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my experince with Zon (so far)

#61
Zon emailed me (really, They did.) And confirmed my address as Zon midwest checkpoint for all passing Zons. Must pass QC you know.;) Waiting for a customer review though.
* I did get an email responding to my question of whether or not they use single or double ball end strings. (single) and if they would offer humbuckers. They said a bolt neck soap bar equipped VB was due on their website within a few days.:bassist:
 
#64
bassjigga said:
...I waited over a year for my custom Zon (although I will grant you that it was a custom job). It was worth every minute I waited, and every penny too!
Click to expand...

Same here. I've had Joe build me two custom Legacy Elites, and the wait times (although excruciating) were perfectly reasonable -- about 8-10 months each.
As for the customer service and responsiveness, I've never really had any problems. I've had to occasionally wait a couple of days for an email response, but nothing crazy. Also, I had the same delay due to Bartolini.

When I first got my fretless, there was an issue with the preamp. Basically I couldn't get any sound out of the bass at all. I called and left a message and got a call back very promply. Joe was quite perplexed with the problem, and he even said that Michael Manring had tested the bass out before it left the shop. At any rate, he immediately sent me a whole new board to install, and I've never had any problems since.
I certainly understand the frustration here, but a 4-month wait for a Zon bass sounds pretty good to me!!

IMG_0435a.jpg
 
#67
Well, I received an e-mail (yes an actual e-mail from a luthier-- imagine!:D ) on Monday saying that the bass was ready to ship and that I'd be contacted to square up on the balance due and make arrangements for the shipment.

Since I heard nothing more (and I'm incredibly anxious to get my grubby hands on the bass) I called on Wednesday and (on the 2nd try) spoke with a person. He said he didn't know anything about the bass but would "take care of it and make sure it got shipped today". I selected shipping, confirmed shipping address, and left credit card info (even though he didn't know what the charge amount would be-- I just didn't want to slow things down any further!).

On Friday, I called and spoke with the same guy who said he "thought a bunch of stuff shipped yesterday" (Thursday) but didn't know specifically about my bass. He said he would make sure that i got a tracking number by e-mail later that day.

Today, (Saturday) I see a charge from Zon on my credit card, but no e-mail, no voice message, nada.

I can only assume that the bass has shipped.:(

I don't expect that anyone will care much about my little story-- several above have already accused me of whining and (in essence) said I should be satisfied with getting a Zon bass whenever it comes regardless of what's been promised, but I think it does a service to the bass buying community to pass along my experiences in real time.

I'll post more as things play out and pics/impressions (probably in a new thread) once it arrives.

Peace,

Matt

PS: I'm not angry, upset, whining, or anything like it. I'm sincerely happy to be getting a Zon. I realize that Zon's reputation for building some great basses is well deserved. I just feel that they (as well as all luthiers and anyone who sells people items large or small) owe it their customers to deliver not only a great product, but also great service and great communication. I mean c'mon guys-- it's the 21st century already!:rolleyes:
 
#70
Matt, I for one don't think you're whining. I can understand that a builder frequently experiences delays, but IMO return calls and emails shouldn't be too much to ask.

Congrats on your new bass; I hope it arrives soon.


-Please post pics when it arrives.

Regards, -Art
 
#72
Art-- thanks! I try not to be whiner, I really do. Hey I was in your neck of woods for the past week, up at Snowbasin. If it's always as nice in SLC as it was this week, I envy you!

Eots-- pics to follow later in the week (assuming that the bass is actually en route:confused: ).
 
#73
congrats on the zon and I hope it arrives all in order. The few Zon basses that I have played have been nothing short of amazing. I do find the CS aspect of your story to be intresting.....if and when I drop over three grand on an insturment the lines of communiction had better be up front and done in a timely manner. Again congrats and post pics as soon as you can.:bassist:
 
#74
Congrats on the bass.

This story is similar to my experience, except that mine was with EBMM. I was given a 3 months waiting period - no prob. Mine was a lefty SR5, with optioned specs and would have to be placed in the production queue. Sure, 3 months, no prob.

5 months later, I was calling my dealership (no answer, or then not satisfactory answers etc) and emailing EB.

6 months after I ordered it, the bass finally arrived. I have a strange feeling that it was only because I was making some noise about it that it even got here in that time. For a high-end custom made job, I could understand delays. I can even understand if EB said it would take 6 months. What I can't understand is why I was given a waiting period that doubled?? Surely they should give themselves a bit of breathing space in case issues arise, or, as mentioned above, at least be able to keep the customer informed of the situation.

So, in my case, it was a big producer, not a small hand crafter of boutique instruments.
 
#75
Zon is one of those companies you have to call...not email. Shouldn't be that way...but it is that's for sure. Joe only has about a handful of guys...IF that much working there. They are busy cranking out basses to the entire world.....from only a handful of workers. Pretty amazing. Plus that october time frame is the worst...cuz Zon is gearing up for NAMM at that time. Plus you have the holidays coming all at the same time. So that's not so a good time for them.
 
#76
I just read through this thread. Barts are a pain in the arse. I ordered a Lakland 44-02D fretless, and Lakland had trouble getting ahold of the barts, then there were some quality issues which were serious enough for me to not get the bass. Luckily, I ordered through Jivesound. He sent me a Loaner 55-02D, and I liked this bass so much I took it instead. :-D
 
#77
Gard said:
Hey, I agree dunamis, but there is always another side to the story, and fretlessrock's relayed comment from Rick Turner (another GREAT guy) is dead on - in a shop as small as the one at Zon, every second that is spent answering a phone call or e-mail is one that isn't spent building your bass! ;)

Oh, and you'll dig the bass, I'm a Sonus Special 5 fretless owner, great instruments! :D
Click to expand...

Beating a dead horse here, but I'd personally sacrifice some time on building for a quick response (or a response period) back from folks, especially when they have my money/bass...being left in the dark is a worse feeling, and I still find it more rude/unprofessional than acknowledged delays. Customer service has to fit in there somewhere.

+1 to SMASH's comments too.

Marshall
 
#78
My experience shows that working through retailers can eliminate/reduce communication delays with manufacturers for custom orders.

As an example, I've purchased custom built Zon's through www.planetbass.com and Tony did a great job in keeping me in the loop over a 9 month period. He's talking to Zon on a regular basis, not only for your particular order but for many others.

It's got to make it easier on the manufacturer to work with fewer points of contact for many orders than communicating to many on individual orders.

In the case of planetbass.com it didn't cost me any more, actually a little less.
 
#79
dunamis said:
Well, I received an e-mail (yes an actual e-mail from a luthier-- imagine!:D ) on Monday saying that the bass was ready to ship and that I'd be contacted to square up on the balance due and make arrangements for the shipment.
Click to expand...

I received an email yesterday from Zon (forgot the guys name already, I'm at work) merely asking me if I'd gotten his response to my inquiery about the VB-5 from a week or so ago. This was before this thread started btw.
I stated that I had and continued with how this threads issue had come up here (didn't use any names) and that I appreciated his unexpected follow up.
They must think I'm a money bag:p
At least somebody is alive and working, huh?:rolleyes:
No bass yet dunamis?
 
#80
Actually, they seem to be recovering from the NAMM push. I have been in touch with them on and off for the past few months over small stuff like strings and a few questions about my Sonus. Martin has been super helpful, but it is obvious that they have been flat-out busy.

It is weird that there seems to be some kind of VB-5 convergence! I was going to get one before I found my Sonus, and now I am thinking of getting one again. My Sonus pretty much cured any GAS that I had, except GAS for another Zon... They are very cunning over there in Redwood City.
 

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