Dr. Bass Customer Satisfaction

[funkometer]

I have a friend here in Birmingham, who is a TB member. He ordered a Dr.Bass cab after hearing mine. He has not received his cab or a refund, and its been more than 4 years!

[One Drop]

Anyone still thinking of ordering a cab from Proctor Bass?

Didn't think so.

[bcb123]

OK, I think my saga may be over, but who knows? Thanks to the advise from this forum, I held firm on the Paypal dispute at each stage of the game. Once that was in place for a few days the emails and phone calls started flowing again. He kept trying to get me to drop the dispute at every turn. I finally got the 2 cabs about a month after placing the order and they looked great, but the 2 way cab had a broken crossover. Marc assured me he would send another but at the same time was letting PP know that he'd held up his end and they escalated it. At that point, I pushed for a claim and a change from not received to damaged-not as described. This got him upset but motivated and I had the crossover 2 days later. What an ordeal, with 30 some emails, 10 or more texts and about that many phone calls and excuses and statements about all he was doing for me, etc. The new cabs are truly first rate in sound, construction and design and I'm actually looking forward to gigging with them very soon. The process of obtaining them however was a true test of will. He's a real smooth talker and was very nice to me (most of the time) but the words didn't always match the actions, so it was a good thing I was prepared for the worst. At times I felt very manipulated but never let on that I knew better than to give in or sit back and hope. I will never know if he was truly going to honor his side of the deal had I not held a Paypal gun to his head the whole time. I also don't know how I feel about displaying his nameplates, so for now at least, I've covered them up with a word cut from one vinyl band stickers. When asked where I got the "Honky Tonk" speakers, I'll just respond, "brother, you don't want to know".

[B-string]

I'm so glad it worked out! If you had not come here and stuck to your guns chances are 99% all you would have is an empty bank account! He can smooth talk, too bad he can't get cabs done as well.

[catcauphonic]

Originally Posted by bcb123

OK, I think my saga may be over, but who knows? Thanks to the advise from this forum, I held firm on the Paypal dispute at each stage of the game. Once that was in place for a few days the emails and phone calls started flowing again. He kept trying to get me to drop the dispute at every turn. I finally got the 2 cabs about a month after placing the order and they looked great, but the 2 way cab had a broken crossover. Marc assured me he would send another but at the same time was letting PP know that he'd held up his end and they escalated it. At that point, I pushed for a claim and a change from not received to damaged-not as described. This got him upset but motivated and I had the crossover 2 days later. What an ordeal, with 30 some emails, 10 or more texts and about that many phone calls and excuses and statements about all he was doing for me, etc. The new cabs are truly first rate in sound, construction and design and I'm actually looking forward to gigging with them very soon. The process of obtaining them however was a true test of will. He's a real smooth talker and was very nice to me (most of the time) but the words didn't always match the actions, so it was a good thing I was prepared for the worst. At times I felt very manipulated but never let on that I knew better than to give in or sit back and hope. I will never know if he was truly going to honor his side of the deal had I not held a Paypal gun to his head the whole time. I also don't know how I feel about displaying his nameplates, so for now at least, I've covered them up with a word cut from one vinyl band stickers. When asked where I got the "Honky Tonk" speakers, I'll just respond, "brother, you don't want to know".

That's truly an awesome end to your (or)deal. Though I myself don't have a dog in this fight with him, I've been following these threads regarding his dealings, & I always root for the underdog

Doesn't he have an account here? So he may already have known about the advice you were given. It doesn't take much digging to search for any current threads or posts with his own name in them.

Glad everything worked out for you, & hopefully it does for others who are owed as well. I would totally cover up or detach that nameplate if it were me too.

[Munjibunga]

Originally Posted by bcb123

OK, I think my saga may be over, but who knows? Thanks to the advise from this forum, I held firm on the Paypal dispute at each stage of the game. Once that was in place for a few days the emails and phone calls started flowing again. He kept trying to get me to drop the dispute at every turn. I finally got the 2 cabs about a month after placing the order and they looked great, but the 2 way cab had a broken crossover. Marc assured me he would send another but at the same time was letting PP know that he'd held up his end and they escalated it. At that point, I pushed for a claim and a change from not received to damaged-not as described. This got him upset but motivated and I had the crossover 2 days later. What an ordeal, with 30 some emails, 10 or more texts and about that many phone calls and excuses and statements about all he was doing for me, etc. The new cabs are truly first rate in sound, construction and design and I'm actually looking forward to gigging with them very soon. The process of obtaining them however was a true test of will. He's a real smooth talker and was very nice to me (most of the time) but the words didn't always match the actions, so it was a good thing I was prepared for the worst. At times I felt very manipulated but never let on that I knew better than to give in or sit back and hope. I will never know if he was truly going to honor his side of the deal had I not held a Paypal gun to his head the whole time. I also don't know how I feel about displaying his nameplates, so for now at least, I've covered them up with a word cut from one vinyl band stickers. When asked where I got the "Honky Tonk" speakers, I'll just respond, "brother, you don't want to know".

Congratulations! Your perseverence is a testament to your will. And handled with class, too.

[staccatogrowl]

Originally Posted by bcb123

OK, I think my saga may be over, but who knows? Thanks to the advise from this forum, I held firm on the Paypal dispute at each stage of the game. . .

Very glad this worked out on your behalf. You are one of the few that has gone to battle with Serio and won.

The Paypal dipute/claim mechanism appears to be the leverage you needed for a successful deal with him.

Unfortunately, the Paypal route is very stressful, with no guarantee that you will prevail every time.

The last bit of info I'll share is to always fund your Paypal transaction with your VISA card. A VISA chargeback is an added, potent method of protecting your funds. VISA will always trump Paypal in Reason Code 30: Services Not Provided or Merchandise Not Received, or Reason Code 53: Not as Described or Defective Merchandise situations, if Paypal decides against you. However, the timing is important. Don't ever let a failed transaction go beyond 30 days.

[catcauphonic]

Originally Posted by staccatogrowl

The last bit of info I'll share is to always fund your Paypal transaction with your VISA card. A VISA chargeback is an added, potent method of protecting your funds. VISA will always trump Paypal in Reason Code 30: Services Not Provided or Merchandise Not Received, or Reason Code 53: Not as Described or Defective Merchandise situations, if Paypal decides against you. However, the timing is important. Don't ever let a failed transaction go beyond 30 days.

Does MasterCard not the same policy? I'd check for myself but all that fine print makes my brain hurt

[staccatogrowl]

I would check with your MC Bank. . . Can't make a blanket statement for them. . . My guess is that they have a similar policy. . .

[bcb123]

I didn't know if Marc might be lurking here, so once I started the dispute I went quiet until it was over. However, if he is listening now, here's what I want to tell him:

"Marc, you have a great product and dealing with you directly on the technical side of things was a pleasure. However, I believe your real strengths lie in design and development and not in business and customer service in any capacity what so ever. You simply can not do it all and that is where I believe you run into trouble. You could be a big success if you had other people handling the production, shipping, marketing, etc. By success I mean long term business stability and delivery of a quality product in a timely fashion, and not flying by the seat of your pants until you hit the fan and screwing over your customers in the process. You need to find a backer and partner up with some strong business minded people (collage kids might do) and in the process, go back and make right all of the previous wrongs you've committed. You will have to swallow some of that abundant pride of yours and concentrate on what you do best and leave the business side of things to those who can deliver. It will not be easy and you will have to deal with your trust and finance issues along the way. Then and only then will you really become successful. But if you remain on the same old road you appear to still be on, you will continue to struggle and face your customers as adversaries and will ultimately be the biggest loser in the Dr. Bass story."

[Rockin Mike]

Originally Posted by B-string

You would need to find out if your state supports a "cooling off" period. Some states it is 72 hours. If your state has no "Right to cancel", you will just need to see this through or you may loose your funds.

FWIW the term is "Right of Recission"

[mjac28]

I'm thinking of ordering one just to see what will happen the curiosity is killing me I want to talk to this guy and get one of these magical cabs.

[5StringPocket]

There is definitely no magic and there are much better and more reputable builders out there. I've never received my 15/6 cab after 3 years and have just moved on. Why anyone would consider doing business with Dr. Bass after these well documented multiple rip-offs is beyond me...

[cybersnyder]

Originally Posted by mjac28

I'm thinking of ordering one just to see what will happen the curiosity is killing me I want to talk to this guy and get one of these magical cabs.

I have the same evil desire. I don't know what it is. Maybe the desire to obtain something that you can't get?

[B-string]

If you just like to send your money away with no hope of receiving anything in return......I can give you my email

[AMp'D.2play]

I played through one of his 15s yesterday at a local shop. It was used so it was well within my budget for what I was looking for. But after reading about his shenanigans here on TB, I was hard pressed to give it serious consideration, even though Marc would not have seen any of the $$ from the transaction.

I also wondered if his more recent cabs ... what few he's actually delivered on ... may have been of lesser quality than the older ones that received such rave reviews, what with his financial "situation". Who knows what he's using to piece his cabs together these days?!

Of course, if it blew me away, I would've bought it, and promptly removed the name badge. But I'm kinda glad it didn't.

[Jeff Scott]

Originally Posted by AMp'D.2play

I also wondered if his more recent cabs ... what few he's actually delivered on ... may have been of lesser quality than the older ones that received such rave reviews, what with his financial "situation". Who knows what he's using to piece his cabs together these days?!

The last one I got from Marc, about 2 years ago or so with the very generous support and help from a great TB member, was an excellent cabinet with top quality parts and materials. I thought the sound was superb; the reason I sold it was that I no longer wanted anything that smacked of Dr. Ass in any way. The buyer of that cabinet got a great deal IMO as I was willing to take a loss on it to have it out of my life.

[Session1969]

I wasn't going to bring this up but about three years ago I was looking for a bass cab and I emailed Avatar and Dr. Bass. about a cab suggestion. Avatar got back back to me first and I ordered a 2-12 neo. A couple days later Marc from Dr. Bass called me and when I told him I already ordered from avatar. He asked how long ago I ordered and mentioned that I was still in my rescission period to cancel with avatar and place an order with him instead. I picked up on his slyness. I didn't know about Talkbass then, either.

[bcb123]

When I explained what was going on with the dispute and the cabs to my wife, I always referred to him as "Dr. Moriarty", with me being a bumbling type Watson facing him, but not alone since this forum served as my Holmes. Perhaps that's giving him too much credit but it did seem that the game was afoot! To those wanting to "test" this process with the hope of winning against Mr. Marc, I do not recommend doing that and do recommend spending your hard earned dollars elsewhere. I actually got started on this by considering the idea of putting crossovers into my Avatar cabs. But then I realized that I'm tired of the rat fir acquiring cat hair, leaves, gumballs and pine needles in transit from the shed to my car trunk and then dealing with that mess at my gigs. I decided that I wanted something else and that I might sell the Avatars and my 2 Markbass cabs for the same reason. I would never willingly have gone through this ordeal, so please do NOT let me be the inspiration for doing that yourself or let your curiosity get the better of you. I don't think any cabs on earth are that good and if I had it to do over again I would absolutely have taken a different path. I had no sonic reasons to dislike the Avatars, even with the stock crossovers and the Markbass cabs are totally fine except for that durn yellow and for me, the rear porting is a bit of a trade off. So I (now regrettably, damn you GAS!) went looking for one "do it all cab" and ended up with way more than I bargained for. Now that you mention it, an Avatar 212 with something other that rat fir on it would have been a fine alternative.

[JimmyM]

Originally Posted by mjac28

I'm thinking of ordering one just to see what will happen the curiosity is killing me I want to talk to this guy and get one of these magical cabs.

Hell, order one from me, then! I'll make you the most magical cab you never saw!