Returning a Reed to Japan

[3 Olives]

Has anyone ever returned a reed to Alexander Reeds? I bought a 5 pack tin and 1 was obviously defective-nice sized chip out of the tip. I think I'm going to buy a few more tins and check them before I send this 1 reed back.

Dear Jeff,

We are very sorry to hear that you found a chip on one of your reeds. We inspect each and every one of our reeds under light, and try to weed out any with flaws like you mentioned.
Once in awhile one of the tens of thousands we pack might have been missed and we apologize for the one you found.

Please put the reed in question its holder, stick it in an envelope with an Airmail stamp
and please send it to the following address:

Alexander Reeds Intl.
Heights Kisaragi 401
Koenji Minami 4-30-5
Suginami Ku, Tokyo 166-0003
Japan

After we inspect it and find that the mistake was ours, we'll replace it with 2 new ones.

Once again, we are sorry for the inconvenience and await that reed from your box of DC's.

Sincerely,

The Alexander Reeds Team
http://www.superial.com

[fballatore]

GARY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :cry:


http://www.saxontheweb.net/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=48318&highlight=return+alexander (http://www.saxontheweb.net/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=48318&highlight=return+alexander)

[Dave Dolson]

For one reed? I'm guessing that more than one GOOD reed in the tin won't play well without adjusting them, even though Alexanders are pretty good reeds from my experience. DAVE

[Saxplayer67]

If I get reeds in a box/tin that are no good I don't worry about sending them to the maker, I just lay them aside for a period of time or shove em in a drawer forever. I'd never think about returning a reed, can't see the point - all that fuss and bother.

[RootyTootoot]

Hmm. Let's see. I'd be careful about shipping costs. I did once have to send a Rico Royal back to the States. It had some nasty blotches on the underneath side ie the side you don't really touch with your lip. Initially the Royal Mail suggested a carriage charge which was ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS. But I managed to beat them down with my famous "negotiating skills". Good luck and many thanks for your interesting post.

[Dave Dolson]

Rooty: For one reed? . . . DAVE

[nitrosax]

Now that I've the address for Tom's place--I think I'll mosy over and have a chat with him....
It's nice to live in Japan
Nitro

[RootyTootoot]

Rooty: For one reed? . . . DAVEMmm.. honestly, no. I thought this must be a joke thread. There you go. That's what you get when you think sarcasm with people who are actually kind of innocent. (And I mean "innocent" in a good way). But ONE REED??? To JAPAN?? :) My mind's still boggling.

[Dave Dolson]

Rooty: I didn't take 3 Olives' original post as a joke, but like you, I couldn't imagine making a big deal out of one defective reed. I've gone through whole boxes of new reeds only to find one or two that played well. This was before I taught myself to adjust reeds.

At that time, I never considered sending anything back, I just figured that's the way it goes with reeds. To be sure, they weren't obviously broken, as was 3 Olive's one Alexander, but broken or not, many reeds didn't play well.

My reply to YOUR post was to re-emphasize my first post to 3 Olives . . . for one reed? DAVE

[3 Olives]

To be sure, they weren't obviously broken, as was 3 Olive's one Alexander, but broken or not, many reeds didn't play well.

My reply to YOUR post was to re-emphasize my first post to 3 Olives . . . for one reed? DAVE

I'm one of those guys with more time than money. I did get a kick out of them saying they inspect every one under light, yet they missed an obvious chip on the tip. It's not a case of them playing well.

Anyway, I'm going to order 3 or 4 more tins tomorrow and check them when they arrive. If they didn't work so well with my son's setup I just wouldn't buy more of them. If any are obviously defective I'll throw them in with this one. I go to the Post Office every week or two so buying an Air Mail stamp is not a big deal.

If I buy a gallon of milk at the store and it's sour I return it. If I buy a $3.00 reed with an obvious defect I return it. It might just be that I'm a little different. :)

[RootyTootoot]

Thinking about it, you probably made their day. At least you cared about the product enough to expect it would be right. But I'm still pretty shocked by your expectations. You remind me a bit of my father, who'd expect a 45 minute explanation of what exactly had been done if he took his bicycle to be repaired. In a way, I suppose I think you're right but at the same time I can't believe that manufacturers are really set up to provide this kind of personal service to all their customers any more.

[Othello3]

At $3 a pop you might as well get what you payed for. I've returned less expensive things (albeit at the grocery store).

[fballatore]

If any are obviously defective I'll throw them in with this one.
I highly recommend reading the post I referenced above before you do that.

[3 Olives]

I think you're right but at the same time I can't believe that manufacturers are really set up to provide this kind of personal service to all their customers any more.

My Thoughts are - This is a premium product that demands a premium price. There should be few mistakes and they should be addressed immediately. Multiply the premium being paid times reeds sold and they can budget for several very good customer representatives.

[Carl H.]

I'll wager they say it's your fault the reed was broken and find the other reeds you may add to be in perfectly good playing condition.

Just because they can.

Legere seems to be the best for returning faulty products. They get it.

[3 Olives]

I highly recommend reading the post I referenced above before you do that.

I read it. The reed I'm returning is physically defective. I have faith in Superial to make it good. I'm not just a little different - I'm also persistent.

[fballatore]

I just didn't want you to get your hopes up. And Carl is probably right.

[3 Olives]

I'll wager they say it's your fault the reed was broken and find the other reeds you may add to be in perfectly good playing condition.

Just because they can.

Legere seems to be the best for returning faulty products. They get it.
Carl - I'll gladly take your wager. Would you like to bet a 5 pack tin of Alexander DC's on it?

[Carl H.]

Carl - I'll gladly take your wager. Would you like to bet a 5 pack tin of Alexander DC's on it?
Never touch em.

[3 Olives]

You won't have to touch them. You'll be shipping them to me. ;) ;) ;)

[heath]

Here's the scoop.

We all had various problems with Alexander reeds a while back. We ranted on and on about these problems. Several people on this forum returned the reeds. In every case Alexander said the reeds were perfect and they aren't at fault.

They even claimed that Mr Alexander himself play tested reeds....reeds that had already been played by the customer....yuuuuuuckkkk! At which time Mr. Alexander said these reeds are the best reeds he's every played in his life.

You send the reed.....you're out the shipping on the reed.....you won't get a replacement reed.....and you most certainly won't get two reeds.

As far as I'm concerned you should do what the rest of us did, stop using Alexander reeds altogether. I went back to the RJS reeds, which are cheaper and sound way better IMO.

We all have to work on our own reeds, I've never played reeds I considered perfect right out of the box, but I couldn't fix the Alexander reed no matter what I did.

[MJT]

This is not such an unusual situation. Last week I found myself having to send back some substandard and obviously broken Cheerios.

:twisted:

[nitrosax]

I think the Alexanders ride the line in their balance and symmetry...I think that if you adjust a reed enough you can get it to really be responsive...I think this is the experimenting Tom did but it rides the line...Thus, many of the those reeds I played were really responsive but the vamp was too thin or something like that and they chirped or squeaked...They may have changed recently though...

Cheers,
Ryan

[jazzbluescat]

Is anyone besides me disheartened and not just a little disillusioned to learn that Alexander reeds are made in Japan? I was under the misstaken, obviously, impression that they were a good ole american product.

[Toot Sweet!]

Is anyone besides me disheartened and not just a little disillusioned to learn that Alexander reeds are made in Japan? I was under the misstaken, obviously, impression that they were a good ole american product.

Doesn't it read "FRANCE" on the reeds?

[Grumps]

I read it. The reed I'm returning is physically defective. I have faith in Superial to make it good. I'm not just a little different - I'm also persistent.
I'm with Carl. Based on their past performance as reported here, I believe they'll say you chipped the reed. Definitely send it back though. I'd like to know just how they respond.

[fballatore]

This is not such an unusual situation. Last week I found myself having to send back some substandard and obviously broken Cheerios.
:twisted:
You know what? I bet that if you actually went to the trouble of doing that, General Mills would send you a coupon for a free box. That's customer service. Take care of the unhappy customer.

I have faith in Superial to make it good. I'm not just a little different - I'm also persistent.
Unfortunately, your persistence may involve a trip to Japan to pick up your reeds. Based on past experience, Mr. Alexander sure as heck ain't sending them to you.

[Dave Dolson]

"Var France" on the butt-end of the reed. Is this like "German Engineering"? DAVE

[3 Olives]

I'm with Carl. Based on their past performance as reported here, I believe they'll say you chipped the reed. Definitely send it back though. I'd like to know just how they respond.

The 1 reed is going out in the mail tomorrow. I was going to buy 3 or 4 more tins to see if there were going to be more to ship back but I decided to wait and see what their response is. This could be the last tin I buy.

[3 Olives]

I think there is a good chance you are correct and I will be shopping for reeds. Any and all suggestions for a reed to replace the Alexander DC 2's would be appreciated. These would mainly be for Jazz on a True Tone with a Tone Edge opened to .090.

[Cannonball & CmelGuy]

IMHO, Vandoren JAVAs should do you nicely. I overheard someone in the local shop picking up a tin of Alexanders saying that they had A WHOLE BOX BROKEN!!!!!!!! I guess they're in the same boat as you.

[3 Olives]

The 1 reed is going out in the mail tomorrow. I was going to buy 3 or 4 more tins to see if there were going to be more to ship back but I decided to wait and see what their response is. This could be the last tin I buy.

A brief note and a sealed tin with 2 reeds in it arrived today. It was a nice surprise. :)

[RootyTootoot]

Well, congrats! And good service on their part. Hearing the story makes me feel more like trying their reeds. So good business on their part too. Glad it turned out well for you.:)

[Grumps]

Now I might buy another box.