Colour bleed on Midnight Blue 4003

charlyg · Post by **charlyg** » Sun Apr 02, 2006 7:43 pm

In England, would that be a "bloody" midnight blue bass?

j_gary · Post by **j_gary** » Sun Apr 02, 2006 10:13 pm

I think we might want to give both Mr Halls credit for venturing into this emotional debate no matter the outcome. There are several good positions on this issue making it tough to deal with.

I would guess very few extremely busy HMIC's of any company would enter into this foray due to it's complex considerations, and little hope of pleasing all. I would offer that if Rick was trying to be devious, they would hardly spend time here offering explanations.

I ran into some cosmetic issues on a CS I had, and learned first hand about second hand purchases. Although officially Rick was off the hook so to speak, I was not left stranded. Kenny in customer service spent time advising me on finding other solutions, and offered to spend some of his personal time to assist if need be. Not a fix, but the help was appreciated.

I tend to view our membership or visitors, as guests to this forum. If we want folks to stop in we might want to be kind, considerate and gracious.

That is until they call the Lemmy bass ugly! Then off with their heads I say!

johnniev8 · Post by **johnniev8** » Mon Apr 03, 2006 4:57 am

From my point of view I don't expect Rickenbacker to repair / replace my 4003 under warranty

But I would have expected them to WANT to get these substandard products out of the field

This is my 3rd RIC bass, the other 2 were faultless, so for me the Rickenbacker brand has gone downhill a little

wayang · Post by **wayang** » Mon Apr 03, 2006 6:33 am

Brian...don't worry, I will...er, I mean I will...

simer4001 · Post by **simer4001** » Mon Apr 03, 2006 7:26 am

Johnnie, I think if you read the entire thread, Ben has made it quite clear that the issue has been resolved and that the bleeding should not be an issue from this point on. Purchases made through Rickenbacker channels are being repaired. What else do they need to do? It is an unfortuante situation but my opinion is they have done what they need to do.

Dane, that is good news.

leftyguitars · Post by **leftyguitars** » Mon Apr 03, 2006 7:53 am

My second hand car was recalled by Ford and checked/fixed free of charge (along with thousands of others) because some other owners had complained of problems with theirs. Will I buy another Ford? - Yes!

Also did you know that 63% of statistics are made up?

simer4001 · Post by **simer4001** » Mon Apr 03, 2006 8:17 am

Funny,I heard that 62.8% of statistics are made up. I see your Ford point however, don't kid yourself that Ford did it out of the kindness of their hearts. I'm quite certain the recall was somehow for safety and that it would be in their best interest financially to fix the cars instead of pay out for lawsuits. I don't think running blue paint is causing a safety hazard...or is it?

leftyguitars · Post by **leftyguitars** » Mon Apr 03, 2006 8:52 am

Who knows what the long term effects of bleeding paint might be?.

(off topic but our wonderful caring government are looking into making a law that says that all bath taps must have a thermostatic diverter valve built in so that we can't have our baths too hot and accidently scald our bottoms - it's true!!!).

j_gary · Post by **j_gary** » Mon Apr 03, 2006 9:23 am

Yes Peter, here it's hot coffee that society finds dangerous. It's known to scald our fronts.

Soon they will have us strapped down in a padded dark room, hooked up to an I.V. supplying mashed soybeans and green tea.

No wonder people jump off bridges.

simer4001 · Post by **simer4001** » Mon Apr 03, 2006 9:41 am

Peter, at homes or facilities that care for special needs people they already have that law here.

They are just protecting us from us. God love 'em.

leftyguitars · Post by **leftyguitars** » Mon Apr 03, 2006 9:49 am

But I like scalding my ar*e!

sowhat · Post by **sowhat** » Mon Apr 03, 2006 10:22 am

I was scalded once - in my early childhood, due to the fact the cold water was mysteriously cut off, and it was an unexpected event. I'm still alive...

(on the other hand, i wouldn't want it to happen to my kid...)

soundmasterg · Post by **soundmasterg** » Mon Apr 03, 2006 11:09 am

I would think that RIC would WANT to just offer to refinish the problem basses for a fee, even if they are grey market. This would head off any criticism and make RIC's customer service have an even better reputation than it has now, which makes their products more desireable in the future. Obviously they are fixing the ones under warrenty that are legit customer instruments, but if they offered to fix the others for a fee then the people who bought these would either take them up on it and be happy, or would not and not have any room to complain then. Ric could still make it worth their time due to charging a fee for the service. In my mind everyone who owns a RIC whether new or used is a customer, and a potential future customer depending on how RIC treats them in regards to their instrument. But since I don't run RIC or work there, it doesn't matter what I think. RIC needs to realize though that many people out in the world think the same way as I do and it affects their business and their bottom line.

My first guitar was a used 1989 230 RIC guitar. My first bass was a used 1973 4001. Because I liked the quality and sound of both instruments, and because RIC, and John Hall in particular, had helped me quite well when I had questions in the past, I am in the process of buying a brand new 330/12BBR from a RIC dealer. So I will be an offical customer of RIC soon, wheras in their eyes I wasn't in the past, even though I considered myself to be one. If they had a similar issue with my 230 guitar regarding the finish, and a similar approach to fixing the problem for someone who bought it outside of the warrenty, I might not have made this current purchase from them.

simer4001 · Post by **simer4001** » Mon Apr 03, 2006 11:19 am

Greg, in theory that sounds fine, but in reality where do they draw the line? As a consumer who has purchased several brand new RIC's, and more importantly have several on order, do I really want to wait for my new guitar or bass to be completed because I'm waiting for some grey market guitar to be re-sprayed. Secondly, wouldn't it be easier for someone who owns a grey market instrument to contact someone like Paul to have the work done in a more timely manner. Afterall if you are going to pay someone it might as well be Paul! RIC is in the guitar manufacturing business not the guitar repair business. Just my thoughts.

delberthot · Post by **delberthot** » Mon Apr 03, 2006 1:39 pm

I work in TV sales. We get people who have been scalded by cheap TVs online all the time. People are slowly beginning to realise where I come from that buying online can be very risky ( poor customer service etc) Customer service is something that we pride ourselves on and we always come out on top over cheaper online retailers.

I think that my point is that someone may be able to give you a cheaper price online but can they back it up with good customer service?

My example is that I bought a MID 4003 with the running dye after only a couple of hours useage. I bought it from a reputable guitar store and they gave me my money back, no questions asked. I actually felt guilty and tried to find something else in the store to buy but nothing cought my eye.

On the other hand, I bought my 4003BB from Peter Cook's without even seeing it. It is my favourite and only bass that I use at present. Complete with vintage scratchplate and toaster (and soon to be horseshoe once they become available again. hint, hint)