musicians friend

Ah, jeez...........I'm still so mad at them.

I had had decent dealings with them, but recently, well to make a loooong story short, they double-shipped an order, double charged me on an order, and then somehow screwed up on telling me how to return it. UPS seems to have lost the package, MF has charged me for two pups and I'm out 111 bucks and nobody at MF seems to care or know how to help me.

So, if you ask me? DO NOT ever order from them!

 

My story is the exact opposite. I bought my Jack Casady signature bass from them last December, and although it took almost three weeks* to get it, when it arrived it was in mint shape.

Then in May I ordered the case from them; got it in about a week. Again, no problems.

And, just about five weeks ago I ordered an Ampeg combo amp; got it in about eight days. No problems.


So, we have one yay, and one nay. Anyone else?

Mike J.
* At the time it was supposed to ship from their Kansas City location last year, I remember there was a lot of trouble on the highways in that area due to a lot of snow.

 

my brother ordered some misc things from MF and they came relitivley fast. As fast as you would expect a normal package to come. Perfect condition too...it was pretty good service overall

 

I bought a Les Paul from them a few years ago, no complaints from me.

 

I've bought a few things from MF... nothing big, I think the most expensive was my Roadie Rench. Seriously, though, everything came quickly and with no damage, although I never bought a bass or anything expensive from them. I'd rather check it out first, but that's just me.

 

Just today I had an alumabass 1x10" cabinet show up at work. It was in the manufacturer's box, and it was only $129. They list for $700-ish. Even if I just use it as a practice amp, it's still a great deal. now I can leave my bigger rig out of my teeny apartment.

This was my fourth, or fifth order from them, and all have gone relatively smoothly. Those unlucky enough to have an error in the order, unfortunately, have been caught in the wheels of a big corporation. So, as long as you aren't the unlucky one out 50 who don't have a problem, you should be fine.

 

In my travels, I have come across a fairly common perception that Musician's Friend is well known for their crappy customer service. Their prices are pretty great, and they're all about promo and voiceovers saying that they have great customer service, but that's a different thing than actually being good at it. all promo, no follow through.

Their whole approach is like the Home Shopping Network or something. You call some minimum wage dork that's in another state from the gear that you'll be getting. They don't know anything about anything and if something goes wrong, nobody is responsible. There's something to be said for buying gear from a person on commision. They have to be good at Customer Service or they don't get paid. The dorks at MF get their $7 an hour no matter what happens and I've personally found them to be absolutely terrible if anything goes wrong with your order. they're no friend of mine.

 

I have had no problems and have purchased a couple of things. corinpills sums it up well, you can get a great deal with good service but if something does go wrong and you need to talk to the meatheads on the phone you will not be happy.

If you use the phrase "Let me talk to your manager" it may be less painless. I did have one problem with an effects pedal and just went over the phone bozos head and was done with it, got my new pedal 2 days later with shipping paid.

 

what bugs me about them is how they don't do orders in Canada anymore. I used to love drooling over those catalogs they mail ya with my buddies; though I'd never buy anything from 'em.