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Arrogant shop staff make my blood boil


ashgeezer
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Yesterday my girlfriend came home from shopping and told me she had been in the local music store looking to buy me something for christmas, she said the bloke behind the counter was the most ignorant and arrogant B****RD she had ever met who showed no interest whatsoever in helping her out.
My girlfriend is not musically minded and wouldnt know a lead guitar from a bass guitar or fiddle from a banjo, when she told me what shop she had been in, my reply was "you shouldn't have bothered" has i refuse to shop in this store for the same reason.
A good friend of mine is the same as he bought a guitar and amp from there a few years ago, £600 worth to be precise and all they wanted to do was take is money and get him out of the shop.

How do small music stores stay in business when they have staff like that on their books, their teachers are no better as my mate found out, half a dozen lessons listening to some smart arse guitar player show off with screaming solo's and learned sod all.

Like the title of the thread says
IT MAKES MY BLOOD BOIL.

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According to the girlfriend, she was looking for a bass dvd and picked up a guitar dvd, when she asked the fella at the counter he just said to her, "cant you read, this is for guitar not bass" like i said she has no idea when it comes to instruments, needless to say she left the dvd on the counder and walked out but if i know my girlfriend she would have said something else which would have been none to polite.

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[quote name='ashgeezer' post='360130' date='Dec 21 2008, 11:48 AM']According to the girlfriend, she was looking for a bass dvd and picked up a guitar dvd, when she asked the fella at the counter he just said to her, "cant you read, this is for guitar not bass" like i said she has no idea when it comes to instruments, needless to say she left the dvd on the counder and walked out [b]but if i know my girlfriend she would have said something else which would have been none to polite.[/b][/quote]

Excellent.

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It is quite incredible, isn't it!

I really don't get why these people feel they have to treat customers in this way - there is literally no advantage to behaving like this!

I went into a shop in Leeds (those of you from Leeds will know which one I'm talking about) to look at amp heads and cabs, since I'd been saving for one. I saw a really nice Eden setup (something like the world tour 1000 and a 4x10) and asked if I could have a play. I got the question 'are you going to buy it mate?'. WTF! How the hell do I know when I've never tried it! As soon as you mention your budget (specifically if it's large), you'll get all the help you need.

These people complain of the internet ruining their businesses. It's not, THEY ARE!

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Weird isn't it? There are quite a few shops where you walk in and are obviously interrupting their little clicky 'rehearsal' session!

I remember going to Soundcontrol to try some basses, I had a budget of £1500. I remember thinking 'what a dick' when he said he'd tune a Bongo for me and then preceded to flash through his repertoire of licks. Having been playing for well over 20 years, I think I can tune my own basses thankyouverymuch.

I walked out feeling cheated out of a decent buying experience.

My wife and I were setting up a little home studio and wanted a PC, interface and various bits and pieces. It was only at Digital Village that we placed an order due to feeling like the other two stores were just selling us what they wanted to sell, regardless of whether it was right for our purpose. DV were the only shop that seemed to think about stuff and offer alternatives with reasons why they'd recommend a certain piece over another. We spend £2500 with them.

G

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The last 2 basses i bought was from a store in blackburn (reidys) which is 30 miles away from my house and i went to pick up these basses from the store as their attitude was second to none, the first time i bought one they phoned me on my mobile to ask if i wanted directions to the shop as i hadn't been there before, needless to say i have bought quite a few things from their since and have sent other people there as well.
They couldnt do enough for me when i got their, dug out a decent bass amp to try the bass on, brilliant shop. this is before i would go and spend money in a shop 2 miles from where i live.

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[quote name='timloudon' post='360139' date='Dec 21 2008, 11:57 AM']I really don't get why these people feel they have to treat customers in this way - there is literally no advantage to behaving like this!

These people complain of the internet ruining their businesses. It's not, THEY ARE![/quote]

[quote name='ashgeezer' post='360115' date='Dec 21 2008, 11:31 AM']How do small music stores stay in business when they have staff like that on their books[/quote]

maybe they are money laundering fronts for organised crime? :)

Edited by MacDaddy
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[quote name='timloudon' post='360139' date='Dec 21 2008, 11:57 AM']These people complain of the internet ruining their businesses. It's not, THEY ARE![/quote]

+1

[quote name='ashgeezer' post='360151' date='Dec 21 2008, 12:09 PM']The last 2 basses i bought was from a store in blackburn (reidys) which is 30 miles away from my house and i went to pick up these basses from the store as their attitude was second to none, the first time i bought one they phoned me on my mobile to ask if i wanted directions to the shop as i hadn't been there before, needless to say i have bought quite a few things from their since and have sent other people there as well.
They couldnt do enough for me when i got their, dug out a decent bass amp to try the bass on, brilliant shop. this is before i would go and spend money in a shop 2 miles from where i live.[/quote]

+2

[url="http://www.haywardguitars.com/"]Haywards Guitars[/url] in Winchester is like that, I've got two music shops within 3miles of my house, but I make a point of doin a 45mile round trip here just for a set of bass strings rather than go to my local shops.

One's run by decent guys, but they have NO stock whatsoever. No decent leads, basses, strings, straps....FFS i called em yesterday to see if they had any straplocks, and they didn't but they would charge me £15 to get some Dunlops in if i liked (which I can get for £8) and it'd take two weeks!

The other shop's run by an arrogant guitard who I don't get on with, and it's a freakin nightmare to park so I just don't bother.

Brian Hayward's a great guy, has done a lot of work for me and I've always been pleased with the results. He's got a good range of stuff, and can get stuff in at good prices quickly to boot. Well worth a visit!

Edited by phil_the_bassist
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I have a theory with music shop staff

Having have advised on and put together quite a few PA’s for bands and entertainers, I have come to this conclusion. If a music shop pays shop wages they will be extremely lucky to get a pro engineer or musician,.
Saying that there are some very capable shop staff, with loads of knowledge more than capable of Turning pro but for one reason or the others choose not to.

Music shops attract wannabes with a attitude, the capable ones are confident in their own knowledge and ability to listen to a customer, and advise them accordingly

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[quote name='phil_the_bassist' post='360166' date='Dec 21 2008, 12:32 PM']+1



+2

[url="http://www.haywardguitars.com/"]Haywards Guitars[/url] in Winchester is like that, I've got two music shops within 3miles of my house, but I make a point of doin a 45mile round trip here just for a set of bass strings rather than go to my local shops.[/quote]

Their website is fantastic. Sounds like they are a good bunch of guys.


Many moons ago, There was a guy called Paul who used to work in the original Guitar Store in Glasgow, not the new one. They used to have all the rare and strange stuff of the day. He was a proper session guy and really helpful ( including giving me ex Hue & Cry bass player James Finnegan's telephone number so I could get some lessons when I was 15 ). He later went to Sound Control and was sorely missed when he left. That was when i realised how bad the shop actually was.

I had a budget of £2000 at the time and Sound Control had a lot of really good basses. A whole wall of Warwicks, Spectors and Fenders but none of them were playable. The actions were so low that even open strings buzzed against the frets.

When I asked the guy if he could adgust the action so that i could have the chance of playing it properly he told me that if I wanted to buy it [b]then[/b] he would adjust it for me. Bye.

I ended up going to Guitar Guitar and I think I bought a Rick

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[quote name='MacDaddy' post='360164' date='Dec 21 2008, 12:26 PM']So the following week I spent £2.5K at The Bass Merchant :) .[/quote]

Couldn't agree more. It's fairly local to me - about 35mins drive - and anytime I need anything, I go straight there.

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[quote name='ironside1966' post='360210' date='Dec 21 2008, 01:38 PM']Music shops attract wannabes with a attitude, the capable ones are confident in their own knowledge and ability to listen to a customer, and advise them accordingly[/quote]
Just like sound engineers then. :)

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My gf and I were in glasgow shopping yesterday and she commented how the staff at Reverb/SC gave her a vacant look when she asked any questions. It was only after they realised that she knew what she was talking about (she is a lead vocalist with 20 years experience playing in big bands/duos etc) that they actually bothered to show any interest.

Then went round the corner where the staff were more helpful at Rub-A-Dub and she bought me some Alesis studio monitors (for my crimbo) without a hitch - result!!

Guitar Guitar are very friendly and customer orientated imo and to that end the shop was mobbed with customers. Reverb was empty by comparison.

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I have 2 shops in my town both 10 mins walk away from my house. One is run by a very helpful and knowledgeable guy, a pro standard player who knows what players want and always gives good advice. The other is run by salesmen. Guess where i've spent £3000+ over the last few years?

The internet does have an adverse effect on small shops though, even the one's that are competitive and decent. For instance, i went into my local shop to get a Squier Jazz but he couldn't get the stock in as it all went to massive online bulk buyers. He had a few different Squier basses and guitars on order and still they haven't been sent.

I always try to support my local shop as i consider myself lucky to have it at such convenience, even if it means paying an extra few quid on a set of strings. If it closed i'd soon miss it

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I still make the 180 mile round trip to the shop in Northallerton. The guys in there are superb, they don't try and coax you into buying stuff you don't need and they've stopped me making some costly mistakes.
The nearest shops to me are in either Lincoln or Boston. I've been in them all and they're rubbish, with staff that can talk a good instrument but wouldn't actually recognise one if it smacked them on the head.

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There's a guitar shop round the corner from my mum's new house, guitar base in west bridgford, really nice bunch of guys there, they may not be the most knowledgable of people but they're pretty friendly and don't mind me having the occasional bash on a guitar or bass i probably won't buy, though i'd like to buy something from there in the future. Same with music inn and guitar and drum centre in nottingham, both pretty good places with good service.
Music room, however, is a totally different kettle of fish. I'd never buy anything from them, total bunch of twats that don't have a clue what they're talking about, but of course, they're ALWAYS right *rolls eyes*

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[quote name='Tinman' post='360308' date='Dec 21 2008, 04:30 PM']I still make the 180 mile round trip to the shop in Northallerton. The guys in there are superb, they don't try and coax you into buying stuff you don't need and they've stopped me making some costly mistakes.
The nearest shops to me are in either Lincoln or Boston. I've been in them all and they're rubbish, with staff that can talk a good instrument but wouldn't actually recognise one if it smacked them on the head.[/quote]
That one with the basses upstairs..2 tiers,down a small alleyway round the corner of Natwest? All Pianosynths and sheet music downstairs?

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