Cat Burrito

[quote name='LukeFRC' post='630999' date='Oct 20 2009, 12:42 AM']brilliant. A good shop. maybe add something to your first post so that the fact you solved the problem comes through to ppl reading randomly.[/quote] I did, I edited the thread title but fair point. I'll re-edit so it's clearer

OK so I get a reply from one of the Andertons & they strike gold! I am impressed with this guy. From my emailed response In response to your email I would firstly like to thank you for taking the time to write to me. Although not good reading, I always take customer complaints very seriously and want to know when we do not achieve the standards of Customer Service that Andertons is known for. I appreciate how frustrating your experience was, and I’ve spent the morning reviewing our systems & speaking to the staff involved in order to identify what went wrong and how we can make sure it does not happen again. Firstly, let me please apologise for the service you received. I have reviewed all the CCTV footage from the time you were in the store on Saturday & I think I’ve got a reasonable picture of what occured & which of my staff were involved. As I hope you can appreciate, due to the space constraints of the store, our bass guitar section is not ideal when more than one person wants to try something and I apologise for the time you had to wait to try the Hot Rod bass - Saturday lunch times are always a busy time for us. However I acknowledge that we should have found you somewhere to try the bass quicker than we did. This will be discussed with my Guitar Department Manager & training will be carried out as necessary. Turning to the issue of how the fault on the bass was dealt with after you pointed out the problem, this was not dealt with in the manner I would expect. Whilst the salesman was correct in saying that our guitar technician would not be able to look at the instrument himself until Monday, I would have expected the salesman to go through some basic checks before you left. I hope you understand that, if the fault had been electrical, my sales staff are not permitted to attempt electrical repairs. I admit that I am disappointed with how the particular salesman dealt with the problem – it appears that instead of checking the basics (ie the lead & the amp), the individual involved has taken your comment about the possibility of an earth problem as fact & acted accordingly. We should have done better, and we did let you down. Just to rub salt in the wound, I have personally checked the bass and there is no fault with it - I can only assume that the cable that was being used had a poor earth connection. The very slight hum I got from the bass this morning was normal pick up hum – this was not loud, & went away when both coils on the bass were selected (which is normal). There was no noticeable reduction in the hum when you touched a metal part, and when we tested the bass on a meter, we couldn’t find any earth issues. As a result of your email, we are going to introduce a better system for customers in our basement to ring up to the main sales counter to ask for help. I am also asking our Guitar Technician to train all staff in a basic fault checking process so that we do our best to eliminate this sort of problem in the future. I would also like to do something as a gesture of goodwill & to restore your faith in Andertons. As you rightly say, Andertons has a great reputation in the music industry and whilst we clearly haven’t delivered a great experience in this instance, we genuinely do put customer service at the top of our priorities. I am in store every day this week (except Tuesday), including Saturday and I would like the opportunity to meet you & apologise in person for our mistake. Alternatively I am happy to call you if you another visit is inconvenient at this time. I am more than happy to offer you a very special discount on the Hot Rod bass, or send you some vouchers to use against a future purchase. Please let me know if you’re going to come down to the store so that I can make sure I’m here when you arrive. You can call me on the number below, or reply by email. Many thanks, and once again, please accept my sincere apologies for the service you received.

Don't forget the import taxes on top of the buying price and postage

Checking an old bank statement today I realised it was Andertons who sold me my pod and the service was quick and excellent. I don't doubt they are capable of being excellent but there is a lot to be said for lazy & disinterested Saturday staff. Again thanks for the well wishes - I may start a different thread on this for reasons that may become apparent.

Good to hear. As a recent covert to double bass I have 3 bits of advice that got from this site and consider essential. Apologies if you know all this but it may be useful to anyone reading the thread who is new to this and doesn't know; 1) Get a cheap tuition DVD as it will show you correct positions etc & iron out bad habits. Failing this (or better yet) bite the bullet and get a couple of lessons. It is different and it's just to prevent you cementing bad habits into your style at the early stages of you crossing over. 2) Get a powerball if you don't have one. You can pick up injuries easier so you need to train for match strength 3) Practice little and often - build it up. You'll have loads of fun. It really is great playing this style.

[quote name='retroman' post='629172' date='Oct 17 2009, 11:44 PM']All I can say is, I've seen 70's wall paper that's more tasteful!! [/quote] My problem, and I know it's wrong, is I quite like 70s wallpaper!

I really like the look of them, although not for me. I just can't believe how tiny they are when you see one in the flesh

[quote name='YouMa' post='628927' date='Oct 17 2009, 06:44 PM']Good luck with your op.[/quote] [quote name='The Funk' post='628941' date='Oct 17 2009, 07:01 PM']Yes, good luck with your operation. That kind of service sounds pretty standard these days. Someone actually talked to you - that doesn't even happen in the Bass Cellar.[/quote] [quote name='skankdelvar' post='628942' date='Oct 17 2009, 07:03 PM']Indeed, best wishes for your operation. Hope you find a Jag to your liking... FWIW, I've heard some [i]interesting[/i] stories about Andertons' amp repairs as well.[/quote] Thanks everyone. [quote name='Pete Academy' post='628946' date='Oct 17 2009, 07:06 PM']As someone who works in music retail, I think it was pretty bad service. Maybe they genuinely didn't have a guy who could sort out the problem on the premises? But at least total honesty would have been the best bet. We have a 'tech' guy who doesn't work Saturdays. I'm totally useless with electrical problems. However, we are lucky in the fact that our guitar repairer lives 5 mins away. They could have dealt with it much better.[/quote] One of my friends runs the local guitar shop & I spend a lot of time in there with him. There are occasional idiot customers but this level of service really is shocking & particularly towards someone trying to actually buy something. I have emailed them an edited version of the start of this thread. I'm not looking for discount but I do want the shop owner to know. I'm realistic, they must be good to keep the shop running from 1964 & it was a Saturday but still, not good enough!

The double bass is the best instrument I have ever owned, bar none. I wanted one for 15yrs which I can't say about any of the other instruments I've owned. However it is horrendous to cart around and it confuses 99% of soundmen. Your decision is definately a head verses heart decision and I can understand it. But I sympathise too.

I got up close and personal with some 09 Fender P USA basses today and they were great. Sorry to bring up older topics but it was just the cheeky price rise at the start of the credit crunch that I didn't like. Factories aside it's also down to stores to give the bass a tweak too so as it plays to it's fullest potential. The number of shops who don't do this is staggering (& I do appreciate we all have different tastes but you can tell when something has come out the box and just been put straight on the wall).

Please note there is a very impressive response from Andertons on page 2 of this thread posted by me but feel free to read on, the original point - I had to share this as I am still in disbelief. I've had a real bombshell of a week which has resulted in me having to have emergency surgery on Monday to remove a lump (fingers crossed etc)... Anyhow my wife has decided I could get a new instrument to help soften the blow. We went online and were looking at the Fender Jaguar Bass. Andertons had a good price and I liked the fact they were a family run business so we drove an hour plus to go and see them. I walked in and my initial impression was it was a packed out store with quite a decent selection of bass gear. Some guy was downstairs playing Muse on a bass. I saw the Jaguar bass & it looked good. Naively I thought I'd try it. I walked up the stairs to find two guys just sitting around in Andertons shirts. Now I would describe myself as looking like I have access to money i.e. I might not be rivalling Paul McCartney in the bank balance but I'm an adult who clearly has access to a credit card so purchasing is a serious option. Also I am polite and I like good manners. Hell, I'd even pass for a cash paying customer! I approached the two guys and said hello. Initially they responded but the moment I suggested I'd be keen to try a bass downstairs this immediately gained a look of horror - "But there is a guy downstairs playing!" said one. I was a bit surprised (waiting patiently is always an option in my book). However the guy got up behind the desk and said "You can play it unamplified". I was still a bit taken back as I'm sure Leo Fender designed his instruments to be played amplified but followed him back downstairs and he picked out the bass. It was pretty obvious to me the Muse fan wasn't a serious buyer from over 20yrs of going into guitar shops but I kept my thoughts to myself. However by luck the guy was finishing up so the assistant plugged the bass in for me and walked off. Within about 20 seconds of flipping the switches I noticed a pretty bad earthing problem. Not the end of the world but it was annoying. We then sat there for a good few minutes with nobody coming to help us. I left my hand off the strings so there was an almighty hum coming off the bass. Other than the earthing problem it was a great bass. A quick fix and I'd genuinely have bought it. Great neck, loads of tone and a nice weight with cool looks. However nobody wanted to come and speak with me. The hum was getting a couple of strange looks off of the non-bass playing Mums who were in the store. A shop assistant stuck his head around the corner eventually so I took my hand off the strings and said "Great bass but it clearly has an earthing problem". He agreed but looked keen to walk away. I explained I was in the market to buy today and liked the bass but clearly the earthing was an issue. He just didn't seem to be getting it. "Our technical guy is in on Monday and he could sort it for you then". I explained I was in hospital on Monday having an operation so Monday wasn't really a realistic prospect for me. This seemed to confuse him and he just repeated what he'd said. I did suggest that earthing wasn't a big fix and surely somebody from their many staff members may be able to help. He'd need to speak to his manager who was back Monday. I handed him the bass and walked out the shop. I can't think of a worse example of customer service from everyone I met and a better example of a store talking themselves out of a very easy sale. I've heard good things in the past about them but this is my first and last experience with them. Utterly pathetic. I haven't had service that bad since I was a teenager and that was a fair few years ago now. I wonder how far removed from the 1964 family business vision today's service was?

[quote name='Beedster' post='628427' date='Oct 16 2009, 11:59 PM']Damn, did I miss Magazine [/quote] Iplayer! and they'll be backaround in a moment

So we have a reformed Magazine with the white Jaguar bass, Paloma Faith's bass player sporting the P-bass and Wolfmother in the wings with the Jazz bass. 3 fine looking basses which collectively have 11 more strings than Seastick Steve is managing on right now!

[quote name='waynepunkdude' post='628262' date='Oct 16 2009, 08:05 PM']I have a dislike for on stage sunglasses, that is all.[/quote] Acceptable only at outdoor shows when it is sunny!

Pictures now up & looks like a good deal

Go for what you like. Fender Rumble don't have the best reputation but if you like it, go for it. I think there are a lot of great products around that price range these days. Cheap combo wise I have an Ampeg that is pretty decent, the Ashdown stuff is fine - there really is a lot out there

You;ve done well. £15 for a bass and the knob will only cost a few quid even if the pot is snapped

I always say this but the MIM Classic Series is stunning. The VM Squiers are great and rival the MIM entry level basses IMHO but the Classic Series raises the bar again. The whole series seems to be up a grade and I've played several.

Gotta bump this old thread as Dennis Dunaway is the bomb! He was crucial to my early bass listening. AC's original band was awesome. DD had really good tone & some amazing groove going on

[quote name='MythSte' post='626417' date='Oct 14 2009, 09:22 PM'][url="http://old.artscouncil.org.uk/takeitaway/"]Take it Away Scheme[/url] I'm not sure you can just get an amp on this, but i found the music shop to be most accomodating for getting round little things like that when i sorted mine out![/quote] Beat me to it. I've used this 3 times - it doesn't get better than 0% finance & yes, you can get amps on this

The Jaguar is supposed to be excellent but the active circuitry is it's weakness. I spent some time yesterday searching old threads on the Jaguar. I do like the look of them and from what I've heard they sound excellent too - however if it's an active bass you are looking for it would seem this is unlikely to be first choice.

Back in the day I had a Peavey combo from the 70s that I picked up for £50 , gigged to death & sold on 15yrs later for £100. Then I bought a Laney that I never liked. I do have an Ampeg BA115U combo that I am yet to use but I've recently got a decent vintage vibe set up... Now courtesy of Basschat, I have a 1978 Fender Bassman 135 head running into an Ampeg SVT Classic 115E

[quote name='Rowbee' post='624632' date='Oct 13 2009, 12:39 AM']"I doubt you'll find many vintage guitars or basses in such good condition, grab this while you can." I'm always willing to give the benefit of the doubt but I honestly can't see how it could be a typo.[/quote] As per the 2 replies below. If Clarky's assessment is right he could have typed 40 instead of 30. That was all I meant.