Guitar Paint Guys unresponsive and unprofessional

[Swamp_Ronin]

Hi everyone,

Almost one year ago I sent a body to get repainted by these guys. I heard they had a long turnaround, like three or four months, but that was OK with me. On November 2, I got an email saying my bass body had been painted and it would be ready in 7 to 10 days. That was over three months ago now. Now all I get is automated emails. I saw a picture of the body with the new paint color on their Instagram, sometime around October. I understand what it’s like to be behind, but these people should stop taking new work if they’re going to continue to dodge people like this.

Anybody have useful advice?

 

[FrenchBassQC]

Are they in your area? If that's the case, I'd pay them a visit and ask to speak with the manager, explaining that the paint must have dried off by now and that I'm here to pick it up.

 

[Swamp_Ronin]

They are in Iowa, and I have not been able to discover a phone number

 

[arbiterusa]

Literally every Google result on the first page when you search for them is a complaint. They say on the website that they don’t have a phone. I don’t know what other kind of result you could have expected.

 

[LoveThatBass]

Literally every Google result on the first page when you search for them is a complaint. They say on the website that they don’t have a phone. I don’t know what other kind of result you could have expected.

Usually you are correct when the only way you can get hold of someone is via email but there are a few that offer good customer service via email only. Shame people are done this way. Notify the BBB in their area. Maybe they can help

 

[Arie X]

i did about as much googling as anybody could and that operation seems too shade tree for me. nearly everybody has problems with them. still their website shows some really nice looking stuff. i hope it works out for you.

 

[Swamp_Ronin]

My current plan is to get my bass back via patience and then relentlessly bash them online

 

[FrenchBassQC]

They are in Iowa, and I have not been able to discover a phone number

Oh man, you're saying that these guys have a shop that does body painting jobs but they do not have a phone number to reach them (not even a local phone number)... Well it looks like you have no other choice to wait and see if they will respond to an email one day or maybe better, a painted body being delivered right at your door...

 

[bpc]

@Swamp_Ronin Have you paid them? Did you use a credit card? If yes to both then you might be able to get your money back even if the body is lost forever.

 

[Swamp_Ronin]

They are supposed to bill me before shipping. I’ve seen a photo of the painted body though.

 

[byacey]

I would be suspicious of any company that doesn't have a phone number and touts a 3 or 4 month turnaround time.

 

[202dy]

They have an address. Send them snail mail, return receipt requested. Give them fifteen days to ship the completed body.

If they do not comply or do not respond, give their county sheriff a call. If your painters don't have a listed number, they'll send out a deputy to have a chat with them. Produces results every time.

 

[Swamp_Ronin]

They have an address. Send them snail mail, return receipt requested. Give them fifteen days to ship the completed body.

If they do not comply or do not respond, give their county sheriff a call. If your painters don't have a listed number, they'll send out a deputy to have a chat with them. Produces results every time.

This is GENIUS. Finally some useful information!

 

[WI Short Scaler]

Hi everyone,

Almost one year ago I sent a body to get repainted by these guys. I heard they had a long turnaround, like three or four months, but that was OK with me. On November 2, I got an email saying my bass body had been painted and it would be ready in 7 to 10 days. That was over three months ago now. Now all I get is automated emails. I saw a picture of the body with the new paint color on their Instagram, sometime around October. I understand what it’s like to be behind, but these people should stop taking new work if they’re going to continue to dodge people like this.

Anybody have useful advice?

That is not good to hear. They did a refin for me in about 2016. I was originally told 2 month turnaround time which turned into 3, but they did communicate with me. I had it done in CAR on a sale price of like $250 at that time, not including shipping.

Hope it turns out well in the end. I like the sheriff idea too!

 

[Rokkaholik]

Found this forum via a search for reviews on GuitarPaintGuys...... I too sent them a rare guitar body in July 2021 and got one update on Feb 18 2022 saying my body was in the booth and going well..... then nothing. I've sent 4 emails asking about it since and zero replies.

I did a search on the address I sent my guitar body to and found some info.

1040 29th St NE Cedar Rapids, IA 52402.

Someone named Shawn is the one who answers when you place an order...

If you go to the BBB website and look up Guitar Paint Guys reviews, you'll see a 5 star review from someone named Shawn F.... now look at the names associated with the address below...

1040 29th St NE, Cedar Rapids, IA Public Records

 

[Swamp_Ronin]

Holy SMOKES!

You certainly Did your homework. I can assure you, Shawn Fintel is the guy. His name appeared on the PayPal statement.

I FINALLY got the bass body back. The paint job was great. However, the clear coat /paint was so thickly applied that the pickups would not fit back inside the body, so I had to pay a tech to work on the bass get them back in. I emailed Guitarpaintguys about this problem and they never responded.

I feel like I should blast these guys in some way to warn future buyers of the realities of their services. Unresponsive and unhelpful. Would avoid.

Found this forum via a search for reviews on GuitarPaintGuys...... I too sent them a rare guitar body in July 2021 and got one update on Feb 18 2022 saying my body was in the booth and going well..... then nothing. I've sent 4 emails asking about it since and zero replies.

I did a search on the address I sent my guitar body to and found some info.

1040 29th St NE Cedar Rapids, IA 52402.

Someone named Shawn is the one who answers when you place an order...

If you go to the BBB website and look up Guitar Paint Guys reviews, you'll see a 5 star review from someone named Shawn F.... now look at the names associated with the address below...

1040 29th St NE, Cedar Rapids, IA Public Records



View attachment 4711466

 

[Rokkaholik]

When did you get it back? Time-wise...

Your initial post in Feb 2022 said almost a year. Mine has been there 11 months now.

I had used them on a previous build back in 2015 or so... I had the body back in appx 4 months and it turned out great so that's why I used them again.... my mistake. I will be sending future work to Lee Garver at GMW from now on

 

[Zooberwerx]

I feel like I should blast these guys in some way to warn future buyers of the realities of their services. Unresponsive and unhelpful. Would avoid.

Blast away...."fire in the hole!". There's no plausible or compelling argument to defend their inaction.

Riis

 

[JRA]

My current plan is to get my bass back via patience and then relentlessly bash them online

--- or just consider posting your comment/review and then let it go! harboring animus won't do you any good, won't make you a hero (except to the sad, chronically pissed-off crowd), and it certainly won't change the vendor's M.O.

glad you got your ax back --- i hope it looks as good as expected!

 

[friskinator]

At least the paint work is good. Several years ago, I had a headstock refinish done by one of the alleged “best” in the business. The neck came back with dings that weren’t there when I sent it, and the setup I paid extra for was unplayable and one of the worst I’ve experienced. My follow up emails about the issues went ignored.