AAAARRRRRGH! UPS banged up my neck!!!!

[tfcreative]

My neck came today: wrong box, wrong packing material, all harware missing, many small cosmetic dings on the neck, and one pretty good shot right on the end of the heel.

Called Warmoth, they were super cool about it, they've already put in a claim to ups and will repair/replace the neck as necessary; it just sucks to wait so long and then wait longer because of someone else's carelessness.

 

[JR]

Oh man that sucks! you'll go crazy waiting for that baby! :tard:

 

[jackthehack]

That truly sux!!!!!!!! :sad:  Did UPS manage to shred the original box and repack?

 

[givememytoys]

the best part about this is you still have to pay the shipping on the busted up neck. even though they tore it up you still have to pay shipping. i learned this the hard way when i shipped a set of harley davidson road king rims to the uk. i lost $175.00 on shipping.thet do not refund cost of shipping in your claim

 

[guitlouie]

I would have to agree that ups is frustrating in cases like this, however no one beats the USPS for destroying packages and not giving two... well you know.  Once I received a package from them with a letter attached that said my package had received some damage in transit.  This was in August.  I opened the USPS box and inside there was another box that was as flat as a pancake.  When I picked it up, some dust and chips of something fell out of the box.  It was a christmas gift from the previous December.  I'm not sure what it had been, but when I went to the postmaster to find out why I was getting a package 8 months late and squished flat, he asked if it was insured.  I told him I couldn't even read the return address on said package, and he proceeded to read a script of all the things that he was allowed to say in such cases, I threw the box on the floor of his office and walked out.  I know this does not make you feel any better, but at least UPS takes SOME responsibility for there flubs!  Good luck man!

 

[-CB-]

In a previous life....

I fixed a fellows amp, Princeton Reverb.  Sent it back to him, insured for $1250.  UPS totally destroyed it.  I mean they obliterated the cabinet.  I always remove the speaker and tubes... pack them by themselves.  So the cab and chassis looks like it got run over.  Ok, shit happens.  The guy takes pictures, UPS says they'll pay for new cabinet and to have it repaired.  So, we agree on $350 for a repro cabinet, and UPS ships the amp back to me for repair.  The lost it on its way back to me.  Then they say, well... here's $350, see ya!  It took 14 months to get the rest of the money... in the meantime, the customer and I were advised to not cash the $350 check until the rest was paid.  It meant the original check was about 18 months old, and expired since it was printed "invalid after 90 days" below the date.  Had to have THAT replaced.  All in all, a better part of TWO YEARS getting $1250 from UPS.... and that is a big part (but not the only reason) I'm officially out of the amp business.  The customer was insistent, but cool.... but the stress level was beyond my comfy zone, even when making money.

 

[tfcreative]

Yeah, at least this is a case where Warmoth is the customer to UPS, and it didn't sound like this was the first time it had happened to them. I have far more faith in Warmoth to take care of me than UPS or any other package carrier.

 

[Kostas]

UPS sucks big time internationally! Here in Greece they have very expensive prices. Warmoth mentions in their site: "You should not be charged any brokerage fees by UPS as these fees are included in the cost of transport. UPS will broker your goods at no extra charge!"
UPS insisted they had to charge me because they had to pay their partner who would do the job for me and the money were over $100 for every time I had a package from Warmoth, twice actually as I bought the body in the first place and a few months later I ordered the neck.
Both times I had to skip work, went to the customs and do the job myself! With the money they were asking, I almost covered the cost of the pickups!!!

 

[Soloshchenko]

I think the charges your speaking about are actually duty tax added on by the government that UPS will ask you for via phone. In the UK mine was $80 for one body, steep but on the Warmoth site lots of UK customers talk of similar charges so I was kind of expecting it.

I might be wrong but I think its import/VAT charges off the UK government which I find unfair as if anyone in the UK could build stuff to Warmoths HIGH standards I'd obviously buy there but they don't!!!!

 

[Kostas]

I think the charges your speaking about are actually duty tax added on by the government that UPS will ask you for via phone. In the UK mine was $80 for one body... 

No, I paid the taxes from the goverment in both situations. But they wanted to get paid extra for the brokerage. This is what I paid (in euros). Both times I had to pay 15 euros to UPS just to handle me the invoice of my order so I could proceed the brokerage.

Body: 430
P&P: 46
Taxes: 120

Neck: 284
P&P: 37
Taxes: 89

I might be wrong but I think its import/VAT charges off the UK government which I find unfair as if anyone in the UK could build stuff to Warmoths HIGH standards I'd obviously buy there but they don't!!!!
In Athens there is a luthier with high standards, the same who put together the Warmoth pieces for me, but he builds guitars from scratch not with CNC machines. Hand made instruments are way too expensive...

 

[Soloshchenko]

Right, well I paid a one off £40 ($80) payment when my product arrived on top of the $50 for delivery. I'm not sure how that breaks down but its a lot to pay in my opnion.

Its a shame there isn't a warmoth equivalent in the UK, saying that if there was and I would probab;y have like 15 Warmoth guitars by now!!!

 

[briny001]

Man, and I thought I was pissed at UPS.  When I ordered my guitar neck, UPS never sent me an email telling me that the neck had shipped, so I was getting antsy, and I was about to send a nasty letter to Warmoth 'cause it had been several months since my order was placed and it still hadn't been shipped.  Then one day, I decided to walk around the house for some reason, a lo and behold, there's a package sitting on the porch in front of the door my family never uses. 
No telling how long it had been there.  UPS left a $460 wenge/ebony fully scalloped guitar neck sitting out in the elements, 'cause no one was home.  Luckily it hadn't rained, then I would've been really pissed, 'cause Warmoth didn't put plastic or cellophane around the neck, and there was nothing but cardboard to protect it. 
Some kid in the neighborhood could've swiped the neck, and I would've never known because UPS never emailed me that it had shipped like they were supposed to.
It would've been nice if Warmoth had given UPS instructions to get a signature upon delivery.

 

[givememytoys]

heres a box i received today from the good ol ups this is the condition it was in when i got home
http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p255/givememytoys/cats013.jpg

 

[Shmoopie]

i think i have some thing to add to my list of fears, UPS.

 

[NonsenseTele]

Uhhhhh I had a problem with UPS too, but was too way better:

I live in Brazil, in the São Paulo (means Saint Paul) state... Like Puyallup, WA from Washington, it's writed Santos/SP.... So someone tought it was fro SPAIN (even with a Brazil writed under the city/state)... So: my guitar made a international tour before I do!  :laughing3: It went to Spain and German...

Don't know what I could do if I found my guitar broked... It's f%¨$*# sick!

I won't be a international player, but this is one think that I fear at most: airplane transportation... When I travel by bus, I go with my guitar in my hands (usually it's a pain in the butt, I'm not a small guy)...
I'm going to London in my vacation and wanted to get my guitar there to put Bare Knuckle and don't pay tax when I come back( ops  :laughing7... But, I won't... Perhaps with those travel cases that you see guys from bands like Rolling Stones, U2... hehehehehe But they are to expensive here...

 

[Stuck in the Sixties]

What a horrible death to a fine neck. I've only ordered 1 body from Warmoth to date but when I first saw the box it was in I thought with the way UPS employees throw small boxes around there could be a problem lucky me no problem. Back to the box I personaly thought the box was to small, the body was wrapped in bubble wrap, and small strips of cardboard around the edges of the body. To me it just isn't enough protection for such a fine product. I wonder what % of bodies and necks get damaged in the shipping process. Yes I will still be ordering from Warmoth.

To answer the person that found his neck by a door that is rarely used if you request a signature then you can get it but UPS only requires an adult signature for orders over $1000.00.

 

[jackthehack]

Couple of notes....

I haven't had any issues with UPS shipments from Warmoth to date, BUT in previous jobs have been involved in shipping or receiving a lot of very high dollar computer/telecommunications gear and when they DO fuck up, getting claims paid is ALWAYS a nightmare of monumental proportions, which sucks as that's the reason you spend all the extra cash on insurance. I actually once had a rep come out and try to argue some shit about the packing job on $10K plus of router gear in Cisco factory packaging when the crushed box had tire tracks on it and had obviously been run over.

If you receive ANY UPS shipment in damaged packaging ALWAYS make the driver wait and open it and refuse shipment if there is any real damage. If the box has been left in a damaged condition don;t touch it, call UPS and raise hell until they send a driver or supervisor out to see it as it sits and again refuse shipment. If you do not follow this advise and try to go back later they will ALWAYS try to play you that some/all of the damage occurred subsequent to shipment.

I wish we had additional shipping options from Warmoth for 2day/overnight delivery for UPS OR preferably Fedex Ground/Air.

 

[allium_sativum]

As long as  we are posting UPS mistakes:

One day at work, I went to the loading dock to move some packages from UPS.  I found sitting on the dock a pallet of guitar address to Wildwood Guitars, in Louisville, Colorado.  After moving the pallet out of the rain, I looked up the serial numbers on the boxes.  UPS left 15 Fender Custom Shop Wildwood "10s" at our door. 

http://www.fender.com/customshop/instruments/search.php?section=guitars&cat=stratocaster&subcat=customshopltddealerselect

Being the good guy that I am, I called UPS to pick the guitars up.  I am guessing that Wildwood Guitars is very glad I call UPS. 

 

[jackthehack]

They should send you a prize, but probably won't; they get all those "special dealer" high end models, never got my hands on one of those, but the my whole bad Warmoth habit is a direct result of how unimpressed I was with anything coming out of the Fender Custom Shop, especially given their pricing....

 

[Crappy]

Well lets see, My strat body which I got on 8/27/07
UPS still has it as on it way to PARSIPPANY, NJ,  US  on 8/18/07 that 2 stops before it would get to me