Arrogant shop staff make my blood boil

[budget bassist]

Damn, i knew it was someone like that
My point is still valid though.

Edited December 22, 2008 by budget bassist

[TheButler]

I always feel very awkward in some shops, i'm just made to feel like i'm not wanted there because they don't think i'm buying anything. Some of the guys are decent some are just arseholes, what can you do.

[Deep Thought]

[quote name='misrule' post='360542' date='Dec 21 2008, 10:29 PM']One 21-year-old son of a millionaire told me how a salesman shouted at him across the floor: "Get away from the car, you can't afford it." He strolled over, showed the bloke his bank statement then replied: "I was going to buy a car today but I'm not now."[/quote]

I love tales like this-same thing happened to my brother-in-law when he wanted to buy a new Subaru Impreza-went to the dealership and basically got treated like dirt. So he went and bought one somewhere else, and took it back to show the salesman, who saw the error of his ways.
From working in sales in the past, you can never tell who's got the money-the scruffiest little gits are frequently rolling in it. Somebody told me car salesmen are taught to look at your watch as a way of sizing up your financial status-so wear your diamond-encrusted gold Rolex when shopping for cars if you want to be taken seriously.

[bremen]

[quote name='misrule' post='360542' date='Dec 21 2008, 10:29 PM']One 21-year-old son of a millionaire told me how a salesman shouted at him across the floor: "Get away from the car, you can't afford it." He strolled over, showed the bloke his bank statement then replied: "I was going to buy a car today but I'm not now."[/quote]

If a 21-year-old strolled over to me and showed me his bank statement I'd think he was such a w@nker that I wouldn't want to have to do business with him anyway.

Not that I'd shout "Get away from the car, you can't afford it" in the first place though.

[Musky]

[quote name='Deep Thought' post='360790' date='Dec 22 2008, 11:04 AM']I love tales like this-same thing happened to my brother-in-law when he wanted to buy a new Subaru Impreza-went to the dealership and basically got treated like dirt. So he went and bought one somewhere else, and took it back to show the salesman, who saw the error of his ways.
From working in sales in the past, you can never tell who's got the money-the scruffiest little gits are frequently rolling in it. Somebody told me car salesmen are taught to look at your watch as a way of sizing up your financial status-so wear your diamond-encrusted gold Rolex when shopping for cars if you want to be taken seriously.[/quote]

I wish I'd known that before - I was once introduced to a scruffy looking guy and the conversation somehow turned to the relative costs of servicing Ferrari's and Porsche's. So I asked him if he was a mechanic. Turns out he was a very high profile DJ.

[tauzero]

[quote name='Deep Thought' post='360790' date='Dec 22 2008, 11:04 AM']From working in sales in the past, you can never tell who's got the money-the scruffiest little gits are frequently rolling in it. Somebody told me car salesmen are taught to look at your watch as a way of sizing up your financial status-so wear your diamond-encrusted gold Rolex when shopping for cars if you want to be taken seriously.[/quote]
It's not just the financial status of whoever's playing the instrument - looking at the gear that the local teenage bands have, I'd say that quite a few of them have parents who are willing to stump up a bit of cash to help their kids get decent kit. The kid who goes into the shop today for a bit of a shred may be the one the shop owner wants to come back next weekend with a parent or two in tow.

Word of mouth is also a powerful tool - I suspect that [s]Musical Exchanges[/s] [s]Sound Control[/s] Reverb Sounds in Brum has made one or two sales through me mentioning something that they have in here or on another forum, and they made one sale to me because someone on alt.guitar.bass mentioned them having the Crate Powerblocks in for £50. Plus good or bad experiences get relayed, to an ever-increasing audience as more people join web forums and the like, and that will have an effect on clientele. Personally, I can't think of a bad experience that I've had in a music shop, and I've used almost all the Birmingham ones.

[Lfalex v1.1]

[quote name='lemmywinks' post='360435' date='Dec 21 2008, 07:50 PM']Reminds me when i was in Tesco and was struggling with the scanner on the self service checkout. Saw a Tesco employee sniggering at me so when i had scanned it i turned to her and said
"See, i could do your job...... I just don't want to".

Wiped the smirk off her face pretty sharpish![/quote]

On the other hand...

I work in a major food retailer.
A customer came up to me, generally insulted me, and then said;
"Where's Catfood?!"
I replied
"Just down the road from Lewisham"

What you give is what you get.
But there is no excuse for (unprovoked) bad service.

Damn, I miss the Wapping Bass Centre. Awful drive. Stinky Parking. Stinkier Parking Wardens.
But I'd have given my last £ to Alex, Nick, Grant and Chris.
If you're out there guys.... Thanks, and I still own the Trace Stack, Vigier, Warwick LX6, Ray5 and God knows what else to this day. Good Purchases which have grown with me as I've progressed as a player. I still should've bought that Ken Smith VI! (Kicks self repeatedly for shopping with (then) girlfriend who can't see that £2750 is a bargain!)

As for The internet killing the smaller guys, here's some gents that deserve to survive on the strength of their customer service and products;
Robbie (RIM)
Mike (Iceni/Zoot)
Jon (Shuker)
Rob (Status)
Patrice (Vigier)
Bernie (GB)
Darren (BassMerchant)

Seek them out!

Edited December 22, 2008 by Lfalex v1.1

[budget bassist]

[quote name='tauzero' post='360833' date='Dec 22 2008, 12:04 PM']someone on alt.guitar.bass mentioned them having the Crate Powerblocks in for £50.[/quote]
Haha i remember that, can't remember who told me, but i bought one for £50, sold it 9 months later on ebay for £105! Score!!
I regret just buying the one

[YouMa]

I am not loyal to any shops,why should i be,as far as im concerned the less shops the better(less concrete) the internet is better and cheaper,i dont need any advice. London shopping is no fun anymore and it reminds me of new york ,plus it stinks.

[Bay Splayer]

i have never had a problem with arrogant shop staff, but thats probably because i am a much better person than them

[ironside1966]

[quote name='Cabal' post='360234' date='Dec 21 2008, 02:35 PM']Just like sound engineers then. [/quote]

+1 but alot of the time the band is not the customer.

[LukeFRC]

[quote name='Huge Hands' post='360625' date='Dec 21 2008, 11:58 PM']Sorry to be pedantic, but wasn't it Lionel Richie who told that story on Top Gear?

I know it doesn't make much difference to the story, but..

EDIT: Beat me to it ARGH! Aaarggh![/quote]

Wycliff has 50 bentlys (in the west indies)

but it doesnt matter

[LukeFRC]

Today i went looking at acoustic guitars. I don't play but want to learn, i know a wee bit about them and playing bass and doing PA stuff for years im not an idiot when it comes to music or indeed a knowledge of guitars. (just not playing them yet) In reality I will probably buy secondhand but want to see what else is out there. i.e. if they stick something good in my hands and want to they are haghly likely to sell me a guitar.

So im in a small market town in the south east of england. There are 2 music shops, i .
Enter shop one. Explain what i want, older woman starts to help me then realises I possibly know more than her, sends for the specialist. He comes over talk to him, tell him what im looking for, he asks lots of questions, he sugests i try a few. He graps a couple in a slightly higher price range saying "we will probably be able to make this fit into your price range". Taken through to the back of the shop so there is somewhere quiet to play. And he stands there and sdoesnt pressure me. Excelent. Tell them i want to see what the other (bigger) shop has.

Enter shop 2. Wander around, eventually go up the counter and tell them what i want. He asks me if i play. I say no but play bass (ie have some knowledge of stringed instruments. He is bored. Shows me round the shops picking up guitars in the pricerange, picks them up tells me something jargonlike and plays a bit for me to watch (?) we go around the whole shop him picking up stuff and playing it. (actually only Godin and cort's various brands, not the yamahas wierd) at the end he looks at me, i ask "can i play the XXXX he looks at me strange and goes away comes back with it and one i had already said i wasnt interested in. Leaves with them and dissapears. I play as much as i can. look around. no sign of him. put them down and wander out.

One would get my money no problem, the other no chance!

(the second shop is the same one who asked me and a friend to leave years ago as we were wondering out loud in front of them why the "Fender custom shop" had got the body shape slightly out of proportion on such an expansive guitar. and why they had forgotten to put the fender logo on untill after the laquer....)

[EssentialTension]

[quote name='Deep Thought' post='360790' date='Dec 22 2008, 11:04 AM']I love tales like this-same thing happened to my brother-in-law when he wanted to buy a new Subaru Impreza-went to the dealership and basically got treated like dirt. So he went and bought one somewhere else, and took it back to show the salesman, who saw the error of his ways.
From working in sales in the past, you can never tell who's got the money-the scruffiest little gits are frequently rolling in it. Somebody told me car salesmen are taught to look at your watch as a way of sizing up your financial status-so [b]wear your diamond-encrusted gold Rolex when shopping for cars if you want to be taken seriously.[/b][/quote]
What if you are so rich you have someone to tell you the time?

[Dubs]

I’ve only encountered really bad service once, and that was when I was 18 (and I looked very much like a young 18 year old guy) and I asked a local music shop if I could play a Stingray and a Sterling to A/B them so I could understand the differences. The old f***er in there looked at me as if I’d just told him I was nobbing his wife and then said, “ah I don’t know about that lad, are you gonna be buying one?” in a very sarcastic way. I told him that I didn’t know until I tried them out. He then verbally told me the differences between the 2 basses and pretty much told me to f*** off and stop wasting his time – the shop was empty. On the same day I went to another shop and bought a brand new Stingray. I went back to the old guy in the first shop a few months later and asked him if I could try a bolt-on Thumb. He looked at me again and said something along the lines of, “that’s an expensive one that is”, and I then told him about my Stingray and that I felt I could do with something slightly different; he looked gobsmacked. He then went to get the Thumb down for me but I told him not to bother, then I walked out.

There’s too many stories of bad service in music shops. It’s hit and miss though. That particular shop has expanded and is doing a lot of business AFAIK, but I’ve ended up going back there a few times for bits and bobs through lack of choice; local music shops tend to have the market to themselves because there’s limited high street competition. You can’t ‘try before you buy’ with Thoman et al…

[Geek99]

[quote name='budget bassist' post='360317' date='Dec 21 2008, 04:46 PM']There's a guitar shop round the corner from my mum's new house, guitar base in west bridgford, really nice bunch of guys there, they may not be the most knowledgable of people but they're pretty friendly and don't mind me having the occasional bash on a guitar or bass i probably won't buy, though i'd like to buy something from there in the future. Same with music inn and guitar and drum centre in nottingham, both pretty good places with good service.
Music room, however, is a totally different kettle of fish. I'd never buy anything from them, total bunch of twats that don't have a clue what they're talking about, but of course, they're ALWAYS right *rolls eyes*[/quote]
indeed, at Music Room "bass corner" really [i]is [/i]a corner, and you cant turn around without knocking something off the wall, it is literally [i]tiny[/i].

[budget bassist]

[quote name='Geek99' post='361261' date='Dec 22 2008, 06:11 PM']indeed, at Music Room "bass corner" really [i]is [/i]a corner, and you cant turn around without knocking something off the wall, it is literally [i]tiny[/i].[/quote]
Aye... Last time i went in there, my friend wanted a small amp for uni, asked if he could try a roland micro cube and the shop assistant said "are you going to buy it?"

And i was just thinking... what a stupid question, he might if he likes it!

My friend liked the amp. He then went and bought one from the guitar and drum centre for the same price where the staff were much more friendly.

[MacDaddy]

[quote name='AM1' post='360619' date='Dec 21 2008, 11:49 PM']That almost sounds like an apology.

Your initial post was very strong. Would you care to share the details of what happened?

It is not acceptable to damage the reputation of a small business, upon whom, as musicians, we all depend, if potentially damaging comments have no proper basis.

We are all too quick to criticise poor service and far too slow to praise good service.

I have nothing but praise for the Bass Gallery, as already stated, they always go the extra mile and have a great selection of equipment.

Regards

AM[/quote]

Hi AM
Not an apology, details of what happened were expressed in pm to Alex from The Gallery, and in his replies he was genuinely concerned, so I would not want to dissuade anyone from going there.

[budget bassist]

Anyone can have a bad day i suppose, though from the quick response to try and solve the problem, it seems the gallery are keen to keep a good reputation unlike certain other london bass specific shops. And of course, the good i've heard far outweighs the bad (the bad being what you said macdaddy, i haven't heard anything else bad!)

Edited December 22, 2008 by budget bassist

[MacDaddy]

[quote name='budget bassist' post='361482' date='Dec 22 2008, 10:06 PM']Anyone can have a bad day i suppose, though from the quick response to try and solve the problem, it seems the gallery are keen to keep a good reputation unlike certain other london bass specific shops. And of course, the good i've heard far outweighs the bad (the bad being what you said macdaddy, i haven't heard anything else bad!)[/quote]
me neither, and that along with Alex's pm's are why I was happy to modify my posts.

[AM1]

[quote name='MacDaddy' post='361490' date='Dec 22 2008, 10:12 PM']me neither, and that along with Alex's pm's are why I was happy to modify my posts.[/quote]

But that isn't good enough - your initial post on the subject stated explicitly that you had been lied to.

As the only commentator I have seen making a negative comment about the gallery, it stands to reason that perhaps there is a learning point here for others. As others have said, anyone can have a bad day.

You still haven't explained what actually happened, just made an initial strongly worded post then revised it, without any details about what the original issue was.

When everyone complained about the Bass Merchant, they did not make ambiguous complaints with no basis. They made categorical statements with substantive issues detailed, i.e. lazy shop staff, not being allowed to try basses, etc etc.

Like I stated previously, it is not acceptable to damage the reputation of a business with no proper basis. The gallery were professional enough to respond and make the effort to engage with you to understand their role in matters. This is a testament to their professional operating parameters. You should accordingly consider your own role and whether or not an apology or a proper correction from you is warranted.

If it was a breakdown in communications then it will help others in the community to understand one way or another how to avoid a similar situation in the future.

Like I said, we are quick to criticise poor service and far too slow to recognise great service.

Regards

AM

[budget bassist]

[quote name='AM1' post='361498' date='Dec 22 2008, 10:25 PM']But that isn't good enough - your initial post on the subject stated explicitly that you had been lied to.

As the only commentator I have seen making a negative comment about the gallery, it stands to reason that perhaps there is a learning point here for others. As others have said, anyone can have a bad day.

You still haven't explained what actually happened, just made an initial strongly worded post then revised it, without any details about what the original issue was.

When everyone complained about the Bass Merchant, they did not make ambiguous complaints with no basis. They made categorical statements with substantive issues detailed, i.e. lazy shop staff, not being allowed to try basses, etc etc.

Like I stated previously, it is not acceptable to damage the reputation of a business with no proper basis. The gallery were professional enough to respond and make the effort to engage with you to understand their role in matters. This is a testament to their professional operating parameters. You should accordingly consider your own role and whether or not an apology or a proper correction from you is warranted.

If it was a breakdown in communications then it will help others in the community to understand one way or another how to avoid a similar situation in the future.

Like I said, we are quick to criticise poor service and far too slow to recognise great service.

Regards

AM[/quote]
Sorry, but i think you're being a bit over the top here.
For one thing, he never said it was without basis. Maybe he did have cause to be unhappy, the fact that it has now been sorted doesn't mean that it didn't happen, but it means it's been sorted and should probably be left alone.

And he probably didn't post exactly what happened as it's not really appropriate for discussion if what has happened has been sorted now. I think posting the exact circumstances will make situations worse and provoke reactions such as yours.

You need to calm down a little bit...

[bumnote]

[quote name='AM1' post='361498' date='Dec 22 2008, 10:25 PM']When everyone complained about the Bass Merchant, they did not make ambiguous complaints with no basis.[/quote]

I dont pretend to remember every post thats been made, but do you mean to quote the bass merchant as I dont recall seeing anything other than positive comments about that organisation.

[AM1]

[quote name='budget bassist' post='361503' date='Dec 22 2008, 10:31 PM']Sorry, but i think you're being a bit over the top here.
For one thing, he never said it was without basis. Maybe he did have cause to be unhappy, the fact that it has now been sorted doesn't mean that it didn't happen, but it means it's been sorted and should probably be left alone.

And he probably didn't post exactly what happened as it's not really appropriate for discussion if what has happened has been sorted now. I think posting the exact circumstances will make situations worse and provoke reactions such as yours.

You need to calm down a little bit...[/quote]

This is an illogical leap.

Asking someone, quite reasonably, to qualify their statements, in the context that they are potentially damaging to a business, does not mean I am not calm.

In any professional occupation, if someone makes ambiguous comments, which are potentially detrimental to business interests, then they should expect to qualify those comments, by providing details.

If someone is going to accuse a shop of lying to them in such a black and white manner, then it is only reasonable to expect details to be provided, then, rightfully, potential customers can make up their own minds as to the facts.

Without the facts, the allegation is unsubstantiated and indeed potentially damaging.

This is a basic tenet of business.

Regards

AM

[deaver]

A small note of defence for the Music Room staff in Salisbury who have always been unfailingly helpful and courteous with me. This may be because I look like the Mitchell brothers then again it may not.

I've tried out loads of basses and have never bought one, it's never been a problem as far as I know