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Fender/Reverb fiasco

#161
trickyric said:
OP was "Steamed" because after speaking to the store and not discussing anything about how we were going to deal with this they emailed me the address to a warranty center.
As the consumer I have the right to just return the defective product and let them deal with Fender.
I wouldn't have done that. But I was not given the option.
FWIW,
Reverb's policy is clear. If the product doesn't arrive as described you can get your money back... All I wanted was a conversation and maybe a small "we are sorry this happened"...
As for compensation, I didn't ask for it, they offered and it is not being provided.
And,
I learned today that this could take over month...
Click to expand...
Taking over a month - That would have me very displeased. And your point about Reverb's return policy is well noted. I had not taken that into account.

While I disagree with the statement "I have the right to just return the defective product" in general, in the context of Reverb you have a very good point.

Do you have the option of having a local tech replace the pickup and getting reimbursed from the vendor or Fender?
 
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#162
luciens said:
yeah that might, repeat might, be grounds for returning for a refund. Maybe contact Reverb about what to do?

What part is it that's bad?

L
Click to expand...
the bridge pickup. But I am beyond it now. It will be fixed and I will be happy... Since the initial response the store has been great and now I just have to wait..If not for covid this would have all been cleared up in a few days.. I can't pin that on them
 
#163
darwin-bass said:
Taking over a month - That would have me very displeased. And your point about Reverb's return policy is well noted. I had not taken that into account.

While I disagree with the statement "I have the right to just return the defective product" in general, in the context of Reverb you have a very good point.

Do you have the option of having a local tech replace the pickup and getting reimbursed from the vendor or Fender?
Click to expand...
It is actually at a local Fender warranty vendor... we just have to wait to get the pickup. Fender has actually been in contact with me about time frames and also been very apologetic about everything.
It just sucks that it happened and now I am in a waiting pattern
 
#164
trickyric said:
It is actually at a local Fender warranty vendor... we just have to wait to get the pickup. Fender has actually been in contact with me about time frames and also been very apologetic about everything.
It just sucks that it happened and now I am in a waiting pattern
Click to expand...
Another idea. If the shop isn't too far away, get the bass back. Play it with just the neck pickup. When the bridge pickup comes in, take the bass back for a quick replacement.
 
#165
Chad Michael said:
Last time I checked, time and transportation costs $$$, especially when I have to pay someone for it in any way shape or form.......

".. for free..." my behind!!!
Click to expand...

Last time I checked, your typical musical instrument warranty doesn't cover that stuff. In other words, the new owner having to take it to an authorized service center is not "worth" any money or items of value. Does it suck? Sure, a little. Is it "worth" anything? No.

If the OP had wanted to return it, I'm pretty sure he could have asked to have done so, and the request would have been accepted. Instead, the shop offered the option of warranty service, and the OP accepted. He or she decided to make a warranty claim instead of returning the thing. The proper warranty process is being followed.

The OP's inquiry:

"What should I do now? Should I ask for compensation? what kind? The bass will be fixed when I get it back after a 3 week fiasco and 2 hours of total drive time.
What is that worth?"

Bottom line, the OP asked, "What is that worth." The answer: nothing. His troubles are "worth" nothing. He is owed nothing. He chose to make a warranty claim. This is the process. You can call it a bummer, and it sure is IMO, but it's not "worth" any "compensation."
 
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#166
2F/2F said:
Last time I checked, your typical musical instrument warranty doesn't cover that stuff. In other words, the new owner having to take it to an authorized service center is not "worth" any money or items of value. Does it suck? Sure, a little. Is it "worth" anything? No.

If the OP had wanted to return it, I'm pretty sure he could have asked to have done so, and the request would have been accepted. Instead, the shop offered the option of warranty service, and the OP accepted. He or she decided to make a warranty claim instead of returning the thing. The proper warranty process is being followed.

The OP's inquiry:

"What should I do now? Should I ask for compensation? what kind? The bass will be fixed when I get it back after a 3 week fiasco and 2 hours of total drive time.
What is that worth?"

Bottom line, the OP asked, "What is that worth." The answer: nothing. His troubles are "worth" nothing. He is owed nothing. He chose to make a warranty claim. This is the process. You can call it a bummer, and it sure is IMO, but it's not "worth" any "compensation."
Click to expand...

The shop didn't offer to return it. Not sure where you are getting any of that. They sent me an email with an address where to take it.

I guess I could have pressed the issue or gone through reverb returns.

the part you skipped - "When I get home I enter into a message exchange with the seller that basically says "what can we do for you to make it right" but no actual offer of anything."

They asked me what would make it right. So in the OP I asked what people thought would be fair.. You post as if I expected something.
I expected a conversation, a small apology for the issue.. which did all come later to be fair.

As for the idea of costs - I have used warranties for many things. Cameras, Scopes, Amps and even a clothes dryer. They always issue a call tag with prepaid shipping. You box the product up and slap on a label. UPS or FEDEX pick it up at your house. You pay nothing and have minimal time invested.
In the case of the dryer the warranty company came to my house to fix it.
All of these things happened months to years after the purchase.
Of course at that point it is between the manufacturer and the end customer.
I have never purchased something that was broken out of the box and didn't just bring or send it back for replacement.
I have had companies charge my card to get a new one out right away and credit the money when the broken product came back to them...


Not sure where you shop but that is my experiance
 
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#167
I had a similar thing happen to me. Last year I bought a new Fender Custom Shop 1960 Jazz. I bought it online from a nice friendly shop in the Midwest. They say they have a multi-point inspection, full warranty, great return policy, etc. I received the bass and was very impressed visually and acoustically. It was very much what I was hoping for. However when I went to test the electronics, I found that when you pegged the volumes full, all the bottom end dropped out. Red flags with PHASE written on them immediately flew. It turns out that the leads coming out of the rear pickup were reversed so to do the repair right, you'd need to carefully desolder the leads at the pickup and reattach. You can ruin a pickup if you don't know what you're doing.

Instead of fixing it myself and calling it a day I did want to make sure those involved at least knew there was a problem. I reached out to the music store first and left a message. Then I reached out to Fender and immediately got a real person on the phone. They gave me the info of the nearest authorized repair shop which was Brawer in San Francisco (love that place). At the time I worked nearby so it wasn't going to be much of a hassle but still, there was the question of how it escaped not one but two QC checks before it got to me.

I finally heard back from the store and they said that they did notice the phase issue but thought that it may have been a deliberate part of the vintage circuit design and didn't want to mess with it. Eyebrows were raised. I took it to Brawer and his tech confirmed what I already knew. Once they verified the warranty they repaired the pickup and threw in a setup free of charge. I can certainly see how it might be much more of a pain for those folks needing to travel far to their nearest Fender authorized repairer (or ship it, hopefully reimbursed) but especially when something is brand new, I defer to the warranty coverage and let them deal with it. I also didn't want to run the risk of sending it back only to get one that didn't respond as well acoustically so I was more than happy with the outcome and I hadn't risked any warranty issues by doing the repair myself. If it had simply been wired wrong at the pots I probably would've done it myself and pointed it out but this was a case where going through the official channels was the right thing to do.
 
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#168
2F/2F said:
Last time I checked, your typical musical instrument warranty doesn't cover that stuff. In other words, the new owner having to take it to an authorized service center is not "worth" any money or items of value. Does it suck? Sure, a little. Is it "worth" anything? No.

If the OP had wanted to return it, I'm pretty sure he could have asked to have done so, and the request would have been accepted. Instead, the shop offered the option of warranty service, and the OP accepted. He or she decided to make a warranty claim instead of returning the thing. The proper warranty process is being followed.

The OP's inquiry:

"What should I do now? Should I ask for compensation? what kind? The bass will be fixed when I get it back after a 3 week fiasco and 2 hours of total drive time.
What is that worth?"

Bottom line, the OP asked, "What is that worth." The answer: nothing. His troubles are "worth" nothing. He is owed nothing. He chose to make a warranty claim. This is the process. You can call it a bummer, and it sure is IMO, but it's not "worth" any "compensation."
Click to expand...

Ladies and gentlemen, 2F/2F has a very long - winded way of saying that he agrees with my statement. Bless his heart... <c:
 
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#169
Ever since Etsy bought Reverb it's been more vendor oriented, imo. If your getting your bass repaired under warranty Reverb won't be involved. Its a P.I.T.A no doubt but unless you have some real, not imagined, leverage I would simply get your new bass back and enjoy it.
 
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#171
Quick update - warranty shop never ordered the part, or their order was lost. After another week I called Fender and messaged the original store. The part is now ordered,,,,,, so hopefully I will have the bass back in a week to 10 days.. or over a month since the original purchase.
So we can add a few hours of phone calls and follow up to the fun.
 
#180
I will say this. The people at the store who sold it have been great. They have kept in touch with me and been on top of Fender. The people at MAE music in Fort Lauderdale have also been great.... they have the bass on the bench ready to go.
The Fender company....not so good..
 
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