Customer Service - The Good, the ? and the Ugly

[EBMan]

I consider excellent service to be quick response to questions and/or quick remedies to problems when brought to their attention.

GOOD
MusicMan
Tech 21
Peterson
MXR
ThePerfectBass.com
Guitar Center
Fender
Bassbooks.com

?
have sent inquiry emails to EBS and Electro-Harmonix that have gone unanswered. I own their products and am pleased with them. I just wish they would be a little more responsive.
Musicians Friend - Generally good, but occassionally the CSRs seem a little confused.

UGLY
Italia Leather Straps is the worst. They sent me a strap that wouldn't fit over the buttons on my MusicMan. They ignored my emails asking for a fix. Their lack of communication during the purchase process was also very bad. Avoid at all costs.

[NJL]

Awesome:
my state farm rep! i'm not kidding! they are badass

Ugly:
Alamo Cycleplex

[James Hart]

Originally Posted by EBMan

UGLY
Italia Leather Straps is the worst. They sent me a strap that wouldn't fit over the buttons on my MusicMan. They ignored my emails asking for a fix. Their lack of communication during the purchase process was also very bad. Avoid at all costs.

I've never had an issue with communication with Cindi at Italia. She's always been quick to reply.

FWIW, as thick as my strap is... it took a bit of strength to get it to fit on my strap button. If the hole is too big it'll stretch out and be worthless.

I will buy more from them, and I'll continue to recommend them.

[CallMeBlind]

I was trying to contact Clover, thet left my e-mail with no response. I think the same story I had with ProCo some time ago.

[bongomania]

I recently had some jaw-droppingly terrible customer service from FedEx.

I got some pretty good service from Fender, where a rep called me back within a couple of hours with the info I wanted. Also TC Electronic- their repair service was not cheap, but they delivered what they promised in a reasonable timeframe.

[Max Roberts]

Tonefactor have the best customer service I have ever encountered.

Really fast shipping, and that's from America to UK! Quick responses to questions and Brad is a genuinely nice guy.

[Jimbob Jones]

Boss have great customer service.

[zac2944]

I've had good service with:

Schroeder
Mesa
Mackie

[incognito89x]

I recently bought a Foxx Fuzz/Wah/Volume pedal, but the DC jack isn't a standard style, so I emailed them asking what kind of adapter to use or if they had one available. They sent me an adapter that works with any boss style jack free of charge Quick replies and prompt service. Give the boys from Foxx a +1 in the good service category.

[audienceofone]

Good
Rocktron

I bought a Tsunami chorus pedal, and even though the lights worked there was no change to the tone no mater what I did. I sent an email, and within 20 minutes had a reply that they would send me out a new one, and then a phone call 10 minutes later verifying address and that it was going out that day!

I am sure that I like the sounds I am getting from the Tsunami but you can't fault Rocktron for their service.

Still not sure if the delay is working though

[CraigG]

Good service/responsiveness
Conklin (Bill Conklin has been very responsive, and I didn't even purchase one of his custom basses)

Eden Electronics (Even sent me new fuses for free because I couldn't find them locally)

Avatar Speakers (Dave is very helpful)

AmericanMusical (The best in my experience when it comes to making returns quick and easy)

Ugh
Guitar Center (local) (The manager at the local store had no knowledge of 7 string Conklin basses in a response to an email inquiry I sent him - didn't even seem to know there was such a thing - even though GC sells them on their web site)

MusiciansFriend (Decent if they have the product in stock. If it's on back order don't ever count on getting it. I have waited months for items on backorder on two separate occasions. What is most irritating is when the web site says a product is "arriving tomorrow" and "tomorrow" never comes!)

BeatStreetMusic (Had been phenomenal, even went out of their way for me, up to the point where I walked out the door with the bass - when it didn't include the warranty card and I notified them 4.5 weeks ago that Bill Conklin said they needed to contact their distributor to get the warranty materials for me, they said they would - I even included Bill's reply. 4.5 weeks later, still no warranty paperwork or any replies from BSM to my subsequent inquiries about the status of the paperwork - a shame because I really liked the folks at BSM and told them I would spread the word about how good they were to deal with)


Bad
FedEx (Lost a product for me before it made it out of their first hub en route which was less than an hour from the pickup location. Also, most shipping boxes I have received via FedEx are beat to death - I'm sure UPS isn't perfect, but I have not had comprable problems with them).

[rappa29]

Good:

Lakland - I emailed Kirk, Brian and Dan all in the same week about different things and they all responded within that same week.

Avatar - Emailed them for a part for a cab I bought used. Dave sent it for free. 'Nuff said.


Eh:

GC - Mixed bag. I've dealt with shady\rude\ignorant (of product) sales people, but at the same time I've returned several items (including 3 basses) within the 30 day period for full refund, no questions asked.

[MaxZolt]

Good:
Carvin. Incredible customer service all-around. I was in contact with one sales rep throughout the entire build process, and he always responded to emails within 1 business day (usually in an hour or two!).

Sweetwater. I ordered some accessories from them, and when they were delivered they called to make sure I had received them and they weren't sitting out in the rain.

So-so:
Fender. When I tried to deal with them through my local music store, they gave the store (and me) the runaround for months. However, I got a nice, quick, accurate response when I emailed them directly (and mentioned that I would be taking my business elsewhere if I didn't get a response this time).

Guitar Center. Note to GC sales reps: just because I am holding a bass in my hand when you walk up to me does not mean I would like to purchase that bass immediately.

[Blake Bass]

Good : Roscoe, all emails returned promptly

Bad: Fodera, emails never returned

[permadave]

Good -

Warwick (via Dana B Goods)
Spector (excellent!)
Avatar
Pedulla
G&L
Several good Guitar Center experiences, though variable

meh? -

Ampeg - just ok

[Jerry J]

Since this is an effects forum I would like to give Roger Sadowsky top honors. He does market a preamp/DI pedal. Typically the longest I've waited for an email reply from Roger has been about 3 hours (work hours).

For bass in general it has to be Mike Tobias, Jim Bergantino and of course Roger Sadowsky. Sweetwater has phenominal customer service unlike anyone else that I've found.

The one that has been surprisingly marginal has been Epifani.

I've never gotten a response from inquiries to Eden.

[JanusZarate]

Here's my customer service experience:

• The Perfect Bass - Extremely helpful, and they even reminded me about the TalkBass discount before I was even aware one existed. Quick to ship, and very attentive to their customers! They are my #1 recommendation, even if they don't have the massive stock of Musician's Friend!
• Electro-Harmonix - A bit slow on e-mails, but very helpful with my questions regardless. They charged me very little to fix my BMS when a little "accident" toasted the board. I wish they had speedier communication, but I've never been disappointed with the outcome of my correspondence with them.
• Musician's Friend - They take forever to reply. Even their automated message replies are slow. Their "price matching" is disappointing - they simply offer the same deal the other dealer does. I guess they took it literally, and aren't really interested in a sale? Plus, their inventory isn't accurate, and they take much longer than they should to ship stuff. They don't post my reviews, even when I make them short. Seriously... who's calling the shots over there? At least they never screwed up my order - they just took a few extra days to send it out.
• Same Day Music - Terrible correspondence, speedy shipping. If you don't mind waiting in silence for your product to arrive, they're not bad, and they do have that "same day shipping" guarantee on a lot of items. Oddly enough, it's not on anything I ever buy.
• eBay Seller: jspht8338 - Where do you think I was getting all those EHX pedals? Great communication, speedy shipping, excellent feedback. His descriptions are bland, and photos are stock, but what counts are the results, and this guy delivers the goods every time, on-time!
• Guitar Center - It all depends on the location, but my experiences have been generally very good. The El Cerrito location has friendly and knowledgeable staff who are willing to bargain with you. The Sacramento location, however, is to be avoided whenever possible - very unfriendly, and they fulfill most guitarist stereotypes.
• Skip's Music, Elk Grove, CA - Usually overpriced. They're also stubborn about returns. They once sold my brother a previously opened pickup, and when he tried to promptly return it later that day, they denied it and accused him of trying to install it. They gave in after a while. They're generally very overprotective of their gear (it doesn't help when their staff isn't always willing to help you out with setting up gear to try out) and do not like to bargain at all. Selection is limited to Fender, ESP, Ibanez, and PRS instruments. Sometimes they have a Peavey or two. They do, however, have a great tech on-staff, but he's not there every day.
• Starving Musician - While most of their gear is used, they have an awesome selection of name-brand and boutique effects pedals. The staff is great, too. I go here all the time, even if their selection of amps and basses is variable in quality (it's mostly used stuff). Excellent deals on strings (2 for 1), although I think the prices went up recently... so you're really not saving as much anymore. No matter which location you go to (Santa Clara, Berkeley, Santa Cruz), it's worth checking out. The new website sucks, though - go in person if you can.
• Talkbass - Horrible. No one can be trusted.

...I'm kidding about that last one.

[vegas532]

Worst ever:
Wal basses (even before the end)
Godlyke Distribution

[OhThePeacock]

Originally Posted by MaxZolt

Guitar Center. Note to GC sales reps: just because I am holding a bass in my hand when you walk up to me does not mean I would like to purchase that bass immediately.

Note to that, one of my best friend's brother works at GC and he was telling me that everyone that works there are hounds because they get payed on commission or at least some of it...just an FYI.

[fishtx]

Excellent:
1. Mesa (Steve Meuller is a fantastic guy!)
2. Genz Benz (Roger Hart and the guys are also top notch)
3. Spector (PJ Rubal is another great guy to work with)
4. Tonefactor (Brad is great and very responsive)
5. Tuki Covers (great folks)

Good:
1. Mike Lull (quick responses to inquires)
2. Doug's Tubes (quick/accurate responses)
3. Keeley (Tray Johnson was great...he's gone now though...:-(..)

Meh:
1. Demeter (I had to asked in 3 different emails and 1 call before they answered my question)
2. MXR (took a while, but they finally responded)
3. Ampeg (used to be great, but they have gone down hill)

Bad:
1. Ashdown (never responded to several emails, when I called, couldn't get ahold of their artists relations guy...was told he would call back...never did)
2. Musician's Friend (I've cancelled more orders than I have received)
3. Sam Ash (same as above)