BUYER BEWARE! My UPSCALE AUDIO Story

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Everyone's had a situation where things just end up star crossed despite best intentions no matter what you try to do about it. Maybe this was one of them.

Hmmm. Kevin "laid back"? Maybe this move and upcoming show is so stressful, he's taking tranquilizers.

Seriously, I've bought a few tubes from Kevin over the years. He's always given me excellent advice and shipped quickly. Some of my unused tubes that "had a reputation" gassed out a few months after the warranty was up. He still took care of me even though technically he didn't have to. He's always been a good guy to me and I remain a loyal customer.
 
Barry said:
Some of my unused tubes that "had a reputation" gassed out a few months after the warranty was up. He still took care of me even though technically he didn't have to.
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You had much better luck than I did, it seems.
 
Esteban-There are always two sides to every story and we are only hearing yours. Maybe it went down exactly as you stated. Either way, I have been buying tubes from Uncle Kevin for years and have had zero issues that weren't handled immediately and professionally (one KT-88 tube out of 12 I purchased that wasn't matched as tightly as it should have been knowing it was going in a Jadis Defy 7 MKII which has a crappy bias system). So I'm not going to quit buying tubes from Uncle Kevin because you are not happy with him and have chosen to bash him on an audio forum.

It seems that some of the people that complain about Uncle Kevin are those that call him up to pick his brain with no intent to buy tubes from him. They just want his advice and they they are off to find the cheapest source for the tubes they want. Yours is the first story I have read where you sold the wrong output tubes twice in a row.
 
Barry said:
Everyone's had a situation where things just end up star crossed despite best intentions no matter what you try to do about it. Maybe this was one of them.

Hmmm. Kevin "laid back"? Maybe this move and upcoming show is so stressful, he's taking tranquilizers.

Seriously, I've bought a few tubes from Kevin over the years. He's always given me excellent advice and shipped quickly. Some of my unused tubes that "had a reputation" gassed out a few months after the warranty was up. He still took care of me even though technically he didn't have to. He's always been a good guy to me and I remain a loyal customer .
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+3
 
mep said:
Esteban-There are always two sides to every story and we are only hearing yours. Maybe it went down exactly as you stated. Either way, I have been buying tubes from Uncle Kevin for years and have had zero issues that weren't handled immediately and professionally (one KT-88 tube out of 12 I purchased that wasn't matched as tightly as it should have been knowing it was going in a Jadis Defy 7 MKII which has a crappy bias system). So I'm not going to quit buying tubes from Uncle Kevin because you are not happy with him and have chosen to bash him on an audio forum.

It seems that some of the people that complain about Uncle Kevin are those that call him up to pick his brain with no intent to buy tubes from him. They just want his advice and they they are off to find the cheapest source for the tubes they want. Yours is the first story I have read where you sold the wrong output tubes twice in a row.
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You are, of course, free to believe what you choose to. Nobody has asked anybody to stop buying from anywhere. I was simply sharing my story. Everything I wrote is exactly as it happened. Please make of it what you'd like, but even the gentleman behind PrimaLuna was upset at the whole situation and has been kind enough to help me expedite my refund. To this day, they still have my money and I have nothing. Plus, I wasted a considerable amount of time on the whole ordeal... And in regards to one of your points, I was a repeat costumer and had bought my amplifier from them, in addition to other tubes in the past.
 
...and to add to my reply above, if you read my previous posts in their entirety you will see that Kevin did admit that this issue (ie: sending the wrong tubes) did happen multiple times, to multiple costumers, in the last few days, apparently due to an employee who basically did not know what he was doing and the tubes being in the wrong bin (I have a voice-mail message to prove it). Still, the label and invoice clearly says "KT-88's" and the boxes clearly say "KT-66'". The whole point of my criticism was not the REASON WHY, nor the excuses given to me as tho WHY I was sent the wrong tubes twice and treated as if I was nothing but a pain in the ass. My issue lies with the fact that at no point did I receive a SOLUTION. At least not one I felt was the right nor appropriate one, specially the SECOND time around...
 
Esteban said:
...and to add to my reply above, if you read my previous posts in their entirety you will see that Kevin did admit that this issue (ie: sending the wrong tubes) did happen multiple times, to multiple costumers, in the last few days, apparently due to an employee who basically did not know what he was doing and the tubes being in the wrong bin (I have a voice-mail message to prove it). Still, the label and invoice clearly says "KT-88's" and the boxes clearly say "KT-66'". The whole point of my criticism was not the REASON WHY, nor the excuses given to me as tho WHY I was sent the wrong tubes twice and treated as if I was nothing but a pain in the ass. My issue lies with the fact that at no point did I receive a SOLUTION. At least not one I felt was the right nor appropriate one, specially the SECOND time around...
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Sorry you have had a hassle. Maybe he did hire someone who is as sharp as a bowling ball and can't tell a KT-66 from a KT-88. "Buyer Beware" sounds like you are trying to steer people away from buying tubes from Kevin because you have had an issue due to Kevin hiring Forrest Gump to pack tubes. Even if Gump keeps packing your tubes, I'm still going to continue to purchase tubes from Uncle Kevin.
 
mep said:
Sorry you have had a hassle. Maybe he did hire someone who is as sharp as a bowling ball and can't tell a KT-66 from a KT-88. "Buyer Beware" sounds like you are trying to steer people away from buying tubes from Kevin because you have had an issue due to Kevin hiring Forrest Gump to pack tubes. Even if Gump keeps packing your tubes, I'm still going to continue to purchase tubes from Uncle Kevin.
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As I said, you are free to make up your own mind, of course. I know I made mine up. The way I see it, "beware" simply means "heads-up" or "be cautious". It does NOT mean "do NOT buy from...". I do not wish to turn this into a semantics game, however. I shared my story. Evidently, I am in the minority, but that does not change a single one of the facts I presented. Moving on...
 
Shadowfax said:
When did we go from "The Customer is always right", to, "The Customer doesn't really matter"?

That is not Customer Service, it's a bunch of lame excuses because someone is not properly minding the store.

The response should have been from day 1 - "We apologize for the mistake and we have corrected it. Please return the incorrect tubes after you receive the correct ones as the return label will be included"

End of story

It does not make ANY sense about the packaging being similar. No matter what the packaging is, a 66 is quite different than an 88, unless one is severely vision impaired. After the idiot did it twice, the owner should have Hand Delivered them or at least Overnight at no charge.

It is really a shame that you get better, faster, and more reliable service from Amazon over a so called reputable HE dealer and a better price most of the time.

Sorry you ended up with such an experience but thanks for sharing it. Maybe he will think differently next time as several thousand potential customers just got spoiled.
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Thank you for your words, Brian. We see things in the same way.
 
mep said:
Sorry you have had a hassle. Maybe he did hire someone who is as sharp as a bowling ball and can't tell a KT-66 from a KT-88. "Buyer Beware" sounds like you are trying to steer people away from buying tubes from Kevin because you have had an issue due to Kevin hiring Forrest Gump to pack tubes. Even if Gump keeps packing your tubes, I'm still going to continue to purchase tubes from Uncle Kevin.
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Mark.......Interesting how you want to spin this so that your "Uncle Kevin" remains unblemished. Rose colored glasses do put a nice glow on things but it wasn't the young yahoo packing the tubes who treated Esteban like a second class pain in the ass when he called with a legitimate issue. It wasn't the tube boy who intentionally insulted Esteban by calling him another Latin name even after he was corrected twice. It wasn't the minimum wage youth in the back packing boxes that used profanity on the phone with a customer or insinuated Esteban was just trying to get free tubes. It was Kevin Deal himself, you know, the guy who should be a perfect example of customer service for his business. I have no reason to discount Esteban's version of the events. He is not trying to grind an ax here, just wanting to get this issue solved and relaying his experience for the benefit of others. It is not bashing when the truth is spoken, except perhaps to those who wish to shield the perpetrator. As always, caveat emptor.

This is a perfect example of why the Internet is a such a wonderful and powerful tool. It allows people to operate businesses to a world audience. It also allows immediate access to information. No longer can sellers relish the freedom to remain invisible and anonymous while ignoring or mistreating customers. Buyers have a BIG voice now. This thread is posted on other forums besides Audio Shark so it is being widely viewed. Every person who reads this thread will probably talk about it to someone who mentions Upscale Audio. Google's web crawlers will pick it up soon enough and then this news will be available to anyone who searches Upscale Audio. None of this is meant to do harm to Kevin's business. He seems relatively capable of doing that all by himself. I am certain that attempting to drive customers away from Upscale Audio was never Esteban's intent when posting, but perhaps having the general public enlightened about poor customer service will provide the catalyst necessary for Kevin and company to clean up their act, treat customers with respect, and immediately solve issues they created in a friendly and efficient manner. That really shouldn't be too much to ask for when you spend your hard earned income with an online vendor, or anywhere else for that matter. Had Kevin solved this issue quickly with an upbeat tone in all communications I am positive this thread would have never been created. At this point in time I am wondering what exactly is so "upscale" about Upscale Audio.
 
mep said:
Sorry you have had a hassle. Maybe he did hire someone who is as sharp as a bowling ball and can't tell a KT-66 from a KT-88. "Buyer Beware" sounds like you are trying to steer people away from buying tubes from Kevin because you have had an issue due to Kevin hiring Forrest Gump to pack tubes. Even if Gump keeps packing your tubes, I'm still going to continue to purchase tubes from Uncle Kevin.
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he was probably a Millennial with a shrine of 9th place medals at his folks house. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-A6zERn6yo

I'm involved with hiring the latest crop college grads at our company, there's no starting at the bottom for them...that's soo yesteryear:rolleyes: Their sense of entitlement has no bounds, we've had more turnover in the last few years than the preceding fifteen.
 
puroagave said:
he was probably a Millennial with a shrine of 9th place medals at his folks house. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-A6zERn6yo

I'm involved with hiring the latest crop college grads at our company, there's no starting at the bottom for them...that's soo yesteryear:rolleyes: Their sense of entitlement has no bounds, we've had more turnover in the last few years than the preceding fifteen.
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All too common Rob.
 
Last night, Mr. Deal assured me via e-mail that a refund has been issued to me. It is not being reflected in my account yet, but these things normally do take a few days. At this point, I would like to put this matter behind me. Again, thank you all for your feedback and time. I appreciate your input.

Moderator, please feel free to close this thread if you deem it appropriate. Thank you!
 
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