SH73 Posted July 4, 2019 Share Posted July 4, 2019 I've had another poor customer service experience from one of the biggest UK guitar stores. Not naming and shaming them, but not the first time they don't stick with their online claims and takes forever to attempt, not actually resolve the issue. I find Amazon cheaper and more reliable with super fast free delivery. Never had issues Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ambient Posted July 4, 2019 Share Posted July 4, 2019 I like Amazon. I bought some DMs in January. They split yesterday, I emailed them and within 5 minutes they refunded me and sent me a return voucher. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ambient Posted July 4, 2019 Share Posted July 4, 2019 (edited) The best music shops I've encountered are Thomann and Bass Direct. Edited July 4, 2019 by ambient 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ped Posted July 4, 2019 Share Posted July 4, 2019 Generally I try and support shops but some make that quite difficult. What I worry about is the likes of Amazon, Facebook, eBay etc becoming so ubiquitous that even the good guys, smaller more specialist firms (like BC!), get passed over because default behaviour becomes to use one of the giants. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hooky_lowdown Posted July 4, 2019 Share Posted July 4, 2019 So you're championing zero hours contract and minimum wage, well done you! 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SH73 Posted July 4, 2019 Author Share Posted July 4, 2019 If I can get a product with the same day delivery from Amazon , but not getting a resolution in 2 days from a high street shop then I have no choice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ambient Posted July 4, 2019 Share Posted July 4, 2019 5 minutes ago, hooky_lowdown said: So you're championing zero hours contract and minimum wage, well done you! Their customer service yes. I do buy from shops, they mostly tend to be great at selling you something, but don’t want to know when it goes wrong. I bought some Genelec monitors from a shop called Musicmatters, who I think are in Manchester. One developed a fault after just a few weeks. I emailed them and they arranged to have it returned, not to replace, but to repair. I explained that I couldn’t be without it, I needed it for my PhD work, I had a composition to hand in. Their reply was well you should have a spare set! 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SH73 Posted July 4, 2019 Author Share Posted July 4, 2019 Just now, SH73 said: If I can get a product with the same day delivery from Amazon , but not getting a resolution in 2 days from a high street shop then I have no choice. I accept two counts of dissatisfactory service, but it they fail thrird time and are unable to rectify the issue I shop elsewhere. I can't wait days and days being told promises by a high street shop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thodrik Posted July 4, 2019 Share Posted July 4, 2019 (edited) I find Amazon generally great when things go well but utterly horrible to deal with in event something goes wrong. For example: I ordered a CD, but I received the vinyl LP in error. I return the item via the Amazon returns system. I then go through the re-ordering process through the online box ticking via the Amazon interface system. I then need to send a 'wrong item description' online thingy which is then sent off but does nothing (because said online thing gets stuck in a processing vortex between Amazon and the seller/shop in question). I then re-order the correct item making clear that I am ordering the CD and not the LP (and taking screenshots to show that I am ordering the CD and not the vinyl). Click order. What happens next? Of course, the re-send me the vinyl and the process begins again. Had the issue happened with an independent shop, I could have just phoned the shop and said 'you sent me a vinyl when I just ordered a CD' and the matter would have be resolved in two seconds with a 'sorry about that. Can you maybe return the vinyl and we will post out the CD and refund you the postage costs of the vinyl?' exchange. For that reason, for any items of expense, I generally prefer ordering from a shop as if something goes wrong then I can contact the shop/seller directly rather than have to deal with the Amazon interface system. For the record, I am now just keeping the vinyl even though I don't own a record player. Edited July 4, 2019 by thodrik 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LeftyP Posted July 4, 2019 Share Posted July 4, 2019 2 hours ago, hooky_lowdown said: So you're championing zero hours contract and minimum wage, well done you! I think you will find most hotels and food outlets match your opinion of Amazon. Not to mention products made in the far east. I know of one national outdoor activity shop that uses zero hours- min wage. You don't know how many high street treat their staff this way. Much of what I buy from Amazon actually comes from independent dealers who use the site as a shop window. 8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doctor J Posted July 4, 2019 Share Posted July 4, 2019 2 hours ago, hooky_lowdown said: So you're championing zero hours contract and minimum wage, well done you! If you didn’t type that on an electronic device made in an Asian sweat shop where worker’s rights are essentially non-existant, well done you! 4 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delberthot Posted July 4, 2019 Share Posted July 4, 2019 I've just put together my favourite gauge of D'addario Chromes using Amazon sellers. Just shy of £40 for my own custom set but £59.70 from Stringsdirect for the same single strings. A few pounds over I would have got them from Strings Direct but that;'s a huge saving Incidentally they're 45, 60, 80, 110 and going on my new Precision And also thanks to a pricing error ( I assume ) I got my Radial Tonebone for half price Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jus Lukin Posted July 4, 2019 Share Posted July 4, 2019 (edited) - Edited March 3, 2022 by Jus Lukin 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger2611 Posted July 4, 2019 Share Posted July 4, 2019 Mrs2611 and I made a concious decision a year or more back to not use Amazon and to shop with the smaller shops wherever possible, yes, we have to wait a little longer and pay a little more but hopefully it will keep the smaller retailers on the high street, paying taxes that go towards our much needed services and hopefully benefit us all down the line, Amazon pay little or no tax, pay and treat their employees poorly, sadly they are very good at what they do, hence why they are so popular and easy to use! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest oZZma Posted July 4, 2019 Share Posted July 4, 2019 (edited) 40 minutes ago, Roger2611 said: Mrs2611 and I made a concious decision a year or more back to not use Amazon and to shop with the smaller shops wherever possible, Same as you. I dislike them for the reasons you listed, plus the fact they use A TON of unnecessary packaging. I made the decision once they sent me one single order of very small parts in three separate A4 size boxes. Never again. Edited July 4, 2019 by oZZma Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest oZZma Posted July 4, 2019 Share Posted July 4, 2019 4 hours ago, ped said: What I worry about is the likes of Amazon, Facebook, eBay etc becoming so ubiquitous that even the good guys, smaller more specialist firms (like BC!), get passed over because default behaviour becomes to use one of the giants. It's a monopoly de facto and the only way to limit their power is boycott them. Good luck convincing people to do so... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvin Posted July 4, 2019 Share Posted July 4, 2019 (edited) These days I try to buy from local shops, if that fails direct from online traders and then traders on ebay. I find Amazon to actually be pretty poor if you're looking for decent, quite specific gear. Strings it's ok for, but anything else, no. My view may also be tainted by the fact they sent me a Samsung S7 phone case instead of the flatwound strings I ordered, and then wanted me to pay for the return... Edited July 4, 2019 by Marvin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T-Bay Posted July 4, 2019 Share Posted July 4, 2019 Amazon ripped off a group of disabled kids in an after school group,I help out with. The kids had spent 18 months raising money by collecting cans, making and selling badges etc etc. Amazon screwed them for £150 and when trading standards got involved told them they were too big to sue and sadly trading standards said they probably are. There is nothing in this world I need desperately enough to use those scumbags. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikel Posted July 4, 2019 Share Posted July 4, 2019 2 hours ago, Roger2611 said: Mrs2611 and I made a concious decision a year or more back to not use Amazon and to shop with the smaller shops wherever possible, yes, we have to wait a little longer and pay a little more but hopefully it will keep the smaller retailers on the high street, paying taxes that go towards our much needed services and hopefully benefit us all down the line, Amazon pay little or no tax, pay and treat their employees poorly, sadly they are very good at what they do, hence why they are so popular and easy to use! Agreed. They are cheaper cos they pay staff peanuts and dont pay tax. As far as I am concerned its unfair competition. I would never use them. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burns-bass Posted July 5, 2019 Share Posted July 5, 2019 10 hours ago, T-Bay said: Amazon ripped off a group of disabled kids in an after school group,I help out with. The kids had spent 18 months raising money by collecting cans, making and selling badges etc etc. Amazon screwed them for £150 and when trading standards got involved told them they were too big to sue and sadly trading standards said they probably are. There is nothing in this world I need desperately enough to use those scumbags. How did they rip them off? I’m intrigued more than anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T-Bay Posted July 5, 2019 Share Posted July 5, 2019 53 minutes ago, Burns-bass said: How did they rip them off? I’m intrigued more than anything. We bought a motor controller for a go kart the kids had built. It was dead when it arrived and obviously used (components were burnt out and screws damaged). The company claimed we had done it, Amazon sided with the company despite the claim being put in within an hour of delivery. Three months or arguing and broken promises came to nothing. Even the local paper were scared to take the story on fear of being sued. When you watch an 11 year old with Downs cry for over an hour after putting their heart and soul into fundraising it stays with you a long time.They are utter scum in my opinion. The opposite end of the spectrum is a tiny company called Stanelco who supplied one free of charge when they heard what happened. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bartelby Posted July 5, 2019 Share Posted July 5, 2019 Where I live there's not much choice in local shops. Closest town is 4 miles away, it has no record, book or musical instrument shops. No independent (or even small chain) clothes shops. No small grocery shops. Just 1/2 empty charity shops, pound shops and a Tesco. 6 miles the other way isn't really much better, except it's posher so has a Waitrose and a Waterstones. 8 miles away is a better has a fairly decent choice of shops, unless you want books, and free parking. The HMV survived and the management are doing a good job of running it. There's even small guitar shop (that I need to visit more). If I want to wander around a decent selection of shops I have to drive 45 mins to Cardiff or Bristol and pay ridiculous parking charges. So for me books and blurays come from Amazon, as well as other random items. Music mainly come direct from artists via bandcamp/own website or thier labels. If not it's online orders from Independent record shops (Boomkat, Piccadilly Records and Norman Records mostly). Food is from Ocado. I'm not really a fan of Amazon, except my nephew is an engineer at their Coventry warehouse, but my options for stuff is pretty limited. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davo-London Posted July 5, 2019 Share Posted July 5, 2019 In the future, there will only be Amazon. We are walking into a nightmare. Peace Davo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davo-London Posted July 5, 2019 Share Posted July 5, 2019 15 hours ago, Delberthot said: I've just put together my favourite gauge of D'addario Chromes using Amazon sellers. Just shy of £40 for my own custom set but £59.70 from Stringsdirect for the same single strings. A few pounds over I would have got them from Strings Direct but that;'s a huge saving Incidentally they're 45, 60, 80, 110 and going on my new Precision And also thanks to a pricing error ( I assume ) I got my Radial Tonebone for half price I've spoken to Strings Direct and they admit that the playing field isn't straight. Amazon can, via their global site and some Middle East address, avoid duty in the UK. Only Amazon can. Davo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SH73 Posted July 5, 2019 Author Share Posted July 5, 2019 1 hour ago, T-Bay said: We bought a motor controller for a go kart the kids had built. It was dead when it arrived and obviously used (components were burnt out and screws damaged). The company claimed we had done it, Amazon sided with the company despite the claim being put in within an hour of delivery. Three months or arguing and broken promises came to nothing. Even the local paper were scared to take the story on fear of being sued. When you watch an 11 year old with Downs cry for over an hour after putting their heart and soul into fundraising it stays with you a long time.They are utter scum in my opinion. The opposite end of the spectrum is a tiny company called Stanelco who supplied one free of charge when they heard what happened. This really is awful. I had an issue previously with them but after a phone call to them they resolved it. All the stories above make me feel guilty using Amazon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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