That's ALWAYS the first thing I check, because it's hidden and if you like the action, you'll probably NEVER gonna touch it.

So, whenever buying a new guitar, it needs to be thoroughly checked.
You can't blame a GC for missing out on that. Your fault!

I agree on the other point. 3 months for changing a neck is simply inacceptable nowadays, where replacement parts are no more delivered by pony express or by messengers/legmen.
I had a trussrod problem with my resonator guitar. It took my guitar tech 4 weeks to repair it (2 of which he was on vacation). He had to rip the whole thing apart, build a fretboard from scratch, order the trussrod, do the repair ......

I'm a Fender fan but if I had to wait 3 months for a replacement neck on warranty, I'd be p**** off, too!
That's absolutely inacceptable. I mean, we're talking about a standard item here, not a hand carved custom piece! They throw out hundreds of guitars a day! If it is an AUTHORIZED Fender repair man/customer service shop, they should be the very first in line to get spare parts delivered within days!

The most important thing for a company is to keep customers satisfied, they bring in the money, right?
3 months for delivering a neck which can be exchanged in 5 minutes is a customer service desaster! I received a neck (custom made for me) from Warmoth within 4 weeks, including long shipment from USA to Germany!!!

Honestly, if this would happen to me, it would be my very last guitar I bought new from Fender!
I'd rather buy a used one and get a used replacement neck and Fender wouldn't see any more cent from me.

I can understand your anger!

_________________
Kindest regards from Germany, Dee
My recordings --> http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page_mu ... dID=564337
STRATS ROCK!!! but Teles and Firebirds, too!

@ almost everybody else in this thread:

It's not fair how you respond to this complaint! (especially the "translation into modern English" was offending!)

OK, passing the time limt was his fault, I agree but no matter when a defect happens and if it is resolved via warranty or not: I expect EVERY replacement part to be available within 14 days nationally and 4 to 6 weeks internationally if it's a stock item.

A company which cannot fulfill this in the 21st century WILL BE BANNED for lifetime, at least in my case.
So I did with Sony (6 months for laptop repair!!).
So I did with Electronics Partner, a German store chain, who needed 3 repairs for the same malfunction until I finally received a new cam after being 5 months without!!!
So I did with Hermes (logistics company), for not delivering a parcel for 3 days and marking it "recipient not at home" on the tracking site online, without even setting a foot on my ground!!!

Incompetent, lazy and/or ignorant companies deserve to be banned for lifetime! So yes, in this case I take position for the OP, at least regarding his complaint about 3 months of delivery time.

_________________
Kindest regards from Germany, Dee
My recordings --> http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page_mu ... dID=564337
STRATS ROCK!!! but Teles and Firebirds, too!

Wow, some harsh words going on in here to someone who has a genuine problem.

The length of time it took to find the problem is, to me, pretty irrelevant - not every guitar owner even knows how to adjust a truss rod, so wouldn't even touch it if everything is in good playing shape without adjustment. Are those people supposed to pay out for a tech to check over a brand new instrument from a major manufacturer which should have been tested, checked and cleared at the factory?

Doesn't matter if that's your only instrument or you own a warehouse full of Fenders, if there's a serious fault from manufacture, it needs to be taken care of. As much as I love Fender instruments, three months for what should be a mass produced stock item would get me foaming at the mouth as well and certainly be wary of their products in the future.

I'd probably direct that foam in an email or call to Fender themselves rather than an internet forum, admittedly.

The OP had a problem with his SEVENTH Fender in 6 weeks looks like he struck out in the law of averages, the other 6 were ok did he contact Fender to congratulate them, no i think not. He got in touch to report his problem they directed him to the authrised repair guy who checked out the guitar and concluded a new neck was required......so far so good

This is where it all goes south. Yes in this day and age a company like Fender should be able to replace a neck quicker than 90 days. its not the OPs fault, its not the Authorised repair guys fault, its Fenders fault and one they should be looking to rectify asap.

Would it stop me from getting another Fender...No
Would i be annoyed at the wait....Yes
Do I have another axe to play....Yes i have 28 to coose from
Would i be mad if it took say?...54 days not 90.....No
(The OP may well complain!!!!!!!)
Would I be mad if it took 91 days......Yes Steaming mad....customer services watch out!!!!!

I ordered a Rickenbacker 360/12 on the 28th jan 2012, in the NAMM '12 show announced new colour Ruby Red with a lead time of 4-6 months.......13th jan 2013 still waiting, NAMM '13 is just around the corner...think i wll call customer services........NOT!!!!!!!!

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ukraider
"money cant buy you love but it can buy guitars!!!!!!"

Hello PingPongBob, welcome to the Forum.

I think "could be" is the operative phrase here. See below...



Hi Smokin' Frets: matter o' fact it probably isn't a standard item. Gentleman says it's a '72 Tele Deluxe, which is only a tiny corner of the catalog, relatively speaking.

Fender run product off their line in batches of given models, colours, etc. It is possible that it may be a few months before the next run of '72 Teles is due through the factory so that may turn out to be how long it is till the next spare neck for that model is available.

Of course, that ain't necessarily the case and a local dealer is unlikely to be in a position to know either way. He's just stating the longest it might take so's the customer is in the picture.

It is also possible that Fender happen have the right replacement neck sitting waiting in their stores and can send it out immediately and the problem will be sorted quickly. I've known this to work both ways.

To PingPongBob: under their warranty Fender promise to repair or replace faulty product. That is exactly what they are doing with your Tele. It takes how long it takes. By the sound of it, the guitar is perfectly playable in the meantime, right?

Good luck - C

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Agreed, partly.
I think, an AUTHORIZED Fender shop should have an answer within one day via Email, if there is one available (item, not answer, ha ha ha).
If not, he/she should KNOW from experience, how long it should take.
The fact alone that it MIGHT take 3 months doesn't give positive credit to the manufacturer's (Fender's) service.

I've run a customer service myself for a while (didn't OWN it, though!).
All my partners knew EXACTLY what to expect because there were STRICT POLICIES regarding our customer service and they were aimed at maximum customer satisfaction and minimum waiting time. In this case it is either poor communication on Fender's side or poor engagement/interest on the repair guy's side, both leading to bad reputation for Fender. AUTHORIZED shops are representing Fender, therefore it should be in Fender's most interest to get them properly informed and provide fast service.

In this case I wouldn't even care if it was a custom shop neck. If a third party licensed manufacturer can have it custom done within 4 - 6 weeks, then the major company should be able to do it as quickly, shouldn't they?

At least that's my personal image of good customer service. Some others might be more tolerant than me.

Just guess what happens, if you order a custom shop or other Fender model and you dare to wait up to 3 months until you pay the money for your product????

They await immediate payment (within reasonable time limits, if at all without pre-payment!) for their product, so the customer can await perfect quality and/or fastest service possible in case of failure for the money he/she payed. We're not talking about some asian crap guitar from somewhere at the end of the world, where you can expect trouble; we're talking about a company in one of the world's most advanced countries!

_________________
Kindest regards from Germany, Dee
My recordings --> http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page_mu ... dID=564337
STRATS ROCK!!! but Teles and Firebirds, too!

In defence of Fender (UK Fender anyway), the only time I've had reason to send a guitar back was in 1988 when a brand new strat developed a lot of fret rattle due to a "rising crown" in the fretboard. Now they could have planed the neck and refretted it or made me wait for a new neck to be available but instead they sent me a complete replacement guitar in the same colour. Took about 10 days to sort out. Not many companies would junk an expensive product and send out an exact replacement in 10 days.

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my stuff on soundcloud

Hi again SF: thing is, so far we don't know whether that email has been sent, whether Fender have seen it and what their reply might be. Maybe they'll deliver awful service and deserve a rocket, or maybe they'll do a great job: we don't know yet.

All we actually know is that PingPongBob posted late Saturday evening to say he'd been to a dealer and been told it could take 90 days - which it perfectly reasonably could, if the part needs to be made at the factory. And we don't know about that, either.

So far, whatever the OP's feelings, nothing has actually been done wrong, yet. Perhaps we should judge Fender's customer service after it has taken place.


Hee-hee - any of us who've worked in customer relations know that sometimes customers get terrible service and have a right to feel aggrieved. But also, sometimes customers have amazingly unrealistic expectations about how stuff works.

Many (many) years ago I worked in my country's Automobile Association. One time I remember being yelled at by a guy that he wasn't getting Rolls-Royce service on his bottom of the range Ford. I wanted to tell him that there was a clue in the names. But I didn't.

Cheers - C

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Yes, that's perfectly right, Ceri, that's why I included the repair man in my post as well.
Maybe I didn't write clearly enough (I'm no native English speaking guy).

It could be poor communication from Fender or(!!!) missing engagement/interest by the repair guy.

I don't solely blame Fender.

This certainly needs to be sorted out fast for the customer (by Fender by kicking the repair guy's a*** or by improving communication with their authorized shops and/or customer service. (whichever is the case here).

This of course needs to be reported directly to the customer service, otherwise they can't take action. If it's just posted here, there will most likely nothing happen.

_________________
Kindest regards from Germany, Dee
My recordings --> http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page_mu ... dID=564337
STRATS ROCK!!! but Teles and Firebirds, too!

Or maybe all this happened on Saturday and Fender haven't even heard about it yet. One of our Moderators here, Rob Schwarz, is also Fender's head of Customer Relations. Maybe he'll have something to say - when it's not early Sunday morning anymore in his part of the world.



Wow, really? I assumed you were an American living in Germany - nuttin' wrong with your English in the slightest. Respect!

Cheers - C

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What a questionable thread.

We might point out that most likely 90 days refer to 90 working days, but that will probably not appease PingPong (welcome to the forum, by the way! ). Hang out here for a while, enjoy the company!

As for folks slaying the OP for not immediately checking the truss rod: I don't agree with that. If for instance a newbie buys a guitar, he'll most likely not even know what a truss rod is. Same if someone buys their kid a guitar for Christmas, for instance. You can't run around blaming people for not checking out whether one of the most challenging parts of a guitar is working or not. That doesn't fall into the customer's responsibility.

Wait, have some coffee, play your other 6 guitars, and let Fender do their job. If after 90 days there is no word, by all means kick up a fuss if you feel the need to.

Can we view some of your other guitars? We are a community that feeds off pictures

Cheers, and again, welcome!

Cheers

Nutter

Thank you very much, Ceri.
I'm still a little worried sometimes because every once in a while I feel kinda misunderstood, if I read one or the other reply to my posts.
What I want the very least is offending anybody or starting a fight.

So sometimes I feel the need to make myself additionally clear to prevent misunderstandings.

I'm very glad that you judge my English as you do. Thank you.

_________________
Kindest regards from Germany, Dee
My recordings --> http://www.soundclick.com/bands/page_mu ... dID=564337
STRATS ROCK!!! but Teles and Firebirds, too!

I love a good fight Never cease to be pleased at our diversity and no lack of spirit! All of you have made some really valid points. My take on this is that too often, expectations are greater than realizations. I've watched this company since 1958 when the first Stratocaster walked through my door. We thought it was a goner at the end of the 70's and it rose from the ashes to become a doggone monster. Just look at the range of new product we are seeing for the new year. These guys are not exactly sitting on their duffs. They are competing to stay alive in a difficult market, in difficult times. In 2010, I waited 10 months for a '57VHR Stratocaster. I had to wait until the vintage runs were done. Not a priority for the production line, it seemed. The nature of some of the responses, content aside, certainly reflect our fierce loyality to this company and the marque. The situation the OP described certainly sucks, and everybody on the purchase chain wants to drop the ball. Stuff happens. There's a guy on another thread with a Gilmour NOS who seems to be having minor quality issues with the playability of his CS guitar. What we need to be about is collectively seeing to it that this gets to Rob so that he can trouble-shoot the chain and find out how to make it better and give us to understand if not, exactly why. Bailing out on the company is a matter of individual personal choice, but definitely
not the way to go IMHO. Let's see what we can do. Keep in mind that they're in the midst of NAMM and we might not get any input for awhile:wink:

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"Another day in paradise!"

+1 for this, when I got my first Fender I didn't even know what the truss rod was for. And repair guys pay their rent by fixing amateur adjustments to truss rods.

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my stuff on soundcloud

I see the good ol' boys club is alive and well here.
How many posts do I need before I can join?

I'll post up a photo of my other Fenders later.
I need to snap a photo first.
It's only 7:00am and I haven't had my coffee yet.