[tonedeaf]

Just would like to pass on some irony that happened to me the other day. I was trying out a few guitars a a local shop and went in with the intentions of buying of Taylor 210, my first nice guitar. The one they had I did not care for but i did try the 214 and bingo it felt like putty in my hands! Nice, comfortable, great tone and projection so I asked for the price and told the salesman to wrap it up. BUT on further inspection I looked at the back of the guitar and there was this long ugly split from the bottom to about mid-way up the guitar. It was really a shame and then upon further inspection the seam was starting to split. I was surprised that it still sounded so good. Send this one back please and the salesman was really surprised that it was in such bad shape. Then I showed him another classical that I was looking at and there was a split down the front top about 6 inches long. I suggested that he look over all his guitars on display.

What I ended up doing was ordering a new one from the Taylor factory so all was not lost.

So the moral of the story is to really give your axe a good looking over before you sign on the dotted line. Don't let your emotions get too far in the way of good judgement.

PS: I'll post a picture of the new one when I get it!

[starsailor]

It's like the guitar mentioned on a thread I think allthumbs did where a new guitar fell apart when they got it home, seems to be a lack of quality control, I'm suprised that the shop owner didn't pick up on several guitars though, a big company can probably get away with the odd dodgy guitar but independant music shops have high overheads and customer care should always be the top priority, I doubt if you'll ever buy a guitar off them again and word can spread quickly. Independant shops are completely dependant on a good reputation without that they're finished, hopefully when you left the owner did some serious thinking and sort themselves out for their own sake. Glad you got your Guitar.

Cheers

Chris

[clefless]

I'm going through something similar right now. My Epiphone Les Paul has been in the repair shop over a 3rd of the time I have had it. The electronics were faulty, the tail stop is coming out on one side, and now the bridge is doing the same. The epoxy they used to hold the tail stop in on the loose side (the pre-drilled hole is about 1.5mm too wide) isn't holding either. I've tried twice to exchange it with no luck. I'm going to talk with the owner today or monday to see if I can't get it exchanged. I should have had a better look at it, but where I am it is hard to get a left handed guitar period so I didn't look it over well enough.

[starsailor]

Originally Posted by clefless

I'm going through something similar right now. My Epiphone Les Paul has been in the repair shop over a 3rd of the time I have had it. The electronics were faulty, the tail stop is coming out on one side, and now the bridge is doing the same. The epoxy they used to hold the tail stop in on the loose side (the pre-drilled hole is about 1.5mm too wide) isn't holding either. I've tried twice to exchange it with no luck. I'm going to talk with the owner today or monday to see if I can't get it exchanged. I should have had a better look at it, but where I am it is hard to get a left handed guitar period so I didn't look it over well enough.

Was this bought privately, or from a shop if it's a shop they should have a clear policy on exchange, I assume it's out of warranty if it isn't the owner should have it and they could claim off that, sound like they're a bit awkward.

Cheers

Chris

[clefless]

It is from a shop that has been in business for over 40 years. I'd really expect better. I've been stonewalled by the regular sales guys twice when I mention exchanging it, which is why I am heading in to speak to the owner instead. I get the impression they were just happy to have it off their floor. There aren't that many left handed players to begin with since a good portion opt to play right handed instead, and out of 100 or so guitars out on the floor, only two were left handed.

[starsailor]

Originally Posted by clefless

It is from a shop that has been in business for over 40 years. I'd really expect better. I've been stonewalled by the regular sales guys twice when I mention exchanging it, which is why I am heading in to speak to the owner instead. I get the impression they were just happy to have it off their floor. There aren't that many left handed players to begin with since a good portion opt to play right handed instead, and out of 100 or so guitars out on the floor, only two were left handed.

I don't what your consumer rights are over there, in the UK we are protected, unless they specifically said the guitar was bought as seen say like ebay, they should give you a refund or an exchange, check your invoice or ask about their exchange policy shops over here offer return or exchange, the policy should be displayed in the shop.
I can't give my opinion of the sales assistants as there are young people on this site, shops who take people for ride should be named and shamed hit them where it hurts, see how those idiots feel when they're unemployed.

I Hate bad Page Ranking.

The Customer is always right because there the ones that keep you in business.

Chris

[allthumbs]

Buying lower end guitars is always a risk unless you really know what to look for or are good at tinkering and are prepared to do so. Epi LPs are a good case in point. They can be reasonably ok or dogs. Players who really like them are the same ones that think nothing of swapping out parts or refinishing them to get them up to their specs. Sounds like your lp is a fixer upper which can get expensive if you can't do the work yourself.

[clefless]

We have consumer protection and lemon laws here, but it is difficult to get an exchange if a seller wants to provide alternate options, which they have done every time so far. I am past the store's ten day return policy but I have only had it 11 days out of the 18 days since I purchased it. Right now, it is in to have two of the frets files down and re-shaped / polished. Even if they get the neck perfect, the intonation will always require fine tuning because the tail won't stay in place properly. I'm not incapable of doing the repairs myself, but I really shouldn't have to after laying out 600$ for a guitar less than a month ago. The more I think about the purchase, the more it annoys and frustrates me. The irony is, I picked up the instrument for a relaxing hobby because I have been too stressed lately.

edit: One of the reason's I picked up the Fullerton people have been talking about is to have something to use to practise repairs. I am very new to purchasing and I left it in the hands of the sales people to not screw me, but I was obviously naive about it. I would expect service like that from a chain store, but not a family owned business that is supposed to be a pillar of the community.

[starsailor]

Originally Posted by clefless

We have consumer protection and lemon laws here, but it is difficult to get an exchange if a seller wants to provide alternate options, which they have done every time so far. I am past the store's ten day return policy but I have only had it 11 days out of the 18 days since I purchased it. Right now, it is in to have two of the frets files down and re-shaped / polished. Even if they get the neck perfect, the intonation will always require fine tuning because the tail won't stay in place properly. I'm not incapable of doing the repairs myself, but I really shouldn't have to after laying out 600$ for a guitar less than a month ago. The more I think about the purchase, the more it annoys and frustrates me. The irony is, I picked up the instrument for a relaxing hobby because I have been too stressed lately.

edit: One of the reason's I picked up the Fullerton people have been talking about is to have something to use to practise repairs. I am very new to purchasing and I left it in the hands of the sales people to not screw me, but I was obviously naive about it. I would expect service like that from a chain store, but not a family owned business that is supposed to be a pillar of the community.

Sorry I hope we haven't made you angry, it's not good for you to get stressed and I wouldn't want to contribute to that, if you have a genuine grievance which you have you deserve to be compensated, If someone sells me something which I'm not happy with I usually go in the shop when people are around, and complain so they can hear me I calmly explain the problem but make it clear that they have sold me a defective product, shops usually get embarrassed when I do this as they know potential customers are listening and tend to cave in to get rid of me before too much damage is done, works for me but everyone has their own way of doing things. Don't know what options they are offering if they gave a refund to cover repairs it would be helpful.

Chris

[clefless]

Update:

I went in and spoke with the owner's son this morning and explained calmly my dissatisfaction. He didn't hesitate a second and had them get out a catalogue so that I could pick through and order a replacement. If all goes well, I should have a fully inspected, and setup replacement for my current one. I should have spoken with him the first time, it seems the sales guys aren't allowed to offer replacement without approval first. It seems there was some miscommunication.

I'm sorry if I came off as annoyed with anyone here; I am not. I was just venting because I find it is better to vent to a forum than it is to lose my calm in person. People generally react better that way.

[si16]

Excellent. Glad you got it sorted.

[starsailor]

Originally Posted by clefless

Update:

I went in and spoke with the owner's son this morning and explained calmly my dissatisfaction. He didn't hesitate a second and had them get out a catalogue so that I could pick through and order a replacement. If all goes well, I should have a fully inspected, and setup replacement for my current one. I should have spoken with him the first time, it seems the sales guys aren't allowed to offer replacement without approval first. It seems there was some miscommunication.

I'm sorry if I came off as annoyed with anyone here; I am not. I was just venting because I find it is better to vent to a forum than it is to lose my calm in person. People generally react better that way.

I was just a bit concerned when you said you had been stressed, I had a bit of hassle recently and I refused to back down but it did do my head in a bit.
Hope we helped in some way, good to hear you got the result you wanted.
That's another of the many good things about this site, if things are getting you down there's always someone willing to listen.
Good Luck Clefless and look after Yourself.

Cheers

Chris

[allthumbs]

I am glad to hear you got it straightened out to your satisfaction.

[karcey]

I would've thought that quality control prevented the incidents and experiences you people have had, which means I would've been a candidate for a similar experience. Thanks all of you for a very informative lesson.

[starsailor]

Originally Posted by karcey

I would've thought that quality control prevented the incidents and experiences you people have had, which means I would've been a candidate for a similar experience. Thanks all of you for a very informative lesson.

It seems to be a problem at the lower end of the market, a lot of the big names Fender, Hofner, Gibson are farming their low budget ranges out around the world, I suppose that they're working on the theory that a lot of first time buyers give up after a few months and will buy a guitar with little knowledge, it's a shame I wonder how many potential great guitarists have given up in infancy because their guitar had a high action or bad design, thank God for sites like this that point people in the right direction, I can't believe that the founders of these legendary makes could envisage a future like this.
I don't wish to denegrate emerging economies but it would appear that mass production luthiers have gone the same way as all other mass market providers and sacrificed a portion of quality control for economies of scale,