I havn't posted lately on this forum. I suppose I've been licking my wounds and feeling very sorry for myself; and so alone.

You see, I am one of the unfortunates who buogut a PA2X PRO that subsequently had 19 blown LEDs. To complicate matters, I prchased it from an individual, and eventhough it was NEW IN THE BOX, Korg USA said they would not honor the warranty.

I didn't see anyone else posting about blown LEDs so I thought I was the only one. Then I saw the post from Midin (Dennis) on this forum. After checking out the links in his post I knew I wasn't alone. I had plenty of company eventhough they were mostly in Europe.

So I started with Korg USA again with the same results. "NO WARRANTY."

By this time total frustration had set in so on November 16, 2008 on another forum I wrote this:

Korg PA2X PRO
Purchased: 2/5/2008
S/N: 9000867

I bonght this board NEW IN THE BOX but I bought it from an individual.
KORG USA REFUSES TO HONOR THE WARRANTY.

Currently I have 15 or 20 blown LEDs.

NO MORE KORG!! NEVER AGAIN!!!

Don P
Lufkin, Texas USA

At this time I received some very useful and timely help from Lee (leeboy). He provided me with contact info for the right people at Korg USA. He also made phone calls on my behalf.

When I finally reached the right person, in a less combative mode, I presented this arguement:

"If it proves to be a factory defect, I cannot understand how Korg USA, in good conscience, could repair, or recall, or replace some boards and not others. It would seem to me that it has to be an all or nothing situation. If a DEFECT exists, is a NEW board purchased from an individual any less defective than a NEW board purchased from an authorized dealer??"

Then on November 21, 2008

jerrythek wrote: (Korg USA product manager)

This has been brought to our attention and we will be helping you. Sorry for the confusion.

Jerry

Then I received a phone call from the customer service supervisor at KORG USA on November 25, 2008. She said she was sending me a return lable for UPS and a RMA number and when Korg USA received my PA2X PRO, they would send me a replacement.

My board arrived at Korg USA on Dec. 2, 2008, and the NEW PA2X PRO replacement arrived at my home today, Dec. 9, 2008.

Can you believe it?? After the ball got rolling it only took 1 week to receive my replacement. They also paid shipping both ways.

A BRAND NEW KORG PA2X PRO, with a 2 year warrantY!!! What a deal!!

I am overwhelmed!! WHAT FANTASTIC CUSTOMER SERVICE AND SUPPORT!!

Thanks to the GREAT team at KORG USA!!!

A special thanks to Lee for pointing me in the right direction.

Bottom Line, it all depends on who you talk to.

Don P
Lufkin, Texas

Great service. A pity that they had to be publicly shamed into it.

Technically they did not have to do anything for donpatt. It is rare to find a comapany that will go beyond the fine print and honor the warranty. But, thank god we have these forums that give the consumer a little bit of power over the manufacturer.

Did you guys ever wonder why the manufacturers don't offer official forums within their website?


[This message has been edited by hitman (edited 12-10-2008).]

Don P

That is super news. It would be comforting to know exactly what is at fault with the LED's. I have not seen any issues at all with my board.

Al

That's great to hear Korg sent you a replacement. I do however, agree with hitman. Korg really had no obligation to honor any such warranty as it wasn't purchased through an authorized dealer. So in all fairness to Korg.., I don't think it's right to speak ill of the company if they decided not to honor the warranty. It's good they did honor it though.., and getting a new factory model must be nice. Keep in mind Korg's position too. You honor a warranty for someone who bought a keyboard from a private party.., then the requests will start flooding in..

Hope I didn't sound unappreciative!!

I think KORG USA was very generous in my situation. Above and beyound there obligation.

I do agree with hitman and squak_D, KORG USA didn't have to do it. However, I think the fact that the PA2X, when I started having problems, was less than a year old
as they all are. I don't think they would do it six months from now!!

Another thing to consider is the fact that I had 19 blown LEDs. I don't think anyone else reported having that many. Mostly 2, 4 or maybe 5.



[This message has been edited by donpatt (edited 12-10-2008).]

I think Jerry at Korg USA is a standup man...he realizes a VERY few PA2 owners have this LED issue...and he has taken care of all of them that I know of!

This is the way to run a company...it's also the way I run my small operation here.

You take care of your customers...even if it means going beyond requirements sometimes...they come back to you again.

Way too many large companies get high ego's and don't realize how important top notch support really is, especially on hardware issues.

By the way I have had no hardware issues at all on my PA2XPRO.

Lee

hitman are you referring to all (most) companies in the Music business or just keyboard Companies?
(Genuine question)

I would think several Official Forums exist for several music manufacturers - the Bose Forum for one...

Squeak,

I disagree, if a product has a two year warranty that warranty should be good for two years regardless of who owns it. It originally had to have been made by Korg didn't it?

Tom

Hellboy44,

I was refering to the big 3 keyboard manufacturers. I haven't seen one "official" discussion board with representatives who actively participate in the same. I think as the economy is sinking, we will see some more initiative from the big 3 to get our dollars. Furthermore, most other companies in related industries are improving their customer relationship management dept's, so hopefully some of that will rub of on these guys.