Larrivee Customer Service - Declining?

[leftync]

I can understand your frustration but your comments are awfully nasty, misdirected and premature. While I have disagreed with some members here I respect them and enjoy being a part of the forum. If you're really so dismissive of people here who, in your opinion, don't measure up as guitarists, I don't understand why you bothered to post.
Again, my record is clear that I'm not a Larrivee apologist, but I do like the company and its products.  I've advocated empathy for members with customer service issues, but yours is a first post and, believe me, it hasn't exactly engendered empathy or credibility. If what you say is true, I would guess that the company or dealer owes you a new product. I haven't seen your research, but given our own experiences, most of us will find it hard to believe Larrivee would send out a product this defective or that it happens often.

[Walkerman]

Looks like a newbie troll has showed up.

[teh]

The comment about never ordering a new guitar from any factory again leads me to believe that there is a much deeper rooted problem here. Furthermore, to infer that used guitars don't have defects is pretty short sighted too.

I also find it interesting that a company that has been in business for over 40 years and has managed to build over 100,000 guitars has sold most of them to people who can't play and are motivated by "narcissistic" goals. In my dictionary, narcissism is defined as "the excessive admiration of oneself" and personally I stopped doing that the first day I got on the bus for kindergarten 48 years ago and sat down next to "Jane." 

[tuffythepug]

 

well congratulations Rodolfo you managed to insult 99% of the membership of this forum on your very first post.   Well done.    Those of us who are "Older" and "narcissistic" and "don't play much"....you know those of us who just want to own a nice guitar because someone else can't...
we could learn a lot from a seasoned professional player / teacher such as yourself.  Be sure to stop in often an remind us how much we all suck.  I know I, for one, look forward to reading more of your enlightened posts on other subjects as well.  Maybe you could start a thread about how hopless and pathetic we all are compared to you.   That would be a sure-fire winner.   
Well Rodolfo, I've got to go now.  Gonna go outside and take my Larrivee into the garden for some pictures.    I guess I'll learn to play it another day.     

Oh, here's a nice one.  Too bad you can't have it.   



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[flatlander]

personally I stopped doing that the first day I got on the bus for kindergarten 48 years ago and sat down next to "Jane." 

Ok, let's hear the rest of the Jane story. It might help keep our minds off of ourselves and our pretty guitars.

[Michael T]

Looks like a newbie troll has showed up.

got my flame retardant suit on, I swore to myself I would leave this alone, but, gotta say it, why in the H... would anyone accept a guitar from a store with a 30 day gaurantee that was defective??? Get the refund and let them deal with the issues. Anyway the post reeks of pretense and goading. TROLL ON buddy.

[tuffythepug]

got my flame retardant suit on, I swore to myself I would leave this alone, but, gotta say it, why in the H... would anyone accept a guitar from a store with a 30 day gaurantee that was defective??? Get the refund and let them deal with the issues. Anyway the post reeks of pretense and goading. TROLL ON buddy.

YEAH, THAT'S ANOTHER THING !   WHERE'S OUR F'N DONUTS YOU PIKER !    NOW I'M REALLY RILED UP.  Better take a heart pill and relax a spell I guess.   All that typin' like ta wore me out.

[Michael T]

YEAH, THAT'S ANOTHER THING !   WHERE'S OUR F'N DONUTS YOU PIKER !    NOW I'M REALLY RILED UP.  Better take a heart pill and relax a spell I guess.   All that typin' like ta wore me out.

The nerve of the guy eh Tuffy? No doughnuts, probably didn't read the rules, gotta feed the rubes, I mean how can we maintain that rotund posture of non playing collectors with all the running to the garden with cameras and guitars and stuff, sheesh.

[Tycho]

What legal reasons? There's no law that keeps people or companies from speaking about their products and policies, especially regarding customer service. They do it all the time. We have freedom of speech in this country, and in Canada, too, I believe. A company will only keep quiet to avoid an admission that will cause it to have liability. I'll acknowledge reluctance to comment on personnel issues, but Brian opened the door by telling his side of the story. The company can deny it if it's not true. You can always tell the truth, and contemporaneous documentation carries a lot of evidentiary weight. Generally, companies are discouraged from trashing a former employee to a new employer.
Frankly I doubt the issue of talking on this forum has ever come up with Larrivee's lawyers. And I can't imagine that an entrepreneur like Jean would follow lawyers' orders anyway. He seems to speak his mind.
This is an example of what I said before; in defending Larrivee, some suggest far more grave problems than I would have imagined. I believe Larrivee to be a good company making superior products, but some of the testimony I've read causes me to wonder about customer service. And if it were me having the problems, I'd be frustrated. I suspect that whatever lapse there may have been is easily corrected.

Lawyers don't give orders, they give advice.  And smart entrepreneurs usually follow it. 

In this case, the reference was pretty clearly to not commenting on a specific employment situation.  There's no way the company will comment on that, whether someone else has opened the door or not.  It's not a question of freedom of speech.  It's a question of not saying something that could very easily come back to bite you in any number of ways.

[Tycho]

Ordered an OM-03re from Canada to San Antonio's Sam Ash.
Baggs Element stayed on after i checked the battery. Had to remove battery and then re-install everytime i play.
Defective broken electronics.
Serious fret buzzing at 13th fret. This is where neck meets body. Dovetail defective. One of their most advertised selling points.
The guitar wouldn't stay in tune. Found out common problem was Ping tuners. Larrivee knows about these defective tuners but continues to sell them.
Broken electronics, serious fret buzzing and does not stay in tune.
I thought they inspected guitars before shipping? The buzzing was there?
Sam Ash said we will return it for repair.
I asked how long will it take. No answer? Sam Ash employee said it could take a year! Did my research and found out this actually does happen often!
Forty-four years experience as guitarist/teacher.
This company is not for professionals. I have never encountered anything like this for a $1400.00 guitar.
Seems most of you who worship objects and corporations don't play much.
Point is i make a living playing music. Will never order a new guitar from any factory again.
Will buy used guitars without defects at much lower price.
I don't put my guitars in the garden around plants and take pictures of them, i prefer to play them.
I know most of you can't play that's because your goal is narcissistic in that you want to just own something others don't have. You're art collectors. What a waste for music but great for corporations.
The Seniors in this forum seem to be connected to Larrivee.
Last but not least. The guitar sounded better to me than the Martins and Taylors.
What a waste.

You know nothing of the sort, since you don't know anything about most of us.

[tuffythepug]

Rodolfo
Got good news for you.   Just sell that inferior OM-03re for whatever you can get.  It's not a professional quality guitar up to your needs anyhow.  Then you can buy jwsamuels traditional OMV-50 which has just been listed in the for sales section.   It should fit your needs nicely and the price is right.  The only flaw is there's something wrong with the pickguard I hear.
Glad to be of help.   

     
Tuffythepug

[BlastersFan55]

Ordered an OM-03re from Canada to San Antonio's Sam Ash.
Baggs Element stayed on after i checked the battery. Had to remove battery and then re-install everytime i play.
Defective broken electronics.
Serious fret buzzing at 13th fret. This is where neck meets body. Dovetail defective. One of their most advertised selling points.
The guitar wouldn't stay in tune. Found out common problem was Ping tuners. Larrivee knows about these defective tuners but continues to sell them.
Broken electronics, serious fret buzzing and does not stay in tune.
I thought they inspected guitars before shipping? The buzzing was there?
Sam Ash said we will return it for repair.
I asked how long will it take. No answer? Sam Ash employee said it could take a year! Did my research and found out this actually does happen often!
Forty-four years experience as guitarist/teacher.
This company is not for professionals. I have never encountered anything like this for a $1400.00 guitar.
Seems most of you who worship objects and corporations don't play much.
Point is i make a living playing music. Will never order a new guitar from any factory again.
Will buy used guitars without defects at much lower price.
I don't put my guitars in the garden around plants and take pictures of them, i prefer to play them.
I know most of you can't play that's because your goal is narcissistic in that you want to just own something others don't have. You're art collectors. What a waste for music but great for corporations.
The Seniors in this forum seem to be connected to Larrivee.
Last but not least. The guitar sounded better to me than the Martins and Taylors.
What a waste.

Glad my guitar teacher wasn't so pompous.   I think it's a good thing to be "connected" to something you like, and to embrace & play,  and to have fun with no matter what level of player you are.

I sense a bit of cynicism and disconnect with Rodolfo's post.  I hope that doesn't come through to your audience because if that is the case, you're probably going nowhere.

[Dale_I]

Guys, guys, guys... you are giving Rodolfo far too much credit. Buzzing at 13th fret means defective dovetail joint? Come on... look at the knowledge base exhibited. Don't believe everything on the net or we'll be trying to grow hair on bald guys (like me) and making our own hydrogen vehicles for $100. Take him for what he is... an attention starved troll trying to get a rise out of us. Don't let him win!

[bearsville0]

I think you might have missed it but he does say at the end that "the [Larrivee] guitar sounded better to me than the Martins and Taylors." So he's not as trollish as you think.

[Gibavee]

well i just smashed my digital camera, torched my yard and garden, and poked my eyes out because i thought i was being too much of a narcissistic art collector. i figured, at least i still have my hands to play and ears to hear it with. then you guys go and say he's not a troll... (sigh).

[leftync]

He might well be telling the truth. But what do we have other than his story? When I suggest we not automatically excuse Larrivee I'm talking about forum members who have earned some respect. If someone I don't know comes along and accuses a company whose products I like of being far below average in product and customer service, and insults me and everyone else on this forum on top of that, I'm a bit less receptive. In court, we want our witnesses to be credible and sympathetic. He is neither.

[Tycho]

He may indeed have a legitimate complaint, who knows?  The problem with his post was the totally gratuitous and unwarranted attack on anybody who posts here and happens to enjoy their Larrivee, and the suggestion that such a person can't possibly be a real player.  That was richly deserving of the ensuing pile-on.

[Gibavee]

i know i was kidding - he certainly intended to create an account just to flame the company on his first post - and bash 90% of the people here. i could care less if that makes him a troll, or if he has a real issue. his credibility is garbage, after that. and he's an even bigger moron for saying he's been playing/teaching guitar for 44 years and trusting that he'd like a mail-order git. not to mention one that he dropped $1400 on without playing first.

(ducks for cover behind the computer)

[teh]

For those of you who feel insulted, please remember to consider the students of this person who sought advice from a seasoned professional instructor with 44 years experience to help them choose the right guitar. They were paying for weekly lessons and indirectly paying for this advice/opinion while everyone on the forum got it for free.

P.S. While my playing hasn't improved much over the past four decades since I got my first Stella Harmony at the ripe old age of 12, I have gotten pretty good at choosing nice guitars that fit my budget and keep my narcissistic tendencies in check. I've never had a moment's remorse from any of my guitar purchases and my friends who are better players have told me that I bought some nice ones.   

[tuffythepug]

I can give old Rodolfo the benefit of the doubt regarding the poor quality of his OM-03re.  Maybe it's a real stinker.  He's also probably fairly accurate that there are some who just like to have nice guitars and don't play them especially well.   But.....For his first post to be basically an attack on the guitar, the company and the membership of this forum does nothing to develop any sympathy for his plight.  That kind of cynical attack warrants neither sympathy nor any offer help with his problem.
I'm sure this was all intentional on his part.   I wish I could say I felt sorry for him.  Unfortunately I can't muster even a little bit of feeling for him.   Apparently during 44 years of playing and teaching he has failed to learn any lessons himself.  Please Rodolfo, get yourself a different guitar;  I fear that anyone who sees you with a Larrivee will assume all Larrivee owners are pompous idiots.
Really only a few of us are.

Tuffythepug