How would you handle a 7-month late order (14-months so far) from Gretsch? UPDATED 5/07 THEY ARE HERE! Pics inside

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It may be specific to the manufacturer. 3 years ago, I special ordered a Ludwig snare through Sweetwater, and Ludwig direct-shipped to me. But the DW drums I just received had to go through Sweetwater's warehouse. Go figure (shrug.)
 
Does Sweetwater fully inspect those drums upon receipt to ensure everything is 100% BEFORE shipping off to the OP ?
 
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I would want some sort of compensation for having to wait that long. Have the dealer or Gretsch offered any?
 
Tama CW said:
Does Sweetwater fully inspect those drums upon receipt to ensure everything is 100% BEFORE shipping off to the OP ?
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I’m thinking so. Or at least they put it in another box. I’m going to see how the packaging/labeling is.
 
T_Weaves said:
I would want some sort of compensation for having to wait that long. Have the dealer or Gretsch offered any?
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No. When Sweetwater contacted Gretsch I told them to ask about compensation. Sweetwater emailed me and said Gretsch said they would definitely be ready by the end of April. And when I asked if Gretsch offered anything to make it right. Sweetwater replied:

"I am sorry to say no… That really is not how the manufacturers work… We see missed ETA all the time… there is more demand than production capability…. I wish I had a better answer, but they have so many orders stacked up. They are just doing their best to make the kits and fill orders. They do not get paid until they ship…"

So yeah. I wrote a letter to Gretsch voicing my displeasure. Addressed it to their manufacturing plant in Ridgeland because that's the only address I could find. If they have a specific office address I'll send it there too.
 
I've gotten a few things from Fork's Drum Closet, and they always received and inspected the drums before sending them to me.
 
nmosko said:
No. When Sweetwater contacted Gretsch I told them to ask about compensation. Sweetwater emailed me and said Gretsch said they would definitely be ready by the end of April. And when I asked if Gretsch offered anything to make it right. Sweetwater replied:

"I am sorry to say no… That really is not how the manufacturers work… We see missed ETA all the time… there is more demand than production capability…. I wish I had a better answer, but they have so many orders stacked up. They are just doing their best to make the kits and fill orders. They do not get paid until they ship…"

So yeah. I wrote a letter to Gretsch voicing my displeasure. Addressed it to their manufacturing plant in Ridgeland because that's the only address I could find. If they have a specific office address I'll send it there too.
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Okay now, let me get this straight: Gretsch pushed back your delivery date, what, three or four times? They pretty much put you on the back burner to cover their inability to deliver?
They insult your intelligence with the indefensibly vague "System Outage" nonsense? The head buyer for your retailer actually had to contact Gretsch's production manager? They promised you
ANOTHER delivery date and the drums AREN'T IN YOUR HANDS!? And they won't give you so much as a measly T-shirt, or a drumkey!? I think MY letter would include effusive gratitude for helping me come to a final decision, accompanied by a big photo of me, huge grin on my face, seated behind my brand-new set of Ludwig Legacy Mahogany drums!:love10: What an absolute SCHMOZZLE Gretsch let this turn into!
 
SchmuckyPutz said:
Okay now, let me get this straight: Gretsch pushed back your delivery date, what, three or four times? They pretty much put you on the back burner to cover their inability to deliver?
They insult your intelligence with the indefensibly vague "System Outage" nonsense? The head buyer for your retailer actually had to contact Gretsch's production manager? They promised you
ANOTHER delivery date and the drums AREN'T IN YOUR HANDS!? And they won't give you so much as a measly T-shirt, or a drumkey!? I think MY letter would include effusive gratitude for helping me come to a final decision, accompanied by a big photo of me, huge grin on my face, seated behind my brand-new set of Ludwig Legacy Mahogany drums!:love10: What an absolute SCHMOZZLE Gretsch let this turn into!
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Absolutely. Which is what I put in the letter. And as much as I love Gretsch and like them the best, I've been sooooo close to doing the legacy mahogany. I just didn't think they sounded as good as the Gretsch.

I don't know. I just really don't want to end up getting the drums and regret waiting almost 15 months. As I stated, part of me feels like a putz and the other part is like well, at the end of the day I'm getting EXACTLY what I want, so that being the situation, I guess the wait is justified. So heck, I don't know. I just want my drums and put the whole situation behind me!!
 
There's something to factory sealed that many people like. Cutting the paper tape for the first time and undoing the bubble wrap on every drum. Kind of misses out when the store does it first. Also, if the drums are factory sealed, it eliminates any potential "You messed up the drum at the shop" if something is wrong with the drum.

If I'm ordering a new drum that's not off the shelf/floor, I want to be the one to open the drum. The only reason I can see why not is if the customer wants different heads or the drums tuned. All the brands say they tune when they ship, but 3/4 lose tension somehow along the way.
 
DrummBumm89 said:
There's something to factory sealed that many people like. Cutting the paper tape for the first time and undoing the bubble wrap on every drum. Kind of misses out when the store does it first. Also, if the drums are factory sealed, it eliminates any potential "You messed up the drum at the shop" if something is wrong with the drum.

If I'm ordering a new drum that's not off the shelf/floor, I want to be the one to open the drum. The only reason I can see why not is if the customer wants different heads or the drums tuned. All the brands say they tune when they ship, but 3/4 lose tension somehow along the way.
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Me, too.
Not that i don't trust SW or shop examining the drum (part of me kinda does), but I also don't think they're going to do anything about it once they find anything imperfect. I might as well go through them myself and find any defect, flaws...etc and report them about it, I wouldn't want them to say, "when I was checking, it was perfect."
 
nmosko said:
No. When Sweetwater contacted Gretsch I told them to ask about compensation. Sweetwater emailed me and said Gretsch said they would definitely be ready by the end of April. And when I asked if Gretsch offered anything to make it right. Sweetwater replied:

"I am sorry to say no… That really is not how the manufacturers work… We see missed ETA all the time… there is more demand than production capability…. I wish I had a better answer, but they have so many orders stacked up. They are just doing their best to make the kits and fill orders. They do not get paid until they ship…"

So yeah. I wrote a letter to Gretsch voicing my displeasure. Addressed it to their manufacturing plant in Ridgeland because that's the only address I could find. If they have a specific office address I'll send it there too.
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What you have to remember is that you're not buying the drums from Gretsch - you're buying them from Sweetwater, who is buying them from Gretsch. Since you're buying them from Sweetwater, it's up to them to offer you something for all the delays. If I were your sales rep, I would ask you what batter heads you use and include a set along with the drums. Gretsch shouldn't have to offer something - your sales rep should. If the rep quoted you a price with very little margin and doesn't want to cut into his commission by giving you something, that's on him.
I would still let Gretsch know how displeased you are, and maybe they'll send you some sort of swag.
 
ARGuy said:
What you have to remember is that you're not buying the drums from Gretsch - you're buying them from Sweetwater, who is buying them from Gretsch. Since you're buying them from Sweetwater, it's up to them to offer you something for all the delays. If I were your sales rep, I would ask you what batter heads you use and include a set along with the drums. Gretsch shouldn't have to offer something - your sales rep should. If the rep quoted you a price with very little margin and doesn't want to cut into his commission by giving you something, that's on him.
I would still let Gretsch know how displeased you are, and maybe they'll send you some sort of swag.
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Yes, as the seller to you Sweetwater would be the ones the to offer up some type of adjustment. I am sure buried somewhere in their fine print there a disclaimer about estimated delivery dates on special order merchandise that Sweetwater is not responsible for delays.
Regardless, most large successful companies (like Sweetwater) are successful because they encourage and cultivate repeat business, good word of mouth recommendations and good on line reviews.
I would not be surprised after your drums are delivered that Sweetwater will offer you some type of good will gesture to help improve the taste in your mouth about this whole ordeal. Quite honestly, offering you something like a full set of heads is unlikely and something like a snare head and/or a $50-$100 gift certificate is a more realistic gesture for them to make.
And yes reach out Gretsch with how p.o.'ed you are!
 
I’ve had my Gretsch set up in my practice room for the last 6 months. Worth the wait. Hope you get them soon.

You can watch this to wet your appetite until they arrive.
 
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