Utter disappointment with PRS...

[Screamingdaisy]

If you expect to jump to the head of the line and inconvenience every other customer, that doesn't seem fair to them, does it? Would you like to be in their position and have your build held up due to a problem unrelated to your order?

In fairness to the OP, none of that is his problem. It’s PRS problem.

 

[sergiodeblanc]

There are more brand new blue 594’s for sale on Reverb than I have cans of spray paint for in my garage... what’s the problem?

 

[vchizzle]

I’d be disappointed. To fair, the flame is there under that dark area. It just took the stain weird there. If the dealer took the return, just buy another online. If you were offered a price discount that’s the difference of a non 10, you were offered something reasonable at least. I guess if I were ordering a custom order thru a dealer, I’d have to feel they’d go to bat for me before I ordered. A dealer that I had a great prior relationship with.

 

[shimmilou]

Yes, there are plenty of online dealers that show pics of the actual guitar for sale. My personal preference is Sweetwater, and even when ordering a guitar, I get to see pics when it gets to them, before they ship it out. Sometimes you have to wait, PRS are in demand, can’t expect them “right now” every time.

 

[Tremontinator]

Hey guys, thank you for the support and sympathy. I'm am so bothered by this that I didn't even realize what day it was posted but I assure you, 100% this is NO joke and apologize for the bad timing.

I've posted in the Mccarty 594 thread in the past about a year ago around the time I was researching and ready to place my order. I'm using this account for this post because I didn't think people from PRS would take a post like this seriously under my username "Bucketfeet" which I used before.



Right? I mean, I totally get that stuff can get missed. I wasn't even mad at that. Just send me a new one and they got a happy new customer for life. But to pass this off as a "DOWNGRADED ARTIST PACKAGE" as if nothing is wrong with it.... that's just downright insulting to me...

Aaaand the "Troll Of The Year" Award goes to...

 

[Tremontinator]

What would satisfy you?

• You can get your money back and walk away
• You can order a replacement and wait your turn

If you expect to jump to the head of the line and inconvenience every other customer, that doesn't seem fair to them, does it? Would you like to be in their position and have your build held up due to a problem unrelated to your order?

If you were in PRS' shoes what would you do to solve this problem with minimal impact to their customers?

It should go to PTC for an attempted refinish. Just sand it down bare wood again and start over.

If that don't fix it, unglue the top and stick a new one on. Yeah, it's gonna need machining again. So fuckin what? Pay somebody the overtime hours to do it either after regular hours or on the weekend.


When you sell products, you have 3 choices

•Stand behind yoursh
•Refund dissatisfied customers
•Watch as dissatisfied customers destroy your reputation and your business

I still call bull on this whole story but, is it's true, then the factory only has one clear option:

Give the guy a price cut for the inconveniences, and fix the mother by whatever means necessary. Pay people to work overtime. Get it done without fucking your other customers in the process.


I've worked at new car dealerships as a tech servicing people's 60 70 80 100 grand vehicles. When you start up, NOBODY wants to hear excuses. You fix that sumbitch and ship it. Even if it means you gotta stay till midnight. Which I've done more times than I care to count.

 

[Emine]

Aaaand the "Troll Of The Year" Award goes to...

Really man? C'mon... well, if you found amusement out of all this then good for you.

EDIT: Just saw your next post Tremontinator, 100% agree with your opinion on manufactures making things right for their customers. A little good can go a loooong way. Also, can't force you to believe any thing I'm saying but, trust me, I wouldn't waste my time writing a whole sob story in my original post if I was just trolling.

For everyone else, again, I appreciate the responses and suggestions. For those wondering why I don't just go out and get another one, there are literally maybe 2 dealers within a 1 hour drive from where I live that carry a very small stock of PRS guitars that I can actually see in person and I am pretty set on this colour. The rest all list these guitars as 'special order'. And buying online can get complicated with the US, CAD conversions and shipping fees, customs, etc... Although if anyone in Canada does have a good experience with doing this from a US retailer, I'd be happy to hear about it.

At this point, I'm pretty much over the whole 'anger' thing, it just wasn't meant to be this time, and now I can start my shopping process again for a guitar that will get me excited again.

Thank you all again, this was therapeutic in a weird way.

 

[Tremontinator]

I still don't understand why a 'regular' guitar with a so-called 10top would take so long to replace. I see a lot of 10tops in the shops - especially in this colour (or close to it). Even without that 'mark', I cannot see why this would be classified as anything more than a 'regular' core model.

I don't understand why this is such a problem. More of how this has gone through PRS QC, why its taken a year for you to get the guitar, why your retailer cannot do something - either offer to swap it for any similar model in stock or get in touch with their PRS rep to try and find a suitable replacement or why you even left the retailer with this?

I can find similar guitars with and without 10tops in quite a few retailers. It's not a Private Stock so I can't see why you cannot get a suitable replacement. Can you provide a Picture of the back of the headstock to show us what's written on the back? I would be very surprised if this is a 10top and anything that couldn't be swapped or would take another year to get an alternative - not unless you are living in some remote, desolate place that cannot be accessed by boat, plane or car...

If that mark really bothers you, then why not swap it for another DC 594 and, if this really was a 10top, get the difference refunded. As others have said, this is only a 'cosmetic' issue and a 10 top is only a cosmetic option - it doesn't change the tone, the playability etc so you 'could' accept a non-10top with a refund of the difference - you will still have a Core PRS double cut 594...

If he wanted a regular guitar, he would've ordered and waited for a regular guitar.


The man paid for a 10 top and waited for a 10 top.
The only correct course of action is to give him a 10 top and a discount for the aggravation or else a complete refund.

 

[shimmilou]

Patience. PRS normally are really exceptional guitars, worth the wait, and I hope you can find one that you like.

 

[Tremontinator]

Dude. That top is COMPLETELY unacceptable. You need to post this story AND pictures on every form of social media PRS has. PRS himself NEEDS to see this to ensure it never happens again. I am honestly boggled by how this even left the factory. Just wow.

Can you imagine being the poor bastards who signed off on this when PRSh finds out about it?


I never met the man. He seems like a real peach of a guy. But I gotta say, he gives off this impression that if you with him, he will destroy you.

Whoever signed off on that and allowed it to leave the factory, is going to have their ass chewed and ripped big time. They'll be lucky to not get fired.

please watch the language - Shawn

 

[shimmilou]

If he wanted a regular guitar, he would've ordered and waited for a regular guitar.


The man paid for a 10 top and waited for a 10 top.
The only correct course of action is to give him a 10 top and a discount for the aggravation or else a complete refund.

He was offered either a discount or refund, which was not acceptable to him. Not much else can be done in the real world.

 

[Tremontinator]

He was offered either a discount or refund, which was not acceptable to him. Not much else can be done in the real world.

Repair or replacement

 

[Tag]

I have seen a ton of PRS guitars, and never saw anything that bad. I am convinced Paul will straighten this right out. Thats hideous.

 

[AaeCee]

I have seen a ton of PRS guitars, and never saw anything that bad. I am convinced Paul will straighten this right out. Thats hideous.

Not only that, but I'd bet heavily that Paul will be pissed that it was ever sent out like that to begin with.

 

[elvis]

Who was the dealer, and why are they left out of this?

It would be nice to know who accepted this on your behalf so that others can make informed choices regarding future purchases.

 

[shimmilou]

Someone needs a Valium.

 

[Huggy Love]

Hmm... ... as chairman of the "Uniqueness Award" committee I'm disappointed in this, but I understand. You were expecting symmetrical perfection from a natural earth grown material that we all know has flaws.

I will admit, the dark streak is a bit much and probably shouldn't have gotten past quality control, although I think the rest of the top is so nice that it could get by as a unique piece to somebody that likes flaws and imperfections. I doubt "heads are gonna roll" at PRSHQ, the rest of the guitar is so nice it becomes a borderline/judgement call issue, though I agree it's not a 10 top.

As for having to wait again, I'd go back to PRS and talk to the cust service mgr about it, I do agree that they should make some kind of effort to make things right. Maybe try to get an expedited lead time or locate one in that color from a dealer. (or you can join us in scouring the web for your dream guitar) Good luck!!

That said, this was my first PRS, and I chose it just because of the one unique single flame on the upper horn..... ........ oh yeah, and it was a 10 top.

 

[Tone-y]

I would agree with the original poster and if I ordered a guitar and received this I wouldn't accept it either. Yes, to some people it may offer some uniqueness that OK to them; But if I ordered a guitar and waited a year for it, then I would want what I ordered, not to be fobbed off with well it would have been an artist package except for that flaw.

Here's another analogy, Imagine that you'd ordered a sports car, had to wait a year for it to be built and once it was delivered it had a large blemish on the paint work. And the manufacturer just said, well we've upgraded it to pearlescent paint, which costs more and we're letting you have that at the normal paint cost, but that's fine, if you don't want the car you can return it and go to the back of the queue and wait for a new one.
And you'd be thinking, great, so I have to wait yet another year, and what if there's a problem then? Do I have to wait another year after that! No, I think my trust in the company to deliver what I found acceptable would be gone.

And I also don't think Just saying return it and look for a second hand one on reverb in the same colour is really right either (quite apart from possible export issues). For many of us, we'll only ever be able to afford one PRS guitar in our lives, it could be something we've saved for years for, or for a special occasion, and ordering direct from the factory to the exact configuration that you want should be a special experience.

There may well be a valid reason that it will take a year to replace the guitar, but this should be explained clearly. It takes no effort to do this and goes a long way towards customer good will. Just to dismiss the customer is terrible customer service. And if a long wait is inevitable, then good customer service would be to offer a lone guitar whist the replacement is being built. This stuff is not hard to do and should be the first reaction of the company. Then we'd be hearing an awesome positive PRS story and hearing of a loyal customer for life, not one whose given up on them at the first step.

 

[littlebadboy]

For me, it is unacceptable. Return it. Pass the problem back to them (PRS) on how to resolve this issue. Make a demand, or go over their counter offer and choose what is acceptable for you.

 

[Mozzi]

If he wanted a regular guitar, he would've ordered and waited for a regular guitar.


The man paid for a 10 top and waited for a 10 top.
The only correct course of action is to give him a 10 top and a discount for the aggravation or else a complete refund.

What we have right now is one person's view and they have not provided us with ALL the information YET as to who may be to blame or at least culpable. A photograph of the back of the headstock showing us all the writing on the back may well give us some of the information. For all we know, the retailer could be lying and the person is laying blame at PRS. We don't know if the retailer is to blame by sending out this guitar and claiming its a downgraded Artist Pack when its not even a 10-top. The OP may be expecting and paid for a 10-top but the retailer sent out a non-10top, a guitar they have struggled to sell, a year or older, just to get rid of it and lied to the OP about it - a lot of that can be easily worked out with more evidence!!

By regular, I was referring to the 'standard' core series with and without 10-tops - not a wood library or Private Stock - not something that people would 'normally' have to wait for these to be built for a specific run or custom order. It shouldn't be too difficult for the retailer to get in touch with their PRS rep and for the Rep to source a suitable replacement - 10-top may be a bit more tricky if the OP also is adamant on the colour but, if the OP is willing, the Rep may be able to source a PRS DC 594 in either the perfect colour or maybe within the colour spectrum (like Blue for example) 10-top. Either way, its not as if they would need to wait a 'year' for PRS to make regular core line guitars - especially one of their most popular guitars in recent years. Its not like the 'Private Stock' PRS team will be making it and have to 'slot' the build in which, at current waiting times could be a year. This is a 'regular' core line guitar!

Point is, I am jumping to conclusions at all here - unlike yourself and others. I am trying to get further information, further evidence as to what could be the cause of this situation, who may be to blame, who could be lying. A simple photograph of the back of the headstock may help, provide us with some more information so that we can ascertain if the OP is lying, if the store has lied or PRS - that information is also useful for PRS Staff that frequent this forum. I really cannot imagine that PRS have been contacted and responded in the way as claimed - stating that the guitar was destined as a Artist Pack and then down-graded to a 10-top because of that area.

Somewhere in all of this, something isn't right but I am not accusing the OP of lying, of being a troll, not having a go at PRS for letting this go out as a 10top, not accusing the retailer of bullshitting to a customer just for the money/sale, not blaming the Rep who may distribute guitars to these retailers, the person the Store is most likely to contact in this situation of lying either - at least not with the very limited information and one sided (as the Retailer, Rep or PRS themselves have NOT had a say). Its a totally bias situation and we haven't had all the information yet to be able to jump to conclusions.

To use the 'Sports Car' analogy, Its like someone jumping in and saying their 'new' car has a slightly different colour panel on one of the doors. The only evidence they provide is photos of the door. They 'claim' the car is new, bought from a retailer who they say claims it was the top line version but dropped down a 'tier' because the door panel doesn't match. They provide NO other information that may help explain who is to blame, who could be at fault here. You don't jump to the conclusion that the car manufacturer is at fault straight away and you can't just back the OP blindly either. For all you know, the car may have been at the dealers a while, been 'damaged' and repaired by the dealer who couldn't match the paint accurately and are lying - claiming it was like that from factory and to get another one in that colour at the spec ordered would take a year - despite the factory churning out several thousand cars a month. For all we know, that 'car' was made 18months ago, done 20,000 miles on the clock and is the 'entry' model - the one without the 'extra' bling and the retailer is just Bullshitting to clear that car out of stock...

Point is, we do not know enough, have not got all the information and/or evidence yet to jump to any conclusion - whether the OP is lying or being misled, whether this did leave PRS as a 10top or not - certainly if more information was provided, the PRS records would be able to tell if this was a downgraded Artist pack guitar, was a 10top or just a core 594. We don't know when it left PRS, no evidence of the year of manufacture either. Maybe something went wrong after it left the factory, that the 'stain' it that area spread under the coating. Seeped up to the surface. We don't know if the retailer is at fault or the distributing rep for that area, lying to the store. There are numerous unanswered questions here and little evidence for any of us to jump to any conclusion - all I asked for was more evidence. It seems ridiculous that a core line model like the 594, not a Private Stock or Wood Library, would be a 'year' wait - either to get stock or to replace this.

I live in the UK - a place that's much more difficult to source stock. Its not like they can just stick the guitars in the back of the truck and drive them here.I can speak to my retailer and ask about any PRS and any colour who will then speak to their PRS rep who, within a day or two can provide information, even photos of the range of guitars that fit my request - It might take a few days to a week to arrive at the retailer who will then check it over, set it up and ship it out - usually arriving a day or 2 after shipping.