Parks customer service

[dsmootz]

To feed my WhOA, I requested whistles from multiple people this past Christmas. I received two Parks whistles, one an Every Whistle set, and one Ghost Whistle. I've been having fun with both, but I actually prefer the tone and feel of the Ghost Whistle, even though its priced and marketed as the lower-end model. However, the cut of the beak was flat like an classic Clarke (IIRC, Carey notes on his site that the Ghost has less bells and whistles to keep the cost down), which I didn't care for. I mailed Carey and inquired what he would charge to cut the more ergonomic beak into the Ghost Whistle, and he said just send it back and he'd do it for free. A week and a half later, I have the whistle back, playing just as cleanly and more comfortably, and it cost me a whopping $1.73 for shipping. For my part, Parks is a good maker to do business with.

[jiminos]

Carey is great! a little over a year ago i purchased a C/D walkabout set. as i played them, it seemed like something was just "not right." i emailed Carey. He invited me to call him and discuss the whistles and what i was sensing. he had me download the RTTA software and record several clips to him. he looked at the output, had me send back the whistles and sent me a new set manufactured to the new specs derived from his RTTA work. to this day, the Parks whistles are the ones i play most, and they are the ones with the absolute best intonation, tuning and tone (i am not experienced or knowledgeable enough to say they are the best.... but they are the best for me.)

Carey's customer service is world-class.... first rate... outstanding. his will always be the whistles i recommend.

be well,

jim

[Jason Paul]

I always wonder about posting threads like this.

I think it's great to give praise where it's due. However, I also begin to wonder if everyone who reads this thread will ask him to do the same thing. It's a catch-22 it seems.

I ordered a ukulele last year for my birthday. Before ordering, I emailed the guy with a few questions. When I finally ordered, I jokingly said "Pick me out a good one 'cuz it's my birthday!"

He ended up actually sending me a free case with the uke, and a "Happy Birthday!" note. It wasn't a huge deal, but a very nice and generous touch. I've wanted to publicly thank him for doing that - to show the great service. But at the same time, I have this thought that anyone who reads that will expect a free case if they order a uke for their birthday.

In keeping with the theme of the thread though, when I ordered my Every Whistle, I also ordered a C body. When I got it, it was out of tune in a weird way. I emailed Carey about it and he had me send it right back. Turns out the body I got was one that wasn't supposed to go out. He sent me a replacement right out and I had it within a few days. Now, I would expect any maker to fix a problem. But, Carey did make it exceptionally fast and easy, and I'd buy from him again if I was in the market.

Jason

[tin-titan]

Back in November I ordered the Walkabout D/C package plus a case for the D walk about. It was a flawless purchase. Carey's website was very good for learning about his instruments and he was a great guy to do business with. I wish I had him as a neighbor and I wish more folks had his fantastic attitude and talent.

Tin

[dsmootz]

@Jason - I seriously considered this before posting. However, within the past couple of weeks, he responded to someone else's For Sale post of a Parks whistle, recommending just sending it back for a full refund, rather than selling at a loss, emphasizing he wanted Parks Whistles to be a risk-free maker to do business with. While this isn't exactly the same situation, it set a tone that led me to think he'd be okay with this.

[Carey]

(pssst - He's OK with it.)

And thanks JP for considering the risk of opening the flood gates. Sometimes I worry about blogging about making improvements. But as one famous crusty old quality control guru once said "I refuse to apologize for improvement."

[jkrazy52]

I've also had great customer service from Carey, almost instant replacement of an item awol from an order.

Gotta add that every whistle maker I've dealt with has given excellent customer service -- Mack Hoover, Tommy Dion, Paul Busman, Erle Bartlett, Stacy O'Gorman, Greg Mahan, David O'Brien. One time I had a Water Weasel, with a red fipple block, and had a mild reaction to the material. I wrote the shop where I had purchased the whistle to ask if they knew what the red stuff was. The next day I had an email from Glen explaining exactly what the material was, how it was made, and the offer to replace the whistle even though it had not been purchased from him. Whistle makers just seem to be extraordinarily good people as far as I can tell.

[Jason Paul]

Cool - good to hear.

Jason

[Acorn]

I live in Brazil and am waiting for Carey Parks Ghost Whistle to reach me.
Actually, I can hardly wait to play it.
I am certainly going to do more business with Carey as I have been reading such good reviews on his whistles.

[Acorn]

My Parks Ghost Whistle reached me this morning and it is a wonder ! Pure and wonderful tone, nice feel and really good-looking.
I have already had myself recorded playing it and the video is at my channel OCAMarci on Youtube.
What a great Whistle !!!

[Acorn]

Oh, I forgot to say, the tuning of the Parks Ghost Whistle is Great !!!