Sweetwater is stalking me

[Wfrance3]

It’s high a quality professional outfit. I prefer them when all things are equal.

Fast, friendly, fair, knowledgeable. All good qualities for anyone in the service industry.

 

[arbiterusa]

Bugs me too, OP. A lot. Had to block their emails and have some rather sharp conversations with them about their constant calling and probing for information. I’ll buy from them again, they are an excellent retailer, but their salespeople are definitely trained to be pretty stalkerish and I don’t like it at all.

 

[AngelDeVille]

I bought some xlr jacks off ebay and they bugged the crap out of me, then I bought a Gibson humbucker cover, and they did the same thing.

I tried to buy a guitar from them and they wouldn’t even come close to matching the price of a Reverb seller.

I have since bought about 6 guitars from ams and no shaging annoying calls.

 

[BassGH]

I think the candy is to give to your wife while you finish opening the box.

Done!! Then took her to dinner and explained in detail the importance of this instrument. Not sure she cared.

 

[Jscriv]

One, I love those bit-o-honeys. Two, they have the great customer service ever. They call you to give you a chance to complain. Theyve always gotten back to me super fast with any questions.

 

[non]

Yeah, mixed feelings about Sweetwater. Not a fan of the unsolicited calls, which have pretty much stopped, now that they assigned a new rep for me, since the last guy messed up pretty bad. The problem I have with Sweetwater is that they don't negotiate on the price. That said, their tech support is pretty good. For the most part, I buy from Musician's Friend. They will *always* give me a break on price, just for the asking.

*edit - of course, now MF is calling me, unsolicited...

don't try to negotiate the price. if you find it cheaper some place else ask them to price match. they will and you get candy.

 

[non]

i purchased a 410 cab from sweetwater and had it shipped to my work. i had to turn the box upside down to get the cab out and when i lifted the box all the way off a ton of candy came spilling out. if was so funny to see. we all laughed. they have great service to.

 

[Jscriv]

On my account, it is noted to ONLY send Bit-o-Honey’s! And that’s all I get.

Dang I can do that??? I also enjoy the Tootsie rolls. But things like that are why I love that company.

 

[non]

On my account, it is noted to ONLY send Bit-o-Honey’s! And that’s all I get.

on my account it was noted to only send smarties. got tired of those real fast. now i am back to the veriety pack.

 

[Rebel Rocker]

I had a problem with some gear I purchased from Sweetwater. gave them a call they had a replacement out to me that afternoon. Can't ask for better than that. Now I order candy from them and it always comes with bass gear. But it's some expensive candy.

 

[Drucifer]

Lol. As anti-social as I am, Sweetwater is the one company whose calls I take. No high-pressure pitch, just chatting about gear and offering to help however they can.

I bet if I asked them not to call, they wouldn’t.

The candy is funny, though. I guess it got us talking about them.

I did ask them not to call, it wasn't that I didn't want to chat about my purchases, but they'd call my cell while I was in meetings and at work and stuff. They forgot once, the guy called and let it ring a couple of times before he saw the note, he sent an email explaining and apologizing. Great customer service, I buy most everything from them. Not perfect, but great.

 

[mapleglo]

don't try to negotiate the price. if you find it cheaper some place else ask them to price match. they will and you get candy.

Well, that's the thing. All the on-line vendors list the same price. Ask MF for a discount, and they'll give it to you, Ask Sweetwater, and they won't. And I can't eat candy, I'm pre-diabetic. Candy is like poison to me. That's right, they're trying to kill me!

 

[BtaylorTheRogue]

I like the candy. I mean, I never eat it. But it shows me if my instrument/gear ever reached, say, 120 degrees. Or got knocked around a bunch.

 

[mapleglo]

I like the candy. I mean, I never eat it. But it shows me if my instrument/gear ever reached, say, 120 degrees. Or got knocked around a bunch.

Or was eaten by children.

 

[TheReceder]

Bought about 2 grand in gear from them in the last week. I really like the fact that they call with a confirmation of the on line order. That way it ensures you get exactly what you ordered. Had a problem with a QSC k12.2, they resolved it extremely fast and treated me with respect.

They might have stole my business from musicians friend.

As for the candy... hey... it's just a little bribe to the wife. I just wish they'd get rid of everything but the banana laffy taffy. That makes my purchases so much more tolerable to her.

As for price matching, there are some places that will "break rules" with some of their pricing, reverb is one of them, usually Sweetwater will come close enough that I'd rather go with them. Curious if anyone knows anything about ALTO music. Never heard of them until I started shopping around for the K12s. They seem very competitive as well.

 

[BassGH]

On my account, it is noted to ONLY send Bit-o-Honey’s! And that’s all I get.

My sister in law to my 4 year old niece the other day: "what do you say when a stranger gives you candy?"

Niece: "Thank you!"

 

[Ribofunk]

I don't get calls, but I do get candy. I asked for a certain brand and gauge of strings and they started carrying them. My rep does email when they have available demo models of the items on my wish list, and with discounted prices and all I've bought look/work as new. I don't mind the service at all and they get my business.

 

[No Malarky]

I have given them a good deal of business over the years. I have received ONE phone call and ONE email. Both of these were regarding ONE purchase nearly three years ago.

I consider this to be a healthy relationship!

 

[Tnavis]

Sweetwater is the only company that I don't mind calls or emails from. They only call me to check in on how gear I ordered is working out, and they send email about deals/clearance items that I might be interested in. To me, that's great customer support. I work, for all practical purposes, in the customer service industry, and Sweetwater is an example I bring up when training new employees. The first time I ordered from them, I ordered a $20 iPad stand. I was surprised that they sent candy with it, and even more surprised when I got a call a week later from them asking if it was working out for me, and reminding me of their easy return policy if it wasn't. I can absolutely get lower prices on certain gear and items from Amazon, but I know 100% that if I order from Sweetwater that it will be packaged well for shipping, and that they'll stand behind what they sell.

I swear I don't work for them. Although if they offered a discount, it would be worth considering.

 

[74hc]

They don’t send candy randomly. They throw some in the box when you order something from them. Unless I’m *also* too old, too ugly, and too mediocre to matter to them.

Never saw any candy in my orders.