Great Deal alert

[robobass13]

mynan, your salesperson lied to you. all EBMM basses ship from SLO with a case, only the subs did not come with a case. your salesman did not try hard enough to get you the case, It was probably in the warehouse and he just didn't take the time to look for it, shame on him for the bad customer service.

 

[midopa]

Thanks for the info, robo! I'm guilty of GC bashing in the past but now try to keep my stoopit yap shut when, as you said, I gots nothign good to say.

 

[fresnorich]

your salesperson lied to you....your salesman did not try hard enough to get you the case, It was probably in the warehouse and he just didn't take the time to look for it, shame on him for the bad customer service.

Now who's bashing GC?

 

[Danserrano]

maybe its different store practices....it wasnt even mentioned when i ordered my luke. I just figured it came with case, and so did my salesman. The day it came in i had a nice blk ebmm case with a even nicer carbon bl prl luke in it.

 

[adouglas]

If you guys look on the point of purchase tag on the bass at GC it will have the letters WC in the description always, of the bass, wich stands for "with case" now if you want to be a jackass and "grind " for a better price, GC has the option of taking the case out of the deal..

Okay, let's keep this positive and constructive. I really want to understand this.

According to robobass, if you see "wc" on the tag, the price that's on the tag should include the case, right? Seems reasonable to me. Am I reading this correctly?

And also according to that same post, this is "always" true, right?

Am I wrong? Anyone? Am I misrepresenting what a GC assistant manager said?

So...why do we have Sluggo's report of his case being listed separately as an extra-charge item when he said the hang tag indicated the case was included?

In my book, if I see a hang tag with a price on it that indicates "case included," then the case should NOT be charged for separately.

Am I still on the straight and narrow here? Come on, people, slam me if I'm wrong.

So, robobass...I ask in all fairness and honesty...how does stuff like this happen?

It's obviously not store policy. It's obviously not maliciousness or greed. That would simply be stupid and counterproductive.

So please explain to us, from the point of view of an insider, exactly how such a thing can happen, given your knowledge of how GC operates.

I understand your frustration about GC bashing, and we're all sick to death of it. I'm going way out of my way to be nice to GC here. In my book, people are not normally malicious, merely misinformed. If there's something fishy, chances are really good it's a simple, plain mistake.

I'll continue to buy stuff from GC when it's the best option for me. Grudges are idiotic IMHO.

Anyone who has worked in retail (I have, BTW, at a now-defunct sporting goods chain based on much the same model as GC) understands the problem faced by both management and employee. The customer expects a low-wage individual to be a true expert in product knowledge, every last detail of store inventory, and all aspects of both corporate and store policy...and also expects to be served as THEY see fit, which may well fit neither store policy nor the skills of the salesperson. Those expectations, as has been stated in this thread, are based not in small part on spending a lot of money.

But frankly, those expectations are simply unrealistic for obvious reasons. If you were making barely enough to scrape by, how much job dedication would you have? This does not mean there aren't good people out there working retail.

When I was a retail employee, I actually did take pride in offering superior product knowledge, advice and service to the customers, even though I got nothing extra for it. It was simply common courtesy, and in fact it went against store policy from time to time (I'd steer people away from the current special if I knew it to be crap). Most of my co-workers did not share this viewpoint, and could not possibly have cared less about the customer.

I have no doubt that there are many employees who share my approach working at GC's all over this great land of ours. I am equally certain that there are those who are like my former co-workers.

As always, caveat emptor.

 

[mynan]

It was probably in the warehouse and he just didn't take the time to look for it,

I appreciate your candor. I honestly don't know what happened. He actually went into the warehouse and brought the Sterling case to the front of the store, saying it was the only EBMM case they had. Obviously, my SR5 didn't fit.

Maybe you would know....when EBMM ships a bass to GC, does it go directly to the store or does it go through a GC DC first?

 

[robobass13]

like I stated, the case is exploded or divorced from the instrument when it comes into the store, because the case is an accessories dept. item and the bass is a guitar dept. item, that is why it will show on the receipt as a separate item, but on the tag it is priced with case(WC). next time you go into a GC look at the tag on the EBMM and other high end guitars, this should only be different if the guitar is on clearance. and I wasn't bashing GC I was stating a fact, maybe the salesperson was new or just checked out, that can happen at any business.

 

[robobass13]

I appreciate your candor. I honestly don't know what happened. He actually went into the warehouse and brought the Sterling case to the front of the store, saying it was the only EBMM case they had. Obviously, my SR5 didn't fit.

Maybe you would know....when EBMM ships a bass to GC, does it go directly to the store or does it go through a GC DC first?

it goes through a DC first, but the DC doesn't open the boxes that come from EBMM, If the GC you went into is following procedure the case and candy is put back in the box it came after the bass is put out on the floor, and then the box is marked on the end as to what instrument it goes to.

 

[sloshep]

OK, I think its time for me to add my 2 cents. I have been to the Bakersfield GC store and almost bought a stingray from them last year(wife shot me down via cell phone ). This store has its act together. The sales person I worked with tried to work a deal to get into that bass. The case was included and the salesman knew it. I didn't try to pressure him and he didn't try to pressure me either. When I tried that stingray a HUGE wave of GAS overtook me and all rational thought left my head for the next hour or so. He just tried to make it happen. I travel for a living and have been in a lot of GC's all over California. Every once in while you run into slacker salesman who is young and inexperienced and tries to fumble his way through a sale. Either he gets better with time or he is usually gone in a few months. Its a large chain with lots of employees ie: different personalities. Plus most of these salespeople are musicians like us. Some are good with figures and facts and others aren't. If you feel you are getting worked over or your salesperson is lost, talk to the manager or find another salesperson to work with. Its not like they are assigned to you when you walk through the door.

 

[Danserrano]

robo thx for the info i have a ques for ya....like i said b4 i ordered my luke thru GC, case was included under the sku it said ebmm luke, piezo, hrdshl case. Could it be that i got the case included cause it was a special order?? In no way did my price reflect a case i got a great deal. Im just curious if it has anything to do with mine being a special order vs. an in store purchase. Thx again for shedding some light man. Much appreciated =D

 

[adouglas]

If the GC you went into is following procedure the case and candy is put back in the box it came after the bass is put out on the floor, and then the box is marked on the end as to what instrument it goes to.

Ah, cool!

That's the kind of info that we consumers need to remain informed.

Standard procedure is to keep case and case candy intact and link it to an instrument on the floor. This is something that has not been made public before AFAIK.

Understanding how the business operates makes for happier customers.

Thanks!!!!

 

[MickeyMouse]

Hey guys I think having the case seperated from the bass when you purchase it just plain sucks but I have a quick question. When talking about case candy what kind of candy are we talking about? besides the key that is...

 

[SteveB]

Robo,

Your insight has been interesting. I don't think you need to defend GC here though.. guys pretty high up in your company belong to this forum. (Bubbao and Enzo come to mind). They do a pretty good job of clearing up any GC confusion that balloons out of control.

I don't think you can fault EBMM for any GC bashing on this board though, no matter how many of their instruments hang on GC walls. I say this for several reasons: first, the GC execs who read this forum from time to time might actually benefit from some real-world feedback. Second, BP and the folks at EBMM have a right to know how their dealers are handling/representing their product. Third, I would bet that a great majority of the members here buy their EBMM instruments from other sources.. so the influence of GC's purchasing power, which is indisputable, really doesn't wash with many members. Ask Pete DuBaldo how many EBMM guitars he's sold this year (with case).

Some of us even had the pleasure of meeting Marty Albertson in Dallas last November at bovinehost's birthday bash. Marty did a great job of spelling out GC's strengths and weaknesses and his plans to improve many areas. He didn't offer up a single excuse when he heard a war story, because he knows that "valid-or-not", those tales were the consumers' perception of the events. We all know that perception and reality aren't always on equal footing, but perception is what drives markets.

 

[fresnorich]

...and I wasn't bashing GC I was stating a fact,

Much like several others in this thread.

maybe the salesperson was new or just checked out, that can happen at any business.

I think we would all agree with you.

 

[bovinehost]

When talking about case candy what kind of candy are we talking about? besides the key that is...

Key, a note about the battery compartment, some silica gel, a hang-tag.....that's about it, I believe.

Jack

 

[MickeyMouse]

Jack to the rescue!

Thanks.

 

[adouglas]

Key, a note about the battery compartment, some silica gel, a hang-tag.....that's about it, I believe.

Jack

You forgot the big white envelope containing the key, which says, in letters just about this big:

KEY

I always got a laugh out of that one.

 

[adouglas]

Excellent post, steveb.

GC-bashing is IMHO like all other stereotyping.

Exaggerated and unfair, but ultimately based in fact.

 

[bovinehost]

ultimately based in fact

Whose facts? Mine? Yours? Often our facts are colored by our perceptions and turn out to be less than 100% factual.

I'm not about to shut this down, but I do ask that you guys keep in mind that GC is not just a major player when it comes time to buy stuff from EBMM.

1. Love them or hate them, they have changed the way most of us shop for gear.

2. We have more than a few GC employees who post here.

3. Marty Albertson has been a good friend to BP and a good friend to the people of this forum, not least of all yours truly.

So keep it civil, try to not let your emotions override your common sense and we can continue to learn things.

Thanks, ladies.

Jack

 

[adouglas]

Whose facts? Mine? Yours?

Undisputed fact:

GC employees have told forumites (including me) things that were not true. This has been documented many times, here and elsewhere.

Lies?

No, I dont think so. What possible motive could they have for lying? Makes no sense, doesn't add up.

Misinformation or lack of initiative (read, incentive to find the right answer)? Much more likely.

But of such things are bad reputations made.

Having been on the employee side of the retail equation, I'm very well aware of where these guys are coming from and am therefore informed enough to deal on a level playing field when I visit GC. Not all of us are. So, misunderstandings happen, leading to understandable conflict.

GC often gets a bad rap, undeservedly.

But the reverse is also true. It would be foolish to suggest that GC is flawless.

Nobody's perfekt.