Mesa Engineering Customer Service?

Dispatch

Dispatch

Member
I'm hearing some conflicting stories and wonder if they are true or not, from actual experience, does anyone know how Mesa customer service is in general? :dunno:
 
Does no one have any experience with their after sales service? :confused:

I was told by a big local music store, they stopped carrying Mesa products due to Mesa gives them nothing but grief when they send in warranty stuff to be fixed and that Mesa requires that they charge all customers for shipping both ways...
 
Dispatch":11eiay4r said:
Does no one have any experience with their after sales service? :confused:

I was told by a big local music store, they stopped carrying Mesa products due to Mesa gives them nothing but grief when they send in warranty stuff to be fixed and that Mesa requires that they charge all customers for shipping both ways...
Click to expand...

I don't have any experience shpping to Mesa, but if you're getting crickets here, maybe try going to Mesa's site and call some dealers in other states. Explain that you're considering buying a Mesa but you're trying to get a feel for what warranty service is like if you ever needed to ship it out there. One guy I'd suggest calling would be https://cmcguitars.com/. I haven't bought from him as of now, but he's been extremely helpful when I've spoken with him in the past.
 
When I owned my Mesa Express 5:25 I called their support a couple of times.
Quick to get you off the phone and one time they were borderline rude.

On the other hand, when I had an issue/question about my Rivera RockCrusher, I emailed their support on Christmas eve expecting no answer for at least 3-5 days. Yet I got a detailed response on Christmas Day.
Fender support is ok too.
 
Still selling me parts for my 1992 dinosaur.

HEHLJzt.jpg
 
I had great experience with them several years ago when i called in to them to try and date my MB Dual Rectifier. I can't speak for warranty-related customer service.
 
They just sold me all the caps I needed to do a complete cap job, and new EQ sliders for my ancient MKIV-A.

Still great customer service. Hope Gibson doesn't ruin that.
 
They blew me off a couple of times and were of NO help, didn't have mesa parts I needed and merely said " send the amp in "
I've gotten more help from other people than mesa.
I have a couple of mesa pieces I could never get even half of my money back out of. " Mesa's do NOT retain their value "
and After I've experienced trying to help friends with mesa switching issues I've passed on buying newer ones even at good prices,
seems like a time bomb!
 
To be fair Mike Bendinelli has been helpful though I don't know if it's still possible to get a hold of him, the rest of c.s. , too bad a taste for me.
 
okgb said:
To be fair Mike Bendinelli has been helpful though I don't know if it's still possible to get a hold of him, the rest of c.s. , too bad a taste for me.
Click to expand...
You can still reach the master, but probably not much longer.

I just sent in a second 30yr old MKIV Rev A to Petaluma for the works. Since working on this particular amp is not something I do often, and absolutely hate to do so when circumstances force me to......Mike Bendinelli is the ONLY one I trust to bring them back to "like new" operating condition.

There are just far too many Mesa Authorized Service "hacks" that hate working on them and do a really shitty job when they do, to send them anywhere else.

Rich Duval, and Mike Bendinelli are my Mesa "go to guys" when I need anything. I detected some unhappiness in both of them when recently conversing. My gut tells me it was more than just a random "bad day", which we all have. I would never put them on the spot and ask them what's up. Being good employee types they are, I doubt they would tell me anyway.

I truly believe Mesa's best days are behind them with the Gibson aquisition. They had a good run, and for the life of me why the hell they couldn't have picked someone with better integrity than Gibson is beyond me. I wish they could have done something more along the lines of what Phil Jamison and Principals did with reviving Matchless. Even though Mesa wasn't a huge company, they weren't exactly a small company either. So maybe that had something to do with it.

I sure hope I'm wrong on this, but I see the Mesa brand being increasingly "cheapened". If not already doing so now, the amps being assembled in China.

The MKV 90W combo is the last Mesa I ever care to buy, and I may not keep it. I'll stick with my Vintage Marks, and good memories of Mesa from it's early days, 1978 when I bought my first one, a MKI Combo. Still have it and 2 MKIV Rev A's.

R.I.P. Mesa. I'll cherish the memories of better, simpler times. Randal Smith and company did some amazing things that galvanized the industry while carving out their unique niche.

Wishing the soon to be gone Mesa braintrust that is the head of spirit a happy retirement. They earned it.
 
tlp1234 said:
Rich Duval, and Mike Bendinelli are my Mesa "go to guys" when I need anything. I detected some unhappiness in both of them when recently conversing. My gut tells me it was more than just a random "bad day", which we all have.
Click to expand...
Rich is gone, Mike is not far behind. Even the AR team is not the same anymore.
 
Strange said:
Rich is gone, Mike is not far behind. Even the AR team is not the same anymore.
Click to expand...
I dealt directly with Rich a couple years ago, post-Gibson we'll say. He seemed like an established and tenured employee who woke up one day and found himself under the command of idiots. It was far from a positive experience, but I could understand where he was coming from.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top