Keptone Music Workshop

I am Rogan M***, owner of Keptone Music Workshop, responding in person to this complaintRevdex.com requests that I do not identify the person filing this complaint, so I will refer to him as [redacted] *First, I recognize that [redacted] * had a frustrating experience with our store, and I sincerely apologize for thatWe want all our customers to come away happy, and we pride ourselves on our quality and friendly serviceSimply put, if someone leaves our shop unhappy, then it means we could have done something betterHaving said that, with this particular complaint, [redacted] has left out some very important details, leading to an inaccurate portrayal of our businessKeptone is an affiliate partner with a company called [redacted] (***) [redacted] supplies all our rental instruments and they set ALL the terms of the contracts and are the final authority on all rental mattersI say this not as an attempt to pass blame, it's simply an important fact in this matter [redacted] entered into a rent-to-own agreement for his celloThese contracts allow the customer to exchange their instrument for a new or upgraded instrument, if they chose - it is not requiredThe customer must make this exchange sometime before the term for their rental is completed [redacted] informed us that he wanted to exchange instruments two months after his contract had ended and his cello was fully paid offSo, he was asking for an exception to the contract terms from the very beginning of our communications [redacted] says that he was never told that he'd already paid off his celloHere are THREE ways that [redacted] should have realized his contract had ended: 1) On the very TOP of the FIRST PAGE of the contract [redacted] signed, the total number of monthly payments is listed in large printThis is definitely not a case of something that was hidden in fine print in the backFurthermore, this is one of the details we always bring to a customer's attention at the time of signing - they are shown and told about how long they have before they pay off their instrument.2) It is [redacted] policy to send a letter with a certificate of ownership once a customer has paid off their instrument [redacted] claims he never received such a letter, and [redacted] claims they sent it3) Payments for the rental instruments are made through automatic withdrawals from a back accountThis means [redacted] would have had two months to observe that those payments were no longer being processedEven giving [redacted] the benefit of the doubt about the letter from ***, he still had other ways to know his contract had ended, most notably the very contract he signed, which he was given a copy ofWe do not feel responsible for his failure to observe these indicationsAgain, when [redacted] asked us if he could still exchange his instrument, he was asking for an exception to standard policyI spoke with [redacted] on the phone and told him this directly, and let him know that we might still have options, but that I would need to check with ***In fact, [redacted] even commented that he wasn't happy with how many vague terms he was hearing from me and my staff, words like "might", "sometimes", "normally"In response, I was very clear with himI said we used those words purposefully because we didn't want to lead him to expect something we couldn't promiseHe was clearly told the differences between things that were standard policy, vsthings we could sometimes do, vsthings we would have to ask about, etcYet, in his complaint, [redacted] *chose to present all those communications as if we had stated everything as a direct promiseWe think this distinction is very importantI don't know how to be clearer than by saying things like, "I will ask them if they can do this, but I can not guarantee it." In fact, we at Keptone made every effort on his behalf to see if [redacted] would make any exceptions for himIn the end, it was ***'s final decision to make the offer that [redacted] outlined, and they did in fact offer him a choice that went beyond the strict terms of the contractAs for compensation to [redacted] *, Keptone offers to send him a full set of cello strings, a $retail valueWe offer this in recognition of [redacted] *'s frustrations and as a good will gestureBeyond that, no other financial compensation is warranted, either from an ethical or legal standpoint

I am Rogan M[redacted], owner of Keptone Music Workshop, responding in person to this complaint. Revdex.com requests that I do not identify the person filing this complaint, so I will refer to him as [redacted]. First, I recognize that [redacted] had a frustrating experience with our store, and I sincerely apologize...

for that. We want all our customers to come away happy, and we pride ourselves on our quality and friendly service. Simply put, if someone leaves our shop unhappy, then it means we could have done something better. Having said that, with this particular complaint, [redacted] has left out some very important details, leading to an inaccurate portrayal of our business. Keptone is an affiliate partner with a company called [redacted] ([redacted]). [redacted] supplies all our rental instruments and they set ALL the terms of the contracts and are the final authority on all rental matters. I say this not as an attempt to pass blame, it's simply an important fact in this matter. [redacted] entered into a rent-to-own agreement for his cello. These contracts allow the customer to exchange their instrument for a new or upgraded instrument, if they chose - it is not required. The customer must make this exchange sometime before the term for their rental is completed. [redacted] informed us that he wanted to exchange instruments two months after his contract had ended and his cello was fully paid off. So, he was asking for an exception to the contract terms from the very beginning of our communications. [redacted] says that he was never told that he'd already paid off his cello. Here are THREE ways that [redacted] should have realized his contract had ended: 1) On the very TOP of the FIRST PAGE of the contract [redacted] signed, the total number of monthly payments is listed in large print. This is definitely not a case of something that was hidden in fine print in the back. Furthermore, this is one of the details we always bring to a customer's attention at the time of signing - they are shown and told about how long they have before they pay off their instrument.2) It is [redacted] policy to send a letter with a certificate of ownership once a customer has paid off their instrument. [redacted] claims he never received such a letter, and [redacted] claims they sent it. 3) Payments for the rental instruments are made through automatic withdrawals from a back account. This means [redacted] would have had two months to observe that those payments were no longer being processed. Even giving [redacted] the benefit of the doubt about the letter from [redacted], he still had other ways to know his contract had ended, most notably the very contract he signed, which he was given a copy of. We do not feel responsible for his failure to observe these indications. Again, when [redacted] asked us if he could still exchange his instrument, he was asking for an exception to standard policy. I spoke with [redacted] on the phone and told him this directly, and let him know that we might still have options, but that I would need to check with [redacted]. In fact, [redacted] even commented that he wasn't happy with how many vague terms he was hearing from me and my staff, words like "might", "sometimes", "normally". In response, I was very clear with him. I said we used those words purposefully because we didn't want to lead him to expect something we couldn't promise. He was clearly told the differences between things that were standard policy, vs. things we could sometimes do, vs. things we would have to ask about, etc. Yet, in his complaint, [redacted]. chose to present all those communications as if we had stated everything as a direct promise. We think this distinction is very important. I don't know how to be clearer than by saying things like, "I will ask them if they can do this, but I can not guarantee it." In fact, we at Keptone made every effort on his behalf to see if [redacted] would make any exceptions for him. In the end, it was [redacted]'s final decision to make the offer that [redacted] outlined, and they did in fact offer him a choice that went beyond the strict terms of the contract. As for compensation to [redacted], Keptone offers to send him a full set of cello strings, a $100.00 retail value. We offer this in recognition of [redacted]'s frustrations and as a good will gesture. Beyond that, no other financial compensation is warranted, either from an ethical or legal standpoint.