened them. Gave to a friend across country. He writes to tell me the set has no A string and actually has a low B. Obviously it was a screw up at the place of packaging. Writing to Ken Smith, they asked me only "how long ago did you buy it". The response was basicly, its not our problem. Ken Smith added that the B string costs more than the 85 guage A sting, so he wont back charge me for the difference "lol". I thought that was a rather snotty way to deal with the public, in a situation where the folks who assemble their string packs obviously screwed up.

Is it just me, or was this a bit much? Im sure many folks have had stellar interactions with Ken Smith. Maybe they were just having a bad day.

So i replied that i was glad Ken Smith Inc would be able to pass on another $6 in profits to its estate by not dealing with this issue.

Comments?

[stflbn]

Did he replace the string? If so, there's nothing to bitch about in my opinion.

I think often people look for reasons to miss-interpret something Ken may or may not say (in fact, I think that goes for people looking for things to be irritated by that most people say. We look for reason's to be offended rather than looking for positives). Honestly... if I was a business owner I probably couldn't help but think 'somethings up' if the strings sat for 1.5 years without being noticed that a string was miss-packaged.

But, from your position, if you didn't need them why would you look inside the packaging. Personally, I always glance inside of a package of strings when they arrive just to make sure at least the guages of each seem close. There could still be problems with lenghts, but I rarely have many sets of strings sitting around that I don't need, or that haven't been cut for specific basses.


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[DaveAceofBass]

Well, Ken is an unusual fellow. However, I don't think he was entirely in the wrong, especially if you've had the strings for that long without checking them. How would he be able to find that invoice from so long ago for such a small item? That being said, Ken certainly could have gone the extra mile and given you a replacement string--it wouldn't cost him much. My thoughts on Ken are basically good--he makes a good product and is helpful on the phone, but he struck me as arrogant in his tone, and there is no need for that. (FYI, I used to work for a dealer of his and I sold at least 3 or 4 Ken Smiths and dealt with him on several custom orders--so that's my experience with Ken Smith.)

[fettbass]

I once (and only once) bought a 5 string ken smith set. It was fairly expensive for a set of strings, even a 5 string set (about as much as a set of good flatwounds), but i figured it'd be worth it. I was wrong. The B string was completely dead, dull, and lifeless, out of the box. Honestly modern string manufacturers shouldn't have these problems, especially at a premium price point. I didn't want to go through the trouble of getting a b string shipped to me. Lesson learned, i suppose.

[bass player 48]

Dude, you bought A SET OF STRINGS over a year and a half ago, gave them away for free to a friend all the way accross the country, he came back and told you about the problem and you're getting all worked up about it? You're wasting your time contacting Smith and posting on Talkbass over a problem with a set of strings you never used, and gave away for free? Or are you going to bat for your buddy over a set of strings he got for free. Honestly, I'd say, get over it.

BTW - How do we, or even you, know for sure that the friend isn't some dummy that put the 85 gauge A in the E string slot because he's used to lighter strings and now he's trying to figure out what to do with that one that's even fatter? I'm just saying.

I'm casting vote for get over it. YMMV

[NWB]

Lakland, Genz Benz, DR, are several exapmles of companies that you never hear bad CS experiences from. Quite the opposite.

There are several companies that don't necessarily have bad CS per se, but they don't have the extremely high reputations of the aforementioned companies either. In this competetive business, I think it can only help to have the very highest CS standards in place.

[throbgod13]

i think it has more to do with the type of customer service that was presented..

there's nothing that says that customer service has to be courteous, nor helpful in resolving an issue..

and there's nothing that says that you should be a repeat customer, either..

KS makes fine instruments.. dealing with KS is something that takes more tolerance than others..

i'd just buy other strings.. and not worry..

[vision]

Originally Posted by NWB

Lakland, Genz Benz, DR, are several exapmles of companies that you never hear bad CS experiences from. Quite the opposite.

There are several companies that don't necessarily have bad CS per se, but they don't have the extremely high reputations of the aforementioned companies either. In this competetive business, I think it can only help to have the very highest CS standards in place.

+1. There are many companies in the bass world that would have just sent a new string out, no questions asked. However, we have to be careful to realize what is the norm in terms of business practices. We are spoiled in the bass community to have companies like Sadowsky, MTD, Lakland, Genz Benz, etc. that will go WAY out of their way to make a customer happy. Do not take that for granted. A company like Ken Smith isn't in the wrong for how they handle these things, they just aren't one of those companies that will bend over backwards for you. The way that Smith operates is pretty normal in the overall business world. On top of that, Ken definitely has his own sense of humor that is often taken not how he meant it.

Bottom line, there are plenty of companies that you can support if that extraordinary customer service is something you really appreciate. A company like Ken Smith doesn't offer "bad" customer service, it's just not "extraordinary".

[duke2004]

It was interesting to get peoples take on this situation. The "get over it" folks certainly have their right to weigh in. I can afford financially to toss a set of new string in the dumpster, but the point is whether it is acceptable to dismiss arrogant customer service (especially in this case when it was a direct correspondance from the owner of the company) as something to "get over".

I guess im old fashioned in that i feel that consumers should be treated with respect, and unless they are obviously scamming you, give them the benifit of the doubt. I have found that attitude when dealing with certain retailers and, for example, the Lakland folks. But maybe im spoiled.

Yes, technically i do not have much leg to stand on if i bought strings over a year ago, but how many folks buy a set of strings and dont immediately put them on their instruments? I would think a lot. And how many folks open a new set of strings which they do not intend to install, in order to check that there are indeed 4 strings of the right guage? I think that number is rather small, though i could be wrong.

There are a lot of choices in the marketplace where we can spend our hard earned money, whether its a $3000 bass or a $45 set of strings. If i were on the vending side of things, I would, especially in this economy, go the extra distance to satisfy my customers. I do repeat business with vendors, whether its Bass Central or even, god forbid, Guitar Center, because i enjoyed the process. With the choices available on the internet, I would think vendors, luthiers and retailers would know that after even one bad experience, its too easy to go elsewhere and never return. Just my .02

[BigOldHarry]

There's an old saying in the customer service world: It takes 10 good customer experiences to outweigh one bad customer experience, so it is always a puzzle to my why companies insist on cutting costs for customer service. 95% of the time, if a CS rep handles a person politely and professionally and *still* rejects their claim, no one is pissed at the end. Of course, there is still that 5% who think that they have been wronged no matter what... but good CS can overcome a great number of sins.

That said, this situation sounds silly. What is the OP's bitch? He bought something a year before, sent them across country and *then* finds a problem? Sorry - were I a CS rep getting this call, I would try to find a polite way of saying "get real, pal!".

Originally Posted by duke2004

It was interesting to get peoples take on this situation. The "get over it" folks certainly have their right to weigh in. I can afford financially to toss a set of new string in the dumpster, but the point is whether it is acceptable to dismiss arrogant customer service (especially in this case when it was a direct correspondance from the owner of the company) as something to "get over".

I guess im old fashioned in that i feel that consumers should be treated with respect, and unless they are obviously scamming you, give them the benifit of the doubt. I have found that attitude when dealing with certain retailers and, for example, the Lakland folks. But maybe im spoiled.

Yes, technically i do not have much leg to stand on if i bought strings over a year ago, but how many folks buy a set of strings and dont immediately put them on their instruments? I would think a lot. And how many folks open a new set of strings which they do not intend to install, in order to check that there are indeed 4 strings of the right guage? I think that number is rather small, though i could be wrong.

There are a lot of choices in the marketplace where we can spend our hard earned money, whether its a $3000 bass or a $45 set of strings. If i were on the vending side of things, I would, especially in this economy, go the extra distance to satisfy my customers. I do repeat business with vendors, whether its Bass Central or even, god forbid, Guitar Center, because i enjoyed the process. With the choices available on the internet, I would think vendors, luthiers and retailers would know that after even one bad experience, its too easy to go elsewhere and never return. Just my .02

[deekay911]

Originally Posted by duke2004

It was interesting to get peoples take on this situation. The "get over it" folks certainly have their right to weigh in.

And you will of course "get over it" and probably very quickly. The point of course is this has left its mark and you probably won't go back to that vendor, if you have a choice.
And interestingly, of all the "get over it" crowd in the house - I bet 95% too would vote with their feet, if they have a choice. The initial abuse won't bother them too much, but when the consumer has a choice - he will always remember the bad experience, even if he got over it, and go elsewhere.

[duke2004]

There are a lot of people making claims on manufacturers all the timel. In retrospect, my situation probably falls under the heading of "string mishandling of unknown origin".
While i might not have been amused by Mr Smiths tone, i cannot really blame him for his general response, I certainly am guilty of replying to some of my clients in a somewhat flippant but not intentionally insulting manner. Hypersensitivity as a consumer is not much more valuable than perceived "insensitivity" by vendors.

Lets all move on, make and purchase good instruments (and strings) and make good music.

[Chris Fitzgerald]

Closed at the request of the OP. If the local mods allow deletions because of unforeseen derails, this may also disappear soon.