dougk
b00b
I have a 'customer'. I use this word lightly because he ordered a Daylighter JR in 2012. Yes. 4 years ago.
Then he dropped off the face of the earth. After a year of repeated attempts to contact, he finally answered an email with "yeah something came up and I can't afford it. I need my money back."
I pointed to his invoice and our website that says custom orders are non-refundable after 30 days (down to 7 now). We had all the parts machined, it was sitting in the rack for color (a custom blend based on a screen shot he sent me- later). I told him we'd be happy to sit on it till he was ready again for a few months.
TWO YEARS later he appears out of no where and makes another 600 dollar payment and sends over a few shades of orange he wants me to match. None of my prepackaged orange colors are quite right in his mind. So being a nice guy, I get back to work and match it best I can.
Of course then he disappears again. Again.
Fast forward to around beginning of this year when he finally reappears and says "ok I'm ready for the guitar. Please ship it out immediately". Now we've been busy, with people who actually pay their bills and I warn him that he's at the back of the line and we're 6- 9 months out. "But I'm already painted!". Yeah but I have months of assembly work ahead of him already in the schedule, we'll sneak it in when we can.
Then that started on the weekly, then daily messages: is it done yet, when will it ship, why are you ignoring me ect ect (ignoring being I didn't get back to him in 15 minutes). We finished the final fretwork, everything is here to assemble it and today I start getting messages "I'm going to post these conversations for everyone to see!! When are you shipping my guitar" ect ect.
Now, it's clearly outlined here: http://www.kauerguitars.com/frequently-asked-questions/ our policies for this. We don't have to do shit, neither assemble nor give money back. Frankly, I can't even afford to right this week (yay, taxes!) but I'm so annoyed that I'm ready to just cut him loose.
Ugh.
So yeah. There's something from the otherside of the coin.
Then he dropped off the face of the earth. After a year of repeated attempts to contact, he finally answered an email with "yeah something came up and I can't afford it. I need my money back."
I pointed to his invoice and our website that says custom orders are non-refundable after 30 days (down to 7 now). We had all the parts machined, it was sitting in the rack for color (a custom blend based on a screen shot he sent me- later). I told him we'd be happy to sit on it till he was ready again for a few months.
TWO YEARS later he appears out of no where and makes another 600 dollar payment and sends over a few shades of orange he wants me to match. None of my prepackaged orange colors are quite right in his mind. So being a nice guy, I get back to work and match it best I can.
Of course then he disappears again. Again.
Fast forward to around beginning of this year when he finally reappears and says "ok I'm ready for the guitar. Please ship it out immediately". Now we've been busy, with people who actually pay their bills and I warn him that he's at the back of the line and we're 6- 9 months out. "But I'm already painted!". Yeah but I have months of assembly work ahead of him already in the schedule, we'll sneak it in when we can.
Then that started on the weekly, then daily messages: is it done yet, when will it ship, why are you ignoring me ect ect (ignoring being I didn't get back to him in 15 minutes). We finished the final fretwork, everything is here to assemble it and today I start getting messages "I'm going to post these conversations for everyone to see!! When are you shipping my guitar" ect ect.
Now, it's clearly outlined here: http://www.kauerguitars.com/frequently-asked-questions/ our policies for this. We don't have to do shit, neither assemble nor give money back. Frankly, I can't even afford to right this week (yay, taxes!) but I'm so annoyed that I'm ready to just cut him loose.
Ugh.
So yeah. There's something from the otherside of the coin.