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Sweetwater is stalking me

#41
drummer5359 said:
Hahahaha.

I never looked at the calls and candy in that manner. That is funny, but it gets worse now that you have me thinking that way.

I got a tour of the facility from my rep when I happened to be driving through Fort Wayne last year and really appreciated it. Near the end of the tour he showed me the slide that runs from their offices down to the lobby. No, I'm not kidding.

I did a search and found a photo of it, and no, that is not me (or my rep) in the photo. (I love Sweetwater's for whatever it is worth.)

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I was there a couple weeks ago, just to see the place and meet a good friend's rep. My friend thinks very highly of him (and the company, too), and wanted to sign me up. I didn't mind, but I hope the guy isn't holding his breath waiting for me to want something... Unless he can come up with a 34" scale hollow body (not a semi- hollow body) lefty bass, they have nothing I want to buy. But, he seems like a nice guy; the facility was impressive; and the slide is definitely a hoot. I did buy a couple of guitar straps while I was there (hey, gotta buy something, right?), and... yeah, there was candy in the bag...:whistle:
 
#46
That's just the online version of what every sales person in the 1980's and 1990's was taught to do. Treat your customer like they mean something to you. Make them feel special. Give them extra attention. Back in the days before computers there were 3x5 card files where you could keep notes on things like a customer's kids' names, so you might ask them how their kids are doing in college. "How's Bobby doing? He's at <local university> right? You must be so proud of him." That sort of thing.

Now, did we on the sales floor think it was kind of hokey back then? Sure we did. But it was far more effective than not.
 
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#47
Paula Warren said:
I like Sweetwater, went there back in December. Incredible place and customer service was really great. Do like the candy in with the purchases on site...snacks on the two hour drive home.LOL...my poor teeth. Going to gearfest that should be fun... has anyone gone?
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I went to Mecca last year when I purchased my Mesa/Boogie Subway 112 cabs. Met my sales engineer in person - cool dude. I read some of the comments above about "stalking" and yes initially I did not like the unsolicited calls. Then again I do not like phone calls from anyone outside of my immediate family and close circle of friends. Now that I have relaxed a bit I am able to appreciate that my sales engineer takes interest in my bands and not just my credit card. I have actually made some musical connections through him and he always cuts me a deal on anything I buy. I have found that my sales engineer is always knowledgeable and will bend over backwards to help me get the gear I need. Never had an issue with returns or warranty. Love the free two year warranty on anything I buy.
 
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#48
BassGH said:
Sweetwater is a tiny bit creepy. First, they call me when there's no reason to. Then it turns out they keep notes about me and ask me how my bands are doing and so on. Can't even remember talking to them about that the other time they creeped. And what's in the toy box they sent me? Candy, for one thing--I kid you not! A bag of gd candy. Do they want me to climb in the back of their windowless van??

But to be fair, they also posted the weight of a $550 5 string bass. Then sent it to me a day earlier than promised, and in highly playable shape. A step ahead of the crowd. I'm a happy new owner of a Yamaha bb435. But locking the doors. And maybe not taking any more calls from Indiana.
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Hmmm. I actually call that good customer service. My sales guy Mark Bruhn bent over backward to make my Rickenbacker purchase as easy as possible, and I'm totally grateful for it!
 
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#50
mapleglo said:
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...
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They gave me a break on the price when I asked. I told them where I found it and at what price and they knocked some off; not a lot, but at least they worked with me.
 
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#52
Lately I've been ordering faster than I can eat the candy...

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#53
BassGH said:
Sweetwater is a tiny bit creepy. First, they call me when there's no reason to. Then it turns out they keep notes about me and ask me how my bands are doing and so on. Can't even remember talking to them about that the other time they creeped. And what's in the toy box they sent me? Candy, for one thing--I kid you not! A bag of gd candy. Do they want me to climb in the back of their windowless van??

But to be fair, they also posted the weight of a $550 5 string bass. Then sent it to me a day earlier than promised, and in highly playable shape. A step ahead of the crowd. I'm a happy new owner of a Yamaha bb435. But locking the doors. And maybe not taking any more calls from Indiana.
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1) Who is your Sweetwater guy?

2) You DARE to talk about a NEW BASS with NO PICS?!?!?!
 
#54
two fingers said:
1) Who is your Sweetwater guy?

2) You DARE to talk about a NEW BASS with NO PICS?!?!?!
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No idea who my Sweetwater guy is. I know they’re always guys. I know it’s been the same person at least twice.

Sorry, no pics now, the Yamaha bass is already resold! Great instrument but the neck shape didn’t work for me. A band mate is now happily rocking it in his other band. I turned my MMSR5 into a P/J and I’m happy too.
 

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