Bass Directs Second Hand Stock - An Unfortunate (maybe isolated?) Experience

[Geek99]

1 hour ago, binky_bass said:

I am by no means saying that Bass Direct is terrible. 

 

I am however saying this particular situation fell down because of multiple unnecessary failures at their end, all of which could have been handled differently. 

 

There is a fairly constant underlying vein of poor reviews that seem to fit the same outline as mine, but there are also a lot of good reviews too.

 

Bit of a mixed bag. What let me down is effectively asking them to do a stock check due to a suspicion of them incorrectly listing a pedal (which ended up being the case!) And instead they just ignore what I said, insisted they had it, then the next day admitted they didn't and refunded the payment to avoid any discussion of providing an alternative. 

Totally get why you’re upset about this …

[uk_lefty]

11 hours ago, binky_bass said:

I am by no means saying that Bass Direct is terrible. 

 

I am however saying this particular situation fell down because of multiple unnecessary failures at their end, all of which could have been handled differently. 

 

There is a fairly constant underlying vein of poor reviews that seem to fit the same outline as mine, but there are also a lot of good reviews too.

 

Bit of a mixed bag. What let me down is effectively asking them to do a stock check due to a suspicion of them incorrectly listing a pedal (which ended up being the case!) And instead they just ignore what I said, insisted they had it, then the next day admitted they didn't and refunded the payment to avoid any discussion of providing an alternative. 

I get what you are saying here but your thread title and first line has created a bit of a pile-on over something that's not really the end of the world. It's poor, but it's not like you've been ripped off or anything. I don't want to have a go at you, I like a lot of what you write on here, but if I owned a small business for a niche product set that made a small mistake and caused all this to come up in Google searches I'd be mortified.... But then again, that seems to be the theme here! What is being done to correct things?  I'm waffling, and having just contradicted myself, I'll stop.

[hiram.k.hackenbacker]

14 minutes ago, uk_lefty said:

I get what you are saying here but your thread title and first line has created a bit of a pile-on over something that's not really the end of the world. It's poor, but it's not like you've been ripped off or anything. I don't want to have a go at you, I like a lot of what you write on here, but if I owned a small business for a niche product set that made a small mistake and caused all this to come up in Google searches I'd be mortified.... But then again, that seems to be the theme here! What is being done to correct things?  I'm waffling, and having just contradicted myself, I'll stop.

I disagree. I don’t see any issue with the title or first post.

If you add up all of the comments in all the various threads concerning BD, it doesn’t make for good reading.

It’s also not a ‘pile-on’ as far as I can see, as a lot of the members commenting here I have a lot of time for and value their opinions.

For balance, I have bought from BD many times over the years and as recently as a couple of months ago for quite an expensive piece of kit, but I have never liked the website and have therefore not used it to buy anything online. For that reason I have always phoned and paid there and then if I wanted something.

 

Again, for balance, I note that some negative comments have been from some people that haven’t physically visited and know how BD works. I know you shouldn’t have to have actually been there, but if you have then you’ll know. Yes, it should be like any other retailer, but it’s not in some regards.

 

My advice, avoid web sales where you can. Ring where possible and pay over the phone. Accept mistakes can and may happen, but don’t expect any grovelling apologies because that ain’t gonna happen. Alternatively, shop somewhere else.
 

Shops like BD are rare and the bass community in the UK would be worse without them.

[binky_bass]

49 minutes ago, uk_lefty said:

I get what you are saying here but your thread title and first line has created a bit of a pile-on over something that's not really the end of the world. It's poor, but it's not like you've been ripped off or anything. I don't want to have a go at you, I like a lot of what you write on here, but if I owned a small business for a niche product set that made a small mistake and caused all this to come up in Google searches I'd be mortified.... But then again, that seems to be the theme here! What is being done to correct things?  I'm waffling, and having just contradicted myself, I'll stop.

I don't disagree entirely with what you've said - and usually I don't both writing such things. 

 

If it had been a case of me buying the pedal, saying nothing, and them contacting me the next day apologising and saying they didn't have it, then so be it. A little disappointing but OK. The specific gripe on mine is that I explained exactly why I was asking for clarification, I laid out the precise reason for my concern and they didn't look into it at all, the just said 'yeah we have it'. If they'd actually looked into the concern I outlined then they'd have known they didn't have it. The secondary gripe is them not even entertaining the idea of an alternative or potentially a minor discount if I bought a new version of that pedal. It was all very much "here's your money back, go away". 

 

What I didn't add to my initial post is that the day before this issue I spent a considerable amount of money with them buying a new amp, and only a few weeks ago I spent a considerable amount of money with them buying a new cab, (over £3000 in total) and even with those recent very expensive purchases there was absolutely no effort to make sure a sour taste (such as it it now) wasn't left in my mouth given my recent not insignificant custom. 

 

Bass Direct aren't the devil by any means, and they offer a great service (when it goes right!) The seemingly consistent point of issue is that when it goes wrong, you get treated poorly. Good customer service, like manners, doesn't cost much and it doesn't need to be that way.

Edited January 19, 2022 by binky_bass

[Rich]

IME their customer service seems to blow hot and cold. I've only really dealt with Mark over the phone as it's a long way to just pop in... one time I bought a Genz rackmount kit over the phone and it couldn't have gone any better; another time when I put the phone down following a 'conversation' about something (I forget what) my first thought was "well if you're going to come at me with that attitude, you can stick your fecking shop sideways and without painkillers". Is he affected by phases of the moon or something?

 

27 minutes ago, hiram.k.hackenbacker said:

Shops like BD are rare and the bass community in the UK would be worse without them.
 

 

Absolutely. Attitude or not, we need shops like BD and Bass Gear and the Gallery.  

Edited January 19, 2022 by Rich

[NancyJohnson]

Most of us have probably got a story or two about poor communication that results in bad customer service.

 

While I've no particular axe to grind insofar as BD are concerned, I've used them 5-10 times I suppose - last time about two and a half years ago - the three major purchases (two Lull basses and a used Spector) were all less than straightforward considering I spent c.£12K.  These caused some overnight frustration/anxiety, but all came out OK in the end.

 

To Mark's detriment (and I've mentioned this previously) I get the feeling he is totally hands on across the business and tries to micromanage everything (which is fair enough), but when he does delegate, it's like the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing.  To his credit, BD is a great resource for bass players...he does have some fantastic kit in there and long may he continues, blips or otherwise.

 

 

[Eldon Tyrell]

13 hours ago, peteb said:

 

For balance, I've bought secondhand and sold quite a lot of gear on commission at Bass Direct. These days, I sell pretty much everything through them as it takes away the hassle of dealing with idiots online, they tend to sell quickly and sell stuff for higher prices than I could (for example) trying to sell something on here. 

Same here. Sold most of my basses via BD. Good thing is that I drop off the bass(es) and that's that. I do not need to take photos (I do not have a good camera and only an old smart phone. Feel free to call me a dinosaur like my wife does too 😉) and BD takes excellent photos. I also do not have to write blabla to promote my bass and, most importantly, I do not have to deal with customer enquiries, including lowballers and scammers. Further, I do not have to worry about payment and shipping. So, with regard to the latter, no need to organise boxes, packing material, booking collection etc. Finally, I do not have to worry about the bass getting damaged in transit and buyers maybe wanting to return it. In sum, a lot of time-consuming hassle that I do not have to deal with and I am happy to pay BD 20% for it. YMMV. 

[Woodinblack]

Seems to me the issues I had with them are all communication based. I think it is like old guitar shops, they used to be often not great places to go because you didn't have the choice, as soon as you did a lot of them went to the wall. There arent a lot of bass shops and they carry some good stuff and a wide change so are fairly niche. If it was less of a niche it might be less viable

[Quatschmacher]

Coincidentally, immediately after reading this thread, I found this book on the shelf at work:

[uk_lefty]

2 hours ago, Quatschmacher said:

Coincidentally, immediately after reading this thread, I found this book on the shelf at work:

I need to track down this book and use it as a prop at work!

[Quatschmacher]

19 minutes ago, uk_lefty said:

I need to track down this book and use it as a prop at work!

Should be printed on T-shirts. 

[falling_in2_infinity]

I've had a lot of bad experience with BD for customer service issues.  First time I remember they sent me a new cab which was completely damaged and made me work so hard for a replacement (the packaging was completely intact).

 

Most recently I went in there a few years ago and was trying to choose a new OD pedal and I wanted a bit of advice.  The guy in there didn't want to help, but was OH SO KEEN when Scott Devine came in.  Spent the whole time chatting, while I left with nothing. 

 

I take a look at their stock sometimes, but something always stops me investigating further.

Edited January 19, 2022 by falling_in2_infinity

[SumOne]

I've pretty much only ever had good experiences with BD. But that's mostly going to the shop to part-exchange Basses where twice they have given as good a deal as I could have expected with a private sale (and quite a lot more generous than any other Bass shop). Also, hassle free experience trying out Basses. And a couple of small postal things (strap and strings) have been all good. 

 

The one thing they let themselves down on is that I was almost certain I'd buy a specific MTD but when trying it there via headphones plugged into in a couple of different amps and a headphone amp I could always hear quite loud electrical interference noises that changed pitch as I moved the MTD controls. (tip: always test with headphones as well as cab, the noise wasn't noticeable out of a cab but you'd certainly notice it when recording or headphone practice). I said perhaps it's because it's battery is running low, the assistant just said 'yeah, could be' and walked off....not really giving the impression he gave half a $hit or that anyone would ever check or try to fix it (and the shop only had me and one other customer in, it wasn't busy). Given no offer of a solution I left the shop empty handed. So it's not like they insulted me or ripped me off or anything, just a bit of a shame when a small amount of extra customer service effort could've sold me a Bass. 

Edited January 19, 2022 by SumOne

[Guest]

Not wishing to criticise you, or others on this thread who have complained of poor service, but why not call them out on it? No-one likes poor service, but if you don’t make a point of telling the, how and why you’re getting poor service (and that they’ve lost a sale, or even lost a customer!) nothing will change. 

[NancyJohnson]

1 minute ago, FDC484950 said:

Not wishing to criticise you, or others on this thread who have complained of poor service, but why not call them out on it?

 

No-one likes poor service, but if you don’t make a point of telling the, how and why you’re getting poor service (and that they’ve lost a sale, or even lost a customer!) nothing will change. 

 

It's 2021, we are a suspicious species by nature and sometimes (mostly), and especially where there's money changing hands, a phone call may not cut it.  It's probably better to have an email trail of some sort.

 

I've worked in environments where you drop the phone and it rings immediately.

 

 

[jonnybass]

1 hour ago, FDC484950 said:

Not wishing to criticise you, or others on this thread who have complained of poor service, but why not call them out on it? No-one likes poor service, but if you don’t make a point of telling the, how and why you’re getting poor service (and that they’ve lost a sale, or even lost a customer!) nothing will change. 

Interesting, you are right, its not possible to fix what we dont know about, but, if its a staff member who is dis-interested/not giving you the service, and they are the only person in the shop who do you complain to?

 

To my knowledge there isnt another bass forum which has such a UK based population, and there arent many bass specific stores in the UK.  If I owned one, I'd be all over the forum checking what people were saying about my business.  I'd think if Bass Direct are unaware of the feeling on here from some people its a major blunder on their part.  Likewise if they are aware and not willing to do anything to remedy the issues, its not a great long term business model in my view. 

 

I'll still use them, but I do check other places before making a purchase.

 

Jonny

[falling_in2_infinity]

1 hour ago, FDC484950 said:

Not wishing to criticise you, or others on this thread who have complained of poor service, but why not call them out on it? No-one likes poor service, but if you don’t make a point of telling the, how and why you’re getting poor service (and that they’ve lost a sale, or even lost a customer!) nothing will change. 

This is right.  Not that Mark has been at all interested the few times I have called him out on it.

 

However, it's still valuable if people also want to post on here with their experiences, don't you think?  It's only the same as chatting to your mates down the pub.  I personally find it quite comforting to know that it's not just me... and also I find it reassuring that others have had better experiences!

[falling_in2_infinity]

8 minutes ago, jonnybass said:

Interesting, you are right, its not possible to fix what we dont know about, but, if its a staff member who is dis-interested/not giving you the service, and they are the only person in the shop who do you complain to?

 

To my knowledge there isnt another bass forum which has such a UK based population, and there arent many bass specific stores in the UK.  If I owned one, I'd be all over the forum checking what people were saying about my business.  I'd think if Bass Direct are unaware of the feeling on here from some people its a major blunder on their part.  Likewise if they are aware and not willing to do anything to remedy the issues, its not a great long term business model in my view. 

 

I'll still use them, but I do check other places before making a purchase.

 

Jonny

I can't help but agree.  I might be wrong, but I get the impression he's one of those kinds of shop owners who has a very fixed idea of his business.  I can't blame him, as it probably works well most of the time, and it might mean that his regular customers get reliable and consistent service.  It's certainly better than the Gallery: he keeps the website mostly up to date and isn't downright unpleasant.

[NancyJohnson]

11 minutes ago, jonnybass said:

To my knowledge there isnt another bass forum which has such a UK based population, and there arent many bass specific stores in the UK.  If I owned one, I'd be all over the forum checking what people were saying about my business.

 

I was chatting to Barry at the Bass Centre a few months ago about this.  He said he's busy enough working for the business without spending time scrutinising posts here. 

 

It doesn't matter whether you love or hate how the Bass Centre has evolved to where it is now; it's really just a business shifting its own branded product along with NS Design and Brian May kit, but they do it well, Chris (the tech) ensures everything goes out set up, communication is great and I don't know that I've read anything detrimental about them.

[Guest]

It surprised me, but from my conversations with them the vast majority of BDs customers are either not on Basschat or don’t post here actively and couldn’t care less about online forums (shock horror!)

 

Really big multi billion-pound companies like Virgin Media, who can afford to employ entire customer relationship departments, have appalling customer service - I wonder if the common thread is a captive audience with few alternatives open to customers?

[Machines]

15 minutes ago, falling_in2_infinity said:

I can't help but agree.  I might be wrong, but I get the impression he's one of those kinds of shop owners who has a very fixed idea of his business.  I can't blame him, as it probably works well most of the time, and it might mean that his regular customers get reliable and consistent service. 

 

I get good service, but have been going there since it was running from a garage in a farmers field in 2008ish. It is very much the owner's business, there are no other shareholders that work there. He has the prerogative to run the business however he wishes, but the consequences of which will eventually be present in the accounts. There is the potential more money could be made with a better service, and there have been a lot of lost sales. But if he's making enough money to do what he wants in life - then that's how it is.

[4000]

1 hour ago, falling_in2_infinity said:

I can't help but agree.  I might be wrong, but I get the impression he's one of those kinds of shop owners who has a very fixed idea of his business.  I can't blame him, as it probably works well most of the time, and it might mean that his regular customers get reliable and consistent service.  It's certainly better than the Gallery: he keeps the website mostly up to date and isn't downright unpleasant.

Well I agree that The Gallery’s website needs work, but I’ve been going there since 1996 and have yet to have a bad experience (yes, I know others have had). The thing is, The Gallery is not just a shop, it’s also the main calling point for most of London’s - and elsewhere, given I’m up North! - bass repairs and customisation. Most of the times when I’ve been over the years, it has been incredibly busy. 
 

Given the choice between dealing with BD and the Gallery, it’d be the Gallery every time, by an absolute country mile. 

[Woodinblack]

5 minutes ago, 4000 said:

Well I agree that The Gallery’s website needs work, but I’ve been going there since 1996 and have yet to have a bad experience (yes, I know others have had). The thing is, The Gallery is not just a shop, it’s also the main calling point for most of London’s - and elsewhere, given I’m up North! - bass repairs and customisation. Most of the times when I’ve been over the years, it has been incredibly busy. 
 

Given the choice between dealing with BD and the Gallery, it’d be the Gallery every time, by an absolute country mile. 

 

I haven't had a problem with the gallery, they have been friendly enough, certainly no less friendly than BD. I didn't go in the first few times I was there as I assumed it was closed, so I have only been in a couple of times.

[Osiris]

I'm another one who's had mixed dealings with Bass Direct over the years. Mostly good, but my last dealing with them 4 or 5 years ago was selling an amp through their commission sales, long story short, the owner claimed it sold for much less than we'd agreed - not that he'd consulted me on reducing price - and it took weeks of chasing to get my money from them. And it was quite clear from the phone calls and email exchanges that he really couldn't give a toss, he couldn't even spare a half arsed apology. Prior to that I'd bought 3 basses, an amp and several odds and sods from them, spending more than 5 grand with them over the years. But I have not spent another penny with them since and don't intend to ever again.

 

I get that shops can't get it right for everybody all of the time, and different people expect different levels of customer service, but there do seem to be a few too many BD disgruntled customers given their size. 

 

Regarding @binky_bass's opening post, anyone who's ever been to their current premises knows it's a pretty tiny lace, albeit brimming with stuff. For someone to have left the office, checked their shelf of used pedals and returned to the office would quite literally have taken a few seconds, 10 at the most. That's really not asking too much, is it? 

[bartelby]

12 minutes ago, Osiris said:

Regarding @binky_bass's opening post, anyone who's ever been to their current premises knows it's a pretty tiny lace, albeit brimming with stuff. For someone to have left the office, checked their shelf of used pedals and returned to the office would quite literally have taken a few seconds, 10 at the most. That's really not asking too much, is it? 

 

A bit longer as they have another unit for storage, some used stuff is kept there. But your point still stands.