AudioCircle
Industry Circles => Odyssey Audio => Topic started by: byteme on 21 Feb 2004, 02:50 am
-
After nearly missing my flight after fighting Dallas traffic because of some dumb ass instructor's directions, finally getting back to MKE only to find my battery dead and having to wait 1/2 hour for a jump - then driving home through snow and 40mph gusts of wind to top it all off I get home and there they are. Two big ass boxes sitting in the garage - MY LORELEI'S!! So, I pet my wife, hug the dog, run out to the garage and haul them both in the house (I'll even forgive the missing Nemesis, jumpers and cones). Only to open the first box and find the UPS FUCK HEADS crushed one corner. So I pull the other one out and as I set it down I hear a click sound. So I look in the ports in back and BOTH speakers have the big air core inductor just banging around the inside of the box, literally crushing the crap out of the ports.
Both speakers are good for shit. And I can't get hold of Klaus. I could just freakin' cry.
-
Byteme,
Sorry to hear this nan.
I know many people say there isn't a difference between UPS and other shipping companies (like FedEx or Bax Global), but I have had half a dozen packages wrecked or lost by UPS and none by the others.
I try like hell to never use UPS and hold my breath when I am forced to use them.
Hope you don't have too tough a time with the claim.
GW
-
I have had a number of issues w/UPS w/ both my Stratos and Tempest. Had to send them back to Klaus a number of times. The last time, UPS screwed up the Tempest, Klaus sent me the part and I installed it. Rotten shipping, and Odyssey boxes and packing look like they should be able to handle some slapping around. Either Klaus or UPS is losing $ - probaly both on the deal, plus dissatisfied customers. I'll give Klaus beaucoup props - he'll make things right. Sorry to hear about your problem, and I hope it's reconciled soon. Expensive to ship those puppies back... :x
-
Crap.
Just read the message. Brian, I'm so sorry to hear that, and I'll call you tomorrow. Looks like I'm out 2 days of Travis' work for making you a new pair on Monday / Tuesday.
Late,
Klaus
Damn UPS. However, the last 5 times over the past 2- years they paid the damages, and let's face it, FedEx or USPS is not that much better. And yet, the packaging is superb, and internationally, there's pretty much 0 problem. Go figure,
-
pet my wife and hug my dog ??? :lol: :lol: :lol:
-
pet my wife and hug my dog ??? :lol: :lol: :lol:
You can tell that he really had a very very bad day :)
Hope you feel better tomorrow.
-
Gee Brian, I hate to see the same UPS crap happen to you that happenned to me, and after just hearing the Lorelei's sing. :cry: My heartfelt sympathy's go out to you, your wife, and especially the dog,(give him a hug for me) But take it from me Brian, it'll be worth it in the end. Just be patient, (hea right!) and take heart in knowing your in good hands with Klaus. :D Best regards, Robin
-
I am really sorry about that byteme, don't hate me for these words but just "try to relax..."
I have to say that Klaus is right, since we work with UPS we have had no problem, so maybe is ground service what has it's problems, I say this because one time I asked Klaus to ship to Miami by UPS ground and there another service would bring my Tempest home, well the Tempest arrived damaged, I initially blamed the Miami service people, later the customs but now I am not so sure, maybe it was UPS' fault.
In my case by USPS, hell, two damaged shippings one Stratos ("just" faceplates) and my current Epiphonies with semi crushed corners... But againg I donot know if the fault was on your side or on themexican side (post service/customs)
In my situation we are now so confident about UPS+packaging that product is being shipped directly to customer, just today I inspected a new Khartago that arrived on Thursday and everything was just perfect.
Sorry byteme, it is a damn thing when that happens...
-
ha ha :lol:
btw if you married the girl you can go past the petting stage and get some nug nug-
but if you try and get nug nug from the dog i will call the spca :o
wtf now klaus spends time fixing your crap while i wait for my tempest :finger:
-
I thought it was beat the wife and f@#$ the dog.... :roll:
Sorry to hear that Brian. That totally sucks. Nothing you can do so have a beer or 12. Looks like there will be a pair of Lorelei B stocks shortly :?
-
OK, today is a new day. I'm still not happy but at least I'm calm, well, I was last night too - I just needed to vent. Turns out I took the bottom off one of the speakers, it's not an inductor that came loose, it's the whole crossover. It was only being restrained from going all over the cabinet by the solder attachment on the binding posts. I have to assume it's the same in the other speaker because after seeing them, there is no way one inductor could come loose! I also found another scratch kind of thing in the side of the other speaker (of course) from the one with the corner.
Yesterday, it seems, was just one of those days. I'm confident we'll get this worked out.
pet my wife and hug my dog ???
Thanks for appreciating the humor! Even in trying times you need to be able to laugh... :mrgreen:
-
any way to cob them back together -at least get a taste of the sound
-
If it may help, try using Bax Air. When I bought my last speakers, Alan Yun, of Silverline, told me he would use Bax Air due to their excellent handling. Later, I learned from a friend that high-quality porcelain manufacturers, such as Limognes, use Bax Air because they rarely break anything.
When my speakers arrived, there were no marks even on the boxes!!!
Happy listening!
-
Byteme;
That’s the saddest tale I’ve heard in a long time :cry: . Be reminiscent of a Steve Martin, John Candy movie. The wait is hard enough let alone to have some scalawags damage the goods. I be waitin on a pair of Nightingales and Tempest to ship and turn up safely. Klaus will make things right. So open a bottle of rum and fire those puppies up! It only gets better from here!
:rock:
-
Frankly, I never would have taken them outta the boxes, it just makes it harder to get a UPS claim thru if you do. Best case scenario is to have the boxes untampered with so's to actually pinpoint the damages to them. After the speakers have been taken out, UPS can always claim that you dropped them. :nono: And with UPS's track record for damages, a big part of their company must be just taking care of claims. It took UPS 10 days to return my Lorelei to Klaus and I never even removed on piece of tape. With the gapping hole thru the side of the box n' into the speaker, there was no need to. :roll: Regards, Robin
-
Robin, damage can be done without harming the shipping box...
I had a DVDP shipped from overseas by DHL. Got here and the box was in perfect shape, and it was packed well. There was no sign of visible damage at all.
But they'd dropped it hard enough to render the laser pickup to be useless. :evil:
After about 2 months of arguing with them over the damage claim, they wouldn't do any better than paying 40% of the insured value. Which wasn't even enough to repair the player! :evil:
But the stuff I've gotten from UPS has been worse. It's been terribly obvious that they broke the contents as the box's were trashed.
-
byteme,
If it's any consolation, the only ones more disappointed than me would probably be you, your wife and Klaus. Disasters always have more impact when they happen to someone you know.
I was really looking forward to hearing about your new setup. Keep us posted. I still can't wait for you to hear them in your system and room, which apparently is similar to mine.
May the force be with you.
Jeff
-
I know what you mean, Byteme. We had speakers recently shipped by UPS and once we got
the boxes inside (it was dark outside when they were delivered) we noticed the boxes had
various tears and holes in them, including one hole so big you could put your fist through it!
We were horrified (and outraged over the obviously poor handling of these expensive items)
when we saw this, quite rightly fearing the worst.
The only thing that saved us was the fact that these speakers were packed more heavily
than any other object I have ever seen before. It was incredible the amount of material that
kept the speakers safe. And that is the only (that and Divine intervention) reason
the speakers were not damaged in shipping. They work perfectly thanks to the fantastic
packing job. In spite of the careless idiots they must have working at UPS!
-
The thing that amazes me the most is that the crossovers, (yes, the are HUGE) are held on to the bottom of the speaker by 4 zip ties. Three are about 3/8 inch or so wide and rather hefty. In BOTH speakers they were torn free from the ties and floating around inside. In one case it also ripped the connection out of the platinum plated WBT connector.
Do you have any idea how you'd have to handle these boxes in order for that to happen? 4 zip ties! Those things are such SOBs that when you WANT to try and break or cut one it's a pain in the ass and now, they are just torn in pieces. Amazing.
I've spoken with Klaus, and as you can imagine he is going out of his way to get things right. I'm confident this will have a happy ending.
-
You would see a drastic reduction in UPS claims if the amount paid in claims was deducted out of their pensions.
-
Just another example of UPS handling of things. I use US Mail whenever possible and send things for free.
-
You would see a drastic reduction in UPS claims if the amount paid in claims was deducted out of their pensions.
Sad, but truth
-
The thing that amazes me the most is that the crossovers, (yes, the are HUGE) are held on to the bottom of the speaker by 4 zip ties. Three are about 3/8 inch or so wide and rather hefty. In BOTH speakers they were torn free from the ties and floating around inside. In one case it also ripped the connection out of the platinum plated WBT connector.
Do you have any idea how you'd have to handle these boxes in order for that to happen? 4 zip ties! Those things are such SOBs that when you WANT to try a ...
First off, I want to say I feel for you man. The same thing happened when my 1801's were shipped to me.
WRT the zip ties, it depends. If they go through holes on the crossover board, they can break quite easily. With a jolt, the sharp edge acts like a knife and pops 'em pretty good. They are designed as cable ties... i.e: no sharp edges. When used in this fashion, they are truly a bitch to break.
Randog
-
My post above does not reflect my feelings on UPS. Those b@stards are way too rough on packages. With eBay alone their business has soared and I'm tired of flipping a coin as to whether my packages will make it safely. Klaus, I know you use UPS pretty exclusively and I'm sure you've seen dozens of your goods damaged. Dontcha ever want to give them the boot?
I don't know how much it cost to send those speakers and who picks up the tab for shipping (I believe even though UPS will pay a damage claim, they don't reimburse shipping, do they?)... and for that matter who pays for shipping back to you... I'm guessing everybody gets screwed for part of it.
For the Lorelie's, what else could you do... crate them and send them through an independent trucking company? For the quantity sold it could be worth the effort and additional cost.
Randog
-
First, the ties do go through holes, however they broke at various places and in no case was it by where they come through that wood bottom.
(http://www.audiocircle.com/image.php?id=6827)
As you can see, it varied all over where they broke. UPS is collecting them sometime this week to examine the damage themselves. Klaus is readying another pair for me. As you would expect, Klaus has lived up to his very lofty and well deserved reputation when it comes to customer service. He did mention, that while using UPS pretty much exclusively this is only the second issue with damage to a pair of Lorelei. Fortunately it was my pair :bawl: and fortunately it was both speakers in the pair....
This picture makes me think of Something About Mary ...
"Damn boy, how'd you get the beans above the frank??"
-
yeh but its better than getting a product that is defective a week or two after you start to like it :o
better to not have listened than get a taste :mrgreen:
-
That pic was just plain painful to look at. :cry: I myself had the pleasure of dealing with UPS last week when my tempest arrived. Unfortunately, it too did not make it unscathed. The phone grounding plug was broken and just hanging by the screw thread. Klaus genereously offered to fix it but since I do not use phono, I said I would just live with it for awhile as is. The anticipation of getting the preamp was too great to just turn around and send it back. I am currently breaking it in as we speak and I definitely NOT dissapointed with its performance. Hang in there as you will most certainly be rewarded with the fruit of your patience in the very near future!
-
Its time to set up a sacrifice to the UPS gods. You must build an alter and sacrifice an old Yamaha or Sony reciever. :lol:
-
byteme,
When you do get things taken care of I'd love to hear your new setup if you don't mind. Hope you get things resolved quickly. Guess that's one of the many reasons to find a product that is backed up with great service. Makes me nervous to ship anything even slightly valuable.
-KJ
-
Correct, I like to use UPS for several reasons, one of which is to save my customers $$$. Over the past 2-3 years we've had more than satisfying results with them. However, I checked, an in the past 3 months + or so we have had 6 incidents with them. That's more than in the whole previous 1 1/2 years ogether !!!!!
Something is up here and I'm not so sure that it's not here at the distribution center in Indy. Our driver himself is awesome, and it's definitely not him. I'll get with the supervisor and check on my end, but as for Brian's replacement pair next week NOPE. We'll meet halfway and I'll hand deliver them to him.
Late,
Klaus
-
A good friend of mine used to work at UPS years ago. His job was transferring packages from one truck to another. The metric they were measured on for job performance... package throughput (how many packages they could move per hour).
That metric alone (if it is still how they are measured) speaks volumes for a companies approach to quality.
-
I worked for them for a couple of days around 1980 loading trucks right out of high school. They had a dock where the supervisor would walk the plank yelling at everyone. We had to *average* a box every 2 seconds from the conveyor to the truck ramp during our complete shift.
I quit and went back to my drafting job. 16 years later I started my own product design business... where would I be if I stuck it out with UPS...
-
I've talked to many UPS drivers in the area of NYC where I work. They complain about their boss's....and the company...just pushing for quick deliveries- speed- not package handling. The number of deliveries has grown so large, it's no wonder things get smashed around !
-
Amazingly, or not, I sold a pair of speakers to someone in Ft. Wayne IN. They were shipped from Chicago, via UPS. A pair of Energy C-7's. You'll probably not find this very hard to believe, but BOTH boxes looked like hell, there were holes in each, both speakers have scratches and corner damage. Also, in both cases, the foam around the speakers was all broken into pieces. So, now, basically I'm dealing with UPS on two beat to hell pairs of speakers. Thanks UPS!
-
i heard the convayer belts have drops of 15 feet - :o
i bought some michaura towers off ubid a few years ago and the boxes looked unreal so much crushing had been done.i never got to hear them.