? for John Hall......

jlajr · Post by **jlajr** » Fri Apr 27, 2001 9:40 am

Hello Mr. Hall and all the RIC players, I have read a previous post about NOS RIC flatwounds. My question is, could the type of string mentioned for bass application be purchased through your Custom Service Dept ? I would like to try this particular FW bass set. Thanks in advance !

John_Hall · Post by **John_Hall** » Fri Apr 27, 2001 1:19 pm

We don't currently offer a flatwound string. You may be referring to some NOS strings I gave Tracy Sands some years ago but these were for the 3000 short scale bass.

rickplayer · Post by **rickplayer** » Mon Jun 04, 2001 6:58 am

John,
I ordered some strings and a 12 saddle bridge from guitar center but they said the order is on hold and not confirmed from factory. Will they be able to get parts for me or do I need to order direct? I have a very expensive guitar that is not playable yet. Hence my anxiety.

Thanks,

Jon

John_Hall · Post by **John_Hall** » Mon Jun 04, 2001 10:51 am

There's plenty of sources for these parts but in any case Guitar Center was taken off hold last Friday afternoon.

C._Bourke · Post by **C._Bourke** » Mon Jun 04, 2001 3:39 pm

Does this mean that Guitar Centre agrees to shape up and stop losing cases and warranty tags like they did with my v63 bass (and all the others on alt.guitar.rick) last week?

John_Hall · Post by **John_Hall** » Mon Jun 04, 2001 6:42 pm

I truly believe that Guitar Center management has always been committed to solving these problems. These issues were raised a year ago at which time they agreed to rectify the situation and made some internal adjustments to do so. Unfortunately, they didn't always filter through to the lowest level. However, we're working together to get the word to all of their 3200 employees and they're creating a special program to do so.

C._Bourke · Post by **C._Bourke** » Tue Jun 05, 2001 4:11 am

Thanks for the efforts Mr. Hall. Us players really do appreciate it.
Question: how can I register or guarantee my warranty with out the proper card? Is a sales reciept enough?

Kenny · Post by **Kenny** » Tue Jun 05, 2001 7:02 pm

I would like to comment on this.

Mr. Hall and I met last summer at the Rickenbacker plant (hi John!) and we discussed this situation to some extent, as I am an employee of Guitar Center.

When I was in guitar sales (I am now in Operations), I was constantly annoyed by the liberal and sometimes spineless return policy which has made GC so popular [30 days, no questions; and it's commission-based, folks, so it's always a 50/50 chance on everything you sell as to whether you'll actually get your cut].

Another thing that bothered me was the "exploding" of guitars and cases which GC does (giving them separate bar codes, etc.). This practice makes complete sense on less expensive instruments which are shipped without cases, or for upgrading cases, but on the nicer Fender, PRS, Taylor etc. models (which may have included extra goodies in the case; ltd. edition papers, etc.) these items were often misplaced. I don't buy new instruments that often, but if I do, I'd like evrything that came with it, please!

The worst situation was with the Ricks. Often the corresponding case (silver for the V series, et al) was nowhere to be found, having been sold off or sent off with another guitar to another GC. I had to do things like stop customers leaving the store with a case for, say, a 650 that had a 350v63 in it and fix the situation, ensuring the guitar's warranty (much to the frustration of my co-workers, who were only concerned that the silver case made them less money).

I cheered out loud when Rickenbacker began their new policy with Guitar Center, which is this: The guitar not only must be sold with its OHSC and warranty papers, but it is sold on a no-return basis. If the guitar is somehow defective, the customer then has his/her warranty card and may have it serviced directly by RIC. (Correct me if I'm wrong.) Make sense? It does to me.

I do hope that relations between GC and RIC are improving; GC must be doing something right in the negotiations department, as we're a Gibson dealer again. And I hope that I can have something to do with those good relations on the "lowest" level; just today, a salesman came to me and asked me about the correct case for a 330 he was selling, to make sure he got it right. (Hiring field reps could help, and I know just the guy...uh, sorry. Another thread for a different day.)

Thanks for listening to my rambling and I hope I didn't get too far off topic.

admin · Post by **admin** » Wed Jun 06, 2001 1:22 am

Thanks Kenny. You can never be off topic if you are speaking of a situation involving a Rickenbacker. Your efforts to improve service to new Rickenbacker owners and your willingness to respond in this forum are appreciated.

rkbsound · Post by **rkbsound** » Wed Jun 06, 2001 10:20 am

As a sales professional myself, it would make even better business sense for GC to exchange, if possible, any defective guitar immediately and deal with RIC on their own to have the guitar repaired/replaced, etc.. One of MY customers recently purchased a Rick 12 string and the finish was flaking off shortly after he bought it. The dealer said deal with RIC. RIC gave him a hard time, but eventually gave in an repainted it. I'm not saying RIC was right or wrong, but the dealer could make more friends and thus more loyal customers by taking on these problems themselves -- especially when they are clearly legitimate problems and under warranty. My customer may likely no longer deal with that shop and is disappointed that he was forced to deal directly with a manufacturer. Will he buy another Rick? Probably (they're worth any hassle, but this is a "principle" argument!). He has no time to do this and no experience in it. Dealers have both time and experience -- and an existing relationship to make things happen. After all, we buy guitars from shops, not RIC.

Juston_Smithers · Post by **Juston_Smithers** » Tue Jun 19, 2001 2:04 pm

I have to agree with J. Phelps. When someone pays in excess of $1,000 for a guitar, not only are they paying for a quality instrument, but they're paying for exceptional customer service. It's in the dealer's best interest to make that bit of extra effort to satisfy the customer; there's nothing more obnoxious than trying to deal with faceless guitar manufacturers when the only thing you want to do is play the pricey guitar you just bought. It's the dealer's responsibility to make sure the guitar is playable straight from the shop, not the customer's. Afterall, making that extra effort is likely to persuade the customer to come back when they buy their second pricey guitar (which is inevitable with a Ric).

johnhall · Post by **johnhall** » Thu Aug 30, 2001 6:55 pm

All of Guitar Center's regional managers plus some additional management/training staff will be spending a day with us at the factory in mid September. We've got some intensive training planned on all fronts and I believe this will eventually trickle down to all stores and the majority of sales personnel. The fact that they are committing this much time to us is a good demonstration of their positive intentions.

il660 · Post by **il660** » Fri Feb 08, 2002 8:28 am

I purchased my 660/6FG from Guitar Center 11/29/01 in Arlington Heights Illinois and everything was fine (i.e. warranty card,case,etc.) I've had problems with them with Fenders I've bought, but they seem to have their RIC inventory together.

rickengrowl · Post by **rickengrowl** » Sun Mar 10, 2002 4:33 am

Juston : I'm coming very late into this thread, but I wish to tell about my very recent experience, here in France.

I had a serious neck problem with my 4003. The dealer asked me to send it back to him, so that he can send it back to the distributor. That's where the notion of exceptional customer service stops, because the distributor asks 5 to 6 weeks for the exchange. And no way to have another bass on lending or low-price renting in the meanwhile.

As French law allows me to do, I asked for the cancellation of the purchase, and refund of the money. And my next 4003 will be purchased from a dealer who does NOT get his Ricks from the official distributor. He fully covers the warranty and have his own luthiers' atelier in case of any problem. And he commits to lend me a bass in case of longtime repair or so what. Now I finally know where to buy a Rick, and I'm happy about that. Just waiting from the previous dealer's refund check...