Yet another Musician's Friend Rant

Phat Ham · #1 10-11-2008, 10:05 AM

Just venting here.

2 weeks ago I ordered a strap from MF. They sent me the wrong strap. Fine. I returned that one and placed a new order for the same strap so I wouldn't have to wait for an exchange. They sent me the same wrong strap again. So I went through the whole process again. Return the one they sent me and place a new order. This time I told them I really want this strap by the weekend. The girl on the phone was nice enough (though it sounded like there were a few screws loose upstairs) and gave me free 2 day shipping (this was on monday night). Today is Saturday and I still don't have a strap. I call them up and say ***? and the girl says "oh, it didn't ship until the 10th (yesterday) and it went out next day air."

"What is the point of expedited shipping if it takes 4 days to send it out?"

"Well there must have been a problem at the warehouse."

"Yeah that doesn't help me. You knew I wanted it by the weekend. You could have sent it Saturday delivery."

"Well tracking shows it's in Landover MD. You can go pick it up at the UPS center."

This same exact thing happened to me about 6 years ago with MF. I ordered a rackrider power conditioner. They sent me an EQ. I sent that back and they sent me another, different EQ. I sent that back for exchange and 2 weeks later I still had nothing. I called them and was told the order was cancelled and was asked if I want to replace the order. I told them to bite me and I ordered from somewhere else.

I figured after 6 years maybe they'd get their act together. Guess not.

TheDarkReaver · #2 10-11-2008, 03:57 PM

Sounds like they have a problem with their databases.

GeneralElectric · #3 10-11-2008, 04:09 PM

Was the new strap worth more?

selfblessed · #4 10-12-2008, 11:59 AM

I have never had a problem with MF. So it sounds like you got stuck twice...at random. It could happen to anyone.

fishtx · #5 10-12-2008, 06:36 PM

i've had problems with them...more than once, and won't buy anything from them again...

Phat Ham · #6 10-12-2008, 06:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GeneralElectric

Was the new strap worth more?

no. It's actually a different version of the same strap. They kept sending me the same wrong one.

When the same thing happened to me 6 years ago I was actually hoping that they'd keep sending me the wrong thing and eventually I'd get something really expensive. Instead they just cancelled the order altogether without telling me.

Phat Ham · #7 10-13-2008, 10:07 AM

Got the 3rd strap in this morning. It's the wrong one.

I just got off the phone with MF. They said to keep this one and they will send me the right one as soon as they can figure out whatever issue they are having with their warehouse/database.

Also, the strap just went on sale so they are going to credit me with the difference in price.

At least some of the people there are trying.

9mmMike · #8 10-13-2008, 10:11 AM

Have you tried Music123 instead? Unless you are in Canada, these guys (IMHO) are better.

wld3 · #9 10-13-2008, 10:13 AM

"problem at the warehouse" = the phrase most often spoken at Musician's Friend

Phat Ham · #10 10-13-2008, 10:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 9mmMike

Have you tried Music123 instead? Unless you are in Canada, these guys (IMHO) are better.

No. not yet. I'll give MF a few days to get their act together. If they come through I am getting a free strap out of this mess. Knowing my luck though, they are going to tell me the item is out of stock and discontinued.

9mmMike · #11 10-13-2008, 10:20 AM

I think that they are practically the same company now but for some reason, I always have better luck finding and getting what I need from 123.

Phat Ham · #12 10-13-2008, 10:23 AM

could be. I was going to order from guitarcenter.com but the MF rep told me they ship from the same warehouse and would likely have the same problem.

From my conversation this morning I got the impression they couldn't physically find the strap in the warehouse.

BurningSkies · #13 10-13-2008, 12:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wld3

"problem at the warehouse" = the phrase most often spoken at Musician's Friend

Cornsidering the notion that all they have is a warehouse and a phonebank/office, I would think that this means about 85% of their business is part of the problem.

Geezerman · #14 10-13-2008, 02:38 PM

I just bought a cheap guitar from them and they sent me a ****ing USED guitar? I was pissed, it was setup decent and sounded okay but still im never dealing with them again

stflbn · #15 10-13-2008, 02:43 PM

Music123 seems an exact same stock/price/etc clone of GuitarCenter.

Seems to me to be a response to people who refuse to work with GuitarCenter... "hey, lets start a new storefront named something else that sells the exact same stuff that way all the people who won't order from us will order from them"

stflbn · #16 10-13-2008, 02:47 PM

There ya go:

Guitar Center agrees to buy assets of The Woodwind & Brasswind

Guitar Center Inc., a multi-channel retailer of musical instruments and related products, has agreed to acquire the assets of direct merchant The Woodwind & Brasswind, which would operate as part of Guitar Center’s Musician’s Friend subsidiary, Guitar Center said.

“The acquisition of assets of The Woodwind & Brasswind, including the Woodwind and Brasswind and Music123 web sites, will enable us to further expand the already strong combo instrument business at Musician’s Friend as well as build out our direct response band and orchestra business,” says Marty Albertson, chairman and CEO of Guitar Center, No. 50 in the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide to Retail Web Sites.

The Woodwind & Brasswind, No. 317 in the Top 500 Guide, filed for bankruptcy protection in Indiana on November 21. The asset acquisition agreement is subject to several conditions, including bankruptcy court approval, and is also subject to being overbid at a bankruptcy auction expected to be conducted in January.

Guitar Center operates more than 90 stores in addition to MusiciansFriend.com, Music123.com and GuitarCenter.com.

You're just kissin' a different cousin...

.

grovest · #17 10-14-2008, 06:10 PM

I bought an item at MF last Tuesday evening, and I needed it to arrive before the weekend. Therefore I paid for 2 business day shipping. My order appeared to idle for over a day, and I was sure my item would be late for the recipient's birthday that weekend (mostly my fault for procrastinating). Very fairly, when it did ship from MF on Thursday it was sent next-day air, and arrived Friday morning. So for me that makes my combined GC / MF orders 15 - 0 success / fail. I am sorry for your frustration though, and I know it is real. Their database does seem to be a little flakier for 'accessory' items like straps and cables.

Phat Ham · #18 11-03-2008, 05:42 PM

About a week ago I get a call from MF saying they've sorted out their issue and they're sending me the right strap. I get it and of course it's the wrong one again. For those keeping score this is the 4th one.

On top of that I checked my credit card statement today and on the first two I sent back they didn't credit me for shipping. I got MF to credit me for the shipping but the guy made it sound like he was doing me a huge favor for doing so. ***? They send me the wrong thing but they still want me to pay for shipping?

The guy said he could send me out another one but I asked if there's anything that's changed that would make him think I'd actually get the right one this time. He said no. I asked if there's any way he could get in touch with the warehouse and actually talk to someone there to sort it out. He said no.

I know that the call center underlings don't have the authority to call the warehouse, but I'm sure a manager could get in touch and sort it out. I mean come on it would take 2 minutes to call someone down there, say "hey look at the picture on the webpage. It's different from what you're packing," and get the issue fixed.

In the end I just told the guy I want to send everything back and get all my money back since it didn't seem like they were putting much effort into fixing their issues. What a waste of time. 3 trips to the post office and UPS store and however long I've spent on the phone with them.

nickn · #19 11-03-2008, 05:46 PM

Uh oh. I just bought 2 packs of strings from MF. I hope they don't give me any problems.

beedeesmith · #20 12-19-2008, 01:41 PM

I used to have excellent service and zero issues with Woodwind Brasswind over the years, but now post buy out by Guitar Center/Mucisan's Friend/whatever you want to call them, I've had nothing but problems ever since with literally every single order I've placed with them.

1) Ordered a PolyEvolver keyboard from them, which they said they had in stock in the warehouse and would ship within a couple days -- it actually shipped out a week later to the wrong address (wrong STATE even!) and was consequently lost. I ended up cancelling the order and picking one up locally.

2) Ordered a multipack of guitar strings (10 strings of a single gauge). The billed me for the 10-pack, it shows that they shipped me the 10-pack on my invoice and packing slip, and yet there is only a single string in the box. I call them, explain the problem, the say they'll get the correct order out to me immediately. The next box that shows up has yet another single string in it (again, with an invoice and packing slip showing it to be a 10-pack). I call up, explain the problem, and try to cancel my order which was a lot of fun, because I had to avoid the potential pain in sending back a single strings and having them refuse to refund me because I "kept the other 10".

3) I ordered some upright bass strings. Of the three that arrived (the other was left as backordered), one was the correct one, one was the wrong one, and the third was the correct one, but in the wrong package (which was a lot of joy to figure out that little stunt).

4) I tried to order an NS Designs EU6 upright bass from them. Honestly, I really tried. It took me three days in a row calling them to get someone to return my call; keep in mind that each of my messages I pointed out the specific model and that I was ready to buy, they just needed to call me back. So on the fourth day I finally get a call back. So I then try to place the order, but they aren't sure if they carry it or not (even though I had already verified through NS Designs themselves that WWBW was authorized to sell this particular, albeit low volume, model). A few more days go by and I finally get a call back that they can order it, they just don't have any in stock. No problem, as I had already verified through NS Designs that they had some ready to ship to WWBW immediately.

I ask them if they can make sure this goes out soon because I want to both get my bass before the crush of holiday shipping nightmares start, and to ensure that I'd have it for my end of the year gigs, which they assure me they can do. So I place my order, and a few weeks go by... cricket, cricket, cricket... I check my order online and it shows that it is waiting for a correct catalog number before it can be ordered. I call them up immediately and they say they'll get right on it. A week goes by and still nothing and no change on my order status. I call them again and they say they'll get with their manager as soon as he gets in at noon and get the catalog number thing squared away. A few more days go by and no status change. I contact them again furious that over a month has gone by and they can't pick up a phone and get a catalog number to order an item they had to exhert zero sales effort on and stand to get a tidy commission on for just typing a few bits into a computer -- and, yes, I was talking eaching time to the same saleman, i.e., the one who standed to get said commission. The poor salesman was equally frustrated, but his hands were tied because in their new business model he was forced to go through particular channels for the basic info needed to place the order and there was nothing else he could do.

Finally, I call NS Designs yet again and ask them if there's anythng they can do on their end to get in touch with Woodwind Brasswind's sales office to fetch said catalog number, because my time was running out to be able to have even a remote chance of getting the axe in before the end of the year gigs. No dice. So I finally ended up cancelling both my NS EU6 bass as well as my Eden cabinet (which was on another ticket with them and backordered for over a month).

It goes without saying that I won't be ordering anything else ever again through either WWBW, Musician's Friend, or any other of their "fronts" for the same badly set up warehouse scheme. What is startling is that you would think that especially in this economy, folks would be bending over backwards when someone comes waving literally thousands upon thousands of dollars at them for equipment they don't even bother to stock and stand to make a nice sum of money for merely acting as incompetent middlemen.

Sorry, I felt the need to vent.
-Bryan