Anyone had difficulty contacting Larrivee recently?

[ewalling]

I think the title of this thread is unfair, but anyone who reads it may reflect more on GA's role than on Larrivee's. I'd like to see Dave weigh in here, and explain his side.
Policies regarding returns and repair should be clear as far as the role of the manufacturer, dealer and the customer. If there are exceptions, that should be clear. If there are too many exceptions, can we still call it a policy?

It absolutely is not unfair. If it is Larrivee's policy not to deal directly with customers, I would respect that. But I have spoken with both Cory and Mike, and neither of them has said that I should be approaching Dave Schmidt rather than them. And don't forget it was Dave that advised me to proceed in this manner. Mike's answer phone says that if he does not answer the phone, he is temporarily away from his desk or he may have left the office for the afternoon  in which case he will phone back directly the following morning. If I am not included on the list of people to whom he extends these laudable courtesies, then I would appreciate being informed of this rather than beat my head against the wall finding it out.

[Walkerman]

You definitely ARE being unfair.  You are ASSUMING that you are being ignored.

[ewalling]

You definitely ARE being unfair.  You are ASSUMING that you are being ignored.

Hey, maybe you're right - I could be imagining the whole thing!     

[Strings4Him]

I am confident that Larrivee Guitars and GA will ultimately do the right thing.  It just may take some time.

The customer is always the king in any free enterprise system.  A wise guitar maker, such as Larrivee, realizes this.

[ewalling]

I am confident that Larrivee Guitars and GA will ultimately do the right thing.  It just may take some time.

The customer is always the king in any free enterprise system.  A wise guitar maker, such as Larrivee, realizes this.

I hope you're right. Until this incident I had nothing but good things to say about Larrivee and Guitar Adoptions, where I had previously bought 3 guitars - a P0-9, an SD-50, and an L0-3RE.

[Matthew Larrivee]

There was a period during the low of the recession where we did not have a customer service rep. Partly due to the times, and partly because we couldnt find the right person. About a year ago we hired Mike Kitchen who has just been amazing. Larrivee is not a ginormous corporation, so everyone multitasks. Mike handles all of the service inquiries, as well as much of the shipping and repair assessments. He's able to answer the phones about 6 hours a day, but always returns calls if a message is left. Mike is very on top of the E-mail situation as well. Sometimes it does take some time to get an answer - either because the person who can answer it is un-available or it has to be researched.

In the case of this PV-09 sunburst, it is a request that should go through a dealer as they are our representatives in the marketplace. However, that being said - The answer to the question is a difficult one to answer. The company that used to manufacture our candy colors (used for bursting) went out of business last year (Lawrence McFadden). We have been living off of inventory of this product for quite some time. We used the remaining "tobacco" color we had to finish the first guitar. We have been working with 5 different companies (Simtech, Kustom Kolor, Cardinal, WLS, and another I've forgotten) to produce the 4-5 main colors we use. Each company has provided paint that was either the wrong color, or didnt bond with our other layers of finish. Finally last week we had a company provide us with a good quality sample in both color and quality. The new PV-09 was sunbursted on Friday and slated for base coat monday. Guitar Adoptions should be able to provide an updated shipping date for you.

Matthew

[BlastersFan55]

I've asked Mike Kitchen for dates of a couple of guitars in the last 6 months, and he got back to me the same day.

[Walkerman]

Hey, maybe you're right - I could be imagining the whole thing!     

It appears that your assumption was wrong.....so your title WAS unfair.

[ewalling]

There was a period during the low of the recession where we did not have a customer service rep. Partly due to the times, and partly because we couldnt find the right person. About a year ago we hired Mike Kitchen who has just been amazing. Larrivee is not a ginormous corporation, so everyone multitasks. Mike handles all of the service inquiries, as well as much of the shipping and repair assessments. He's able to answer the phones about 6 hours a day, but always returns calls if a message is left. Mike is very on top of the E-mail situation as well. Sometimes it does take some time to get an answer - either because the person who can answer it is un-available or it has to be researched.

In the case of this PV-09 sunburst, it is a request that should go through a dealer as they are our representatives in the marketplace. However, that being said - The answer to the question is a difficult one to answer. The company that used to manufacture our candy colors (used for bursting) went out of business last year (Lawrence McFadden). We have been living off of inventory of this product for quite some time. We used the remaining "tobacco" color we had to finish the first guitar. We have been working with 5 different companies (Simtech, Kustom Kolor, Cardinal, WLS, and another I've forgotten) to produce the 4-5 main colors we use. Each company has provided paint that was either the wrong color, or didnt bond with our other layers of finish. Finally last week we had a company provide us with a good quality sample in both color and quality. The new PV-09 was sunbursted on Friday and slated for base coat monday. Guitar Adoptions should be able to provide an updated shipping date for you.

Matthew

Thanks for the heads up on this.   

[unclrob]

Communication is very important and this appears to be a slip in the crack,still the dealer should have stayed on top of it even if the answer was sorry I don't have any info at this time.Something is better then nothing and it sounds like there was falure all around.Being ignored is now a generic word most use for no communication.

[leftync]

Apparently Larrivee has not ignored the situation, and I still think the dealer should have been the intermediary here (and I like the dealer). Nice of Matthew not only to clear things up, but to offer some insights into the manufacturing process.

[tadol]

Excellent response, as seems the norm when customers have to deal directly with Larrivee - Seems just barely a month from when a new guitar was promised. That's pretty amazing - although I wonder why the old one didn't just get the neck reset?

Not the first thread where the issue seems to have originated in dealings with GA though - I'd be concerned about that -

[unclrob]

"Not the first thread where the issue seems to have originated in dealings with GA though - I'd be concerned about that "

[Michael T]

Choose your dealer carefully, doing a search first may expose some issues but it is the dealer's responsibility to satisfy you, if not, take it to another who would be more than happy to satisfy you and earn your business on the next one.

[hadden]

It's hard relaying a negative, but it would be better if people were more open with their experiences with dealers. In the long run it's best for everyone.

[Matthew Larrivee]

I dont think the issue originated with Guitar Adoptions. More likely, it was a problem on our end with communication between service, me, and our paint shop. Once and a while things get missed - C'est la Vie. We do our best to get answers for everyone right away, but it doesnt always happen that way

[Queequeg]

I've had several transactions with Dave Schmidt & always enjoyed excellent service from Guitar Adoptions.

[ducktrapper]

"Is there something I should (sic) that might account for this seemingly cavalier  attitude?"

Yes, there's something you should. You should apologize for being wrong and assuming a falsehood.

[Walkerman]

"Is there something I should (sic) that might account for this seemingly cavalier  attitude?"

Yes, there's something you should. You should apologize for being wrong and assuming a falsehood.

[ducktrapper]