My nightmare in a guitar store actually came true

[webe123]

Here is a guy that accidentally broke the headstock off on a 72 Gibson SG with P-90s!

 

Here is the original post

http://www.thegearpage.net/board/sho...ht=music+store

 

 

And here is what the main post said:

"The other day I stopped in my local store at lunch time to see what they had in stock. I see a 1972 SG with P90's and a Bigsby so the guy asks me if I want to try it. I played it and it sounded great but said that it was too much money. He says try this one and hands me a LP doublecut goldtop. I set the SG in a stand and start playing the Goldtop. Someone walked in the door so I turn halfway around and I hear a crack sound! The cord caught on the bottom of the stand and the SG fell face down and broke the Headstock like a twig.

 

I bought the guitar with my credit card because I thought it was the right thing to do. He is fixing the headstock for me for free and said it will play like it never happened. He does alot of repairs so I have faith in his work but man does this suck! I am selling my 18 watt Ugly Amps halfstack and I will have to sell at least one guitar to cover this bill. I guess that guitar was meant for me."

 

 

Want to talk about a nightmare? WOW! I am glad he did an honorable thing, but that was one nightmare I NEVER want to go through when I am in a music store!

 

This story is going to make me extra cautious whenever I am browsing a music store now. Poor guy, I know he felt bad and now he is out $1,500!

 

 

[Rampdog]

Music stores have insurance for these mishaps... I would have apologized and even spoke to the manager as it was an accident... You're not the first person to have this happen to. You didn't say what store it was but was there a posted sign saying "You break it you buy it?" Probably not... Don't beat yourself up over it...

I hope it turns out ok for ya...

Woof

[miroslav]

Oh FIDDLESTICKS!

Oooooops...sorry!

 

That's about all he would have gotten out of me.

 

Since he was there assisting you...the minute he handed you the LP...he should have secured the SG.

[Shoes]

...and you have a great guitar!

 

Mine is split and has been for decades. I keep it strung and handle with care as always.

 

Yours will be better then mine in this regard and the glues they use now and super thin and terribly strong so it won't change the characteristics of the guitar in any noticeable way.

 

The money crunch thing isn't so nice though.

 

They should have given you a tidy discount, as mentioned, they'd have had coverage for this.

[Dr. Ellwood]

Yeah just enjoy the SG! it's someting you will keep for life so it's no problem at all..it will play perfectly, a good repair will make it as good as new!!

[Fumblyfingers]

Yeah they would not have gotten a dime off me...sorry. If you really get down to it the salesperson should hand you the guitar and take it from you and be responsible for it all the way.

 

The reason they let customers handle guitars in my opinion is because they don't want /cannot afford to have enough salespeople on hand. So rather than lose a sale or potential customer they let customers handle the instruments unsupervised.

 

I would call your card company and cancel if you can, unless you really want the instrument and even then you should get a discount.

 

They are totally insured against this. Make them cover it, not you.

 

Edit: I just noticed this is about someone else....I tried going to the thread but it is not available. I wonder if this guy went through with paying for it and ending up paying full price for a repaired guitar?

 

 

[Scott Fraser]

The guitarist in one of my high school bands in the 60's snapped the headstock off his SG when he stepped on it in his dark bedroom. Must be a bit of a weak point since I've seen Teles & Jaguars thrown across the room & not even need retuning.

 

Scott Fraser

[Fumblyfingers]

Gibsons are very weak at this point, I imagine partly because of the truss adjuster hole right there, the angle, thickness of the neck right there and string tension. My Les Paul has broken twice there. Gibsons often do not take a fall well.

 

But again.....IMO a poor decision to let the store not take any responsibility for this. They will not employ enough competent salespeople, and the customer has to just deal with all the related consequences of that? Bullcrap! I don't know how big a store this was, but these megastores like GC and Sam Ash really piss me off in this regard. They want to be the bigest and carry the most stock etc etc but they only have a couple of salespeople in the store who are usually not that knowledgeable. The relationship of customers to salesmen is usually pathetic at the best of times! I absolutely hate going into either of these places.

[Strategery]

Awww man. :grin:

 

Yeah, I'd hate to do that.

One music store I go in has signs that state..."You break it, you bought it." :grin:

 

Tough luck, but it sounds like the guy was trying to honorable even if the store wasn't.

 

 

[Shoes]

The reason is quite simply when you look at a Gibson neck (or any other tilted mahogany neck) because the headstock tilts back and the grain only continues so far before running out. It's typically right at the point where the first long grains from the neck meet those short diagonal lengths that continue up the headstock that marks the point of imminent doom. You'll see older Gibsons with the ears of the headstock nipped off because of the terribly short cross grain structure at that point.

 

Mahogany is a dense straight grained wood that is actually quite brittle. It explodes frantically when you shape or router it so minding the moisture content is crucial. Older dry mahogany can be difficult to manage.

 

This is one of the most popular deaths suffered by guitars regardless of manufacturer. More decapitated SGs than all others impart my natural design.

The necks are thinner than Les Pauls, Explorers or Vs. At least on the SG Standards.

[b3_john]

Even if I did pay for it (echoing everyone else's thoughts about the owners being insured) I'd only pay the dealer's cost plus repairs. There's a whole lotta markup on a Gibson.

 

John

[Kramer Ferrington III.]

I don't get it... it doesn't sound like it happened to YOU, it sounds like you are discussing what happened to another guy, on a different forum. And yet, everybody here seems to think you're talking about yourself? Am I just half-asleep?

[Bejeeber]

...you are discussing what happened to another guy, on a different forum. And yet, everybody here seems to think you're talking about yourself? Am I just half-asleep?

 

Funny, I noticed that too, but I guess I can't criticize, as I've skimmed over some pertinent info before posting a reply a couple 3, 4 dozen times meself.

[mdrs]

I don't get it... it doesn't sound like it happened to YOU, it sounds like you are discussing what happened to another guy, on a different forum. And yet, everybody here seems to think you're talking about yourself? Am I just half-asleep?

 

Vince,

 

You may be half asleep!!! LOL :grin:

 

But, you are correct. The story is about "some other guy"

[Fumblyfingers]

Watch Stevie jumping up and down on his Strat at The Mocambo and you will see another reason I like them so much. Tough guitars!!!!

[mdrs]

Well, I've heard tell of Pete doing a "hatchet job" with a Les Paul, where the flooring on the stage came apart, not the Les Paul!

 

I do agree that SG's have a reputation for neck fractures, both at the body neck junction, and at the base of the head, where it meets the neck. Especially SG's early on, where I believe the neck pu was too close to where the neck was glued in.

 

I never heard about Les Pauls having an issue with fracture at the head/neck junction. But, I did play an awesome '69 Goldtop Deluxe LP that had a pro fix on a head that had been severed!! I almost bought it, but the guy wanted too much. It was toneful, and played great.

[Shoes]

Ya... I was half asleep too!

But the remains of the day still ring true. It's fine but for the price.

 

About smashing guitars...

 

John Riatt's Perfectly Good Guitar

 

Well he threw one down form the top of the stairs

Beautiful women were standing everywhere

They all got wet when he smashed that thing

But off in the dark you could hear somebody sing

 

Chorus:

Oh it breaks my heart to see those stars

Smashing a perfectly good guitar

I don't know who they think they are

Smashing a perfectly good guitar

 

It started back in 1963

His momma wouldn't buy him

That new red harmony

He settled for a sunburst with a crack

But hes still trying to break his mommas back

 

Chorus

 

He loved that guitar just like a girlfriend

But ever good thing comes to an end

Now he just sits in his room all day

Whistling every note he used to play

 

There out to be a law with no bail

Smash a guitar and you go to jail

With no chance for early parole

You don't get out till you get some soul

 

Chorus

 

Late at night the end of the road

He wished he still had the old guitar to hold

He'd rock it like a baby in his arms

Never let it come to any harm

 

Chorus

[Big Red 67]

Man that twisted my gut!

[miroslav]

My favorite guitar bashing is in Animal House...when Belushi grabs the acoustic from the guy singing folk songs and smashes to pieces against the wall.

 

That one actually feels good to watch!

[Fumblyfingers]

But, I did play an awesome '69 Goldtop Deluxe LP that had a pro fix on a head that had been severed!!

 

You know it might just be Deluxe's. My friend had a Custom that I seem to remember had a much thicker neck area at the head and the neck was a much different thickness overall to mine.

 

Sorry Doc, I'll stop badmouthing LP's......

[mdrs]

Hehe....you're not bad mouthin' lp's :grin:

 

The Deluxe's had multi piece maple necks....maybe there was a problem there. I'll ask around and post if I come up with anything.

[revolead]

I side with the store on this one, but then again, I work retail as a college job. I'd be f***ing pissed if someone did that in my store, and I would have been very, very mad had he walked out with not even so much as asking if he has to pay for it. I would not have expected him to pay for it, but at the very least, the offer shows a lot of respect for the store on the customer's part.

 

And every excuse used here is just that, an excuse. Understaffed stores or departments, lousy set ups (unless it is THAT lousy), or anything else is no excuse for someone walking in and breaking a $1500 piece of merchandise, rendering it useless, no matter what it is, a guitar, a used car, or a pair of fancy shoes. It is simply a matter of respect. No one forced you to go into the store. No one forced you to pick up the guitar. And no one forced you to be the one who broke it. You have to respect all stores and restaurants, no matter what their business practices are. Don't like them? Shop somewhere else. Remember, stores exist to make money, not exclusively to serve customers no matter how ridiculous their demands or expectations are.

[Fumblyfingers]

I don't HAVE to respect anyone. Respect is earned.

 

I often do purchase my stuff online so I can avoid the stores.

 

My expectations are not ridiculous. It is my hard earned money this store might get and make a profit on, I want to be served accordingly. I expect decent service from the store, restuarant...whatever. Do you tip a waiter well who has ignored you, screwed up your order or been rude ?

 

While I would not have been a jerk about it, I still would not have coughed a dime.

 

The onus is on the store to make sure merchandise is handled safely. If something gets damaged,such as a guitar falling over in a stand, a customers belt buckle or keys on a beltloop scratching the guitar etc etc ....then someone at that store is not doing their job properly. And that starts with management who are responsible for properly trained employees.

 

You want the customer to carry the load here and you do not want to accept any responsibility at all and that is a load of crap. As an employee it is your duty to see to it that the owners stuff is handled properly and that customers have a decent experience in there. You need to be especially mindful of the high ticket items and watch the customer like a hawk. If you leave him to his own devices because you want to try make another sale.....you are responsible for what might happen. End of story bro'.

 

Granted a customer being negligent and rough with the gear should face consequences, at the very least be seperated from any gear he is handling and ejected from the premises. This case though is clearly an accident, not a malicious situation at all. And because there are accidents, that is why there is insurance.

 

 

[revolead]

You want the customer to carry the load here and you do not want to accept any responsibility at all and that is a load of crap. As an employee it is your duty to see to it that the owners stuff is handled properly and that customers have a decent experience in there. You need to be especially mindful of the high ticket items and watch the customer like a hawk. If you leave him to his own devices because you want to try make another sale.....you are responsible for what might happen. End of story bro'.

 

There is no right or wrong just because you're a customer. I don't care about trite or cliched sayings about customer service, the bottom line is, businesses have to make money. That will not happen with customers breaking high-dollar merchandise all the time.

 

Granted, I agree with you about training proper employees and making sure your merchandise is secure, if you honestly believe that the customer can never be at fault no matter what happens and that the business is always responsible for everything and that personal responsibility goes out the window just because the year is 2007 (or whatever other bogus excuse people have for making everything the fault of the capitalist or the entrepreneur), than that is a sad statement about affairs and belief in this society.

 

I'm not trying to be a jerk or anything, I'm just saying how it feels from the other end. I think too often people forget that. If you believe differently, then fine. It's not an argument at this point, just a discussion.

[Kramer Ferrington III.]

Well, let's go back to the original story.

 

And here is what the main post said:

"I see a 1972 SG with P90's and a Bigsby so the guy asks me if I want to try it. I played it and it sounded great but said that it was too much money. He says try this one and hands me a LP doublecut goldtop. I set the SG in a stand and start playing the Goldtop. Someone walked in the door so I turn halfway around and I hear a crack sound! The cord caught on the bottom of the stand and the SG fell face down and broke the Headstock like a twig.

 

I think the store guy was negligent in letting the customer himself put the guitar on the stand.

 

In every store I've ever been to, the sales guy takes the guitar down from the wall, hands you the guitar so you can try it and, when you've finished, puts the guitar back on the stand himself. It's the sales guy that's responsible for that sort of thing and most stores will have some sign saying "Please ask the staff before trying this guitar!" or similar.

 

All this stuff about cords getting caught on guitar stands sounds like a pretty negligent sales guy to me. Why was the guit still plugged in? Why was the cord anywhere near a door?

 

Nope. Definitely the shop's problem.

[A String]

if you honestly believe that the customer can never be at fault no matter what happens and that the business is always responsible for everything and that personal responsibility goes out the window just because the year is 2007 (or whatever other bogus excuse people have for making everything the fault of the capitalist or the entrepreneur), than that is a sad statement about affairs and belief in this society.

 

I don't think he was saying that it's never the customer's fault. in fact he states: "Granted a customer being negligent and rough with the gear should face consequences".

 

An accident, is an accident. Of course, every situation is different, but high end products have special rules. If you are thinking of buying a car and crash it during the test drive, the insurance pays for it. The customer is not expected to pony up the dough for the wrecked car.

 

[Hardtail]

While I would not have been a jerk about it, I still would not have coughed a dime.

 

Neither would I. I would have apologized but wouldn't have paid one stinking dime. That's what their insurance is for.

 

Though I have no proof, I'm willing to bet that music stores have more mishaps like this from the employees and in their receiving areas than what the customer may cause.

 

 

[Zuben]

I wouldn't be a hard @ss about it but but it wasn't his responsibily. I don't care if there was a "Broke it , Buy it" sign. The employee should have moved or put up the SG.

 

I wouldn't have payed a cent for it.

 

Peace