anyone had problems with ukuleleuprising.com / larry's music?

MauiWowie

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 16, 2010
Messages
59
Reaction score
0
EDIT: GOT IN CONTACT WITH AARON AND THE UU STAFF AND GOT EVERYTHING FIXED. RECIEVED MY STRINGS + A FEW GOODIES!
MUCH MAHALOS TO THESE GUYS!




:wallbash:

I recently ordered 2x D'Addario TENOR Pro Arte Strings (J71) and 1 set of the Aquila Nylgut Tenor Strings from them on Monday(6/6/11)morning.I then recieved the Aquila set in the mail on Tuesday(6/7/11) but no D'Addario Strings. I have called 4 different times that day and had no answer, so I emailed them and said that I did not recieve my 2 sets of D'Addario J71 strings. I did not get any email replies back till this day. The next day(Wednesday 6/8/11) my wife gave them a call and a lady answered and my wife told her the problem we had and the lady said "oh the one from Maui yea?" so I am assuming she knew what the problem was and she told my wife "we are working on it" and she hung up before my wife could even ask questions. We waited till today to see if they shipped it out yet and still didnt get anything in the mail(usually it takes 1-2 days to get mail from neighbor islands here in Hawaii). Again,called them and this time a guy answered, he said he was alone and he had to deal with customers there so he took down my name and number and said he would call back later today......he did not call back. I know the business hours are Mon-Sat 11am-4pm, so I am sure we are calling at the right times.

I was hoping to get an email back at least, never thought to have such a problem for a small order like this. I would just like to know if anyone has ever had problem with them before?


:uhoh:
 
Last edited:
I almost ordered a KoAloha tenor from them, but it really didn't go very smoothly. At first it all was going well, then it was difficult to get in touch with them. I figured it was a lot of money, so I ordered from MGM.
 
Order your strings direct from UU and you'll get them in no time at all along with a UU sticker!
 
Hi there, I actually ordered a Kamoa fiberglass case from them back in March (in a custom color) and as of today's date still haven't received it. I completely understand that he is at the whim of the supplier, and can't guarantee things, but I am a little frustrated because he told me back in May that it had already been shipped to him. So each week (once a week) I sent him emails asking if he had received it yet. And the first four emails went unanswered. I did finally hear back from him yesterday that his recent shipment of 500 boxes (which originally he said would have my order) didn't include it. So he asked if I wanted another color instead or if I would prefer to keep waiting.

I'm just frustrated because now I'm not sure if the order was ever placed, ever filled, or ever shipped. I feel as though he is the only person who can contact the supplier to find out the status of the order, but I'm still in the dark and have no visible delivery in sight.

Now, that being said, in Sam's defense, he is INCREDIBLY busy right now. He is trying to fill Kamoa orders to eighteen different countries, and it selling out of stuff faster than he can get it into his store. That is no excuse for not filling your order properly, or for failing to help you out with the errors, but it does possibly explain why it is hard to get an email response from him.

He is a wonderful guy, I think he is just swamped right now. When you called, do you know if it was the Koloa store or the Kapa'a location? I think his parents work at the Koloa store. I think that one is a little slower in traffic (just a perception, I don't know if it is fact) so you might want to call that location to see if they can help you with your order.

Hang in there -- I have faith they will make it right for you. Sam is a good guy, his dad is very kind, and his mom is a fantastic lady. She in particular has been incredibly patient with my impatience over my order. I completely sympathize with your situation though as I know it can be tough to get an email back from him. I think he will come through for you in the end though -- he is just overloaded (and probably afraid to open his email in case there is another one from me in his inbox).
 
What Staci said, both about Sam being crazy busy and his parents, who run the Koloa store, being so incredibly accomodating. I had a similarly frustrating (but ultimately rewarding) experience when I went to Kaua'i in search of a K brand ukulele. I've never done this before, but I'm going to quote from my Hawaiian ukulele shopping saga threads, part I and part II, in the hope that it'll shed some light on how busy Sam seems to be:

"Larry's Music. So far, this has been disappointing, especially since I pretty much came to Kauai to come to this shop. I got there on Friday afternoon and the place was closed. There was a sign on the door that said the store was open by appointment only, so I called the number on the sign and Sam graciously agreed to meet me on Saturday at 11:30. Except that he apparently forgot. I called about 15 minutes before my appointment, as he had asked, and got his voicemail. I called again at noon and left a second message. He had explained to me that he was really busy with shipping, and I understand that he might have forgotten to come to the shop, but I'm diisappointed that he hasn't returned my messages (9 hours later). Maybe he'll call on Sunday; I told him I'd be willing to come to his shop whenever was convenient for him, but I leave on Monday afternoon, and I may end up not being able to try any of the K brand ukes I can see on the wall throiugh the window of his store. He also has those Kamoa hard cases, and I wanted to look at them too."

"WickedWahini posted in the earlier thread that Sam had a second shop called “Ukulele Store,” in Koloa Town, near Puipo Beach. (Thanks, Staci! That information was invaluable!) So on my way back from a 5K race at Puipo Beach on Sunday morning, I stopped at Ukulele Store (which actually also has a much smaller sign that says “Larry’s Music”) only to find a sign that said that on Sundays, the store itself was closed and its proprietors were at the Puipo Beach Sheraton. So on Sunday evening at about 6:00 p.m., on my way back to Kapa’a from Waimea Canyon and Koke’e State Park, I stopped at the Sheraton, where I found an ukulele cart in the lobby. I asked the couple at the cart if this was Larry’s Music and when they said it was, I said “I am sooooo glad to see you! I’ve been trying to shop at Larry’s all weekend but I haven’t been able to connect with Sam.” The couple turned out to be Sam’s parents! Joe, Sam’s father, works at the Koloa Town shop. I told them how I really had my heart set on playing all of Larry’s Music’s K brand ukuleles and picking one out, and how I was leaving Kaua’i on Monday evening. So Sam’s parents, bless their hearts, suggested that Joe take me back to the Ukulele Store and let me play whatever I wanted. So Joe and I went back, and he opened the store just for me, and for almost two hours, Joe let me play every ukulele I wanted, even suggesting some I might not have thought of. By the time I was finished, I had picked out a Kamaka tenor that I really liked. But I told Joe that I’d still hoped to play the ukuleles at the Kapa’a shop because each ukulele has its own voice and I wanted to be sure about the one I bought. Joe said that he had to meet Sam at the Kapa’a store on Monday morning and invited me to go there in the morning, and he even agreed to bring the Kamaka I had picked out so I could compare them to the one in the Kapa’a store! The next morning, Sam, as busy as he was (apparently his business with Kamoa ukuleles has really taken off), played the ukulele I’d selected and the three other Kamaka tenors in his shop (one of which was a $2,000 deluxe model with exquisite curly koa) and demonstrated what he does to test the various sound qualities of ukuleles. When we were done, he told me that he really liked the one I had selected from the Koloa Town shop. So I bought it and asked Sam to ship it to me in San Francisco (It turns out that shipping was about as much as it would have cost me to check a bag on the flights from Kaua’i to Oahu and from Oahu to California on Hawaiian Airlines). I still can’t believe how Joe went out of his way to let me try all the ukuleles in his shop, even though it was closed, and was nice enough to bring the ukulele I picked to the Kapa’a store so I could compare it to others!"

I ended up buying a Kamaka HF-3 tenor from Sam (actually, I think his dad got credit for the sale) while I was in Kaua'i, and I'm very happy with it.
 
Well at least now I know whats goin on. I think I might just ask for a refund if that makes it easier for him and then order straight from UU.

Thanks Guys!
 
Hey Everyone!

For anyone who ordered D'Addario Strings from Ukulele Uprising and they haven't arrived yet, we are really sorry! This one was completely my fault, so please don't blame Sam or Larry's Music, this was a UU mess up.

Here's the story - since the beginning of UU until this year, I've taken care of all of the orders sent out from the UU Store (if you've ordered stuff from us you'll recognize my handwriting from the notes I would send :D). When Uprising was launched, we advised Sam to add D'Addario Strings to the store because we know you guys like the Pro Artes. Sam doesn't carry D'Addario Pro Artes, so we decided to send them out for him. Earlier this year, we hired our friend Mike to take over the store because I was pretty swamped with filming & gigging with Aldrine, editing videos, gearing up for UU+, etc. Mike is still learning the ropes for fulfilling orders - he has been doing a great job with the orders in the UU Store so far, but a few D'Addario String orders have been slipping through the cracks for Uprising because he still needs to get the hang of checking that system.

I'm still in the process of training Mike for the Pro Artes in Uprising and it was my fault for not double checking his work. For anyone who has had a problem with D'Addario Strings ordered through Ukulele Uprising, please email me at aaron (at) ukuleleunderground.com and I'll take care of you personally.

As for Sam, he really is an amazing guy. Because of the quality, sound, and demand for Kamoas, Sam has been pretty busy filling Ukulele orders from around the world. He may not always be in the shop to answer calls anymore, but Ukulele Uprising is still a top priority for Larry's Music and if you place an order for an ukulele, it will usually be shipped within a couple days (if it doesn't, you'll get a personal email from Sam).

I just brought a bunch of D'Addario Pro Arte Strings down to the shop, so from now on, if you order Pro Artes from Ukulele Uprising, it will be shipped directly from the shop (you won't have to wait for our guy Mike to check Uprising). And like I said, if you've had any missed Pro Arte string orders from Ukulele Uprising in the past, please email me at aaron (at) ukuleleunderground.com and I will personally hook you up with your strings (and most likely some extras).

Once again, I'm really sorry for the mixup guys & if you have any questions or need anything else at all, don't hesitate to email! Thanks for being so patient and understanding!

-Aaron (& the UU Staff)
 
Ordered my Kamka soprano from Sam in February of 2010. Received excellent service and personal attention. The only possible complaint would be that the ukulele was shipped from Hawaii to New York State in only the Kamaka packing box! Luckily it arrived safely. When my Kamaka concert was shipped from Tennessee it was extremely well packed, double boxed etc.
 
Last edited:
Top Bottom