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A very negative purchasing experience in Alaska
- Thread starter MooseLumps
- Start date
One solid year w/no posts=zombie thread. Never been to Alasaka.
Yeah, I figured the same.
But I had to save their reputation!
The only drama I've had with a music store regarding amps was when I went to try out my Fender Jaguar before buying it.
The guy gets the bass down and says "I'll put it through this Ampeg 8x10 for you". I declined, requesting instead I play it though an Eden Nemesis 4x10, because that what I own. He argues a couple times then gets really irate that I kept refusing to play it through the Ampeg and he wanted to know what my problem was. I told him I'm trying out a bass, not an amp, and wanted to know what it would sound like through a rig I owned. He pushed back one last time, so I asked for his manager, who was more than happy to do it my way.
The guy gets the bass down and says "I'll put it through this Ampeg 8x10 for you". I declined, requesting instead I play it though an Eden Nemesis 4x10, because that what I own. He argues a couple times then gets really irate that I kept refusing to play it through the Ampeg and he wanted to know what my problem was. I told him I'm trying out a bass, not an amp, and wanted to know what it would sound like through a rig I owned. He pushed back one last time, so I asked for his manager, who was more than happy to do it my way.
I don't know about where you are, but the dealerships that sell Ferrari's around here charge for test drives, helps weed out the flakes who just want to dream I guess. And I don't know many $200,000+ basses for sale either.
This is why I like GC. They'll let me play any bass through any amp, and even pull off a couple knobs, scratch the back with my buckle, and blow a speaker or two.
I had 2 exact opposite experiences when I bought my Steinberger bass new in 1984.
Back in 1983, Steinbergers were the talk of the bass world with a minimum 6 month waiting list to order one. I really wanted to play one and see if I liked it or not and would not order a bass without playing it first. The going price at that time was about $1,400 and change (which was a lot of money) and nobody would discount them.
I drove to a very large and well known music store that I had bought things from before in the Washington D.C. area in November 1983 about 3-1/2 hours from where I live to check one out. It was rare that a store even had one on stock. I got there and the sales person told me they have one in a gig bag that somebody ordered but he refused to even let me look at it even after I told him if I liked it, I was going to order one. He gave me a very hard time and tried to push every other bass on me including Rickenbackers although I already told him I owned a 4001 Ric. I left th store disgusted and refused to ever buy anything there again.
A few weeks later in January 1984, I was in the Pittsburgh, PA area and on a lark called Specialty Guitar and asked if they just happened to have a Steinberger. The sales person said they had ordered a fretless bass but a fretted one came in and I was more than welscome to come and play it. I drove to the store and the bass was there. The 2 sales people were so gracious and told me I could play any bass and amp in the store (which was mostly high end gear). Of course, I was like a kid in a candy store. I played the Steinberger and instantly loved it. The sales guy said he would set the bridge up while I was there since they did not get a chance to do so. I played several other basses in the meantime but went back to play the Steinberger again. This was on a Saturday and I did not have $1,435 in my pocket and asked them if they would hold it for me until Monday. We all knew it would be sold quickly and they said no problem. I called Monday and asked them to send it to me C.O.D. since I live 2 hours away. Not only did they do that for me. It was packed like a baby and I have been playing it now for 27 years next month.
It is amazing how customer service and going above and beyond to help a customer buy what they want. I had a similar positive experiences with 2 different Guitar Center recently.
Back in 1983, Steinbergers were the talk of the bass world with a minimum 6 month waiting list to order one. I really wanted to play one and see if I liked it or not and would not order a bass without playing it first. The going price at that time was about $1,400 and change (which was a lot of money) and nobody would discount them.
I drove to a very large and well known music store that I had bought things from before in the Washington D.C. area in November 1983 about 3-1/2 hours from where I live to check one out. It was rare that a store even had one on stock. I got there and the sales person told me they have one in a gig bag that somebody ordered but he refused to even let me look at it even after I told him if I liked it, I was going to order one. He gave me a very hard time and tried to push every other bass on me including Rickenbackers although I already told him I owned a 4001 Ric. I left th store disgusted and refused to ever buy anything there again.
A few weeks later in January 1984, I was in the Pittsburgh, PA area and on a lark called Specialty Guitar and asked if they just happened to have a Steinberger. The sales person said they had ordered a fretless bass but a fretted one came in and I was more than welscome to come and play it. I drove to the store and the bass was there. The 2 sales people were so gracious and told me I could play any bass and amp in the store (which was mostly high end gear). Of course, I was like a kid in a candy store. I played the Steinberger and instantly loved it. The sales guy said he would set the bridge up while I was there since they did not get a chance to do so. I played several other basses in the meantime but went back to play the Steinberger again. This was on a Saturday and I did not have $1,435 in my pocket and asked them if they would hold it for me until Monday. We all knew it would be sold quickly and they said no problem. I called Monday and asked them to send it to me C.O.D. since I live 2 hours away. Not only did they do that for me. It was packed like a baby and I have been playing it now for 27 years next month.
It is amazing how customer service and going above and beyond to help a customer buy what they want. I had a similar positive experiences with 2 different Guitar Center recently.
