Kalium Strings Terrible Customer Service

[saved]

Ok, that's not good.
I'm pretty sure Dingwall Strings are not Kalium Strings rebranded, different gauges for a start.
If you need crazy custom strings i have heard good things from people i trust about Newtone Strings of the UK, i know they have made strings for a 45" scale and up to .260 before.

Newtone made strings for my 47" bass.
The limit is 50" string

 

[Maiden Bass]

So first off mistakes happen and ANY company out there can and will make a mistake, companies are run by humans and humans makes mistakes period.

Kaliums strings make a truly superior product!
I have been using their hybrid strings for a while now and they last way longer than other strings, and IMO sound and feel way better than any other nickel string out there. Plus their short taper is better for true intonation, like a piano string!

So my experience with them is this, every order I place ships out in less than a week. Anytime I have had a question or concern I simply called the phone number listed on their email and Skip has answered the phone, every single time! Also I had one string damaged in shipping (USPS bent up the envelope and the string was bent up), well I simply called Skip and he sent me out a new one.
I'm not buying this that you cannot reach them, maybe the email didn't go thru or went to spam, so if you don't get a response then pick up the damn phone and call them, they answer every single time and I have called them a lot!

So you can cry about bad customer service all want, but I have never experienced that, and in fact it has been equal or better than any other company out there that I have ever dealt with.

I'm happy to be playing superior strings, so you can switch to a company who makes lesser quality strings if you are upset about it, but wait, then you'll probably one day be upset with getting bad strings, or strings not lasting as long or sounding as good from the company you switched to, then you should probably call it a day and switch back to Kalium!

If I find better strings than Kalium Hybrids I'll leave Kalium too, but I haven't and I have tested just about every string out there!

 

[J Posega]

So first off mistakes happen and ANY company out there can and will make a mistake, companies are run by humans and humans makes mistakes period.

Kaliums strings make a truly superior product!
I have been using their hybrid strings for a while now and they last way longer than other strings, and IMO sound and feel way better than any other nickel string out there. Plus their short taper is better for true intonation, like a piano string!

So my experience with them is this, every order I place ships out in less than a week. Anytime I have had a question or concern I simply called the phone number listed on their email and Skip has answered the phone, every single time! Also I had one string damaged in shipping (USPS bent up the envelope and the string was bent up), well I simply called Skip and he sent me out a new one.
I'm not buying this that you cannot reach them, maybe the email didn't go thru or went to spam, so if you don't get a response then pick up the damn phone and call them, they answer every single time and I have called them a lot!

So you can cry about bad customer service all want, but I have never experienced that, and in fact it has been equal or better than any other company out there that I have ever dealt with.

I'm happy to be playing superior strings, so you can switch to a company who makes lesser quality strings if you are upset about it, but wait, then you'll probably one day be upset with getting bad strings, or strings not lasting as long or sounding as good from the company you switched to, then you should probably call it a day and switch back to Kalium!

If I find better strings than Kalium Hybrids I'll leave Kalium too, but I haven't and I have tested just about every string out there!

I’m sure you and many others have had positive experiences with kalium. But the fact is that they have consistently dropped the ball for a number of customers in the last couple years. Just search Kalium or Circle K customer service in google and see how many threads come up with people that didn’t receive strings or responses to emails.

If you’re going to run a business on the internet, you should have a robust email system that doesn’t send customer emails to spam. That should be virtually impossible to have happen with just about any email client out there.

Personally, I think the strings sound fine and feel not as nice as standard nickels from the likes of Daddario and others; Kaliums are too coarse for my liking. That said, their steels were the least coarse steel string I’ve ever touched. What’s best about them is that they come in every gauge and length you could imagine. But more and more companies with really good customer service are getting into ERB strings, so I don’t see why anyone would eff around with a company that can’t even answer a damn email in a timely manner.

 

[Maiden Bass]

I’m sure you and many others have had positive experiences with kalium. But the fact is that they have consistently dropped the ball for a number of customers in the last couple years. Just search Kalium or Circle K customer service in google and see how many threads come up with people that didn’t receive strings or responses to emails.

If you’re going to run a business on the internet, you should have a robust email system that doesn’t send customer emails to spam. That should be virtually impossible to have happen with just about any email client out there.

Personally, I think the strings sound fine and feel not as nice as standard nickels from the likes of Daddario and others; Kaliums are too coarse for my liking. That said, their steels were the least coarse steel string I’ve ever touched. What’s best about them is that they come in every gauge and length you could imagine. But more and more companies with really good customer service are getting into ERB strings, so I don’t see why anyone would eff around with a company that can’t even answer a damn email in a timely manner.

Well if I lived in the UK I would be looking for strings in the UK! When you need them fast in a pinch it's much easier to get them!

You play your Volkswagen strings, and I'll play my Audi strings and we'll all be happy!

 

[J Posega]

Well if I lived in the UK I would be looking for strings in the UK! When you need them fast in a pinch it's much easier to get them!

You play your Volkswagen strings, and I'll play my Audi strings and we'll all be happy!

I only moved to the UK a few months ago. All my experience with Kalium comes from when they were still Circle K and I lived in the US.

You can’t possibly ignore the number of complaints that have come up with the company, especially since the complaints are almost always the same.

Do they make good strings? Yes. Do they need to work on their customer support? Absolutely.

 

[Maiden Bass]

I only moved to the UK a few months ago. All my experience with Kalium comes from when they were still Circle K and I lived in the US.

You can’t possibly ignore the number of complaints that have come up with the company, especially since the complaints are almost always the same.

Do they make good strings? Yes. Do they need to work on their customer support? Absolutely.

And FYI I live in NV and Kaliums now ship out from Southern California, so I receive them a day or two after they ship out.

And I am happy with their customer service because they have taken care of any problems I had. So am I the only one? I think not.

 

[J.Wolf]

If you were the only one, they'd be out of business. The point is that there are consistent issues with communication. That says nothing about the product. Also, the awesomeness of the product (which is undisputed) says nothing about the business/communication issues.

 

[J Posega]

If you were the only one, they'd be out of business. The point is that there are consistent issues with communication. That says nothing about the product. Also, the awesomeness of the product (which is undisputed) says nothing about the business/communication issues.

Yes, exactly, thank you. I’m starting to feel like I’m having a discussion with a stone.

 

[J.Wolf]

I have nothing against the company, and consider Skip a friend. I just dont like when I see people gloss over an issue affecting others because they love the product so much. Issues with customer service and amazing products can exist simultaneously.

 

[BioWeapon]

I experienced the same shipping delay while they were moving, which was expected.

Because of the delay, and some apparent system errors, I was given a discount code and shipped an extra set of strings.

Hopefully all this customer service stuff is a fluke because they did well by me on my order.

 

[Maiden Bass]

So they took care of me, and resolved all of my problems, provided me with a great product and gave me good customer service, all it took was a phone call.

I am sorry if you didn't experience the same, BUT that doesn't mean everyone who has bought Kaliums Strings has had a bad experience.
Maybe they have dropped the ball in the past but I think they are doing a fine job now and they have a superior product, so what the hell is the problem?

If you got an F on a test on college, does that mean you will get an F on every other test?

I believe this thread needs to have people who have had great experiences with Kalium as well, so as long as you want to rant about bad customer service, then I'll keep telling you about the good customer service I have had.

As far as I'm concerned they are a good company with about the same level of customer service as most other good companies out there. No company is perfect!

 

[J.Wolf]

The issue (for me) is that you're using defensive language with people who have customer service issues with a company. Nobody is saying your great experience isnt valid because they had a different experience, but you seem to be insinuating the opposite. Please dont assume what others have done to connect with them to fit the narrative that a lack of response from them is somehow the fault of the customer.

"So you can cry about bad customer service all want, but I have never experienced that, and in fact it has been equal or better than any other company out there that I have ever dealt with."

good for you. FYI other experiences and opinions exist.

 

[Maiden Bass]

E

The issue (for me) is that you're using defensive language with people who have customer service issues with a company. Nobody is saying your great experience isnt valid because they had a different experience, but you seem to be insinuating the opposite. Please dont assume what others have done to connect with them to fit the narrative that a lack of response from them is somehow the fault of the customer.

"So you can cry about bad customer service all want, but I have never experienced that, and in fact it has been equal or better than any other company out there that I have ever dealt with."

good for you. FYI other experiences and opinions exist.

Excuse me Sir, but look at the title of this thread!
Someone can try to put a company out of business this way, and that's BS in my opinion because it has been a great company for me and for many others!!!

 

[J.Wolf]

Maybe you should start a post called "Kalium Strings has exceptional customer service" and you'd get better reception. Seems to me that your efforts to refute the experiences of others are ill received in a thread specifically about/for people who have had the opposite experiences with this brand.

Not saying you shouldnt posit the counter argument based on your experiences, but for god's sake, stop victim blaming people who have not received good customer experience from a company.

3.2.1. Im out of this conversation, as I see zero chance of reconciling this. We're probably just not going to see eye to eye on this.

AGAIN: I love their product. Skip is a great dude. Chris who used to be with them is as well. AND there are issues with order fulfillment. Take care.

 

[Maiden Bass]

Well if you did have a problem that wasn't taken care of, that's what PayPal is for!

 

[J.Wolf]

Dont be transparent about problematic customer service because you can refute the charges through paypal? nice.

 

[Maiden Bass]

I just had to come back from the dead on this one. Your entire post makes me laugh, or cry, depending on how we look at human behavior. Do you honestly believe that all of us through all these threads started about Kalium's sucky service (I don't think anyone ever said the strings sucked but you do have to get the product into the people's hands right?) are just making it up and that because you have had pleasant experiences with them then surely this problem doesn't exist? Also, aren't you the one who raves about "these are the greatest string ever" quite frequently? I swear that I've seen that "Prosteels are the best!" and "Sadowsky are the best!". How about "I'm back using Dunlop again, they are the best!" or "NYXL now comes with taper cores, they are superior to Dunlop!". Just based on this I take what you say with a grain of salt. You are not related to ixlramp are you? Or are you Skip?



Again, based on what I said above about you liking just about every other string as the best at one point or another this is sad. Tell you what, why don't you let the adults talk about bad customer service they have had from Kalium, the other adults can listen and EMPATHIZE with those who have had such problems even when they haven't, and you can go start new threads about "XYZ brand strings is the greatest string ever.....this week at least!"

Times change, needs change , and tastes change.
When I find a string that's better and more consistent than Kaliums I'll switch to those.
Are you still playing dead Rotosounds and happy with that?

 

[willsellout]

It's a shame Skip is/was having issues. I stopped buying his strings because of all of the complaints and also because the website is honestly really hard to understand what they hell Im ordering. It may be because Im not that bright but the point is I don't shop there anymore. I love my DR High Beams and don't miss the balanced tension. Honestly I never really felt a difference. I did enjoy the way they sounded though.

 

[mcnach]

So first off mistakes happen and ANY company out there can and will make a mistake, companies are run by humans and humans makes mistakes period.

Kaliums strings make a truly superior product!
I have been using their hybrid strings for a while now and they last way longer than other strings, and IMO sound and feel way better than any other nickel string out there. Plus their short taper is better for true intonation, like a piano string!

So my experience with them is this, every order I place ships out in less than a week. Anytime I have had a question or concern I simply called the phone number listed on their email and Skip has answered the phone, every single time! Also I had one string damaged in shipping (USPS bent up the envelope and the string was bent up), well I simply called Skip and he sent me out a new one.
I'm not buying this that you cannot reach them, maybe the email didn't go thru or went to spam, so if you don't get a response then pick up the damn phone and call them, they answer every single time and I have called them a lot!

So you can cry about bad customer service all want, but I have never experienced that, and in fact it has been equal or better than any other company out there that I have ever dealt with.

I'm happy to be playing superior strings, so you can switch to a company who makes lesser quality strings if you are upset about it, but wait, then you'll probably one day be upset with getting bad strings, or strings not lasting as long or sounding as good from the company you switched to, then you should probably call it a day and switch back to Kalium!

If I find better strings than Kalium Hybrids I'll leave Kalium too, but I haven't and I have tested just about every string out there!

Nah. If your company cannot deal with emails then don't give an email to customers as contact. Simples.
No excuse.
Too many people with complaints. They have much to learn about business, it's not just about the product.

Their strings may be very good... but it's not like there's no alternatives.

You like calling? Good for you. I prefer sending a quick email at 3am when I'm catching up with things so if they give me a contact email I'll use it. You don't answer? Then I guess you don't want my business and somebody else out there is happy to take my money. Your choice.

 

[mcnach]

Well if I lived in the UK I would be looking for strings in the UK! When you need them fast in a pinch it's much easier to get them!

You play your Volkswagen strings, and I'll play my Audi strings and we'll all be happy!

Hilarious!
If Kalium are Audi... they're Audi A4s... not S8s. Nice cars but nothing extraordinary. Their uniqueness comes more from the custom gauges and lengths than any inherent amazing quality... but hey if it makes you feel superior... be that dude in his Audi A4 thinking he's driving something amazing.

(I'm an Audi driver by the way )