Dear Jeff Kiesel... 

I made a mistake on the timeline of events. The post about the customers brother passing was posted after Jeffs live video and I confused it. Jeff only knew the customer was going through bs. He didn’t know the finer details. This doesn’t excuse the rest of his actions and he knows this, but I can’t point out other people’s mistakes without owning up to my own. Ive edited out those few seconds from the video.

If only jeff had put even half of the effort he puts into roasting his customers into actually roasting his fretboards this specific issue could've been avoided lmao

When Harley Benton has a better roasted neck than a high end guitar company you know you have a problem.

I ordered a Suhr. I was originally told it would take 8 months but it turned into 12. However when that 12 months came along I asked my dealer how things were going. After a call to Suhr my dealer told me that although my guitar had been completed the final QC check had been failed. Apparently a tiny amount of dye on the flamed maple top had run into the scraped binding and John Suhr himself had decided that wasn’t good enough and my guitar took another month as they built me another body from scratch. That’s customer service

His post alone destroyed his reputation. Imagine spending 4k on a custom build they fuck it up then tell you to suck it up and belittle you when you own 20+ of their guitars. The mind boggles

Jeff kiesel got roasted but he doesn't look dark enough.

Jeff's attitude will ensure that I would NEVER buy his product. OPTION 4 - AVOID THIS COMPANY!

Jeff looks like a classic high school tool in Hollywood movies. Acting all though, but behind it lies fear.

Jeff Kiesel is like the joe exotic of the guitar world

"If you get what you want, great, if you don't, don't be a baby" Listen if I'm buying something for that price I'd expect to get what I wanted, but I guess that's just my common sense

It's baffling that Kiesel is still in business while acting like this.

I felt like Jeff doing a live Twitter rant showed a great deal of unprofessionalism. A man owns up and takes responsibility for his mistakes, he doesn’t trash people to try and defend his public image.

As a professional wood worker of 30 years who owns my own company I’m starting to think maybe I should make guitars. Cause these guys have no clue about the way wood works if they think you can simply glue cracking thin fretboards back together.

There used to be a saying in business school: The 1st Generation builds the business. The 2nd Generation grows the business The 3rd Generation ruins the business. Can we guess which generation we're on now. Few family businesses survive the 3rd generation of owner. I wouldn't be surprised, if, after several more of these displays that Jeff doesn't cash out & sell Kiesel to a private equity firm. Maybe he can stick around...roasting fingerboards or something.

"If you don't get exactly what you ordered, don't be a baby!" Wow! This dude needs a serious attitude adjustment smack.

"If you don't get what you want, don't be a baby" Dude, that type of talk wouldn't fly in any other customer industry, let alone one where people get neurotic about their wood types

Stevie T play kiesel....it is sufficient motivation to avoid the brand.

I know lots of people are going to say this is “petty drama” but communities need to speak up about things like this. He may not agree with the customer being right (but I do), however I can’t imagine it ever being cool having the head man of a company shaming his customers in such a public way.

I had a somewhat personal experience with Jeff that put me off to him and the brand. I was super into kiesel a few months back and I was watching one of the lives that Jeff was doing on insta. He was working on a certain guitar (I don’t remember what) and it was absolutely beautiful, I then said in the chat this exactly: “if only I could afford one 😭.” Does that sound like I’m asking for a free guitar? No? I didn’t think so either, I was just saying that because they’re fucking expensive duh. But Jeff did, and he decided to berate me on the live saying things like “we ban people who ask for free guitars, you want your one minute of fame just to be banned?!” He was very aggressive and over the top, especially when I wasn’t even asking for anything. Instantly unfollowed and I don’t ever plan on getting a kiesel now

This sold me on never buying Kiesel. Thanks!

He's better at roasting his customers than the maple.

I’ve never been interested in Kiesel guitars, but after seeing this, I’m not even touching one, let alone buying one

American laws seem to be bullshit. As a luthier in Germany I'm liable for the built quality of my guitars. If I built a faulty guitar like the one with the inappropriately mounted fretboard (which is undeniably the luthier's fault), then the customer is entitled to a refund or a flawless guitar in exchange and I as a luthier may only fall back on repairing instead of exchanging or refunding if there's is a valid reason for that, such as disproportionate costs. So in most cases the customer will get his refund or exchange. I'd be ashamed to give such minor quality to customers.

I am legitimately terrified of what's going to happen when Paul Reed Smith exits his company. Never once heard a customer service complaint about those true beauty queens. Sure, you get QC slips but, they actually fix them

I'm just gonna be honest. This single video of Jeff speaking to a loyal customer that way has made me decide not to buy one. It was the next guitar on the list. And I'm not just saying I'm not gonna never having any plans to buy one. I actually do buy and currently own nice guitars. High end Ibanez, Jackson, USA Wolfgang, currently own a US JP6, I've had an Ormsby, and various other higher end things. Keisel was next on the list. This single video has cost him my money. And my word of mouth through any player I know that might buy one. I run a retail store. You do it right the first time, or make it right. Insulting a loyal customer is pathetic. Fuck Keisel. Have a nice day.

May the customer's brother rest in peace Very heartbreaking

Well, this guarantees I'll never buy from kiesel. I don't want to buy from a man like that.

Kiesel guitars are just “blogger guitars for the internet”

7:56 "if you get exactly what you want, awesome; if not, don't be a baby" Hot damn! you just don't see excellent customer service like that anymore! Talk about getting you money's worth on a high-end guitar!

And just like that Kiesel became the TRAPT of guitars

God imagine your boss walking around shouting at his phone on Instagram, what a nutjob. "We're being men" *holds up thin undefined arm with cringe worthy neon tattoos* wow you really showed that customer who just lost a family member.

Holy shit the guy has probably spent 15k-30k for their guitars and they won’t fix one. Then he puts the guy on blast. Wow I will defiantly never buy a guitar from them.

i participated in a contest hosted by kiesel several months ago, there was a stark contrast between the amount of votes for those already using kiesel guitars and those using literally anything else and when i mentioned it i was swarmed by employees and representatives who told me that i was just upset because i wasn't in the top 15

I worked there before Jeff even picked up a tool. Used to be in sales when I was there. Always been a tool with plenty of common sense. He sure is lucky his dad is rich and gave him a company to run!

Wow... Jeff Kiesel comes off as very whiny and insecure. Also, if he ever comes out and has a problem with your video, remind him that he said he "treats others how he'd like to be treated". Since he's already in the business of putting people on blast on Instagram Live, he shouldn't have a problem with this video. Damn. This is enlightening. I will never support a company who treats a loyal customer like that. That guy probably has over $10,000 dollars worth of Kiesel guitars and he's treated like this? Fucking despicable. I hope this gets a ton of attention. Jeff Kiesel makes Rob Chapman look like a saint. He's done some shady stuff, but at least Rob never treated his customers quite like this. I think Rob means well deep down, but just got carried away with his power and influence. Jeff just seems like a shitbag.

I'd rather have a Steinberger. Jeff has that kind of face that makes you want to punch him even though you never met him.

kiesel fans are the people who criticize gibson but when kiesels quality control is way worse

The issues with customer service run deep at Carvin/Kiesel. I tried to order a high end custom guitar from them when they were still Carvin and was so turned off by my customer service experience I ended up buying from a different company. Years later when they became Kiesel I decided I would give them a second chance and sent an email about possibly doing a custom Holdsworth signature with a fanned fretboard (an option they offer on multiple guitars) and literally got an email response that just said "no". That was literally the whole email. Not "we think it's important to maintain the integrity of the instrument the way Allan envisioned it" or "This would be logistically difficult for reason x,y,z but we have other fanned fret models that we could use the signature AH pickups in if you were interested", just "no" -kiesel employee. I mean, it was kind of funny, but I decided then that I'd never bother with the company again.

Dude, it totally hapoened to me. I ordered a 7 string, spent 3 weeks conveying what I wanted for a top, with pics and all. Jeff picked a top that looked NOTHING like what I wanted! He NEVER TRIED TO MATCH IT, because 2 weeks later someone else got a top (from the same buckeye burl piece of wood) that looked almost exactly like the pic I wanted them to match. They wanted to keep my down payment of $2500, which was half. I fought with them for a week and they finally conceded to refund me. But they blacklisted me from their Facebook page. Jeff IS a little spoiled brat, and unfortunately it looks like its gotten worse. Sad, for the ones who got shafted, like me.

I was just looking into this company. I'm staying away because of what the owner himself said, how he behaved and what he is sending out. It's all exceptionally gross.

I’ve seen and played several of Jeff’s guitars as well as Carvin stuff over the years. Quality was good, sounded great, and the fit and finish seemed to reflect the price point (in these cases) What Jeff and company need to realize is they make boutique guitars and they cover a very very very small part of the market. Customer service should be at the top of the list. I play Sadowsky basses and I have for almost 20 years now. I own four of them. One showed up with a major flaw and I contacted Roger Directly, the issue was taken care of and a new bass was sent out the very next morning. I was sent a tracking number and postage for the damaged instrument. That is the very reason I will never be scared to order number 5 and 6. Customer service after the fact, will increase your sales. Guaranteed.

This sucks cause I’ve been planning for a Kiesel build and saving for awhile but now will forget about it. A Suhr will be my next guitar.

Now that we’re men 💪💪💪

I'm glad I found this video, and I am happy you made it. Honesty is everything.

im glad i just went ahead and made my own guitar. i got exactly what i wanted. after talking to the fender custom shop about how much it would cost for them to do it and it was to expensive! so i started hunting for damaged antique furniture and hit the jackpot! a peace of quilty flame maple book matched at just over an inch thick and mahogany same thickness for the back. it turned out great!

I was going to order a Kiesel a few years back, but after doing some research into the brand and their reputation, and watching a factory tour video in which Jeff comes across as a complete douchebag, I decided against it and bought an E-II instead.

What a shame the customer felt the need to apologise to Jeff. I guess his internet "power" is on par with Chapman.

After that, there's just no way i'm buying a Kiesel

“option 3, we’ll refund you, part ways and we’ll never sell you a guitar again” what a prick.

It's blowing my mind that instead of addressing this head on, Kiesel is deleting and banning customers.

Kiesel "We're being men" *proceeds to whine for 20 min*

I was going to order a custom kiesel but after seeing this I never will, thanks for sticking up for the customer!

A secondary lesson here is NEVER buy a guitar that is non-returnable if you can’t play it first. You never know what you’re going to get but there’s a good chance it’s not the guitar in your mind.

Always had an incling kiesel were a dodgy company. They once did a tshirt design "competition" where they had fans design a tshirt for them and if you "won" the "competition" you got a single copy of that shirt that YOU designed. Instead of PAYING people for their work they disguised this con as a competition.

Damn just watched his apology on IG and it was the fakest shit I’ve seen. Jeff Kiesel is a child. He should fixed that fretboard in the very first place and nothing would have happened. Never thinking about Kiesel guitars again.

I’m glad I saw this before buying one. It’s always been on my radar. Not anymore. Too many guitars makers out there that would love my business. Good luck Jeff.

This is why people buy from well established brands and are afraid to try something new. I have had amazing customer service from Gibson, Fender, Rickenbacker and G&L, even just calling them to ask for some more Custom shop picks or a custom pickguard for my G&L; in one case I was speaking to the department manager and was unaware till the end of the conversation when I informed him that I was going to leave a comment about my great experience. And I always received the exact guitar I wanted in every detail.

Spends thousands on a custom guitar "It's not my fault you didn't get what you wanted"

I’m in an interesting spot here. I’m a huge Kiesel fanboy. Jeff is actually a personal friend of mine, as or many of the Kiesel employees. I own several and I will defend Jeff and the company. Do I think some people’s gripes with them are unwarranted? Yes I do. However.... Jeff, my friend, is absolutely fucking wrong here. It would go a long way to say to the customer “Hey man. Honestly, I dont think we messed up, but if you aren’t happy with it, then let’s get this sorted out.” That’s all it would take. He doesn’t have to admit he’s wrong, he just has to act like he cares Edit: for anyone who doesn’t know, the problem has be sorted. A private apology to the customer, a public apology to all customers. Jeff sent the customer flowers, a letter and condolences for his late brother. He has also changed the process of picking roasted wood by making sure they match each other. Customers are also now able to order light, medium, or dark roasted at no extra charge. Roasted maple necks and fretboards are also currently free of charge. Does that excuse everything? No. But it’s an undeniable right step forward

You’re doing really good work - these videos must take time to put together - really appreciate the info 👍🏼

I asked Jeff on one of his live streams why they don't offer binding on their necks and headstocks and his answer was something along the lines of "its eyecandy, we're all about playability." It's a goddamned custom shop. Eye candy is part of the appeal. I'll never buy one of these unless it's used on Reverb. Not putting money in this asshole's hands.

An adult baby whining about a customer with a legitimate complaint and then proceeds to claim the customer is whining. The irony.

7:07 20+ Carvins and 9 Kiesels?! The guy literally defecates cash.

I will NEVER buy a Jeff Kiesel guitar.

I seriously love this channel! Great video.

Ok guys let me sum it up with a few simple words: "What a prick."

The customer was treated as horribly as that fretboard. That Kiesel guy comes off as insecure, with his going on about smart people and common sense.

I'm surprised they sell ANY guitars after seeing that video from Jeff Kiesel.

Subscribed. KDH keep up the good work! The music industry hates those people you call out. You are doing so many people a favor

Man I’ve followed Kissel for years and was set on owning one one day. Not anymore.

Option 3 is DEFINITELY a win, win. Jeff.

Third vid I watch on your channel. Subscribed! Videos like this are so helpful for us customers. Thanks for your work KDH!

I had about $4.5k tied up across 2 guitars and a bass from Kiesel, all the frets sprouted and started lifting after a little under a year. Same thing happened to some other people (some friends) around the same time, but they contacted Kizzle about it. They were given similarly horrible treatment, and one was even called out by name on social media in a similar manner as this incident. I sold mine off with all flaws disclosed at a huge loss so the new owners could afford to go to a tech and get them properly repaired and washed my hands of them. Fuck Kiesel.

I have of a friend that ordered a Kiesel guitar and they sent him the totally wrong color and they wouldnt return it because they said it was a Option 50 custom color. Lol

I'm late to these parties but this channel is great, man! Keep it up!

Never waste your money on a Keisel. (same could have been said about Carvin) After the fact: they aren't worth anything and you'll never be able to resell it for anywhere close to what you paid for it. Occasionally we would have guys try to bring their Carvins into the shop (when I worked in a guitar shop) for trade-in and we wouldn't even look at them because we'd never be able to flip them. Plus that Jeff guy seems very unreasonable to deal with.

So much common sense, he's bitching about his customers in public. xD

I've owned more than half a dozen Kiesels. That "roasted" fingerboard honestly doesn't look like any other roasted Kiesel boards I've seen... I think it's not up to Kiesel standards. But the big deal here, the most unbelievable thing to me, is that Jeff got on live to mock and belittle a lifelong customer over a complaint. Even if the complaint wasn't valid (it was), this is such a shockingly poor way to handle it as a company in 2020. When you do this to one customer, your customer service has failed once. When you treat a customer that way live, you broadcast to the world that your customer service has left and isn't coming back. I would honestly be bummed if a quality USA builder like Kiesel went out of business over customer service and ego. Hope Jeff also has the common sense to see how bad this looks from the outside. At this point, literally anybody else in the factory could get in front of the camera and it would be better for their PR.

When it was carvin and I was a teen, I really wanted to build one from a kit.

Holy crap. ANY inclination I had of buying a Kiesel just died. Permanently. The live snippits of Kiesel's own mouth had far more impact than anything else. That is the worst "philosophying" I've ever witnessed in a business owner.

lol, so he's just being like "if we mess up an order, and you complain about it, you're being a baby" ...what?

man, at 6:40 it's total projection. "people can be really really smart in life, maybe have great businesses and things like that, but maybe they don't have common sense".

If one fell into my lap, I’d scrap it or sell it to someone, though I’d probably scrap it because it’s sooo hard to sell

You're the musicians hero, mate. I've seen you time and again coming to the aid of lambasted and cheated customers. You're content is excellent and well researched, and your honesty and integrity is a beacon in a dark place.

I didn't like Kiesal as it is but this makes me never want to get one. Glad i got Ormsby instead

I love Jeffs arguments, I'm a first year carpenter in collage and even i know the differences between wood and what a bad roast looks like

A Keisel bass was my dream... I saw the bass that ichika nito owns and ever since I’ve been looking and saving up for something nice from them and a little bit more special than what guitar center has😂.. but after seeing this I just can’t see myself spending that kind of money on a keisel anymore, I do think they look amazing and I feel bad that I saw them in this light but it’s for the right reasons because I don’t want to end up like that life long customer in this video. Thank you for saving my wallet KDH👍

Jeeeez. I am so thankful for this video. I was about to order a Kiesel this week! Such a shame, they look amazing. One bad owner can ruin such a good brand.

I'm glad to see you back at it, I know you went through a hard time after the Chapman video. Please keep investigating and outing the bullshitters in guitar world, you're doing an awesome job. You good man 💪xD

The chosen one returns!!!

Damn...I just happened to stumble upon this video randomly, glad I watched it. Wasn't interested in Kiesel before, now I have a reason to keep others away too.

I've recently inherited an AM7 from a friend. It's a magnificent machine and I fell in love with it very quickly and because it was my friend's specs that went into this guitar, I'll never truly have any say in regards to Jeff's treatment of his customers or his quality control , as I've never custom ordered a guitar from Kiesel like most of you have. However, what I do know is that good business practice comes from experience. Jeff Kiesel is not his daddy. Although his guitars were a product of legacy, his business model was not. He threw himself into uncharted territory. If you think about it, Kiesel Guitars' business methods and business models are all built on a very new, very sensitive and very unique concept that most guitar companies would never even dare to try and experiment with. This means that Jeff is probably the first guitar company owner that decided to make mass-produced custom made guitars. If you were to miraculously manage to get ahold of a CEO of any major guitar builder company, let's say Ibanez, Fender, Gibson.... Etc. And asked them to mass-produce custom guitars, chances are they'll laugh at you and tell you that no guitar company out there will be stupid enough to take that kind of risk. Which is why many of us got stuck with a guitar that was built out of someone else's imagination instead of our own. If my memory serves me well, Kiesel Guitar Company (not Carvin) hasn't been around all that long, probably less than a decade I'm guessing?? In that short amount of time, the company has released thousands of custom made, high quality guitars to customers worldwide and for such a reasonable price too. When I was in my 20's this sort of thing was a fantasy that I could never afford. I know this video is pretty old by now, as well as the original "whining and complaining" video by Jeff Kiesel. And I'm sure that by now they've long since updated their term and conditions and other legal crap. The reality is, they're still standing and they've set the standards for not only their own business model, but the business model of so many other future guitar companies.

That the customer even apologized and said that nobody should point out flaws rly hurt. (Yes, he said to do it privately, but if the company isn't willing to do what's right, that's definitely no option.) And that mess just prevented me from ordering (ever) from Kiesel, which I was actually thinking about right now.

Jeff, Is lucky to sell any guitars with his attitude towards the customers, he forgets they pay his bills, I’ll never buy one !

Thankfully I found your video today. Thanks!

*Goes into convenience store* -Hi, one pack of Marlboros, please. -Here you go. -But this is a pack of fruit gummies... -Man, will you quit your whining?

Uh, boy. I have two Kiesel/Carvins. As a disabled guy, money is hard to come by, BUT I did score a new part-time, ability-appropriate job in January, and was squirreling away for build #3.That's not happening now. As soon as I finish typing this, I'm checking out Suhr and Halo. I can forgive errors in customer orders. I cannot forgive a company leader for being a douche. If I have a complaint, I do not want to be some company leader's social media rant of the day.

It's a real shame every time something like this comes up. Former employee of Kiesel here, still love the company, love the people, and love the guitars. The thing that is frustrating about all this is that Jeff does great work, and he works really hard. He definitely isn't just the face of the company, that man works his ass off for it. I just wish he could take a step back and see that this kind of thing is far more damaging, and ends up costing the company way more than if he just ate the small cost of rebuilding the neck for a guy who has supported the company for years. Another really big shame of this is that the guys and gals building the guitars get lumped in with Jeff, as does the Kiesel brand. These people do insanely high quality work, and it's terrible to see that dragged through the mud as well. It's because of them that I still wouldn't hesitate to place an order again. The last thing I will say is that for as much as we hear about quality issues online, they're pretty damn rare, and most just get taken care of with no questions asked. A few like these manage to come through and then Jeff decides that it's his hill to die on that week. Damn shame.

I am sorry I ever bought a Kiesel Osiris. Terrible fret ends and the bridge is rattling on the A string. Ten day window passed so I'm stuck.

A year after you posted this I’m just seeing it. What a eye opener. I won’t be considering buying a Kiesel.