Eastman SB59 issues, advice appreciated!

GoldenEraGuitars

It’s worth noting that he doesn’t actually name anyone in his Facebook posts but it doesn’t really matter. There’s enough detail there to make it cringeworthy to read. He also quotes emails word for word. All of this while claiming that his business model is like no other, he’s not a robot and he has emotions etc etc. As a potential customer, I read it as a personal attack on a customer who isn’t there defend themselve. You could argue that Richard can’t defend himself here but hey.... I’m not the one posting mini rants on my Facebook page..

mbe

Said rants are only a means to gather the sycophantic faithful to massage the ego.

GoldenEraGuitars

mbe said:

Said rants are only a means to gather the sycophantic faithful to massage the ego.

Indeed. If I’ve had a cack day, I don’t tell my followers. I sometimes tell my wife. But usually I say not a word to anyone. 

Im quite glad a few people have politely replied to him that posting such interactions on a business page isn’t a good idea. 

Fishboy7

Seems like a weird guy this Richard

chrisj1602

I’m getting an Eastman from Sounds Great, great shop and service. Played a few and they were really great guitars.

I wouldn’t buy a plectrum off Richard.

gringopig

I can't see the Facebook post but I will say this. I would NEVER buy anything from him. LOL

Not a chance.

 

chrisj1602

One of his Facebook followers has suggested he starts invoicing his “free £100 added value” set up separately from the guitar price on his receipt so if he ever has to accept a return he only has to refund the guitar price. He replied “mmm... interesting”

Snags

It's not really a free £100 setup then, is it? It's a discount on the price of the guitar ...

gregm

lonestar said:

It’s worth noting that he doesn’t actually name anyone in his Facebook posts but it doesn’t really matter. There’s enough detail there to make it cringeworthy to read. He also quotes emails word for word. All of this while claiming that his business model is like no other, he’s not a robot and he has emotions etc etc. As a potential customer, I read it as a personal attack on a customer who isn’t there defend themselve. You could argue that Richard can’t defend himself here but hey.... I’m not the one posting mini rants on my Facebook page..

Am I missing something? I had a look at his Facebook page and didn't see anything? Cheers

GoldenEraGuitars

gregm said:

lonestar said:

It’s worth noting that he doesn’t actually name anyone in his Facebook posts but it doesn’t really matter. There’s enough detail there to make it cringeworthy to read. He also quotes emails word for word. All of this while claiming that his business model is like no other, he’s not a robot and he has emotions etc etc. As a potential customer, I read it as a personal attack on a customer who isn’t there defend themselve. You could argue that Richard can’t defend himself here but hey.... I’m not the one posting mini rants on my Facebook page..

Am I missing something? I had a look at his Facebook page and didn't see anything? Cheers

He’s deleted all of his rants. He has probably read this and the comments on his post and gone back through a few and thought better of it. I must have found the comment interesting last night as I screenshot it to look into the legalities of the idea. Essentially, if someone returns a guitar he would argue that they’re not getting the full money back ie the cost minus the £100 setup fee. It wouldnt work at all.

https://i.imgur.com/rYVkK4f.jpg

GoldenEraGuitars

I’d like to add at this point I have nothing against Richard at all. I understand that he is passionate about what he does and he simply has a different approach to social media than others. Maybe it’s refreshing to know that shit happens and others get it sometimes too? That’s my take as a business owner. As a customer, it would alienate me tbh. 

gregm

lonestar said:

gregm said:

lonestar said:

It’s worth noting that he doesn’t actually name anyone in his Facebook posts but it doesn’t really matter. There’s enough detail there to make it cringeworthy to read. He also quotes emails word for word. All of this while claiming that his business model is like no other, he’s not a robot and he has emotions etc etc. As a potential customer, I read it as a personal attack on a customer who isn’t there defend themselve. You could argue that Richard can’t defend himself here but hey.... I’m not the one posting mini rants on my Facebook page..

Am I missing something? I had a look at his Facebook page and didn't see anything? Cheers

He’s deleted all of his rants. He has probably read this and the comments on his post and gone back through a few and thought better of it. I must have found the comment interesting last night as I screenshot it to look into the legalities of the idea. Essentially, if someone returns a guitar he would argue that they’re not getting the full money back ie the cost minus the £100 setup fee. It wouldnt work at all.

https://i.imgur.com/rYVkK4f.jpg

Just to be clear, he was discussing this thread and my complaint? I have tried to put an end to this and have kept a lot of info private from this thread to allow this. Any other screenshots would be appreciated?

GoldenEraGuitars

gregm said:

lonestar said:

gregm said:

lonestar said:

It’s worth noting that he doesn’t actually name anyone in his Facebook posts but it doesn’t really matter. There’s enough detail there to make it cringeworthy to read. He also quotes emails word for word. All of this while claiming that his business model is like no other, he’s not a robot and he has emotions etc etc. As a potential customer, I read it as a personal attack on a customer who isn’t there defend themselve. You could argue that Richard can’t defend himself here but hey.... I’m not the one posting mini rants on my Facebook page..

Am I missing something? I had a look at his Facebook page and didn't see anything? Cheers

He’s deleted all of his rants. He has probably read this and the comments on his post and gone back through a few and thought better of it. I must have found the comment interesting last night as I screenshot it to look into the legalities of the idea. Essentially, if someone returns a guitar he would argue that they’re not getting the full money back ie the cost minus the £100 setup fee. It wouldnt work at all.

https://i.imgur.com/rYVkK4f.jpg

Just to be clear, he was discussing this thread and my complaint? I have tried to put an end to this and have kept a lot of info private from this thread to allow this. Any other screenshots would be appreciated?

No this was to with an imperfection inside an Eastman acoustic I think. The original post included direct quotes from the customers email although no names were mentioned.

mikeyrob73

I wouldnt want to deal with any company that airs this kind of shit of Facebook. Richard if your reading this (i suspect your lurking) step away from social media, its not for you 

bacchanalian

With GDPR legislation, sharing customer information on a public forum can result in colossal fines. Best avoided.

I do not have a facebook account but might join as it sounds like a nice friendly place to hang out.

Cols

Deleted already?  I remember something similar around Christmas where he wrote a Facebook post listing all the less-than-complementary things people had said about him on tFb.  At some point he must’ve realised that filling your Facebook page with what amounted to negative feedback wasn’t the soundest business plan, and deleted the lot.

guitartango

Dont forgot Richard has a few friends on here, so any posting I guess ends up in his mailbox

GoldenEraGuitars

No one here has said anything false or derogatory about this. The basic facts are there for all to see. He posts these types of things on his business page and systematically deleted them once the dust has settled. 

As a business owner i can tell you the last people I want to tell about my negative dealings is my fan base.

Veganic

I think this forum needs a "top secret -  definitely not about Richard's Guitars" section. For members only. 

Modellista

I do have sympathy for what businesses have to put up with from the general public's expectations and unpredictable behaviour.  Richard himself has shown a couple of times when very minor imperfections (a tiny knot in a guitar neck, and the almost invisible little nick from a brace inside a guitar referenced above) have led a customer to reject a guitar.  Unreasonably, in my view.  Personally I don't think one should look for perfection in a guitar, just an acceptable quality:price ratio.

However I don't think businesses should put said complaints online.  It's unprofessional.  Having to send a guitar back to a shop for whatever reason is inconvenient in itself - I don't want to find myself the target of a social media witch-hunt after the fact to boot.

Invoicing the "free £100" setup fee as a non-refundable charge is a lunatic idea and would kill his business at a stroke and probably have him sued in short order if it wasn't possible to buy said guitar without the fee included.  And fitting the customer's own strings before dispatching the guitar was always going to leave him open to having to refund the price of the strings if the customer rejected the guitar.  Which managed to happen twice.

In fact, it's probably all the talk of personal attention and perfect setup that encourages customers to be so picky.  At the sign of the least fault they feel short-changed and just want to send the guitar back - I suspect a large number of Richard's customers go over each guitar with a fine tooth comb looking for imperfections.  If I buy something mail order from a box shifter I just want the raw product to be of reasonable quality, and I can either set it up myself or send it to a trusted local guy if it needs deeper work to my own satisfaction.