***A word of warning before you buy from Tekton***
Well, it seems that I won’t be getting the Encores after
all.
Tekton had sold me the DIs under the premise that they would
be on loan to me until the “mini ulfs” were ready. This was on 10/02/2017, when
I received the DIs.
I didn’t open up the DIs immediately. Soon after I got them
I went into the hospital, and have been in and out until 06/04/18, plus losing
my job on 10/27/17.
I got to listen to the DIs in March, 2018, for the first
time, and again in May, 2018. I had concerns, which I expressed to Tekton when
I first purchased them, is if they would be suitable for my 13x13x8 room, due
to their size. I was assured by Tekton that they would be fine in my room. I
wanted them to be. I even purchased new stands that would suitable for both the
DIs and the “mini ulfs.” This was also a concern with my buddy, who is an
acoustician, as he claimed that I would need much space for the many drivers of
the DIs to coalesce. Moreover, he claimed that the rule of thumb was that the
height of speakers should be no more than half of the distance to your ceiling.
Now, this is a guy who teaches sound design, primarily for pro studio and
mastering rooms, so perhaps he isn’t the last word for home audio use; still,
what he said made sense, especially given that what I was hearing from the DIs,
even with multiple room placement, as well as acoustic treatment left the mids
very thick and muddy.
Nevertheless, I had hopes for the “mini ulfs” as they were a
better speaker, so I was told.
In my talks with Tekton, though, I got the impression that
the ‘mini ulfs’ would be in the $5,000 range, as Tekton informed that they
would be directly competing with the TOTL Golden Ear Tritons, which I looked
up, priced at $2,499.99 a piece, so roughly $5k. That’s my fault, however,
because I guess we were talking about two different speakers, and I guess there
is a higher one up the ladder from Golden Ear that Tekton was referring to. I
wish I had gotten that in writing.
What’s more, I wish I had gotten it in writing that these
DIs were to be traded in for the “mini ulfs.”
In fact, Tekton never contacted me that the “mini ulf,” now
named the “Encores” were in production, 10 months or so later. I sent them an
email and inquired about the Encores, because those are the ones I really
wanted, even after my poor experience with the DIs. I suppose I just wanted to
give myself and Tekton a fair shake with the Encores.
I admit that the sticker shock of the Encores set me back. I
was expecting to pay $2,000 more for the Encores, but Tekton showed me a slip
of paper where Tekton had written down $7,500. Tekton eventually told me that this
slip of paper was buried under a mound of other papers, so they had to fetch it
out.
Regardless, I informed Tekton that I was excited again about
getting the Encores. I wrote to Tekton, “So, I guess the next steps are for me
to ship the DIs back to you, and for me to pay the balance for the Encores and
have them shipped to me. My excitement about them is renewed! I certainly hope
that they do well in my 13x13 room. The room is acoustically treated, and I
would certainly hate to be out all of that acoustic treatment in the room if my
wife wants to turn it into a dining room. Haha!”
Tekton then confirmed the color I wanted, letting me know
that they were 2 weeks out from shipping to me, and that they could help with
the return shipping for the DIs.
Here it gets a little fuzzy, because I was told by Tekton
that they could save me about $300 in shipping if I used their FedEx account.
The strange thing is, Tekton claimed that they had heard from other customers
that shipping would be about $600 to get the DIs back to them. So, if Tekton
was to save me an estimated $300, then that means that I would pay Tekton
around $300 to ship the DIs back, from the estimated $600 in shipping without
Tekton’s help. This sounded odd, because I thought that surly Tekton does not
pay $300 to ship each unit out, so if I paid them roughly $300, using their
account, where does the rest of the savings go that it cost Tekton to ship
their speakers to customers. I would assume it goes in their pockets, because
the math just didn’t add up.
Anyway, I used a dealer buddy’s FedEx account and arranged
shipping. This shipping thing was becoming a hassle, because I felt that I was
getting a little ripped off. If I didn’t care for the Encores, boy I would be
out more shipping. I sent Tekton an email to this affect, not getting into my
health concerns (and I won’t do that here, either), but I let them know that
they would get the speakers “tomorrow.”
Now, anyone with a FedEx account (at least everyone I know,
including many dealers) has their account set up to get notifications from
FedEx when an item is shipped to them. So, Tekton must have known the speakers
were coming. I was in the middle of doing a charity thing when I decided to
look at my FedEx account to make sure that the speakers had made it to Tekton
okay. When I checked, much to my surprise, Tekton had refused the shipment at
the dock! How can anybody in good conscious do such a thing?
I immediately phoned Tekton, asking them why they refused
shipment, as we had a deal to return the loaner DIs, I would pay the balance of
the Encores, and they would ship me the Encores. The gentleman on the phone
informed me that he decided against that, that Tekton would not be honoring
their deal with me, and not taking the DIs back, thus costing me the shipping.
After a whirlwind conversation, in which the gentleman berated
me over the phone, I was informed that Tekton would take the DIs back, but that
I would not be eligible to send the Encores back should I not like them. My
estate attorney called up FedEx and arranged shipment back to them, whereupon I
informed Tekton that they would be coming back to them, once more. Equally as
shocking, at one point Tekton suggested that if I was concerned about the
Encores that I could just receive the shipment, not open the Encores and sell
them as new.
In other words, Tekton wasn’t concerned about me enough as a
customer to contact me when the Encores were ready, yet when they found out
that I had more money to spend, they were more than willing to take that cash,
as long as they didn’t have to deal with me any longer.
To make matters worse, I should never have told them my
health problems, but the only reason that I did was to explain to them that not
only had I been ill for 9 months, but also that the “60-day risk-free trial
period” that they kept throwing at me, was not applicable since I was waiting
on the Encores, anyway. Yet the irony is, they kept hitting me with the 60-day “risk-free”
trial period, yet Tekton changed their policy on me in the middle of the deal,
where I wouldn’t be able to use the 60-day risk-free trial period for the
Encores. That is, if the 60-day risk-free trial period is so sacred then how
can it be altered on a whim? What’s more, before I sent the DIs back, it was
sent to me in writing that I could return the Encores, only I would have to pay
return shipping on my own. That’s understandable , and I was hoping like Hell
that the Encores were all they were cracked up to be, because I certainly didn’t
want to go through this shipping merry-go-round again.
I then told Tekton that there’s no way that I could take the
Encores, paying them $4105 for the balance without having recourse. I mean, it’s
pretty much every manufacturer’s policy,
these days, in this price range (and many above) to try them out in your home,
so it’s not like Tekton is unique in this respect. Tekton kept saying that they
cannot take a “total loss” on the loaner DIs, but I’m not sure how they could
take a loss on the DIs, because even if I had sent them back under the “60-day
risk-free trial period,” would they have honored that agreement and taken them
back? I’m not so sure. If they don’t have a model for selling B-stock, then why
advertise the 60-day risk-free trial period? Of course we know they have a
model for B-stock, because they have some for sale on their website.
Those stands that I purchased for the DIs and the Encores?
The manufacturer took them back, 9 moths later, no questions asked.
Anyway, from there, since I couldn’t take that big of a risk
with the Encores, Tekton responded back, asking me what sort of “win-win”
situation I had in mind.
I informed them that since they reneged on their deal to
take the DIs back and reneged on their return policy, I couldn’t think of a
win-win situation, that I felt that my back was against the wall, and that I was
already out extra shipping. I suggested that they charge me a 15% restocking
fee, or that we work a consignment deal.
Tekton then responded back with their version of a “win-win”
situation. That they keep the DIs, which I paid $3395 for, and they give me
$2,800 credit for more Tekton speakers. In other words, they make an immediate $595
by shaving off the list on me, and on top of that my money is held at Tekton
for more speakers. This is all on top of me paying double-shipping, because
they refused our original deal at the dock. To top that off, I had to remind
Tekton that I had paid $3395 for the DIs, as Tekton admitted that they didn’t
even know that I had purchased “upgraded DI.” As a slight additional insult, I
never got my grills, and the DIs never shipped with floor spikes (and yes, all
of the boxes and foam was checked). So, really, I never received the whole
order of the $3395 that I paid.
When I asked how this was a “win-win” situation for me, I
was greeted with an email saying to never contact Tekton again.
I know some of your guys have traded up to other speakers
with Tekton. I’m sure it was done without a hitch, right? Of course these deals
were all done under the umbrella of Tekton taking more money, as it suits them,
and as it suits you.
But, I say this, if it can happen once with a customer, it
can happen again. Additionally, every business is a human business, first and
foremost. If a company eliminates the human factor, they have lost themselves.
Of course businesses wants to make money, but one can’t put the cart before the
horse. A sense of human kindness and customer service is tantamount to good
business practice. Tekton knew they weren’t going to lose money on me, but
because there was a risk that they couldn’t make more money off of me, they
decided to be done with me.
Guess what happened next. After I got the email to not
contact Tekton again, I had to call FedEx and have the DIs shipped back to me.
That’s triple-shipping now. Dummy, me, right?
Now I’m stuck with these DIs. I will have to sell them, but
only after I’m out nearly $800+ shipping, all because Tekton would not honor
their deal with me.
There are two-sides to every story, yes? As this is a house
of Tekton worship, I’m sure that I will be told to go take a powder. No matter.
This is a warning to the discerning purchaser, that it could happen to you,
too. Just beware. Think twice.
