Sonny D experience

unclekeoki

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I was wondering if anyone else has had 'interesting' experiences with the ukulele builder Sonny D? Recently I had kind of a bad experience with this guy. To begin with, he was extremely rude to me. At first I took this as a craftsman's eccentric demenor, however, later it just seemed par for the course. One of my friend's had an old Sonny D ukulele, that I thought, sounded very good. So I looked up the guy on the internet and tracked him down to a small, beat up shop in Waipahu. I talked with him and we arranged a price for what I wanted, which I paid. Everything seemed fine, and I got a receipt from his wife. When I called back at the prearranged time, I found they hadn't finished my uke. Personally, I'm skeptical that they had even started it at this time. I was told to call back in a month. When I came back they had finished my uke, however, it was nothing like what we had originally talked about. There were multiple small defects, and it was a figure 8 ukulele and not his 'famed' bell shape. Again, I'm very skeptical that he even made this uke for me. I think he either made and sold my uke to someone else, or never made my uke at all and was just passing off something he happened to have had on hand in the shop. After some tweaking, I have gotten the uke to sound pretty good. I can't complain with the sound of the uke at all, it is musically superior. What I do have complaint with is Sonny D himself. I found him to be extremely misleading, one might even call it lying. Buyer beware when dealing with this man. Get everything in writing and I recommend that you NOT pay him up front for anything! If you have to put down a deposit, keep it to a minimum. Has anyone else had a similar experience, or does this guy just not like me very much for some reason?
 
I wouldn't worry so much about his demeanor, as you only have to deal with him once. However, if you didn't get the uke you wanted, I don't think you should accept it.

I would overlook foibles about a person if the result was superior. But if you're not satisfied with the instrument, I think you should have him make YOURS.

I did have a situation with another maker where there was a miscommunication about the woods I wanted. They made the wrong uke, and then put a rush on making the correct one. I think Sonny D should do something like that for you, and you should insist on it.
 
He and Aggy will often show you the stock he has on hand to see if it will meet your needs. I would be disappointed too if something I had paid for was not ready when promised.

I've seen some amazing instruments and custom work from him, but he is not a boutique luthier who charges accordingly. In regular production, since every piece of wood is different and with something made predominantly by hand in a small production operation, there may be some flaws. I also think there is a difference between prepaying for something and expecting "custom" made.

The tenor I bought from him was not originally what I went looking for, but I've been happy with it. I think that his instruments sound great and are reasonably priced, so will probably will get another uke from him eventually. I have stopped by his shop 2 or 3 times last year, and wait if I don't see what I'm looking for.
 
Mainly what disappointed me was I was pretty much lied to. He showed me a curly piece of koa that was to be mine, and ended up providing me with something else of far inferior quality. It wasn't the design that was promised. When I complained he denied what we had agreed upon earlier. Get whatever you agree to in writing with this guy. Although even if I had it in writing I would seriously doubt that would help all that much. He tell you that he knows better and that is why he did what he did, even though he previously agreed to do something else.

I expect something custom made, when someone agrees to make something custom for me and we have a 30-45 minute conversation about what is going to be made and how it is going to be made. I would have not taken the uke and had him make me another one if I had a shred of confidence that I would have been satisfied with the end result, however, after the series of calls and bs conversations I had with this guy and his wife I decided to just take the uke so at least I had something to show for my money and hassle. I tried to talk to him about making things right, but he is a very difficult guy to work with and he wasn't really interested in doing that. I've heard some bad things about Sonny from a few local music shops, but I was wondering if anyone without an axe to grind had any experience similar to my own?
 
This is pretty disappointing. Isn't Sunny D the luthier that Troy Fernandez supports?
 
If you haven't played it much. Have you considered asking for your money back and returning the uke.

I happen to like the man. But I agree, I think that it is good business practice to get things in writing. Disappointing to hear about your situation.

I was looking for a figure 8 tenor last time and he offered to sell me a bell-shaped superconcert.
 
unclekeoki

Very strange experience you had. The postive outcome is that the uke is musically superior.

Yes, I have had the experience of getting a totally different instrument than what I commissioned and it was in writing too. Started out asking about a 613 mm parlor guitar but decided to go with a 640mm instead. Several months later a 613mm showed up! Instead of returning it and asking for my money back, I decided to keep it because it was so beautiful and sounded so good. Still have it till this day along with another guitar he made for me. (a whole other story)

Try to set bad memories aside and enjoy your ukulele. If you can't enjoy it because of all that happened, return it, trade it or sell it.
 
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I probably would have asked for my money back. Although the uke sounds fine every time I picked it up it would bring back bad feelings, and one should never have bad feelings when playing a uke!
 
I've had bad luthier experience too (not Sonny D). Luckily it's overshadowed by the overwhelmingly positive experiences I've had since then. I'm glad you're speaking out though. My experience in speaking out didn't go so well, and I'm glad UU offers a more impartial forum for this. Do you have pics? I ended basically giving away my problem child uke. Technically I asked for money, but the local ukester who took it never paid. Of course I would press the issue - but just seeing that uke fills me with such anger, that I would rather forget the money than have to see it again.
 
I'm not sure why you haven't returned the uke if it's not what was agreed upon. Ukes can be magical, but a deal is a deal. Keep it if it is a uke you'd want to purchase for the price you paid, return it if it is not..

best of luck.
 
I'm not sure why you haven't returned the uke if it's not what was agreed upon. Ukes can be magical, but a deal is a deal. Keep it if it is a uke you'd want to purchase for the price you paid, return it if it is not..

best of luck.

What didgeridoo said. If you would not have bought that ukulele, you shouldn't have to keep it. You should get what you want or get your money back.
 
Aloha George,
Sorry to hear about the bad experience.....with customs, it's a rough deal...somhow you feel obligated...but if it doesn't sound good to you or it's not what you wanted, you shouldn't have to be
obligated to it if it's not what you both agreed to....that means, you should not have to lose your deposit and have it refunded...fully...sounds like its starting to come around for you in sounds..
 
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Uncle Sonny/ Aunty Aggy,

I came to you to find a ukulele because I had played a friend's and was very impressed by it.

I paid for a ukulele after we spoke initially because I had faith in your work. The ukulele I brought home with me sounds wonderful. I can see that you take pride in your work and would also like to take pride in my instrument every time I play it.

I don't have a good feeling about playing it and would like return it. I would rather not have this ukulele than think bad things about you every time I see it. (place on counter) If you would refund me, I would be happy, but if we could talk about that bell-shaped instrument out of the wood you showed me I would be even happier. If you can do this for me, it would be some great customer service and great for public relations. I would become your best customer and tell all my friends and the world. (be prepared to walk away leaving ukulele on counter)

(Be polite and controlled the whole time. If not the response you wish, do not raise your voice or temper. Leave your name and phone number.) This is my number. (walk out of shop quietly)

God bless you Uncle/ Aunty
 
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You may consider writing a letter to leave at the shop if you decide to drop the uke off at the shop. Include a copy of your receipt and your street address so a check can be mailed to you.

I would cut this uke loose.
 
I would not leave the uke on the counter and walk away. Big risk on your part. I would, however keep talking to him daily or leave messages or whatever it takes to be a part of his daily thoughts. Don't settle for less than what you agreed upon. It will eat away at you and that is bad. I consider a luthiers personality 90% of my decision to work with him or her. It works for me. If I don't click with a builder in the beginning, then I never bond with the instrument afterwards. It's happened. Sounds weird, but thats just my two cents.
 
Just to prove it doesn't always go against the customer, here's a little story about a luthier-built mandolin I bought some years ago.

I was trying to learn mandolin and was making slow progress, but I was full of enthusiasm. We had a bit of money to spare and I agreed with my wife that we would commission a mandolin to be built by a guy in Australia whom I had heard a lot about on the Mandolin Cafe and other places. I read a lot about his work and was mighty impressed. The specific model I wanted uses all Australian tone woods. I exchanged emails with the guy and agreed on a specification, paid a deposit, and joined the queue, which was pretty long.

Eventually my mandolin was built and delivered. When I opened the case it was not to the agreed specs, in fact it was fully specced up to all of the nicest possible things in the range. Unfortunately the bill was for the up-specced mandolin, not the one we agreed and I could afford. I was really embarrassed - the guy is a master craftsman and had put so much into building the instrument, but we just didn't have the money. I pointed out the discrepancy, and the guy checked the emails, and sold it to me at the originally agreed price.

Well I still have the mandolin, it is worth thousands of dollars, and unfortunately I never quite got good enough to do it justice. I'm a hack player, a lounge room star, and this is a performer's quality instrument. One day I'll sell it I guess, but for now I just take it out and have a play on it from time to time and I still blush at the thought of it.

Now back to your uke story. You need to resolve it. You just won't forget the way it has panned out. Find a way through the maze and move on.
 
I would not leave the uke on the counter and walk away. Big risk on your part. I would, however keep talking to him daily or leave messages or whatever it takes to be a part of his daily thoughts. Don't settle for less than what you agreed upon. It will eat away at you and that is bad. I consider a luthiers personality 90% of my decision to work with him or her. It works for me. If I don't click with a builder in the beginning, then I never bond with the instrument afterwards. It's happened. Sounds weird, but thats just my two cents.

I think if you cut it loose and leave it at his place it will eat at him, instead of the other way around.
 
I'm sorry to hear you had a lousy custom-build experience. D: You clearly didn't receive the ukulele you ordered, so you should put the ball back in the luthier's court. Every uke maker occasionally makes mistakes, but this is a little too strange. The way in which a luthier/dealer responds to a problem is just as important as how good the initial quality of the product is, and if Sonny D wants to maintain a good reputation, he'll make it right if you ask.
 
Let's call this what it really is, a classic case of bait and switch. If he showed you a beautiful piece of curly koa, told you that your uke would be built with it and then used a lesser, inferior grade, then that is fraud. I would be livid. I can undestand having to wait for it because of schedule delays. But to pay for something that apparently the both of you agreed on and then getting something completely different, is not right. I don't care what it sounds like. That sound will only sour with time as every time you play it you will be remided of your bad experience. Return it.

Customer service is a huge part of every SUCCESFUL business! Things don't always go as expected, stuff happens. But it is up to the business owner to make it right. This forum is full of threads from people praising KoAloha for their superior customer service. The same goes for MGM. If something is not right, he takes care of it. It sounds like Sonny D should do the same.

I am a custom furniture and cabinetmaker. Everything I build is commisioned by either builders or personal clients. Last month I delivered a piece of furniture to repeat customers. I had built and installed a custom desk for them four years ago and they contacted me at the end of the summer with a request to build them a combination entertainment center/storage cabinet. After three separate meetings, one of which was onsite at their house, I provided scale drawings of the piece to be built. They loved the look of the piece. I then sent them detailed contracts listing all of the materials to be used, how it would be finished, when it would be delivered and a firm price and payment schedule. Standard practice for me. A day after I delivered it, they called and asked if they could come into the shop to talk about the piece. It turned out that it wasn't quite what they had expected it to look like, even though it looked exactly like the drawings and was built to all of the agreed specs. I had a signed contract so technically I was covered. But I had a customer that wasn't completely happy, so I offered to do whatever modifications they would like, at my cost.

Needless to say, they were thrilled. And after 22 years of being in business, that is one of the reasons why I have repeat customers.
 
Someone ought to show this thread to Sonny D. Maybe if he realized how his conduct has generated some bad will for his business (I dunno --how many of the people who posted here would order a custom build from him tomorrow?), he might be more helpful.
 
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