Gary Preston's New Emmons

Jerry Roller · Post by **Jerry Roller** » 23 Dec 2008 6:01 pm

I don't wish to get involved in any bashing or anti-bashing but I would like to let everyone know that I received this guitar from Emmons today. I had it on order for a customer and Rebecca promised I would have it in time for my customer (wife) to give it to her husband for Christmas. I will say they did a beautiful job on it. I hope this will ease some anxieties.
Jerry

Gary Preston · Post by **Gary Preston** » 23 Dec 2008 6:33 pm

It appears that someone else now is in charge of the Emmons company . If i read this right Ron and Rebecca aren't in the drivers seat now . Does anyone know who the new guy is ? I might also ask this does anyone know for sure that this is true ? Just to clear things up a little i really don't think that anyone had any intentions of driving down to the Emmons factory at least not me ! It was more of a wake up call to get their attention! . You don't correct any wrong by standing outside the door trying to get them to let you in so you can abuse their character . Most of us know this in advance . But with all this being said and ''IF '' there is someone else in charge how do you approach it now without an attorney ? Is the company still liable for the debt ? Or does it now become a huge law suit between everyone that has been done wrong ? Money has been taken and people have trusted them to deliver the goods , i didn't graduate from law school but i do smell a skunk here real bad ! Who knows Santa may deliver the guitar on Christmas eve

Hey everyone i can't thank all of you enough for chiming in with this and showing your concern . I have said this before communication is all that i need to cool my heels and this isn't happening . I totally understand that times get a little rough sometimes and i'm very reasonable and easy to get along with . The guitar was supposed to been shipped out Friday the 12th and i have the e-mail from Ron to prove it i print off things like this . But keep in mind i do have two of the best steel guitars that i have ever played sitting in my music room so i'm not without a guitar to play . My Buds don't let me down ! It remains to be seen the outcome of all the people that have been duped by the Emmons company so we all have to hang on and keep the faith ! By the way be blessed this Christmas Season and safe this New Year . Go bless you all .

A. J. Schobert · Post by **A. J. Schobert** » 23 Dec 2008 6:49 pm

Gary if their is anything that you can do legally it will be a few years for something to happen and even then I don't think you will be trully happy with the end result, honestly I sort of feel right now you are at their mercy to send you the guitar, I think a refund is out of the question.

When you do get it hang on to it for awhile. I would.

Try and tell this to the BBB.

Gary Preston · Post by **Gary Preston** » 23 Dec 2008 6:59 pm

Thanks A.J. When people refuse to talk you have to assume there is something rotten in Denmark ! ( just a saying )! Talking is what works things out and lets everyone see both sides . When reasonable people put their heads together something positive comes out of it ( most of the time ) . Thats all i'm asking ,is this to much to ask ?

Bobby Boggs · Post by **Bobby Boggs** » 23 Dec 2008 7:14 pm

A.J. Schobert said that the BBB lists Emmons Guitar Co. as being out of business. That's not a good sign at all.

I have no dog in this hunt. But the Emmons Guitar Co has been out of business for sometime now.Since the Acloth years maybe.I understand it's now called Lashley, Inc. Hope this helps.....bb[/b]

Gary Preston · Post by **Gary Preston** » 23 Dec 2008 7:23 pm

Thanks Bobby , i think you are right .That is what is on the po. sheet . It reads Emmons Guitar Co. By Lashley , Inc . G.P.

Jerry Roller · Post by **Jerry Roller** » 23 Dec 2008 7:36 pm

I hope to see photos of another beautiful Emmons on this thread very soon. I hope it will get posted.
Jerry

Ronnie Boettcher · Post by **Ronnie Boettcher** » 23 Dec 2008 8:03 pm

Gary, I wish you, and yours, a very Merry Christmas, and miracles do seem to happen around this time of year. Santa may be flying close to Columbus, Ohio tomorrow night. God bless you, and your family, this holiday season. Ronnie

A. J. Schobert · Post by **A. J. Schobert** » 23 Dec 2008 8:19 pm

Well that would explain, but anyone who would do a BBB search would look up emmons, not lashley. I couldn't find lashley, inc on the BBB anyway.

I'm going to bed, night!

Jerry Roller · Post by **Jerry Roller** » 23 Dec 2008 8:29 pm

Sorry for the double post, I gotta go to bed too!

Jerry Roller · Post by **Jerry Roller** » 23 Dec 2008 8:30 pm

Just for general info, it is my understanding that a business must be a member of BBB in order to show up on their rolls. I think that cost a membership fee although I don't much of anything for absolute sure. Nite A. J.

Jerry

Charles Dempsey · Post by **Charles Dempsey** » 23 Dec 2008 9:00 pm

Just to clear things up, the "Visit to the Emmons factory" thing is a continuing topic in a number of these Emmons non-performance threads. Look it up.

In this case my point was that the best we might hope for was to retrieve Gary's guitar. Violence and pilferage was not suggested or encouraged. My complete point was that Gary needs to be shut of Emmons, and that retrieving his (probably unrepaired guitar) could well be the only way out.

And I did bet ten bucks nobody would be home.

Bernie Madoff, indeed!

Charlie

Ron ! · Post by **Ron !** » 23 Dec 2008 9:11 pm

But with all this being said and ''IF '' there is someone else in charge how do you approach it now without an attorney ? Is the company still liable for the debt ? Or does it now become a huge law suit between everyone that has been done wrong ?

1).If there is someone else in charge due to the company being sold to that person (usually a 49%-50% ratio)then I give you not much chance to get what you are entitled to.

2).The company is probably not liable for debts made in the past.Most of the time there will be a clause in the new contract that will give the new majority (51%) the final say in this.
9 times out of 10 this majority will not handle any debts made in the past.

3).A huge law suit is probably the only option.However if this majority can prove in black and white that the new partnership was formed without the knowledge of former debts you will lose.
Possibility is then that the 49% minority could get sued and fined for the sell under false circumstances.If(in the mean time)this minority sells all their stocks to a third person you will be left with nothing and they will walk.
Don't you love the law?

Ron !

Bobbe Seymour · Post by **Bobbe Seymour** » 23 Dec 2008 9:13 pm

[ Hummmmmmmmmmm

Ron ! · Post by **Ron !** » 23 Dec 2008 9:18 pm

it's in a nutshell Bobbe.....

might have some mistakes in my explanation but this is how I found this on the net.

Don't pin me down on all the little letters in contracts.It will take me a lot of time to type all that.

I hope that justice will be done and Gary get's his guitar.Whether he keeps it or sells it is up to him after that but first he has to receive it.

Randy Gilliam · Post by **Randy Gilliam** » 23 Dec 2008 9:36 pm

Gary Buy The Next one from Bobbe Seymour And You Wont Need a Lawyer, He Is Just Like Pizza Hut (WE Deliver) Happy Holidays

Ron ! · Post by **Ron !** » 23 Dec 2008 9:38 pm

Amen to that Randy

Nick Reed · Post by **Nick Reed** » 24 Dec 2008 1:59 am

Jerry,
How come you got your guitar before Gary got his?

A. J. Schobert · Post by **A. J. Schobert** » 24 Dec 2008 3:27 am

Was the guitar you had blue gary?

David Collins · Post by **David Collins** » 24 Dec 2008 5:21 am

Guys, business names and associations can be confusing. Go to this page and follow the links. In NC, annual reports are due a couple months following the fiscal year. This explains the lack of an annual report for 2008.

http://www.secretary.state.nc.us/corpor ... s%20Guitar

Don't get too upset due to BBB listing Emmons Guitar Co., Inc. as being out of business, it is. Emmons Guitar Co. by Lashley, Inc. is still active according to NC filings.

No dog in the fight, just want to provide some accurate info when I can.

I do know that the company has changed hands in the past and was re-purchased by the Lashley family. I do not know the details of the transaction, but that would explain the corporate name change.

David Collins
Madison NC
(not very far from Burlington)

PS. Love my Emmons, bought it from SGN after a trip to Burlington.

Tommy Shown · Post by **Tommy Shown** » 24 Dec 2008 7:54 pm

Ron ! wrote:
But with all this being said and ''IF '' there is someone else in charge how do you approach it now without an attorney ? Is the company still liable for the debt ? Or does it now become a huge law suit between everyone that has been done wrong ?
1).If there is someone else in charge due to the company being sold to that person (usually a 49%-50% ratio)then I give you not much chance to get what you are entitled to.

2).The company is probably not liable for debts made in the past.Most of the time there will be a clause in the new contract that will give the new majority (51%) the final say in this.
9 times out of 10 this majority will not handle any debts made in the past.

3).A huge law suit is probably the only option.However if this majority can prove in black and white that the new partnership was formed without the knowledge of former debts you will lose.
Possibility is then that the 49% minority could get sued and fined for the sell under false circumstances.If(in the mean time)this minority sells all their stocks to a third person you will be left with nothing and they will walk.
Don't you love the law?

Ron !

Ron, I kinda diagree with you on part of it, the company has to stand behind their product. Regardless if the company changes hands or not, and honor their wararanty in regards to defects and workmanship. I too am not trying to bash Emmons, I bought mine used, and was considering to by a new one. However after hearing the horror story that Gary has experienced, is making me think twice.
A company has ato stand behind their product, and if a consumer has a legitimate gripe such as Gary, then the company should correct the problem in a timely manner. It should not take forever to replace a damaged product. And keep putting the customer off like that. It's just bad for business. I know that from a past experience, I had with Sho-Bud back in 1980. And like I said previously, if it weren't for good friend who owns his business I wouldn't have gotten my guitar. After 2 months I called him and he was to check to see if he heard anything about my order. He didn't, but he kept calling Sho-Bud until I got my guitar. That man is some one who looks after the customer. He offered to sell me an Emmons at that time, but the model compararble to the Sho-Bud was more than I could afford. If there was dealer that deserves a 5-star rating in working with the customer, He's the one
tommy shown

Jerry Roller · Post by **Jerry Roller** » 24 Dec 2008 8:51 pm

Tommy, my customer wanted an Emmons and wanted it by Christmas and I delivered and he didn't have to pay for it until it was handed over to him. (actually his wife).

Jerry

Gary Preston · Post by **Gary Preston** » 24 Dec 2008 9:12 pm

Hi Guys and Merry Christmas and Happy New Years . I do have two thoughts that i will keep to myself at this time about my guitar . I understand that a D-10 and a SD-10 body size is the same is this right ? The difference is the cutouts and back neck of course . I have a reason for asking ? No my guitar wasn't blue but Derby Black . As to why my guitar wasn't shipped first shouldn't be that hard to figure out ,after all i'm not an Emmons dealer and have customers asking for their guitars before Christmas ! It appears that there is some kind of loyalty shown to some and others are just not that important ! There use to be loyalty shown to everyone regardless of who you are and something called a '' gentleman's agreement ''or something like a handshake is a seal for a deal or a'' mans word is his bond '' and nothing could break this kind of agreement . What ever happened to these kind of folks ? These kind of things speak very loud in any area of life to let people know whom to and not to trust ! There is a saying '' you are known by the company that you keep ''So i suppose we need to be aware of the reputation of folks that we deal with
huh ? Again thanks for all your comments and i hope this is resolved soon because this kind of exposure couldn't be good for you if you are selling to the general public ,but what do i know ? It doesn't seem to bother others for some reason it appears !

Jerry Roller · Post by **Jerry Roller** » 24 Dec 2008 9:35 pm

Nick, I placed the order for this guitar June 21, 2007. That should answer your question.

. The point I attempted to make in my last post is that you can order an Emmons guitar from me with a small down payment and I will take it from there to get the guitar for you and you don't pay for it until I am able to deliver it to you. Nothing else meant by it. I look forward to reading about a good ending to this ordeal very soon.
Jerry

Post by **Dave Mudgett** » 25 Dec 2008 10:45 am

Believe me - I have no dog in this hunt, but a couple of facts just surfaced that I think bear scrutiny. Gary wrote, in the original thread on this:

As most of you know i bought a new Emmons July 2007

Jerry Roller just wrote:

I placed the order for this guitar June 21, 2007.

So, it appears to me that both these guitars were on a similar time schedule - in fact, the original shipment of Gary's guitar was months faster than Jerry's. I don't want to psychoanalyze this too much, but perhaps they just need a year and a half to build a guitar, and anything less than that results in problems.

I agree on communication - it is critical, and so simple to do. It means taking a bit of time every day to pay attention to your customers - and it's a huge mistake to think that's not part of the cost of doing business. If it was properly set up, a standardized monthly or quarterly "status report" email to all customers letting them know where they stand in the schedule would go a long way to helping this kind of problem, at least if the customer is reasonable. Communication and transparency is a huge part of the job of running any business with end-customers. IMHO.

With all this said - it is well known that many of the good builders of pedal steel guitars have a significant lead time - definitely measured in years, not weeks or months. Zum and Franklin come to mind also, if you can even get these at all at this point. I think anybody going into a guitar like this should know that up front.

Gary, I really hope the problems with the guitar get resolved to your satisfaction, and that you can find a way to get past this and ultimately enjoy the guitar. If it sounds and plays great, and they are able to get everything else fixed to your satisfaction, it sounds like you'll have a great guitar.

Merry Christmas, everybody.

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