Cat Burrito Posted October 17, 2009 Share Posted October 17, 2009 (edited) Please note there is a very impressive response from Andertons on page 2 of this thread posted by me but feel free to read on, the original point - I had to share this as I am still in disbelief. I've had a real bombshell of a week which has resulted in me having to have emergency surgery on Monday to remove a lump (fingers crossed etc)... Anyhow my wife has decided I could get a new instrument to help soften the blow. We went online and were looking at the Fender Jaguar Bass. Andertons had a good price and I liked the fact they were a family run business so we drove an hour plus to go and see them. I walked in and my initial impression was it was a packed out store with quite a decent selection of bass gear. Some guy was downstairs playing Muse on a bass. I saw the Jaguar bass & it looked good. Naively I thought I'd try it. I walked up the stairs to find two guys just sitting around in Andertons shirts. Now I would describe myself as looking like I have access to money i.e. I might not be rivalling Paul McCartney in the bank balance but I'm an adult who clearly has access to a credit card so purchasing is a serious option. Also I am polite and I like good manners. Hell, I'd even pass for a cash paying customer! I approached the two guys and said hello. Initially they responded but the moment I suggested I'd be keen to try a bass downstairs this immediately gained a look of horror - "But there is a guy downstairs playing!" said one. I was a bit surprised (waiting patiently is always an option in my book). However the guy got up behind the desk and said "You can play it unamplified". I was still a bit taken back as I'm sure Leo Fender designed his instruments to be played amplified but followed him back downstairs and he picked out the bass. It was pretty obvious to me the Muse fan wasn't a serious buyer from over 20yrs of going into guitar shops but I kept my thoughts to myself. However by luck the guy was finishing up so the assistant plugged the bass in for me and walked off. Within about 20 seconds of flipping the switches I noticed a pretty bad earthing problem. Not the end of the world but it was annoying. We then sat there for a good few minutes with nobody coming to help us. I left my hand off the strings so there was an almighty hum coming off the bass. Other than the earthing problem it was a great bass. A quick fix and I'd genuinely have bought it. Great neck, loads of tone and a nice weight with cool looks. However nobody wanted to come and speak with me. The hum was getting a couple of strange looks off of the non-bass playing Mums who were in the store. A shop assistant stuck his head around the corner eventually so I took my hand off the strings and said "Great bass but it clearly has an earthing problem". He agreed but looked keen to walk away. I explained I was in the market to buy today and liked the bass but clearly the earthing was an issue. He just didn't seem to be getting it. "Our technical guy is in on Monday and he could sort it for you then". I explained I was in hospital on Monday having an operation so Monday wasn't really a realistic prospect for me. This seemed to confuse him and he just repeated what he'd said. I did suggest that earthing wasn't a big fix and surely somebody from their many staff members may be able to help. He'd need to speak to his manager who was back Monday. I handed him the bass and walked out the shop. I can't think of a worse example of customer service from everyone I met and a better example of a store talking themselves out of a very easy sale. I've heard good things in the past about them but this is my first and last experience with them. Utterly pathetic. I haven't had service that bad since I was a teenager and that was a fair few years ago now. I wonder how far removed from the 1964 family business vision today's service was? Edited October 20, 2009 by BurritoBass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarky Posted October 17, 2009 Share Posted October 17, 2009 Not dissimilar to the service I had when I bought a P and a J bass at the start of September. Took ages to get someone to plug the basses into an amp (they seemed somehow surprised I wanted to do this) and when I pointed out the action was atrocious (about 1cm each at the 12th fret) and could someone please supply a truss rod spanner so I or they could set them up a bit better, I also got the one about the technical guy not being in. Pretty rubbish and I only bought because their prices were good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyTravis Posted October 17, 2009 Share Posted October 17, 2009 That is a shame, i'd heard good things about them... Two cases of bad timing/luck?.... There isn't really much excuse for incompetance though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YouMa Posted October 17, 2009 Share Posted October 17, 2009 Good luck with your op. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Funk Posted October 17, 2009 Share Posted October 17, 2009 Yes, good luck with your operation. That kind of service sounds pretty standard these days. Someone actually talked to you - that doesn't even happen in the Bass Cellar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skankdelvar Posted October 17, 2009 Share Posted October 17, 2009 Indeed, best wishes for your operation. Hope you find a Jag to your liking... FWIW, I've heard some [i]interesting[/i] stories about Andertons' amp repairs as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Academy Posted October 17, 2009 Share Posted October 17, 2009 As someone who works in music retail, I think it was pretty bad service. Maybe they genuinely didn't have a guy who could sort out the problem on the premises? But at least total honesty would have been the best bet. We have a 'tech' guy who doesn't work Saturdays. I'm totally useless with electrical problems. However, we are lucky in the fact that our guitar repairer lives 5 mins away. They could have dealt with it much better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirkThrust Posted October 17, 2009 Share Posted October 17, 2009 I've had mixed experiences at Andertons. Last year I went there to try an 08 Precision. I phoned beforehand and they confirmed that they had one in. So I drove 50 miles to try it but when I got there it had a neck like a banana and was totally unplayable. This in itself would only have been annoying but their couldn't-care-less attitude when I drew their attention to it made it a lot worse. All in all a waste of an afternoon and a round trip of 100 miles. I gave them another chance when I was looking to buy an LM3 and they really couldn't have been nicer or more helpful. Nothing was too much trouble. They did everything but lay a red carpet down the stairs for me to try out a bass. The only diffence was that the first time was a Sunday and the place was heaving. The second time it was a weekday lunchtime and it was empty. I don't know if that's a factor or if it's just different staff. They really need to sort it out though. I imagine a lot of potential customers won't give them a second chance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lfalex v1.1 Posted October 17, 2009 Share Posted October 17, 2009 [quote name='YouMa' post='628927' date='Oct 17 2009, 06:44 PM']Good luck with your op.[/quote] Precisely! On a personal note, I'd have turned everything up (including the amp), leant it casually against a wall, left it buzzing/howling and walked out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted October 17, 2009 Share Posted October 17, 2009 [quote name='Lfalex v1.1' post='629022' date='Oct 17 2009, 08:34 PM']Precisely! On a personal note, I'd have turned everything up (including the amp), leant it casually against a wall, left it buzzing/howling and walked out.[/quote] +1 to both, but mostly good luck with the op C Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssentialTension Posted October 17, 2009 Share Posted October 17, 2009 Hope the op goes well for you. And the Anderton's story is a poor show. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misrule Posted October 17, 2009 Share Posted October 17, 2009 I've had dealings with them on the drum side of things (my son's starting) and they've been wonderful. But the bass stuff is lost in the basement. I'd probably insist on them dragging an amp upstairs to the sound-proof booths at the back -- then they'd know where I am. They're too guitar-orientated, I'd say. Cheers Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted October 17, 2009 Share Posted October 17, 2009 I've only brought one thing from Andertons and I had good service and they were helpful when I wanted to return it... which was due to a fault in the amp and not down to them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cat Burrito Posted October 17, 2009 Author Share Posted October 17, 2009 [quote name='YouMa' post='628927' date='Oct 17 2009, 06:44 PM']Good luck with your op.[/quote] [quote name='The Funk' post='628941' date='Oct 17 2009, 07:01 PM']Yes, good luck with your operation. That kind of service sounds pretty standard these days. Someone actually talked to you - that doesn't even happen in the Bass Cellar.[/quote] [quote name='skankdelvar' post='628942' date='Oct 17 2009, 07:03 PM']Indeed, best wishes for your operation. Hope you find a Jag to your liking... FWIW, I've heard some [i]interesting[/i] stories about Andertons' amp repairs as well.[/quote] Thanks everyone. [quote name='Pete Academy' post='628946' date='Oct 17 2009, 07:06 PM']As someone who works in music retail, I think it was pretty bad service. Maybe they genuinely didn't have a guy who could sort out the problem on the premises? But at least total honesty would have been the best bet. We have a 'tech' guy who doesn't work Saturdays. I'm totally useless with electrical problems. However, we are lucky in the fact that our guitar repairer lives 5 mins away. They could have dealt with it much better.[/quote] One of my friends runs the local guitar shop & I spend a lot of time in there with him. There are occasional idiot customers but this level of service really is shocking & particularly towards someone trying to actually buy something. I have emailed them an edited version of the start of this thread. I'm not looking for discount but I do want the shop owner to know. I'm realistic, they must be good to keep the shop running from 1964 & it was a Saturday but still, not good enough! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GreeneKing Posted October 17, 2009 Share Posted October 17, 2009 Here's wishing you all the best for your operation. To be honest I read the post expecting far worse. Yes it wasn't good by any means but it sounded like they were down to the basics that day in terms of staff. One of the problems with big multi faceted music shops is I suspect their diversity. They might have 2 relatively inexperienced staff on and one is a keyboard player and the other one does a bit on mandolin That's why I like shops like the bass merchant and bass direct. The bass cellar however Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platypus Posted October 17, 2009 Share Posted October 17, 2009 I’ve always thought of Andertons as one of the good guys, based on my experiences there. Last time I was in, I was buying a relative cheap Washburn guitar for my 14 year old son. The sales guy was happy to let him play it through their very expensive Mesa Boogie stack and talked him through the different Mesa Lonestar heads and demo's the different chancels for my son to play through, then left us in the demo room undisturbed. On another occasion, again on a Saturday they were happy for him to try out several Gibsons both Les Pauls and SG's. They don't really stock the kind of basses I'd be interested in, though I have bought recording equipment and drum machines from them and would happily do so again. Sorry to hear about your experience there today. Oh and best of luck with the op Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onehappybunny Posted October 18, 2009 Share Posted October 18, 2009 I live locally to Andertons and have generally had really good experiences (tend to avoid Saturdays which are really busy) when you get a chance to try out some gear they generally leave you to it rather than pester you, which I prefer. That way I was able to narrow down my lightweight amp decision (they stock TC and MB there) but the bass set up issue is unfortunately a bit hit and miss in most guitar shops these days If you pick the right member of staff they can be really helpful, less so with the Saturday staff, and they also laid on free Logic 9 seminar recently which was amazing. Sorry your experiences were not the same, but most importantly good luck with the op Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cat Burrito Posted October 18, 2009 Author Share Posted October 18, 2009 Checking an old bank statement today I realised it was Andertons who sold me my pod and the service was quick and excellent. I don't doubt they are capable of being excellent but there is a lot to be said for lazy & disinterested Saturday staff. Again thanks for the well wishes - I may start a different thread on this for reasons that may become apparent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassninja Posted October 18, 2009 Share Posted October 18, 2009 [quote name='skankdelvar' post='628942' date='Oct 17 2009, 07:03 PM']Indeed, best wishes for your operation. FWIW, I've heard some [i]interesting[/i] stories about Andertons' amp repairs as well.[/quote] +1 to both Their amp guy repaired my Trace, which failed on the first gig out with the same problem. On enquiry, they were unwilling to break down the bill, except to give me their hourly rate. And got shirty that I even had the temerity to ask... That said, I've also had some nice deals there. I wish I still had that Status Shark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamster Posted October 18, 2009 Share Posted October 18, 2009 TBH I've not heard many bad reports about Andertons, I go in there quite a lot and have always had really good service - just goes to show how careful you have to be when employing staff! Best wishes for the op! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cat Burrito Posted October 19, 2009 Author Share Posted October 19, 2009 OK so I get a reply from one of the Andertons & they strike gold! I am impressed with this guy. From my emailed response In response to your email I would firstly like to thank you for taking the time to write to me. Although not good reading, I always take customer complaints very seriously and want to know when we do not achieve the standards of Customer Service that Andertons is known for. I appreciate how frustrating your experience was, and I’ve spent the morning reviewing our systems & speaking to the staff involved in order to identify what went wrong and how we can make sure it does not happen again. Firstly, let me please apologise for the service you received. I have reviewed all the CCTV footage from the time you were in the store on Saturday & I think I’ve got a reasonable picture of what occured & which of my staff were involved. As I hope you can appreciate, due to the space constraints of the store, our bass guitar section is not ideal when more than one person wants to try something and I apologise for the time you had to wait to try the Hot Rod bass - Saturday lunch times are always a busy time for us. However I acknowledge that we should have found you somewhere to try the bass quicker than we did. This will be discussed with my Guitar Department Manager & training will be carried out as necessary. Turning to the issue of how the fault on the bass was dealt with after you pointed out the problem, this was not dealt with in the manner I would expect. Whilst the salesman was correct in saying that our guitar technician would not be able to look at the instrument himself until Monday, I would have expected the salesman to go through some basic checks before you left. I hope you understand that, if the fault had been electrical, my sales staff are not permitted to attempt electrical repairs. I admit that I am disappointed with how the particular salesman dealt with the problem – it appears that instead of checking the basics (ie the lead & the amp), the individual involved has taken your comment about the possibility of an earth problem as fact & acted accordingly. We should have done better, and we did let you down. Just to rub salt in the wound, I have personally checked the bass and there is no fault with it - I can only assume that the cable that was being used had a poor earth connection. The very slight hum I got from the bass this morning was normal pick up hum – this was not loud, & went away when both coils on the bass were selected (which is normal). There was no noticeable reduction in the hum when you touched a metal part, and when we tested the bass on a meter, we couldn’t find any earth issues. As a result of your email, we are going to introduce a better system for customers in our basement to ring up to the main sales counter to ask for help. I am also asking our Guitar Technician to train all staff in a basic fault checking process so that we do our best to eliminate this sort of problem in the future. I would also like to do something as a gesture of goodwill & to restore your faith in Andertons. As you rightly say, Andertons has a great reputation in the music industry and whilst we clearly haven’t delivered a great experience in this instance, we genuinely do put customer service at the top of our priorities. I am in store every day this week (except Tuesday), including Saturday and I would like the opportunity to meet you & apologise in person for our mistake. Alternatively I am happy to call you if you another visit is inconvenient at this time. I am more than happy to offer you a very special discount on the Hot Rod bass, or send you some vouchers to use against a future purchase. Please let me know if you’re going to come down to the store so that I can make sure I’m here when you arrive. You can call me on the number below, or reply by email. Many thanks, and once again, please accept my sincere apologies for the service you received. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bumnote Posted October 19, 2009 Share Posted October 19, 2009 What a great response Im impressed. Ive generally had good service in there although somehow it doesnt quite ring my bell, although i dont know why. Report a Problem, they checked it, hands up, we were wrong, we will fix it, heres how, and we will make it up to you, pretty good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dread Bass Posted October 19, 2009 Share Posted October 19, 2009 Now that is excellent. Fair play to the guy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EBS_freak Posted October 19, 2009 Share Posted October 19, 2009 Thumbs up! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Funk Posted October 19, 2009 Share Posted October 19, 2009 Well done, Andertons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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