Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

In April of 2003 I placed an order through a well known dealer for a Left-Handed Jetglo 370/12, in March of 2004 I finally recieved this fantastic looking guitar. However when I unpacked it from the box, then the case I noticed that the Treble Tone knob was broken. I immediately emailed the dealer to let them know and called them the next day. It has been 2 months and several attempts by the dealer to obtain a replacement have gone by and I still have not recieved a new part. The dealer has told me that Rickenbacker has told him they do not normally replace parts, then in the same sentence said they would replace mine.
I paid good money and waited about 11 months for this new guitar that came with a broken knob that thus far Rickenbacker has not replaced. What's up with this? A company such as Rickenbacker can surely afford to make this right. I paid for a NEW guitar not one with a broken part.

Maybe the dealer should've replaced the part for you. He was the last one to ship the guitar. I would think that thh shipper(dealer)is responsible. I believe that a new SET of knobs is about $12. and costs the dealer even less. Man, some guys wouldn't know "service" if it bit them on the ...

(my .02)

I second that. Pretty sure it didn't leave the factory like that. The dealer just for the sake of being a good buisnessman should jump at the prospect of keeping a happy client. 12 bucks to make a guy who just purchased a new guitar happy. No brainer. Tell the dealer to read this forum.

I subscribe to what Miguel says. To give yourself closure, drop them a friendly letter to the effect that they have cost themselves thousands in future sales all for the sake of $12 (which is even less to them, in reality).

What bothers me is that the customer says he purchased the guitar around the beginning of April (at least that what he says on his warranty card) but we shipped it to the dealer around the beginning of February. Where was this specially order leftie guitar all this time?

Even though the dealer is East coast and the customer West coast necessitating two cross country trips in winter (wear and tear I wouldn't want on my special order), two months in transit is unexplainable.

Anyway, the proper procedure would have been to contact us (allowing time for the warranty card to be received), at which time we probably would have requested the broken part to be sent back for exchange. Probably would have taken a week in the mail system, max. This can still be done, for that matter.

John, I think he is saying he bought it in April 2003 and it shipped in March of '04. So if you built it in February, looks like it shipped only 1 month or maybe less before he actually received it.

No, I think John means that RIC received a warranty card showing a purchase date at the beginning of April of this year and is wondering why a special order guitar sat at the dealer for 2 months without being delivered.

So it comes back to the local dealer... who won't give his customer satisfaction with some cheap knobs and who now, it seems, sat on a guitar for two months?!?

I special ordered and paid for the guitar April 2003, It is entered in my files as recieved March 4, 2004. Exactly when it shipped from Rickenbacker I do not know.

John Hall: I would very much like to take you up on your offer to get a replacement. How may I contact you to do this?

You guys aren't reading what is psoted here.

Sounds like he possibly sent the warranty card in late because JH says they shipped it in Feb to the dealer, Chet says he finally got it in March (at least two weeks floating around out there in a box from coast to coast) and then the warranty card went in April.

Let me get this staright. He ordered a guitar new from an authorised dealer, payed for it up front, it took almost a year for the factory to make it and then something got busted in shipping. This is a conspiracy, lol. Roast the dealer. First off, he wasn't able to get the factory to make it any faster and he let UPS to break it too, it's his fault, lol.

As stated by JH, it's not up to the dealer to cover this. If the dealer went out of his way to cover it, return you're money, replace the item, etc. He's going beyond the call of duty. Contact the factory [email protected] and explain the situation.

"it's not up to the dealer to cover this"

Perhaps in the strictest sense, but from a customer service perspective it's poor practice to not take care of it.

"he let UPS to break it too, it's his fault, lol."

Dunno how others feel, but if I'm buying an expensive guitar, I feel the dealer owns all the problems until I get the guitar and am satisfied with the purchase. I know if I were a dealer, I'd bend over backwards to make a customer happy, because a happy customer will likely be a repeat
customer.

amen brother

In the most extreme of cases, if a shipping company breaks a guitar that took a year to show up, it isn't the dealer's fault, all he can do is put in a claim and pay the customer back or find a way to replace it. This case is different, it's a knob. As JH mentioned here, this is something they would cover, so I'm not really seeing what the problem is.

As far as making people happy, some people are never going to be happy, it's their nature. I'm not saying that is the case with Chet, I'm just pointing out that these are emotional purchases for a lot of people and they can kook-out if things go wrong, even over a busted knob. My opinion is that this thread should have never been posted, Chet should have just contacted RIC directly.

I agree that there are limits what a dealer should do, but at least as described to us, the dealer really didn't do much of anything to resolve the situation. I mean, would it have been a big deal to drop a knob into a padded envelope and send it to the customer? The only way to describe this is poor customer service.

Yes, I agree that it wasn't the dealer's fault, but it would have been a huge good will gesture.

"My opinion is that this thread should have never been posted, Chet should have just contacted RIC directly."

I really do disagree with the notion that Chet shouldn't have posted it. He's highlighting a problem he's had and if folks are inclined they
can contact Chet to find out who.

Let's take this out of the realm of guitars for a moment. If I bought a high end television, that comes with an expectation of a certain level of service from the dealer. I wouldn't expect to have to deal with the manufacturer for every problem.

I see an expensive guitar in the same light. The high price for the guitar, like the high price for the television, comes with an expectation of dealer customer service.

For those of us who get the chance to purchase a new Rickenbacker, it goes without saying that there has been considerable thought, anticipation and saving that has gone into the planning. The thought that it would arrive in anything less than perfect condition is one that is difficult to entertain in fantasy, let alone reality.

The disappointment is understandable. I have always been amazed, however, by the extent to which a missing or defective screw or knob worth a few cents or a couple of dollars becomes the flash point for heated debate.

I agree that a direct call or email to RIC customer service is in order in such situations. In my experience a sensitive inquiry with a diplomatic solution in mind increases the likelihood of success.