How to make enemies and influence people

[bratfink]

Open Letter to Fender.

I will NEVER buy one of your products or those of your subsidiaries.

What has driven a dyed in the wool Jackson only player to make this decision?

YOUR CUSTOMER SERVICE!

If a long time customer (20 years!) is looking for parts to be able to make repairs to an original product and is willing to spend extra to make sure that the repair is original, correct and all above board so as not to defraud anyone, it makes sense to sell that customer the parts they need.

Telling people they CANNOT buy original Jackson parts means my only option to repair my guitar is to now use custom and/or non-original parts.

This is a-kin to telling a Cadillac customer to use Daewoo parts to repair their cars!

And as an aside, I have asked over and over again on this site (JCFOnline) on how to get in touch with someone directly to be able to find the answer it has taken me 5 months to get (which was NO) through a 3rd party dealer...

If people on this site are so well connected and so helpful then I thank them whole-heartedly for keeping that information to themselves!

If someone feels offended that I am voicing my annoyance at the lack of support in the community, come and discuss it with me, let me know in advance so I can pre-book an ambulance to take you home (I am joking here... but I am very annoyed as well).

[shreddermon]

What exact parts have you been wanting/needing?

[bratfink]

This is for the UPS damaged Deco Dream, so:

Fretboard
Binding
Frets
Inlays
Truss Rod

I understand their idea is to prevent people from making copies by not releasing original parts. However, as a result of this policy they are forcing me to make non-original modifications to an original Jackson. I even offered to send back the old fretboard so they could "issue" a new one on the same serial.

[shreddermon]

Sorry for your troubles. That really sucks about the damage.

With all due respect, though, I can't think of any other guitar manufacturer who makes those "original" parts available in the aftermarket, either. I mean, you should be able to get reasonable substitutes for most. But selling fretboards and inlays? I'm not aware of any other guitar manufacturer who does that, either.

Maybe someone like GMW might be able to do a pro resto job, though? Not sure if they'd take a job like this on, though.

[bratfink]

In which case Jackson themselves should be offering a restoration service.

If you sell a high end instrument (or any prestige product for that matter) you should back it up with competent service. If I wanted a cheap throwaway guitar I'd buy one!

It's not that Fender just won't allow me to buy the parts. They won't allow a registered fender dealer or service center buy them either. No-one can buy parts at all (according to them).

They have effectively turned Jackson into a Walmart product. You get to spend the money to buy it, but if you need to repair or maintain it you have to buy a new one. It goes against everything the company was setup for in the first place. It's the reason why guys like me bought Jackson's instead of Gibson, Ibanez etc in the first place.

I called Third Coast Guitar, I heard they might be able to source some parts.

I am seriously considering switching allegiance altogether (that is how annoyed I am!!!), problem is it took me so long to find a brand I liked the first time (Jackson) that it might be too late to find another that works for me.

Thanks Fender for screwing everything up. You confirmed every suspicion I had when you bought Jackson out. I bet the service would have been better had Mustaine been allowed to buy it!

[rjohnstone]

I agree, it does suck that you cannot even send it back to Jackson to get properly repaired/restored on your own dime.
I'm still pissed that you can't buy replacement sustainer boards from them when the old ones burn out.

[neilli]

I'm not at all surprised that they won't supply that stuff - I'm sure for example PRS wouldn't send you birds either. However, I agree it sucks that they don't have a repair centre (which PRS do have) to take care of customers. Then again, hardly anybody would use it because it would likely be expensive compared to GMW, DRL, Learn etc and price-wise at least, most Jacksons are more disposable than many PRS.

[shreddermon]

Again, though, who else does this? Gibson? Ibanez? ESP? Out of warranty on decades-old guitars? To the best of my knowledge, no-one. If you're going to go there, gotta blame the whole industry. And, so, switching allegiances will do nothing - other companies don't do it, either.

Did you try GMW? I know they've had their own line for a few years now, but Lee used to do a lot of contract work for the J/C custom shop and was a dealer for many years. He's very familiar with Jacksons and does top-notch quality work. Again, not sure he'd take this job on - you'd have to ask. But if he did, be assured it would be done right.

[pianoguyy]

I have 3 emails to Jackson (dating back to 2009) that they haven't bothered to respond to. And a 4th that they did respond.
I also am waiting for a response from Carvin and DecoArt.

I hate when that shit happens. Happens so often that I something think my damn email is broken.

[Newc]

Again, though, who else does this? Gibson? Ibanez? ESP? Out of warranty on decades-old guitars? To the best of my knowledge, no-one. If you're going to go there, gotta blame the whole industry. And, so, switching allegiances will do nothing - other companies don't do it, either.

This. Why is this not common knowledge? You want a Jackson-made fretboard? They only come attached to Jackson-made necks. Same with every other "big name" company. I don't see this as a problem, myself.
Sorry you got burned by a shipping company who has nothing but hatred for their clients' property, but this is no one's fault but UPS.

[Rich#6]

So a shipper damaged a guitar and if insured was listed as a complete loss right? take the money find another one in that finish or another tacky 80's graphic.

[lefty]

We can only expect this sort of stuff to keep happening and get far worse.
This is due to the fact that fewer people will be picking up the instrument in
the future, and that Fender's attachment to a failing GC and, potentially, MF
will make them less fiscally viable. Of course, a smart company would then
do everything they could think of to keep their existing customers happy, but
I don't see that happening...

[neilli]

A smart company does everything they can think of to maximise profits - keeping customers happy might be a function of that, but it's not the goal. In this case, Jackson makes waaaay more money out of the imports than USA guitars so it's just not their priority. And fixing 20 year old guitars or supplying parts is just not going to happen.

And again, no company is going to sell 'guitar in a bag'..

[Rich#6]

We can only expect this sort of stuff to keep happening and get far worse.

Since it was never another way how can things be worse? or better?

[Rich#6]

Too bad it's not a fender they now sell replacement parts(since there is a market and everyone else other then Fender has been cashing in for decades)