About a week ago I decided to get involved in the dispute that Dreamz (D) had with Faruk (FT) that you are now all aware of. I emailed both FT and D
to see if they would like me to mediate some sort of resolution, and they were both open to it. I wanted to gather all the facts, consider both
parties best interests, and try to help them come to a fair agreement that both were comfortable with. I did this because I consider FT to be a
friend, and I also felt like D had a legitimate case to be upset about the oud he received and how he may have been treated. I did not like seeing FT
getting crucified on my forums. I also sensed that although D was upset about the oud he received, he was not upset about the quality of the
craftsmanship or the sound of the instrument, but rather how he felt like he was mistreated from a customer service point of view. He seemed like a
reasonable fellow, and that is why I wanted to try and help him resolve this with FT. So a week of emails going back and forth between both parties
has resulted in both sides agreeing to a resolution that they both are comfortable with.
I feel it necessary to recount the facts though, because there was definitely more to this story than we had read in the posts above. I’m not saying
that D was misleading, he was actually quite honest, and FT actually verified some of his claims as well to me. He also refuted some others, or
clarified I should say. FT also did not deny that he may have mishandled the situation with D, but he was also making some valid points for what led
him to lose his patience with him. Even D acknowledged he contacted him a lot during the build, but he was just very excited about the oud. This is
why I consider detailing what led to D’s initial post as being important. That being said, it is common sense to hear both sides of a story before
coming to any conclusions. I am posting this after both FT and D have read and approved this message.
There have been more than 2,300 views of this thread and yet the great majority of members have not felt the need to "chime in" with unhelpful and
inflammatory comment. Most have been sensitive and sensible enough to realize they have no direct involvement and should let those that do sort this
matter out without adding additional pressure. I would also assume most sensible members have avoided making judgments, as they are fully aware there
are always two sides to every story. A couple of people have related similar personal stories, and these posts are relevant to the thread and I
personally welcome them. I request people who have no direct involvement desist from employing the well-worn practice of keeping an unpleasant thread
alive by re-posting and using other "devices" to achieve the same result.
Finally, let me be clear. As mentioned above, others have made claims that they had poor experiences as well; I am only dealing with the transaction
between FT and D. I know nothing about the other cases.
A Summary of what happened this last week.
As far as I could tell, D had the following complaints, and he verified this to me.
1 - He wanted Dark East Indian Rosewood, which he ordered for an upgraded fee.
2 - The White Streaks on the bowl.
3 - The non-uniform color of the cedar soundboard.
4 - The way he was treated and being blocked off by Faruk and his assistant, and this possibly being the most important point for D.
After recounting to FT these complaints, this is what his response was.
Complaint 1 - The oud was in fact East Indian rosewood (dalbergia latifolia). I mentioned this to D, and he did not dispute it, so it
would seem FT did not change the bowl wood from that which was ordered.
Complaint 2 - This wood, like several other species, can produce minute white lines in the grain and these become more noticeable
after the finish is applied. This was actually noted above by Alfaraby. Although it may be unsightly, it was out of FT’s control. That being said, I
told FT that it was a legitimate complaint, and he did not deny it.
Complaint 3 – Apparently FT sent D a pretty good quality video of the oud before shipping it to him. He said there was no attempt
made to disguise the look of the soundboard in the video. When I pointed this out to D, he verified that he did receive the video, but he missed or
just did not notice the non-uniform color. A copy of the video is attached. Click to watch.
Complaint 4 – FT agreed he lost his patience with D, but he told me that D was contacting him excessively, and much more often than
would be considered normal. He was calling him after FT told him he was away on vacation, and sometimes while having dinner with his wife. I explained
to FT that he was possibly just very excited about the custom oud he ordered, and he agreed with me that he could have handled the situation with more
patience.
I then asked D for some more information. I wanted to know the following:
1 – How much he paid for the oud? ($4,000 + shipping and hardcase)
2 – How much he sold the oud for? ($2,500…he told me he tried to recover the full amount but got no interest so he settled for that amount.)
3 - How long did he have the oud before contacting FT telling him that he was unhappy? (As soon as he received the oud. FT also verified this to me as
well.)
After some back and forth emails with D, he initially was asking for an instrument worth about $2,000 to make up for his losses. I in turn told him
that I would approach FT with that proposal, but that in all honesty, not to expect it to happen because it was somewhat unreasonable. I also told him
that by selling the oud, he had limited the possibilities for a solution involving exchanging the oud or changing the soundboard, at the very least. D
understood my point, and then told me that he would be open to a counter offer, such as a discount on another oud.
At this point I was optimistic that we could come up with a resolution. I felt both sides were being honest and also being somewhat reasonable. D was
upset about the oud he received, and although he proposed something I felt was not going to be agreed to, he was open to a counter proposal for a
resolution. FT was initially very open to the idea of working things out and making D happy, but slowly became a little more hesitant to offer a
counter, as he was still a little upset about how he continued to be attacked on the forums, even up until yesterday. By the way, when I first emailed
D about helping him resolve this dispute, I asked him to stop posting one-line responses on the thread just to keep the thread going. I told him he
had made his point. The problem now was people totally unrelated to his issue were chiming in, and this would hurt his chances for a resolution. He
immediately stopped posting. He told me he was not unhappy with the quality of Faruk’s work. He actually praised it highly, but rather was mainly
angry at how he was treated. Meanwhile, people started jumping in and offering their 2 cents worth, and asking for updates and so on. D still remained
quiet, and this most definitely helped his cause with FT. I was able to tell FT that D had stopped posting, and to disregard the other members as they
had nothing to do with D’s situation. I did encourage him to agree to a resolution quickly so he could put this behind him, as some people were not
going to let this go, even if it didn’t concern them. He agreed.
Fast forward to today. I awoke to an email from FT stating his counter offer was to have D send back the oud so he could exchange it. Keep in mind
there is a time difference between where I am located and where D and FT are located. They are in the same time zone. So I awoke to another email from
D telling me that FT had contacted him with his counter directly, apparently after he emailed me. D also told me that he told FT that he would not be
able to return the oud because the guy who had bought it had now also sold it. He also was a little unhappy with the tone of FTs messages. I thought I
had lost control and there was going to be no resolution, but I told D to let me see what I could do. I emailed FT to ask him if he still wanted me to
mediate. I also asked him if I could call him. By the time I was on the phone with him, I was happily surprised that he reported to me that he and D
had worked out a compromise. D emailed me shortly thereafter to confirm. In the end, they were able to communicate together and come to an agreement
that both are quite comfortable with. FT realized he had mishandled the customer service portion of the transaction, D was honest and reasonable, and
they were able to work it out. They both want to move on and put this behind them.
I will not go into the detail of the agreement they have reached other than to say that D is ordering another new oud from FT and FT is giving him a
generous discount to at least cover a significant part of the losses D experienced in on-selling the first oud. |