Gibraltar Customer Support is Non-Existent

boomstick

Silver Member
Important Update

Well, this is an unexpected turn of events. A product manager who represents Gibraltar actually read this thread, has contacted me directly about these issues, and is working with me to resolve them.

He says they have no record of my emails, so it's possible that the non-responsiveness was due to email problems and not inaction on their part.

Original post follows:

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I just wanted to put out a warning to other drummers out there. I own a fair amount of Gibraltar hardware, and I've been pretty satisfied with it. However, I've come to discover that when something does go wrong, their customer support is terrible.

For example, I lost the middle tier from one of my cymbal stands. Fortunately, Gibraltar actually includes a diagram with their hardware that lists all the individual parts and part numbers, so I went to my local music store to order the replacement part. They got back to me and said Gibraltar wouldn't replace the part unless it was a warranty claim. Mind you, I wasn't looking for a free replacement. I wanted to buy a new part, but was denied. So now I have a cymbal stand without a middle tier. What, I have to buy a whole new stand now? Or search high and low for a part that will work with it?

Secondly, I have emailed Gibraltar customer support no less than three times about various issues. Not once did I get any response from them.

Anyway, I just wanted to make other drummers aware of this situation in case they are considering any Gibraltar purchases. They do make pretty good gear, but it seems their relationship with you ends at the point of sale.
 
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Unfortunately this is very common today. Sorry to here your problems. It is absolutely inexcusable for a company not to respond two 3 emails. To me it sounds like you nailed it on the head about your missing tier they want you to purchase a new stand. What I find amazing is you were willing to BUY the part and you were denied what kinda crap is that ? It's that ugly short sighted corporate mentality rearing it's ugly head. Today it's all about quarterly reports are we up this month ? what are our margins ? our market share ? The big companies and retail chains have alot in common zero customer service. That's such a pet peeve of mine. To me a relationship with a customer BEGINS at the purchase because we want you to come back and buy more stuff. Unfortunately the ubercompanies just look at spreadsheets. I don't care what they say, I think most times they could care less about the individual customer and the single item purchase. No follow up, No thank you. They simply don't care. Building a relationship with a customer is a concept that is basically dead. It's completely foriegn to the biggest companies. But we consumers are partly to blame for this. We chase the cheapest possible price on an item wether it's a brick and mortar store or internet shop.and spread our music dollars everywhere. Instead of continually patronising a single store. Ok maybe this time we can't match Sam Ash or Interstate on this deal and you need to pay a few bucks more. for it here, But next time we can and will take care of you. Maybe a free pair of sticks or something along those lines. A scenario like the one just described doesn't happen in the corporate world. They want that single sale and then your on your own. I would be more than pissed if they Turned down my request to order a part like they did you. What makes this whole thing worse is they HAVE the part !! But because it's not a warrenty issue they won't sell it to you ? I mean are you guys serious ? They are saying to you We don't care how much of our equipment you purchased, We don't care you lost a piece. Too Bad by a new stand. If I were you out of principle I'd be looking for a new hardware company, and the saddest part about it Gibralter could care less.
 
Thanks for your response. You make a lot of good points.

Yeah, I couldn't believe it when Gibraltar said they wouldn't sell me a replacement part. Like you said, they have piles of these parts somewhere, but there's apparently no way for me to get one. Granted, I got this info second hand through my dealer, but I emailed Gibraltar about it afterwards and got no response.

Now that I think of it, I also tried to get some memory locks for my Gibraltar floor tom mounts through my dealer. Again, no go.

It really bums me out, because I really believe in repairing and replacing parts instead of buying new things, but companies often make this difficult, and sometimes they don't help out at all. Policies such as these create a lot of unnecessary waste, not to mention damaging customer loyalty.
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Does your local drum shop have an "orphan bin"? Most drum shops around here do. Even the Guitar Centers. Pretty much all the manufactures use just a few "standard" diameters on pipe tubes. You might be able to find a Yamaha/Pearl/Tama/Mapex/Ludwig middle tube will work fine.
 
I just wanted to put out a warning to other drummers out there. I own a fair amount of Gibraltar hardware, and I've been pretty satisfied with it. However, I've come to discover that when something does go wrong, their customer support is terrible.

For example, I lost the middle tier from one of my cymbal stands. Fortunately, Gibraltar actually includes a diagram with their hardware that lists all the individual parts and part numbers, so I went to my local music store to order the replacement part. They got back to me and said Gibraltar wouldn't replace the part unless it was a warranty claim. Mind you, I wasn't looking for a free replacement. I wanted to buy a new part, but was denied. So now I have a cymbal stand without a middle tier. What, I have to buy a whole new stand now? Or search high and low for a part that will work with it?

Secondly, I have emailed Gibraltar customer support no less than three times about various issues. Not once did I get any response from them.

Anyway, I just wanted to make other drummers aware of this situation in case they are considering any Gibraltar purchases. They do make pretty good gear, but it seems their relationship with you ends at the point of sale.

Well, it sounds more like your drum shop didn't rely the message that you wanted to buy a section, and thus denied your warrenty claim that you weren't making.

Mind you, I've not worked in a drum shop in a number of years, but for the 8 years that I did, Gibralter was 2nd to none in customer service. I was always able to get a part, and even search for which warehouse had it. The key is, they have sooooo many parts is you have to know which one you're looking for.

I don't know about email. I'd assume they get 100's per day, and most of it SPAM. (not that that is an excuse, they should still write back, just so many places have this issue now.)
 
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How well do you trust your dealer? Perhaps they never even contacted Gibralter/Kaman.
I would try another dealer , someone willing to go the extra mile for you....

I can name give the name of one if ya wanted...
 
The middle post on a stand wouldn't be available (if it's not a warranty) because they don't have parts like that "for sale". They're only for replacements on defects, like the hinge or whole tightening piece totally failing.

I tied to get a few things and that's what I was told--with the Kaman guy on the phone with my drum shop.

Gibraltars legs come in 3 sizes (9.5, 10.5 & 12.7) and the Ludwig P71802 mem lock will work on the 10.5 size.
Gibraltar does have a mem lock in 12.7 (SC-HML127) that would fit the fat FT leg if that's what you have.

http://www.gibraltarhardware.com/index.cfm?fa=partsmain&curcat=2&bnd=11&cid=104&sid=468&pid=1797

A pic of your floor tom mount will probably help because there's a few types.

Here's the Gibraltar parts link, but it looks like they don't have a lock specifically for "floor tom" legs.

http://www.gibraltarhardware.com/index.cfm?fa=partsmain&curcat=1&bnd=11&cid=104&sid=468

Here's the Gibraltar parts book:

http://www.gibraltarhardware.com/ebook/gibraltar09/index.html

I'll try and get an actual pic of the Ludwig mem lock (P71802) and maybe that will work on your leg. They are inexpensive and are usually in stock (ordering from Ludwig).

here's an idea:

http://www.drumsonsale.com/set-clamp-wscrew-p71801-p71802-p-7247.html

http://www.justplaymusic.com/drums-...-p71802-10-5mm-elite-set-clamp/ludp71802.html
 
Well, it sounds more like your drum shop didn't rely the message that you wanted to buy a section, and thus denied your warrenty claim that you weren't making.
That's what I thought at first, so I emailed Gibraltar to confirm it, but I never got a response. Also, it appears that another person here got the same info. This is pretty much exactly what I was told:

The middle post on a stand wouldn't be available (if it's not a warranty) because they don't have parts like that "for sale". They're only for replacements on defects, like the hinge or whole tightening piece totally failing.

I tied to get a few things and that's what I was told--with the Kaman guy on the phone with my drum shop.
 
Gibraltars legs come in 3 sizes (9.5, 10.5 & 12.7) and the Ludwig P71802 mem lock will work on the 10.5 size.
Gibraltar does have a mem lock in 12.7 (SC-HML127) that would fit the fat FT leg if that's what you have.

http://www.gibraltarhardware.com/index.cfm?fa=partsmain&curcat=2&bnd=11&cid=104&sid=468&pid=1797

A pic of your floor tom mount will probably help because there's a few types.

Here's the Gibraltar parts link, but it looks like they don't have a lock specifically for "floor tom" legs.

http://www.gibraltarhardware.com/index.cfm?fa=partsmain&curcat=1&bnd=11&cid=104&sid=468

Here's the Gibraltar parts book:

http://www.gibraltarhardware.com/ebook/gibraltar09/index.html

I'll try and get an actual pic of the Ludwig mem lock (P71802) and maybe that will work on your leg. They are inexpensive and are usually in stock (ordering from Ludwig).

here's an idea:

http://www.drumsonsale.com/set-clamp-wscrew-p71801-p71802-p-7247.html

http://www.justplaymusic.com/drums-...-p71802-10-5mm-elite-set-clamp/ludp71802.html
Wow, thanks a lot for all the info! I've included a pic of the mount, and the leg is 10.5mm. I think the memory locks that come with the mount as posted on Musicians Friend would work with this:

http://accessories.musiciansfriend....446270&src=3WFRWXX&ZYXSEM=0&CAWELAID=26033268

The mem lock appears to have a tab that would fit right into a notch on the mount. These are the memory locks I tried to get, but apparently, they are not sold individually??

I've also considered just getting different mounts with hand-tightened screws instead of the drum key screws on this one, then getting memory locks with the new mounts.
 

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Does your local drum shop have an "orphan bin"? Most drum shops around here do. Even the Guitar Centers. Pretty much all the manufactures use just a few "standard" diameters on pipe tubes. You might be able to find a Yamaha/Pearl/Tama/Mapex/Ludwig middle tube will work fine.
Yeah, I asked at the shop where I placed the order, and they didn't have anything. I tried one other shop in town, and they didn't have one either. At that point, I didn't want to spend any more time on it, so I gave up. I'm sure I could have found one eventually, but I'd like to be able to just get the part without all the legwork.
 
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