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MTD & Bass Central - AMAZING CUSTOMER SERVICE!!

Mound of Sound

Mound of Sound

Jul 15, 2006
810
27
Brookline, NH
#1
Here's the story of the INCREDIBLE customer service I got from MTD, Bass Central, and Power-Music distributors - ALL OVER A $769 BASS!!

I ordered a new bass from Bass Central 2 weeks ago. It is an MTD Kingston Heir 5 active/fretless. They didn't have any in stock, so Perry from BC ordered one from me. He put up with me for 2 weeks asking about tracking numbers and when it's gonna get here, this and that.

Finally, the bass comes here last Thursday, 4 days before my birthday. I'm pretty stoked. Taked it out of the box - perfect shape. I'm very happy. I plugged it in and started to play, not only with the bass but with the controls - Volume, EQ, Blend - then, I notice the blend is not working. DAMN! The bridge pickup is fine, but the neck pickup isn't on. Not real happy at this point.

Now, I gotta say, I am an electronics technician by day, and probably could figure this out. However, the bass is brand new, and if it was something I couldn't fix, I didn't want to damage thee bass any further.

Friday morning, I call the phone # on MTD's website. Much to my surprise, it's Michael Tobias himself. I explain my problem and offers to help, but he advised me to call BC first.

I call BC, and a guy named Grasshopper offers to help me out. He says he can walk me through the electronics. Unfortunately, I was at work (not to mention the time between Phoenix and Florida makes it more difficult). He say he will call the distributor and call me back.

Impatient as I am, I call him back, and he tells me that they are going to send me a new one. COOL!

Then I go through several calls with the distributor in Canada about how I can get a new one and how I need to ship the bad one back to them. I spoke with Mark Eberhardt at Power Music distributors in Canada. The new bass was shipped within hours and is on the way to me in AZ now.

Mr. Tobias even emailed me back to check on the situation, to make sure it got taken care of.

ALL OVER A BASS THAT COST ME $769!! Now this is customer service. Any bass I buy from now on will be through Bass Central. If I ever get the $$ for a custom, I will be looking at MTD first. I'm still amazed that there are people that actually still care out there. Just thought I'd make my feelings known.

The shout outs:
Beaver, Perry, Grasshopper @ Bass Central
Mark Eberhardt @ Power Music Canada
Michael Tobias @ MTD
 
#2
Haven't worked with Bass Central, but knowing Mike T has a person definitely makes me want to consider his basses.

Granted, I dig the sound and the feel. I really feel he's done a lot for me even basic things like a set up or cutting a new nut, or suggesting teachers. (I'm local.) I really appreciate all that he's done for me. Looking back, I don't think i would've done that stuff for myself back when i was 13 and 14
 
#3
I'm really not surprised about that story...

Mike Tobias has been known to handle problems himself very often.

And I also know the great guys at Power, and as they are now the worldwide distributor for MTD (except american made basses), I'm sure that the world will be well served :)

Now if all the companys would offer the service that MTD, Ashdown and EA offers...we would be in good hands!
 
#4
Hi
I Haven't dealt w. Grasshopper personally, but a simple Search of him on TB will yield a great number of testimonials, raving about his help. He's apparently a guy who knows his stuff, and most importantly, is willing to share this knowledge with the Bass Playing Community at large. He seems to be a terrific reference/ resource.

Re: Mike Tobias.
I have had the opportunity to deal with Mr. Tobias on more than one occasion. He is among the nicest and most accommodating gentlemen you're likely to deal with. He answered every one of my Q's thoroughly, promptly, and with great courtesy.
Of major note was that my inquiries were on Basses (MTD & Tobias) which were bought on the Resale Market and did not financially benefit him in any way. Without exception, he's gone out of his way to help/advise in any way possible; always in a friendly, laid-back, very personable style.
When dealing with Mr. Tobias, one gets the impression that your concern, no matter how trivial or minor, is of primary importance to him. I've come to the conclusion that if it's a Bass with his name on it, he's very interested in assuring that your experience with it is a very positive one. The guy is simply great to deal with.
In an age where Craftsmanship & Customer Service seem to be a secondary concern, Mr. Tobias is very much the exception. Congratulations on your new MTD.
Regards
Bill.
 
#5
mrphattay said:
When dealing with Mr. Tobias, one gets the impression that your concern, no matter how trivial or minor, is of primary importance to him. I've come to the conclusion that if it's a Bass with his name on it, he's very interested in assuring that your experience with it is a very positive one. The guy is simply great to deal with.
In an age where Craftsmanship & Customer Service seem to be a secondary concern, Mr. Tobias is very much the exception.
Click to expand...

I definately agree with that--I've talked to him a couple of times and visited his shop once, and Mr. Tobias was great to deal with, even when I didn't wind up buying an instrument from him (that time!). And of course, his instruments are incredible, too.

Mike
 
#6
Mike T and BC are top notch IMHO.

Doug, Grasshopper, Beaver, and the rest of the gang at BC were great to do business with. I'll shop there again.

I sent an email to MTD one day ref a question I had. I sent the email from work and my number and extension are posted at the bottom.
Within about 20 minutes I got a response BY PHONE from MIKE T himself!!!!:eek:
Businesses should learn from service like that.
 
#7
I had a bad experience with Bass Central a few months ago.

I wanted to return an MTD Professional Strength Gig Bag for credit or exchange it for a regular one of their Undercover Single Gig Bags and was told I could not. This bag I wanted to return was a bit to snug for the bass I wanted to use it, and it was NEVER even taken anywhere, plus I had the original box and packing. Never even got a receipt for it. That was the last time I will deal with them. The bag is now on consignment at Bass Exchange in Sherman Oaks, CA.
 
#8
Carlo Tanori said:
I had a bad experience with Bass Central a few months ago.

I wanted to return an MTD Professional Strength Gig Bag for credit or exchange it for a regular one of their Undercover Single Gig Bags and was told I could not. This bag I wanted to return was a bit to snug for the bass I wanted to use it, and it was NEVER even taken anywhere, plus I had the original box and packing. Never even got a receipt for it. That was the last time I will deal with them. The bag is now on consignment at Bass Exchange in Sherman Oaks, CA.
Click to expand...

Question: How long had you had the gigbag in your possession???

I know from direct experience (I was the assistant manager there for 5 years) that Bass Central has a STRICT return policy of 48 hours - they will work with you if it's not too much longer, but if you'd had the bag for more than 3-4 days, they did exactly what their policy on returns states. After 2 days, your item, whatever it is, whatever the claimed condition (and I'm sure it is as you say "unused"), is "used" in their eyes, and they cannot take it back. This is not to protect themselves, or to "screw" you, but to protect the next customer that purchases that item.

If you tried to return it within the 2 days (or very shortly thereafter), you have a legitimate issue, otherwise....
 
#12
My MTD is from BC. And, actually it is my second MTD. My first had some things I preceived as issues. Granted I am insanely picky, but I guess you can be when you lay out that kind of scratch. Long story short, I wasn't 100% happy, so Mike Tobias built me whatever I wanted to my specs FOR FREE, to replace the bass I got from BC. I want to say I even had the bass for a good 4-6 months or so before I started talking to Mike about it. This was a number of years ago. Of course, I still have the bass, it is now a family heirloom.

For the record, I wouldn't call them "issues" any more. I'd call them character. It was a slightly weaker output from some notes, most likely due to body resonance. The only thing that Mike requested was that I stay away from the wenge neck option, since he think that played a part in my dissatisfaction.
 
#14
mrphattay said:
I Haven't dealt w. Grasshopper personally, but a simple Search of him on TB will yield a great number of testimonials, raving about his help. He's apparently a guy who knows his stuff, and most importantly, is willing to share this knowledge with the Bass Playing Community at large. He seems to be a terrific reference/ resource.
Click to expand...
i had the opposite experience with him. im too lazy to go into detail, but i havent bought anything from there since.
 

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