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Business Profile

Guitars

Lakland Guitars

This business is NOT BBB Accredited.

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Complaints

Customer Complaints Summary

  • 1 complaint in the last 3 years.
  • 0 complaints closed in the last 12 months.

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The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

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  • Initial Complaint

    Date:12/03/2023

    Type:Product Issues
    Status:
    Unresolved
    Resolved:
    The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.
    Unresolved:
    The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.
    Answered:
    The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.
    Unanswered:
    The business failed to respond to the dispute.
    Unpursuable:
    BBB is unable to locate the business.
    I paid $3000 for a custom, hand build instrument ******** made bass Guitar. A P-Bass at that price should be top quality. Before receiving the instrument my questions about it's progress were returned with snark, and attitude. After receiving the instrument the body was painted the wrong color, and the pick guard doesn't resemble green at all. Beyond that the craftsmanship is non-existent. The bass has sharp fret ends, and a giant gap in the neck pocket, reminiscent of something built in a 3rd world country. I reached out to customer service and was met with silence. My request for a refund wasn't responded to until I mentioned the BBB. From there they said they could repaint, and remake the body, which would require me to send this instrument back to them - costing me $100+. From there I put the bass up for sale, noting all the flaws to every customer that inquired, and subsequently lowered the price but Lakland Guitars filed a complaint with Reverb (selling platform), because the bass was listed as "Brand New".I've attached photos of the neck pocket, and the correct color, and an actual mint green pickguard. Sharp fret ends are difficult to photograph.

    Business Response

    Date: 12/18/2023

    Customer contacted us post sale using a ******** alias and was reluctant to give us his real name or the serial number of the instrument.  Once he finally sent us the serial number we researched all correspondence.

    Regarding the snark please see the following quote from the email correspondence he is referring to:  "If you'd like, I'd be happy to send photos of the raw body & neck as they're milled, painted, etc. That will probably all start happening a few weeks from now.  We view this as 100% professional and accommodating without the slightest hint of snark

    Regarding the body color: We used the same color formulation of Faded Sonic Blue as Fender (his reference) 

    Regarding the Mint pick guard: customer only requested a mint green pick guard. We have been using the same mint pick guard material for 30 years.

    Regarding the frets: this is common among all new instruments due to changes in humidity.  We offer post support for this at no cost to the customer.
    Regarding the neck pocket: We offered to make him a new body for a tighter fit, all at no cost to him, all shipping charges paid by us.
    Regarding response time: customer was communicating using an alias and would not contact us via proper business email, we did not know who he was.
    Regarding the Reverb listing: Lakland did not file a complaint against the customers listing, Customer violated Reverb policy by listing the bass as Brand New which is only allowed for retailers.

    Additional notes: The customer ordered an instrument that is offered as a limited option build.  We kindly agreed to customize the build with 3 custom specs including custom color, custom neck width, and custom fingerboard material, none are options we normally offer on that model.  Lakland does not offer returns on instruments ordered with custom specifications we dont normally offer. This is commonplace in our industry.  We feel that the customer is grossly misrepresenting the facts regarding his communication with us and our offered resolution.  The fact that he uses an alias and is reluctant to contact using his actual name is suspicious.

    Customer Answer

    Date: 12/18/2023

     
    Complaint: 20950563
     
    I am rejecting this response because: I requested a refund. Offering to send me a photo of a raw body and raw neck is 100% "snark". You have a workshop full of raw guitar bodies and necks, some random raw body and neck means nothing. It's just a snarky/rude response to my request for an update. 

    Beyond that the build of this instrument didn't meet my standards, considering it's high cost and long wait time. The craftsmanship is lousy - it's reminiscent of 70s Fender when all their equipment was 25 years old, malfunctioning and unreliable -  and I don't want to be duped by their poor craftsmanship twice. A refund is perfectly reasonable.

    .. and most disappointing...the colors are all wrong...

    Sincerely,

    *********************************

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