Poll; Which company has the best customer service?

[jaxson50]

The music industry is more competitive then ever and in general the quality of all manufactures has improved greatly, still problems do arise. That means that companies must deliver more then just a product, they must delivery good service to support that product.
What manufacture has impressed you the most/least in the following categories?

1 Initial Quality?

2 Warranty service's?

3 If you had a problem did you have to return the instrument, or was the repair done at a local repair shop?

4 Was the repair done right the first time?

5 In a timely fashion?

6 How easy was it to access customer service?

7 Would customer service influence your next purchase?

8 Tell us your story,

Are you a professional musician, a owner or employee of a music store?

[motorcitychick]

Gibson gives me good customer service. I live in Nashville and the custom shop is about 10 minutes away. I had a small problem with neck buzzing on my 59 Les Paul. I called them up and the shop manager and had me bring my guitar over and he fixed it for me, without charge. Plus the case that it came in, did not work properly. He took the old case and gave me a new one. That is great customer service.
Music stores play a big part in whether I am going to purchase a guitar from them. I have always recieved great service from Teddy at MakenMusic. That's why I buy my guitars from them.

[jaxson50]

You are lucky to live that close to the Gibson custom shop! I would love to visit there. I'm about 6 hr.'s from the Montana shop and someday I have to get up there.

[brassrat]

I have a different point of view since I have never purchased a new guitar before. I buy everything used.

What I'm looking for from a guitar company is quality control (so it doesn't break while I own it, and technical support (in terms of background information, guitar specs, etc.).

For me so far, Yamaha has provided some excellent support infrastructure. Their website contains a lot of archived information and they actually respond very rapidly to emailed questions.

Their QC is excellent on all their musical instruments, not just guitars. I think they never took off in the guitar world because their guitars although they are all excellent instruments lack the ***iness that the Gibsons and Fenders seem to have.

[jaxson50]

I have heard that about Yamaha before, they are said to have great support for their products.

[Music Man]

I have dealt with many companies in the past. They were all good, but the one company who has surpased my expectations has certainly been Ernie Ball Music Man.
The way they took very good care of me when I had problems with my guitars. Always helpful and informative.:)

[PeeWee]

I did have a few questions for CS at Rickenbacker International Corporation regarding the authenticity of my '88 360/12V64 that was purchased in january of this year. I was puzzled by the fact that this guitar had only a single out jack instead of the usual dual mono outs. Richard Canata was quick with responses and extremely helpful in identifying the guitar; turns out it's about as rare a Rick as you're gonna find and he himself was surprised by the findings.

I have also called RIC personally to order a few spare parts and have been dealt with promptly without any problems what-so-ever. Great family owned company. John Hall, the CEO, participates in the on-line corporate forum as do most of the heads of their respective departments. Very nice personal touch!

Can't say the same for FMI. I once had to send a Custom Shop Strat neck back 3 times because the wood hadn't cured properly and would react to climatic change like nothing you'd ever seen - it was made of flamed maple but reacted more like rubber. The neck they finally sent to me was a total POS with the fretwork being some of the most pathetic I've ever encountered. That guitar was put up for sale a few weeks later and was bought by a guy in Japan.

Seems I wasn't the only one who'd experienced this; David "Kid" Ramos - then with the Fabulous Thunderbirds - told me that he'd had the same thing happen to him twice and he was an endorsee!! I'd asked him about the Mary Kay that he was shown with in an ad when he told me, "That wasn't my guitar, it was for the shoot. The actual guitar they'd given me had to have the neck replaced twice and it still was never right. Between you & me, it was the biggest POS I've ever owned...even if it was free." Granted, when we had our problems, the CS was slammed with backorders but that's still no excuse for a sub-par product. My last experience with Fender's CS was nearly as disappointing. I'd ordered a '59 Esquire RI last year and when I received it, the stench of nitro was so heavy it'd knock you over when you opened the case. The neck was also tacky to the touch and after 3 months was still that way. Sold it to a guy I know that owns a shop and it was snatched by another guy I used to give lessons to; don't know if he still has it or not.

[jaxson50]

I own a Genz Benz Shenandoah acoustic amp. I have never had a problem with this amp but I had a question about the unit so e-mailed the company.
With in one hour I had a response from the owner of the company!
On a similar note, a friend of mine owns a Godin electric Roland ready type guitar. He found a small crack in the plastic border around one of the pick-up's. So he called the company and Mr. Godin took the call, arranged for new pick-up's to be installed at the nearest Godin dealer at no charge!
Great service deserves public acknowledgement.

[ModTourMan]

THD (I own a Univalve) was very helpful and offered a quick response.

[lenny]

I have had EVERYTHING and we also own a Music store for the last 30 years no one comes close to Ernie Ball/Musicman, fit ,finish, warranty after the sale service is beyond anything i have ever witnessed .....so now i own 4 of them every one came like a hand built they make 1300 instruments a month with a six month wait on a new one ........ as far a value for your buck EB/MM ALL THE WAY!

[jazzrat]

My vote is Visual Sound. I e-mailed a question in and Bob Weil the owner called me personally to discuss it. I've also had them repair a pedal I bought used for free. Great response and all round customer service.

[tonefinger]

I own a Budda Superdrive 30 and have emailed them with a question or two and they have been very quick and responsive, and they make a hell of an amp.

[B Vance]

I'd say that it would have to be a company where you can contact them and talk directly to the person who built or is responsible for your particular item, be it guitar, pedal, amp etc. assuming that person is dedicated to making sure that it's right.

That being said, I know there are numerous small company makers where that's true.

[jaxson50]

Vance,
I think your right, the smaller company's and the large company's that are still owned by the founder seem to have much better service.

[Guitarnivore]

I blew a tube in my VHT 100 CL and there was another problem that caused it . I shipped it to Steve and he fixed it quick and I had it back in no time at no charge. Also have had quick responses to questions at Framus concerning my Dragon. Eddies Guitars have been great. I'm sure there's more but i can't recall them all right now.

[jaxson50]

Guitarnivore
How do you like your Framus?

[Guitarnivore]

I love my Framus Dragon. I think it's a bit over priced but these days I feel like allot of gear is. It's an impressive 3 channel head that stacks up with other amps I've owned or own now like Soldano, VHT, Bogner etc. Framus Customer Service was right on the ball when I emailed question about bias and tube options. Very helpful and polite.