Mesa Boogie Customer Service

[nathan28]

Hello fellow Boogie friends. I havent logged in to grailtone for a long time now but i have a story I would like to share about Mesa Boogies customer service.

Day before yesterday I bought a new Electra-Dyne and another 4x12 to go with it, after playing on it twice at my house the preamp tube that controls the clean section in slot 5 of the amp went out. This stuff happens and no big deal, Mesa has a five year warranty on the amp and six months on the tubes. I call them today and spoke with "Chris" about the issue. He told me to mail him a copy of my reciept and to mail in my warranty card and then they would send me a new pre-amp tube. I know you cant please everyone, but i spent three grand on an amp that i cant give them a serial number for to verify so they can send me one pre amp tube. So i have to wait two weeks to be able to play my clean channel or buy another tube. I just spent $3,000 and you cant send me one preamp tube without jumping through the hoops and waiting. Is this Boutique amp customer service? seriously wow.

4 months ago my RoadKing II heads reverb starting cutting in and out. I called Boogie I gave them my serial number and they told me "your warranty ran out 9 days ago and if you have tried a different tube in your pre amp and that didnt fix the issue you can buy a new reverb tank and that should fix the issue". Needless to say i did a full retube the issue remained, i never have replaced the reverb tank and now my reverb doesnt work at all. Once again you cant please everyone but at $2,749.99 for an amp head i expect top notch customer service and they werent interested in helping me out. WTF?

Im returning the Electra-Dyne head and cab and im going to research and go with a different manufacture. If you claim to be a "Boutique" amp manufacture with top notch service, you need to back it up. I have around $5000.00 in boogie amp heads in my studio right now and neither of them work.

In 2005 when I bought my triple rec, a power tube went out the second week i had it and when i called Boogie they asked me for my serial number verified when it was made then sent me a pair of tubes and a shirt at no charge. Thats service!!! what has happened since??? You lost another customer.

 

[Authorized Boogie]

Hello fellow Boogie friends. I havent logged in to grailtone for a long time now but i have a story I would like to share about Mesa Boogies customer service.

Day before yesterday I bought a new Electra-Dyne and another 4x12 to go with it, after playing on it twice at my house the preamp tube that controls the clean section in slot 5 of the amp went out. This stuff happens and no big deal, Mesa has a five year warranty on the amp and six months on the tubes. I call them today and spoke with "Chris" about the issue. He told me to mail him a copy of my reciept and to mail in my warranty card and then they would send me a new pre-amp tube. I know you cant please everyone, but i spent three grand on an amp that i cant give them a serial number for to verify so they can send me one pre amp tube. So i have to wait two weeks to be able to play my clean channel or buy another tube. I just spent $3,000 and you cant send me one preamp tube without jumping through the hoops and waiting. Is this Boutique amp customer service? seriously wow.

4 months ago my RoadKing II heads reverb starting cutting in and out. I called Boogie I gave them my serial number and they told me "your warranty ran out 9 days ago and if you have tried a different tube in your pre amp and that didnt fix the issue you can buy a new reverb tank and that should fix the issue". Needless to say i did a full retube the issue remained, i never have replaced the reverb tank and now my reverb doesnt work at all. Once again you cant please everyone but at $2,749.99 for an amp head i expect top notch customer service and they werent interested in helping me out. WTF?

Im returning the Electra-Dyne head and cab and im going to research and go with a different manufacture. If you claim to be a "Boutique" amp manufacture with top notch service, you need to back it up. I have around $5000.00 in boogie amp heads in my studio right now and neither of them work.

In 2005 when I bought my triple rec, a power tube went out the second week i had it and when i called Boogie they asked me for my serial number verified when it was made then sent me a pair of tubes and a shirt at no charge. Thats service!!! what has happened since??? You lost another customer.

Hello,

I sit right next to Kris and heard the conversation. Like any warranty issue, the amp should be registered first. Kris asked you to confirm the date of purchase by emailing a copy of the original bill of sale and he would send out a preamp tube under warranty. You replied "Thanks for not helping me" and hung up!!

We are here to serve, and simply asking for the required registration information is standard procedure. All he asked for was an email copy of your bill of sale. Mailing in a warranty card has nothing to do with it, as we recommend you register the amp through our online registration anyways! (New amps don't come with warranty cards - they come with a paper that directs you to the online registration)

As for the Road King reverb issue - we are pretty generous when it comes to warranty period, and typically honor the warranty within few weeks to a month of the 5 year period.

We get an overwhelmingly good response to our customer service, but if you hang up on us before we can complete a conversation, you probably won't be aware of the extent we go to help out! You're more than welcome to call back and get that tube you need. Thanks!

 

[nathan28]

Kris asked me to email him the bill of purchase and to mail in the warranty card. Until I read your comment I thought I lost the card, when i was packing the amp back up i had the plastic holder and manual. Maybe i misunderstood him maybe not. I felt like basically jump through our hoops and we will help. This same issue happened to me with my first Boogie amp in 2005 in which you guys did provide great simple service, I called you, you asked for the serial and sent me a replacement tube and a shirt. But this makes twice in a row I contacted you guys for support on two very expensive products one being your "flagship" model, the first time with the Roadking II i just swollowed the fact the amp was 9 days out of warranty, although at the $3000.00 price point something should have been offered, heck even offering to knock some off the reverb tank would have made me happy but nothing was offered other than to buy something else, hence why the amp's reverb doesnt work and I rarely use the amp, my customers never use the amp and i play live with a Hughes and Kettner. Kris was done speaking with me when i hung up the phone the conversation was over and yes i was upset because the service offered was your typical BS service that ppl come to expect from BS dealers or cheap manufactures, not a "Boutique" amp manufacture that brags about their service and that is supposed to make made in America mean something. After spending over $10,000 on your products since 2005 Ive called you guys three times for help, you have helped me once. Your record is 1-3 which is a losing record. Then you get on the forum to justify the bad experience I had and to call me out on hanging up rather than trying to help me with the issue, WTF? seriously man. Good customer service is taking care of a long time customer that has two of your amps that do not work. My Hughes and Kettner is a tubemeister 18 made in China I bought for $450.00 after a year of gigging with it through a Boogie 4x12 its the only amp i have that works. And i have $5000.00 in Boogie amp heads. Focus more on helping customers than calling them out on forums.
All I wanted was taken care of.

 

[deeman]

Why don't you just email them the receipt. Whats the big deal. It sounds like they'll send you a tube. Are you expecting a tube to magically appear? Good luck finding better service elsewhere.

 

[nathan28]

I don't have a scanner, what should I do? Go to office max and pay them to do it? By the time I do that It would be easier to buy a tube. The cost isn't the issue considering I just spent a few grand, it's the jumping through the hoops all for one single tube. And the fact of how they handled this issue before without the hoop jumping. It's just a tube and they are willing to lose a 3000.00 sale over it. And my frustration also stems from the fact from how they handled the road king issue.

 

[domct203]

I just don't understand what the issue is here. Do you (or a friend) own a smart phone or digital camera? Take a picture of the receipt, put it on your computer, email it to Mesa and you are done. You could probably just email it straight from the smartphone.

IMO I don't see this as Hoop-jumping, it's compliance with their warranty terms.

As far as being "called-out" on a forum, isn't that what your doing to Mesa??

Dom

 

[Markedman]

Coolest thing about this post is that Boogie responded on this forum to try to remedy this "problem". I find that Boogie goes over the top to help me when I call or email a question and I've only bought second hand amps. I also have a bunch of tubes, new and used laying around because tubes have been known to fail at the worst times.

 

[elvis]

I frankly find this all a little far-fetched and overdramatic.

You have $10000 (TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS!) worth of amps (you love to talk about how much you've spent), and some sort of business where your "customers" need to use the amps, but you have no spare parts, and are willing to let the amps sit idle over a $10 tube or a $100 reverb tank. Maintenance is a standard part of overhead in any equipment-based business. I don't know ANY serious user of vacuum tube equipment who doesn't have a closet full of spare tubes, as well as knobs, fuses, a reverb tank or two, etc. And no way to email a receipt? How in the world can you run a business like that?

Given my own experience with Mesa (including a phone call yesterday where Kris was very helpful), as well as the posted experience of many others on this board and elsewhere, I am very surprised that you had any trouble with them at all. However, given your extensive rants, I think I see the problem.

 

[nathan28]

I have plenty of spare parts and tubes, all of my backups are JJ's, Doesn't it void my Boogie warranty if I use them? You don't have to attack me because I had a bad experience and you are a fanboy. They helped me before by simply providing the serial. The Roadking Idles simply because I don't like it the guitar players I record don't like it and I have been waiting for a reason to trade it in. Yeah I have pointed out how much I've spent on Boogie amps and cabs to simply prove a point on me being a loyal customer. A rant would be me bashing them or saying ridiculous things about them. All I did was state facts even good facts about them. I should of known better than to post something negative but truthful on a Boogie board, all that does is bring out the fanboy hatred. I would expect more of a donating member. I didn't get on here to slam Boogie or you, I love this forum that's why I have been a member for seven years. All I'm doing is stating facts, I'm sorry you want to blame me for the issue.

 

[elvis]

Yes, we are fanboys and no one here would dare think critically. And any attempt at rational discussion with you is an "attack" or "calling you out". But you calling me a fanboy and accusing me of hatred is... what exactly?

 

[nathan28]

Im sorry guys for this discussion and im sorry for being a Penis to Boogie, I was upset. Its all good now, i did what they asked me to do and im sure they will take care of me, Im keeping the Electra-Dyne because the amp does sound incredible, I cant believe this amp wasnt more popular even for High gain Fanatics like myself. My next step is to order a reverb tank for my Roadking and get it up and running. My apologies to you Elvis!!! Keep on ROCKIN the HELL out guys!!!! Please dont hold me being cock against me!!

 

[elvis]

That took guts, I appreciate it.

I wish you the best of luck in resolving your problems, and hope you have a good experience with your amps.

 

[blaren]

I just like to play devil's advocate.
So why was it that a replacement tube wasn't installed (we all do have them) while the process did what it's supposed to do? Just out of principle?
And it was only because the service was better before?

On the other hand, isn't it a transferrable 5 year warranty? Why would they need to see the bos? Oh right...it was a tube with only a 6month warranty. Ok then, why does Mesa only offer a 6 month warranty on it's carefully screened tubes? Isn't a 6 month tube warranty pretty standard when the amp builder uses JJs or whatever brand? Or is it like 30 days? Ok ..nevermind that one too.

I am a noob Mesa owner. Just got a used Stiletto Ace a couple months ago and I think there's still some warranty life. Original owner still hasn't send papers to me but I hear nothing but great things about Mesa's CS.
These days I find that I get the best CS from online vendors or when dealing with a (long distance) company direct. It always seems to be the local vendors who don't have time, couldn't be bothered, or make you jump through so many hoops you'd think THEY owned the store or were the product manufacturer.
I am not only an online buyer but am also a vendor and I understand that competition is so fierce, and that all any of us really have is our reputation or feedback rating, 99.9999% of us bend over backwards to keep or customers happy. In this internet age a single bad review can kill you.

Hopefully I'll never need to speak to Mesa's cs. Actually I know I wont cause I'm definitely about to void my warranty by installing an adjustable bias mod...now there is a "mesa and tubes" story that can get me a little hot under the collar. And waitasecond..did you say that using non Mesa branded preamptubes will void your warranty? Ok now THAT I would have a problem with.
Why would that be? Just to keep you as a captive customer? I don't know of any other company that says "using any tubes other than what came stock will void your warranty"...or..."using anything except PRS strings on YOUR new PRS guitar will void the warranty!".
I wouldn't be pissed about the $10K you spent, I'd be PISSED about the $2K you're gonna have to spend over the 5 year warranty period of each amp if you use them at all.
Nothing to do with Customer Service though. Sorry for the rant.

Sure seems like they were originally doing what they could. Would have been interesting to hear what they would have said had you lost the bill of sale. Suppose you woulda been SOL.
And really, if they didn't know exactly when the amp was originally purchased, it would be hard to give free tubes to everyone who called.

ANYWAY, glad to hear you got it rectified in the end.

 

[bdubbs]

I thought I had an issue with my mark v. I called (spoke to a real person) he asked me to register on the site after talking for a bit. I registered and we went back and forth a bit. I found them to be very responsive. I work in the IT field so I see a LOT of customer service departments and I found the interaction very good.

I also work in somewhat of a service role as a systems engineer. Asking for support is a two way street where you work together to resolve the issue. You don't pout and wonder why something is broken. You work to fix it. It is a fact of life, things break its all about what attitude you have toward it.

 

[JTL]

Well, I just want to say that I've been playing through Boogies and working on them for a long time. Well over twenty years. Some of that time has been spent as a Factory Authorized Warranty Repair man. I have worked for a couple of other big name amplifier manufacturers, and I am a very well experienced electronics tech and fabricator. All of my experience except for a year or two has been in guitar amplification. I have no reason to lie about what I am going to say here. This will be my one and only post on this forum. If anyone cares, here goes: I will no longer use or repair any Mesa Engineering product whatsoever. Strike one was when some representative from Mesa was grilling me over the telephone when I worked as a warranty repair person at a Mesa dealership. He used phrases such as, "Now, this is what I want to see from you..." My response to that statement included what I wanted from Mesa, that is, if he wanted us to continue selling and supporting their products. His condescending tone of voice was unnecessary. This person was not a good representative for Mesa. I would fire him if he worked for me. The second strike was one time I was ordering parts for a repair on a Mesa/Boogie amplifier that was owned by a wealthy lawyer who collected amps. I talked with a Mr. Wolfe, I believe. First, I was told that the amp was "old" and there probably wouldn't be any replacement parts available. I suggested we try anyway. As I related the parts I required, I was suddenly cut short by Mr. Wolfe who stated, "This is a pretty special repair you're doing here, isn't it?" The tone of voice was such that I felt he was suggesting that I was attempting to clone a Boogie instead of repairing one. In any case, I wanted to stick with original parts, if possible. The amp had quite a bit of damage to the front control panel. This was also when I realized that the customer service reps at Mesa are not techs and really didn't know what I was talking about at all. I have had the misfortune of speaking with Mr. Wolfe on a few other occasions and always left the conversation thinking that I would never call Mesa again. The final strike for Mesa was the last time I called looking for some potentiometers for a specific model preamp. The person I talked to was unfamiliar with the unit, and as I had the schematic in hand, I offered to guide him to the required parts. I immediately received the, "Oh, that's old, there probably aren't any parts for that." reaction. But the guy put me on hold and went looking for the parts. He said he found some, and I repeatedly asked if they were the right ones, because Mesa had changed them a time or two. I described what I needed in great detail. Of course, I got the wrong ones in the mail. I called back and asked for George, because he has helped me a great deal over the years and he is always friendly. George knew what I needed immediately, found a couple, and had them sent right out. A week or so after completing the repair, I got a phone call from some type of customer service manager whose name escapes me at this point. He immediately blamed my receiving the wrong parts on me. He stated something like, "Well you tech guys ask for the pots based on the value and don't look on the schematic and give the right name for the controls." I had to tell this guy the whole story and assure him that I got the control names right off of the schematic. I really don't think he believed me. In any case, that's the first time someone has called me like that and said that their screw-up was my fault. That was the final straw. You know, no matter how highly Mesa thinks of themselves, they did not invent the guitar amplifier. I am the most experienced tech for at least a 500 mile radius of where I live these days. I get calls, emails, word of mouth referrals, etc. from people wanting me to work on their amps. If they tell me they own a Mesa/Boogie, I tell them that I no longer support Mesa Engineering products and that they'll have to go to the 80 year old TV repairman on the other side of town. And good luck with that. So, this is where I get off the train. My involvement with Mesa/Boogie ends right here. Sincerely, JTL

 

[domct203]

Wow, talk about random! Why would someone come here & sign up just to bash Mesa?

Then, announce that they will not post anymore? "JTL" brags that he has all this "experience", even as a "Factory Authorized Repair man" but will not stick around to help with problems that us players might have.

Oviously the dude doesn't read the board much. He must think its a Mesa run board, and his rant is how he will get even.

What a dick. Good riddance!

/rant

Dom

 

[deeman]

It takes two to tango. It sounds like JTL is a bit condecending and pompus and probably difficult to work with.

Also, because they sent you a wrong part once you're never going to repair that type of amp again? Seems a little extreme.

 

[YellowJacket]

This thread in general is a little ridiculous. Like come on, can't change a tube? It's like people complaining that they have to change the 'gasp' tires and oil in a car. Doesn't matter if it is a Honda Civic or a Lambo haha.

My 2 channel recto is still running, 20 years after it was built, and the Electra Dyne is going strong. I've only changed tubes in both!

I bought the recto used and Mesa SHIPPED me a paper copy of the manual free of charge.

I ordered a custom british tan tolex 27" RA 1 x 12 for my Electra Dyne head shortly after they had discontinued this option stock and they gave me the production price instead of charging for the custom option.

As for Mr Repairman, it sounds like someone has a least a bit of hubris. He probably would have had less problems if he had simply exercised a bit of wisdom and spoke with the techs instead of customer service rep when ordering legacy parts. Good riddance!!!

 

[Authorized Boogie]

FWIW, we don't have a Mr. Wolfe here - and we *do* have replacement parts available for all of our amplifiers, dating back to the Mark I.

In regards to our Factory Authorized Warranty Repair techs in the field - if their work doesn't stand up to the scrutiny of our techs here at the factory, they are relieved of their duties and lose our Authorization. Of the few we've had to let go - some have taken the news worse than others.

We try our best, and thanks for your support!

 

[nathan28]

Update to Electra-dyne issue. So I tried re tubing the amp and the clean gain stage still had nothing but a hum where as the low gain and high gain worked perfectly. I called Boogie they paid and emailed me a shipping label to send them the amp. I sent it to them and they fixed the amp and returned it to me in just under a two week time frame, it was a bad op amp in the clean signal path. Awesome Service! I'm glad that Boogie charged me nothing and fixed this wonderful amp. thanks Guys! Great job! I still can't figure out why the Electra-dyne wasn't that popular, this amp can cover any territory and cut through a mix incredible. A lot of metal heads were saying this amp isn't a high gain amp, bullshit!! It gets as heavy as my Roadking easy, in a mix the Electra dynes high gain cuts through like crazy.