We have a winner!

At this point, "Skin in the Game" is the official motto of Pinside.

was genuinely curious.

thanks and sorry but IMO, no you dont have skin in the game. Many of us are dealing with multiple inserts and clearcoat cracking off in major ways. We have played by the unspoken 'rules' of contacting our distributors and sending photos and documenting dates along with being quite while we wait and watching firends and others then start to be in the same predicament. We have waited and waited. We have been told specific dates that never come to fruition. We have been flat out lied to. We are tired of the BS and unfortunately see an issue in our niche market and hobby. An issue that needs to be dealt with differently.

We see a manufacturer that we have spent in some cases 40k+ on games in the past 5 years and have 20k+ with pf issues that continue to get worse.

I dont have photos readily at hand, but you get the idea....

When you dont have a major defect and are not the one getting the runaround or flat out ignored in some cases, then sorry but you really are not in the same situation.
It is insulting to many of those that are when you come in the thread just to call names and treat people like you are. I am not sure if you realize but at this party... everyone is looking in your direction.

Ghosting.jpg

Absolutely not , I'm saying step back and give them more time. I'm sure complaining and having a fit is not going to push you to the front of the line just because he's ready to sell his game

Ever hear the saying..... you get further with honey than vinegar

This would be a more apt saying in this situation: "The squeaky wheel gets the grease."

Consider me burned beyond recognition! Ouch Man, that really smarts.

I never said I was in the same situation. What I AM saying, is that if I WAS in the same situation, I would handle it differently. I have been in the situation of having unacceptable game defects on MANY occasions, with EVERY current manufacturer. In every case, the situation has been rectified calmly, and professionally. Without whining or any stress on my part, because I expect issues, and handle them as they arise. No stress, no problem. It's a game. It's supposed to be fun.

ONCE AGAIN, I feel for anybody with serious issues. I hope their issues will be addressed sooner than later. We are seeing it happen. I suppose we just have different approaches to a problem.

I'm going to go play some pinball, cause THIS party blows! Over and Out! Haha

Do whatever you like as it's not my bad PF. Not the approach I would take.

What staggers me is that Stern didn't sort out KPG quickly as they are going to get a whole load of extra grief now. That in itself is a massive miscalculation on their part and it wasn't exactly difficult to predict!

You contact your credit card company and complain. Initiate a charge-back. I can (nearly) guarantee that would get someone's attention.

Has anyone contacted the Better Business Bureau? How about the state Attorney General? Make someone at The Consumerist aware. Hell, make a contact at McClatchy or the New York Times. News like this sells more papers and gets more clicks on their website.

I'm 100% serious. Get some attention from outside of the pinball community. General business advocates. As is mentioned several times on this thread, the pinball community is a small, close-knit group. Expand the issues beyond that group. No company wants negative attention coming at them from all directions.

Hi Gary, i'm gonna break some shit up in here

Bull (resized).jpg

I've gotten my playfield. Maybe you need a better distributor and to stop bitching about it on pinside. Stern reads these threads, they really do. I'm sure your names have been pushed to the very last of the program because you complain about their company every time I check pinside. You two(kgb and whysnow) are ALWAYS on pinside. It's creepy. Get a life, go outside, relax. The machine hasn't even been out a year yet.

So, I didn't want to post in threads like this because I believe the way to go about things is contact Stern directly and go from there. On December 26th I contacted Gary Stern directly and let him know of my situation of my GBLE ghosting. To my surprise, he replied to my email like 10 minutes later and told me that he would personally take care of it. In addition, he included his cell phone number and asked me to please enjoy the rest of my holiday. My distributor is also involved and I am confident I will receive something in return to correct my situation.

I'm not saying what percentage, but I feel like many on here just come here to complain rather than get off of their duffs to write a well thought out email to rectify their situation. I did not come forward a month ago because I assumed that was the case.

Anyway, I'll let you know of my results but in the meantime, be wary of threads like this and if you want results quickly by all means DO NOT sign this stupid petition.

What the fuck happened to the self imposed ban on using "Skin in the Game" on Pinside?

Contract must have only gone till 2016.

Stern's defense will just be that it's a commercial piece of vending equipment.

Then they will point out what is covered under their warranty.

Then they will point out that they have been replacing playfields outside of warranty, even though they are not required to do so.

stern-warranty-jpg (resized).jpg

Good luck with your efforts.
Maybe Stern will someday change their warranty practices for consumers.

Other GBLE owners well outside of PinSide community seemed to have more success including operators.
Things seemed to be moving along at whatever pace Stern chooses.
Playfields were being exchanged, how many overall I have do not know, just the five I am aware of personally.
They seemed satisfied, although I did not get out my jeweler glasses and evaluate all the playfields.
There never seemed to be a consensus of how many defective playfields in games were actually shipped prior to the temporary halt of production. For general reminder, GBLE game is not the only title that had problems, both in other GB models, and other titles.
GB Pro (early), GOT, MET, SMVE, maybe even TWD (I cannot remember).

This is just being objective.

I am not entirely a huge supporter of Stern right now based on basic game feature reductions in comparison to value of cost, so you are not going to see a fanboy status out of me here for any real company that has been making pinball machines in the past 15 years.

Stern certainly reads these forums, but it staggering that people believe that a handful of people on these forums makes up the primary pinball audience of buyers. We are not the ones that were targeted. Most do not have accounts. In many cases, we know better than to buy into hype, or shill excessive cash in a basically identical product from other versions of the same game.

The programme where they ignore the vast majority of cases, then select a few people they think they might be able to sucker. Then pull out an old known-defective playfield, and cack-handedly try to wipe out date stamps, then re-stamp / label them with a later date that they think people will believe are fixed (or Churchill). These then ghost or lose clear in a few dozen plays, then when called out on it they throw their arms up in denial and offer no further resolution.

Sounds awesome. Why would anyone complain? Exemplary service.

Thinking about buying a Met Pro.

Why is it recommended to use a credit card? Thanks!

I only got Chase. Is that one OK?

How long do you have until you can no longer do a chargeback?

Is it a CREDIT CARD or a DEBIT CARD that takes money from your account?

Make sure you use a credit card for online purchases.

Generally, 180 days. However, 45-60 days is recommended.

However, Vid has written extensively about this. I don't have a link to his post, but it's something like 'how not to get ripped off buying a pinball machine.' Vid, help me out here.

I was fully aware of Sterns warranty. Honestly they have no obligation to replace your playfield. Yes that sux but this has been discussed before

They said they would but it was not quick enough for your terms

Not sure what will happen from here but I wouldn't hold my breath

Diplomacy is always the best rt in these situations. Never burn bridges

Good luck

I would use a CC to buy Met Pro.

Ok so....you can just call the CC company and ask for a chargeback? How does it work really?

+1

Yes they do. They are knowingly selling you defective material.

Stern burnt them, and they seem to be perfectly happily dousing more in petrol still.

Also, their warranty is meaningless. These are production or engineering defects.

Plus, they have to abide by legislation in other territories which is rather more favourable to the consumer. Hence why some resellers / distributors in Europe have replaced machines at their own expense - apparently with no recompense from Stern. That doesn't seem like a tenable situation, does it?

I think you screw your reseller more than anyone.....Burning bridges is not a good plan

Guys was or is Metallica really affected by all this? I keep reading about GB and SM but not so much MET.

Yes, I had issues with mine. It was made in March 2016.

I know of a met that got a full pf swap. It was the first i had heard of issues. Stern was great with that swap, but that was before the volume of gb issues

What kind of issues? They Stern resolve them?

Here's the other issue.

I'm sure you could sell you game for full purchase price new. 7k

I don't think Sterns going to be simpathetic because you can't get 9 grand for it now

Like I said I feel you definitely deserve one but going about it on a tangent rant talking about sueing, signing petitions, constant phone calls will get you no where. If they said you were on the list I would have taken it for just that. The process only started weeks ago.

Your choice but personally I think you caused yourself a lot more grief

No right or wrong way but I know I have had positive results with patience and professionalism

Read this thread, and no ... hence why the thread and petition exist.

Some say use a CC, some say don't...so confusing

Use the credit card and don't freak out Korn!

LOL...good one!

Use a CC, no problem unless you get a cash discount. Just keep in mind a charge back hits your reseller not Stern...Think four times before doing that because your reseller is your best contact with Stern.

I'm amazed people defend Stern, I really don't understand why...was it the free tshirt that swayed you on a NIB?

KornFreak28 you saw my posts on my MET, if you buy NIB now with all that is going on and get a failed PF don't come back here crying. Just go HUO, pre metal backbox all tricked out.

Very true. I wish all of this gets resolved sooner rather than later....

They only started replacing playfields weeks ago. You can't start from the time you notified them. The Churchill playfields only started being produced again in October

That's were your totally wrong.......I am thinking in the best interest of customers that's what you don't get.

The problem is it's just not the answer you want to hear