guitar center screwed me!

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onmoris

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I brought a BLUE mic into GC to be sent out for repair, and it took them 7 weeks to finally send it out after a long and complicated battle. i want them to make it up to me - what should i do? what demands am i in a position to make?
 
recourse?

onmoris said:
I brought a BLUE mic into GC to be sent out for repair, and it took them 7 weeks to finally send it out after a long and complicated battle. i want them to make it up to me - what should i do? what demands am i in a position to make?

Did you buy it from GC? Was it warranty work? It sounds like they just dropped the ball on this one but you probably don't have a lot of grounds to make demands. Your best hope is to appeal to the manager's sense of fairness. Explain how this "screw-up" has inconvenienced you. Hope the manager isn't a jerk. Maybe they'll give you a loaner or who knows? If you are a really GOOD customer, they might do something to make it up to you. I'd try being nice first. Then if they aren't sympathetic, go ballistic! just kidding!
 
ch2os7 said:
Maybe they'll give you a loaner or who knows?

Chances are they will NOT give you a loaner. GC has a VERY strict policy on returning mics (Some BS about health code), I can't see them giving you a brand new mic to use for a few weeks and return. Ask for a free cable or something :D
 
GC will not loan out mics, and the health code reasons are not BS!
Understand that many times a mic is used on vocals. Someone is breathing on it, spitting on it, touching the grill with their mouth and lips.... the list goes on.
Its a perfect condition for a transference of germs. Wanna catch a cold, the flu, something worse? Share a Mic.

You don't share a toothbrush do you?
Why would you share a mic? Now you could Lysol it, and probably make all that a non-issue, but GC's not going to put their neck out fot that.
 
i would go to guitercenter.com and write a complaint to customer service. i did that once and they got back to me pretty quick. usually find that better than the guys in the store. make it known that you have been a customer and this makes you not want to shop there anymore (which you should think about anyways).
at least in the new york area, i've found guitar center one of the worst places to go to. if you know exactly what you want and just want to run in and pick it up then maybe it's ok, but i never shop there anymore unless it's my last option.
 
Start with the GC store mgr. first and explain how this fubar has hurt you financially and otherwise. They should do something (doesn't mean they WILL! Dealing with GC has not been bad for me, but I understand customer satisfaction has been a crapshoot for lots of people who spend their hard earned coin there). If you get no satisfaction from him, ask them to put you in touch with HIS boss, then finally a rep from Blue if you still get nowhere.
 
The health reasons are bullshit. Other than a foam windscreen there is nothing on or about a microphone that provides an evironment for biological agents. If this was a valid concern everyone who shit would travel with their own toilet seat and everyone who flew their own airline cushion. Furthermore, if you can smell someone's bad breath, you can inhale their ecology. Or how about hocking up a lugy before you shake you're boss's hand?

Infectious microphones!
 
Michael Jones said:
...Its a perfect condition for a transference of germs...
But then they're dead within a few days at the most. Bacteria, except for sporulating types like anthrax, dry up and die quickly (except for that gonorrhea I got off the toilet seat). Viruses are viable a max of 72 hours outside the body.

So unless someone has preserved a big wet lugee inside the grille, there's no chance of catching anything from a used microphone after a few days. But I suppose there are psychological issues...
 
You don't share a toothbrush do you?
Why would you share a mic? Now you could Lysol it, and probably make all that a non-issue, but GC's not going to put their neck out fot that.
Personally I prefer to dump Listerine all over my mics. It keeps my breath sparkly clean and those nasty micro-demons from leaping off the screen. :eek:
 
yuck

I kinda see the point about germy mics but I doubt that is the sole reason for the policy. I see a lot of people suggesting that you find a store with a liberal return policy and try try try out mics until you find one that suits you. I bet this is a real hassle for the store, especially for the online guys. If germs were the only issue they wouldn't let people test them in the store either would they? Just a thought. I think if I ran a music store, I'd require mics to be tested in store only behind a pop screen set back about 8 to 10 inches from the mic but I doubt that I'd want to let people take them out of the store and try them. just my $.02

Anyhow good luck...I'm afraid the days are gone when the customer is always right.
 
Bummer

onmoris said:
what demands am i in a position to make?
None... about the only thing you can do is... don't buy anything from them again.
 
All I can recommend is - if you find a retailer to be crap, don't ever go back! There's a couple of shops around here that will not see me in them again, which I'm sure won't worry them too much, but I can't be bothered with the hassle of a rubbish after-sales service. :mad:
 
GC will not loan out mics, and the health code reasons are not BS!
Understand that many times a mic is used on vocals. Someone is breathing on it, spitting on it, touching the grill with their mouth and lips.... the list goes on.
Its a perfect condition for a transference of germs. Wanna catch a cold, the flu, something worse? Share a Mic.

You don't share a toothbrush do you?
Why would you share a mic? Now you could Lysol it, and probably make all that a non-issue, but GC's not going to put their neck out fot that.

So the mic rental business is going to stop because of health codes????

Think about it.. :)
 
I brought a BLUE mic into GC to be sent out for repair, and it took them 7 weeks to finally send it out after a long and complicated battle. i want them to make it up to me - what should i do? what demands am i in a position to make?
I doubt you can get anything but next time call B.L.U.E. directly and see if they can take care of you.
 
Health code... what health code?

slobbermonster said:
So the mic rental business is going to stop because of health codes????

Think about it.. :)
If that happened... they would have to remove every pay phone from every state because of health issues too.

Think about that!!! :)
 
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Michael Jones said:
GC will not loan out mics, and the health code reasons are not BS!
Understand that many times a mic is used on vocals. Someone is breathing on it, spitting on it, touching the grill with their mouth and lips.... the list goes on.
Its a perfect condition for a transference of germs. Wanna catch a cold, the flu, something worse? Share a Mic.

You don't share a toothbrush do you?
Why would you share a mic? Now you could Lysol it, and probably make all that a non-issue, but GC's not going to put their neck out fot that.

True to a degree, but I can't think of a single virus that can live longer than a few hours oustide the body. It's kind of a wierd health code. A public phone is a far-far-far greater health risk.
 
Well some people arent aware of the scientific life of germs and viruses. I'm guessing most people think germs stay somewhere until they are cleaned. I also guess that germs can live a long time in an area only if they can reproduce. But any if you are that worried about "contaminated" mics, take the grill of and soak it in some bleach water or something.

As for GC, as much as I like them, they have a shitty repair policy. I took my 4 track in to get repaired (and I did buy it there) because it wouldnt power-up anymore. It took them 4 weeks I think and all they did was "ship" it around the block to Radio Shack to have the connectors cleaned..It cost me $65 to have my connection cleaned. eh... :confused:
 
Did the mic go to BLUE for warranty repair?

If so, there's very little that GC can do to expedite the repair, unless somebody fairly high in the food chain is willing to do some hollering at BLUE on your behalf.

The only thing worse than needing warranty repair, is SLOW warranty repair. If all warranty work worldwide is being routed back to a single location for repair, there can be a huge bottleneck before your gear is even seen, let alone repaired.

If it's not warranty, then GC is likely using an independent contractor for the work, and may have more ability to speed along the repair.

In any event, any retailer who doesn't work to give you solid service doesn't deserve your dollar, IMHO.
 
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