Fender Customer Service Experience

[Beej]

Wow and wow. There are a lot of lessons here for us little independent builders; very sorry you went through all of this to receive that.

 

[fretno]

While I think OP has it all correct . I want to share a couple of experiences with a new instrument over the years. I've had glued in truss rods before . That is glue that bound up and kept the rod from turning . The way I free'd it was massaging the neck , bending it if you will in both directions until it "cracked" free. You hear a crack , which was the glue cracking free inside then the truss rod worked perfectly . Odd right , possible OP's was glued up ? Op the good news is Fender necks are totally interchangeable .

 

[rmayer]

Wow sorry to hear about this incident.

Years ago I was on the fence with buying a CS bass or something boutique.

I decided on buying a Sadowsky for less money than a CS, and the customer service experience was exceptional.

I would hope that one of the Fender CS team members trolls this forum, learns about their faults, and makes good on the “custom” experience, for all customers.

Shame on them.

My experience was similar, except I actually ordered a Custom Shop Custom Classic Jazz back in 2009. After waiting 9 months I got the bass. It was light (ash with great grain) and sounded OK. It did have numerous fit and finish issues, like swirling in the top clear coat, pickguard and control plate didn’t line up, and more. I think CS might be the most overrated shop ever.
I went to Sadowsky’s shop in Brooklyn and bought a Metro Hybrid P/J for about the same price. Even the Metro blew away the Custom Shop in fit and finish, and the tone was incredible. My only complaint was the weight, just shy of 9 1/4 lbs. That led me on a discovery of the first of many Sadowsky NYCs and I’ve never looked back.
And Roger’s customer service is second to none.

 

[tvbop]

Endless Fender problems it seems. Makes my 300 buck, totaly stable and beautifully finished Squire even more appealing.

 

[RichterScale]

Manufacturers are often ill-equipped to handle end-user customers

This

While a custom shop is not necessarily about better instruments (usually it' s just that you want something different than the standard offering), Fender definitely tries to differentiate their custom shop as a cut above their standard production. That, to me, would definitely include enough attention to details that the things coming from there should be bulletproof.

And definitely this.

 

[Bass Viking]

I will never ever purchase a Fender custom shop ever again.

I don't blame you! Very sorry to hear this.

 

[Koshchei]

I get a little antsy when a "custom shop" exists only to produce a faithful "best of" version of a particular type of assembly line production instrument. The implications run deeper than my discretionary income for a thing that may not turn out how I imagine it.

 

[Mastermold]

I get a little antsy when a "custom shop" exists only to produce a faithful "best of" version of a particular type of assembly line production instrument. The implications run deeper than my discretionary income for a thing that may not turn out how I imagine it.

Well, they do in fact make custom guitars and basses, not just reissues of classic models. But yeah for the prices they are charging the instruments should be perfect. And for the OP to be dealing with the same truss rod issue after returning it for warranty work -- no excuses can cover that sin.

 

[BassToGoGo]

Great idea. Probably 10 years ago (maybe even more), I had a '98 Epiphone Jack Casady in Vintage Sunburst. The little round disk for the Vari-tone selector switch was missing. No big deal, but I wanted to get a replacement.

I went to Guitar Center and they ordered the replacement for me. A month or two went by. Crickets. The G.C. guy kept saying he wasn't able to get any updates.

So I wrote a letter to Gibson's CEO, Henry Juskiewicz explaining the delay and asking why it was so difficult getting that small part. A couple days later (barely enough time for them to have gotten the letter), I got a phone call from a guy at Gibson. He told me that Mr. Juskiewicz was not happy about the hassles and delay I was experiencing, and told him to take care of the matter immediately. The guy told me that he would be sending me the disc at no charge to me.

Sure enough, a few days later I received the disc. But not only did I get the disc, I also received a very nice coffee table book about the history of Gibson instruments.

I've read a lot of criticisms of Henry Juskiewicz. But I can only speak of my experience, in which he went above and beyond to ensure I was taken care of, and was happy with their customer service. Simply outstanding. So yes, write that letter and give it a try. It sure can't hurt...

The other side of that is there is a very good chance that people (plural) were fired over it including some that had nothing with the issue. Henry got mad often. Not that it was your fault, HJ enjoyed raging then firing. Being moved into management was the kiss of death...

 

[gln1955]

That neck finish is amateur hour trash. They should be ashamed to let that out of the CS?

 

[JuanB]

This is absolutely horrible and I'm sorry you went through this. Warmoth makes really nice replacement necks if that's something you're interested in. Never heard of anything like this coming out of Warmoth's shop.

Edit: clarification

 

[Bass Viking]

Maybe Fender Custom Shop should become a sticky in this forum.

 

[tvbop]

Lets get real. Fender is a name, the name that started it all but they have been surpassed by "others" who at certain value points are smoking them at every turn.
Iam the biggest Fender P bass fanboy on the planet...the vibe, the feel, the slightly vague thumpy tone , everything, and Ive owned a good few old P basses but my CV 70's works so well, is extraordinarily well put together and finished.
My honest take? Fenders days are totaly numbered unless they get a new CEO who is prepared to get back to basics. And lest face it Fenders are as basic as they come...and they still can't get it right.

 

[Koshchei]

Well, they do in fact make custom guitars and basses, not just reissues of classic models. But yeah for the prices they are charging the instruments should be perfect. And for the OP to be dealing with the same truss rod issue after returning it for warranty work -- no excuses can cover that sin.

None at all. The neck wood may be hand-picked, but they're milled on a CNC the same as everything else. And for that price, they should be able to knock out a new neck, sand, fill it, finish it, and fret it, and have it out the door in around three weeks.

 

[Mastermold]

None at all. The neck wood may be hand-picked, but they're milled on a CNC the same as everything else. And for that price, they should be able to knock out a new neck, sand, fill it, finish it, and fret it, and have it out the door in around three weeks.

From a customer service perspective, it would be good of them to push warranty returns for defective product to the top of their priority to-do list. I won't want to speculate on how long it takes them to do things or how they prioritize warranty work because I just don't know, but the OP's saying he had no communication either on top of then receiving a new neck after a long wait that in the end has the same problem as the original. I can't imagine a worse case of customer service. It reminds me of why I stopped buying basses from Musician's Friend -- after I returned a bass they sent me that had been damaged, when I received the promised replacement I discovered they just re-shipped me the exact same bass I had just returned to them!

 

[RichterScale]

None at all

Thank you.
I was going to say the same thing.
I'm always tempted to put my 2¢ in when it comes to how Fender does things, or myths about Leo, etc., but inevitably, a handful of people will always get defensive and call it "Fender bashing". So, I try not to get into it any more.
And I get it, if you're all in on Fender and/or have invested a large chunk of money in their products. But Fender's definition of "custom" is a universe apart from a lot of other people's definition. And I think they're over charging their customers for everything from their base models, up to their most expensive "custom" products.
And if they're gonna charge what they do and exploit their customer's brand loyalty, the least they can do is have the best customer service and return policies on the planet.
If this was truly a custom instrument, the builder who had their hands on it would be the first to know there was an issue and they'd be the first person demanding to have that instrument back on their bench to remedy any issues. Because their name is on it. But that's the not the case here.

 

[Mike Vee]

I'd definitely ditch Fender in that scenario

 

[B String]

This thread is why God invented Carey Nordstrand and a few others like him. THEY CARE!!!! jmho

 

[Koshchei]

Thank you.
I was going to say the same thing.
I'm always tempted to put my 2¢ in when it comes to how Fender does things, or myths about Leo, etc., but inevitably, a handful of people will always get defensive and call it "Fender bashing". So, I try not to get into it any more.
And I get it, if you're all in on Fender and/or have invested a large chunk of money in their products. But Fender's definition of "custom" is a universe apart from a lot of other people's definition. And I think they're over charging their customers for everything from their base models, up to their most expensive "custom" products.
And if they're gonna charge what they do and exploit their customer's brand loyalty, the least they can do is have the best customer service and return policies on the planet.
If this was truly a custom instrument, the builder who had their hands on it would be the first to know there was an issue and they'd be the first person demanding to have that instrument back on their bench to remedy any issues. Because their name is on it. But that's the not the case here.

To run a Custom Shop like Fender or Gibson says a lot about how little confidence they have in their regular line. And I can kinda see it - Gibson are miles better than they used to be, but their whole "close enough" mentality isn't good enough for the prices that people are expected to pay. And Fender USA still can't route a neck pocket that snugly holds a neck.

So what value do these "Custom" Shops provide? In Gibson's case, you ARE getting a better instrument, albeit for outrageous used car prices. In Fender's case, there's just no argument -- a FSO is an instrument designed to be easy to manufacture on an assembly line by unskilled workers. The whole point of a better Fender is self-refuting because of the way that Leo designed them - they're all meant to be inherently good because there's very little that you can screw up on them. Except, apparently, the neck pockets.

And the Custom Shop response that the necks aren't easily replaceable on an instrument designed to have an easily replaceable neck goes beyond the pale.

 

[RichterScale]

Exactly.