lpfan Posted March 21, 2009 Share Posted March 21, 2009 I e-mailed Gibson's customer service and introduced myself as a loyal customer owning a Gibson LP and an Epiphone LP. I simply asked if I could receive any free promotional material like stickers, cd's, t-shirt or posters, really anything at all. They responded and sent me some small stickers of Epiphone's E logo. I guess thats better than nothing but I was very disappointed considering Gibson's huge status. I thought that as a loyal customer I might get something a little bit nicer than these stickers. But its better than nothing. Now let me tell you why I was surprised, dissapointed. I bought my Line 6 amp and e-mailed their customer service department after I registered it online. I asked them the same thing. Can I get any freebies? Wow, was I surprised. I got a t-shirt, stickers, a pair of Line 6 pens, Line 6 post it notes, and a cd of classic rock hits with backing tracks that you play the guitar part to. I never expected to receive so much cool stuff from them. They REALLY appreciate their customers and it showed. I was disappointed with Gibson because I figured I would get something a little bit better than those cheapa$$ stickers that they sent. I just didn't really feel like they appreciated their customers. I guess its better than nothing but I was very disappointed. Now I am going to e-mail Fender and see what I get after I just registered the Strat. Hmmmmmm...... Gibson or Fender? LOL! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
floydpink7 Posted March 21, 2009 Share Posted March 21, 2009 Well, I guess beggers can't be choosers :P . I guess since Line 6 is a smaller company than Gibson, they'd have a bigger priority on keeping loyal customers. On the other hand, Gibson is big and already has a very large and loyal customer base. Cool you got free stuff though. Who knows, maybe Fender will top them all! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tvyelwhiteflag Posted March 22, 2009 Share Posted March 22, 2009 Gibson isn't big on rewarding their customers, I think all the freebies go to their dealers. We've asked time and time again where we could BUY Epiphone t-shirts and they've always ignored us. The economy's not doing so hot and there's a lot of competition out there, maybe they'll see the light at Gibson...maybe... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duane v Posted March 22, 2009 Share Posted March 22, 2009 TO THE FEEDBACK FORUM>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluezOldy Posted March 22, 2009 Share Posted March 22, 2009 I owned three Randall amps and contacted them about getting a Randall baseball cap. They wanted me to pay AU$45-00 for it. I never have, nor ever will, buy a Randall amp again. It's the small things that make all the difference and these big companies lose sight of this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr B Posted March 22, 2009 Share Posted March 22, 2009 With the economy as it is, it's not surprising that a lot of companies have cut back on promo items. Frankly, I'd like to get a couple of those Epi "E" stickers that you got lpfan, but I've a feeling if I asked; "Hi, I just bought a used 2001 Dot in a generic HSC, and was wondering if I could get an Epiphone sticker to put on the case..." ...I'd probably get a reply of; "Buy a brand new guitar and we'll talk..." B. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin134 Posted March 22, 2009 Share Posted March 22, 2009 That kinda stuff is gonna vary company to company, even before the economy took a dump i'd be suprised if a company gave any freebies out. Maybe ten years ago, but last few years not really... now that the economy has done that, even fewer. BluezOldy, is the Randall amp any good? If so why would you base your next purchase on a hat?? If the amp sucks, then sure i'd understand never buying another.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tvyelwhiteflag Posted March 22, 2009 Share Posted March 22, 2009 I think it's important how a company treats their customers. I was reading on a Canadian guitar forum how a fellow drove all the way into Toronto to hit a "fancy" guitar shop. Once he got there, he had a REALLY poor customer service experience -he wrote an involved rant about it on the forum and he'll never go back there. I agree with that line of thinking, it's OUR money and a shop/company is lucky to have us consider buying their products. We aren't being honoured by having the opportunity to spend our cash with them, they should feel honoured we would consider them. Once a business looses track of this simple formula, they start to loose customers -and rightly so. The reason why so many "little" music stores still thrive is because they know who's paying the salaries. As for giveaways by big corporations, I think it makes even more sense in these hard economic times for them to promote their products -to fight for our dollars. If you look at the guitar market, there are so many good manufacturers fighting for a few liquid dollars. How can they get a sale? Well, they can rely on their name and hope for the best or they can go out and promote their products. If I was Epiphone, I'd get some cool t-shirts out there in the high schools and among loyal players to get the name out there. Another t-shirt stuck in the drawer of a store manager is NOT going to sell you any guitars. However, giving out a box of them at a "battle of the bands night" will. As for the folks who are upset by not getting a hat or a t-shirt when they wrote their favourite gear maker? Well, happily they can take their bucks elsewhere. Time for these companies to figure out if that $4 shirt they won't give away is worth losing a $500 sale... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluezOldy Posted March 22, 2009 Share Posted March 22, 2009 ... BluezOldy' date=' is the Randall amp any good? If so why would you base your next purchase on a hat?? If the amp sucks, then sure i'd understand never buying another..[/quote'] Nothing wrong with the amps. But with the choice available these days, it's easy to buy a similar amp. $45 for a baseball cap? If I owned a company and a customer had bought three major products and was planning a fourth purchase, I'd have that cap in the mail the same day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnMcClane5000 Posted March 22, 2009 Share Posted March 22, 2009 Companys like Gibson should maybe produce less 2nd and B-stock guitars for a change, that could bring in some thousand dollars worth of profit for them. I absolutely agree that companys need to treat their customers like kings! What has changed over the last 50 years? Nowadays the customer has to do everything! Nowadays you can send a broken toothbrush to get repaired, once upon a time you'd get a new Cadillac if the one you bought had a scratch in it, or whatever... It's the same old story with the loss in quality with the Chinese epis... If no one opens his mouth and tells em that they're producing **** for the money then they'd continue to produce **** for the money! I think the customers are too intimidated to open their mouths 'cause "it's a huge company and I'm just ONE customer" but you see, if one person isn't happy with 1 product, the chance is huge that he/she'll never buy from that company again! And nowadays with the internet and all the infos a customer can get, compare prices and so on I don't think it would be a good move for Gibson to risk their reputation because of a t-shirt and a hat! Come on! Gibson is a multi-million dollar company and they can't even spare a hat and a shirt? Customers of this world, UNITE!! :D JM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InsideMan Posted March 22, 2009 Share Posted March 22, 2009 There's a lesson here for ALL manufactures. We've come out of fat time into lean. In the fat times, there were so many consumers that companies could afford to sit on their laurels. Now, and especially in the guitar business, there is LOTS of competition. And I know this is blasphemous, but I can say it because I am very old. The current Gibson IS NOT the same company I grew up with. They simply BOUGHT that company (after it had changed hands a couple of times). Now, kudos to the current management because they have done a lot to to turn the company around from the mismanagement of its previous owners. But they can't simply sit on the reputation of the company they bought. They need to continue to prove that they are worthy of the Gibson name and reputation. This includes producing good quality products that people want to buy and play. And that people CAN afford to buy. And treating their customers reasonably well. "PLOK!" -- that's the sound of me getting down off my soapbox. Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tvyelwhiteflag Posted March 22, 2009 Share Posted March 22, 2009 and don't forget, that $45 hat cost them about 3 or 4 bucks :0) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnMcClane5000 Posted March 22, 2009 Share Posted March 22, 2009 and don't forget' date=' that $45 hat cost them about 3 or 4 bucks :0)[/quote'] =D You really wanted that hat for free, ey? =D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BluezOldy Posted March 22, 2009 Share Posted March 22, 2009 =D You really wanted that hat for free' date=' ey? =D[/quote'] Well, I wouldn't've said no to a freebie but in my initial enquiry I was seeking to buy one - Randall do not export merchandise and I wanted to know if their local distributor could supply. There's something taught at public relations/sales training sessions - one happy customer will tell 3 or 4 other people but one unhappy customer will complain to 15-20 others (or something like that). Just have a look at the complaints on this forum and many others about the over the top Epi price increases which certainly changed my buying plans. I ended up spending the money I'd saved for an Epi on an Australian-made Cole Clark acoustic which turned out to be the best guitar purchase I've ever made and I've got a Dot, Ultra etc etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lpfan Posted March 22, 2009 Author Share Posted March 22, 2009 With the economy as it is' date=' it's not surprising that a lot of companies have cut back on promo items. Frankly, I'd like to get a couple of those Epi "E" stickers that you got lpfan, but I've a feeling if I asked; "Hi, I just bought a used 2001 Dot in a generic HSC, and was wondering if I could get an Epiphone sticker to put on the case..." ...I'd probably get a reply of; "Buy a brand new guitar and we'll talk..." B.[/quote'] Just tell them that you own an epiphone. You don't have to tell them that it is used. And I am grateful for the E stickers but they look very cheap and I expected a little bit more from Gibson being the company that it is. I mean I always thought that they were the cream of the crop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pohatu771 Posted March 23, 2009 Share Posted March 23, 2009 I've never expected a company to give me free stuff, unless they advertised that they were giving it away. Schaller has an excellent consumer relations department... I told them I didn't receive the nut and washer for a set of strap locks, and within a month, it was on my doorstep, with a sticker... mailed from Germany. They never responded to my e-mail, so I didn't expect anything, but there it was. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnMcClane5000 Posted March 23, 2009 Share Posted March 23, 2009 I've never expected a company to give me free stuff' date=' unless they advertised that they were giving it away. Schaller has an excellent consumer relations department... I told them I didn't receive the nut and washer for a set of strap locks, and within a month, it was on my doorstep, with a sticker... mailed from Germany. They never responded to my e-mail, so I didn't expect anything, but there it was.[/quote'] It's not about the free stuff. It's about recognition as a customer... It's that feeling you get that you as a customer are being appreciated by the company with whatever. But to have the guts and charge someone for a stupid hat is just a kick in the face really. Just shows how companys really work these days.. money money money. Money just can't buy you love... And a stupid hat won't certainly buy you the love for a brand/company... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
floydpink7 Posted March 23, 2009 Share Posted March 23, 2009 No company will die for 3 free-stickers' date=' IMO[/quote'] Accept for those poor sticker companies Just kiddin... If you want some general merchandise, get a t-shirt from your local guitar store. A lot of them have plenty of shirts with their name/logo and adress on them, and it's free advertising anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lpfan Posted March 23, 2009 Author Share Posted March 23, 2009 I just got an e-mail from Fender and they said that they don't normally. They also asked for the serial number and year of the Strat. I'm gonna e-mail them back the info along with a link to this post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lpfan Posted March 25, 2009 Author Share Posted March 25, 2009 I just got an e-mail from Fender and they said "Sure, why not. Whats your shirt size?" Looks like Gibson needs to get their customer service group straightened out. Both Fender and especially Line 6 went out of their way. Like I said I am grateful for the "E" stickers that Gibson sent, its better than nothing but I really thought they were THEE GUITAR COMPANY! I thought that they would do a little more but I was sadly disappointed. I guess that when you ask for something for free you should never get your hopes up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lpfan Posted April 8, 2009 Author Share Posted April 8, 2009 Well I'm still waiting on my free shirt. But this week Fender started a promotion giving away free t-shirts if you go to an authorized dealer and test out a Fender amp. Theres a form that you have to fill out and the dealer has to fill out part of it as well. I just sent my form in yesterday. So there you go, Fender is really stepping it up. I guess they are trying to justify the price increase that happened recently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
floydpink7 Posted April 9, 2009 Share Posted April 9, 2009 I just got an e-mail from Fender and they said "Sure' date=' why not. Whats your shirt size?"[/quote'] Nice. Hope you get it soon! Gibson should really follow their lead... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitar Chico Posted April 10, 2009 Share Posted April 10, 2009 I just got an e-mail from Fender and they said "Sure' date=' why not. Whats your shirt size?" [/quote'] See, it wasn't that easy for me. I had to keep pestering them before they said "Sure, whats your address?" GC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lpfan Posted April 10, 2009 Author Share Posted April 10, 2009 I might be a little impatient for a free shirt from fender but it seems like it is taking for ever to get here. Maybe it's just me but its been over 2 weeks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
floydpink7 Posted April 10, 2009 Share Posted April 10, 2009 They probably used the "free shipping" method. Right now there's someone running to your house all the way from Fender HQ. Some day soon a very sweaty and tired man will ring your door bell and give you the t-shirt. He will then put out his hand asking for a tip, but since you were so anxious for that t-shirt you run inside right away; shutting the door in his face. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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