Larrivee Customer Service - Declining?

[Brian Trepanier]

Larrivee is no longer a mom and pop operation.The company is growing, changing, and in some cases, not for the better.  Anyone ever wonder what the reason for Brain T's leaving was? Perhaps, the service integrity was with the employee, not the company, and the integrity left with him?

First, I would like to say, "This thread is awesome."

Second, I would like to say, "I know why Brian T 'left'."

[Dotneck]

I think the internet age has made it hard for a lot of manufacturers. Many people go directly to them for issues that ought to be resolved by dealers. I see this with Gibson all the time....somebody buys their first guitar....often an older or vintage model...and guys e-mail the factory wanting to have the serial number decoded...want to know how many of this model was made (on that particular day) and who applied the sunburst.

Most of the information is non-essential to enjoy the product. And people want immediate response to their e-mails. I've been in business for myself for three years now...and one of the hardest aspects is to keep up with e-mail. Curious requests for information tend to get put off (and maybe forgotten about) with phone ringing...customers standing in front of me...and production machines running wild.

If I don't have time to do the research to answer an e-mail immediately...it gets buried because in another hour another batch of e-mails is on top demanding attention. And I'd rather deal with something that's going to make some money. (I don't have dealers to help with those issues...but manufacturers do have dealers...)

[prof_stack]

First, I would like to say, "This thread is awesome."  Second, I would like to say, "I know why Brian T 'left'."

Wow, now that's an interesting comment from Brian himself!  Brian, what exactly is going on at the company (in 100 words or less)?

My comment is that all things change.

[jwsamuel]

and over a $16.00 pickguard that was out of production.

Please stop the exaggeration and mischaracterization of what I posted.

My post was not about a $16.00 pickguard.

My post was about misinformation received from Larrivee customer service and its inability to help solve a problem.

Jim

[David Rubenstein]

I had a terrible repair experience with Larrivee that involved Brian a couple of years ago.  It bothered me so much that I decided I'd never buy another one of their guitars new (since I'd never send them another guitar for repair work, I wasn't going to pay for the warranty).

[Danny]

Please stop the exaggeration and mischaracterization of what I posted.

My post was not about a $16.00 pickguard.

My post was about misinformation received from Larrivee customer service and its inability to help solve a problem.

Jim

Jim you were given some misinformation and I agree with a halt to maligning your character. I don't know if I said that right, but I think it makes sense.    Danny

[gtrplayer]

Sorry to hear of your dismissal Brian.  Based on my past history with you, Larrivee lost a good man.

Would you care to weigh in on the post subject?

[jwsamuel]

Here's an update on my problem with Larrivee:

On September 26, the day I started this thread, I also mailed letters outlining my concerns to Jean and Matthew Larrivee. He is the response I got:

"                                                                      "

That's right...no response at all. I provided them with my mailing address, phone number andemail address.

So, in the end, Larrivee's customer support would not help me and neither Jean nor Matthew Larrivee care enough to do anything themselves.

Jim

[Greg Curtis]

I emailed them about a build date on a used L-09 and got an answer back in about a week.

[Danny]

Here's an update on my problem with Larrivee:

On September 26, the day I started this thread, I also mailed letters outlining my concerns to Jean and Matthew Larrivee. He is the response I got:

"                                                                      "

That's right...no response at all. I provided them with my mailing address, phone number andemail address.

So, in the end, Larrivee's customer support would not help me and neither Jean nor Matthew Larrivee care enough to do anything themselves.

Jim

Not good, I hope they take care of you.

[markyboy]

Hey.. You want to talk about declining service. Try dealing with Dell. I had a laptop order for my daughter get automatically canceled twice, because they had a back order from their supplier, and when you call them, you get someone in India telling you it was canceled because ns-001-xyz-00.0 was back ordered, and you ask them that is and their responce is it is a ns-001-xyz-00.0 that is backordered. Wow.. that is lousy service.

[gtrplayer]

Hey jw... Sorry to hear about your response or lack of one...but don't give up...hopefully they'll respond.



Now what happened to Brian's posts?

[Sordello]

First Ringo,  now Larrivee.

What's this world coming to?     

[Flake]

Larrivee must be getting real bad.....I read a similar problem on the AGF this morning...

I'm never buying another Larrivee.

My SD50 got back earlier this month after being out at Oxnard for a couple months getting a neck re-set and fingerboard replacement.  It had an undercut fretboard which made it impossible to correctly intonate.  Here is the headstock to tailblock on it...
New deep scratch on tuner plate bass side.  Nut badly seated and not quite flush with new fretboard.  Also strings not evenly spaced and plenty high from fretboard. Fresh divots on back of guitar body.  Small and not hard to live with but surely optional.  The bone nut and saddle setup it came with was important to me and I was assured it was coming back to me with bone since it left for Oxnard that way.  Came back with a Tusq saddle.  Ivoroid binding installed with several small gaps in a row on the bass side of the neck.  It left set up well and came back worse than it left other than the intonation problem. New scuffs on the case but it is still structurally sound.
The verdict:  Guitar is now intonatable and that was my main gripe.  I bought her to keep and play.  I intend to do so.  That wide flat neck is great.  I still think it is a great looking guitar from a few feet away. I will take the nut down to a decent height and live with the imperfections.  Over time the average guitar gets a bit garfed and picks up patina. I believe that the customer service is unacceptable.  Larrivee' has raised its prices and lowered its quality control.  If it ever cracks, warps or in any way disappoints me I will either pay to have a repairman fix it or burn it.  If I smoked I would light a cigar with the warranty.  It will never see Oxnard again.  And like Dotneck-I won't be buying any Larrivee' product again in this lifetime.
For those who have received good or even great customer service-I am sincerely glad for you.  I do not doubt that you got it.  If you say you did-that is good enough for me.  Those of us who did not get good customer service are feeling like you would be if you had not.....we are wishing we had.

[hadden]

My SD50 got back earlier this month after being out at Oxnard for a couple months getting a neck re-set and fingerboard replacement.  It had an undercut fretboard which made it impossible to correctly intonate.  Here is the headstock to tailblock on it...
New deep scratch on tuner plate bass side.  Nut badly seated and not quite flush with new fretboard.  Also strings not evenly spaced and plenty high from fretboard. Fresh divots on back of guitar body.  Small and not hard to live with but surely optional.  The bone nut and saddle setup it came with was important to me and I was assured it was coming back to me with bone since it left for Oxnard that way.  Came back with a Tusq saddle.  Ivoroid binding installed with several small gaps in a row on the bass side of the neck.  It left set up well and came back worse than it left other than the intonation problem. New scuffs on the case but it is still structurally sound.
The verdict:  Guitar is now intonatable and that was my main gripe.  I bought her to keep and play.  I intend to do so.  That wide flat neck is great.  I still think it is a great looking guitar from a few feet away. I will take the nut down to a decent height and live with the imperfections.  Over time the average guitar gets a bit garfed and picks up patina. I believe that the customer service is unacceptable.  Larrivee' has raised its prices and lowered its quality control.  If it ever cracks, warps or in any way disappoints me I will either pay to have a repairman fix it or burn it.  If I smoked I would light a cigar with the warranty.  It will never see Oxnard again.  And like Dotneck-I won't be buying any Larrivee' product again in this lifetime.
For those who have received good or even great customer service-I am sincerely glad for you.  I do not doubt that you got it.  If you say you did-that is good enough for me.  Those of us who did not get good customer service are feeling like you would be if you had not.....we are wishing we had.

Yikes! 

I think you should contact JCL directly about this.

[PortHueneme]

there are definitely some interesting posts here.
I too believe the internet is changing much of our lives.
In the past most of us bought guitars from local music stores.
If we had a problem we went to the dealer, it was their job to go to manufacturer if needed.
In todays market we buy guitars from individuals as well as dealers half way around the world.
Our service issues are now referred back to the builder. I believe we need to realize that customer service departments are most of the time designed to work with the dealers. Larrivee has always been there for the end user, it most likely is just a sign of the company's growth that they are having a hard time keeping up.
I like all my Larrivee's and have been impressed with each of them. While it is nice to have the factory close and having the possibility of them working on a problem (if one develops) I don't mind having my VERY qualified local luthier work on my instruments.

[jwsamuel]

I like all my Larrivee's and have been impressed with each of them. While it is nice to have the factory close and having the possibility of them working on a problem (if one develops) I don't mind having my VERY qualified local luthier work on my instruments.

I do not mind having a luther work on my guitar. I do not mind paying for the work. I do not mind paying for the parts I need. I just want to know what part I need and where I can get it.

Jim

[Dotneck]

Here is a link to LMI who sells tor-tis pickguards.

Tor-tis 'guards

they sell Tor-tis pickguards of all shapes sizes and colors. These are the Greven pickguards that Larrivee was using. They also have sheets of blank stock if you want your luthier to cut your own. Last time I needed one I actually ordered two different colors to see which one I liked better. I think I still have one stuffed away in a drawer although I forget which color it is. I'd be willing to sell it...cause I've been sort of looking for a guitar to put it on. If I sold it that would save me a lot of money.

[jwsamuel]

Thanks Dotneck.

Greg at Larrivee sent me the same link to LMII. Unfortunately, LMII cannot tell me what pickguard I need so I cannot purchase one from them. I know it is not a pickguard for a D-28, nor is it an OM teardrop. It appears the only option is to remove the existing pickguard and have one custom made...unless I can get the existing one off without cracking it, which is difficult with a Tortis pickguard.

Jim

[jeremy3220]

Just buy whatever size you want and trim/file/sand it to match the radius you need. You'll obviously have to sand up through the grits then polish it but it probably isn't too hard. I'll have to do that on the guitar I'm building.