Guy walks in with a Chinese lp knockoff...

[mobprop667]

Yesterday a guy came into the shop with a fake zakk Wylde camo bullseye lp. He was complaining about some fret buzz and tuning issues. He asked if I could do a setup on it and tweak it.
This thing was the biggest piece of junk I have ever seen. Bad neck joint shitty headstock, random pot placement, you name it.
The first thing I asked the guy was did he know it was a fake.
He said that he did but he got it cheap second hand and he thought it was almost as good as a gibson.
I pulled a real gibson les Paul off of the wall and asked him to try out this guitar against his.
After 2 minutes he asked me if I could make his guitar sound like the real deal.
I just said......"no."
I also told home that I would not work on a counterfeit guitar, regardless of how much he was willing to pay.
He asked why not?
I told him to look around at the 200 or so gibsons hanging on the wall.
Then I told him that as a gibson dealer I wouldn't touch one of these fakes with a 10 foot pole.
The nerve of some people knowing something is fake and bringing it to an authorised dealer for work.

 

[leftyguitarman]

The nerve of some people knowing something is fake and bringing it to an authorised dealer for work.

I personally don't see the problem. He just wanted a set up. To me, that's like denying someone a set up on a Fender guitar because you only sell Gibsons.

Still, I don't know why people buy the fakes.

 

[bertzie]

He probably figured that an authorized dealer would be able to do the best job.

 

[Slashperryburst]

No disrespect intended, but would you feel the same way about a 100 pound les paul copy? Fair enough, this one has the Gibson name on it, which it shouldn't, but you could have still done a little setup work on it. I have to agree with lefty and bertzie here. As long as this guy doesn't try to pass it off as the real deal, I don't see a problem.

It's just a cheap knockoff. As long as no one is getting scammed, is it really an issue? I doubt there is a single person here who hasn't bought some knockoff at some point. Be it sunglasses, shoes, clothes or even a dodgy dvd.

 

[Guitarhack]

He said that he did but he got it cheap second hand and he thought it was almost as good as a gibson.

After 2 minutes he asked me if I could make his guitar sound like the real deal.

You need a laugh track in the store to play when ridiculous statements like those are uttered.
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KeNa3YjG5eU&feature=related]Sitcom laughing #2 - YouTube[/ame]

I totally understand you not servicing that fake. Being an authorized dealer, I'm sure Gibson would more than just frown on you doing work on a counterfeit. Secondly, why would you want to make a counterfeit sound better? Chances are the guy would turn around and try and dupe some poor unsuspecting sod into buying it. Where would you be if the guy who bought the fake came to you and said "I just bought this from Joe Blow and he has this service tag from your shop. I know you are an authorized Gibson dealer what can you tell me about my new Gibson?" No bueno.

 

[mudfinger]

Authorized Gibson dealer. Counterfeit guitar. Makes sense to me.

No matter what work is done to it, if it's a bad specimen, it'll still suck.

"Hey where'd you get this POS set up?"

"Mobprop's shop"

"Wow, those guys suck, this guitar is barely playable"

 

[Publius pro tem]

Sorry - I have to agree with Mob on this one - sort of...

(Considering our past "disciplinary conversations" this might surprise some of you...)

Let me rhetorically offer Mob some customer service advice that erases any issue, eh?

When the customer says "I have this guitar - will you look at it?"

Mob can tell the guy what he did - the guitar is a fake and poorly made.
He can tell the guy that it's really not possible to get the results the customer is looking for.
Not without spending A LOT of money, anyway...

Mob used a real deal Gibson to point out the differences - the customer seemed to "get it" too.

Mob could tell the guy that, in essence, it's a waste of his time to work on really poorly made guitars.
He could even say that he's really unwilling to do so, and recommend that the guy takes it elsewhere.

Mob doesn't have to tell the guy to GTFO and take his piece of sh!t with him.
In fact, I don't think that's how the conversation went down.

Just sayin'...

Yesterday a guy came into the shop with a fake zakk Wylde camo bullseye lp.

Coupla years ago I was talking to a guy at Gibson who told me that these were the most common fakes.
Not just Gibson either - fake Epiphones too, since people expect it to be "different" than a Gibson.

.​

 

[brokentoeswalker]

The other problem is he might have all kinds of guitarist/musician friends and says you were a douche to him and word gets around, nobody wants to give money to the guy who was a douche to poor half retarded Bobby now do they ??? I don't claim to know your deal with Gibson, and if it meant losing your deal with them i understand, then it would be like serving a underage kid who shows you a fake I.D. You can't shoot yourself in the foot with Gibson, but you could have possibly sold the guy a new guitar !! Instead you got all high and mighty and got squat.

 

[Luckynumber3]

Authorized Gibson dealer. Counterfeit guitar. Makes sense to me.

No matter what work is done to it, if it's a bad specimen, it'll still suck.

"Hey where'd you get this POS set up?"

"Mobprop's shop"

"Wow, those guys suck, this guitar is barely playable"

The other problem is he might have all kinds of guitarist/musician friends and says you were a douche to him and word gets around, nobody wants to give money to the guy who was a douche to poor half retarded Bobby now do they ??? I don't claim to know your deal with Gibson, and if it meant losing your deal with them i understand, then it would be like serving a underage kid who shows you a fake I.D. You can't shoot yourself in the foot with Gibson, but you could have possibly sold the guy a new guitar !! Instead you got all high and mighty and got squat.

In that case, sounds like he is screwed whether he helps or not.

 

[formula73]

Good on you, man. It's your right to refuse service to anyone. ANYONE. Everybody here can judge but they aren't in your shoes, are they?

 

[Publius pro tem]

And I'd play it safe by saying that I really don't want that kinda gear in my shop at all.
Tell the customers that it's a Lose/Lose for me no matter what I do, and hope they understand.

Be polite, but firm.

Suggest that they be wary of owning counterfeits due to legal action, thefts, etc.

Sorta reinforce the notion that the guitar is really nothing more than contraband.
Legit busineses cannot afford to deal in contraband, eh?

.​

 

[brokentoeswalker]

My point was really that he spent money on a guitar already, even though it was a crappy fake. He could be have been a potential customer, even a repeat customer. People will buy off shops/salespeople that they like or feel they can trust and you have to be a bit of a diplomat sometimes as a middle man.

 

[Publius pro tem]

All true - but I'll buy from the guy who's honest repeatedly before I give my money to a "salesman."


The guy who has sold me $30,000 worth of gear is my Exhibit A.

He coulda made plenty of money off me on deals he felt were not in my best interest.
Mods he coulda performed - used gear he had in the store, new guitars I considered ordering.

His approach was simple - "Well, before you do this there are a couple things to consider..."

I trust the guy implicitly now.

.​

 

[ptate]

How old was the guy...??

Makes a big difference in his attitude, plus the amount of "free" income he has available.

He bought the fake (I assume) as it looked like a guitar he aspired to, for a lot less than the real deal. In terms of making sure he was served correctly, you did the right thing; but, it may have been prudent to let him have a look/try the lower-end gibsons as a possible trade up..?

I wasn't there, so I only have the OP's post to read, but the guy may have been quite open to owning a "genuine" Gibson...Who knows.

Interesting thread.

 

[Thumpalumpacus]

From a businessman's perspective, not servicing that guitar makes great sense. Mob loses what, maybe a hundred Euros by passing up a setup with a crown and polish ... the guy turns around and sells the guitar, undercutting the store's business.

I wouldn't be surprised if there was a clause in the dealer agreement stipulating that no business transactions with counterfeits take place, too.

If I remember correctly, this is the only Gibson dealership in Ireland.

 

[Skit]

My point was really that he spent money on a guitar already, even though it was a crappy fake. He could be have been a potential customer, even a repeat customer. People will buy off shops/salespeople that they like or feel they can trust and you have to be a bit of a diplomat sometimes as a middle man.

Bring a fake Rolex into a Rolex dealer and ask them to work on it for you see where that gets you.

 

[rockstar232007]

I personally don't see the problem. He just wanted a set up. To me, that's like denying someone a set up on a Fender guitar because you only sell Gibsons.

Still, I don't know why people buy the fakes.

Apples to oranges...unless the Fender happens to be a counterfeit?

That would be like someone taking a fake Ferrari into a Ferrari dealer, and expecting them to make it perform like a real Ferrari.

Great job, Kev!

 

[12watt]

Bring a fake Rolex into a Rolex dealer and ask them to work on it for you see where that gets you.

When I tried to get a dealer to change the battery in my Rolex Daytona, they showed me the door. The nerve...

The guy's lucky, in some places the police could have been involved.
He could have had it removed from him and destroyed.
It is a counterfeit and is illegal.

 

[LPSGME]

I'm having a problem with a U.S. made guitar being sold in Ireland. Shouldn't they just sell and service guitars made there? If they want US made guitars they should leave and move to the U.S. and pay U.S. taxes.

 

[ptate]

I'm having a problem with a U.S. made guitar being sold in Ireland. Shouldn't they just sell and service guitars made there? If they want US made guitars they should leave and move to the U.S. and pay U.S. taxes.

They tried and you US bunch of b*stards made them take eugenic tests, live in slums and forced a lot of them elsewhere.....