[deleted]
Hi all
OK, so I noticed a particular thread was deleted this morning. Those of us who were logged in may be wondering if it was because of the original poster's wishes, or whether it transgressed some kind of moral line. Either way, I'd just like to establish some clarity for the benefit of others on the site: "What is permissible in a complaint about a service provider, on GFSA?"
Now, I know that the original post was in the Classifieds section and, strictly speaking, turned into something else. But it could've been moved elsewhere, so I'm guessing the main topic of discussion must have been problematic.
I've seen plenty of posts on this forum about people receiving unsatisfactory service - parts not arriving in an order; quality control issues at manufacturers; a guitar tech knowingly returning shoddy or non-functioning work to a customer; etc. Sometimes the service providers have an opportunity to see the claims or complaints, and sometimes they do not. In this most recent case, the service provider in question is in fact a member of the forum and had the platform to respond, but chose not to. The response did apparently come, but not on the forum. In my own experience, I've also laid down facts about really terrible service and received an angry phone call from someone (who was at fault, no question) because GFSA members told him I'd been "dissing" him. I understand that, for other customers, that particular technician may have offered fault/trouble-free service, but I felt I had the right to complain about my experience because after reasonable attempts (on my part) to rectify the situation failed, I went elsewhere. So, sometimes the online forum appears not to provide the right kind response because service providers choose not to use it, but there must still be value in sharing our experiences?
This brings me to the main questions: is the mere fact that the service provider is from South Africa a mitigating factor against any kind of report of bad service (aside from the attendant problem of intimidation and threats, which can occur)? Is it permissible only to complain if the service provider is foreign and unlikely to find out? Regardless of location, what is permissible in laying down a complaint for the benefit of other customers (which is partly what this forum is all about - I've seen people warn other members against buying from particular online retailers, for example...which can be handy advice)? I feel it would be an unfair "victory" for bad service if complaints are simply removed from the site, when they're perfectly valid (and I'm talking in general here, not about one particular case). However, I also understand the need to deal with things personally as far as possible, and perhaps to come to the end of the matter - resolution in one way or another - before laying down a complaint, so the service provider isn't goaded into providing a public response when that may not be necessary.
Do we need a separate board for this kind of thing - would that be of any help? Do we need a set of guidelines about what can and can't be said, and at what stage of the process it can be said? This may help to reduce the workload of the moderators, in terms of policing complaints/outright flame wars. I think to some extent we're aware of what would be overstepping the bounds legally, but maybe we just need a common understanding of the ethics that should be involved here. Can we have a constructive discussion about it (in purely theoretical terms - I don't want to rehash what's been said already about particular cases)?
OK, so I noticed a particular thread was deleted this morning. Those of us who were logged in may be wondering if it was because of the original poster's wishes, or whether it transgressed some kind of moral line. Either way, I'd just like to establish some clarity for the benefit of others on the site: "What is permissible in a complaint about a service provider, on GFSA?"
Now, I know that the original post was in the Classifieds section and, strictly speaking, turned into something else. But it could've been moved elsewhere, so I'm guessing the main topic of discussion must have been problematic.
I've seen plenty of posts on this forum about people receiving unsatisfactory service - parts not arriving in an order; quality control issues at manufacturers; a guitar tech knowingly returning shoddy or non-functioning work to a customer; etc. Sometimes the service providers have an opportunity to see the claims or complaints, and sometimes they do not. In this most recent case, the service provider in question is in fact a member of the forum and had the platform to respond, but chose not to. The response did apparently come, but not on the forum. In my own experience, I've also laid down facts about really terrible service and received an angry phone call from someone (who was at fault, no question) because GFSA members told him I'd been "dissing" him. I understand that, for other customers, that particular technician may have offered fault/trouble-free service, but I felt I had the right to complain about my experience because after reasonable attempts (on my part) to rectify the situation failed, I went elsewhere. So, sometimes the online forum appears not to provide the right kind response because service providers choose not to use it, but there must still be value in sharing our experiences?
This brings me to the main questions: is the mere fact that the service provider is from South Africa a mitigating factor against any kind of report of bad service (aside from the attendant problem of intimidation and threats, which can occur)? Is it permissible only to complain if the service provider is foreign and unlikely to find out? Regardless of location, what is permissible in laying down a complaint for the benefit of other customers (which is partly what this forum is all about - I've seen people warn other members against buying from particular online retailers, for example...which can be handy advice)? I feel it would be an unfair "victory" for bad service if complaints are simply removed from the site, when they're perfectly valid (and I'm talking in general here, not about one particular case). However, I also understand the need to deal with things personally as far as possible, and perhaps to come to the end of the matter - resolution in one way or another - before laying down a complaint, so the service provider isn't goaded into providing a public response when that may not be necessary.
Do we need a separate board for this kind of thing - would that be of any help? Do we need a set of guidelines about what can and can't be said, and at what stage of the process it can be said? This may help to reduce the workload of the moderators, in terms of policing complaints/outright flame wars. I think to some extent we're aware of what would be overstepping the bounds legally, but maybe we just need a common understanding of the ethics that should be involved here. Can we have a constructive discussion about it (in purely theoretical terms - I don't want to rehash what's been said already about particular cases)?
