Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Dealing with Pickguard Heaven...
- Thread starter ElectraPhoenix
- Start date
Their website is wierd, but so far he has been solid. I am about to order my 4th pg (all have come from Jeannie). Typically I call a few places. This time I will go to him and not bother with anyone else
I totally understand the viewpoint.. the reality is their pricing is 40-60% less than the competition.
This is the new truth to websites.. to get a low price some cost has to be sacrificed (like staff, email time etc)...
not saying it's right -- also not sure I'd pay $100 each for a pickguard.
Agreed. but between $40 or $50 and $100 there is that $60 or $70 price point - which is where Jeannie falls. I think you can give me solid customer service, not rip me off, and still make a few bucks.
your definitely right about that, although not being able to afford that much and hearing still pretty decent things about Pickguard Heaven, I still might order from them (or I could go to WD music, their customer service is absolutely wonderful)
I've ordered quite a few pickguards from Pickguard Heaven, but it has been a couple of years.
I had no problem getting in touch with them, gave them my CC over the phone, and received my pickguards about 2 weeks later.
I had no problem getting in touch with them, gave them my CC over the phone, and received my pickguards about 2 weeks later.
Damn, I wish that I had seen this thread earlier. Would've saved me some aggravation! 
......................
The worst customer service I have EVER had ANYWHERE!!! Sent two pickguards to get traced over two weeks ago I called to check on the status today because they had no CC info from me, and I needed them to get started yesterday! The young lady that answered the phone sounded exacerbated just by me giving her my name. She placed me on hold, and I could hear her shuffling thru stuff and opening the envelope and pulling out the instructions. "I see here that you have a Squier p-bass pkgd, but you don't have a year listed. We can't get started on this without a year!" is what she says to me over the phone. I remind her that the web site stated that all Squiers had to be traced. She replies "even still, we have dozens of templates for the Squiers and we have to know which one it is first." I asked, "you are gonna charge me for a tracing even if you have the template?" She states that they would due to the material I have chosen........WHAT THE HELL?!?!?!
So she proceeds to pull the next pkgd out of the envelope, "what is this supposed to be" she asks very rudely. I explain that it is a pkgd for a Brubaker Brute, and she snaps back "I have never heard of that and looking at this tracing that you have provided us I see that you want us to put a custom cut pickup rout in the pickguard. I mean, what kind of pickups are these supposed to be?" I state that they are a custom casing and I would like them cut as in the drawing. She gets really nasty with me and asks how are they supposed to cut it if the pickup isn't included in the package. I asked her what she meant by that. I am told that they need the pickup to ensure that it will fit the route, if not it's gonna cost me $179 with the material that I have chosen!!!! I asked her if I have given her the dimensions and placement what does it matter? I would then be responsible for it, to which she snaps back "Look, we have to charge $100 dollars for re-tooling, now you can either take it with without the pickup routing or send in the pickups and we will do it for $89" I asked what the difference was in them having the pickup and going off of the drawing. "We have to pay $200 for the tooling, which we will never recoup fooling with this" So I asked how much for the blank material, she then told me $80! So they are willing to charge me only $9 more for cutting the pkgd than what they would for selling me the material to cut it myself?!?!? "By the way, this pkgd you have provided us is way too thick! We will never cut anything so thick!" I stated that I wanted to be the exact thickness as the material I was attempting to have it made from. "Yeah but it wont be that thick!!" she fusses back! I state to her that I don't want it as thick as the original, but the thickness of the material chosen. She tells me I need to make up my mind and call back when I decide what I want! She then hangs up.
.....
..........
:scowl:
I am really pissed. I have a feeling that when I tell her to ship my pkgds back that there will be a problem. I will never deal with them again.
......................The worst customer service I have EVER had ANYWHERE!!! Sent two pickguards to get traced over two weeks ago I called to check on the status today because they had no CC info from me, and I needed them to get started yesterday! The young lady that answered the phone sounded exacerbated just by me giving her my name. She placed me on hold, and I could hear her shuffling thru stuff and opening the envelope and pulling out the instructions. "I see here that you have a Squier p-bass pkgd, but you don't have a year listed. We can't get started on this without a year!" is what she says to me over the phone. I remind her that the web site stated that all Squiers had to be traced. She replies "even still, we have dozens of templates for the Squiers and we have to know which one it is first." I asked, "you are gonna charge me for a tracing even if you have the template?" She states that they would due to the material I have chosen........WHAT THE HELL?!?!?!
So she proceeds to pull the next pkgd out of the envelope, "what is this supposed to be" she asks very rudely. I explain that it is a pkgd for a Brubaker Brute, and she snaps back "I have never heard of that and looking at this tracing that you have provided us I see that you want us to put a custom cut pickup rout in the pickguard. I mean, what kind of pickups are these supposed to be?" I state that they are a custom casing and I would like them cut as in the drawing. She gets really nasty with me and asks how are they supposed to cut it if the pickup isn't included in the package. I asked her what she meant by that. I am told that they need the pickup to ensure that it will fit the route, if not it's gonna cost me $179 with the material that I have chosen!!!! I asked her if I have given her the dimensions and placement what does it matter? I would then be responsible for it, to which she snaps back "Look, we have to charge $100 dollars for re-tooling, now you can either take it with without the pickup routing or send in the pickups and we will do it for $89" I asked what the difference was in them having the pickup and going off of the drawing. "We have to pay $200 for the tooling, which we will never recoup fooling with this" So I asked how much for the blank material, she then told me $80! So they are willing to charge me only $9 more for cutting the pkgd than what they would for selling me the material to cut it myself?!?!? "By the way, this pkgd you have provided us is way too thick! We will never cut anything so thick!" I stated that I wanted to be the exact thickness as the material I was attempting to have it made from. "Yeah but it wont be that thick!!" she fusses back! I state to her that I don't want it as thick as the original, but the thickness of the material chosen. She tells me I need to make up my mind and call back when I decide what I want! She then hangs up.
...............:scowl:
I am really pissed. I have a feeling that when I tell her to ship my pkgds back that there will be a problem. I will never deal with them again.
Bummer to hear about so many problems with them. I've ordered from them twice, but not for a few years. In both cases I called to place my order and got exactly what I wanted within a few weeks. No hassles. Wasn't ordering anything tricky though, just G&L guards for which they're the OEM, so that might have simplified matters.
Still, it ain't rocket science, and I'm one of those who's willing to pay extra for outstanding customer service, or take my business elsewhere when it's lousy.
Still, it ain't rocket science, and I'm one of those who's willing to pay extra for outstanding customer service, or take my business elsewhere when it's lousy.
In defense of the vendor.. I can imagine making custom plastic pieces for a low price is not a high profit job.
I'd guess their inbox is filled with tire kickers deciding if they're serious.
The reality is there are not many options for this stuff.
I had a Pickguard Heaven make a Tiramisu guard for my Ray35. The guard came out beautifully, but it took forever to go through the process. Approximately 7 weeks.
At first, they quoted too low a price, and then the person who actually makes the guards had some sort of dental emergency and he was out for a while.
They were pretty friendly throughout the process, but I was certainly glad when I had that guard in my hand.
I've also had Roger at Jeannie's make guards for me. He's faster and it's good work. He can just be a bit quirky.
Bob
At first, they quoted too low a price, and then the person who actually makes the guards had some sort of dental emergency and he was out for a while.
They were pretty friendly throughout the process, but I was certainly glad when I had that guard in my hand.
I've also had Roger at Jeannie's make guards for me. He's faster and it's good work. He can just be a bit quirky.
Bob
Damn, I wish that I had seen this thread earlier. Would've saved me some aggravation!
The worst customer service I have EVER had ANYWHERE!!! Sent two pickguards to get traced over two weeks ago I called to check on the status today because they had no CC info from me, and I needed them to get started yesterday! The young lady that answered the phone sounded exacerbated just by me giving her my name. She placed me on hold, and I could hear her shuffling thru stuff and opening the envelope and pulling out the instructions. "I see here that you have a Squier p-bass pkgd, but you don't have a year listed. We can't get started on this without a year!" is what she says to me over the phone. I remind her that the web site stated that all Squiers had to be traced. She replies "even still, we have dozens of templates for the Squiers and we have to know which one it is first." I asked, "you are gonna charge me for a tracing even if you have the template?" She states that they would due to the material I have chosen........WHAT THE HELL?!?!?!
So she proceeds to pull the next pkgd out of the envelope, "what is this supposed to be" she asks very rudely. I explain that it is a pkgd for a Brubaker Brute, and she snaps back "I have never heard of that and looking at this tracing that you have provided us I see that you want us to put a custom cut pickup rout in the pickguard. I mean, what kind of pickups are these supposed to be?" I state that they are a custom casing and I would like them cut as in the drawing. She gets really nasty with me and asks how are they supposed to cut it if the pickup isn't included in the package. I asked her what she meant by that. I am told that they need the pickup to ensure that it will fit the route, if not it's gonna cost me $179 with the material that I have chosen!!!! I asked her if I have given her the dimensions and placement what does it matter? I would then be responsible for it, to which she snaps back "Look, we have to charge $100 dollars for re-tooling, now you can either take it with without the pickup routing or send in the pickups and we will do it for $89" I asked what the difference was in them having the pickup and going off of the drawing. "We have to pay $200 for the tooling, which we will never recoup fooling with this" So I asked how much for the blank material, she then told me $80! So they are willing to charge me only $9 more for cutting the pkgd than what they would for selling me the material to cut it myself?!?!? "By the way, this pkgd you have provided us is way too thick! We will never cut anything so thick!" I stated that I wanted to be the exact thickness as the material I was attempting to have it made from. "Yeah but it wont be that thick!!" she fusses back! I state to her that I don't want it as thick as the original, but the thickness of the material chosen. She tells me I need to make up my mind and call back when I decide what I want! She then hangs up.
:scowl:
I am really pissed. I have a feeling that when I tell her to ship my pkgds back that there will be a problem. I will never deal with them again.
wow. that's insane... i did get my order, a while ago, by the way; it's great and has no problems. i guess i had a good experience.... but man, that really sucks they did that to you.
bongomania
Commercial User
FWIW, it sounds like the people who had an easy time with Pickguard Heaven didn't want anything that required thought or effort. For example, if you order a pg for which they have a template, and you know the name of the material you want and don't have any questions about it, and you aren't changing the pickup routs at all, and all you do is order "item 25" or w/ever and send them the money, then your experience will have been positive.
IMO that is not adequate to say anything good about them. That is McDonalds customer service, at best.
IMO that is not adequate to say anything good about them. That is McDonalds customer service, at best.
A person that spends the time to not only send pickguards in but a pretty detailed layout of modifications is not one that you generally label not ready for purchase!
Tire kicker or not, your workload determines not how you should treat a potential client. You never know who that client is, or whom they know! Todays tire kicker is tomorrows purchaser. Understand that I can make the piece myself, but I cannot get a hold of the particular materials that I was ordering and was willing to pay retail for something that I could have potentially gotten for free due to business relationships that I have. Now after the way I was treated I wouldn't do anything to help that company in the least bit. I wouldn't hurt it or slander it in any means, but they will never get my business!
As a business owner myself, I could NEVER excuse myself, or others that represent my company to be so rude. There is absolutely no excuse whatsoever!
Agreed.
Funny thing, when I called a few days prior to ensure that I should wait untill they received th pkgds before processing the order, the same woman seem as pleasant as she could be!
This again. Tony D. Is your best bet for custom work. If you have a template, he will make you a flawless replacement -- in a wide variety of materials.
Damn, I wish that I had seen this thread earlier. Would've saved me some aggravation!
The worst customer service I have EVER had ANYWHERE!!! Sent two pickguards to get traced over two weeks ago I called to check on the status today because they had no CC info from me, and I needed them to get started yesterday! The young lady that answered the phone sounded exacerbated just by me giving her my name. She placed me on hold, and I could hear her shuffling thru stuff and opening the envelope and pulling out the instructions. "I see here that you have a Squier p-bass pkgd, but you don't have a year listed. We can't get started on this without a year!" is what she says to me over the phone. I remind her that the web site stated that all Squiers had to be traced. She replies "even still, we have dozens of templates for the Squiers and we have to know which one it is first." I asked, "you are gonna charge me for a tracing even if you have the template?" She states that they would due to the material I have chosen........WHAT THE HELL?!?!?!
So she proceeds to pull the next pkgd out of the envelope, "what is this supposed to be" she asks very rudely. I explain that it is a pkgd for a Brubaker Brute, and she snaps back "I have never heard of that and looking at this tracing that you have provided us I see that you want us to put a custom cut pickup rout in the pickguard. I mean, what kind of pickups are these supposed to be?" I state that they are a custom casing and I would like them cut as in the drawing. She gets really nasty with me and asks how are they supposed to cut it if the pickup isn't included in the package. I asked her what she meant by that. I am told that they need the pickup to ensure that it will fit the route, if not it's gonna cost me $179 with the material that I have chosen!!!! I asked her if I have given her the dimensions and placement what does it matter? I would then be responsible for it, to which she snaps back "Look, we have to charge $100 dollars for re-tooling, now you can either take it with without the pickup routing or send in the pickups and we will do it for $89" I asked what the difference was in them having the pickup and going off of the drawing. "We have to pay $200 for the tooling, which we will never recoup fooling with this" So I asked how much for the blank material, she then told me $80! So they are willing to charge me only $9 more for cutting the pkgd than what they would for selling me the material to cut it myself?!?!? "By the way, this pkgd you have provided us is way too thick! We will never cut anything so thick!" I stated that I wanted to be the exact thickness as the material I was attempting to have it made from. "Yeah but it wont be that thick!!" she fusses back! I state to her that I don't want it as thick as the original, but the thickness of the material chosen. She tells me I need to make up my mind and call back when I decide what I want! She then hangs up.
:scowl:
I am really pissed. I have a feeling that when I tell her to ship my pkgds back that there will be a problem. I will never deal with them again.
If you are referring to Pickguard Heaven, I understand. My situation was completely different, but this is EXACTLY how Adrian Chandler handled me, also.
I'm amazed that they're still in business. :scowl:
Thanks partner. Just hoping that they have a wider selection than whats represented on the web site. Will hit him up tomorrow.
I ordered a pickguard from PH awhile ago- I went with them because they seemed to be the only ones out there who already had a template for the pg I needed (Japanese '75 Jazz Bass Reissue.)
They didn't respond to my initial email, so I called them and ordered it. The woman I dealt with was very pleasant on the phone, but the pickguard took six weeks to get to me, and didn't fit, once it arrived. It didn't even come close to fitting, actually - it was about a 16th of an inch off at the neck joint, and at the control plate.
I thought about sending it back, but had no interest in spending even more time waiting for a replacement/modification, so I ending up putting some time into it myself with a boxcutter and some sandpaper, which got it close enough to live with.
I'd heard good stuff about them, but wouldn't order from them again-
They didn't respond to my initial email, so I called them and ordered it. The woman I dealt with was very pleasant on the phone, but the pickguard took six weeks to get to me, and didn't fit, once it arrived. It didn't even come close to fitting, actually - it was about a 16th of an inch off at the neck joint, and at the control plate.
I thought about sending it back, but had no interest in spending even more time waiting for a replacement/modification, so I ending up putting some time into it myself with a boxcutter and some sandpaper, which got it close enough to live with.
I'd heard good stuff about them, but wouldn't order from them again-
Pickguard Heaven is the OEM manufacturer for Sadowsky NYC. I ordered three PG from them for a couple of different basses. They were fairly slow in communication, but the quality of the product was excellent.
I would not hesitate to order from them again. I don't mind paying a bit more with the knowledge that the materials they are using are at or above the quality of typical OEM PGs. If you find PGs for significantly less than Chandler or WD, I would be concerning that they are using lesser quality materials.
I would not hesitate to order from them again. I don't mind paying a bit more with the knowledge that the materials they are using are at or above the quality of typical OEM PGs. If you find PGs for significantly less than Chandler or WD, I would be concerning that they are using lesser quality materials.
