Setup fiasco

[davidsowk]

I took my beloved OM to Rufus guitar shop (a well respected Larrivee dealer here in Vancouver) for a bone saddle, change to medium guage strings and a setup.  Even though this is a usually reliable shop things went all wrong.  The tech installed a bone nut instead of a saddle because the sales person wrote nut on the order and I did not notice.  I wanted the current tusq saddle changed because I had sanded it too, too low.  I paid a bill of $107.23 and recieved a guitar that plays and sounds almost exactly like it did before I took it in, the saddle is still too low to play properly.  The sales people were completely unhelpful.  I will now order a Colosi saddle and do the setup myself!  I feel like a total fool.

David

[scotchtape]

funnily enough i sanded my nut too low and had to take it in.  it's still in the shop, i hope my saddle that i just replaced doesn't get swapped out!
although in my case, i left the nut off so it should be pretty obvious what to do.

note to self: listen to advice - be VERY careful when adjusting nut height!!!!  SO easy to over sand :(

ugh.  on the plus side, the guy at the 12th said he could handle it.  so i just have to get a setup, yay!  (3 weeks! AAH)

you'll get over it, i felt like crap when i screwed my perfectly fine nut over.

[unclrob]

I don't know if these shop's keep the tech chained in the back or what BUT rule of thumb always askto talk to the tech.


The 12 Fret is one of the busies shop in the world.World class techs and service 3 weeks thats not too bad.

[flatlander]

I used to refuse to do this but after after a I had a new saddle put on, and it didn't seat well against pickup (that's the trickier part) I put a shim under original cause I had a gig, and couldn't tell difference. I don't like the idea but I couldn't hear any loss of tone/volume.

[Tycho]

I took my beloved OM to Rufus guitar shop (a well respected Larrivee dealer here in Vancouver) for a bone saddle, change to medium guage strings and a setup.  Even though this is a usually reliable shop things went all wrong.  The tech installed a bone nut instead of a saddle because the sales person wrote nut on the order and I did not notice.  I wanted the current tusq saddle changed because I had sanded it too, too low.  I paid a bill of $107.23 and recieved a guitar that plays and sounds almost exactly like it did before I took it in, the saddle is still too low to play properly.  The sales people were completely unhelpful.  I will now order a Colosi saddle and do the setup myself!  I feel like a total fool.

David

Why should you feel like a fool?  It seems to me that if the sales guy wrote the wrong thing on the invoice, that should be their problem, not yours.  They should make amends as a way of retaining your goodwill.  Try giving the owner a call.

[jeremy3220]

Why should you feel like a fool?  It seems to me that if the sales guy wrote the wrong thing on the invoice, that should be their problem, not yours.  They should make amends as a way of retaining your goodwill.  Try giving the owner a call.

They should now install a bone saddle, a fresh set of strings and set it up for no additional cost to you. That's what you paid for.

[Dale_I]

Why should you feel like a fool?  It seems to me that if the sales guy wrote the wrong thing on the invoice, that should be their problem, not yours.  They should make amends as a way of retaining your goodwill.  Try giving the owner a call.

I agree. I'm sure the tech did what he was told to do, but the person writing the order obviously dropped the communication ball. If nothing else, as stated, they should at least install the saddle/set up at no cost to you. I would definitely try to contact someone over a salesperson or tech in this situation. Shop owner if possible, manager if not.

No reason for you to feel poorly at all.

[Tycho]

Having said that, if they give you a hard time about it, 100 bucks isn't worth the mental anguish of getting into a big fight over it; chalk it up to experience and move on.  But they may surprise you and agree to make things right.

I have good relations with the various people who do my set-up work, and I have no qualms about going back and telling them (politely) that they didn't do what I asked for.  It's happened a couple of times.

[davidsowk]

Hello all,

Thank you for your information, ideas and support.  I appreciate all of the comments and hope that my little story helps the next person who goes into a shop looking for a simple repair.

David

[rcoolz]

Just Remember "The squeakest gear gets the most grease"   I would  pester them till they made it right . It was their mistake . (I once threatened to set up a 1 man picket line in front of a business ) Usually a business doesnt want BAD PUBLICITY-  --  YES They made it right   

[AtlasHeating]

I have been making my own saddles for a few years now.
I have tried FMI, I am not impressed.
I ordered some blanks that were a little thick, so I had my friend cut them down.
I made one for each of my Larrivees.
I used the old Tusq for this cool Epiphone AJ. It fit perfectly.
I like to have the control of what happens, I have experienced the "screw up" usually with lower action.