Frustrating BTO story

[ggj]

A little more than 7 weeks ago, I ordered a GA-5 with a cedar tobacco sunburst top and an ES system.  I got a great price, traded in a T-5 I never played for a good trade in price and paid a small amount down. Note, this was after I called the owner to express my dissatisfaction with his staff and their seeming disinterest in answering any of my questions about a BTO. After that, they seemed VERY responsive. [I have purchased three Taylors from this store in the past]

I've previously expressed my frustration with the wait and I have been scolded on this forum for my unreasonable attitude. Duly noted.

Last Wedneday, my dealer called to tell me he had just received my beautiful new Taylor and it was waiting for me.  Great feeling.

Even though I was headed out of town for the weekend, I stopped to pick up the guitar on Thursday morning (I thought I'd take it along with me).  My rep brings the guitar out in a Taylor box stapled shut.  I thought that was a bit odd in terms of presentation, but really who cares in the grand scheme opf things.

We opened the box and the guitar case and see a beautiful new GA-5 with a natural cedar top and no ES system.  It's a standard GA-5.  After I tell my rep that is not the guitar, he scurries off to call Taylor but can't reach them.  I take a deep breath and leave thinking it must have been a botched delivery. Small snafu.  No big deal.

My rep calls me Friday afternoon and tells me that, no, it was not a botched delivery. Rather, it was a screwed up order and that Taylor had taken seven weeks to build and deliver a standard GA-5 to me.  My rep told me it would take another 45 days to build the correct guitar. He offered me the standard GA-5 to play in the interim but I told him I had plenty of guitars to play and I declined that offer.

It is unclear to me who botched the order so I am not naming the dealer, BUT someone clearly messed up.  My dealer rep did fall on his sword and took responsibility for the mess but I'm not sure that's 100% true.

At this point, I've told the dealer to hold off on a new order and that I might just want a refund.  I'm taking a couple of days to think it over. The thrill is gone from the new guitar anticipation and now I think I'd be better off to simply search for a good deal on EBay.

Very disappointed in Taylor and my dealer---I'm not sure in what order.

It feels good to vent; thanks to the forum for the opportunity.

[CodeBlueEMT]

 I certainly understand your frustration. Give it a few days and then decide what to do.

 It doesn't matter who's at fault. Someone dropped the ball. Stuff happens. It sounds like your dealer wants to make things right and I'm sure the folks in El Cajon do too.

 

[gerald germany]

In this case, I think you are fully justified in being angry. Mistakes happen....we all understand that and Taylor does their best to keep the number of mistakes down, but I think Taylor should really go an extra mile ot two in this case....these are pretty glaring mistakes.

[DennisG]

but I think Taylor should really go an extra mile ot two in this case....these are pretty glaring mistakes.

I think Taylor IS going the extra mile by a) offering a brand-new guitar to play in the interim, and b) offering to build the correct guitar in 45 days, half the amount of time it would normally take.

[Judson H]

Not me.  Personally, I think a subsantial discount would speak much louder ... otherwise, I would ask for a full refund.  As the poster said, he has plenty of guitars to play in the interim and "half the time" is still half again as much time as it should have taken to get it right in the first place.  I waited (patiently) for 9 weeks for my 12-string, but at least they got it right after all that time.

but I think Taylor should really go an extra mile ot two in this case....these are pretty glaring mistakes.

I think Taylor IS going the extra mile by a) offering a brand-new guitar to play in the interim, and b) offering to build the correct guitar in 45 days, half the amount of time it would normally take.

[mgap]

OUCH!  When you wait so long for a guitar it is either the greatest thrill or the biggest disappointment.  My view is your doing the right thing, take a couple of days(for me to cool off)and decide what to do after the weekend.  These are the days that test your character.  Sorry to that you have to deal with this, good luck.

[Strumming Fool]

Hard to know what to say except- sorry about your bad experience. There's no good excuse for it. I guess that all of us who have had consistently good experiences with this process (I've done it 5 times [three with Taylor]) should count our blessings....

[BigSkyTaylorPlayer]

Oh man, sorry to hear of this - truly frustrating.  I agree with you, Mgap, and CodeBlueEMT, take a few days to collect yourself and then decide after the weekend.  I can see you would be upset but Taylor and your dealer will do the right thing and make it right so bear with them a little longer.

Mistakes do happen in the best of times, when you get your finished guitar it will be to your specs and be really nice and worth the wait.

[DennisG]

Not me.  Personally, I think a subsantial discount would speak much louder ... otherwise, I would ask for a full refund.  As the poster said, he has plenty of guitars to play in the interim and "half the time" is still half again as much time as it should have taken to get it right in the first place.  I waited (patiently) for 9 weeks for my 12-string, but at least they got it right after all that time.

So, when you say that you don't think Taylor's done enough, you're concluding that this is Taylor's fault and that they should bear the burden of compensation to the customer.

[ataylor]

Bummer.

Considering you had to twist this particular store's arm to get the BTO ordered in the first place, I'd personally be very likely to go through another dealer in this situation. I can think of a few great online dealers that people here have bought from that would be great to deal with. And who knows, maybe they could explain your situation to Taylor and attempt to get a similar rush on the order.

Good luck, let us know how it goes.

[Judson H]

If Taylor is accepting blame then, yes.  But, actually, I didn't place fault with anyone specifically.  I didn't say who should bear the cost of the discount, I just said that a discount would mean something to the purchaser, while the gestures that were offered in compensation were on the whole, pretty meaningless.  A loaner guitar and a promise to hurry up with the replacement are not a lot better than just saying "We're sorry" ...

Not me.  Personally, I think a subsantial discount would speak much louder ... otherwise, I would ask for a full refund.  As the poster said, he has plenty of guitars to play in the interim and "half the time" is still half again as much time as it should have taken to get it right in the first place.  I waited (patiently) for 9 weeks for my 12-string, but at least they got it right after all that time.

So, when you say that you don't think Taylor's done enough, you're concluding that this is Taylor's fault and that they should bear the burden of compensation to the customer.

[Cindy]

GGJ, I am really sorry to hear about your dilemma! There's nothing like a long awaited BTO that isn't what you ordered. Can't Taylor install an ES system into this guitar? They do it for other Taylors.

As for the problem itself...granted buying a BTO is an investment of sorts, and most likely you took quite a while making all types of decisions as to what you wanted included on it. After weighing all the options, you finally decided what you wanted...then the wait began.

Fast forward to today...this is a huge let-down for you...no one should be contesting that fact. Do you want to make a knee-jerk type of decision or do you want your decision to be made with your intellectual abilities? How you handle this problem will show what type of a person YOU are.

First of all...if this is a local store where you do quite a but of business, and if you don't follow through with them, how will this affect your ability to buy strings and accessories while trying to quell GAS in the future? Are there other local stores in your area? Secondly...this sounds like it was an honest mistake. If it was Taylor's fault, then why not reorder through the same dealer? Why penalize the dealer? If it was the dealer's fault...well...you've got a couple of choices...

You can certainly order through another dealer and move on with your life. However, it was an honest error, and no doubt the dealer would be kicking himself (if it was his fault). Have you ever made a huge blunder that you've regretted? We all make mistakes, ggj, and sometimes our mistakes have a domino effect like has happened with you. You have the option to handle this mistake with grace and humility and wait for this dealer to make things right although it isn't the easy road to take.

Please weigh your decision carefully, ggj, and if you were to put yourself in the shoes of the person who made the mistake, how would you feel, and what would you want the outcome to be?

[e8n]

Personally I'd take the money back and work with one of the dealers that does a lot of BTOs.  There are several here with good reps that will do a fine job for you.  It sounds a bit cold but you gave the dealer a shot and it didn't work out.  Time to give someone else a shot and get your dream guitar.  I promise that your excitement will return once you pull the trigger.

-Dave

[roadbiker]

I have not read any of the replies/reactions to your post, so I am completely untainted by anyone else's comments.

People make mistakes The reaction to the mistake tells the story. In this case the shop owned up to it and wants to make it right, or so it seems. The liability is clearly NOT on the part of Taylor, so I would not judge them based on this. Unless this is the only shop in town, you obviously like dealing with them, being that you have purchased several guitars from them in the past. Personally, I would not make an emotional decision and take a knee-jerk reaction. They generously offered you a guitar to play while waiting for the mistake to be corrected, so they apparently appreciate your business. If it were me, I would go home, drink a little scotch, play one of my other guitars and get over it. Before you know it, the new guitar will arrive and this will be nothing more than a memory. You'll be making better memories with your new guitar soon enough. In other words, chill out. Be reasonable with them and in the end, they will treat you right and you will be happy. If you go in blazing mad about the whole episode, they will satisfy you begrudgingly, and probably won't be so happy to see you next time you stop by the shop. Remember the golden rule.

I recently brought a guitar into a shop to have a repair made (chip on the top). The repair, in my opinion was lousy. I tactfully and in a frienfly way let the owner of the shop know that I was not satisfied with the work, and he is going out of his way to make it right. In fact, this is motivating him to look into new products for repairing this kind of work and my guitar will be the test subject (It's a relatively inexpensive Epiphone, so I'm not too worried). This has been going on since March, and I suspect that it will stil be severla months before the work is done. And I suspect he's going to do the whole thing for free (althoug I would pay for his work). I thnk he's willing to go out of his way for me because through this whole ordeal I have been very reasonable, maybe even too reasonable. But in the end, I have a good sens that I will be happy with the work, plus I am not expecting miracles - just a better job than the first attempt.

So relax. Let them make it right and don't sweat the samll stuff. Enjoy your BTO when you get it and don't forget the pix. I wish I could get a BTO...

On the other hand, considering that the guitar was stunning, I might have considered negotiating with them and taking the guitar for a substantial discount and then having a nice fishman(or other) system installed (I'm not a huge fan of the ES).

Jim

[ggj]

Thanks for all of your input.  The range of responses reflects the range of my thoughts on this situation.  I am trying to be rational about this but the dealers prior disinterest in my BTO questions does suggest something beyond a mere mistake. While the dealer rep took responsibility, that does not mean it was his mistake. I don't know that.

If it was just an ES add, that would be easy.  I really wanted the tobacco burst finish and the guitar as delivered was a standard GA-5 with a natural cedar top.  Nice but not what I ordered.