Thomann - How long to sort a problem?

[silentbob]

Received my new mini rig on Tuesday of this week, all good except that one of the bolts that go through the side of the cabinet to secure the grill in place is protruding. On closer inspection it looks like the hole in the cabinet has been drilled in slightly the wrong place and somebody has tried to screw the bolt in at an angle and ended up cross threading it meaning it sticks out by about 5mm. I did try to re-seat the bolt but it just ends up in the same place, locked up solid.
Anyway, I emailed Thomann on Tuesday night to explain the problem and received a reply the next day asking for photos of the bolt so that they could assess the problem. These were sent to them on Wednesday night and that's the last I've heard. I sent an email at lunchtime today asking if they had an update for me, but have still heard nothing.
Going on previous threads, I was led to believe that Thomann's customer service was pretty sh*t hot, so just wondering if I should have heard something by now, or whether I'm just being a bit paranoid that they may be avoiding answering me. What do you guys think?

[Silvia Bluejay]

In my experience they are crap on email but super-efficient on the phone. Get thee on to skype and talk to them.

[Lozz196]

I bought a cab from them, which I returned, and from the initial e-mail I sent, the response time was within 48 hours - as was the rest of my dealings with them. Not super quick, but no mix-ups or problems, so very efficient.

[Silvia Bluejay]

They reply to emails with a delay of at least 24 hours, even if you respond to their reply within 30 seconds - so the delays mount and mount and it takes a few days to do something that in this country would be solved in minutes. But I can't fault them on the phone, not just for sales but for customer service as well. They all speak good English, some of them are clearly native, so language shouldn't be a problem.

[silentbob]

Thanks, as long as I know that this is the norm than I'm happy to wait for them to get back to me.

[heminder]

i've never contacted them for any problems, but i've sent them generic queries.
i usually get an email back within the next 2-3 days.

[Clarky]

I was sent a faulty combo and it took over 3 weeks to get refunded after I returned it. I was pretty p*ssed by the time the money arrived as I emailed them about half a dozen times badgering them for the money that was rightfully mine. Their only defense was their claim that they were under-staffed in the returns dept. This [i]may[/i] be true of course and could be the issue that you are running into. Anyway, hope you get dealt with more quickly than I was.

[pietruszka]

I recently ordered a PA system with them. All arrived as expected, but the grub screw things for the speaker stands had smashed plastic handles on them. I took some pics and emailed them the same lunch time part of the day askin if they could possibly replace just those bits. 3 hours later I get an email confirming that they had some replacements posted out free of charge.

Chase them up or ring them. Don't mention the war.




Dan

[silentbob]

[quote name='Clarky' timestamp='1336770561' post='1650978']
I was sent a faulty combo and it took over 3 weeks to get refunded after I returned it. I was pretty p*ssed by the time the money arrived as I emailed them about half a dozen times badgering them for the money that was rightfully mine. Their only defense was their claim that they were under-staffed in the returns dept. This [i]may[/i] be true of course and could be the issue that you are running into. Anyway, hope you get dealt with more quickly than I was.
[/quote]

After a replacement rather than a refund as the cabinet was part of an amp/cab bundle deal. Hopefully get it sorted soon.

[mrtcat]

My experience is also that they may not be super fast but they are reliable and I'd be amazed if this doesn't get sorted shortly. Hope it does as I know how frustrating it is if something isn't quite right with a new rig.

[EssentialTension]

When they replaced a damaged stand for me it was about fourteen days from my initial email requesting a replacement to receipt of the replacement but those fourteen days included Chrstmas and New Year.

[Mylkinut]

A bit off topic, but my Mum actually works for Thomanns on their international hotline. The reason emails get a delayed response is because they get a fair few a day (!) and all of them are answered by an actual person who speaks the language the email was written in. Naturally, that stacks up fast, especially around deals or Christmas. They also answer the phones (so many of you have probably spoken to her) so if you want things sorted it's best to give them a call rather than send an email.

Be nice though, no shouting at my Mum

[Silvia Bluejay]

For my most recent purchases I've dealt with Jessica Wilson and Cristina Szlopp there - both extremely nice, and both of them remembered the female bass player from London!

Edited May 12, 2012 by bluejay

[Mylkinut]

[quote name='Johnston' timestamp='1336840986' post='1651830']
Can we ask for her and get a bc discount
[/quote]

She told me she couldn't give discounts, so I tried the I'm-your-son angle. She was having none of it

[silentbob]

Quick update, have sent a couple of emails back and forth. Thomann offered a discount on the amp bundle, but didn't say how much, so i wrote back saying that was fine as long as it was enough to to cover all costs of getting the unit repaired over here.
They then e-mailed back to say all I would need is a tube of Loctite 243 screw lock to prevent the nut from coming undone, no mention about the fact that the nut will still be protruding from the cab by about 7mm.
I have requested a replacement, let's wait to see what happens.
Have to say, this is the first time I have ordered from Thomann, and only did so because of their reputation on here for good customer service, but so far I have been less than impressed. Hopefully they will redeem themselves by organizing a speedy pick-up and redelivery of the cab.

[Silvia Bluejay]

Keep in mind that they won't send out the new one until they have taken delivery of the defective one you're sending back.

They told me so when I received a new bass guitar with a scratch, and complained, and asked what my options were. I wasn't offered a discount (I would probably have accepted it as the scratch was only little).

What I did in the end was ask for a refund on the scratched bass, send it back, and at the same time order an identical new one from the website. That saved me a couple of extra days' wait, I suppose.

It was a bit of a hassle, but then again, they're in Germany and delivery takes longer than popping down to your local music shop - which doesn't exist any more anyway...

Edited May 15, 2012 by bluejay

[lettsguitars]

Thomann. ugh. They have taken payment details from me for items that are out of stock with the idea that they will take the money when the item is in stock, I think not. Also delivery times to the uk are not the best.

[stoker]

I personally have never had any trouble with Thomann, in fact I have always been impressed with the level and speed of service.

[andrewrx7]

Slightly off topic, but do you get charged import taxes on things ordered from Thomann?

[Silvia Bluejay]

When you make a purchase through the English language site, they state that the price of each item is inclusive of 20% UK VAT, so I guess that's that. They charge your credit card in Euros, and the amount is the price shown on the item's page. They also provide a conversion in pounds, but that's only indicative - the exchange rate applied will be that on the day they charge your credit card (when they ship the item).

Edited May 16, 2012 by bluejay

[silentbob]

So Thomann emailed me a postage label to send back the cab. Have to take it to a post office though which is a bit of a pain in the ass as it isn't always possible to park close to one of these. Thankfully the cab's a very lightweight 1x15", but still awkward to move when boxed (especialy as I can't let the magnet get too close to my pacemaker). Christ knows what I would have done if it were a 8x10" or bigger. Surely it would be easier to just get the courier to collect it when they drop the replacement.

[Silvia Bluejay]

When I sent back my scratched bass I asked them (on the phone) for a courier to collect it from my door, as i haven't got a car, and they obliged. You may still be in time to change the arrangement if you call them?

[silentbob]

I did request a courier pick up, but was just emailed the form. Never mind, it's already on it's way back to them. Just seems a pain in the arse that you should be expected to lug a speaker cabinet to the nearest post office. Don't know what I would have done if I'd had to return the head aswell. Don't like the idea of asking somebody to watch parcel A while I pop back to the car for parcel B. Guess I'm learning my Thomann lesson the hard way

[Silvia Bluejay]

Hm, I suppose I must have pestered them in a more annoying way than you did, so that they wanted to get me off their backs quickly, and accepted all my requests
I would still recommend talking to them on the phone as opposed to emailing (except for confirmations). Seems to work better.

Let us know how it goes with the replacement. Good luck.

[Clarky]

[quote name='silentbob' timestamp='1337388486' post='1659353']
I did request a courier pick up, but was just emailed the form. Never mind, it's already on it's way back to them. Just seems a pain in the arse that you should be expected to lug a speaker cabinet to the nearest post office. Don't know what I would have done if I'd had to return the head aswell. Don't like the idea of asking somebody to watch parcel A while I pop back to the car for parcel B. Guess I'm learning my Thomann lesson the hard way
[/quote]
This is exactly what happened with me with the faulty Markbass combo. I also was not too chuffed to have to drive to a Post Office, lugging it along (pretty heavy when boxed up), and then queue for 20 minutes behind 27 grannies and grandads getting their weekly savings cash out .....