No I completely disagree....I followed the guideless completely with the return. They eventually did the right thing but they still deserve the bashing. Their error in judgement caused this mess. And would you do business with someone after they put you through this aggravation? They corrected the problem because they knew they were wrong. Thats called doing the right thing even if it still means losing a customer.
- Thread starter rsetlock
- Start date
No I completely disagree....I followed the guideless completely with the return. They eventually did the right thing but they still deserve the bashing. Their error in judgement caused this mess. And would you do business with someone after they put you through this aggravation? They corrected the problem because they knew they were wrong. Thats called doing the right thing even if it still means losing a customer.
Do you think this forum was the reason they changed their mind? If so that is great that they noticed. I also sent a letter to customer service. I thought that actually prompted the response. My posting was motivated by 2 things 1) I was angry about their business practices and 2) I didn't want it to happen to anyone on this forum. So it definitely was a combination of both.
Big Poppa
Well-known member
Did you get enough blood?
I dont know that I really want a customer that would not let me fix an honest mistake. Also Im not sure that the whole story has been told. either way forgiveness is a concept that reaps rewards.
Do me a favor. I have paid for bandwidth for you to discourage shopping at one of my biggest outlets with an issue that didnt involve me or my company or my products. That potentially damages my company and the mouths that get fed from MF.
I dont know that I really want a customer that would not let me fix an honest mistake. Also Im not sure that the whole story has been told. either way forgiveness is a concept that reaps rewards.
Do me a favor. I have paid for bandwidth for you to discourage shopping at one of my biggest outlets with an issue that didnt involve me or my company or my products. That potentially damages my company and the mouths that get fed from MF.
I understand.....Honestly I was trying to wrap this up and let everyone know that they did the right thing in the end. If I was out for blood I would have never posted the final results. But it is over.
strummer
Enormous Member
Oh really?
I hate to tell you this, but humans make mistakes, and you need to learn to live with that.
Cutting someone down when they have done right by you isn't exactly going to get you any friends you know.
It's like one of your friends realizing he/she made some kind of mistake that hurt you, and you pretending to accept their sincere apology while at the same time telling the world exactly what they did, and just how pissed off you are with that, only mentioning at the end that they apologized and are sorry.
NewGuitarist55
New member
- Joined
- Oct 7, 2008
- Messages
- 1
Settin' it staight
My name is Bob, and I've work at Musician's Friend for 10 years. I'm also a musician, so I know that there's no way that we'd stay in business by adopting policies that would make us everybody's "enemy."
Our very liberal 45-day return policy (10-day for high-end guitars over $2,000) costs us considerable money, time, and labor. We offer that generous returns policy, though, as part of our overall customer support effort because we want happy, satisfied customers who we know are playing and enjoying the gear we work hard to provide at the best prices we can offer.
So what about the customer who's "purchased" $30,000-worth of gear over their purchase history and who has returned $22,000-worth; who's kept only $130-worth of gear out over $10,000-worth in the past 2 years alone? We've lost a lot of money with that customer, and that's money that we can't use to provide better service, selection, and hot deals for our customers!
BTW, we don't have a "magic formula" that calculates an unacceptable returns rate. I'll put it diplomatically: some people just REALLY stand out.
But even in the situation of "resetlock", we went ahead and let him make the return of the $3,499 Axcess guitar because we felt we could have handled his returns-related issue better. In particular, we should have informed him of our concern about possible returns-abuse at the time he placed the order. And that's what we're doing from now on to protect ourselves and our customers from costly returns-abuse.
One last thing: don't hesitate to email our special order-resolution team at forums ( at ) musiciansfriend ( dot ) com [note anti-spam] if you hit a hiccup with any order. They have the experience and the authority straighten it out on the spot.
Thanks for all of your kind remarks.
Yours in music,
Bob (at Musician's Friend)
My name is Bob, and I've work at Musician's Friend for 10 years. I'm also a musician, so I know that there's no way that we'd stay in business by adopting policies that would make us everybody's "enemy."
Our very liberal 45-day return policy (10-day for high-end guitars over $2,000) costs us considerable money, time, and labor. We offer that generous returns policy, though, as part of our overall customer support effort because we want happy, satisfied customers who we know are playing and enjoying the gear we work hard to provide at the best prices we can offer.
So what about the customer who's "purchased" $30,000-worth of gear over their purchase history and who has returned $22,000-worth; who's kept only $130-worth of gear out over $10,000-worth in the past 2 years alone? We've lost a lot of money with that customer, and that's money that we can't use to provide better service, selection, and hot deals for our customers!
BTW, we don't have a "magic formula" that calculates an unacceptable returns rate. I'll put it diplomatically: some people just REALLY stand out.
But even in the situation of "resetlock", we went ahead and let him make the return of the $3,499 Axcess guitar because we felt we could have handled his returns-related issue better. In particular, we should have informed him of our concern about possible returns-abuse at the time he placed the order. And that's what we're doing from now on to protect ourselves and our customers from costly returns-abuse.
One last thing: don't hesitate to email our special order-resolution team at forums ( at ) musiciansfriend ( dot ) com [note anti-spam] if you hit a hiccup with any order. They have the experience and the authority straighten it out on the spot.
Thanks for all of your kind remarks.
Yours in music,
Bob (at Musician's Friend)
Thanks, Bob, for your insight into the return policy and MF's take on the situation. I think it's great that you have these policies in place to keep the customers happy. I think that once rsetlock understands that the policy isn't intended to open up a "borrow-not-buy" leg of your business, it will make a lot more sense to him.
I think that rsetlock getting noticed by the MF returns department is proof that there are human beings there, checking into things for you and treating each customer like a human as well. The fact that Bob went the extra mile to register on our forum and post a clarification is even further proof.
Thank you again, Bob!
-Beth
I think that rsetlock getting noticed by the MF returns department is proof that there are human beings there, checking into things for you and treating each customer like a human as well. The fact that Bob went the extra mile to register on our forum and post a clarification is even further proof.
Thank you again, Bob!
-Beth
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douglasspears
Well-known member
Is this a hypothetical customer example
, a real example, or even the one being discussed here ?Wow.
I have a business iwiLetter.com - Write Letters Online [/plug
] and I too have experienced the good, the bad, and the ugly.
Big Poppa
Well-known member
Actually the thread got all the way to the CEO of Guitar Center Marty Albertson. I really would like to know this persons history. He opened up the can of worms and has said that he hardly returned anything....Did you guys pick on him or did he not tell it to us straight? What was his history?
TNT
Well-known member
Bob,
In case you're still reading this thread, I personally want to say "thank you" to what I consider an excellent company!!!
It has really made getting music and music related gear a "dream"!! Your policies are fantastic and your CS (like MM customer service) is "heads" above the rest.
I remain a very active customer ever since day one of your opening, and will continue to do so.
Thanks again and I hope you're in business for many years to come!!
Oh, tell Marty "hi" for me!
In case you're still reading this thread, I personally want to say "thank you" to what I consider an excellent company!!!
It has really made getting music and music related gear a "dream"!! Your policies are fantastic and your CS (like MM customer service) is "heads" above the rest.
I remain a very active customer ever since day one of your opening, and will continue to do so.
Thanks again and I hope you're in business for many years to come!!
Oh, tell Marty "hi" for me!
MrMusashi
Well-known member
uhm.. lemme get this straight..
the numbers posted earlier on, they are refering to rsetlocks shopping history??
its the only way i can interpret the post (and this time i have taken height for irony and sarcasm!)
MrM
the numbers posted earlier on, they are refering to rsetlocks shopping history??
its the only way i can interpret the post (and this time i have taken height for irony and sarcasm!)
MrM
Sweat
Well-known member
OK, the GC\MF bashing just has to stop, I have tried to stay neutral on this but cant since it wont die, if the example Bob stated is rsetlocks, then all I can say is WOW what abuse of a liberal return policy!
I think it was uncalled for to come on the EB forum and bash MF for a situation you created and then the gear in questions not to even be EBMM related, just adds insult to injury.
So I want to share a positive MF\GC story to shed light on how good customer support works and how as humans we make mistakes and kindness on both sides goes a long way. sorry this is going to be kind of long winded.
I own one of the six KOA BFR Axis Super Sports made exclusively for Private Reserve Guitars\Guitar Center\Musicians Friend ( same parent company )
I actually bought this guitar through Guitar Center.com because they had 12 month no interest finacing and I had a discount coupon from GC that they would honor on the sale even online.
I called spoke with the customer rep and ordered the guitar and paid for next day shipping, was told it would be here the next day, well the next day came and no guitar.
I called customer service to find out what happened, was then told the processing would take up to 3 days, at that point I was a little upset and told them I was promised the guitar the next day, after a few inquiries with the CS staff I sent an email up the food chain and recieved a response from Martyhe said someone would be calling me to get this resolved, sure enough on a Saturday of all things Paul Christensen who is President of Musicins Friend calls me at home we have a great talk and bottom line he took care of me and earned a customer for life, since then I have done a great deal of business with Musicians Friend and have found them to be reliable and honest and very helpful all the way around.
Moral of the story is respect is a two way street and abuse of anyone gets you no where.
Whew glad to get that out Thanks Musicians Friend
I think it was uncalled for to come on the EB forum and bash MF for a situation you created and then the gear in questions not to even be EBMM related, just adds insult to injury.
So I want to share a positive MF\GC story to shed light on how good customer support works and how as humans we make mistakes and kindness on both sides goes a long way. sorry this is going to be kind of long winded.
I own one of the six KOA BFR Axis Super Sports made exclusively for Private Reserve Guitars\Guitar Center\Musicians Friend ( same parent company )
I actually bought this guitar through Guitar Center.com because they had 12 month no interest finacing and I had a discount coupon from GC that they would honor on the sale even online.
I called spoke with the customer rep and ordered the guitar and paid for next day shipping, was told it would be here the next day, well the next day came and no guitar.
I called customer service to find out what happened, was then told the processing would take up to 3 days, at that point I was a little upset and told them I was promised the guitar the next day, after a few inquiries with the CS staff I sent an email up the food chain and recieved a response from Martyhe said someone would be calling me to get this resolved, sure enough on a Saturday of all things Paul Christensen who is President of Musicins Friend calls me at home we have a great talk and bottom line he took care of me and earned a customer for life, since then I have done a great deal of business with Musicians Friend and have found them to be reliable and honest and very helpful all the way around.
Moral of the story is respect is a two way street and abuse of anyone gets you no where.
Whew glad to get that out
Thanks Musicians Friend
Josh O
Well-known member
A little late to the party on this one but I've used MF off an on over the years for smaller items and never have had a problem with them, used their return policy a couple of times and was thankful they had it. Same goes for Guitar Center.
RaginRog
Well-known member
Relock,
I agree with the consensus following your thread. I have nothing but "good" to say about MF, regarding their prices & policy!!
Do you realize how many people buy gear, then don't like it, and because they want to avoid paying the return shipping, make up an excuse or purposely damage the gear!!
I'm not saying this is what you do, however, if anyone has "repeatedly" done this over the course of time, and has surpassed the "normal odds" for this type of free return, than in that instance they should be cut off.
It only hurts the rest of us who appreciate this convenient and safe way to purchase on-line/sight unseen with little or no risk.
I hope things work out for you.
They should start charging a restocking fee to cover themselves a bit more. I'm sure they don't mind accepting a return if it was damaged during delivery because it's usually insured through the courier.
RaginRog
Well-known member
Couldn't you just delete this thread?
parker1963
Well-known member
This is a very eye oppening thread for those of us in the retail industry music or otherwise.I have seen this type of abuse of liberal policy before in my own business.And can say that unfortunatly the industry itself is partly to blame for issuing such liberal return policys to begin with.The hypothetical customer who returns over 77% of items purchased should be red flagged and dealt with before another purchase can be made as seems the case here.
Luckily the percentage of customers that abuse the system is still low but in time that will change and there will be more abuse taking place if common sense and policys are not changed by MF and other such companys.
Read between the lines of this thread and the rebuttle(by MF) .I take the examples given as hypothetical but clearly they(MF) are the victims here and not the other way around.
Luckily the percentage of customers that abuse the system is still low but in time that will change and there will be more abuse taking place if common sense and policys are not changed by MF and other such companys.
Read between the lines of this thread and the rebuttle(by MF) .I take the examples given as hypothetical but clearly they(MF) are the victims here and not the other way around.
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Big Poppa
Well-known member
Parker good post.
Im not speaking for MF here....But from my seat THey track the abuses. They know there will be people that will abuse it. They also know that at the end of the year that the good policy of making sure that 98% of the customers can rest assured that they will be happy with their sight unseen product.
What I am proud of is the ability to have an open forum. I like that MF and GC from the very top on down see this place as a credible place. They also understand that here you can defend yourself. The prevailing corporate view on the internet and keyboard warriors is to sit quietly and hope it dies down and you feel your hands are tied. I think that is wrong. If someone takes the time to voice displeasure or tell half a story or smear a company I think that the other side should be told. I applaud MF for responding and giving a hypothetical that obviously hit a nerve as the originator of this thread vanished upon the posting.
Im not speaking for MF here....But from my seat THey track the abuses. They know there will be people that will abuse it. They also know that at the end of the year that the good policy of making sure that 98% of the customers can rest assured that they will be happy with their sight unseen product.
What I am proud of is the ability to have an open forum. I like that MF and GC from the very top on down see this place as a credible place. They also understand that here you can defend yourself. The prevailing corporate view on the internet and keyboard warriors is to sit quietly and hope it dies down and you feel your hands are tied. I think that is wrong. If someone takes the time to voice displeasure or tell half a story or smear a company I think that the other side should be told. I applaud MF for responding and giving a hypothetical that obviously hit a nerve as the originator of this thread vanished upon the posting.
Question - Can I return strings when I get done with them? .... just kidding.........I did order a Vai Universe 7 string from Sam Ash before,...just couldn't keep it in tune to save a life, ridiculous,...returned it within 10 days,...no problem. MF seems to likely have the same type of policy. I have yet to return anything to MF, I ordered a full drum set and was missing a symbol stand; they sent it to me no problem. I am a dedicated customer of MF, I probably don't spend as much as some of you all, but that is where I got my EB from,...beautiful, brand new strings,...set up perfectly out of the box,....awesome. They have a really great selection of EB guitars as well. MF is lacking in some of the color options for some of the models, but, otherwise great selection, better than any of the other handful of EB dealers. I tell all the musicians I work with about MF. I am amazed some of them have never heard of them. Anyway, I apologize for rambling. I've got a big list of things in my wishlist with MF, can't wait to order some more stuff.
just kidding.........I did order a Vai Universe 7 string from Sam Ash before,...just couldn't keep it in tune to save a life, ridiculous,...returned it within 10 days,...no problem. MF seems to likely have the same type of policy. I have yet to return anything to MF, I ordered a full drum set and was missing a symbol stand; they sent it to me no problem. I am a dedicated customer of MF, I probably don't spend as much as some of you all, but that is where I got my EB from,...beautiful, brand new strings,...set up perfectly out of the box,....awesome. They have a really great selection of EB guitars as well. MF is lacking in some of the color options for some of the models, but, otherwise great selection, better than any of the other handful of EB dealers. I tell all the musicians I work with about MF. I am amazed some of them have never heard of them. Anyway, I apologize for rambling. I've got a big list of things in my wishlist with MF, can't wait to order some more stuff.