Denmark Street

[daz]

[quote name='electric nate' timestamp='1335729282' post='1635177']
This infuriates me. I work in both the music and service industries so maybe that's why, but when I read that, it made me want to go and cause that guy some trouble, maybe go in and just casually pick up his stock with sticky chocolatey fingers, or lead him on, and on, and on, get him pilling up thousands worth of gear and then give him and expired credit card at the end. Sadly Newcastle is a bit far to go just to harass a complete arsehole.
[/quote]

I promise if I win the lottery, even a small win of say 80 grand, I will go and do this and film it with a spy camera for youtube

Righto, fingers crossed for the lottery. I have about 25 tickets here to check, that I have collected and not yet checked, over the last few months.

Edited May 5, 2012 by daz

[Tankdave]

SoundsLive (Online peeps) have been helpful on the phone, prices are good too, but I'm having second thoughts about making an actual purchase now. (one is looming BTW)

Edited May 5, 2012 by Tankdave

[hairyhaw]

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1333133306' post='1597996']
Gotta say I`m surprised. Maybe their on-line/telephone sales business is more important to them, as they`ve always been 100% great with whatever I`ve bought/returned.
[/quote]

+1.

[benebass]

[quote name='Tankdave' timestamp='1336237497' post='1642991']
SoundsLive (Online peeps) have been helpful on the phone, prices are good too, but I'm having second thoughts about making an actual purchase now. (one is looming BTW)
[/quote]

In the shop the after-sales has been great in my dealings with them. The guy who's described in this thread was actually really friendly & helpful when I was looking for a new strap the other week too...

I think most city centre shops have to try & filter out real buyers from tyre kickers & they tend to get it wrong with younger customers most of the time. They certainly did when I was younger!

[Robert Manning]

i sold an old 'key guitar' on ebay for £60. i scratched my name into the finish for a reason I'm not too sure about about. anywho.... they where selling it for £199!,
the shop was wunjos guitars, nice guys... but overpriced rubbish in there. all the other shops seam to hate customers. but to be honest... they must get sick of all the tourists wondering down there getting there greasy mits over there gear with no intention of buying

[steve-bbb]

[quote name='Robert Manning' timestamp='1336240701' post='1643047']
they must get sick of all the tourists wondering down there getting there greasy mits over there gear with no intention of buying
[/quote]

well the proprietor can take sole blame for that!

if they resent the tourist trap postcode so much (not to mention the astronomical shop rents) then move to somewhere else in town that is easily accessible but off the tourist track, then you know for sure that a significant number of the punters that cross your threshold are there because theyve made the trip purposefully rather than just wandered in off the street for a photo opp and gaze in wonderment at all the shiny

grrr

[Dusty]

I used to enjoy a trip to Denmark St to look, try & buy the candy (bought 2 Rickies, an EB3 & a Warwick Thumb), but like most on here, I would not bother now. Me & my son went up there looking for a new PRS for him and was treated with total contempt. Most of the staff could not be bothered to get off the internet, and those that wern't, looked at me as if I was sh*te !!

I know a few people that worked in Tin Pan back in the 60's / 70's, and they would have never treated me like this.
So Digital Village in Romford got my cash (lot's) and my son got a very nice twangy thing.

But I must say in Wunjos favor, they were more than helpfull, offering me and my 14 yr old the oppertunity to try ANY stock in the shop, even before we said what we was after. The stock was a taty, but most of it was s/h and nothing (not even the 70's Rickies) took our fancy,

But at least they tried to treat the all customers with respect, as they were like this with everyone that went in

[MacDaddy]

[quote name='steve-bbb' timestamp='1336242290' post='1643074']
well the proprietor can take sole blame for that!

if they resent the tourist trap postcode so much (not to mention the astronomical shop rents) then move to somewhere else in town that is easily accessible but off the tourist track, then you know for sure that a significant number of the punters that cross your threshold are there because theyve made the trip purposefully rather than just wandered in off the street for a photo opp and gaze in wonderment at all the shiny

grrr
[/quote]

this

[uncle psychosis]

[quote name='skej21' timestamp='1333113097' post='1597615']
I asked to try a Warwick (which in hindsight would NOT have been the bass for me anyway!) and the guy said 'Take your belt off and you can. We don't want it scratching the bass, because we've got to sell it at some point'...

I didn't say a word and just walked out.
[/quote]

Seems a reasonable request to me. Personally I don't want to buy a guitar thats been scratched and dinged on the back when other people have been trying it out! The staff have to balance letting people try stuff against taking care of their stock so I don't mind if I get asked to take off my belt / jacket when trying something out. In fact, it actually makes me think the staff care!

[daz]

I wonder how many would welcome me if I went in and totally truthfully said.

" I have no intention of buying today. But if I find something I like, then at sometime in the future is I get the money I may well come back and buy it, if I can get it off you at a fair price"

None I'll bet. but then to be fair, that's not just true of Denmark street and musical instrument shops ?

PS: I have just had a thought. I now intend to do this now in every guitar shop I go in. Will open a new thread and let you know how I get on. Should be interesting, if slow.

[skej21]

The reason I was annoyed was because my belt was clearly well-covered by a t-shirt and jumper (intentionally so as i knew i was off to try instruments). They clearly asked me tore move it in an attempt to make trying the instrument more of a hassle and increase my chances of walking out and not taking up their time. It worked.

I don't think that is a reasonable request. It would be like asking someone to remove their glasses in case they slipped off the face and fell onto the bass.

Also, having worked in a music shop, the only stock we were careful with was stuff with nitro finishes. Anything else, we were happy to get a little shop worn and would always offer new boxed stock if someone wanted to buy or discount the floor stock if someone was happy to take an instrument with a few scratches. That way, you never have to make any potential customer feel awkward/unwanted/unvalued.

[quote name='uncle psychosis' timestamp='1336460961' post='1645787']


Seems a reasonable request to me. Personally I don't want to buy a guitar thats been scratched and dinged on the back when other people have been trying it out! The staff have to balance letting people try stuff against taking care of their stock so I don't mind if I get asked to take off my belt / jacket when trying something out. In fact, it actually makes me think the staff care!
[/quote]

Edited May 8, 2012 by skej21

[Mornats]

This isn't quite related to Denmark Street (I've never been there) but being a Northerner I find that shopping in Newcastle is a world apart from shopping in London in general. Newcastle, and to be fair most other places in the UK, can be quite pleasant. London is just full of people who don't give a sh*t IME.

Anyway, what I really wanted to say was that Ihad a decent experience in PMT in Bristol on Saturday. I strolled in, wandered around the bass section for 2 minutes when the sales guy walked up and asked if I needed any help. I did indeed as I was looking for a new amp. So he let me try 5 different amps, let me choose a bass (any bass I liked) to try it with and walked me through the controls on each, trying to get a fair comparison.

When it came to buy it he talked through the options, I haggled a bit, he tried price-matching it (but they had the same price as everywhere else as the amp was discounted everywhere anyway) and in the end I got a £20 Klotz lead out of him which wasn't too bad. So it was quite good really. I even wandered around the store for 10 mins thinking about it and he was there when I got back to do the deal.

To add to this, I've been into that PMT 3-4 times before that trip where I'd tried out pretty much every bass in there without even giving the inkling that I was going to buy so I could have been labelled as a tire-kicker. So all-in-all, it was quite a nice experience! Some shops, even chain shops can still be good.

[Thunderpaws]

I had the very same experience after dragging my wife, brother and sister in law across town just to go to Denmark St. I returned to Edinburgh, went to GuitarGuitar and bought a G&L the next weekend with amazing service after being positively thrown into the booth to try as many guitars as I could handle through a sweet mesa boogie amp.

There's something rotten in the state of Denmark st.

[paul torch]

Once, a year or so back, I was wandering around Denmark Street in my lunch hour. I went into the Bass Cellar for a shufty and spotted an interesting bass, it was labelled as a second hand Status and priced at around £700. There was something odd about it, on closer inspection I noticed it was exactly the same as a bass that I own, a Washburn Status with a re-spray valued at approximately £300. I mentioned it to the guy who reckoned he was the manager who knodded as if what I had told him had sunk in. I returned about 3 weeks later and the bass was still there, still advertised as a Status and still priced at around £700. I have never returned as I now have the measure of the type of people they are.

[jackhammer]

Kinda reminds me of a shop in Watford, a few years ago they used to have the walls filled with some pretty decent guitars and basses. Now they have one bass and about 10 guitars, all of which are pretty damn awful, apart from one ibanez, which is way overpriced.
shame really, my lunch breaks used to be awesome in that place, so busy, now it's dead, I went for the first time to buy strings and found out that infact, that's pretty much all they sell..

[KevB]

When I got my USA S1 jazz on eBay it was collection only. When I turned up to the address the actual owner wasn't there, he'd left it for me to pick up and leave the money with an employee as the address turned out to be a hairdressers. Interestingly, as soon as I walked they took one look at me and said 'You must be here for that guitar'. I clearly didn't look like I was in for a cut and blow dry. Why is this relevant to this thread? When I'd inspected it and was happy and finally got it home I was checking through the hard case supplied with it and came across the original receipt which had a Denmark Street address on it but I can't recall the actual shop name. The original buyer had paid a hefty wedge for it barely more than a year earlier. Still one of my best bargains all in all and it remains my most used instrument.

[Twigman]

[quote name='jackhammer' timestamp='1336564238' post='1647500']
Kinda reminds me of a shop in Watford, a few years ago they used to have the walls filled with some pretty decent guitars and basses. Now they have one bass and about 10 guitars, all of which are pretty damn awful, apart from one ibanez, which is way overpriced.
shame really, my lunch breaks used to be awesome in that place, so busy, now it's dead, I went for the first time to buy strings and found out that infact, that's pretty much all they sell..
[/quote]

Hooters?

[skankdelvar]

[quote name='daz' timestamp='1336466827' post='1645863']
I wonder how many would welcome me if I went in and totally truthfully said.

" I have no intention of buying today. But if I find something I like, then at sometime in the future is I get the money I may well come back and buy it, if I can get it off you at a fair price"[/quote]

Funnily enough, that's pretty much exactly what I say the minute I go into a guitar shop*. Nice smile, all business-like before they even get a chance to speak. Works a treat, because it puts oneself on the front foot.


[size=3]*(apart from the part about 'if I get the money'. They don't need to know that bit).[/size]

[jamesbass116]

I went to denmark street the other day after buying some manuscript paper from Foyles round the corner. I went into the store where the bass cellar (Literally now a cellar full of basses) is situated. It turns out I'm currently after an American P bass. Went in there told them what I do, what gear I have and what I want to get, they let me try whatever I wanted! Same happened in Wunjo's, AND in the vintage guitar store. Tried a 63 P bass that I was frustratingly short of money for. Maybe I caught them on a good day because I do know what the staff are normally like..

[Wayne Firefly]

Been down Denmark st. a few times since being in Vice Squad, and I agree with all the above... I made a game out of it after a while....one game was to pretend I had a limitless gold card and van parked near the Intrepid Fox, then see if I could kit the band out with what we all like. Fail
Second game is to go into the shops and either match the staff in mood / surlyness or play dumb... its great fun. Just be what they expect you to be. If you get the surly stare or whatever, give it back, match the attitude !!! Playing dumb is the more fun though....
Then go to Starbucks and have a nice coffee on Charing Cross Road and chuckle to yourself about some time well wasted......
Because ultimately thats what it is... a waste of time.

[skankdelvar]

[quote name='jamesbass116' timestamp='1336663816' post='1649158']
I went into the store where the bass cellar (Literally now a cellar full of basses) is situated. [/quote]

IIRC, they started out in the cellar. Then they moved upstairs and everybody said "Why are you called the Bass Cellar when you're on the ground floor? Is it a pun? Hallo? Hallo? Can you see me?".

Now they seem to have moved back to the cellar. Life goes on.

[jamesbass116]

[quote name='skankdelvar' timestamp='1336664082' post='1649165']
IIRC, they started out in the cellar. Then they moved upstairs and everybody said "Why are you called the Bass Cellar when you're on the ground floor? Is it a pun? Hallo? Hallo? Can you see me?".

Now they seem to have moved back to the cellar. Life goes on.
[/quote]

Life does indeed go on. I can't believe I actually missed this out but there was one controversy in the bass cellar the other day. I was talking to a beginner who was looking for a good solid bass that could last him for a while. Naturally I recommended a squier vintage modified jazz. I know for a fact these are quality instruments for the price. Shop clerk seemed to have other ideas. Recommended him a ghastly spector bass, and despite the young guy wanting to keep playing the jazz, the assistant forced the spector on him and he ended up buying it. Oh well. c'est la vie. que sera sera and all that jazz.

[OliverBlackman]

[quote name='jamesbass116' timestamp='1336666818' post='1649228']
Life does indeed go on. I can't believe I actually missed this out but there was one controversy in the bass cellar the other day. I was talking to a beginner who was looking for a good solid bass that could last him for a while. Naturally I recommended a squier vintage modified jazz. I know for a fact these are quality instruments for the price. Shop clerk seemed to have other ideas. Recommended him a ghastly spector bass, and despite the young guy wanting to keep playing the jazz, the assistant forced the spector on him and he ended up buying it. Oh well. c'est la vie. que sera sera and all that jazz.
[/quote]

shops are given targets, maybe because they have a better profit margin on some products than others. The best shops are the ones that give you honest advice, which i think Wunjo's great for.

[skankdelvar]

While I was lurking in an emporium last week pretending I might buy something, a visibly very, [i]very[/i] rich daddy was trying to foist a £79 acoustic off on his lad.

He asked me what I thought of it, so I pointed out that it was useless and he'd be much better off buying the very best guitar he could afford. The lad would progress quicker and Dad would get much more of his money back on a re-sale. Like what? Well, a Martin D18 would do.

So that's what he did.

Edited May 10, 2012 by skankdelvar

[Geek99]

[quote name='witterth' timestamp='1315139786' post='1361753']
the other one up north is PMT in salford (sorry to name check the competion Andy) but nothing but the best in sevice advice and help there too. I'd be willing to bet the rest of the stores are the same... but that is a guess.
[/quote]

I've been to Salford PMT and they were very helpful. My little daughter left her bear there and they first-class posted it back to us gratis.

Denmark street used to be great - I bought a Tokai strat and an Epiphone Les Paul in 1988 /89 there without any trouble at all. Now its just plain embarrassing.