B Skiddy Posted July 30, 2021 Share Posted July 30, 2021 Hello, I was wondering if anyone else was experiencing extremely poor customer service. We have been trying to obtain a return mailer for a repair and having no success after at least 6 attempts. I have also called numerous times and the hold time is horrid. I don't think I'm going out on a limb here....but if this level of customer service continues another bankruptcy should be on the horizon. I am recalling an adage just created.....If your customers are not happy, your business folds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RBSinTo Posted July 30, 2021 Share Posted July 30, 2021 B Skiddy, Customer service died a number of years ago, strangled to death by corporate greed. I assume you were talking about Gibson, although it was not expressly stated in your post. But to be fair to them, they are no worse than the vast majority of businesses that cut service to save money. RBSinTo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NighthawkChris Posted July 30, 2021 Share Posted July 30, 2021 (edited) @B Skiddy not trying to be a d*** but what’s your point? You want some buddies here to chum with you about hating on Gibson? They don’t read this thread and what are we going to do. These days there’s probably like oh, 20 people tops that regularly post here so just putting that out there. You are one of many who has written posts like this. My favorite was the PRS guy who said three strikes your out Gibson haha! Wish he’d come back that was a funny f’n thread lol! See what happens to me once people start talking about Metallica in other posts I just contributed to haha! Edited July 30, 2021 by NighthawkChris 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twang Gang Posted July 30, 2021 Share Posted July 30, 2021 It has a lot to do with the covid pandemic. Many businesses were forced to shut down and employees laid off. The US govt. got very generous with unemployment payments and other stimuli to the point that it's not worth it for a lot of minimum wage people to go back to work. This is not just in the guitar realm, but many types of businesses. I went on a short trip last week and we had a hard time finding restaurants that were open because they couldn't get help to wait on tables. Hopefully things will improve over time, Gibson has had good customer service in the past. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zigzag Posted July 30, 2021 Share Posted July 30, 2021 During the height of the pandemic last year, Gibson was terrific about replacing an ES-335 for me. I really thought this might reflect a positive change in the new management. It would be interesting to know if this the new normal, and Gibson just dropped the ball with the OP, or things are going south with Gibson customer service. One thing is probably true- if you complain on their official web sight, they ought to respond. I can't imagine they'd want the negative publicity, esp. among those who are loyal to the brand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortyearspickn Posted July 31, 2021 Share Posted July 31, 2021 BS kiddy - Great First Post ! Is this how Millennials get attention? Hoping to get a free set of strings? I'm recalling an adage - "Life is tough... " 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John P Posted July 31, 2021 Share Posted July 31, 2021 I have had great service from Gibson’s Support. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortyearspickn Posted July 31, 2021 Share Posted July 31, 2021 14 hours ago, zigzag said: During the height of the pandemic last year, Gibson was terrific about replacing an ES-335 for me. I really thought this might reflect a positive change in the new management. It would be interesting to know if this the new normal, and Gibson just dropped the ball with the OP, or things are going south with Gibson customer service. One thing is probably true- if you complain on their official web sight, they ought to respond. I can't imagine they'd want the negative publicity, esp. among those who are loyal to the brand. See - that is exactly what the OP is hoping for. Social Media Shakedowns - is what these folks have devolved into doing. Sort of like 'Extortion Lite'. They attempt to publicly shame a big company to the point where they get a few thousand 'likes' (notice BS hasn't gotten any here), then the company feels they need to 'settle out of court'. Problem is - appeasement is a black hole. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zigzag Posted July 31, 2021 Share Posted July 31, 2021 Or, he has a legitimate complaint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gdecantoo Posted July 31, 2021 Share Posted July 31, 2021 Too little info. Warranty repair? Original owner? Location? Finnish repair, etc, etc. Are they ignoring you for a reason? Reminds me of another recent post. The customer was contacting the wrong people and received no response. Once his country's distributor was contacted they replied right away. Again too little info. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zigzag Posted July 31, 2021 Share Posted July 31, 2021 (edited) I assume the OP has gone through the Gibson site to get contact information. My contact started with an email and pictures. Of course, I had receipts and warranty info. attached. If the complaint is legit, my experience is that customer service is very responsive. In fact, while addressing my issue, I received contact from two different customer service reps. It will be interesting to see how this plays out, and I hope the OP will follow up on this thread to enlighten us on his progress. I would hesitate to chastise the OP for posting this. How many legitimate complaints have been registered on this site by long time members through the history of this board? Plenty. Edited July 31, 2021 by zigzag 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitefang Posted July 31, 2021 Share Posted July 31, 2021 Must be more than one of him(or her) registering the complaint. Notice it was posted, "WE have been trying to obtain a return mailer....." So this person is possibly representing a group with the same complaint, Or often refers to himself as "we" for whatever reason. Must be the one nurses think they're addressing when they bounce into your hospital room and cheerfully ask, "How are WE today?" But too, it might be a legitimate complaint. Never having dealt with Gibson customer service, I can still imagine it's not unlike "customer service" anywhere else. IF you get past the too loud and distorted "hold" music, you wind up with some guy from Sri Lanka calling himself "Keith" or "Kevin" who seems to have as much difficulty understanding you as you do him. And maybe that's one of the pitfalls of online purchasing of some items. No way to go to where you bought it and lodge a complaint. No other way to deal with it besides corporate "customer service" Anyway, griping here won't get this person satisfaction. It's not like the Gibson quality control people scan this forum to learn what people hate or like about Gibson instruments. Whitefang Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rct Posted July 31, 2021 Share Posted July 31, 2021 If by "we" the poster means himself and his guitar fixer, it is possible that guitar fixer is not on the list, doesn't have the Authorized Gibson Repair sign, that kind of thing. They can and do ignore those repair persons. It could also be that "we" IS an authorized repair person but is looking to authorize the return of something that is not warranted, like, oh, I don't know, maybe...The Finish. They'd ignore that repair guy because it is his unfortunate position to be the one to tell the customer that that ain't warranted. rct 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinch Posted July 31, 2021 Share Posted July 31, 2021 Hit and miss. I've been lucky with both Gibson and Epiphone customer service. Just tell them you're Slash. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fortyearspickn Posted August 1, 2021 Share Posted August 1, 2021 On 7/31/2021 at 9:00 AM, gdecant1 said: Too little info. Warranty repair? Original owner? Location? Finnish repair, etc, etc. Are they ignoring you for a reason? Reminds me of another recent post. The customer was contacting the wrong people and received no response. Once his country's distributor was contacted they replied right away. Again too little info. Agree. Another first time poster here this month had no receipt, apparently hadn't registered his warranty and held the guitar for 3 years before noticing the defects and contacting Gibson. They addressed his complaint and worked on the guitar - swirl marks in the finish. He told us about another 'defect' that was clearly not done in the factory. There's always two sides to every story - this First Time Poster may have a legitimate issue - but he doesn't present his side very well. One wonders if he (or 'they') were equally ineffective in communicating with Gibson. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merciful-evans Posted August 1, 2021 Share Posted August 1, 2021 On 7/31/2021 at 3:36 PM, Whitefang said: Must be more than one of him(or her) registering the complaint. Notice it was posted, "WE have been trying to obtain a return mailer....." So this person is possibly representing a group with the same complaint, Or often refers to himself as "we" for whatever reason. Could be the Queen 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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