Jah Wibble

Got barred from making comments on No Treble for disliking this lot :-( Techicnicly brilliant......but it's just boring and self indulgent IMO.

[quote name='John Cellario' timestamp='1379176240' post='2209536'] Great voice! [/quote] Yeah I thought so too! Like the chord progression near the end n'all.

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_18LaxAE-E&feature=share&list=PLysNcoXLCkRkRB56xY85HzD3SPq_UbN23[/media]

[quote name='Deets' timestamp='1378486140' post='2201094'] Finally a personal observation, but for a guy who says he doesn't want to hijack a thread there's a hell of a lot of angst and key board characters over an ill advised laugh. Move on mate! [/quote] Hi. Kind of hard to move on if someone quotes you (as I've just done here), dont want people to think I've blanked them. :-)

[quote name='tauzero' timestamp='1378390769' post='2199573'] The trouble with telephones is that you're relying entirely on the verbal and audible side of things. I just wondered whether Mark's laugh might not have been intended as derogatory but as the verbal equivalent of a smiley, to try and mitigate any offence you might have felt, but actually had the opposite effect. Of course, you were there and I wasn't, so that might not sound like a plausible alternative to you. I've bought one bass from Mark, a second-hand Sei, which developed a fault a little while after buying it. Basically the elderly Berg (IIRC) preamp had developed a fault in one of its buffer stages so needed replacing. I didn't get any discount on the Delano preamp I bought to replace it - conversely, he did do me a Gramma pad as a little sweetener for the Sei in the first place. Swings and roundabouts. [/quote] Thanks for sharing your experience, unfortunately nothing is really gonna change my perception of how much of a twat this guy was. Not really my fault either, I don't think anyone would have really thought that was acceptable.

[quote name='seashell' timestamp='1377950677' post='2193977'] Just take a bit of a break and have a cuppa, Jah. Don't leave us completely, we're mostly quite nice. I know what you mean though, sometimes you can feel like you're walking on eggshells in order to come across the way you want to. I'd say it's worth sticking around. Just ignore topics that give you grief. [/quote] Jah Bless

[quote name='BassTractor' timestamp='1377946402' post='2193893'] I'm sorry to see your taking it this way. We may have been talking past each other all the time then. [/quote] Think I'm just suffering from forum fatigue. I didn't really partake in an forums before this one and I'm realising its a pretty tedious business. (Not this thread specifically but forums in general)

[quote name='BassTractor' timestamp='1377947437' post='2193917'] Must admit I'm not sure whether you refer to Mark's treating you or my treating you. If it's Mark, then I agree, and have always agreed that his laughing is not to be wished for, and I don't expect you to give him a positive response after having been laughed at. It's just that, in the case I do get where he's coming from, I do see that laughing can be liberating, and may be the response that saves the day for him. If it's me, then I'm sorry. From experience I know that when I try to be precise, and try to put stuff to words in a good way, that I can come across like a dick. I don't mean to, and don't feel like a dick - but then again maybe all dicks don't feel like dicks, and I'm just one of them. I don't know. [/quote] Hi No it wasn't aimed at you, it was aimed at Bass Direct, but thank you for your reply, sorry for any confusion!

You know what. This is ludicrous. Spend your money wherever you want, I'm not gonna argue about whether someone's acted like a di*k when I spoke to them or not.

[quote name='BassTractor' timestamp='1377896304' post='2193469'] Yes, but my being right or wrong in your case is not the point. It's about the statistical value of a customer who asks to price match. My point is to try and present one of the alternative ways of looking at these things - one that might be able to explain where he may come from. I certainly did not try to express that you don't know what people can be like as a result of your not owning a shop. However, I fear I've already repeated myself too much, so I won't try to express again what I think I've already expressed. This thread, btw, is about what we write in it. Some customers complained. I tried to present a possible explanation of one of the cases, as well as an alternative way of looking at it. You seem to not accept that way of looking, which is your perogative. [/quote] Man, you've got to be able to see, you can't do that to people and expect a positive response?? Really??

[quote name='BassTractor' timestamp='1377888311' post='2193349'] You're still only seeing this from one single perspective. Your being polite does not take away years of his experience with questions about price matching. My guess is most of them have been polite. But do these customers understand and appreciate what sets shops like this apart from the rest? My take: No, some groups of customers don't, as long as they ask professional independent stores to price match, and complain on webfora when they've burnt their noses. Ideally, of course he should've been friendly and service minded. However, I assume a certain history here, and one that I can heavily relate to. My own being an understanding, polite and friendly seller is really a form of raping myself, and it is damaging my self image. Maybe if I'd laughed more, I'd be a happier person. To some degree I envy him this ability. "that kind of assistance" was not at the root of the problem. It was the result. You did not ask him to price match first after he'd laughed, now did you? So your "support independent stores" becomes worthless. You did not want to support the professional independent store. You wanted the professional independent store to price match. Enough said. [/quote] Well no you're wrong. When I phoned back up I'd said to him had you not laughed at me I would have probably bought it from his store so..... The general jist I'm getting from you is "you don't own a shop so you dont know what people can be like" - Your right I don't, but this thread is about what it's like from the otherside if the counter.

[quote name='nottswarwick' timestamp='1377883093' post='2193252'] We live is a goldfish bowl in these days of,the Internet, trip advisor, google reviews, forums. God help anyone who has an "off" day! Threads like this can be hugely damaging to a small business. No one is perfect all the time, and let us not forget that the written word (emails) carry no emotion and are thus open to misinterpretation. Equally, phone conversations do not carry the non verbal element of the discourse, which is also thus open to misinterpretation. I'm not saying that those on here with negative experiences are wrong in how they feel they were treated, but I do think that is it a sometimes thankless task running such an establishment, since you are constantly on show and vulnerable to potentially reputation harming world wide negative publicity. I have no affiliation with Mark or his shop, and the fact that I have had great experiences have no bearing on my words in this thread. [/quote] Yeah I agree, anyone can have an off day and then you get this sh*t storm online. I don't want to take away from all the good experiences other people have had.... It's just mine wasn't.

[quote name='BassTractor' timestamp='1377881589' post='2193237'] I have one experience with Bass Direct only, from a single telephone conversation, and in my mind, Mark was stellar during that. On the basis of that experience, plus what has been written about them on here, I've decided that my next amp is gonna be bought there, just to support their way of doing bizniz. As to the laughing bit, from my perspective as an owner of a similar importer/shop biz, I'd guess his experience is that [b]virtually no[/b] customers who ask about price matching ever buy anything at any rate. IME, being friendly, polite and nice about it doesn't help one iota. Explaining the difference between different types of shops doesn't help one iota. Using one's professionality to help them to a good choice doesn't help one iota. They will just not buy. They seem to think they steal from themselves if they buy from a better shop, and that better shops are thieves. In fact, experience tells me they will often go online to complain about prices even after they've been given the royal treatment. If you had called me asking about price matching, you would've gotten a polite and friendly answer, and I'd use time on you in the vain hope that you would turn around, but afterwards I'd realise I'm only hurting myself this way, and that I really should have laughed. Laughing is liberating. [/quote] Well I was pretty straight up and polite about it to begin with. I generally go on the custom or treat people how you'd like to be treated. I really wasn't asking for anything crazy (even though I was treated as if I was) If he'd politely said he couldn't of done anything, perhaps I might have had a better view of the store for the future? Like I said I would like to support independent stores ....but not if you get that kind of assistance.

[quote name='White Cloud' timestamp='1377876401' post='2193159'] Whats the problem? You asked him an honest question and he gave you an honest reply...you took your custom elsewhere and got what you wanted cheaper. Its business and nothing personal! What was your rationale for calling him back to tell him you had purchased it elsewhere? I personally would not do that. [/quote] Well my problem with it was the laughing - as if it was a ludicrous question. Called him back to perhaps let him know if you treat people discourteously they WILL go elsewhere. I supposed you're right though. Business is business, I'll just stick to where I can get it cheapest and not get treated like a c**t Anyway, I don't wanna jack this thread, I'm glad others have had a good experience :-)

I can understand being an independent and perhaps not being able to compete with other stores, I'd like to support an independent.....but not if they behave that way, no thanks.

Unfortunately I had a really bad experience with this guy (or perhaps it was someone else working there? Apologies if it was) Called him up last year to see if he could do a price match on a head. He laughed heartley and loudly down the phone at me and said "Why would I want to do that??!" Left me feeling pretty humiliated for asking a pretty normal question. Bought the head from somewhere else and called Bass Direct back to tell them I'd bought else where and had he not laughed down the phone at me, I might have bought from him. Not gonna be seeing any of my money in their till. It's a pity as a lot of people seem to like it in there.

Have ordered a cable from Obbm recently, brilliant, couldn't recommend them enough. That being said, I use circuit breakers because Markbass, for some unknown reason don't really like putting mute switches on many of their amps, so I find these cables pretty useful. That is all....

Really sad to hear about his passing, Troubadour (plus most of his albums) has some of my all time favourite left field funk tunes. R.I.P. http://youtu.be/h9Q4BQFRr7U

Word Cpup, glad you like 'em. Can get all there tunes for dirt cheap on bandcamp.

Saw these last night at SGP.......they were f***ing brilliant. Bit too fusion for me at times but still accessible for everyone. You can imagine the mix of people in the crowd here, but everyone loved em'. Think I've hurt my neck from bobing my head to the grooves so much. Man f*** Dirty Loops , this is how you bring real music back to the masses.

Have mention these a few times on here and I know you lot don't give a sh*t about them, but Vulfpeck have a new single coming out v soon..... http://youtu.be/M9n7Ao9nhEs ....Enjoy haters

Was in a jam and in need of some real fly speaker cable. Messaged Obbm very late Sunday night, reply Monday morning, cable delivered by Teus..........nuff said.. Thanks for sorting me out Dave, will be back for mo in the future.

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1374005350' post='2144211'] ... Are you trying to tell me that there are actually women like this working in guitar shops nowadays ?... [/quote] Na, she was the only one I've ever seen..