 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: mgr
Date: 2006-05-14 16:14
need some advice. 2 years ago we bought a leblanc galaxy for our daughter. were on a tight budget, and Sam Ash assured us the quality was good, it was just a special model created for their store. 2 weeks after purchase, the wood split on the upper joint. Sam Ash replaced without a problem. the clarinet is used only for indoor concerts. she marches a buffet B12. 3 months ago, my daughter noticed that the replacement clarinet cracked in the same place as the original. we took it back to Sam Ash and they decided it was a manufacturer defect and advised us to contact leblanc. LeBlanc has been purchased by Conn-Selmer. Conn-Selmer did not want to stand behind LeBlanc's product. Finally after numerous phone calls, the Sam Ash rep at Conn-Selmer said there was a part available to replace the cracked joint. After waiting 2 months, Sam Ash has called and told us the part would cost $400 and we would have to take the hardware from the original clarinet and transfer it to the replacement part. Although the manager at Sam Ash has been as helpful as possible, I am extremely disappointed in the customer service we have received from Conn-Selmer. We really can't afford the $400 for a part and I am not sure that we want to invest that much money in an instrument model that has had such a poor track record for us.
any advice?
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2006-05-14 16:24
A crack repair would cost significantly less than $400 + the cost of a key transfer + repad - that's close to $600 total.
Also, your guarantee may have been doubled if you bought it with a credit card, so if you reported the crack at just under 2 years you might have a recourse, depending on the card.
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Author: mgr
Date: 2006-05-14 17:56
Thanks for the advice, Mark. Unfortunately, when sam ash exchanged the original clarinet, they did not issue any new paperwork showing the exchange date.
I realize that Conn-Selmer has taken over the LeBlanc name, but as far as I am concerned, good customer service means accepting all aspects of a business that you absorb, both the good and the bad. If the product wasn't faulty in the first place, why did sam ash stopped selling this version of the leblanc so quickly. You don't get rid of a product that is of good quality that quickly.
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2006-05-14 19:45
mgr wrote:
> Thanks for the advice, Mark. Unfortunately, when sam ash
> exchanged the original clarinet, they did not issue any new
> paperwork showing the exchange date.
>
> I realize that Conn-Selmer has taken over the LeBlanc name, but
> as far as I am concerned, good customer service means accepting
> all aspects of a business that you absorb, both the good and
> the bad.
But if the crack guarantee is for 1 yr (the average), offering a replacement after 2 years is well beyond the norm. Cracks happen at any time.
> If the product wasn't faulty in the first place, why
> did sam ash stopped selling this version of the leblanc so
> quickly. You don't get rid of a product that is of good
> quality that quickly.
Sure you do if it doesn't hit the price/performance mark. All the major manufacturers have put out perfectly serviceable models and withdrwn them when the sales didn't perform up to projections.
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Author: Bob Phillips
Date: 2006-05-15 15:36
I'd just have a good technician repair the crack and be on with life.
Moving the old mechanisms to the new upper joint is not a simple matter of screwing in the parts. They have to be painstakingly aligned. The pads won't lay on the new tone holes; they will have to be replaced. Finally (?) the whole mess will have to be aligned and adjusted.
Good luck.
Bob Phillips
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Author: dtex9002
Date: 2006-05-16 00:06
Oh wow, this problem is exactly what is happening to me. My parents bought me a Leblanc Galaxy from Sam Ash back during my sophomore year of high school. The upper joint cracked no more than six months after the purchase. The warranty covered the replacement of the joint, however, just two weeks ago the upper joint cracked once again, thus making this the second crack in two and a half years. Considering that I meticulously clean and maintain my instrument, I wonder if the product might have been defective.
I'm not sure what the proper course of action would be, but I wrote a letter to Conn-Selmer to bring to their attention my situation. Maybe you should write them too - perhaps this has happened to other Galaxy owners.
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Author: externals
Date: 2006-05-16 00:10
Not to be rude or biased or anything, I've never trusted anything from Sam Ash even though I've bought many things from them. I dont know about everyone but is your Sam Ash customer service rude or ignoring? I've visted about 5..
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Author: mgr
Date: 2006-05-19 15:42
I have also spoken to Conn-Selmer and I haven't been happy with the response. We spent a little under $700 for the clarinet and now they want to charge $400 for the replacement part. I will try writing, but I'm not sure how much it's going to help the situation. I'm just extremely upset with the whole thing.
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