CF Martin & Company, Inc.

4/20/2017Dear *** *** ***,Thank you for contacting Martin GuitarWe apologize for your experience and frustration with your Martin Guitar serial *** (manufactured in 1990)I have reviewed your repair quote, evaluated the pictures that were taken of your guitar in October of
when it was received at the factory, and all of the correspondence/information that I could find regarding your guitars repairs. Your guitar was evaluated on 10/11/at Martin GuitarAt that time we found multipleloose glue joints, including the bridge, internal braces, and large sections of bindingWe alsofound cracks on the back and on the bridge plateYour guitar was under string tension when we received it, with a loose bridge, which will also increase damage.A repair quote was sent to you on 10/24/that listed the recommend repairs and stated thatDue to the condition of and failure to reasonably and properly maintain this instrument the above repairs are of a non-warranty nature'.On 10/26/you requested that your instrument be returned to you without repair from theMartin Guitar factory.Martin Guitar's limited lifetime warranty is responsible for covering manufacturing and material defects, as stated in the Care/Feeding and Limited Lifetime Warranty Booklet that is included at the time of purchase from your authorized Martin Guitar dealerThe recommended repairs of your guitar are a result of either wear and tear (examples: restring coadjust action, face of fiels, hardpadck polish, bridge plate wear) or not properly maintaining humidity and temperature over time (examples: multiple loose glue joint-bindings, braces, bridge, loose ceCracked bridge plate, and back wood cracks) of your guitarThe current condition and damage of your guitar is evidence of it not being properly cared for or maintained, and exposed to humidity/temperature outside of the recommended conditions, as stated in our Care/Feeding and Limited Lifetime Warranty Booklet.Below I have included some pictures the repair department took upon your guitars arrival at Martin GuitarThe arrows point out that it arrived with a loose bridge under string tension and loose bindings.We do not recommend or ship any new or repaired guitar with anything in the case because it can cause damage during shippingOur manufacturing facility is climate controlled to manufacture and maintain proper humidity for our production and inventory.Martin Guitar prides itself on customer service and often times will negotiate repair chargesFollowing your instructions, we returned the guitar to you without repair on 10/26/In your email dated 3/7/you stated that your guitar is being repaired by a repair personIf the repair person is not affiliated or authorized by Martin Guitar to perform repairs, Martin Guitar is not in a position to reimburse you or them for any repairs.I do hope this clears up any ambiguity or questions.Best regards,Matthew S. Customer Experience Manager Customer Service & Sales Events

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the responseIf no reason is received your complaint will be closed as Answered]
Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because:https://www.***.com/***as you can see in the video above the strings were quite looseMartin has made libelous statements suggesting the guitar was shipped to them with tension on the strings causing the bridge plate to crackThis of course is ludicrousAre they trying to suggest I tuned the guitar back up before shipping it to them??? The bridge is totally liftedHere's a clue Scooby doo the bridge plate is right below the bridgeFancy thatBridge lifts up and the thin piece of wood goes with itEven my repairman told me this and he also said they hardly used any glue on the bridge plateThey did not attempt any repairs so I fail to see how their opinion qualifiesThey made ridiculous libelous statements accusing me of damaging the guitar in shipmentThe guitar was insured for $Do they really stand by that word? I should be suing the USPS? Is that what they are really saying? RidiculousI can't believe the lies they make upA bridge plate is very thin and can break easily as in when the poorly glued bridge lifts upIs Martin really going to suggest they never repaired such a guitar before under warranty? Do they really want my lawyer to force the books wide open?
Regards,
*** ***

Dear MrS***, a guitar is a personal choice for an artistMy choice was based on the C.FMartin history and reputation for high quality and my prior experience playing a Martin guitar whenever I came in contact with oneI bought the guitar to play and had a reasonable expectation of how it would would wear ( I have a working background in materials hardness research). With all due respect I believe it would be in the best interest of C.F.Martin to re-evaluate the specs of what you call stainless steel frets as well as some of the other issues that I experienced Thank you for doing the right thing and refunding my money.
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ***, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
Regards,
*** ***

Dear *** *** ***, I received your letter addressed to The Revdex.com concerning issues with your *** serial # *** As you know, I personally investigated your case based on a letter you addressed to Chris M*** on 5/11/(Please see attachment as reference to my
response to you at that time) To restate my response to you from May, items such as frets, nuts, finish, and saddles are considered wear items that are not covered under our limited lifetime warranty The $you paid replaced a worn out nut, saddle, and frets At no charge, Martin customer service upgraded your guitar’s bone nut and saddle, stainless steel frets, and hide glue We also gave you free return shipping, a hygrometer, a humidifier, and strings In total we provided you over $in courtesies. As a final courtesy, we will refund your $ The check will be mailed to your home address However, please know that frets wear differently depending one’s playing style and string gauge In addition, stainless steel frets are harder than frets and can break strings more often. Sincerely, Matthew S*Customer Experience ManagerSales events & Customer service

Dear MrS***, a guitar is a personal choice for an artistMy choice was based on the C.FMartin history and reputation for high quality and my prior experience playing a Martin guitar whenever I came in contact with oneI bought the guitar to play and had a reasonable expectation of how it would would wear ( I have a working background in materials hardness research). With all due respect I believe it would be in the best interest of C.F.Martin to re-evaluate the specs of what you call stainless steel frets as well as some of the other issues that I experienced Thank you for doing the right thing and refunding my money.
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ***, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
Regards,
*** ***

Dear *** *** ***, I received your letter addressed to The Revdex.com concerning issues with your *** serial # *** As you know, I personally investigated your case based on a letter you addressed to Chris M*** on 5/11/(Please see attachment as reference to my
response to you at that time) To restate my response to you from May, items such as frets, nuts, finish, and saddles are considered wear items that are not covered under our limited lifetime warranty The $you paid replaced a worn out nut, saddle, and frets At no charge, Martin customer service upgraded your guitar’s bone nut and saddle, stainless steel frets, and hide glue We also gave you free return shipping, a hygrometer, a humidifier, and strings In total we provided you over $in courtesies. As a final courtesy, we will refund your $ The check will be mailed to your home address However, please know that frets wear differently depending one’s playing style and string gauge In addition, stainless steel frets are harder than frets and can break strings more often. Sincerely, Matthew S*Customer Experience ManagerSales events & Customer service

4/20/2017Dear *** *** ***,Thank you for contacting Martin GuitarWe apologize for your experience and frustration with your Martin Guitar serial *** (manufactured in 1990)I have reviewed your repair quote, evaluated the pictures that were taken of your guitar in October of
when it was received at the factory, and all of the correspondence/information that I could find regarding your guitars repairs. Your guitar was evaluated on 10/11/at Martin GuitarAt that time we found multipleloose glue joints, including the bridge, internal braces, and large sections of bindingWe alsofound cracks on the back and on the bridge plateYour guitar was under string tension when we received it, with a loose bridge, which will also increase damage.A repair quote was sent to you on 10/24/that listed the recommend repairs and stated thatDue to the condition of and failure to reasonably and properly maintain this instrument the above repairs are of a non-warranty nature'.On 10/26/you requested that your instrument be returned to you without repair from theMartin Guitar factory.Martin Guitar's limited lifetime warranty is responsible for covering manufacturing and material defects, as stated in the Care/Feeding and Limited Lifetime Warranty Booklet that is included at the time of purchase from your authorized Martin Guitar dealerThe recommended repairs of your guitar are a result of either wear and tear (examples: restring coadjust action, face of fiels, hardpadck polish, bridge plate wear) or not properly maintaining humidity and temperature over time (examples: multiple loose glue joint-bindings, braces, bridge, loose ceCracked bridge plate, and back wood cracks) of your guitarThe current condition and damage of your guitar is evidence of it not being properly cared for or maintained, and exposed to humidity/temperature outside of the recommended conditions, as stated in our Care/Feeding and Limited Lifetime Warranty Booklet.Below I have included some pictures the repair department took upon your guitars arrival at Martin GuitarThe arrows point out that it arrived with a loose bridge under string tension and loose bindings.We do not recommend or ship any new or repaired guitar with anything in the case because it can cause damage during shippingOur manufacturing facility is climate controlled to manufacture and maintain proper humidity for our production and inventory.Martin Guitar prides itself on customer service and often times will negotiate repair chargesFollowing your instructions, we returned the guitar to you without repair on 10/26/In your email dated 3/7/you stated that your guitar is being repaired by a repair personIf the repair person is not affiliated or authorized by Martin Guitar to perform repairs, Martin Guitar is not in a position to reimburse you or them for any repairs.I do hope this clears up any ambiguity or questions.Best regards,Matthew S. Customer Experience Manager Customer Service & Sales Events

Dear *** *** ***, I received your letter addressed to The Revdex.com concerning issues with your *** serial # *** As you know, I personally investigated your case based on a letter you addressed to Chris M*** on 5/11/(Please see attachment as
reference to my response to you at that time) To restate my response to you from May, items such as frets, nuts, finish, and saddles are considered wear items that are not covered under our limited lifetime warranty The $you paid replaced a worn out nut, saddle, and frets At no charge, Martin customer service upgraded your guitar’s bone nut and saddle, stainless steel frets, and hide glue We also gave you free return shipping, a hygrometer, a humidifier, and strings In total we provided you over $in courtesies. As a final courtesy, we will refund your $ The check will be mailed to your home address However, please know that frets wear differently depending one’s playing style and string gauge In addition, stainless steel frets are harder than frets and can break strings more often. Sincerely, Matthew S*Customer Experience ManagerSales events & Customer service

Martin Guitar will be happy to investigate into this situation for the customer. We will need some information. The owners name to verify if they are the original owner of the instrument and if they are or are not registered in our system. The limited lifetime warranty is only
valid to the original owner. Also the serial # of the instrument so we can look into the history/service records of the instrument. We would recommend that if the customer has not done so already, to take it to an authorized service center for evaluation or send it directly into Martin Guitar. Here is a link from our website to locate the customers nearest service center *** Please have the service center contact me directly so I can work with them. If the customer would prefer to send it into Martin Guitar, please just call into customer service at *** to set up a return authorization I will be happy to speak with the customer to assist in anywayl. My email is *** ** * *** ** *** ** *** ***
***Matt S***

Martin Guitar will be happy to investigate into this situation for the customer.? We will need some information.? The owners name to verify if they are the original owner of the instrument and if they are or are not registered in our system.? The limited lifetime warranty is only
valid to the original owner.? ? Also the serial # of the instrument so we can look into the history/service records of the instrument.? We would recommend that if the customer has not done so already, to take it to an authorized service center for evaluation or send it directly into Martin Guitar.? Here is a link from our website to locate the customers nearest service center ***? Please have the service center contact me directly so I can work with them.? If the customer would prefer to send it into Martin Guitar, please just call into customer service at *** to set up a? return authorization? I will? be happy to speak with the customer to assist in anywayl.? My email is *** ** * *** ** *** ** *** ***?
***Matt S***

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the responseIf no reason is received your complaint will be closed as Answered]
? Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:https://www.[redacted].com/[redacted]as you can see in the video above the strings were quite looseMartin has made libelous statements suggesting the guitar was shipped to them with tension on the strings causing the bridge plate to crackThis of course is ludicrousAre they trying to suggest I tuned the guitar back up before shipping it to them???? The bridge is totally liftedHere's a clue Scooby doo the bridge plate is right below the bridgeFancy thatBridge lifts up and the thin piece of wood goes with itEven my repairman told me this and he also said they hardly used any glue on the bridge plateThey did not attempt any repairs so I fail to see how their opinion qualifiesThey made ridiculous libelous statements accusing me of damaging the guitar in shipmentThe guitar was insured for $Do they really stand by that word?? I should be suing the USPS?? Is that what they are really saying?? RidiculousI can't believe the lies they make upA bridge plate is very thin and can break easily as in when the poorly glued bridge lifts upIs Martin really going to suggest they never repaired such a guitar before under warranty?? Do they really want my lawyer to force the books wide open??
Regards,
[redacted]
?

Review: I purchased a Martin DM model acoustic guitar (serial #[redacted]) on June 16, 2000 from [redacted] ([redacted]. I purchased this guitar based on the sound of the guitar, the reputation of the C.F. Martin Co., and the lifetime warranty that they provide on their instruments. Several years after owning this guitar it developed a crack on it's surface. I took the guitar into the same [redacted] from which I purchased the guitar, and they claimed to fix the issue. All of this was "covered" by the warranty. Lately the crack has come back and I contacted the C.F. Martin Co. to ask what procedure to take to have this crack fixed, as it should have been covered under the lifetime warranty, just as the first crack was. However, they claim that cracks are not covered, and that the first repair was not authorized by them. I was not made aware that the first repair would in any way jeopardize the warranty, otherwise I would of course have taken it somewhere else. Secondly there is much discrepancy about whether such cracks are covered or not. A quick internet search reveals C.F. Martin does cover such cracks in some cases. Furthermore, even the customer service rep admitted that they are basing their theory of whether the crack was due to owner or company error based on pure speculation. Of course they put the fault on the owner. I do find by searching this model guitar that there are many of them that develops cracks similar to the one my guitar as. Combining that with the fact that this model guitar is no longer in production makes me suspect that the DM model was not a suitable, high quality guitar to begin with. I'm afraid C.F. Martin Co. is simply trying to put blame on me rather than honor their "lifetime" warranty. Why have a lifetime warranty if it will not be honored. That is dishonorable.Desired Settlement: I wish for the C.F. Martin Co. to provide me with a replacement guitar or a gift certificate redeemable for a similar guitar.

Business

Response:

Dear [redacted],

I contacted [redacted] regarding case ID# [redacted] this morning and suggested that we bring his instrument (DM [redacted]) back to Martin Guitar for evaluation at no charge to him. I also offered a replacement instrument to him upon our inspection of the instrument. If what he states is true regarding the top crack and that the over condition of the instrument is reasonable, we will replace it with a current model equal to his ([redacted]).

He seemed satisfied with that resolution, so I had [redacted] (custom service rep) contact him to set up a Return Authorization. [redacted] has the paperwork in place and when [redacted] returns from a business trip, he said he will contact [redacted] to set up a date for pick up.

Upon our receipt of the instrument, we will evaluate it and take action.

Thank You,

Customer Experience Manager

Sales events & Customer service

C.F. Martin & Co.,INC.

Review: After 1 year and over 200 more dollars and 4 trips to authorized warranty repair outlets the guitar I have purchased (have receipt) last June is still not fixed. The only solution that could be provided was to return my product at my cost and wait 6 months for a return. Customer svc said they wouldn't probably be able to do anything different than a local warranty work. I have replaced 3 saddles on this guitar taken it to 3 differ companies per [redacted] to work on it driving 30 mins to 1 hour each time. I have spent over 100 dollars on strings. I have even had to pay for the work that these authorized dealers did over 200 more dollars. Customer service said that they could not do anything and they were backed up on work. I make a living using guitars I can not depend on this new guitar I bought. I can't play one set without breaking a g string every time. I have shows setup and I can't deal with having my guitar in PA for 6 months to do the same thing a local person would do (per customer svc). I am over 1k in to a 700 dollar guitar that doesn't work and has obvious issues.Desired Settlement: I would like a working guitar I paid for or my money back. The bad thing is I dreamed and saved to own a [redacted] guitar but it has turned into a nightmare. I am sick or running around to get a NEW guitar fixed and to pay for it and I can't go without a backup guitar for 6 months.

Business

Response:

Dear **. [redacted],

I received your letter from the Revdex.com concerning your issues with your DRS1 ([redacted]). First I would like to apologize for your experience with this instrument and will do my best to resolve the issue.

I would like to bring your instrument into [redacted] Guitar for evaluation. We will call tag it from your address and pay for the shipping. Once we receive the instrument at [redacted], myself and the manager of the repair department will evaluate your instrument, discuss our options, and propose a resolution at that time.

I would also like to send you some replacement sets of strings as a courtesy for your inconvenience. The recommended strings for your DRS1 are the SP Lifespans 7200 (Medium gauge.) What gauge and style string do you prefer to use?

If you are interested in sending your instrument into [redacted] Guitar please contact me and I will have a Customer Service Representative contact you immediately to set up a call tag and give you shipping instructions. I will expedite this as quickly as possible once I hear back from you.

Sincerely,

Customer Experience Manager

Sales events & Customer service

C.F. [redacted] & Co.,INC.

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Business

Response:

{Please see below.}