Lack of customer service in UK stores?

[ashevans09]

Really am wondering if this is just me finding this.

I recently put in an order for a sandberg. I wanted to go through a UK store (y'know, help the local economy and all that) so I called up my local PMT. They took my details, took down the specs of what I was looking for and said they'd call back. Week and a half later I've heard nothing, so I go into the store and tell them they never called back.

"Oh I thought we'd said you'll come in and we'll discuss options" was their response. Bollocks, Anyhow, I let it slide and have a started having a conversation with the bloke (it was the same guy from on the phone). At that point, a coworker then walks in to show the guys his newborn. The guy I'm talking to obviously wants to go over and congratulate the guy and meet his child (fair enough, have no problems with that), so I say it's ok if he goes over and says hi, I'll just wander around the shop. 40 minutes later I'm still waiting for the guy. I'm not hiding in the back of the store, I'm waiting by the till and playing with my phone so it's not like he thought I was trying basses and didn't want to be interrupted or the like. Anyhoo, my parking ticket is running out so I eventually walk over to ask if we can quickly wrap things up and he (again) writes down what I'd like and all my details and says he'll call and forward me any emails he gets from the supplier, A further week and a half passes without a word and I give up and try elsewhere.

I email Station Music in Germany about a bass they have, and within 20 minutes have an answer. After a six email back and forth that took approximately an hour, they have their money and I have a bass ready to be shipped. They promised they would email me the shipping details on Monday when it shipped, and they have.

Why is this such a difficult thing for UK companies to do? I'm not asking for the world, I'd just like them to do what they say they're going to do. Every overseas retailer I've used has literally tripped over themselves to make my buying experience a good one yet UK companies don't seem to care. I felt throughout that they felt they were doing me a favor by even considering getting me a quote. Jesus, I want to support your business, give me a sodding quote.

I can't say all UK music stores are bad - I've had great experiences with the gallery in Camden and Mansons and have heard great things about bass direct - but they really feel like the exception rather than the rule.

Am I expecting too much?

Gah, rant over.

Edited May 7, 2012 by ashevans09

[TheGreek]

Sounds pretty typical - can't recall the amount of times I've walked into stores and been ignored or treated poorly - serious contender for worst shop has got to be "Andy's" in Denmark St - and the bullshit you used to get if they did acknowledge you!! It's not as if we're only spending a fiver - look at my sig and see how much I spend on me..I'm not shy when it comes to buying things for myself..

I was in my local music shop recently on a possible impulse buy..I asked what Bass Effects they had.."sorry, we don't have any..there isn't a demand.." Now firstly there clearly is a demand otherwise firms wouldn't manufacture them and secondly,..err I'm standing here trying to give you money..suggests there might be a demand!!

Probably explains why firms like Thomann are thriving and local shops (which I like to support) and dying..

[louisthebass]

I've had great customer service from Bass Direct, Bass Gear, & The Gallery - you can't go wrong with those three.

[cameltoe]

Yes, I totally agree with all of this. Some music shops are dreadful in terms of customer service. It would be nice to not be treated like a complete d1ckhead in some of them. Usually by some snotty nosed kid who genuinely believes he is awesome and you are a clown.

I have literally lost count of the amount of stories I've been told by my friends who have been treated like pillocks when they've gone to a music shop with the intention of spending vast amounts of money.

Very lucky in Cornwall- Modern Music in Truro is just about the best for customer service I've ever encountered- although the shop is tiny. I will continue to spend as much money in there as physically possible.

Craigs in Bodmin- not so good. Every time I've been in there I've wanted to punch Nigel. Have walked out of there before when I only wanted to buy strings, and another time when I only wanted to buy straplocks. Patronising is not a strong enough word.

[Prime_BASS]

[quote name='cameltoe' timestamp='1336401674' post='1645036']
Yes, I totally agree with all of this. Some music shops are dreadful in terms of customer service. It would be nice to not be treated like a complete d1ckhead in some of them. Usually by some snotty nosed kid who genuinely believes he is awesome and you are a clown.
[/quote]

This all over!

I like schooling anyone in a music shop about anything. I recently went in to some local shop to look at OD's and I told them I had a Stingray, I didn't want them to attempt to comprehend what a Sterling was. Even still out of what was mainly fenders and SBMM Ray's the guy still had to ask me which one was a Stingray.

Some hobo's that run Fuzz in Nottingham couldn't give me a general outline of specs of the Markbas sgear they stock, and every local shop that have ever 'took my details' and said they'll call me, never did. The best experience shopping music gear has been Hot Rox in Nottingham and Bass direct. Mark has only ever slipped up when he has been either really really busy or suppliers have let him down.

[Lozz196]

And it`s not just music shops. Customer Service in the UK seems to be either "the department that says no", or administering the very smallest amount of help possible, the "minimum I can get away with".

I suppose I`ve been quite lucky in my dealings with music shops, haven`t had any horror stories - though must admit, most of my buying is done on here now

[cameltoe]

i would agree with the comments on German customer service as well- very good.

[Grand Wazoo]

[quote name='louisthebass' timestamp='1336401063' post='1645016']
I've had great customer service from Bass Direct, Bass Gear, & The Gallery - you can't go wrong with those three.
[/quote]

There is a big difference in the 3 shops you've quoted in the fact that they are indipendent stores and each are keen to maximise their sales, PMT is a franchise. like McDonalds, if you don't get your burgers from them you'll get it from another McD, so that is their attitude. Indipendent stores know the meaning of competition to survive and as a result they will appear to look after you with more interest at heart.

[EssentialTension]

I've worked in shops, although not music shops, myself.

In my experience, a large proportion of customers were rude, impolite, impatient, self-centred and think that shop staff are robotic pieces of sh1t for the customer's preferred and immediate use. I know other shop workers who have had the very same experience.

Over many years, I've always had good service at GAK in Brighton (except on one occasion a very long time ago when a member of their staff failed to relieve me of £400 cash in my pocket because he couldn't be bothered to stand up).

I've also been well looked after at a wide variety of other music and non-music shops around the country.

[EssentialTension]

[quote name='louisthebass' timestamp='1336401063' post='1645016']
I've had great customer service from Bass Direct, Bass Gear, & The Gallery - you can't go wrong with those three.
[/quote]
I've had bad customer service from one of those - I won't name names, but you can go wrong - but it may have been for explainable reasons. Nonetheless, poor sevice.

Edited May 7, 2012 by EssentialTension

[Ou7shined]

My dad owns a couple of shops (not music). He demands the highest from his staff. If for any reason they don't adhere to shop policy in appearance, attentiveness and productivity they are out. He takes a great interest in each of his employees and their home lives and makes them feel part of "the family" - they are even consulted when new staff are brought in. Accordingly they are extremely well paid for their field (most own their own houses) and are extremely motivated... but not in a bad cut-throat way. You never go in there and see them standing about chatting - they are always busy on displays or any little jobs that need to be done.
I think the fact that they are paid well means the difference between a good level of service and a mediocre one. Sadly most employers don't make that connection.

[LukeFRC]

and we wonder why our economy is in freefall and germany's isn't....

[ashevans09]

[quote name='LukeFRC' timestamp='1336408803' post='1645198']
and we wonder why our economy is in freefall and germany's isn't....
[/quote]

I'll be honest that thought definitely crossed my mind too.

[ashevans09]

[quote name='TheGreek' timestamp='1336400542' post='1645004']
I was in my local music shop recently on a possible impulse buy..I asked what Bass Effects they had.."sorry, we don't have any..there isn't a demand.." Now firstly there clearly is a demand otherwise firms wouldn't manufacture them and secondly,..err I'm standing here trying to give you money..suggests there might be a demand!!

Probably explains why firms like Thomann are thriving and local shops (which I like to support) and dying..
[/quote]

Well that's balls, I've spent ages waiting for a particular pedal to come in to a shop only to have it snatched out from under me so there definitely IS demand. Most bassists I see on the circuit these days have at least an OD pedal.

And I honestly think that's true about Thomann and the like. I emailed them too about this and despite getting something like 105,000 emails a day (so there website says), they still emailed me back 2 days later with a note from Sandberg, so they'd obviously taken the time to look into it for me.

[quote name='cameltoe' timestamp='1336401674' post='1645036']

Very lucky in Cornwall- Modern Music in Truro is just about the best for customer service I've ever encountered- although the shop is tiny. I will continue to spend as much money in there as physically possible.
[/quote]

Ah! Might give it a visit - I live in Exeter and have friends in Truro so when I visit them I'll drop in . Just out of interest did it used to be a chain? There was a Modern Music in Abingdon a few years back. It turned into a Dawsons and is now a pound shop unfortunately

[gafbass02]

[quote name='EssentialTension' timestamp='1336403864' post='1645091']
I've worked in shops, although not music shops, myself.

In my experience, a large proportion of customers were rude, impolite, impatient, self-centred and think that shop staff are robotic pieces of sh1t for the customer's preferred and immediate use. I know other shop workers who have had the very same experience.
[/quote]

This. Almost drove me to suicide. Did drive me to a break down.
Some people seem to use shopping as an opportunity to treat another human being like dirt for no particular reason. My particular shop was an extreme case having worked in others in the same chain and seen nothing approaching quite the immense level of extreme douchery that I was subjected to for eight years in my main branch.

This meant by the end I was probably a disinterested, unwilling, grumpy sales assistant.
Worn down and beaten by the vile treatment I was subjected to by the company and customers alike.
I'd rather chew my own face off than work in retail again.
I understand how frustrating and arrogant and superior some music shop assistants can be, I hate it, especially the patronising type. I guess I just have a healthy empathy for how they got that way.

Edited May 7, 2012 by gafbass02

[mushers]

i always pop in a guitar shop when i pass one cant seem to walk on by

theres a few near me one of them is a small shop where i always felt they were thinking i was going to steal something as they followed me where ever i went but after popping in a few hundred times i realise there top guys usualy pop in takes all of 5 minutes to look at the 4 bass guitars hanging up and i spend another half hour talking trash with the owner who is a very helpfull chap

another i have been to maybe 6 times they keep the bass gear up stairs and its nigh on impossible to pry whoever is at the till off thier dam seat to buy something but again there nice guys

i dont think they or us can win they will always apear too interested or not interested at all

Edited May 7, 2012 by mushers

[chrismuzz]

The problem is that you went into PMT. They employ such trolls.

[Lozz196]

[quote name='gafbass02' timestamp='1336412451' post='1645296']
Some people seem to use shopping as an opportunity to treat another human being like dirt for no particular reason.
[/quote]

Very true, having worked with the public, some can be particularly bad - and I usually found this behaviour to be in more affluent areas for some reason. The rougher the area, the behaviour directed towards us always seemed to be better.

[chrismuzz]

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1336420634' post='1645447']
Very true, having worked with the public, some can be particularly bad - and I usually found this behaviour to be in more affluent areas for some reason. The rougher the area, the behaviour directed towards us always seemed to be better.
[/quote]

I guess in places where money isn't as easily to come by, people are more appreciative of customers! I wouldn't say Stoke was PARTICULARLY poor, but it's not the poshest of places. I've generally had positive experiences every time I've set foot in a music shop here, whether I had money to spend or not

[Jellyfish]

After having to wait [b]6 months[/b] for PMT to replace a bass that had a multitude of problems, I now only use them to try out basses and their second hand gear which sometimes isn't badly priced at all.

[chrismuzz]

The last bass I tried out in PMT was a very nice looking Ibanez BTB 4 string. The strings and fretboard were black with grime, the action was high enough to put your hand underneath the 12th fret, and the pots were painfully crackly. For some reason when the sales assistant asked me what I thought of it, he got offended and ignored me until I left

EDIT: It was being sold as NEW

Edited May 7, 2012 by chrismuzz

[fluffo]

And they say the uk is a nation of shop keepers.
I have a shop near me that advertise a huge range of high end equipment. I rang them about some Markbass gear, they said that someone had bought the lot last week, nothing but a load of rubbish they have never even kept any of it in stock.
I rang them 2 weeks later about some other stuff advertised as stock and that had all sold the week before aswell!!!!.
As a nation we don't help ourselves as retailers and they wonder why we use the likes of Thomann.
I have had the same issues with selectron regarding the new ESP range that they distribute for the UK, they had no real info on any of the new lines just out, I then email a German shop and they instantley give me all the info that I needed and even after shipping costs were still better value, so another goal for the Germans.

[CBbass]

[quote name='fluffo' timestamp='1336422460' post='1645481']
As a nation we don't help ourselves as retailers and they wonder why we use the likes of Thomann.
[/quote]

Well to be honest I emailed Thomann last year asking why a combo was B-stock and they quite literally said it wasn't worth the time to check. I don't see how that is great or even satisfactory service, perhaps I just had a useless rep answer my email.

To the OP, the guy sounds like a cock. A great experience I had recently was with Jimmy at GAK over the phone. I bought a LP Jr, and unfortunately it had sh*te quality control (first and last Gibson I'll buy new). He gave me a huge discount and some freebies, when I told him about the issues he went above and beyond and also sounded genuinely disapointed and apologetic. He insisted I kept the freebies too which was nice. Also had a great experience with Andertons, they had a guitar out of it's packaging and inspected it for me.

[chrismuzz]

I think I should level the playing field a bit and name a few UK shops I have had STELLAR customer service from:

www.gak.co.uk
www.andertons.co.uk
www.effectpowersupplies.com
www.gear4music.com
www.stringbusters.com
www.stringsdirect.com

[XB26354]

Poor customer service might be endemic in the UK but it's something you can let slide buying £10 of food at the local Lidl. It's a lot harder to stomach If you're looking for a £1000+ bass. I've also worked in music retail, albeit a long time ago. Yes, some customers could be belligerent and rude but there were also a lot taking their first steps in music (or buying on behalf of a son/daughter) and it irritated the hell out of me to see them treated like dirt because they didn't know much about guitars or basses. Yes, music retail is probably low paid without much incentive to perform well, but you only get one life so if you don't like it do something else! It's not just the recession nor the shrinking of the music instrument industry that has seen so many music shops close. Aside from the Gallery I can't think of a single music shop I've been to where the staff have been even vaguely polite, let alone knowledgeable.