Customer Apologizes For Guitar Center Screw-Up
Mitch wrote to us last week to complain that he was sent a used guitar instead of the new one he ordered. Musician's Friend and/or Guitar Center (they're related) followed up with Mitch and corrected the mistake, but it turns out that Mitch was in the wrong on this one. Here's his explanation for what happened.
Well Consumerist, I'm an idiot. Among the choice genetic treats my father passed to me are a receding hairline and a touch of dyslexia. While the hairline does not account for much, the dyslexia does.
What I saw as a big yellow 'complaint' tag, was in all actuality a big yellow 'COMPLIANT' tag. This innocuous sticker was simply stating a lack of hazardous materials, something I really like in a guitar.
Guitar Center did absolutely nothing wrong. They sent me a new guitar, exactly what I paid for, the first time. Any problems in the neck were for me to take up with Fender, as the guitar was still under warranty, and not Guitar Center. So if there's a lesson here it's this: even if you're an insufferable moron, Guitar Center will take care of you.
Apparently he's not kidding about that last part. Mitch contacted Guitar Center to offer to return the upgraded Fender they gave him last week, but they refused:
It was an honest mistake, but I couldn't rightly let this go by without letting Guitar Center, and the Consumerist know. I offered to send the upgraded guitar back but Paul, being the stand up guy he is, wouldn't hear of it. He just said, "I appreciate your integrity and I stand by my original statement that we just want to keep you as a customer."
"Guitar Center Ships Broken Guitar From Another Store's Inventory, Says Too Bad, Now It's Yours"
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Comments:
@Sidecutter: I agree, kudos to Mitch for being willing to publicly correct this issue and place the blame where it actually belonged. Even bigger kudos to Guitar Center for their response when Mitch admitted his screwup.
@Sidecutter: It was pretty big of him to admit his mistake. I think I would have been too humiliated to keep the upgraded guitar though. I know that the CSR said he didn't have to but it'd be impossible for me to look at the thing and not think "Damn, I'm a moron."
Okay, he made a mistake, but he still got a defective guitar from the get go. From the original article:
Perhaps a week later as I was setting the guitar up to my preferred level of feel/action, I noticed things were not quite right. I had noticed some string buzzing and a couple of other playability issues. So upon closer inspection of the neck, it appears to be slightly twisted... not a good thing at all.
@Sidecutter: Agreed! It takes a pretty good guy to admit he made a silly mistake like that when he could have swept it under the rug. Mitch FTW for doing the right thing!
Nominated for the Good Customer Hall of Fame (we do have one, don't we?)
Um, why did that not post where I sent it?
@GC: Yes, he got a defective guitar but as the above article states he should take it up with Fender b/c it's still under warranty. Guitar Center is nice enough to send him an upgraded guitar and let him keep it even thought they have done nothing wrong.
Good for him. Having severe Dyslexia myself I have made similar mistakes when reading single words.
My Wife, friends and I were playing Cranium once and I got of those "pictionary" ones. I read Grefitti, and started scrawling away. No one guessed correctly, but much hillarity ensued in the guessing (which no one got). Then my wife took the card to put it away, and said "Sweety ... this says "Girraffe".
Needsless to say everyone (including me) had aching sides and jaws by the time we were able to continue the game.
Kudos to editor Chris Walters (and Consumerist) for posting this follow-up. I know that bad news is what sells, and posts like this probably won't draw in a lot of page views or comments, but providing us with the follow up is the right thing to do. Thanks!
Gratz to Guitar Center for realizing that Mitch is probably a customer for life now and will probably generate much more revenue for them after being taken care of than it cost them to send him a new guitar.
Bravo -- a lovely apology from a good man.
BRAVO! I know where my brother's next birthday present will be coming from.
Thanks for the follow-up, and more kudos for Mitch for admitting his mistake.
Proving once again that the consumer CAN be wrong!
I hope all the people who were posting in the last thread ripping Guitar Center apart post here with their apologies. Wishful thinking, I suppose.
@Sidecutter: Absolutely! Anyone can complain about something. But when they are the ones that were wrong, it takes someone with a good moral compass to admit it. Kudos to Mitch.
I can understand the confusion here by the consumer. My girlfriend whom i love very much has Dyslexia and this kind of thing is common with that. I think Guitar Center should be applauded
GC's response has really made me take another look at their company. I may just give them my patronage.
@TakingItSeriously: "MAROON"? I keep reading this word across the internet and can't figure out what made it so popular. Is it really just a rampant misspelling of "moron"?
I didn't comment on the OP but yeah GC has always been good to me. Samash is way closer but it's annoying to even browse there since their selectioon always sucks their prices never change and they are always understaffed. GC has always been upfront with me on deals. I picked up a very nice laguna guitar as well as a BOSS amp with a year of no payments financing thanks to a deal with fender. the deal was buy a fender or fender product get financing with no payments for a year. So I browsed only fenders(the models I liked were all priced pretty high). They showed me the laguna which was only 300 and the amp which was only 100 and then threw in a pack of fender picks which activated the financing(then they threw in another pack of picks for free.
GC may seem like the Best buy of music stores but my local one is run more like a ABT.
Guitar Center probably has a defective policy that he could have returned it under anyway, had he noticed the mistake in time.
But yeah, good for him for admitting his mistake
How do we know Guitar Center didn't PAY Mitch for this now favorable complaint. Someone go to his house and make sure he doesn't all of a sudden have a signed Eddie Van Halen-signed Frankenstrat!
I blame outsourcing of luthiers to China.
@cmdrsass:
Good for Guitar Center but this doesn't excuse them for being the Walmart of music stores anymore than a good deed excuses Walmart for sucking.
8 Guitar Centers went out of business due to Consumerist's original story. Consumerist should do the right thing and close itself.
I can only imagine how Mitch feels...I wonder if he found a big enough rock to hide under for a while ;-)
@Sidecutter: I think this story should be required reading for incoming government officials and CEO's of major financial institutions.
Holy crap, someone on the internet just admitted he was in the wrong. That's about as rare as a jackalope sighting.
Well played, sir.
@privateer: MIM Telecasters are Made in Mexico not China and the MIA Telecasters are made by Mexican factory workers in America.
OK, this doesn't belong here, but as a Star Trek fan, I have to add it:
"I am Dyslexia Of Borg. Your ass will be laminated."
@WorldHarmony: Watch old Bugs Bunny cartoons. Bugs would always be laughing at someone and exclaim "What a maroon!" Obviously implying moron but pronouncing maroon. At least thats where I picked it up from.
@MissPeacock:
Yea for Mitch for owning up. We've all been there, I'm sure.
Yea for Guitar Center. Somebody finally figured out good press is worth something.
Perhaps if he can get the original guitar replaced under the warranty from Fender, Mitch could find a school or other organization who would appreciate a donation.
I once heard that Tracy Chapman's church chipped in to buy her her first guitar, after discovering she had a gift.
I'm still a little miffed that it took him over 30 days to notice the defect, and that he even had time to "absolutely f[a]ll in love with the guitar" before noticing this defect.
I actually returned an accoustic guitar once, because of a bad neck. I didn't notice the crack until several months after I bought it, and I thought that it had failed due to poor construction. Turns out, my roomate later admitted that a drunken friend had fallen on it, causing the damage. The store lost money due to my mistake and I always felt bad about it.
DYSLEXICS UNTIE!
He screwed up. We all do. He's a stand up guy.
It's too bad we have too many people here in the US that are unwilling to take responsibility for their own actions.
@BuddyHinton: by the way, i was being sarcastic just so you know.....
I figured you were, but I have to admit, that thought crossed my mind. I dismissed it pretty quick, but ya have to wonder...
What is odd to me is that nobody at GC said, "We don't HAVE big yellow complaint tags"
@FortyMegaFonzies: Someone could VERY EASILY get me to write good reviews and testimonials for them in return for a brand new MIA Tele. What I'm saying is, I'm available for this kind of whoredom. GC?
@honestlytoomuch: Maybe. Sometimes people can just return defective products to their retailer instead of having to deal with the manufacturer. Although this more likely would have fallen under a warranty repair since, if I recall correctly, it was past Guitar Center's 30-day return period.
@tc4b: Actually, I was thinking this might be a viral marketing campaign for Guitar Center. They come out of this smelling sweet.
I've actually had some pretty decent experiences with Guitar Center over the years. The best way to ensure this (as with pretty much any store who's business model is either commission or metric-based) is to make friends with the salespeople. It's not hard, it's a nicer overall experience, and if you ever run into trouble, you get taken care of.
I know one of the local Guitar Center managers because I've been buying from him since he was just a salesperson. He lets me know when uncommon, inexpensive, used items come in that I've asked him to keep an eye out for. He chats with me about arbitrary techniques and theoretical equipment. I don't really ever see him outside of the store, but when I'm there, he's always a pleasure to deal with.
A few years ago, I had a piece of equipment that I'd bought way back when. The store had lost the extended warranty paperwork, and it looked like I was going to have to pay out of pocket for the repairs. But after a few minutes of going to bat for me with the general manager, he came back out with a brand new one. Not a repair, but a new replacement. A smile, a wink, and I was on my way. THAT is what I call service. And that's what you get when you make friends with your salespeople at Guitar Center. It doesn't cost money. It doesn't take a lot of time or effort. Just be nice. :-)
I'm sure someone is typing up something to degrade the man even as I write this, but I think it should be said anyway.
Good for him for publicly and openly admitting to his mistake in this. And bonus points for offering to surrender his mistakenly-gotten gains as well.