Ken Swauger to retire

kab
kab Posts: 275
edited September 2009 in The Clubhouse
Ken has announced that he intends to retire at the end of the month. Much to my surprise, Ken is not buying an RV, or moving to Florida, or taking whittling classes (no offense to all you whittlers living in Florida). He has other plans befitting a gentlemen of such immense talents. But I'll let him tell you when he's ready.

It goes without saying that I and Polk will miss him. I know many of you will as well. Ken and I have worked together for most of his 14 years here and I've never heard him raise his voice to a customer. And in spite of what you may have heard, his tic is barely noticeable.

He is one of the most patient men I have ever known. Ken has worked his magic on countless angry customers, making Polk fans out of the vast majority. His knowledge of audio and music is staggering.

I am grateful to have had the opportuinity to work with him all these years. Please wish him well. He will surely remain in the Polk family and, I have no doubt, a member of the forum.

I know many have your own Ken stories. We all would love to hear them.

Al
Post edited by kab on
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Comments

  • nooshinjohn
    nooshinjohn Posts: 25,381
    edited September 2009
    Godspeed Ken and the very best of luck to you in all your future endeavours... You will be missed.

    John
    The Gear... Carver "Statement" Mono-blocks, Mcintosh C2300 Arcam AVR20, Oppo UDP-203 4K Blu-ray player, Sony XBR70x850B 4k, Polk Audio Legend L800 with height modules, L400 Center Channel Polk audio AB800 "in-wall" surrounds. Marantz MM7025 stereo amp. Simaudio Moon 680d DSD

    “When once a Republic is corrupted, there is no possibility of remedying any of the growing evils but by removing the corruption and restoring its lost principles; every other correction is either useless or a new evil.”— Thomas Jefferson
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  • megasat16
    megasat16 Posts: 3,521
    edited September 2009
    Ken, Sorry to hear that you are leaving all of us behind for other things in life!

    I wish you the best and hope you lurks in the forum from time to time. Thanks for your service to the Polk Audio and Polk family.

    All the Best!
    Trying out Different Audio Cables is a Religious Affair. You don't discuss it with anyone. :redface::biggrin:
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  • thsmith
    thsmith Posts: 6,082
    edited September 2009
    Ken you will be missed and congrats on your retirement !

    Enjoy !
    Speakers: SDA-1C (most all the goodies)
    Preamp: Joule Electra LA-150 MKII SE
    Amp: Wright WPA 50-50 EAT KT88s
    Analog: Marantz TT-15S1 MBS Glider SL| Wright WPP100C Amperex BB 6er5 and 7316 & WPM-100 SUT
    Digital: Mac mini 2.3GHz dual-core i5 8g RAM 1.5 TB HDD Music Server Amarra (memory play) - USB - W4S DAC 2
    Cables: Mits S3 IC and Spk cables| PS Audio PCs
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  • reeltrouble1
    reeltrouble1 Posts: 9,312
    edited September 2009
    Well let me one of the first to pick my jaw off the floor.

    Excellent news for Ken. Of course he cannot be replaced. I know the great CS Ken is responsible for will go on but no one can fill Ken's shoes and not even be expected to.

    Ken has helped me with product questions, guidance and as mentioned extreme patience, everything from building SDA connects, Tweeter repair, configuration recommendations, the list is long.

    Ken will always be a Polkie around here, no goodbye, just moving on to big and better.

    God Bless you Ken.

    Thank you for everything.

    RT1
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  • shadowofnight
    shadowofnight Posts: 2,735
    edited September 2009
    First rate fellow in all of my dealings with him, he will be missed....enjoy the rest of the ride. :D
    The first rule of Fight Club is you don't talk about Fight Club
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  • Disc Jockey
    Disc Jockey Posts: 1,013
    edited September 2009
    Noooooooooooooooooooo! Polk is losing a valuable asset to be sure. Best of luck to you Ken.
    "The secret of happiness is freedom. The secret of freedom is courage." Thucydides
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  • Willow
    Willow Posts: 10,997
    edited September 2009
    Best of luck to Ken and to Polk to find someone of his calibre as a repalcement. He has assisted countless number of people.
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  • shack
    shack Posts: 11,154
    edited September 2009
    Great news for Ken. A sad day for Polk Audio.

    Good luck in whatever the future has in store for you Ken!
    "Just because you’re offended doesn’t mean you’re right." - Ricky Gervais

    "For those who believe, no proof is necessary. For those who don't believe, no proof is possible." - Stuart Chase

    "Consistency requires you to be as ignorant today as you were a year ago." - Bernard Berenson
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  • DarqueKnight
    DarqueKnight Posts: 6,765
    edited September 2009
    Ken,

    Thanks for putting together and running one of the best customer service departments in the world!

    I wish you much happiness and success in whatever you choose to do going forward.
    Proud and loyal citizen of the Digital Domain and Solid State Country!
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  • ben62670
    ben62670 Posts: 15,969
    edited September 2009
    WOW. Once I get passed all my selfish feelings that you can't leave brother I would like to congratulate you. May your future be bright. We look forward to seeing you on the forum. I never yelled at you, but I have told ya I wish I could give you a great big hug a couple times. Thanks so much for the help the few years that I have been here.
    Again congrats, and thanks.
    You are top notch.
    Ben
    Please. Please contact me a ben62670 @ yahoo.com. Make sure to include who you are, and you are from Polk so I don't delete your email. Also I am now physically unable to work on any projects. If you need help let these guys know. There are many people who will help if you let them know where you are.
    Thanks
    Ben
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  • hearingimpared
    hearingimpared Posts: 21,137
    edited September 2009
    Ken, congrats on your retirment. You will be missed big time. Please don't make yourself scarce on the forum. I would still love to hear your awesome analog rig.

    BTW thanks for hitting the curve ball I threw you out of the park when I was panicking about what I thought was the wrong MW drivers in my 1.2 TLs.


    God Bless You Brother.
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  • heiney9
    heiney9 Posts: 25,163
    edited September 2009
    Ken,

    I have always enjoyed your posts. You will be greatly missed, both your extensive knowledge and incredible customer skills. It is a sad day for Polk Audio to lose such a dedicated and truly passionate employee, but a great day for you to reap the benefits of a great career.

    I wish you the best in your future endeavours and hope you'll continue to check in on the forum from time to time.

    H9
    "Appreciation of audio is a completely subjective human experience. Measurements can provide a measure of insight, but are no substitute for human judgment. Why are we looking to reduce a subjective experience to objective criteria anyway? The subtleties of music and audio reproduction are for those who appreciate it. Differentiation by numbers is for those who do not".--Nelson Pass Pass Labs XA25 | EE Avant Pre | EE Mini Max Supreme DAC | MIT Shotgun S1 | Pangea AC14SE MKII | Legend L600 | BlueSound Node 3 - Tubes add soul!
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  • madmax
    madmax Posts: 12,434
    edited September 2009
    Best wishes to you Ken. Hopefully you will continue to post and keep us enlightened. CONGRATS!
    Vinyl, the final frontier...

    Avantgarde horns, 300b tubes, thats the kinda crap I want... :D
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  • disneyjoe7
    disneyjoe7 Posts: 11,435
    edited September 2009
    Good luck to Ken with his future plans, I hope in the end he is as happy with the change as we as customers of Polk Audio are with him.


    But the move to Florida thing, funny lately I'm been getting a few PM's / Emails from Polk Audio about a spare bedroom I have! :)

    Speakers
    Carver Amazing Fronts
    CS400i Center
    RT800i's Rears
    Sub Paradigm Servo 15

    Electronics
    Conrad Johnson PV-5 pre-amp
    Parasound Halo A23
    Pioneer 84TXSi AVR
    Pioneer 79Avi DVD
    Sony CX400 CD changer
    Panasonic 42-PX60U Plasma
    WMC Win7 32bit HD DVR


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  • BIZILL
    BIZILL Posts: 5,432
    edited September 2009
    maybe he'll have time to post on here more often now???

    POLK SDA-SRS 1.2TL -- ADCOM GFA-5802
    PANASONIC PT-AE4000U -- DIY WILSONART DW 135" 2.35:1 SCREEN
     ONKYO TX-SR805
    CENTER: CSI5
    MAINS: RTI8'S
    SURROUNDS: RTI8'S
    7.1 SURROUNDS: RTI6'S
    SUB: SVS PB12-PLUS/2 (12.3 series)
    XBOX 360    WiiPS3/blu-rayTOSHIBA HD-A35 hd dvd

    http://polkarmy.com/forums/index.php
    bobman1235 wrote:
    I have no facts to back that up, but I never let facts get in the way of my arguments.
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  • AudioGenics
    AudioGenics Posts: 2,567
    edited September 2009
    the very best wishes to you !
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  • Polkersince85
    Polkersince85 Posts: 2,883
    edited September 2009
    Congrats on your career, Ken. You knew how to do it and did it well. The best CS anywhere. Good luck in your future plans.
    >
    >
    >This message has been scanned by the NSA and found to be free of harmful intent.<
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  • dkg999
    dkg999 Posts: 5,647
    edited September 2009
    Ken - the very best of wishes to you and to a well deserved retirement! You will be missed. When I think of excellent customer service Ken and Polk Audio have always been top of mind. Hopefully you will continue to share your wisdom on the forum.
    DKG999
    HT System: LSi9, LSiCx2, LSiFX, LSi7, SVS 20-39 PC+, B&K 507.s2 AVR, B&K Ref 125.2, Tripplite LCR-2400, Cambridge 650BD, Signal Cable PC/SC, BJC IC, Samsung 55" LED

    Music System: Magnepan 1.6QR, SVS SB12+, ARC pre, Parasound HCA1500 vertically bi-amped, Jolida CDP, Pro-Ject RM5.1SE TT, Pro-Ject TubeBox SE phono pre, SBT, PS Audio DLIII DAC
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  • polkie4life
    polkie4life Posts: 231
    edited September 2009
    Thanks Ken, i really appreciate the help you gave me when i got my SRT's. You went above and beyond to help me find find replacement parts for them. I was speechless when i received the remote, airmailed half way across the world, free of charge?!
    You created a customer service dept, that was second to none, and i thank you for that...

    Good luck for the future.
    In terms of audio, i truly feel sorry for the visually impaired. How can they know what they like if they cant read google?


    http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showcase/view.php?userid=86838
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  • Pauly
    Pauly Posts: 4,519
    edited September 2009
    Congrats and Thanks for the all the years of Top Notch CS


    Pauly
    Life without music would♭
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  • BjornB17
    BjornB17 Posts: 752
    edited September 2009
    Congrats on retiring!

    Ken was very helpful the couple times i contacted him about customer service matters.
    KEF Q150 | Rythmik F12 | Yamaha Aventage RX-A780
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  • Knucklehead
    Knucklehead Posts: 3,602
    edited September 2009
    I spoke with Ken several times on the chat line about my gear...always had the answers! They will be some mighty big shoes to fill. Good Luck!
    Polk Audio Surround Bar 360
    Mirage PS-12
    LG BDP-550
    Motorola HD FIOS DVR
    Panasonic 42" Plasma
    XBOX 360[/SIZE]

    Office stuff

    Allied 395 receiver
    Pioneer CDP PD-M430
    RT8t's & Wharfedale Diamond II's[/SIZE]

    Life is one grand, sweet song, so start the music. ~Ronald Reagan
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  • TECHNOKID
    TECHNOKID Posts: 4,298
    edited September 2009
    Willow wrote: »
    Best of luck to Ken and to Polk to find someone of his caliber as a replacement. He has assisted countless number of people.
    shack wrote: »
    Great news for Ken. A sad day for Polk Audio.

    Good luck in whatever the future has in store for you Ken!
    heiney9 wrote: »
    Ken,

    I have always enjoyed your posts. You will be greatly missed, both your extensive knowledge and incredible customer skills. It is a sad day for Polk Audio to lose such a dedicated and truly passionate employee, but a great day for you to reap the benefits of a great career.

    I wish you the best in your future endeavors and hope you'll continue to check in on the forum from time to time.

    H9
    Pauly wrote: »
    Congrats and Thanks for the all the years of Top Notch CS


    Pauly
    Well Ken, I haven't been a member for that long and only crossed path on various discussions/customer needs/care and once through email. However, this was sufficient for me to realize you are a great asset as far as Polk CS is concerned. Only through the net, it is enough for me to realize you are gentlemen and of course the perfect candidate for an outstanding/first class customer service which we all claim Polk provides.

    Now, while I know nobody is irreplaceable, I surely know Polk has a great challenge of ensuring that the same courteous service is still provided to us in order to keep the reputation it has earned for their outstanding CS. While I haven't been a member of this board for that long I join with the "old timers" to wish you well and congratulate you on your move for a better future/career. A great lost for the Polk family but I am convinced a gain for your future employer/venture/customer!

    ALL the BEST to YOU! :)

    TK
    DARE TO SOAR:
    “Your attitude, almost always determine your altitude in life” ;)
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  • Barefoot
    Barefoot Posts: 149
    edited September 2009
    Good on you, Ken. Get out while you still can.
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  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 7,658
    edited September 2009
    Hello,
    Thank you, very much, for your kind words. But the honest truth is that the other folks, in customer service, both in Baltimore and Vista, CA. do the real work and make me look good. I just get the pleasure of being able to interact with the Forum members more. You' ll be in excellent hands with Helen, Kim, Eric, Kyle, Gil, Angel and Art, they will continue to make sure you enjoy your Polk products. Al Ballard has always, without exception, been the perfect person to work for. He wants everyone to have a good experience when they contact Polk Audio and lets us do our jobs to try and make that happen.
    My plans are to continue in the world of audio and begin a cottage business of refurbishing and modifying classic audio equipment, with an emphasis on open reel tape equipment. You can continue to keep in touch with me by responding to my "alter ego" Jed Leland on this forum. I welcome suggestions, from anyone, on how to make that happen. Maybe I can help construct someone’s pet project?
    Again, thank you and continue listening!
    Ken
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  • DollarDave
    DollarDave Posts: 2,575
    edited September 2009
    On different occasions, Ken gratuitously sent me screws for a CS-400, the last set of grills ever available for a pair of AB-855's, and mounting brackets for a pair of M3's. First rate customer service.

    Thank you, Ken. You represent customer service at its finest.
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  • TECHNOKID
    TECHNOKID Posts: 4,298
    edited September 2009
    You' ll be in excellent hands with Helen, Kim, Eric, Kyle, Gil, Angel and Art, they will continue to make sure you enjoy your Polk products.
    WOW! It takes a whole slew of people to replace an outstanding employee ;)
    My plans are to continue in the world of audio and begin a cottage business of refurbishing and modifying classic audio equipment, with an emphasis on open reel tape equipment.
    Very interesting, would you be willing to start a thread on this forum sharing your Classic Refurbishing and Modifying of Classic Gear"? Sure would be nice, I have some oldies reel to reel tape and other oldies I intend to play around some day. You might be willing to share contacts on the matter?

    Thanks again and good luck in your new venture!

    TK
    DARE TO SOAR:
    “Your attitude, almost always determine your altitude in life” ;)
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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 33,715
    edited September 2009
    Wow. All the best, Ken, and to Polk.
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  • royalty
    royalty Posts: 246
    edited September 2009
    Congrats! And GOOD LUCK!
    HOME AUDIO:
    Electronics:
    HK 354
    Front Power: CARVER TFM-35
    Center Power: Audiosource Amp One
    Speakers:
    Center: CSi5
    Fronts: rti10s
    Rears: monitor 50s
    psw 125 + psw 505 = BOOM

    CAR AUDIO
    Infinity 6032CF's all around
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  • 66chevyIISS
    66chevyIISS Posts: 857
    edited September 2009
    Good Luck Ken, you and your CSC team made me a Polk fan for life.
    My Home Theater (WIP):
    Panasonic AE900 Projector - 126" screen, XBOX 360, Pioneer BDP-320 Bluray
    Receiver: Denon AVR-1905
    Fronts: RTi6's, Center: CSi5, Surrounds: RTi4, Rears: Denon
    Dual Subs: PSW202, and behind the couch Denon 8"
    My showcase link:
    Media Room pics
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