Noticing more and more negative feedback about Rudy's Music NYC.....

[LaMarquis J]

I refer quite a few bassist here and the comments are beginning to get worse and worse. When I patronized this store (about 3 or 4 years ago) a salesman by the name of Scott worked the bass section. I ended up purchasing about $10,000 in instruments from him. Very nice and helpful but no longer employed there. Im now hearing the salesman that replaced him is not the nicest guy around. Please post any negative (or positive) feedback here and i'll be sure to make sure Rudy gets an email from me with a link to this blog. LJ

P.S. this is not to bash Rudy's but to constructively criticize and inform....thnx guys

[musicman5string]

This isn't directly about Rudy's, but customer service in all the stores on 48th st. can be described as:
indifferent
lax
annoyed
couldn't be bothered
"you buying it or what?"


NYC: music capitol of the world.

[michele]

Originally Posted by musicman5string

This isn't directly about Rudy's, but customer service in all the stores on 48th st. can be described as:
indifferent
lax
annoyed
couldn't be bothered
"you buying it or what?"


NYC: music capitol of the world.

This is exactly what I experienced last time I was at Rudy's (December 2005) ... not too different from what I experienced first time I was there (October 2003).
However la crème de la crème could be found at Manny's ... incompetence and rudeness at its best.
I'm glad my money ended up in Jay Street!

[lefty007]

I think their setup is odd. The bass room is on the third floor and they have to get a guy up there to be with you, so you cannot simply wonder around and take your time trying basses. . . the guy just sits there, looking at you, with the aforementioned annoyed face.

I think their attitude just comes from making 1 sale out of 200 people that just want to wonder around, and they have high-end stuff there - not like Guitar Center that caters to the masses.

I don't blame them. I'm sure it's tough to be part high-end bass store and part tourist attraction, but I'm also sure they have lost sales because of that attitude.

[Fuzzbass]

I remember Scott... great guy.

I haven't spoken to a salesman at Rudy's in a few years, so I can't comment about anyone else.

[whacker]

I used to live in NYC in the early '80s, and being from Michigan it was quite an adjustment. I used to go to 48th street every other day to fantasize about all the equipment, and I'd go into all the stores and eventually get into shop talk with the guys who worked there.

Traditional music retail in NYC is (happily) not dominated by the happy-face tactics of modern corporate sales technique (i.e. Sam Ash - except for back then before it was nationwide- and Guitar Center). Once I got to know guys like Stewart and Henry at Manny's (probably long since gone, if even still around), I knew I had support of all kinds for the smallest things, and their NY personalities were entertainment icing on the cake (not to mention all the incredible pictures on the walls there. Are they still there?). It ain't for everybody, but between the mom & pop approach and Guitar Center, it was the genuine article, authentic as dirt.

[64jazzbass]

Rudy's service has gone downhill in the last 3 or 4 years. I feel like I'm annoying the salesperson just by being there. It's a shame, because they do and have carried some great basses there. The whole vibe on 48th street has definitely changed for the worse.

[Papersen]

I´ve been there once, in Oct 2000 and had the same feelings.
Was trying to check the bass section at the 3rd floor and the guy stared at me like "don´t bother me if you´re not gonna buy". Asked him a couple of questions, since I was surprised to see a pic of an Argentinian bass player hanging on the wall and the answer was "got no idea, who´s that guy ?".

Rudy opened another store here in Argentina a few months ago, and carries some basses not locally found (KSD, MTD Kingston, Ricks, Pensa) so raises the local market level a bit.
However, 2 weeks ago I was looking at a (used) Warwick Corvette Std 5 hanging on the wall and mentioned the seller about my Zon. His answers where:
- " I´ve never heard about Zone basses"
- " We only sell Hi end stuff "

He calls his supervisor, who was also polite but never heard of them too: "I suppose it´s some unknown little luthier right ?"
"Send me some pics of your bass and I´ll talk to NYC to see if they know that brand".

Conclusion:
Polite but with little knowledge of basses outside their own.

[jomahu]

i've been to the NY "strip" of music stores (to actually buy something, no less!), and it's never been a good experience, mostly 'cause i don't like being ignored in favour of wanking 15-year-old boys.

and yes, i do have the "female" chip on my shoulder - you know, constantly being ignored or dismissed in music stores and all that because i'm "just a chick" - so i'm wicked sensitive to that. Daddy's here in Boston is famous for that.

i know folks have their beef, but i will always go to guitar center, because they've always been very helpful, no matter what department i'm in.

[jokerjkny]

scott's no longer there, but dean who's been at the shop for a while KNOWS bass. scott wasnt really a player, but dean is. does a few mean Lgraham lines. dean knows wassup. i wouldnt hesitate to buy anything from him or the store.

keep in mind, that rudy's is right in the heart of times square, so they get a TON of tourists. if they arent careful with their merchandise, then rudy's music'll start to look more like the more ramshackle Sam Ash stores next door. those places look like depression era tenantment housing.

but, if you're a working stiff, they'll treat w/ the respect they give all of their clientele. and IMHO, i feel like that's what rudy's does; building relationships w/ clientele. you want a good deal, sure, they'll give it to you. but, if you're a returning customer, they'll treat you like family, and that's how its been for me as both a guitarist and bassist shopping from them.

[NJL]

I'm a rookie here, but I will be in NYC this weekend and my boss told me to hit up the music stores on 48th.. I'll be staying at Hotel Edison next to Times Square... how far are the stores from the Edison?

Thanks!

[jasonbraatz]

I've had the same experience. $PREFERRED_DEITY help you if you go up there and are under 30. I felt like I was inconviencing the guy up there the entire time, and he didn't ask to help, chat, or anything - just stink-eye. I was in NYC on tour with my band, I'm not THAT young (24) and it's not like I can't play, so there was no reason to be dissed like that. The last time I was there there was a guy even younger than me banging away some crappy Phish bass lines on a Chamberbrase so perhaps he was in a particularly bad mood, but it's been like that the last three or so times I've been there.

[D.A.R.K.]

i had a great experience at rudy's, if i remember correctly it was scott,
(it was over a year ago). very helpful and communicative. tried out a ritter for the first time, no attitude at all.
i'll have to stop by next time i'm in nyc and see what's up...
they have always had an amazing selection of instruments.
not trying to defend a bad attitude, but their instruments are on the high-end pricewise, so i can understand wanting to deal with serious buyers.
alot of window shoppers can= scratched up instruments, which brings down their value. gc basses can be a good example.
on the other hand, judging a book by it's cover isn't going to generate sales or loyal customer relationships, either.
but hey, what would ny be without a little 'tude ?
throw it back at 'em! fuggetaboutit

[whacker]

NJL --

Can't quite remember where the Edison is (43rd or 44th, west of B'way?), but you're within 10 minutes walk easily. They're on 48th street, just east of 7th Ave.

[NJL]

Cool, thanks!

I finally got off my lazy butt and googled it...

[Craig Garfinkel]

Originally Posted by NJL

I'm a rookie here, but I will be in NYC this weekend and my boss told me to hit up the music stores on 48th.. I'll be staying at Hotel Edison next to Times Square... how far are the stores from the Edison?

Thanks!

Your hotel is on W. 47th Street between 8th Ave and Broadway, and Rudy's (and Manny's, Sam Ash, etc.) is on W. 48th Street just East of 7th Avenue. Walk east on 47th street, cross Broadway, make a left onto 7th Ave then make a right onto 48th and there you are. A whole block and a half.

Jump in a cab and go out to 20 Jay Street in Brooklyn. Roger Sadowsky's shop is there (only open Mon-Fri).

And check out the tiny NYC Bass & Guitar Boutique, just to the east of your hotel on 9th Avenue http://www.guitarboutique.com/.

They make the custom Alleva-Coppolo basses and pre-amps. These guys are up there with Roger Sadowsky and Mike Lull and John Suhr for quality custom Fender-style basses IMO.

[NJL]

Cool!!!! Thanks, man!

[MAJOR METAL]

Yeah the courtesy at Rudy's is sparadic at best.

[michele]

Originally Posted by D.A.R.K.

... but their instruments are on the high-end pricewise, so i can understand wanting to deal with serious buyers.

Unfortunately the fact that one is a serious buyer isn't written on his forehead. Last time I was at Rudy's the guy at bass department was talking with another guy (probably a friend) that was playin' some "store stuff" on a bass when I walked in. I said hello and he replied with an annoyed glance in his eyes: he totally ignored me during the next 15 minutes while I silently looked at the basses hanged on the wall. Too bad for him: I spent elsewhere the 2500 bucks that were burning a hole in my pocket.

[Joe Nerve]

I bought my Warwick from Scott, and I never ever dealt with a friendlier, more helpful, more pleasant salesperson. That was really an asset to that store. I've a feeling people who knew him and still go to Rudy's expect the same, and well... I think they had a rare thing going with that guy.

I do also believe he WAS actually a bass player, if not, he seemed to know his stuff more than well enough for me.

I've been there a few times in the past couple of years and whoever was there just seemed kind of non-existent. I think he just kinda shrugged if I said anything, answered anything I asked, and handed me the basses I wanted to check out. He was the friendliest guy I've ever known, but he wasn't rude in any way.

PS. My feeling with the other stores on that block is that nobody working in those places gives a rat's butt what you do there. I get the feeling I could smash all the basses in Sam Ash if I felt so inclined and all you'd hear is "clean up in isle 2."