ATTN: STRING MANUFACTURERS THIS IS WHAT WE EXPECT AS CONSUMERS!!

[J Posega]

If I were producing high end strings, I'd do the same thing to make sure the a**holes of the bass playing world weren't trying to pass off a First Act string as a TI Jazz Round and screw me, as a producer, over. I'd say they did the right thing.

Keep spares around.

 

[Damian Coccio]

If I were producing high end strings, I'd do the same thing to make sure the a**holes of the bass playing world weren't trying to pass off a First Act string as a TI Jazz Round and screw me, as a producer, over. I'd say they did the right thing.

Keep spares around.

This too is good input for string manufacturers. Still won't buy that brand again when other manufacturers are providing more value.

 

[JimmyM]

Exactly, that's good service and what I'd expect. I'm not sure the policy is the same now.

So it was Labella doing this to you? That's weird. Well despite what a poster a couple below this one said, I'm on your side. That's silly. It's only a string.

 

[Damian Coccio]

So it was Labella doing this to you? That's weird. Well despite what a poster a couple below this one said, I'm on your side. That's silly. It's only a string.

Yes it was them. Like I said its not a big deal, it just made an impression. And to their credit, they were very responsive, even returned email on the weekend. I communicated that they might want to reconsider this policy, but they basically said that they are one of the few companies that even offer replacements for defective strings at no cost. I think that's the minimum ethic and believe I'll get better service / value elsewhere.

 

[Gyver]

D'Addario once forgot to send me a replacement Chrome string, and they were so sorry they sent me 5 free SETS of Chromes.

I bought a set of Chromes last year that were too short for my bass (needed super longs). My mistake all the way. I made a quick comment about it on TalkBass and received a message from a D'Addario rep offering to send me a new set free of charge. Excellent!

 

[ddawson2012]

**COUGH**

I figured I'd pipe up on this one. I probably shouldn't but why not, i'm on my 3rd cup of coffee already.

Every manufacturer is going to have a different policy when it comes to this type of thing but I'll share our philosophy. Normally, we will ask for the string back. It's a way of helping us improve our products. Good feedback is always nice but if you can learn from your mistakes, that can clearly improve what you do. You can look at the string in an attempt to see what caused the breakage; possibly where the flaw might reside. However, it's not always 100% clear as to the why - assumptions can be made but we'd never go back to the individual and say - this string broke because "__________" and its not our fault. You can also view the request for a returned string as a way to determine if the claim is valid.

We appreciate players using our strings and frankly, we appreciate when a players calls us out and tells us they had an issue. It's not that we're looking for complaints, but it's important that players point bring this to our attention and make sure that that experience is as painless as possible.

I've made it pretty clear that my lines of communication are open to anyone who is interested - [email protected]

Now........onto that 4th cup of java!

 

[Damian Coccio]

My businesses are manufacturing too. There is no question that bad product has to come back to us for analysis to complete the QC loop. Having a procedure in place that makes that smooth is essential. Our first response to a customer is never mistrust. We are not doing the customer a favor by replacing a defective product, this is the minimum ethic and we find a way to make up for our error to keep the business. The cost of this is incredibly low compared to the alternatives. Some will take advantage, but it's the overwhelming minority.

Again none of this big deal, and going back I wouldn't have made the OP, but it has been interesting.

 

[Root 5]

I had an issue with a GHS set of strings; it was my own fault in a way. Long story short - they sent me two sets of Precision flats free! GHS was awesome to me!