Dave Bryce Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 Hi, guys - As some of you may remember, I purchased a Club bag from the Gear Gruv folks a little while ago. I was quite pumped about it, and recommended it pretty heavily. Unfortunately, it started to come apart on me after only about ten gigs (!). Check it out: http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y172/davebryce/IMG_4069_zpsyykse2to.jpg At NAMM last week, I showed this pic to Jay Baldemor, Gruv Gear's president. He told me that this was a known defect due to a design flaw (a sewn flap was not holding up), that there was a new version with the design flaw fixed (no more flap - it's now tucked into a new front pocket), and that he'd be happy to replace mine with a new one free of charge. I emailed him to confirm this, and received a response telling me that as long as I was okay with paying the shipping charge of $15, he'd be glad to send the replacement out. As I recommended this so heavily, I want to make sure to let any of you who bought Club bags that if it's not already falling apart, it probably will soon. If you want to replace it, contact them and they'll do it...as long as you pay the shipping. Personally, I'm probably not going to do it. I find the fact that they want to pass the shipping off on the people to whom they sold defective goods to be a bit off-putting; and, even thought the $15 isn't a lot of money, I object on principle. I mean - c'mon...ten gigs? And to make a customer who already feels bad feel even worse over $15? Not sure I would make that choice...but hey, it's his company. I'm thinking I'm just gonna hit it with some Gorilla Glue and duct tape - it'll give it more of a rock vibe. dB ==> David Bryce Music • Funky Young Monks <== Professional Affiliations: Royer Labs • Music Player Network Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bobadohshe Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 That's a drag dB. I'm surprised they wanted to charge you for shipping. My stadium bag is holding up pretty well after about 250 gigs and some rigorous use. I have had mixed experiences with the company though. They promised to send me a replacement bag after I crushed one of the plastic pieces that the shoulder strap threads through, and after a couple reminder E-mails they still haven't done this. (this doesn't contradict my statement the bag has held up. The piece got crushed by a heavy cart - user error). They also said after a steady stream of inquiries from me about their Muver 6 cart that I could possibly meet with their sales rep to see one in person. They dropped the ball on that as well. I guess I'd conclude Gruv Gear is a promising young company with good products that wants to have good customer service, but might be a little overleveraged with manpower to follow through on everything. Kawai C-60 Grand Piano : Hammond A-100 : Hammond SK2 : Yamaha CP4 : Yamaha Montage 7 : Moog Sub 37 My latest album: Funky organ, huge horn section https://bobbycressey.bandcamp.com/album/cali-native Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dana. Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 I emailed him to confirm this, and received a response telling me that as long as I was okay with paying the shipping charge of $15, he'd be glad to send the replacement out. Personally, I'm probably not going to do it. I find the fact that they want to pass the shipping off on the people to whom they sold defective goods to be a bit off-putting; and, even thought the $15 isn't a lot of money, I object on principle. I would give this guy a hearty Brooklyn "Fu..." Er, +1 to what you said. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cabo Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 The president of the company talks to you about it at NAMM, admits their mistake, and they still want to charge you $15? Ridiculous. Just think how they would treat "low profile" customers like me. Not good. Yamaha Montage M6, Nord Stage 4 - 88, Hammond SK-Pro 73, Yamaha YC-73, Mainstage, Yamaha U1 Upright Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tonysounds Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 Shoddy. he needs to read CONSUMER RELATIONS FOR DUMMIES. Unrelated, but similar, when I moved here to Albuquerque in October, first thing I did was set up ties with the business community and switch my phone service to Verizon (since AT&T worked terribly for me when I was there in June), even though I could have done it at home, with a trusted and long-time vendor. But I felt it important to start treating it like my new home. Dumbass deleted all 800+contacts out of my phone, all my pictures, all my wifes contacts and photos. I love this app! Really??? Your app sucks, I dont even know my sons phone numberwtf! We had just signed up for 2 year contracts, bought 2 brand new phones. They kept mine overnight as I threatened them with satisfactionespecially since all of my wifes medical providers (and important info that was stored there as most of our stuff is in boxes and being moved) including her oxygen provider at home, necessary for getting a machine here. Just a fkn trainwreck. I went back the next day oh sorry, no, nothing we can do. Give me my phone..oh great, you took my brand new phone, had it all day, all night, and you didnt think to put it on the mthrfkn charger??? Thank you. I need 2 car chargers. She, the Manager there, actually charged me full list price. After informing her, in front of the whole stupid little mall store with no privacy for anyone anywhere, that after me purchasing 2 phones, 2 two year contracts, and her staff deleting EVERY PIECE OF INFO we had brought with us, ex-communicating me 100% from my lifetime home and international business contacts, as well as my new business contacts, that she was really just stupid for charging me ANYTHING for those chargers, but that Im gladly going to pay for them after you give me your Regional Managers phone number. As a couple people looked at each other and headed back out the door, she ponied up the phone number.but not the chargers! LOL 72 hours later, I had 1 year free service on both phones, the $1100 for the cell phones reversed back to my credit card, the return of both our previous equipment, as well as the $63 for the stupid phone chargers. F that noise. What is wrong with people? Youre in the customer service business whether you like it or not. PROTECT YOUR BUSINESS! Hitting "Play" does NOT constitute live performance. -Me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Bryce Posted January 28, 2015 Author Share Posted January 28, 2015 The president of the company talks to you about it at NAMM, admits their mistake, and they still want to charge you $15? Ridiculous. Just think how they would treat "low profile" customers like me. Not good. The fact that they would choose to handle a known design flaw in this manner - regardless of the fact that I'm a fellow industry guy - is confusing to me. A customer is a customer. We're all important. There are other companies like Namba Gear that makes some fine bags as well, so it's not like we can't make other choices. What is wrong with people? Youre in the customer service business whether you like it or not. PROTECT YOUR BUSINESS! No doubt. What kills me about some manufacturers is that they think they're in the manufacturing business. They're not - they're in sales....they just happen to make the product they sell. The proof - if they stop making stuff, their sales guys can find other stuff to sell and the company can continue on...but if the sales guys stop selling, it's only a matter of time before the doors close for good... ...and in this day and age, how customer service is handled is really one of the more effective ways to separate one's company from the pack. In either direction. dB ==> David Bryce Music • Funky Young Monks <== Professional Affiliations: Royer Labs • Music Player Network Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WesG Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 I had a zipper pop two weeks shy of the 1 yr warranty on my Gator SK-88. They shipped a new bag to my brick-and-mortar store within 48 hours. Straight-up swap. At first, I was pissed. Now I am happy, have bought three more Gator bags since, and will buy more. Wes Hammond: L111, M100, M3, BC, CV, Franken CV, A100, D152, C3, B3 Leslie: 710, 760, 51C, 147, 145, 122, 22H, 31H Yamaha: CP4, DGX-620, DX7II-FD-E!, PF85, DX9 Roland: VR-09, RD-800 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MotiDave Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 two great rules of life in here: 1. Every business is in the customer service business. 2. never take your smartphone to a phone store without backing it up first. never. I think its hilarious you told the CS rep that the CEO said he'd replace it, and they said $15 please. thats some brass balls there. The baiting I do is purely for entertainment value. Please feel free to ignore it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenny Ingram Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 Dave, explain this to him. I don't know if there's any point in wasting your time with a post like this when you could send him this information and what you think of it, and I'm confident he'd replace it free of charge (knowing who you are). Yes, the principle and thought behind that response you got from him suck. Personally I don't deal with any companies that don't have liberal policies, so I don't really worry about situations like this, but if it were me I'd simply tell him all you've mentioned in this post. The fact that you've recommended it so much (and could just as easily put the product down for this flaw), means that it's on him and his job to replace it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timwat Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 ...I don't know if there's any point in wasting your time with a post like this when you could send him this information and what you think of it... Kenny, I'm pretty sure Dave's point in the original post is that he recommended the product originally to the forum, so as a stand-up guy he feels duty bound to give us the sequel to the original endorsement. .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenny Ingram Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 ...I don't know if there's any point in wasting your time with a post like this when you could send him this information and what you think of it... Kenny, I'm pretty sure Dave's point in the original post is that he recommended the product originally to the forum, so as a stand-up guy he feels duty bound to give us the sequel to the original endorsement. Got it. I suppose his $15 customer service dilemma is going to cost him a lot more in the future now than it would have, had he replaced all the defective units... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Bryce Posted January 28, 2015 Author Share Posted January 28, 2015 I think its hilarious you told the CS rep that the CEO said he'd replace it, and they said $15 please. thats some brass balls there. It was actually Jay himself I emailed to initiate the procedure (per his instructions) after talking to him at the show, and it was he who responded to my email...not a customer service rep. Sorry if that was unclear. ...I don't know if there's any point in wasting your time with a post like this when you could send him this information and what you think of it... Kenny, I'm pretty sure Dave's point in the original post is that he recommended the product originally to the forum, so as a stand-up guy he feels duty bound to give us the sequel to the original endorsement. Precisely. I actually traded a few very cordial emails with Jay, making sure I understood his position, and making sure he understood my reaction. He told me that this is the same procedure they do with returns - asking people to pay the shipping - so he felt it was justified. I let him know that I see a return as a whole different situation. As an ex-CEO (for ADAM Audio USA, for eight years) and current consultant for nine different MI and pro audio companies, believe me - I clarified his position before posting about it. I even informed him (once again, quite cordially) that I felt obliged to inform the people on my forum to whom I recommended the bag that there was a known issue, and that there was a procedure in place to handle it. dB ==> David Bryce Music • Funky Young Monks <== Professional Affiliations: Royer Labs • Music Player Network Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenny Ingram Posted January 28, 2015 Share Posted January 28, 2015 Wow, completely understood. Thanks for the clarification, Dave. There's nothing in the world I hate more than companies with sub-par customer service and unclear policies. Here's good customer service for ya: I recently had to call my favorite in-ear monitor company, MEElectronics, about an adjustable wire loop that had snapped in one of my M6 earphones. The value of the M6 model I had: $20. What did they do? Firstly, without even asking for a picture or asking questions, they offered a replacement immediately. But instead of just replacing the M6 free of charge, they want to ship me their brand new M6 PRO model (MSRP $60, recently showcased at the NAMM show). It's companies like this that I never want to stop buying products from, and in the long-term, they seem to be the companies that last the longest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Bryce Posted January 28, 2015 Author Share Posted January 28, 2015 It's companies like this that I never want to stop buying products from, and in the long-term, they seem to be the companies that last the longest. Totally agreed. We had a situation at ADAM with a batch of faulty filter capacitors, that wouldn't show up as bad until they had been in the field for a while. Whenever anyone called me to report a speaker with the symptoms that I recognized as this problem and with a serial number that fell in the correct range, I repaired not only the problem speaker, but their other speaker as well, just in case (or other four, if they had a surround system). Shipping paid by ADAM, of course. Both directions. dB ==> David Bryce Music • Funky Young Monks <== Professional Affiliations: Royer Labs • Music Player Network Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George88 Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 Dave, thank you. I did buy this bag and have noticed some tear in the fabric. I appreciate the heads up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Benhamou Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 MONO BAGS I've had mine for over year, gigged heavily with it and it's still like new! I own an acoustic guitar case by them as well. Same thing! My buddy has had the cymbals case for years now and he beats it to death. Still no wear and tear. Bass player friend swears by them. They're a bit pricey, but once you hold one in your hand and feel the sheer quality of all there products you'll realize it's well worth it. I have no stake in this company, just an extremely satisfied customer. I've emailed them about keyboard cases and they may have something in the pipeline other than cases for 61-note boards. Ian Benhamou Keyboards/Guitar/Vocals [url:https://www.facebook.com/OfficialTheMusicalBox/]The Musical Box[/url] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J. Dan Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 It's companies like this that I never want to stop buying products from, and in the long-term, they seem to be the companies that last the longest. Totally agreed. We had a situation at ADAM with a batch of faulty filter capacitors, that wouldn't show up as bad until they had been in the field for a while. Whenever anyone called me to report a speaker with the symptoms that I recognized as this problem and with a serial number that fell in the correct range, I repaired not only the problem speaker, but their other speaker as well, just in case (or other four, if they had a surround system). Shipping paid by ADAM, of course. Both directions. dB slightly OT - but another example of GOOD customer service: I had a flat panel TV from Samsung that I bought from Circuit City. Of course they went out of business, and the TV was out of warranty when it went out. I contacted the company handling warranty work for Circuit City even though it was out of warranty. As it turns out, the TV had a known issue with under-rated capacitors in the power supply. Samsung sent a service tech to my house who took apart the TV and installed a whole new power supply board at no charge! The TV was probably 3-4 years old at that point. I never had to even so much as show a receipt. Dan Acoustic/Electric stringed instruments ranging from 4 to 230 strings, hammered, picked, fingered, slapped, and plucked. Analog and Digital Electronic instruments, reeds, and throat/mouth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DulceLabs.com Posted January 29, 2015 Share Posted January 29, 2015 Penny wise, pound foolish as my Dad would say. Sh%t happens - QC, bad design, etc... I get that... but The TRUE test of a company is how they handle their mistake. I am very loyal to a company where I, or someone I know, had an issue and the company did the right thing. I know if I buy something and things go to pot I will be taken care of. If this story had ended with "He will send out replacements gratis to anyone who requests it", he probably would have won a lot of future customers here. And, honestly, with the number of people that would be asking for a new bag, it would not break them to cover the shipping. I am guessing Jay lost a lot of current and potential customers this week. Missed opportunity.. too bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.