Custom shop dissapointment

[hikizume976]

I know a lot of people here have had many experiences with custom guitar shops, and I'm sure everyone has been a customer at some point, which is why I would like some input from different persectives.

So, I got my first custom shop guitar in July. Awesome, right?

Something curious happened, though.

I open up the box to a massive crack in the guitar case.

"I don't remember buying a broken case" I thought.

I don't want to get into the details like the fact that neither the plastic that the case came wrapped in or the box the case came in didn't show any signs of foul play, or how the crack seems to be going outwards instead of inwards, the guitar got home safe, that's what really matters.

Anyway, I get in touch with the shop and they come back with "we have to wait a month for the shipping company to respond to the damage claim..." As if this has anything to do with me. :s

The way I see it, this is between the shop and the shipping company. I'm the customer here, and also the victim. I think the shop should have taken care of me first, the paying customer, the reason why they're in business in the first place, and then deal with the shipping company themselves.

Despite this, I didn't want to be that guy. "Nevermind" I said. "I'll wait."

Three months pass by. A lot of back and forth, but no results. Then one day the shop comes back with "the shipping company won't do anything, we'll send you a new case next week."

Another month gets by, I write to the shop again. Still no case, not even an ETA, either. Nothing.

I would still like to give them the benefit of the doubt. I'm not especulating about whether I'm being played or not, but after four months of talk and no definite actions, it definitely feels like it!

Don't wanna name names but for the sake of giving a persective to fellow guitarrists, I will share all the details if this doesn't get solved.

Not looking to discredit anyone, either. I know this is just one side of the story but I have no reason to lie about any of this. I have better things to do than being bitter about chasing people for months for a lousy guitar case.

 

[MaxOfMetal]

No email screen shots, no shop or shipper names, and no pics? No. Care. Ever.

Post it all, or don't post.

 

[hikizume976]

No email screen shots, no shop or shipper names, and no pics? No. Care. Ever.

Post it all, or don't post.

I could do without the attitude. I'm not your kid

Also, I fail to see the connection between an image and being able to provide a constructive opinion. I'm not looking to prove anything, nor to provide juicy gossip, I just want to hear from other people who might have gone through similar experiences.

 

[Tyler]

 

[MoshJosh]

^^^ beat me to it

 

[Chokey Chicken]

I could do without the attitude. I'm not your kid

Also, I fail to see the connection between an image and being able to provide a constructive opinion. I'm not looking to prove anything, nor to provide juicy gossip, I just want to hear from other people who might have gone through similar experiences.

Perhaps one should not question the Super Moderator. The point of a thread like this is to lay it all out. Either you've waited long enough to pass judgement or you haven't. If you feel you've been wronged, you create a post that shows the damage and names names so that people don't follow suit. If you don't feel you've been wronged just yet, then you don't post a thread.

 

[MaxOfMetal]

Or don't post all relevant info and get ill-informed opinions.

 

[Electric Wizard]

provide a constructive opinion

"Guys, somebody somewhere may have ripped me off. I'm only posting about it to help the community, but you have to guess who it was and whether they actually did something wrong."

 

[tedtan]

^

 

[technomancer]

So basically you got a custom guitar that arrived fine but the case is cracked. Since we have no idea if it is a store acting as a dealer or a custom shop jerking you around, exactly what kind of feedback would you like beyond, "Yep that sucks they should have given you a new case."

Also no idea what it being a custom vs a production guitar has to do with anything since it's a damaged case.

So basically, yep sucks they should have given you a new case

 

[Randy]

I just want to hear from other people who might have gone through similar experiences.

Nope, nobody on here has ever been scammed or mistreated by a custom shop.

Hint: UTSF

 

[feraledge]

I ordered from a custom shop once. I don't want to name names. I was very clear and like:
"I want half pepperoni, half pineapple."
"We'll get that to you soon, sir."
No ETA, but I'm like "whatever".
So, okay, like 30 minutes go by, I guess it finally shows up. But then it's like,
"This is half pineapple, half pepperoni."
And dude is like,
Blank stare.
So I'm like, I don't want to be that guy, but yeah, called his manager and it went to voice mail. Two weeks later and no call back.
I don't want to throw anyone under the bus or be "that dude", but I said in the voice mail that
"the garlic dipping sauce container was dented".
I don't want to spend eternity getting that right.
People are such idiots.

TL;DR: Pointless complaint post is pointless. And I'm always disappointed when a thread has no pics.

 

[Cloudy]

They should have replaced the case sooner with no hassle.

Now tell us who it is

 

[max3000]

This is a fantastic thread.

 

[Knyas]

That attitude...

 

[77zark77]

I hate custom cases, it this can help

 

[protest]

I get what where you're coming from. You feel like you got ripped off, but it's just a stupid case. You like your guitar, so you don't want name drop because the dealer/builder knows who you are and will know that you threw this out there all over a stupid guitar case. That said everyone else has a very valid point. You've waited like 6 months for a guitar case. You've hounded them about a guitar case. It's stupid, it's just a guitar case.

Which is exactly why they should have just shipped you a new one once you showed them it was busted.

Considering you likely just dropped several thousand pounds on one of their guitars, and have now waited 6 months for something as simple as a case, you should just post everything so people can see: what happened, who it was, and what exactly has been communicated. Otherwise there really isn't much to talk about other than to say "that sucks dude, I hope it gets taken care of."

 

[Discoqueen]

For them to make such a big deal about replacing the case, despite you having strong suspicion that the case wasn't damaged during transit, reflects really bad on the company. I think since it's not been resolved, and they are dragging their feet, you might want to exercise a little bit of "just fury," and lay it all out there! I think any custom shop should understand they are in competition with quite a few capable luthiers who are willing to go the extra mile. The monetary cost of shipping a new case can't be too substantial anyways, so they really should step up and take care of you. Raise a stink about it. Start with naming names and providing documents.

 

[TheStig1214]

You're allowed to name names, bad rep is going to get shit done faster than being all ho-hum and vague.

In a lot of cases (pardon the pun) custom shops are active on forums like this, and if they are called out they will respond. Even if they aren't, having that sort bad word out there come around to them one way or another.

 

[hikizume976]

I really wish I was spending my time doing something else, but the reality is that I've keep this quiet for a while now and it has gotten me nowhere.

This is the gist of it:

Also, not digging these hiscox cases, sure they're light but do not seem durable at all. Won't even fit my guitar strap in it either.