Musician's Friend Bashing

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punkin

punkin

Univalve & Avatar Speaks
I'm feeling the need to vent just a little. I know, I know, if veryone would read the fine print when doing business with them everything would be just fine but, 'cmon. The in-laws aren't on-line savvy nor are they musician's, that goes the same for the wife although I've rubbed off on her just a bit. But....yy gripe today is with their business practice revolving around gift certificates and coupons.

So, the wife buys the boy and I some goodies which add up to some respectable "ka-ching". MF rewards her with a coupon redeemable on the next purchase...the next purchase is just around the corner :D .

I had an outstanding balance on a previous gift certificate which I only partially redeemed. My birthday is in october so, the 4th quarter in the year is really good to me :-)

The in-laws cough up some serious dough for a gift certificate.

So, now I've got this "pool" of funds which need tapping and I'm all about going shopping on-line right now. Well, I pick out some choice stuff...3 items in all. When I go to "check out", I'm advised that the in-law certificate is not redeemable on-line. OK...so, I'm gonna do this the old fashioned way and talk to someone. But wait! No-can-do! Can't use them all at the same time because some certificates can only be used on line and other only by phone. You can't pool the resources!

The big bitch of it is that of the three products I wanted to purchase the biggest ticket item could be paid for by the in-law certificate but would leave a balance of $30 (which can only be use by calling in) and I didn't have any thing in that price range on the rest of my list. Pissing me off evern further, the other two funding sources can only be used on-line which when summed up don't cover the balance for the other two items I had planned to purchase...this means I get to kick out some dough from Uncle Visa.

Before settling with the "new business model" of "screw the customer before they figure it out, I called and spoke with one of the "floor managers" in the customer support area. I asked if he could convert one or the other of the gift certs so that I had a matched set but the answer was no. I asked why, he just said he can't do it. I asked why they did business this way he replied "I don't know, we just do. I get a lot of calls on this".

You know, for me, it's not the end of the world but what the hell! Could you make this more complicated? When did money stop being money and what of all the other little gift certificates and coupons in the world that can't be completely redeemed? What a bunch a balooney!

So I sat down and counted up the balance of the certificate that I can't use and the amount that I had to kick in from Uncle Visa and I come up with about $52. I then did some comparison shopping and found that I could get the same exact items else where in three locations for less than the $52 I had to kick in. Two of these items were marked up a few bucks higher than as listed by MF.

What have I learned?
Being a loyal customer doesn't always pay.
Bless their hearts for their generosity but ask the family and friend to NOT get gift certs and coupons.
Don't put up with this kind of service and let someone know how pissed you are even if it doesn't get you anywhere...you'll feel better for it.

There, I feel better...only marginally but measurably. Thanks for listening and if I got your shirt wet while crying on your shoulder, I'm sorry.
 
OK...in all fairness.

I was stressin' (as you might have already noticed). I forgot to mention that while my story was unfolding, I decided not to place the order but rather "collect" myself.

The wife was wanting to know what I was going to do with the gift certificates and well,...I had to tell her my story and this of course means that my story wasn't over just yet.

Hell hath no furry right?!

"Well, we'll just see 'bout that!" and she was on the phone.

As a customer(s), we now have satisfaction. She raised some hell and wouldn't take no for answer and ultimately the person she finally came in contact with (her name was Jessica) was able to rectify the situation.

I still maintain however, it shouldn't be that hard should it? Thanks to Jessica and her willingness got get out of the box and set things straight.
 
I've heard that there are about $5 billion US dollars in gift certificates that are never used in the US alone. Add to it the rip offs big merchandisers manage to pull off (like your deal), and I wonder why people go on being so foolish. I will never buy them again. Just give cash if you don't know what to get someone. May be impersonal, but, IMHO, it's really more thoughtful. Letting someone decide what is best for them....and letting them buy what they want, wow...how thoughtless and inconsiderate! Merchandiser love to know that you are stuck buying from them, the thought that MF actually charged more than the listed price is unforgiveable, and perhaps illegal.
 
Sounds pretty crappy to me....they should just make you happy...but glad it seems to have worked out....
 
Hmmm. Next time I have a consumer issue, can I borrow your wife for a bit?
 
I've watched my wife (an accountant/business consultant) ream brandy-new assholes into a number of corporations who pull the "fine print" tactics. It's fun to watch...Me, I'm too laid back, gotta get along with everyone--Unless I'm in the store, then I get progressively louder (no, not angry or hostile, just LOUD), expressing my inability to grasp their marketing concept...Smiling amiably the whole time...

MF certainly distributes a fine, attractive catalog though...Don't they? :D

Eric
 
You guys are right on it...the thing that pisses me off most is that you've got to raise hell. Why does it have to be that way?

Thanks for the vent.
 
Good grief. This is why I love Full Compass... dirt cheap, fast, friendly... yeah. Sorry, MF, Guitar Center and Sweetwater...
 
^i would still prefer sweetwater for any type of big-ticket purchases for the service alone
 
Yeah, you're right about that. They do have great service. When I buy stuff, I'm usually pretty certain of what I want, so I don't really need it. That, and my budget's tiny. So Full Compass it is. :)
 
Zzounds is my go-to for my purchases, I haven't ran into any probs yet. I also wish I had your wife...lol Like Stetto I'm also too laid back. Normally what I'd do is share my point of view, hear "there's nothing we can do", threaten not to do business with the company any longer and if that doesn't resolve the issue to my liking I chalk it up as a loss and never do business there again.

This year after that same threat to GC, I walked away with a AT4040 Mic for $16.00 :D after they looked me up in their system the store manager saw I spent upwards of 5 grand just from Jan to June this year and quickly rectified the situation. But it left me thinking, what if I only spent $50 bucks there this year? I wouldn't have mattered to him (which is also why I hate the politics of music in general).

I'm glad you got your situation taken care of, I hate reading and hearing horror stories of the consumers being "abused" by these companies. Kudos to your wife too! My significant other stays out of anything that pisses me off in fear she'll F it up even more...lol
 
Never had any problems with MF. Ever. Too bad you hit some corporate snag that stressed you out, but the company done fine by me. :)
 
:D Likewise, I usually get the best price at Full Compass on gear.

I also maintain contact with Sweetwater. Long story short about Sweetwater, when I had a beef, I sat down and wrote a letter. [I taught English Composition.]

I kind of smoked a couple of folks at Sweetwater using a few 92 cent words, no cursing.

Result, The President, Chuck Surrack, called me. In 3 minutes, he resolved the problem. Nothing like the Pres....

I like MF's catalog because they have good deals on smaller items: piano benches, stands of all sorts, and they are pictured clearly. So, I do buy some stuff from MF; however, if FCompass can always come up with a lower price on bigger gear, I guess that's where I will drop my pezzutos.

Happy 2007 to ALL.
Green Hornet
 
That's why it's best to buy local when possible. Most of the local music stores here try to price their wares competitively with MF, GC, Zzounds, etc. The plus is that since they live in the community, they can't afford dissatisfied customers --so what the local stores may lack in discounting the price, my experience is that they usually make up for it in excellent customer service--like the time I was changing strings and one of the bridge pins snapped off with the bottom embedded in the bridge still anchoring the string. The guitar tech at the store store where I purchased it spent a half hour working on it to get that pin out it was embedded solidly--and didn't charge me a dime for it!
 
I dealt with Jessica at MF concerning an amp I purchased, it failed, she was very helpful, emailed shipping labels quickly, I sent it back, was taken care of in a timely manner,, however I can't say the same thing for the initial order which was quite large,,, I ordered it, it languished somewhere for over a week between the office and the warehouse, when I called them on it, I was told they would ship it out the next day with special 2-day ship at no charge to me, guess what, it didn't happen.. I had to call again, this time they sent it next- day, it did arrive,, they emailed me coupons good for $$$ off to make up for their goof-ups, which I was happy with, plus I did a get a bonus coupon for the size of my order, which I used recently, ship was excellent this time
 
Women are great negotiators when it comes to a family member getting screwed and usually win !!.... :D
 
I ordered an e-mu 0404 usb from Sweetwater last weekend, when everyone was backordered on them.....I saw online that Sweetwater had 'em in stock....imagine my expression when I opened the box Friday night and found what was obviously a refurb or badly packaged demo unit - and I paid full price....

....called them up yesterday, spoke with someone who was very apologetic and sympathetic, but essentially said that nothing really could be done til Monday....I politely expressed my disappointment, as well as the fact that I would now be reticent not only to deal with them myself in the future, but also could not comfortably recommend them to the hundreds of actors who ask me for advice about creating their own hom studios...
....got a call 15 minutes later from another guy, promising that the call tag for the old unit and the new factory replacement unit would be overnighted to me, Saturday if it wasn't too late, or Monday at the lastest....

...ordinarily, I'm too easygoing myself, and might have let it slide....but I've worked around consumer electronics for too long not to know that game...and if I were somebody who didn't know any better, I never would have questioned it.....so was it a mistake, or are they just playing the odds game that the majority of folks either wouldn't know the difference, or be too lazy to return it for new stock, or what? Sure, it could have been a mistake, but the response felt a bit too polished and automatic....left a bad taste, and I had always held a higher opion of Sweetwater than that....

.....will post as the saga continues...
 
whyseye said:
I ordered an e-mu 0404 usb from Sweetwater last weekend, when everyone was backordered on them.....I saw online that Sweetwater had 'em in stock....imagine my expression when I opened the box Friday night and found what was obviously a refurb or badly packaged demo unit - and I paid full price....

....called them up yesterday, spoke with someone who was very apologetic and sympathetic, but essentially said that nothing really could be done til Monday....I politely expressed my disappointment, as well as the fact that I would now be reticent not only to deal with them myself in the future, but also could not comfortably recommend them to the hundreds of actors who ask me for advice about creating their own hom studios...
....got a call 15 minutes later from another guy, promising that the call tag for the old unit and the new factory replacement unit would be overnighted to me, Saturday if it wasn't too late, or Monday at the lastest....

...ordinarily, I'm too easygoing myself, and might have let it slide....but I've worked around consumer electronics for too long not to know that game...and if I were somebody who didn't know any better, I never would have questioned it.....so was it a mistake, or are they just playing the odds game that the majority of folks either wouldn't know the difference, or be too lazy to return it for new stock, or what? Sure, it could have been a mistake, but the response felt a bit too polished and automatic....left a bad taste, and I had always held a higher opion of Sweetwater than that....

.....will post as the saga continues...
Click to expand...
Hopefully, they will fix it up right for ya... :cool:
 
I had the same deal. I ended up just get like 50 packs of guitar strings and some mic stands. IMHO thats all MF gift cards are good for...The little stuff.. :rolleyes: ...

James
 
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