So far Roland's customer service stinks

David B

The DP10 pedal that came with my FP90X was getting stuck in sustain mode when the pedal was not engaged. It would happen intermittently. I had previously purchased a second DP10 to use as a soft pedal. There was no problem when I switched pedals. Therefore, that would lead me to believe it was the pedal and not the piano.

I contacted Roland customer service. Not possible to talk with anybody on the phone. I submitted an email and filled out a form detailing my problem. They sent me an RA number and I had to package and ship the pedal back on my dime. Turnaround time was about a week. Got the original pedal back today and it has the same problem. Nothing was fixed. 😡

This would not happen with Kawai (unless things have changed since I owned Kawai digitals). Roland's impersonal customer service stinks. I've got another email into Roland and I told them I'm not shipping the pedal back on my dime because I could have almost bought a new pedal for the price of shipping two times. I'm curious to see what their solution is.

God Bless,
David

SouthPark

David B So does Yamaha.

I haven't had to deal with Yamaha yet, but I did report on the one-push recording glitch on the P-515. And the P-525 has exactly the same glitch. Not a deal-breaker because I have a work-around for it. But still. Pretty poor effort from the particular team that is meant to be handle the 'alpha' and 'beta' and rigorous testing.

Pete14

David B

That’s Roland in a nutshell!

And you’re lucky it was the pedal and not the FP-90X; because they will treat you exactly the same way regardless.

They did this to me a very long time ago (FP-7); at first they basically ignored me, and then reluctantly responded:

‘Get over it, Karen, it’s just one out of 88 keys that’s faulty; you still have 87 keys left to play with! (I’m paraphrasing, but still).

And yes, Kawai’s quality (control) is terrible, but their customer-service/support is good; I have to admit it.

Jazzpunk

David B That’s a real bummer! The retailer didn’t offer to make this right? I know places like Sweetwater would send you a new pedal immediately and deal with Roland for you. Not sure if other retailers are the same.

Per Kawai, I purchased an ES520 that had keybed issues right out of the box (bad clicking sounds). When I sent a video to Kawai customer service they acknowledged the issue and told me I could send it in for repair. Wasn’t going to send in a brand new instrument for repair and that suggestion really turned me off to Kawai. I returned it (luckily just a local drive) and bought the FP-90X from Sweetwater.

Fortuneately my FP-90X has been rock solid for the past year and a half so haven’t had to deal with Roland. Hope they get you sorted soon!

ibash

David B

David B There was no problem when I switched pedals.

Will there’s the problem! You’re using the broken pedal.

SouthPark

See what happens if you get 1 or 2 spare pedals, to hold the fort until the faulty one gets sorted.

SouthPark

That's it. I'm polishing my baseball bat, ready for a trip to Roland.

MacMacMac

I once considered buying a Roland … back in 2008. But from everything I've heard since I quite ruled out Roland.

CyberGene

When I purchased my RD-700 SX in 2007 from a now-defunct German online music store, it arrived with one of the buttons being a regular (non-LED) one instead of a LED-button that can lighten up when the function was activated. I wrote to the European support of Roland explaining that we didn't have an official Roland distributor and service center in Bulgaria and that I took the responsibility to open it and inspect the button (thus voiding the warranty) and that I can replace it myself and they immediately sent me a new button and said it's OK, I will not have the warranty voided. It was great on one hand, since that's how support should work, but on the other hand speaks about their production quality. How can they put a non-LED button when the piano itself has an internal test procedure that goes through all the buttons to check exactly if their LED can be switched ON and OFF and it guides you through all the buttons... Kawai are even worse in terms of build quality and inspection, however their support is apparently good enough to acknowledge these problems and respond quickly.

However, let's face it, Yamaha obviously are the highest quality of all digital piano brands and while there may be different stories about their support responsiveness, let's just appreciate that you better have a high quality instrument that comes in working order from the factory, rather than having to deal with support.

David B

CyberGene However, let's face it, Yamaha obviously are the highest quality of all digital piano brands and while there may be different stories about their support responsiveness, let's just appreciate that you better have a high quality instrument that comes in working order from the factory, rather than having to deal with support.

Yes, it was unfair for me to include Yamaha in my criticism since I only made one inquiry to Yamaha support and found it to be impersonal (like Roland), but I never actually followed through and had my concern dealt with. Maybe their support is better than Roland I really couldn't say for sure. I think I'll go back and edit my post.

God bless,
David

Johnstaf

Why do you need to deal with the manufacturer when goods are faulty? Maybe it's just different in my part of the world.

QuasiUnaFantasia

Johnstaf Maybe it's just different in my part of the world.

Mine too.

David B

Johnstaf Why do you need to deal with the manufacturer when goods are faulty? Maybe it's just different in my part of the world.

What would be the alternative? It's a manufacturer's warranty covering the product.

HZPiano

QuasiUnaFantasia

And mine…

CyberGene

In my case I ordered it online from Germany immediately after we joined the EU and the store told me I had to send it back to them and they wouldn’t cover the transportation. I guess things were not yet sorted out with electronic trade and rights with a brand new EU member which is why I decided to contact Roland and ask for a replacement button.

QuasiUnaFantasia

In Europe the seller bears responsibility. There is generally a two year period in which claims can be made against the seller with respect to faults arising from ordinary usage.

David B

QuasiUnaFantasia So the manufacturer requires you to go through the seller for service or is it just an option due to the law?

EB5AGV

QuasiUnaFantasia

In Spain and Portugal so far, now there are three years of warranty and 10 for availability of spare parts.

As a person who works daily fixing electronics (sometimes decades old), I find it a good move 👍🏻

QuasiUnaFantasia

David B Normally the buyer has no contact with the manufacturer at all, ever.

EDIT: I think it is simply a matter of law; since there is no contract between the manufacturer and the buyer, the manufacturer has no obligations towards the buyer.

Pete14

I once complained to Yamaha support because the “sticker” on the 88th key was missing; I wonder if that makes me a Karen……god, I hope not!

BTW, they sent me a free sticker, but it got stuck to the shipping envelope, and yes, I complained again; how dare they pack this sticker so badly!………perhaps I’m a Karen after all!😊

https://youtube.com/shorts/AMQlAK5USLI?si=djuL6n6-2Z4tOLLB

David B

So generally here in America you register your product with the manufacturer after purchase and the warranty is fulfilled through them. Some manufactures utilize authorized service centers (unusually retailers) for their warranty work while others deal directly with the customer.

I registered my FP90X through Roland's website after I purchased it. Did the same with my Genelec monitors.

God Bless,
David

Johnstaf

David B So generally here in America you register your product with the manufacturer after purchase and the warranty is fulfilled through them.

It's strange that a manufacturer would care so little about their reputation in that situation.

Johnstaf

In the EU, you are entitled to have goods fixed for the expected lifetime of the product if there is a manufacturing defect. It's often six years, but in practice it's impossible to counter the "wear and tear" defence after the agreed warranty period has ended.

A friend of mine had the engine of his eight-year-old car replaced free of charge when the garage found the manufacturer had used a wrong part somewhere in the engine. It's very rare for that kind of resolution to a problem.

Pete14

HZPiano

And his…