To the OP, I really feel your pain. To have such a dream turn into a nightmare as got to have you in knots. I really hope this gets resolved.
I have learned, through my grey hair, that there is often another side of the story. But, I have also learned that such incidents can destroy a small business, needlessly. Fusionbassed really summed this up eloquently:
.....your reputation is only as good as your last instrument and how you treat people fairly.
I had a disastrous experience with Mercedes six years ago. Leased a new car that was in the garage 19 times in a two year period. The garage position was that all the computer glitches were rectified over time and that the were following their policy. When I made such written claims such as "your 24 hour road side assistance program is exemplary, but I shouldn't know this" along with, "my family, friends and co workers now all know of my experience with your product and service. They, like me, look forward to seeing how you will recover from this." In the end, they replaced the car with an upgraded version, with more options that the previous car. They bought me out of my lease at the highest price and threw in another $5,000 towards a newer car. I ended up with a higher spec model, for less money. And a superbly reliable car. I have gone out of my way to tell that story over and over again, because I owe it to them. They more than recovered and offered superior customer service, expected of such a high value brand.
In my view, regardless of Jimmy's side of the story, he has no option other than to do the following to protect his brand image:
1. Take back the bass and absorb shipping.
2. Either refund the complete amount or offer the OP a new bass of his choice with a week to try it out and return it if not satisfied.
3. Either destroy the bass, or fix it and donate it to a school.
AC basses, from what I have read here on TB, are high end basses. They should be if they are sold for $5,000. Because of this incident, the pictures, the video, I am left with doubts about the product integrity of AC basses. I, like many who have read this horrible story, will now have doubts about the quality of product and the customer service. This incident and recovery will be shared with all kinds of bass players. Jimmy's business could suffer because of this.
It's deeply regrettable for the OP. And it's deeply regrettable for Jimmy who has built up an envious reputation for very high quality instruments and has not responded appropriately, from what we have learned. He has to come to this thread and chime in. Sometimes, in life, you have to publicly eat crow to maintain respect. It's not pleasant. I've done it in front of 400 people and its not pleasant. But it's the right thing to do.
I feel so bad for the OP. I really hope this gets resolved properly for you.
This is the first thread I have subscribed to in roughly six years.
