UPDATE: Sweetwater has sent me a replacement guitar. Director of CS Justin Dunbar was very helpful and took care of the issue very quickly after contacting him.
I ordered an American Pro II Tele through Sweetwater, but after 2 weeks all I've received from them is headaches.
What a snafu. FedEx falsely claimed my package was delivered. They did not show up at my building or even ring the doorbell. The tracking info says that I signed for it when I did not, and my neighbors also didn't see a FedEx driver or truck that day. I've filed a claim with FedEx on my end, filed a police report and provided a complaint/case # as requested by my sales engineer, and I still feel like I'm in the dark as to what the hell is actually happening. It's been nearly 2 weeks since this guitar was supposed to be delivered.
I chose to buy a guitar from Sweetwater after hearing good things about their customer service from friends and peers. I loved the idea of seeing the actual guitar I would be getting. Their site is probably the most well-designed music e-commerce site out there, and the actual online shopping experience was great. But if I knew that I'd be met with the customer service equivalent of "yep that sucks" and some half-hearted shrugs after FedEx botched the delivery, I would have kept my distance and taken my business elsewhere.
FedEx is the single worst delivery service I have ever dealt with. I've never had this sort of issue with USPS, UPS, DHL or literally any other delivery service, but 3/5 FedEx deliveries I've dealt with have had issues, no exaggeration - this is by far the worst issue I've had with them. The fact that FedEx is their preferred and free shipping option is a huge reason that I won't be giving Sweetwater my business anymore.
The FedEx issues I understand. They're legitimately terrible, and I shouldn't have taken the chance on them even if it meant free shipping - but I'm disappointed in how this has been handled on Sweetwater's end. I feel like they haven't made an effort to make this right other than fumbling around with FedEx. Saying that "the ball is in FedEx's court" for multiple days is not reassuring in the least, and I feel like I'm pulling teeth trying to get any sort of update or info on the situation beyond that.
Use FedEx shipping at your own risk.
American Pro II Telecaster