Kiesel's customer service sucks!

[mystixboi]

I have owned at least 10 Kiesel/Carvins over the years. Some I bought new, some used. All were excellent guitars as far as playability, but all lacked that mojo in tone. I never had problems with CS from Kiesel, but reading these threads really puts me off. I just ordered a Balaguer instead of ordering a Kiesel. So far, Joe and his team have been more than accomodating. They actually seem appreciative of my business. I never got that from Kiesel. Maybe Balaguer is small enough where they can do that, but at least they do it.

 

[scottosan]

I have owned at least 10 Kiesel/Carvins over the years. Some I bought new, some used. All were excellent guitars as far as playability, but all lacked that mojo in tone. I never had problems with CS from Kiesel, but reading these threads really puts me off. I just ordered a Balaguer instead of ordering a Kiesel. So far, Joe and his team have been more than accomodating. They actually seem appreciative of my business. I never got that from Kiesel. Maybe Balaguer is small enough where they can do that, but at least they do it.

I will say that until the Lithium series, their pickups sucked.

 

[bgh]

On a completely separate note...Mesa has by far the best customer service I have experienced. My Mark IV started acting wonky in early November. Ended up taking it to a local authorized service center. These guys had the amp for 10 FUCKING WEEKS! I called them every week after them having it for 3 weeks and me not hearing anything. Their site says 7-10 days. So I started making weekly calls. Only talked to the actual tech once, talked to a different person each week. Finally got sick of it and called Mesa. Talked to Rich. Explain the situation and he says...wait, 10 weeks?! That's just ridiculous. Calls me back 20 minutes later after talking to the tech lol. Next day, I picked the amp up and shipped it to Mesa. When I picked it up, the dude tells me...I shoulda sent it to Mesa a month ago. I should've just sent it to them in the first place. The amp is now on its way back to me and should be here Tuesday. Total time that Mesa had the amp before calling me to tell me it was ready: 1. Fucking. Week. Why these local guys had it for 10 weeks is beyond me.

not to mention when you actually talk to them they obviously care a lot about their products and customers, even when the amp is 30+ years old!

I called them up for something once on my Nomad. After making all of the arrangements, Rich stayed on the phone just to talk to me about how I was using it, what I thought about it, and so forth. I thought it was pretty cool.

 

[JerryP]

Yes, it could very well be the camera angle or wood grain. I was just responding to Jeff saying it couldn't be a CNC issue. It can happen.

Agreed, any machine is only as good as the guy running it.

 

[Faded Abyss]

impossible for the machine to malfunction or an operator to put in the wrong recipe/setup? I wonder if there is some form of documentation, signing off quality control checks before the guitar is shipped out. Even if there were no issues with the guitar, at least the real issue was addressed. Customer service. Companies are force fed accountability now days with people exposing their problems. which is awesome for us. Quality control

Reminds me of when I called Peavey for information on the line/preamp out. It's cut and dry for the most part but if you can't talk the trade for a moment without getting arrogant, find someone who can or dont offer customer service at all. Personally, I would hate to have noobs asking me dumb questions all day, which is why I dont work customer service

 

[dfrattaroli]

Kiesel are trash guitars for kids who don't know better.

This is just wrong. They make excellent guitars. This is one unhappy customer. It happens. I'm put off by Jeff having someone reply for him but the fact remains: They make an excellent guitar.

Comments like this only confirm the person making them doesn't know what they're talking about.

 

[Shawn Lutz]

I don't get coming here, posting a response and then baling out not reading any replies. Seemed like a good opportunity to set the record straight and/or have establish a dialog with their customers or potential customer base.

 

[Mklane]

Yeah What a shitty response from Kiesel. Definitely way better luthiers out there who actually care about their work and customers!

 

[phil b]

Kiesel are trash guitars for kids who don't know better. I don't buy the line about trying to do better, they've said that multiple times. Way better options out there.

Anther Internet forum bandwagon dog pile. While I completely agree the the OP's situation was handled wrong by Kiesel at several levels, that doesn't mean they are all trash. Ultimately they made right. Any guitar maker thats been in business at their price point and even higher is going to put out some dogs and have employees that have bad days. I have seen dogs come from Gibson, Fender, Charvel, Nash, Martin, Taylor, etc... I have been playing for 30+ years and have owned a half dozen Gibson Historics, Andersons, Suhrs, Fender CS's, etc. I have owned 2 Carvin/Kiesels and both were quality and a bargain.

Making hasty generalizations based on limited experience or a small sample size is what is for kids.

Doesnt mean they are all dogs but the way they handled the situation after the fact is what is a fail on their part. Obviously there is a problem with the neck set if you have to position those saddles that high. OP wanted them to correct it and keep the guitar, not return it, so not only did they lose this customer but now have this thread. From reading the OPs response's here I see no reason why he would make up the quotes he has quoted from them. Just by their response in this thread they come across exactly how the OP portrays them, which is pretty shitty. Bad day or not, when your customer spends what could be thousands on a guitar and has an issue, it better be addressed, rectified between the two parties to satisfaction and move on. Thats how you build your business. If thats not how ya do it then you shouldnt do it. They didnt really make it right because in the end they just took it back as per their own policy. Easier than dealing with C.C. and Paypal disputes. Fixing the issues and working with the OP would have been right.

 

[MYLILSS]

Kiesel are trash guitars for kids who don't know better.

This is just wrong. They make excellent guitars. This is one unhappy customer. It happens. I'm put off by Jeff having someone reply for him but the fact remains: They make an excellent guitar.

Comments like this only confirm the person making them doesn't know what they're talking about.

agreed .... My Kiesel guitars are my go to guitars. they may have some internal issues, and mistakes happen, but they are definitely not trash guitars

 

[stompboxfreak72]

The awesome thing that should have happened would have been for Jeff to extend an olive branch on this thread and offer to start over with the OP and make him a new guitar. Even if the OP did not accept his offer that still was Jeff's opportunity to truly show he wanted to take care of his customers. Instead his response was disappointing and showed that he is more concerned in getting the last word than taking care of the OP. Kiesel had a golden opportunity to step up and he missed it in my lowly opinion. Guess I won't be getting that Neil Zaza model after all.

 

[MetalHeadMike]

The awesome thing that should have happened would have been for Jeff to extend an olive branch on this thread and offer to start over with the OP and make him a new guitar. Even if the OP did not accept his offer that still was Jeff's opportunity to truly show he wanted to take care of his customers. Instead his response was disappointing and showed that he is more concerned in getting the last word than taking care of the OP. Kiesel had a golden opportunity to step up and he missed it in my lowly opinion. Guess I won't be getting that Neil Zaza model after all.

This is exactly what I said to my wife last night. Regardless of who's right and who's wrong, the VP of a company and a true business man would have taken this whole thing and used it to their advantage to show they want resolution and a happy customer. That would have been a display of integrity which would have been a step towards solidifying trust and helping to reverse the negativity that's been brewed here. That said, I would not have accepted such an offer, but it would have been a smart business decision and a more honorable display of character on their part none the less.

 

[thiswaythatway]

holy shit that response though what a perfect way to validate all the complaints made and make it obvious Kiesel really doesn't care about the customer.

Also, what a fantastic ego.

They would have been better off not responding.

 

[megaboogie]

I was actually interested in their T type guitar, but I will just pass.
There is always two sides of stories, but after reading Kiesel's response... I gotta side with the OP here.
No need to shop where customers are treated like shit, when there are so many other killer guitar companies out there.

 

[hatrick00]

Their response was utter bullshit... it actually reinforces my stance of NEVER buying one of their guitars... I have watched some of their FB live stuff...the ego those guys have is out of control, it is pretty easy to pick up on... again thank you for posting this. I was literally about to start a custom build with them. They really should take this thread to heart and take it a bit more seriously.

 

[Holy-diver]

holy shit that response though what a perfect way to validate all the complaints made and make it obvious Kiesel really doesn't care about the customer.

Also, what a fantastic ego.

They would have been better off not responding.

Word. That was a truly pathetic response and apparently Jeff is way too huge to even respond himself or check back in, what a way to show that he really cares like he says
SAD!

 

[Gitfiddler]

How about an old-fashioned phone call from Jeff to the customer?

Some like Carvin. some don't. Vote for your favorite companies with you wallets, fellas.

 

[vultures]

1. As far as a neck not parallel with the body – that is simply the camera angle the image is shot at (we all know what the overhead selfie/facebook angle can do to image distortion)

Vs a $600 guitar at the same angle

 

[dfrattaroli]

I find myself coming back to this thread because of Kiesel's response. I'm disappointed as a Kiesel owner and am concerned that it could happen to me if I bought another. I'm actually considering selling my 2 Kiesels on principle. Sounds nutty, I know but it bothers me. The quality of the product is there in spades but their response was just poor.

 

[messenger]

1. As far as a neck not parallel with the body – that is simply the camera angle the image is shot at (we all know what the overhead selfie/facebook angle can do to image distortion)

Vs a $600 guitar at the same angle

FYI those lines aren't parallel so doesn't really show much.