Judgmental music shops

[Marvin]

I like Bilbo have no loyalty to any retailer.

I took my bass into where I bought about a month ago because the clip on the battery compartment had broken - not my fault. Anyway took them ages to get a new part. When I took it in I got the usual, "oh the bloke dealing with that is off today". The owner turned to his minion and said well you can sort that one, to which he said "well if I've got time". It was a Tuesday morning, and I know they never ever get anyone in there on a Tuesday morning. I had other business in town and said it was fine I can come back at the end of the day despite the fact I was told it would be repaired while I waited.
Basically their attitude was awful, the guy I was dealing with at the beginning was very good, but these two just sucked.
The upshot is I won't be going back to purchase any major bits of equipment unless it's dirt cheap. Which it won't be.

With regards to kids being more disrespectful, from a personal point I think it's across the board. The rudest and most thoughtless people I encounter day to day are elderly, but on the flip side there are people of the same age who are the funniest, wittiest, kindest and warm hearted people I've met. It's just people.
One older customer of mine really gets up my nose, rude, arrogant and generally objectionable.

Edited April 1, 2010 by Marvin

[charic]

Best customer service for me has to be a place in cambridge called arena music.

Absolutely and totally friendly, on a weekly basis I went in asked if I could try out a specific bass and they even knowing that I wasnt looking to buy (as I had been in before) always asked if I wanted to just help myself and set myself up or whether I needed a hand. A while back I went in to be a Warwick Corvette that I had been trying out there for ages. Slightly more pricey but not OTT, when I got there it had been sold the day before. Gutted

[Rich]

[quote name='charic' post='793173' date='Apr 1 2010, 12:13 PM']A while back I went in to be a Warwick Corvette[/quote]
Now that's one hell of a fancy-dress outfit.

[Marvin]

[quote name='Rich' post='793180' date='Apr 1 2010, 12:19 PM']Now that's one hell of a fancy-dress outfit.[/quote]

I think pictures are needed

[Moos3h]

[quote name='Mog' post='792376' date='Mar 31 2010, 08:03 PM']As opposed to popping in around 5.45pm reeking of Hamburgers and waffling on about grabbing a bottle of Tescos finest????? Maybe thats what I've been doing wrong all along!
Worst service ever has to be Musicmaker in Dublin.[/quote]

Ah, you see I've had great service from them...might it be the English accent and they think I must be rich? If they only knew the truth.....!

[dave_bass5]

Best shop ive ever been in for trying gear was Chapels in Bond st (the old, big store).
We went in there one day after school (6th form), set two guitars and a bass amp up, got a drum machine running and recorded two songs on a portable cassette recorder, all without anyone coming over to us to tell us to stop.

ah, the good old days.

[4 Strings]

[quote name='Bilbo' post='793116' date='Apr 1 2010, 11:27 AM']I get that, I really do, but, in reality, I almost never try anything in music shops - haven't for at least 10 years. They almost never have anything I am interested in. I tried a Markbass amp/cab in Bass Merchant in Essex recently because I wanted to know if I could get a sound that could compete with my Eden without the weight. The answer was I couldn't so I walked away. Not their fault but certainly not mine. If I couldn't have tried it, I certainly wouldn't have bought it elsewhere. But, if I could save £700 by buying it elsewhere, I would have. Not because I am disloyal but because I can't AFFORD to throw away that much money to be 'loyal' to a perfect stranger. A tenner maybe, even £20 but £700? Not a chance.

To be blunt, if they closed every music shop in East Anglia, I wouldn't notice. They have closed every cd shop except HMV (who I never go to) and it had no consequence for me at all and I buy upwards of a hundred cds a year. If they didn't cater for me (no jazz) and only catered for 12 year old girls, why should I worry? Virgin et al had forced me onto the internet years before they collapsed.[/quote]


I agree for £700 (as I said), who wouldn't, glad you'd do the tenner, though. My local record shop would have loved a customer of >100 cds a year, and discounted to prove it. Its a hard decision, Tescos for a penny cheaper or keep the local greengrocer/chemist/butcher/baker open? I go for the personal whereever I can.

[Gust0o]

Odd that comment about the suit, now that I dwell on it.

Being a man of many contrasts, it started me thinking - and there is often a world of difference between what people will do when I'm suited and booted, with my work voice on; than when I'm in my civvies with my jeans around my arse.

I don't think that's necessarily limited to music shops mind! From taking the wife shopping around the various boutiques which seem to bankrupt me, I'll note that not many fashionistas love ripped Levis and Onitsukas. Shame!

The few shops we have around York have left me with a mixed bag of impressions. Awesome service and banter to disdain and a quick exit. Odd spectrum.

[gelfin]

A lot of interesting experiences and comments here.

I have worked in a specialist Hi Fi retailer for 25 years. So from my side of the counter I have met a broad spectrum of customers, from arrogant time wasters to those who have surprised me by buying big when I didn't expect it. Over the years I learned to treat every new customer with respect at first and try to be helpful ( whilst still trying to make a sale). So now if a suit comes in or Mr casual I don't differenciate until I have learned a bit about them and what they are after. Customers are our lifeblood. If you give one bad service they are likely to relate this to as many people as they can. Whereas a satisfied customer will only tell a select few.
So when I enter an instrument shop I hope to get the same service as we hopefully provide. This doesn't always happen. Like his one. I was stuck in slow traffic and noticed a music shop that I had not seen before. So I quickly pull over and park and enter shop. (They will remain nameless) There ae no other customers in the shop at this time. No one greets or acknowlegdses me. Oh well, I search for he bass section and as usual find it tucked away at the back of the shop. Not a great deal there to see but I see hanging up high a Thunderbird and am interested in it. All instruments have labels saying please do not touch them without assistance. I look over to the counter where 5 staff are talking, catch one's eye and gesture to the T Bird. I get ignored. I then decide to take down the bass and have a try out. No one seems to care. I want to buy it but my stubborness makes me walk out. I call a guitarist friend who lives in the area and tell him what happened. He knows the manager of the shop, calls him and explains what gives. Then tells me if I am prepared to go back they will do me a special deal to make up. I decide to go back but when I get there the manager has gone out but has told the staff to sort me out. Cut this story short now, service was still rubbish so I told the sales guy that I had been promised the bass at a price £300 below their retail. He just took my money, reluctantly and without checking with his manager. If they had treated me properly in the first instance I would probably have paid their price. This is because I believe that small shop deserve support if they give the service that makes us feel good.

Like I said earlier an annoyed customer will tell many and now I have done. I could carry on and tell about all the good experiences I have had but it will make my reply even longer. Like I said happy customers only tell a few.

Last thought. If we all start buying exclusively on the internet there won't be any shops left to visit. If you don't use it, lose it.

Thanks for listening

Edited April 1, 2010 by gelfin

[Uncle Balsamic]

A bit OT, but I always feel so awkward trying out gear in shops. I end up so distracted by this that I get no benefit from it.

[Mikey R]

[quote name='Gust0o' post='793417' date='Apr 1 2010, 03:46 PM']The few shops we have around York have left me with a mixed bag of impressions. Awesome service and banter to disdain and a quick exit. Odd spectrum.[/quote]

The difference I find is the shops with a good manager and regular staff are way better than the classical shop with thr guitar basement employing saturday staff.

In recent years Ive had excelent service from Mor in York, and had a few bargains too. A regular customer gets the best discounts.

[Mog]

[quote name='Moos3h' post='793230' date='Apr 1 2010, 12:55 PM']Ah, you see I've had great service from them...might it be the English accent and they think I must be rich? If they only knew the truth.....![/quote]
It had to happen to someone!! Best service in Dublin has always been Musician Inc. Now called X-Music, but theres no city centre outlet anymore.

[Tinman]

I'll say it again Rockbox in Northallerton.

I'm now in Lincolnshire but I'll always consider travelling back up there if there's something I need. The guys in there are just superb. They don't have a massive bass stock but what you see in the place is only about a third of what he actually has, you just have to ask.

[Jarhead]

[quote name='hellothere' post='792812' date='Apr 1 2010, 12:57 AM']The Soundcountrol in Derby (and whatever it was called before that) allways let people try things no hassle, me and my mates used to go in every weekend and they let us try out pedals, amps, basses/guitars except anything rare. Bearing in mind this was about 5 years ago when i was 15ish and was just with mates so it was pretty obvious we wern't gonna be buying most of the gear that was tryed out.

That's all by the by anyway as it is now closed down [/quote]

Sound Control is now Rattle And Drum Music, run by the previous owners of Rattle and Drum. I drop in every now and again to look at the bass and drum stuff. Great selection for bass, plenty of the usual Fenders, Squires, Peavey, etc. as well as some lovely Warwicks, a vintage T40, and some great Musicmans.

Zach

[budget bassist]

I think as long as you're polite in a lot of places, they don't mind you trying things out. A local shop in notts that i go into reasonably often to try stuff out is always more than happy to let me try things, but i try not to take the piss with it. I generally only buy small things from them, strings etc, but i know if i asked, they would more than likely let me try their top end stuff, but i don't bother because i know i won't buy it. I brought a friend in a while ago though, he asked to try a little blackstar valve amp, he asked to try it with a gibson les paul (he owns one), in a lot of shops, that might have been met with raised eyebrows and a "can't you use this epiphone instead?". But no, they let him use it, no questions asked. He tried the amp, and came back half an hour later and parted with £400 for the amp. It's a two way street, and customer service goes a long way.

By contrast, me and the same guy went into another local music shop about a year earlier (music room in victoria centre, yes i believe in naming and shaming) and asked to try a roland micro cube (yep, a £75 amp) and was asked by the sales assistant "are you going to buy it?" before he got one for him to try. Of course, he said yes, he tried the amp and then walked out and bought the amp from a different shop with less snooty sales staff.

I always treat the staff in shops with respect and always ask before trying an instrument and take off my belt/jacket etc when trying something out, and i'll try and make some light banter with the staff about gear, and i like to be treated with respect too. If i get asked "are you going to buy it?" before trying something, you can be damn sure i'm not going to now, to me it just seems rude, especially if it's a fairly cheap bit of kit. Besides, how do i know if i'm going to buy something before i've tried it? I try to be loyal to local shops too, there's one i always take all my repairs to, as i've always been treated well in there and had speedy service, as has everyone else i know that's been there. I wish i could say the same for some other local shops.

[hellothere]

[quote]Sound Control is now Rattle And Drum Music, run by the previous owners of Rattle and Drum. I drop in every now and again to look at the bass and drum stuff. Great selection for bass, plenty of the usual Fenders, Squires, Peavey, etc. as well as some lovely Warwicks, a vintage T40, and some great Musicmans.[/quote]

Rattle and drum used to be upstairs at that shop before it was a soundcontrol then it moved to London Road, i'd seen it had moved back driving past but thought it would just be drum stuff.

Anyway I'll defintly take a look next time i'm in town.

And Chellaston is a 10min drive from where I live!

Edited April 3, 2010 by hellothere

[Pete Academy]

[quote name='budget bassist' post='794788' date='Apr 3 2010, 01:26 AM']I think as long as you're polite in a lot of places, they don't mind you trying things out. A local shop in notts that i go into reasonably often to try stuff out is always more than happy to let me try things, but i try not to take the piss with it. I generally only buy small things from them, strings etc, but i know if i asked, they would more than likely let me try their top end stuff, but i don't bother because i know i won't buy it. I brought a friend in a while ago though, he asked to try a little blackstar valve amp, he asked to try it with a gibson les paul (he owns one), in a lot of shops, that might have been met with raised eyebrows and a "can't you use this epiphone instead?". But no, they let him use it, no questions asked. He tried the amp, and came back half an hour later and parted with £400 for the amp. It's a two way street, and customer service goes a long way.

By contrast, me and the same guy went into another local music shop about a year earlier (music room in victoria centre, yes i believe in naming and shaming) and asked to try a roland micro cube (yep, a £75 amp) and was asked by the sales assistant "are you going to buy it?" before he got one for him to try. Of course, he said yes, he tried the amp and then walked out and bought the amp from a different shop with less snooty sales staff.

I always treat the staff in shops with respect and always ask before trying an instrument and take off my belt/jacket etc when trying something out, and i'll try and make some light banter with the staff about gear, and i like to be treated with respect too. If i get asked "are you going to buy it?" before trying something, you can be damn sure i'm not going to now, to me it just seems rude, especially if it's a fairly cheap bit of kit. Besides, how do i know if i'm going to buy something before i've tried it? I try to be loyal to local shops too, there's one i always take all my repairs to, as i've always been treated well in there and had speedy service, as has everyone else i know that's been there. I wish i could say the same for some other local shops.[/quote]

Good post.

[Pete Academy]

A woman and her daughter came into the shop a couple of days ago to buy an acoustic guitar. To cut a long story short, I knocked down the price of the guitar from £380 to £250 to match her budget (we had a special deal from the supplier), knocked £10 off a case, and threw in strap, lead and picks for free.

She asked if I would put new strings on, as the guitar had been played by the general public. I did this for her.

I got an email today saying she wasn't happy with the sound, as it was now 'clangy' and didn't sound like it did with the original strings. She also said she had found out that the original strings were D'Addario and demanded I re-fit those strings instead of the Rotosound I used.

I politely informed her that any new strings would probably sound 'clangy' compared to the previous ones fitted, and that as I had already given her a massive discount and thrown in freebies, I could not give her another set of free strings.

I'm waiting to hear from her. She probably won't be happy.

Some days you just can't win.

[JordanRLS]

[quote name='Pete Academy' post='794888' date='Apr 3 2010, 10:37 AM']A woman and her daughter came into the shop a couple of days ago to buy an acoustic guitar. To cut a long story short, I knocked down the price of the guitar from £380 to £250 to match her budget (we had a special deal from the supplier), knocked £10 off a case, and threw in strap, lead and picks for free.

She asked if I would put new strings on, as the guitar had been played by the general public. I did this for her.

I got an email today saying she wasn't happy with the sound, as it was now 'clangy' and didn't sound like it did with the original strings. She also said she had found out that the original strings were D'Addario and demanded I re-fit those strings instead of the Rotosound I used.

I politely informed her that any new strings would probably sound 'clangy' compared to the previous ones fitted, and that as I had already given her a massive discount and thrown in freebies, I could not give her another set of free strings.

I'm waiting to hear from her. She probably won't be happy.

Some days you just can't win.[/quote]

Some people are never happy. Things like that really get on my nerves! Especially after you gave her such a good deal.

Edited April 3, 2010 by JordanRLS

[hellothere]

This thread reminds me of this sketch...

[Chris2112]

I have to say, I recently had a seriously good buying experience at Guitar Guitar in Newcastle. Before I had even walked into the shop, I said to my brother "If we find something cool in here, we'll just buy it on a whim".

Upon entering, I spotted a Fender Malmsteen strat in one of the private rooms. When my brother asked to play it, he wasn't treat with any disdain or cheek, despite being a lad in his early 20's wearing sports clothing. Similarly, I had turned up in my trackies with my fell running shoes on! The sales assistant had no issues with us trying the guitar, he asked my brother what kind of amp he used at home and set and amp up for him. He even spent 5 minutes explaining the amp so my brother would be able to get the best out of it!

After he'd tried to guitar, we said we'd go and think about buying it over lunch. There was no snootiness or anything, and my brother did go back the next day to buy the guitar. I was really pleased, I felt like as customers we'd been looked after. We'd been given the guitar, a great amp and a private room to play in, where you can turn the amp up to a nice level.

Really great stuff, and I'll certainly be shopping there again I think!

[fatgoogle]

[quote name='Mog' post='792376' date='Mar 31 2010, 08:03 PM']As opposed to popping in around 5.45pm reeking of Hamburgers and waffling on about grabbing a bottle of Tescos finest????? Maybe thats what I've been doing wrong all along!
Worst service ever has to be Musicmaker in Dublin.[/quote]


+1 About musicmaker, horrible shop, and very overpriced. Bought my ashdown drive+ for 90 euro their only to realise that its like 40 online, horrible. Have you been in their when the two shop assistants have just been sitting aroundjamming 12 bar blues, and then nothing happens. You cant even ask to try stuff.

Its even worse being a 17 year old teenager, they know generally that you arent going to buy that 1500 euro stingray you want to try. I have a horrible time in music shops.

[Doddy]

The only time I've ever had a problem in a music shop,is in a certain shop in Birmingham-I won't name them
but it's opposite New Street Station and sounds similar to Fair Deal Music.
I been in to the shop numerous times and never had any problems,but on this occasion the guys in the shop
wouldn't let me go look upstairs where the Basses were because I was wearing an ankle length coat.If they'd have asked
me if I minded removing it or something I would've done,but they didn't....just that I couldn't go upstairs because of my coat.
This will be about 3 or 4 years ago,so it wasn't like I was kid or anything.
So,I just walked down the road and spent my money in Sound Control instead.

[skankdelvar]

[quote name='Doddy' post='795377' date='Apr 3 2010, 10:55 PM']on this occasion the guys in the shop wouldn't let me go look upstairs where the Basses were because I was wearing an ankle length coat[/quote]



[size=1]Under pressure from their label, Doddy's band debuted their new 'image' with mixed feelings. [/size]

Edited April 3, 2010 by skankdelvar

[Doddy]