Musician's friend strikes again.

[Barcode31]

If you haven't had trouble with Musician's Friend, count your blessings. I got a gift certificate from my wife she bought on the MF website for 300. That was on the 8th. I placed an order for a LX405 5 string rogue. A musicians gear case and a planet waves locking strap. I had enough left over to get 3-5 day premium shipping.

I waited til monday and had no info on the order. So I called them. They determined that the e cert I used to get the shipping wasnt valid. I said its the same one. So I was on hold for 10 minutes. Then the guy comes back and says we will send an email to the certificate department and it should be shipped out tommorow.

I called back later and said my extra shipping was shot now and they gave me 2 day air. So I call the next day. They tell me that I will have to call the certificate department. Then have them cancel and reissue the certificate and redo my order from scratch this is day 6. So I call the cert dept. They say we are very sorry my supervisor will handle this and it will ship first thing in the morning. Ten minutes later I get a backorder email on the strap. I called and ask if they refund the price if the original strap would it cover a planet waves satriani strap? They did this and I got a shipping notice within 10 minutes.

Day 7 I call and the rep I get says it being boxed up right now and there should be no problem it will go out today or first thing in the morning.

6:00 pm day 8 still nothing. I call. The rep says its on the truck waiting for the load to finish up. Then I get a call that I can't answer because I'm using the bathroom. Its a rep from their warehouse. They were gonna put the bass in the case to make it safer shipping. The case doesnt fit. The website gives no information that would tell me this. So the rep said he already had permission to give me a B195 coffin case with no extra charge. If I could just call back and ok that. The number he called from couldnt recieve outside calls apparently. I call customer service again. Everytime they put me on hold to "get with the supervisor.", The guy says they can't do that without cancelling the old order and putting in a new order and charging me for the extra on the case. He then said my best bet would be to let him put this on store credit and cancel this order and I should get and email saying I have the credit back and then I could replace the order on Tuesday. This was Friday of the week after I placed the order. I said whatever.

I call back immediately. I tell the rep whats going on. He says he sees all the notes and is very sorry but the can give me store credit. I lost it at this point. I said I have no interest in placing another order just to see how badly you can fail again. I want my money back. They said we will both have to be on the phone because she opened an account to buy the certificate.

I went to her office. She owns her own tax firm and deals with the IRS regularly. I told her we needed to call to get her money back. She called customer service. She said let me speak to a supervisor. The girl said is there anything I can help you with? She said no just put me straight to a supervisor. She was calm and sounding suprisingly sweet. She asked the supervisor. Do you have the authority to force shipping and make things right. He said yes. She said my husband placed an order for valentines day and they have been giving him thebrun around. When he looked at my order he said Jesus Christ I see all the notes on here. So he put in a new order.

I have the Satriani strap already in shipping. The bass and a coffin case suppose to be shipped Next Day on Monday. And another strap on backorder. I didnt get what I wanted when I wanted it. They didnt do anything right by me. But I have ended up with $400 dollars worth of stuff for $300 dollars.

[spiritbass]

I'd say you EARNED the additional $100. I've never dealt with MF. I've ordered items from Music 123 without problems, but never an instrument.

[JxBass]

Originally Posted by spiritbass

I'd say you EARNED the additional $100. I've never dealt with MF. I've ordered items from Music 123 without problems, but never an instrument.

They're the same company

[Ryan L.]

Sorry to hear about your troubles.

I've bought a TON of gear through MF, and have never had an issue that I can recall. I've had nothing but good experiences shopping/buying there.

[spiritbass]

Originally Posted by JxBass

They're the same company

I've heard the same rumor...

[autumn_spirit_1]

MF, Music 123, Guitar Center, Gibson, Epiphone, Ect ect all owned by the same crappy company. I don't use them or buy there stuff because they only care about money and screwing over the customer. I suggest samash or a smaller mom and pop business. I paid over 2 grand for a Gibson les Paul that lost it's headstock and Gibson wouldn't fix it and guitar center wouldn't do a return. Worst company ever. Avoid!!!

[ChBaker801]

Originally Posted by Barcode31

If you haven't had trouble with Musician's Friend, count your blessings. I got a gift certificate from my wife she bought on the MF website for 300. That was on the 8th. I placed an order for a LX405 5 string rogue. A musicians gear case and a planet waves locking strap. I had enough left over to get 3-5 day premium shipping.

I waited til monday and had no info on the order. So I called them. They determined that the e cert I used to get the shipping wasnt valid. I said its the same one. So I was on hold for 10 minutes. Then the guy comes back and says we will send an email to the certificate department and it should be shipped out tommorow.

I called back later and said my extra shipping was shot now and they gave me 2 day air. So I call the next day. They tell me that I will have to call the certificate department. Then have them cancel and reissue the certificate and redo my order from scratch this is day 6. So I call the cert dept. They say we are very sorry my supervisor will handle this and it will ship first thing in the morning. Ten minutes later I get a backorder email on the strap. I called and ask if they refund the price if the original strap would it cover a planet waves satriani strap? They did this and I got a shipping notice within 10 minutes.

Day 7 I call and the rep I get says it being boxed up right now and there should be no problem it will go out today or first thing in the morning.

6:00 pm day 8 still nothing. I call. The rep says its on the truck waiting for the load to finish up. Then I get a call that I can't answer because I'm using the bathroom. Its a rep from their warehouse. They were gonna put the bass in the case to make it safer shipping. The case doesnt fit. The website gives no information that would tell me this. So the rep said he already had permission to give me a B195 coffin case with no extra charge. If I could just call back and ok that. The number he called from couldnt recieve outside calls apparently. I call customer service again. Everytime they put me on hold to "get with the supervisor.", The guy says they can't do that without cancelling the old order and putting in a new order and charging me for the extra on the case. He then said my best bet would be to let him put this on store credit and cancel this order and I should get and email saying I have the credit back and then I could replace the order on Tuesday. This was Friday of the week after I placed the order. I said whatever.

I call back immediately. I tell the rep whats going on. He says he sees all the notes and is very sorry but the can give me store credit. I lost it at this point. I said I have no interest in placing another order just to see how badly you can fail again. I want my money back. They said we will both have to be on the phone because she opened an account to buy the certificate.

I went to her office. She owns her own tax firm and deals with the IRS regularly. I told her we needed to call to get her money back. She called customer service. She said let me speak to a supervisor. The girl said is there anything I can help you with? She said no just put me straight to a supervisor. She was calm and sounding suprisingly sweet. She asked the supervisor. Do you have the authority to force shipping and make things right. He said yes. She said my husband placed an order for valentines day and they have been giving him thebrun around. When he looked at my order he said Jesus Christ I see all the notes on here. So he put in a new order.

I have the Satriani strap already in shipping. The bass and a coffin case suppose to be shipped Next Day on Monday. And another strap on backorder. I didnt get what I wanted when I wanted it. They didnt do anything right by me. But I have ended up with $400 dollars worth of stuff for $300 dollars.

Hello,

My name is Chris and I work for Musician's Friend. This is completely unacceptable, and I would like to see how this happened so we can make sure it doesn't again in the future. Will you please email me so I can follow up? I will make it worth your time.

forums@musiciansfriend.com

[Ryan L.]

Originally Posted by autumn_spirit_1

. I paid over 2 grand for a Gibson les Paul that lost it's headstock and Gibson wouldn't fix it and guitar center wouldn't do a return. Worst company ever. Avoid!!!

Did it break because it was dropped?

[ChBaker801]

Originally Posted by autumn_spirit_1

MF, Music 123, Guitar Center, Gibson, Epiphone, Ect ect all owned by the same crappy company. I don't use them or buy there stuff because they only care about money and screwing over the customer. I suggest samash or a smaller mom and pop business. I paid over 2 grand for a Gibson les Paul that lost it's headstock and Gibson wouldn't fix it and guitar center wouldn't do a return. Worst company ever. Avoid!!!

I would love to hear from you as well regarding what happened here. I'd be more than happy to see what I can do to help. I would like to call out however that we are not affiliated with Gibson/Epiphone aside from being an authorized dealer of their products.

forums@musiciansfriend.com

[garmenteros]

I've never had a problem with MF besides a return on a BStock item (liquid saffire 56) that was dead on arrival and I was refunded my money. I buy most of my parts if they carry them. That said I'd be hesitant to buy used/b stock again.

[JehuJava]

That's why you avoid these mega-chains like the plague. Though I do go to GC from time to time for a cable or whatever, but something big? Never, unless it is in the store and I can leave with it. Shopping through TB classifieds or bass specific small companies is for me!

[Chasbo]

I havent used MF in many years.Never had a bad experience that I can remember. I have been getting excellent results buying on line with zzounds.com

[VanillaThundah]

Sounds like they don't know how to handle the certificate stuff very well =/

FWIW, I've only used Paypal or direct payment from a credit card on their website and I've had zero issues with them. At least they made some effort to make things right...I've had many companies that have just flipped me the bird and told me to go elsewhere when I've had issues.

[PerlNinja]

Mega chains or not, the fact that apparently a representative is showing up here and posting so as to find out what happened is a +1 in my book, if it's followed up on, that is, and that would be the real big question.

And just as a perspective, any time a company grows to a size it has a dedicated customer service department with more than 5 people in it, things like this will happen, unfortunately. It's a case of miscommunications internally along with people not wanting to take responsibility (either because they have been explicitly told not to, or because they have a boss that's going to chew them out for helping a customer out instead of helping the company's bottom line). Been there, done that...

[C.Linton]

I've never had anything but great service from MF, and from most posters on other threads here on TB, that seems to be the norm.

[countbassiedad]

I have always got great service (and prices) from them.

[fourstringdrums]

I hate to say it, but if your wife had just let you pay for the purchase out of your joint account or something rather than go with the certificate, this wouldn't have happened

..just busting on you a little bit. It's horrible how they're handling it, but this also shows why I never do certificates with my s/o if we have a joint account...there's no point, you're just exchanging mutual money.

[jmattbassplaya]

I've bought (no lie) close to 100 things from the over the years, and they have always been incredibly reliable, quick, and pain free to deal with.

[pablomigraine]

Originally Posted by Ryan L.

Did it break because it was dropped?

I used to work for daddys junky music. At least once a month someone would come in with a completely destroyed guitar, usually headstock break.... but almost always with stickers, scratches, deep gouges, and everything else possible to indicate the guitar was treated like a punching bag, if the fact the guy walked in holding it by the neck with no case didnt tell the whole story. They walk up to the counter, say they bought it about a year ago, and angrily demand a refund... of course when they dont get it I'm a jerk, the company I work for is all money-grubbing corporate jerks and so is epiphone... I say go try to return a car after you ram it into a telephone pole, or return a TV after you hit it with a golf club.... see what they tell you...

In OP's case tho that really stinks.... that's why I NEVER shop online for anything more expensive than shoes and socks!!

[J_Funk_77]

I made my first order with MF when I beleive I was in the 9th or 10th grade, which was roughly 18 years ago if my math is right. I actually made that order as a mail order. Ive never had a issue.

A few years back I bought a digitech multi-effects pedals and just flat out was happy with it and it was within my 45 day guarenteed satification period so I called them. They asked me if I I want a refund or store credit. I told them I wanted a Fender Champion 600 guitar/harmonica amp. There was a little diffrence 10-20 bucks worth. The guy said hang on a second and came back and told me they would make the swamp at no extra cost. All I had to do was email them the confirmation number when I mailed the return and they sent it on its way. I never expected them to do that or to do it again for that matter, but in my eyes thats a +1 for them.

Recently I emailed them about the Gibson faded SG bass, I wondered if it came with a case. Cos Id read where some guys had got one with a OHSC with theres, and the site said nothing about it. In the email I got back they said they'd take 20% off any case that I wanted on top of the 15% they already was offering at that time. +2 for them, even though I ended up not ordering a bass from them.

Plus another nice thing is they have a warehouse in my area. So I normaly dont even worry about speeding up the shipping, as it normally arrives in a very short amount of time. +3 for me.

I will add though that I beleive every place has its bad days and this sounded like one person got the bulk of bad days combined into one.