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9+ weeks for a Carvin?

#81
shwashwa said:
kudos to carvin for responding in a classy manner to someone who chose to air his grievances in a public forum without giving carvin the chance to tell the other side,
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isn't the very definition of a "public forum" one that allows ALL sides to be aired? :rolleyes:

I personally prefer the transparency of public forums. The only people who benefit from keeping things "secret" are companies who treat customers poorly.

Now it's all out in the open - people are free to make up their own minds.

FWIW - I got an e-mail saying the bass has shipped and should arrive on Friday - according to UPS. Also FWIW - Carvin's "guitar traq" says it's still in "Quality assurance and set-up".

A few people have pm'd me about this and asked if I would post photos and sound samples of the new bass when it arrives.

That would certainly be fair - and I will do that.
 
#82
Jeff, I'm glad to hear your bass is shipping. I hope it really blows you away when you get it. I also hope that the six string thing works out well for you. Carvin is a brand that is raising my interest. I could see getting a fretless Carvin in the future maybe.
 
#83
Jeff, I'm not trying to argue with you. That's not what I want at all. I don't want to make it seem like you are completely in the wrong either.

When someone comes onto a public forum completely slamming a company and it's employees, saying the people at the company dont know what their talking about there needs to be an explanation.

Marco offered his hand of help, and you don't seem to want to take it. I'm offering an explanation as to why things went the way they did and you seem to want to continue talking about how bad and terrible Carvin is. I'm a customer service rep for Carvin. I am here to help. With 500+ custom instruments being sent out per month you can imagine that Carvin is no small operation. To expect every single person you speak with to know everything about your specific bass order is, as you may agree, a slight bit optimistic.

Dealing with one person, on the other hand, will get you EXACTLY the information you need. When you spoke with me I took quite a bit of time out of my day to figure out exactly what was going on with your bass. I let you know they were wiring your electronics and you were extremely critical and doubtful that I was telling the truth. What reason would I have to lie to you? Unfortunately it took longer than I was originally informed. I never heard back from you and assumed you understood that custom instruments are subject to possible delays.

Once again I say, I'm sorry you feel the way you do. I don't like knowing there is someone out there that feels I am an idiot who tells lies to my customers and others. That's not the kind of person I am. Being a Carvin customer service representative is a job, not a moral decision, and I don't change my good morals for my job.

As I said previously, I (as well as Marco) am more than happy to help you with any other questions or issues that arise. When dealing with a custom shop it is best to deal with one rep for an order. The term "Too many cooks in the kitchen" definetely applies, and you have two cooks that are ready and willing to cook your meal just the way you like it. If you don't like it, we can help you with a rebuild or a refund as well.

Regards,

Charles @ Carvin

{edit: splelign}
 
#86
No, but if you ask for a customer service rep by name when you call you will almost always be able to talk to them. (Unless they are out for the day or on a break)

There are too many orders to assign them all to a specific rep. Generally about 90% of orders go by without a the end customer calling once. The number was reduced when Guitar Traq was made available. The unfortunate part about Guitar Traq, however, is that people tend to put too much faith in the approximate times quoted on the Guitar Traq page.

In other words...if you ever have questions, try to stick with a person you know or have dealt with in the past. Generally one person will be able to keep better track of what is going on than multiple people.

When I speak with a person about an order I remember it. When a customer calls me back after I have spoken with them (even a month in the past) I am usually able to remember the situation and most of the conversation and what went on. The other reps do pretty much the same thing. Chances are, if someone has talked to me to some extent months ago I can recall parts of situations...often times they instrument they had on order.

So...in other words, no...no specific reps per order, but dealing with one person is no different.
 
#87
Jeff, get over it. The guys have offered an explanation AND apology, which you have refused and called them liars, to which they didn't react I might add. You've been aggressive and offered worthless little compliments as justification. Get over it man, move on. If you have a problem with the way Carvin have dealt with you, take it up with them, talk to a manager or someone other than a CS rep. You've done nothing here but make yourself look petty and snobbish. Your view is obviously fuelled by your personal pride or something, as the positive feedback from other members testifies to.

Chalz and Marco, well done on remaining gracious. If I ever bought a Carvin (not likely as I'm international) I'd definitely want to deal with you guys.
 
#89
well, I got my carvin LB76 secondhand, and it is in amazing condition and a wonderful bass, so I don't know too much about their CS; however, I am very taken back by the amount of carvin love on this forum. Judging from so many posts, I thought that most people thought of carvin as a "I suppose they're cool, but there's much more important things to get" but as I read though this, everyone seems to have owned a carvin, wants a carvin or has a carvin. I love mine.

~K
 
#90
bassfacekevin said:
well, I got my carvin LB76 secondhand, and it is in amazing condition and a wonderful bass, so I don't know too much about their CS; however, I am very taken back by the amount of carvin love on this forum. Judging from so many posts, I thought that most people thought of carvin as a "I suppose they're cool, but there's much more important things to get" but as I read though this, everyone seems to have owned a carvin, wants a carvin or has a carvin. I love mine.

~K
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Yeah. Though my current tastes in bass design lean rather firmly into the "classic and vintage" side, I miss my old LB76 sometimes. And sometimes, I catch myself looking at an Icon 6-string and thinking "what if..." I think if I ever get another 6-string, an Icon will be on the list of candidates.
 
#92
A person buys a $1,500 custom bass from Carvin and gets every option just like they want it. A year later someone wants to buy a Carvin, and they find they can get their own custom bass for $1,500 with all the options they want.

If this is the case, why would they buy someone elses used custom bass when they can get one of the same quality and craftsmanship for the same price? Why would they pay MORE for it when they could get a new one with the options they want for cheaper? That is why the resale value of Carvin's sucks.
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Ka-ching!

Let me speak up for CS reps here. I was a TS (Technical Support) rep for a sizable ISP, who also doubled as an SBC phone service reseller for over a year.

You complain about CS reps who "only quote policy"? Dude, CS reps, despite their title, are not people who will act as your sword and shield in your dealings with the Evil Dragon of Company. CS reps are EMPLOYED by the company to keep YOU off their back. CS reps who don't follow policy get fired. Sometimes CS reps are instructed to tell you things that *should* be true, but don't happen because other cogs in the clockwork failed. Sometimes CS reps go with all the information they have available, and/or on experience. If you take 15 calls a day from people who's custom instrument is in QA and you tell all 15 people, every day, "Your instrument is in QA. It will ship soon. Relax.", and this goes on five days a week, 52 weeks a year, when YOU call about your bass and it's in QA, are they suddenly going to jump up on their desks and yell, "This guy's bass is in QA, and has been for a little longer than it ought to have been?!? STOP THE LINE!! TURN OFF THE MACHINES!! I WILL NOT REST UNTIL I FIND THIS MAN'S BASS!!"

Of course, you want that answer to be "yes", and in a lot of cases CS reps will do what they can to help you. But don't come on here and slam the company when every single CS rep doesn't know exactly what's up with your instrument, one of over a thousand that Carvin is making at any given time. It would be nice to think that every company has brilliant software that tells CS reps exactly what's going on, that their computers always work great, and that every employee is is perfect at their job. But it ain't realistic.

Peace
policy
 
#94
I had a similar experience with Carvin, taking 9 weeks to deliver a bass but the salesperson who took my order did mention upfront that it would take around 8 weeks.

Humans are humans, man. It's just that we Americans are too spoiled and accustomed to flawless service, or we will and let everybody know that we didn't get our burger in less than 30 seconds.
 
#95
Chalz said:
Jeff, I'm not trying to argue with you. That's not what I want at all.
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Me either. Yet - In all your words you haven't explained anything relevant to my MAIN complaint.

Just explain WHY each and every rep I spoke with - INCLUDING you kept telling me the bass would ship - "in the next day or 2" and then not ship the bass?

Chalz said:
Marco offered his hand of help, and you don't seem to want to take it.
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Not true - read the thread. Marco posted here to say the bass had shipped - but answered NONE of the questions I raised about the service I experienced.

There was nothing from Marco for me to accept or reject - the bass has shipped. I thanked Marco - what else can he do?

Chalz said:
I'm offering an explanation as to why things went the way they did and you seem to want to continue talking about how bad and terrible Carvin is.
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But you haven't explained anything.

Again - the thing that caused my frustration is the thing you keep avoiding -

WHY - each and every rep I spoke with over the course of 1 1/2 weeks - including YOU - kept telling me the bass would ship - "in the next day or 2" and then not ship the bass?

Explain that Charles.

You have apologized - for how I feel. Not for how carvin CS - or even you personally have handled this.

That's not even an apology.

Chalz said:
As I said previously, I (as well as Marco) am more than happy to help you with any other questions or issues that arise.
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You can start with the ones I've repeatedly asked here.
 
#96
FretFree said:
My guess?

They figured out who "Jeff Schmidt" is and are really giving the bass a once over! ;)
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oh no no no - please don't go there. ;) I really honestly never once asked for, or expected ANYTHING but reasonable service.

I've never once asked for ANYTHING from carvin but a REAL explaination - no special treatment - no special deals.

I'm a regular shmuck like everyone else. I work for my money just like everyone else - but when I spend $1800 on a bass - I don't want to treated like a shmuck.

I simply didn't appreciate being repeatedly brushed off.
 
#97
jeff schmidt said:
oh no no no - please don't go there. ;) I really honestly never once asked for, or expected ANYTHING but reasonable service.

I've never once asked for ANYTHING from carvin but a REAL explaination - no special treatment - no special deals.

I'm a regular shmuck like everyone else. I work for my money just like everyone else - but when I spend $1800 on a bass - I don't want to treated like a shmuck.

I simply didn't appreciate being repeatedly brushed off.
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Certainly... and I didn't mean to imply as much. I just wouldn't be overly surprised is all. :)
 
#98
BeatDeadHorse.gif


They let you down, and the bass is on its way. It's over except for the playing.
 
#99
FretFree said:
My guess?

They figured out who "Jeff Schmidt" is and are really giving the bass a once over! ;)
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Seems only fair - Schmidt certainly seems to have given Carvin more than they deserve.

FretFree said:
Am I the only one here excited to hear what Jeff can do with a 6 regardless of the brand?
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I expect anything less than absolute perfection to result in his fingers being pointed in every direction except toward himself.

From what I've read here, it's not a customer service representative that's needed to deal with customers of his ilk; it's a proctologist!
 
#100
Jazzdogg said:
Seems only fair - Schmidt certainly seems to have given Carvin more than they deserve.



I expect anything less than absolute perfection to result in his fingers being pointed in every direction except toward himself.

From what I've read here, it's not a customer service representative that's needed to deal with customers of his ilk; it's a proctologist!
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Wow. Thanks for twisting my post into something that it totally was not.
 

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