Official Luthiers Forum!

I love LMI!
Hey Mikey,
while you are waiting around for something,
and can't continue on your build,
start another!

This is exactly why I have been on the fence about being a sponser here , and I think my mind has been made up for me !

3 days and your bummed ?

wow

_________________
The Shallower the depth of the stream , The Louder the Babble !
The Taking Of Offense Is the Life Course Of The Stupid One !
Wanna Leave a Better Planet for our Kids? How about Working on BETTER KIDS for our Planet !
Forgiveness is the ability to accept an apology that you will probably NEVER GET
The truth will set you free , But FIRST, it will probably Piss you Off !
Creativity is allowing yourself to make Mistakes, Art is knowing which ones to Keep !
The Saddest thing anyone can do , is push a Loyal Person to the point that they Dont Care Anymore
Never met a STRONG person who had an EASY past !
http://wiksnwudwerks.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/groups/GatewayA ... rAssembly/

?? SM has always been way faster than LMI, at least in the last 10 years. That's never been part of the equation in my mind, it's just a matter of what you want at a particular moment.

_________________
Jim Kirby
kirby@udel.edu

Wud,
I would hope you'd not make up your mind about being a sponsor here due to anything I said about LMI...
I'm not sure what being a sponsor of this website has to do with my problems (is LMI a sponsor?)
If anything, I'd think that being a sponsor here and having people know your name would reruce the chances of getting bashed online.

Bottom line is that it takes them from Monday at noon, till Thursday at 6 pm to box my order.
That's completely unacceptable, and I'll be ordering from other places that don't move my order to the back of the line to meet some goofy shipping guarantee.

How many days does it take UPS, or FedEx to ship from CA to NY. Answer is 5 days.
That means that LMI HAS to ship a NY customer's package out the say it's received (or early the next) to avoid paying extra for expedited shipping. Why does it take 4 to get mine in the mail?

Wud, this has nothing to do with sponsorship, and I'd feel terrible if LMI pulled it because of something I posted. I was buying from LMI long before I found this website. I didn't start this thread, I'm just andwering the question asked by the OP. This is now 2 times in a month that this has happened to me (and others apparently), and the fact that it's caused by east coast orders getting filled in front of me REALLY irks me.

Hi All,

This is probably more information than most of you want, but here goes.

LMI's shipping policy is as follow: You will receive your order in 5 days after placing it or we will gladly refund your shipping charges. We do not push anyone to the front of the line regardless of where they live unless they pay for "expedited shipping". Our policy is an arrival policy, not an "out the door" policy and orders are shipped first in, first out (unless there are services or special requests).

As you know, 2010 was a pretty crummy year for most of us in this industry. During that time LMI didn't lay off any employees and we weathered the downturn. This year has brought us an unprecedented increase in business that is difficult to understand and even more difficult to keep up with. We are in a word "slammed". Is this a trend, or a blip, only time will tell, but we are working to add staff and systems to respond to this upsurge. Unfortunately none of these changes happen overnight. To put a number on it, business increased 30% in a one month period and stayed there. We appreciate everyone's patience during this period and, as always, we welcome your calls.

We don't spend much time in the forums (we're busy!!!), so if you have a concern, feel free to give us a call and voice it and we'll do what we can to help. We are open to constructive criticism and won't pull our sponsorship dollars because of it.

Natalie
G.M.

Natalie,
Thank you for taking the time to respond here.

I just don't understand how LMI can make the 5 day deadline on orders that go all the way east (or to the midwest for that matter, when an order going 50 miles takes 5 days. That would mean that someone in NY that ordered Monday like I did would not be getting their package in 5 days, unless LMI paid to overnight it.

All that said, it's great to hear that business is up 30%, that's a huge jump. I guess I'd rather wait for a package than not be able to get it at all.
Thanks again.

[quote="MikeyV"]Wud,
I would hope you'd not make up your mind about being a sponsor here due to anything I said about LMI...
Hey Mikey, if I read Wud correctly, his remark about sponsorship here, has nothing to do with LMI; it has to do with the expectations of the customer...
pvg

Hi MikeyV,

Unfortunately, we are not in the middle of the country, so we do end up shipping to some locations using a faster service in order to achieve our guarantee.

We are greatful for the increased business, particularly when many are still struggling.

Natalie

all this new business is coming from us middle aged guys that love guitars, and since we can,t seem to get any better at playing we find we can keep our interests peaked and have fun building, not to mention we also have the disposal income, throw in the internet and all the great people here and at other sites that are more than generous in sharing their knowlege and boom !! i have read on more one occasion about this being the " golden age of lutherie".
Hopefully this is a long term trend and LMI,s , along with the stewmac,s , RC tonewood, and all i have done business with , will continue to grow!,,,,

LMI has always been prompt......

my 2 cents worth!!!!

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MK5acoustics.com

I'm the originator of this thread. I didn't start it to bash LMI(and I'm not speaking to anyone in particular). I was simply trying to gauge what other people's experiences were with them recently, as my order seemed to be slow based on prior service. Since I don't order all of the parts I need at one time, but during the build as I see they are about to be needed, it's important to know what the approximate wait time will be. In real time, not what their "policy" is.
I could have called on the phone and asked, but then, I never would have read Natalie's reply, which was what I wanted to know. The person I got on the phone would just have told me when the order would be shipped. I would have learned nothing about the increase in business, which is, according to Natalie, causing slight delays from normal, though not affecting their stated policy regarding shipping times. Now that I know this, I can plan ahead better.
For what it's worth, I'm glad that LMI has experienced an upsurge in their business. That's good news for them, and for everyone in this kind of economy. I'd also like to state without a shadow of a doubt that I am a very satisfied LMI customer. They will get a lot more of my business in the future. They have handled themselves at all times with integrity and respect.
I would also like to state again, for the record, that it was my fault for the delay of my order. I requested a special service that I had forgotten about(find me a dark rosewood board). Even so, LMI, in particular Chris, bent over backward to make sure I was happy. And I got a beautiful rosewood board. I said at the outset of this thread that I love LMI. I still do. Thanks again, Chris. You've made me one very satisfied customer!

_________________
Mike

The only thing nescessary for evil to thrive is for good men to do nothing.

I think Wud understands if he sponsors here and someone gets a bit bent out of shape because he's late on a shipment, he's gonna get trashed on the forum. Not a good environment. Settle your gripes with the company you are doing business with. All the derogatory text is not doing anyone any good, except ones desire to vent. This forum is not really the best place for that. If you are building, plan ahead. Don't wait to order until you need the parts. If you do wait, find something else to do.

_________________
Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

Well Said !

_________________
The Shallower the depth of the stream , The Louder the Babble !
The Taking Of Offense Is the Life Course Of The Stupid One !
Wanna Leave a Better Planet for our Kids? How about Working on BETTER KIDS for our Planet !
Forgiveness is the ability to accept an apology that you will probably NEVER GET
The truth will set you free , But FIRST, it will probably Piss you Off !
Creativity is allowing yourself to make Mistakes, Art is knowing which ones to Keep !
The Saddest thing anyone can do , is push a Loyal Person to the point that they Dont Care Anymore
Never met a STRONG person who had an EASY past !
http://wiksnwudwerks.blogspot.com/
http://www.facebook.com/groups/GatewayA ... rAssembly/