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Quality issues with Tekton speakers....

I was reading all the buzz about these Tekton speakers and after sorting through all the reviews, decided to order a pair of the Pendragon (the big ones... $2,500 a pair).

When they arrived, I found them to be boxed well and in perfect shape, although one thing was very noticeable once I looked at the speakers. The woofers had a slightly different tone (color). The upper woofer in each tower was basically dark gray or black (like most paper woofers you might come across) and the lower woofers were slightly blue in color. After looking on the web some, I could not find a Pendragon speaker photo ANYWHERE that had this color difference. Since they did not come with speaker grilles, I knew the color difference would bother me as long as I owned the speakers.

I contacted Tekton (Eric Alexander) via e-mail and explained the issue. After almost a week of not hearing back, I sent another e-mail and his response was...

(copy and pasted right from my e-mail)... " I'm sorry. Please refresh my memory. What seems to be the problem? Thanks, Eric"

I described the issue again and he offered to exchange the speakers. I said there was no need to ship back a huge pair of 85 pound speakers and have him send me another pair and suggested maybe he just send me grilles at no charge to cover the speakers and I could live with the slight color difference in the woofers. I really feel that grilles should be included in a $2,500 price tag however.

All of these e-mails took several days to answer by the way.

He agreed and said he would get the grilles out right away... they were sent a few days later and upon arrival, I realized there was a pretty big problem. I had a normal type speaker grill with 4 pegs on the back and a speaker with no peg holes. After all the time, e-mails, no answers, etc., I was not interested in wasting any more time with the matter and asked for a partial refund through PayPal and asked a simple question... why send me grilles for a speaker that he just shipped to me with no holes to put them in? His reply was to offer to make new grilles and send "velcro dots" to affix them to the speakers with.... WOW.

The WORST part about all this: Within 30 minutes of making a PayPal claim about the issue and asking for a partial refund from him, Eric tried to call me right away... now that there was money at stake.

The really sad part of all this is that the speakers actually sound pretty damn good now that they are broken in... I just hope the quality and communication come up to the same level for the sake of Tekton as a company.
audiofreak32
mclsound
159 posts
 
I had a simular issue with the UPGRADE COMPANY. .. and to this day will never have anything good to say about them......
You paid for a perfect product and did not receive it but now I believe your relationship with them is over....sucks but your letting people know that a couple hundred dollars isnt the point and I agree...
Dont let some of these seasoned veterans get you ruffled as some of us take them with a grain of salt. ...no offense boys!!!
Hope you get satisfied
shakeydeal
979 posts
 
After seeing the pictures I agree that I wouldn't be happy from a cosmetic standpoint. And grilles are never an option for me, I would never use them.

So I would call Eric and ask him to ship me matching drivers. Then I would swap them out, and send him the extra pair (at his expense). Problem solved. But trying to retrofit grilles to speakers not designed to use them is silly. There are other options.

If I were Eric, I would offer this solution at no charge. And if you insisted on speakers with grilles after ordering the opposite, I would swap them out at YOUR cost.

This really doesn't have to be so difficult.

Shakey
jperry
2,468 posts
 
Audiofreak32

I agree with you 100%. The best solution would be to return the speakers and have the Seller provide a full refund including return shipping. Then move on to a manufacturer that can provide you with the product and service you want.

Previously I have dealt with a small manufacturer and sometimes they just don't get it in terms of customer service and quality control.

Others may have had a good experience with Tekton, but their experience is not relevant to your experience, and does not make your experience any better.

I hope this gets worked out to your complete satisfaction.
roxy54's avatar
roxy54
8,128 posts
 
I realize that this has all gone on for too long, and there are good points on both sides, but one question that Audiofreak never answered as far as I can remember was what amount of "partial refund" he requested from Paypal. It seems to me that if he is not satisfied with the appearance of the speakers, a partial refund would not be a remedy, so why ask for it?
gooddomino
108 posts
 
I just saw the photo you posted. Absolutely unacceptable to let that pair of speakers leave the factory. I'm a Tekton speaker owner btw, Initially, the OP should have been offered free shipping back to Tekton and he should have been offered a courtesy fee of let's say $100 to have the OP spend his time packing up the speakers and arranging the return. I imagine Eric's profit margin is quite small so that there is little financial margin for error when incidents like this happen. Business is not for sissy's, man up or get out. Do the right thing the first time. If the manufacturer, Tekton, doesn't take responsibility and offer a great return option then the consumer should negotiate a reasonable return arrangement.
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