Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Dan, don't go.

Putting myself in your shoes, I can't say that I would have reacted any differently. I think most of us here would have. It was simply a freak set of circumstances that caused the damage, and I think anyone would have probably drawn the same conclusion at first.

Fortunately you bought the guitar from a very reputable dealer who understands Lesson 1 of Business 101: Take care of your customers.

Dealers job to MAKE SURE it was shipped as perfect stock. DIDNT KNOW is no excuse
j

Dan: This is certainly not a reason to jump ship. You and I will resolve this as quickly as possible and everything will be fine. I am certainly not upset with you. It's a common thing for me to have to deal with a damage claim of some sort regardless of the carrier or circumstances. This is a great place with great people, don't deprive yourself of their knowledge and passion.

pickofthericks wrote:Dan: This is certainly not a reason to jump ship. You and I will resolve this as quickly as possible and everything will be fine. I am certainly not upset with you. It's a common thing for me to have to deal with a damage claim of some sort regardless of the carrier or circumstances. This is a great place with great people, don't deprive yourself of their knowledge and passion.

More evidence of the kind of person Chris Clayton really is....you rock!

Beyond arrranging compensation which is the task at hand, getting to the bottom of the mechanism responsible for the damage is something that will serve us all well.

If it did stay in the case for the entire journey, then the message is that we need to find ways to pack our instruments so that this event can be avoided. If the case was opened that a mechanism for sealing it to know that an intrustion took place would also be important.

To me, shipping guitars is an expensive proposition. I think shippers can and should do better. My heart is in my mouth each time I ship or receive a guitar through a courier. Have we done all that we can do as consumers when shipping this fragile cargo?

Lastly, that a dealer would step forward in a situation such as this is heart-warming and surely speaks to their integrity. Well done, Chris.

Chris Clayton for president !!!!!! I know Mr Clayton personally and in my opinion theres not a better person out there to deal with, he is not only the best in the business, but one of the nicest people on the planet, Hey Chris your #1 big guy.

I feel terrible about my "weasel" comment earlier! I really thought we were talking about one of those famous big box stores. If it had been posted at the very beginning that the dealer was POTR I think this whole thread would have taken a much different tack.

I wouldn't worry about it, Jeff. At MARF in November, Chris will just take one of your Ricks off your hands for compensataion. Then all will be forgiven.

Yeah, that was what I was thinking, too!

Either that, or he won't let me in.

It's not the worst misunderstanding to happen among friends and gentlemen. In our minds we should buy each other a drink and let bygones be

pickofthericks wrote:Gentleman: I have sat quietly and read this post. I am the dealer who sold Dan this guitar. I can assure all of you that this guitar or any other would not leave this shop in that condition. I have had many dealings with UPS, Fed Ex and the likes. It is certainly feasible that this occured during shipping without causing damage to the container. We ship many instruments weekly and have seen quite a few "impossible things" happen. I have procedures I must follow and have also offered to send a replacement instrument. Please dont draw conclusions and express your opinions so hastily.

Chris

Chris, had we known it was you, things/opinions would have been quite tempered. Although my own "diagnosis" did not fault the dealer (but painted a picture, I hope, of a busy dealership and a damaged guitar being returned to a hanger by the custoer who damaged it, with no one the wiser), I sincerely hope that my own guesses were not seen as a reflection of your own integrity.

As to how this could have happened: Could someone have opened the shipping box to look at the contents, resealed it and sent it on its merry way? I'm thinking UPS or FedEx employees, rather than anyone at POTR.

jingle_jangle wrote:As to how this could have happened: Could someone have opened the shipping box to look at the contents, resealed it and sent it on its merry way? I'm thinking UPS or FedEx employees, rather than anyone at POTR.

Was my thinking as well after Chris posted. That's why I said, it makes me wonder what really goes on at OOPS!

Let me add my voice to those who would never have cast aspersions on the dealer in question if we had known it was Chris. My dealings with Chris have always been great and his dedication to customer service was amply demonstrated when my 4003DCM went missing en route from POTR. Chris stayed on the case and the bass finally turned up. I'm still hoping to make it to MARF so I can thank him personally!

One last post before I resign... It was never my intention to fault Chris. As I mentioned before, I was just trying to figure out how it happend. That's all, nothing else and that's why I did not reveal who I bought the guitar from. Chris is doing everything possible to help.

I do find it interesting how willing some are to throw the torches at the big box dealers, but when it is one of our "preferred" dealers, everybody suddenly becomes apologetic. The one dealing I had with Chris, where I bought some pickups and strings, was flawless, but I have also had good experiences with the "big box" dealers, too.

I just checked my 650 case, again, [Hey Jason, I posted about the sliding on the page before your post] and agree with Chris's thought that it could have slid into the metal trim. Had the case been turned upside down, I can certainly see how it would slide. You wouldn't see any box damage, either. Would this be something worth bringing up to RIC customer service to see if they can get the case redesigned to add more padding to secure the guitar better?