Re: OT: Warning! Musician's Friend Warning!

[Mark Sottilaro <sine@zerocrossing.net>]

Yes this is so right.  My problem is that I'm new to the bay area and I 
don't know
any other places.  Frankly, I'm a little amazed at the lack of good music 
shops.
I'm going to try Banana's at Large in San Rafael tomorrow.  It's a hike 
for me,
but it may be worth while and the guy on the phone seemed very helpful and 
honest.

Mark



rich wrote:

> Sorry to hear about your troubles, Mark.  Tough one to beat,
> though...Musician's Friend and Guitar Center get so many incentives
> and great buys from the manufacturers because they buy so damn much,
> that they can drive the smaller stores (with possibly better service)
> out of business.
>
> Very few of the mom/pop stores carry a selection that those
> stores/catalogs do, though.  They just can't carry that much
> inventory.  Which leaves people with taste for gear that's a bit left
> of center no choice sometimes.  Also, often the small shops can't
> even get premium brands because they don't sell enough units!
>
> the best bet i have had is finding someone at the store, or on the
> phone that seems like they have more than just a couple of hampsters
> between their ears, and STICK TO THEM.  make them aware that you will
> only buy from them because they are the ONLY one in the store that
> gives you the service you want.  that usually means you will be
> buying from a manager.  nice side effect, though, is that if you're
> dealing with a manager at a high enough level, they can discount
> beyond what the little chumps can.  If you forge a relationship with
> someone, they are more likely to help you out, too.
>
> best of luck,
>
> rich
>
> ps.  being lied to by a GC salesman?  ...like getting yelled at by
> someone with Tourette's syndrome.
>
> >Hey.
> >
> >I just had/am having a horrible experience with Musician's Friend.
> >I ordered a
> >GR-30 and a GK-2A, as they were blowing out the GR-30s at a great price 
>($399)
> >I paid extra to have it shipped next day FedEx.  The order was done on 
>the
> >27th.  For some reason they decided not to ship it until the 29th.  I 
>have not
> >received anything from them at this point.  They gave me a FedEx 
>tracking
> >number, but FedEx claims to have never entered that number into their 
>system.
> >Musician's Friend told me they had started a trace with FedEx, but I 
>found out
> >yesterday that they never had.  This was confirmed by both FedEx, and a
> >customer service manager at Musician's Friend.
> >
> >I was totally lied to.
> >
> >Fed up with waiting, I attempted to buy a GR-33 from The Guitar Center,
> >Musician's Friend's brick and mortar sister.  Via the phone, I made the
> >salesman hunt down both the synth and the pick up and put my name on 
>them.  He
> >claimed he could see both units in front of him.  When I arrived, the 
>salesman
> >launched into an explanation about how the GK-2 blister pack only 
>looked as if
> >it were missing stuff, when in fact it was not.  "Roland just uses the 
>same
> >package for a lot of it's products."  Of course, the pick up was
> >missing all of
> >the mounting hardware and cables.  You could see where some of the
> >double sided
> >tape still clung to the pickup.  I just turned around and walked out.
> >
> >I was totally lied to.
> >
> >Last Friday I was told that if the "trace" didn't turn up something by
> >yesterday, they would just send me another one, next day, at no extra 
>charge.
> >Yesterday I was told that the item was no longer in stock, and the 
>trace might
> >take weeks.  They refuse to cancel the order and refund my money.  They 
>refuse
> >to sell me a GR-33 at a discount.  After speaking to another FedEx
> >rep today, I
> >find that still no trace has been put on this order.
> >
> >Finally I get an email telling me that they are sending me a GR-30
> >and I should
> >receive it tomorrow.  Were they out of stock?  Are they really sending 
>it?
> >Good question.  Oh, and get this: They are now out of the GK-2 pick up, 
>so my
> >synth will be useless.
> >
> >So this is my story.  Use the knowledge wisely.  I will never give a 
>dime to
> >either Musician's Friend, or The Guitar Center again.
> >
> >Mark Sottilaro