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My Favorite Guitar Store Called... Seems I Broke a Guitar After I Left


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I'd try the talking approach first. You say it's your favorite store and you go there a lot. If it were me, I'd tell them I didn't think I was responsible for it, but I'd rather pay for something I didn't break than to lose a good music store. Those are rare. And since friends are involved, too, I'd definitely offer to pay if they felt like it was my fault. And if I was the store owner - I'd refuse your payment. It doesn't sound like it was your fault, but your offer to pay will make for an even better relationship with the store. We recently lost the best music store in Mobile largely because of GC. I found an equally good store in Pensacola, so I know how rare they can be. I'd talk to the owner.

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I used to do retail, if someone was looking at something and hung it back up, I would damn sure check how it was re-hung as soon as they were gone. I'm sure a similar call to any of my customers would have basically been seen as an invitation to not shop at my store anymore. The store employee is there to see that the inventory is properly displayed, or is does his job description say something else?

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I'd try the talking approach first. You say it's your favorite store and you go there a lot. If it were me, I'd tell them I didn't think I was responsible for it, but I'd rather pay for something I didn't break than to lose a good music store. Those are rare. And since friends are involved, too, I'd definitely offer to pay if they felt like it was my fault. And if I was the store owner - I'd refuse your payment. It doesn't sound like it was your fault, but your offer to pay will make for an even better relationship with the store. We recently lost the best music store in Mobile largely because of GC. I found an equally good store in Pensacola, so I know how rare they can be. I'd talk to the owner.

That's a very evolved approach.

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I'd try the talking approach first. You say it's your favorite store and you go there a lot. If it were me, I'd tell them I didn't think I was responsible for it, but I'd rather pay for something I didn't break than to lose a good music store. Those are rare. And since friends are involved, too, I'd definitely offer to pay if they felt like it was my fault. And if I was the store owner - I'd refuse your payment. It doesn't sound like it was your fault, but your offer to pay will make for an even better relationship with the store. We recently lost the best music store in Mobile largely because of GC. I found an equally good store in Pensacola, so I know how rare they can be. I'd talk to the owner.

I like your thinking. Not to hijack the thread. But I didn't realize you were in Pensacola. I was born there and still go back a couple of times a year to see family.

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The friendship part makes this awkward - if the guitar fell long after you left then sounds like you were not negligent in hanging it, and it was a faulty hanger. If the fans or vibrations knocked down then again not your fault.

Hopefully, the tape reveals an intervening 3rd party in which case, case closed. If not and given the manger acknowledged a pre-exisiting condition of suspect hangers and falling guitars then he needs to take responsibility and submit it to insurance or eat it.

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Also consider you don't know for a fact you were the last person touching it. A salesman may have dropped it and blamed you so they don't get fired.

"I didn't do it, it must have been that other guy!"

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I'd rather pay for something I didn't break than to lose a good music store...And if I was the store owner - I'd refuse your payment. It doesn't sound like it was your fault, but your offer to pay will make for an even better relationship with the store.

I'm not sure I'd be able to get past them even calling me, hinting at liability. If the store owner/employee were the type to turn down an offer of payment, I have to think the call is never placed.

I sure as shit wouldn't go in to watch the tape. I'm no lawyer, but to me that gives the impression you would be ready to assume responsibility if it shows nobody else touched the guitar.

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I used to do retail, if someone was looking at something and hung it back up, I would damn sure check how it was re-hung as soon as they were gone. I'm sure a similar call to any of my customers would have basically been seen as an invitation to not shop at my store anymore. The store employee is there to see that the inventory is properly displayed, or is does his job description say something else?

Same here. The local store ate the cost of a lot of abuse, but we stayed on top of everything to make sure accidents did not happen.

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I think the simple answer is to simply set fire to the store, burning it to the ground, and then let the store owner realize that one dropped import isn't all that big of a deal after all.

I mean, there may be a somewhat less drastic approach, but...

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Better yet, make sure you pay nothing, OP. If the store owner presses the issue, tell him you would prefer that all future communications regarding this issue be between your respective legal counsels. That'll end it right there.

*sigh*... Let me go get a damage claim form...

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I think the simple answer is to simply set fire to the store, burning it to the ground, and then let the store owner realize that one dropped import isn't all that big of a deal after all.

I mean, there may be a somewhat less drastic approach, but...

Give Dave a call. Maybe the old cat who drove "into" Rocketeria is available for another run this week.

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Personally, I think unless he has video of YOU dropping the guitar, I'd go with the "call my lawyer" approach. If you're feeling generous, tell him:

  • You'll buy the guitar AT HIS COST.
  • You promise to never damage another instrument, because you'll never be there again.
  • Will inform every musician you know what risk they're assuming for testing an instrument at his store, just to make it easier for him.

See what he thinks of that deal.

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...if it stayed in the hanger for more than a minute (a reasonable amount of time), you're good. If you're out of the store when it happened, they could just as well blame it on earthquakes brought on by fracking, for all they know.

I'm still going with my previous statement. Sounds to me that the 'path of least resistance' that the dealer is taking, is through YOU, rather than through his insurance company. Does this sound like a business that you still want to do business with again, after this? :huh: I wouldn't worry too much about offending their sense of trust, as it sounds to me like they're sure trying to offend YOURS.

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After watching the video, we can call this one part lockbody, two parts store.

1. The hanger. The hanger wasn't lined up with the rest. Also, the little "disks" on the ends of the hanger were worn out and did nothing to keep the guitar in place.

2. So when I put the guitar back in the hanger I lined it up with the other guitars which left it a tad cocked in the hanger.

3. Ten minutes later the ceiling fans cause the the guitar to move enough to twist and fall out of the hanger.

My bud, the manager, said he felt if the hanger had been in the same position as all the others then this more than likely would have never happened, that's what he was going to tell the owner, and if there was anything else for me to be concerned about he'd call today after talking with the him.

I didn't hear anything.

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That was a cool way to handle it. Very classy, and probably lesson learned.

About 7-8 years ago, I walked into Southworth Guitars, which was an absolute world class vintage shop, and just happened to be a mile down the street from my house. That particular day, Gil's assistant was placing a completely shattered, white early '60s SG that had been a mint specimen just a few days before. A local dad came into the shop with his ADHD, sugared-up, totally undisciplined kid, and while he fumbled over random cowboy chords on some fine vintage piece, the kid grabbed the SG and started running laps around the store, knocking things off stands and dinging some of the low-hanging Specials, Juniors and miscellaneous '70s guitars. When the shopguy got out from behind the counter to try to stop the destruction, the kid tossed the guitar and it landed face down on a riser and splintered on impact. The dad swooped up the kid and made a hasty exit, saying something lame to the effect of, "well, that's why you buy insurance!" on the way back out to Old Georgetown Road.

The guitar was held together on the stand with tape, placed in the center of the shop by the entrance, and a sign warned parents that their children would be kept under control at all times while in the shop or they would be held fully liable for any damages - no excuses.

It was a pretty damned powerful sign.

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Agree with the general sentiment here. I am all for standing up and doing the right thing when I've done something wrong, but this doesn't sound like the case here. Not that it happened/didn't happen, but you have no way of knowing if some other person walked in in the 20 minutes after you hung it up (correctly) and was the actual cause of the incident. It could have also been the fan.

Unfortunately, it's not your problem here, since there are far too many factors involved, and the actual incident was sufficiently removed in time. If you had still been in the store at the time it fell and it could be shown that nobody had touched it in the interim, by all means, feel free to pony up some repair cost or whatever. The fact that you were already well on your merry way...not so much.

They DO have insurance that covers stuff like that, but maybe with whatever their deductible situation is, it may not be worth it for them to pursue and they'll have to self insure that mishap.

+1 well said

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That was a cool way to handle it. Very classy, and probably lesson learned.

About 7-8 years ago, I walked into Southworth Guitars, which was an absolute world class vintage shop, and just happened to be a mile down the street from my house. That particular day, Gil's assistant was placing a completely shattered, white early '60s SG that had been a mint specimen just a few days before. A local dad came into the shop with his ADHD, sugared-up, totally undisciplined kid, and while he fumbled over random cowboy chords on some fine vintage piece, the kid grabbed the SG and started running laps around the store, knocking things off stands and dinging some of the low-hanging Specials, Juniors and miscellaneous '70s guitars. When the shopguy got out from behind the counter to try to stop the destruction, the kid tossed the guitar and it landed face down on a riser and splintered on impact. The dad swooped up the kid and made a hasty exit, saying something lame to the effect of, "well, that's why you buy insurance!" on the way back out to Old Georgetown Road.

The guitar was held together on the stand with tape, placed in the center of the shop by the entrance, and a sign warned parents that their children would be kept under control at all times while in the shop or they would be held fully liable for any damages - no excuses.

It was a pretty damned powerful sign.

Damn, I JUST had a dream about Southworth Guitars last night. Weird. Is that place still in business? They had a lot of choice stuff...

As for the kid and his father, that is definitely a case where the customer should have been held liable, unlike Lockbody.

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That was a cool way to handle it. Very classy, and probably lesson learned.

About 7-8 years ago, I walked into Southworth Guitars, which was an absolute world class vintage shop, and just happened to be a mile down the street from my house. That particular day, Gil's assistant was placing a completely shattered, white early '60s SG that had been a mint specimen just a few days before. A local dad came into the shop with his ADHD, sugared-up, totally undisciplined kid, and while he fumbled over random cowboy chords on some fine vintage piece, the kid grabbed the SG and started running laps around the store, knocking things off stands and dinging some of the low-hanging Specials, Juniors and miscellaneous '70s guitars. When the shopguy got out from behind the counter to try to stop the destruction, the kid tossed the guitar and it landed face down on a riser and splintered on impact. The dad swooped up the kid and made a hasty exit, saying something lame to the effect of, "well, that's why you buy insurance!" on the way back out to Old Georgetown Road.

The guitar was held together on the stand with tape, placed in the center of the shop by the entrance, and a sign warned parents that their children would be kept under control at all times while in the shop or they would be held fully liable for any damages - no excuses.

It was a pretty damned powerful sign.

If an insurance company was left having to pay the store, the dad owed the insurance company. If he knew his kid was diagnosed as having an attention or discipline disorder he was liable from the moment they entered the store.

Too many people assume retail stores have insurance to cover all their merchandise for customer abuse. Most do not, and my guess is that it can get expensive. Fire and water damage is one thing. Breakage is usually between the store and the customer.

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Bad parenting is not insurable.

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