here is what we deal with Brian S Unhappy customer

[joshbrake]

Does this mean he's gonna get rid of his SR5 at a bargain price? Sign me up.

 

[cky4ever]

Ill post my own personal story which is similar to his but with a totally different outcome.

The main issue here is that companies have policies they have to abide by. Either because it means sense from a business stand point, or it being the law or whatever reason. Exceptions cannot be made because all hell breaks loose. Companies can only be held liable to what is stated before purchase and agreed upon purchase.

I for example live in the Domincan Republic. I contacted customer service via email phone etc to try get them to ship balls to me direct and I explained that they had a listed representative in the country in their website but they had long gone out of business. No real way to get one down here to me. I got the same story they weren't allowed to ship outside as it infringed with their dealers etc... I got tired of the hassle and said I understand the policy etc sucks for me but it is a business so instead of calling the company stupid or whatever I flew down to FL and bought my balls. 3 of them to be exact on multiple trips. STILL PAYING FOR THEM AND WILL BE for a while but well worth it.

Business is business. Dont like it take it somewhere else. Id like to see F*nder or any other company give in to what he's asking for... theyd be long out of business.

BTW it really sucked for me but thats life. I DONT REGRET IT but man... im pretty sure I went the farthest to get balls. santo domingo to miami FL + 17 hour drive (back and forth) from south FL all the way to BASSCENTRAL. DID IT TWICE.

 

[Joey SQUID]

That guy is just WHACK. ANd now it sucks for him because he is no longer playing the best bass known to man. What a Loser

 

[AtomicPunk]

And you wonder why there are so many replacement PUs for F*nders.
The Stingray 5 is perfect as delivered, as God intended.
(well, I did put a white pearl pickguard on mine....but other than that....)

 

[5Stringer]

Besides Dan and everyone at CS rock, I cant tell you how well Dan takes care of me no matter what.

Thanks Keith, the $5 is in the mail, along with a biscuit for Bunny Beagle.

Dan

 

[Sweat]

Thanks Keith, the $5 is in the mail, along with a biscuit for Bunny Beagle.

Dan

Dan,

Never mind just keep the fiver and send the biscuit

All kidding aside, Dan rocks, as well as everyone else, but Dan has always been there for me and his dedication to EBMM and the customer goes far beyond anything I have ever seen from a company, so i salute you Mr. EBMM Customer Service Man

 

[DTG]

EBMM policy sounds fine to me...if you have an original pickup, doesn't seem right, send it in to EBMM let them look at it under warranty, let EBMM decide if the part is defective, EBMM either returns part of replaces part

My '88 Stingray 4 has a replacement (no tone brand B) pickup, but I got the bass second hand that way because it played and looked great in a color i've always wanted...I love the way the bass plays and I deal with the okay tone for now but I long to get it a real MM pickup...yeah the pickups come on ebay every now and then but I can never seem to snag them...Since EBMM makes their own pickups, They can't just sell me a pickup because I can almost be my own dealer and turn around and sell the pickup on ebay as a brand new pickup which wouldn't be good for EBMM

Question; since we are on the topic, if my EBMM dealer orders a stock MM pickup and the dealer installs the pickup in my Stingray with "BRand B" pickup, is that more appropriate? I'm thinking it wouldn't be that appropriate and the answer is "no"...so i ask another question, what if I sent my Stingray back to SLO and have EBMM do the swap at the factory for whatever they would charge plus shipping? I'm thinking "no" as well...I'm not certain on these answers but I think I have a safe bet that I'm going to be searching ebay and craigslist for a used pickup that I may not be able to snag...am i upset, no, i bought the bass knowing it had a replacement pickup and i'm still happy with the bass, it is just kind of whimpy sounding

I work for a small buisness, 23 employees, and it is easy to understand why we cant just sell products or services for any reason at all...yeah, you get a few upset customers but then again look at all the satisfied customers who have no problem with my works policies...

mmmmm i would love to know this too,also what would have been the outcome if he had of said "BP i made a huge mistake,i swapped out my stock p/up and now it sounds like cr@p,please help me" would he have to keep his SR5 with a less than good sound or is there some way you could have helped him.

It sounds like he was an ass and being very dishonest and got the right treatment.

Just for the record the only thing i would like to change about my EBMM is the amount of them that i have

 

[silverbass]

Just having fun with this one. I'm liquidating assets to make up for the anticipated decline in income and have told all in cs to plan for cheaper vacations considering the above boycott and gas prices.

That there is funny.




I'm going to help that guy boycott the company by taking all his "sounds crap" basses and keeping them here so nobody else is ever afflicted with there crap.

 

[Russel]

BP, I'm absolutely sure it's your fault my mim fender jazz 5 can't fly me to the moon after I gave it a bath.

Please send me a charged car battery through the US mail system as compensation.

Also, I'll be taking my business to Music man, which I hear is a great company with cosmic level CS.

 

[DanGouge]

The only reason I can think of for swapping out a MM pickup would be if I had strong feelings about ceramic vs alnico (which I don't, I get them mixed up, I don't even know what I have in my Sterling). And even then, I wouldn't sell the stock one.

 

[koogie2k]

mmmmm i would love to know this too,also what would have been the outcome if he had of said "BP i made a huge mistake,i swapped out my stock p/up and now it sounds like cr@p,please help me" would he have to keep his SR5 with a less than good sound or is there some way you could have helped him.

I know the answer to this. Had he been upfront and honest he would have been given some recourse. Had he not had a sense of entitlement...he would have gotten what he was after. Here it is...but....this is my OPINION and I don't speak for EBMM or for CS or Big Poppa.

1. He would have been told what the company policy is. It would have been explained to him in a very nice and decent manner. Probably was to begin with.

2. With that said....CS would have then gone into help mode. What does that mean exactly? Who knows. Possibly told him of a near by dealer to pick up (as in buy) a new pick up. Send it to EBMM to install a new (bought) pick up...etc

3. He would have been taken care of in the context of company policy. Who knows..BP might have even thrown in a few stickers and a shirt. It's happened.

 

[T-bone]

Koogs,

You raise a great point here. When you're honest, sincere, and take responsibility for your actions, the outcome changes dramatically. It's a lesson some people never seem to learn.

tbone

 

[philthygeezer]

Ill post my own personal story which is similar to his but with a totally different outcome.

The main issue here is that companies have policies they have to abide by. Either because it means sense from a business stand point, or it being the law or whatever reason. Exceptions cannot be made because all hell breaks loose. Companies can only be held liable to what is stated before purchase and agreed upon purchase.

I for example live in the Domincan Republic. I contacted customer service via email phone etc to try get them to ship balls to me direct and I explained that they had a listed representative in the country in their website but they had long gone out of business. No real way to get one down here to me. I got the same story they weren't allowed to ship outside as it infringed with their dealers etc... I got tired of the hassle and said I understand the policy etc sucks for me but it is a business so instead of calling the company stupid or whatever I flew down to FL and bought my balls. 3 of them to be exact on multiple trips. STILL PAYING FOR THEM AND WILL BE for a while but well worth it.

Business is business. Dont like it take it somewhere else. Id like to see F*nder or any other company give in to what he's asking for... theyd be long out of business.

BTW it really sucked for me but thats life. I DONT REGRET IT but man... im pretty sure I went the farthest to get balls. santo domingo to miami FL + 17 hour drive (back and forth) from south FL all the way to BASSCENTRAL. DID IT TWICE.

I wound up doing something similar to this to get my 2007LE H Bongo after sending cash and losing $ paypal fees on another bass that got sold out from under me (Dargin knows). I then paid many extra $$$ in shipping and went through hassles to compensate for not ordering the thing new through proper channels in the first place. But that's what happens when you realize you wanted something and there is extremely limited opportunity now that you waited.

What bearing does this have? Not much I suppose. I went through proper channels and didn't whine when told the rules. Next time I'll be smart and order through a local dealer. But do I regret owning a very expensive secondhand bass? No.

But you don't go around doing silly things and then expect someone to bend over backwards to get you out of your own stupidity! You're not entitled!! Dig your own arse out! Especially when you say that you had a defective bass and then sold the guts of it on Ebay. What in the world do you think warranty usually requires?? How in the world would they diagnose and repair a problem?? How incredibly dumb!

 

[ToneDeath]

I agree that this guy is in the wrong trying to get a new pickup at a discount... But I'm curious, why not just sell him a new pickup at a regular retail price?

I'm curious about the policy, why don't you sell the pickups?

 

[mynan]

I'm curious about the policy, why don't you sell the pickups?

"brand integrity"

 

[maddog]

I agree that this guy is in the wrong trying to get a new pickup at a discount... But I'm curious, why not just sell him a new pickup at a regular retail price?

I'm curious about the policy, why don't you sell the pickups?

I don't think there is a "regular retail price."

 

[5Stringer]

The reason we don't sell the pickups and other electronics separately is that we are not a parts manufacturer, we are instrument builders. The bass electronics in particular, we feel, are an integral part of what makes our basses what they are, therefore we aren't especially inclined to have the electronics winding up in other instruments. By keeping a very tight control over these parts, we do what we can to establish and preserve the integrity of our instruments.

It would be easy enough for anyone to sell a Music Man pickup on ebay, then call us up and tell us that they they somehow lost it. Not implying that was the case here, with this particular customer - but it certainly could be. The point is if you are going to have a policy you have to stick to it, or it is pretty much not a policy at all.

just sayin' ..

Dan

 

[roballanson]

Boy am I feeling terrible I have not hassled customer service since the case of the missing olive on my Dargie (thanks for sorting it out Beth).
Perhaps I should start ringing and emailing about the fact the basses are so good I dont need to contact CS. Feels like I am missing out on the EB experience. Surely I have an entitlement to it as we are all part of the same family?

Seriously well dealt with BP. kudos.

 

[AnthonyD]

The reason we don't sell the pickups and other electronics separately is that we are not a parts manufacturer, we are instrument builders. The bass electronics in particular, we feel, are an integral part of what makes our basses what they are, therefore we aren't especially inclined to have the electronics winding up in other instruments. By keeping a very tight control over these parts, we do what we can to establish and preserve the integrity of our instruments.

It would be easy enough for anyone to sell a Music Man pickup on ebay, then call us up and tell us that they they somehow lost it. Not implying that was the case here, with this particular customer - but it certainly could be. The point is if you are going to have a policy you have to stick to it, or it is pretty much not a policy at all.

just sayin' ..

Dan

This makes perfect sense to me...








And I chuckled at the thought of this possible call:

"Uh, Hi, I'm a Musican Man bass player - and I love my Music Man - funny thing is, I played this gig last night - my bass sounded so good - but then today I noticed my pick-up is missing - I must've lost it somehow - can you send me another one - please..."

 

[paranoid70]

More like... "I am building my own bass, can I buy one of your pickups so I can best duplicate the Music Man sound?"

I see where you guys are coming from by not selling the individual parts.