Ken At Upland?

[Chris Brown]

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.

[Ian Mackenzie]

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.

[Ian Mackenzie]

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.

[DerekTheGreat]

I'll never send Ken another job or another customer. In fact, when I sold my L150A's, I specifically warned the guy about him. Biggest loss in my audio journey so far, but now that it's over those wounds are almost healed.