Response to customer service thread on tb

[bovinehost]

Absolutely, and I agree that most do get treated nicely. However, when someone posts something potentially negative about EBMM, there is very often a "piling on" of sorts, and I've been here long enough so as to have seen it happen.

This is true and I've been here long enough to have seen it, too. I am stuck about what to do when it happens. I try to defuse it without deleting, but maybe this is a good time to ask you guys to ease up on people with (what might be seen as) negative comments.

Many of us are old hands at how to deal with problems and who to talk to and how best to approach the situation. That doesn't mean that the new guy with a legitimate gripe knows all those things, so let's keep that in mind, okay?

This might seem to be an entirely different issue than what started this thread, but I don't think so.

If someone posts a problem here that should have gone first to customer service, then let me (or one of the other mods) handle it. I can easily copy the text into an email and make sure the proper person at EBMM gets the message. I can delete the thread and PM the poster about the proper way to get things taken care of.

Anyway, let's keep an eye on the 'piling on', please.

I'm sure Bryan's situation will be resolved.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[Hutton]

If anything has been learned then it is surely that things get sorted out when EB customer service is contacted via the correct channels. TB is certainly not the place to try to resolve issues with individual companies. I don't login to any other forums these days as this forum is, in my opinion, the most informed, friendly, and helpful of them all.

 

[WillPlay4Food]

Please post it but you may want to add this.

Jon doesn't work on fridays. In a perfect world I would like to defend both my customer and employee. I am also not saying that Brian didn't get treated right,or Jon was right or wrong. Lets just hear both sides of the story.Sometimes bad things happen in the best of enviornments. We make mistakes. We are not 'morons' as suggested in the thread, we actually care about what we do.

My response to Brian was just there is a toll free number first. If not satisfied then post on the forum and you will get the attention of all at EB. Bashing our team on TB without giving us ONE chance to fix the problems or soothe his feelings is not a great example of a two way street.

I did ask Bryan to post here when he first told me his side of the story a few weeks ago (I was mentioned in Bryan's TB post so I thought I'd post here).

If you read Bryan's post, there are two failings that occurred. The first is the ramp issue. Ramps may not be common on EBMM products, but that doesn't give anyone at EBMM the right to dismiss the customer out of hand and tell the customer they have no clue about proper setup when the bass hadn't been properly examined yet. (Rule #1 - The Customer is always right.)

The second failing is no one; let's say that again, no one from EBMM called Bryan to let him know the body got messed up and it was going to take weeks for his bass to be fixed. Personally I wonder if the paint chip occurred when the evildoing ramp was removed, not when the neck was removed.

I've only had one reason ever to contact EBMM customer service, and I was handled exceptionally well. For this reason I told Bryan his initial phone contact with EBMM must've been a fluke. I also asked him to post here as well.

But seeing some of the posts in this thread and over at TB I can understand why he didn't want to go this route. Bryan is a laid back guy who doesn't want to cause a commotion. If he's like me, he probably just wants to get his bass back in proper working order so he can get back to enjoying it.

I'm glad that EBMM is taking care of Bryan, he's a great guy who just wants to make music and art. I wish Bryan had posted here first as I suggested to him weeks ago as I think the resolution will still be the same, but the emotions of everyone involved would be much more mellow.

 

[koogie2k]

I did ask Bryan to post here when he first told me his side of the story a few weeks ago (I was mentioned in Bryan's TB post so I thought I'd post here).

If you read Bryan's post, there are two failings that occurred. The first is the ramp issue. Ramps may not be common on EBMM products, but that doesn't give anyone at EBMM the right to dismiss the customer out of hand and tell the customer they have no clue about proper setup when the bass hadn't been properly examined yet. (Rule #1 - The Customer is always right.)

The second failing is no one; let's say that again, no one from EBMM called Bryan to let him know the body got messed up and it was going to take weeks for his bass to be fixed. Personally I wonder if the paint chip occurred when the evildoing ramp was removed, not when the neck was removed.

I've only had one reason ever to contact EBMM customer service, and I was handled exceptionally well. For this reason I told Bryan his initial phone contact with EBMM must've been a fluke. I also asked him to post here as well.

But seeing some of the posts in this thread and over at TB I can understand why he didn't want to go this route. Bryan is a laid back guy who doesn't want to cause a commotion. If he's like me, he probably just wants to get his bass back in proper working order so he can get back to enjoying it.

I'm glad that EBMM is taking care of Bryan, he's a great guy who just wants to make music and art. I wish Bryan had posted here first as I suggested to him weeks ago as I think the resolution will still be the same, but the emotions of everyone involved would be much more mellow.

Obviously, Bryan was mispelled by me (I am assuming by the amount of times you put the y in there..).....my apologies to him. I think he will get his issued resolved and will be happy.

Jazzbassman....I could only wish it was the bongo that did this to me.

So, with that said....I'm out.

 

[smallequestrian]

Personally I wonder if the paint chip occurred when the evildoing ramp was removed, not when the neck was removed.

Just FYI for those of you who don't know about the ramps, I think they are traditionally attached with double sided tape on all of Bryan's basses. On the Bongo it was attached to the pickguard, so there is no way the paint chipped because of the ramp removal.

 

[Bryan R. Tyler]

I am the person who started the thread.

First off, I would like to say that I had made sure not to name any names as far as the people I dealt with at EBMM so as not to point the finger at anyone. Several folks have made assumptions about who it was (and most of them are incorrect), so I’ll ask people to not assume who I’ve spoken to so as not to drag anyone’s name into this who aren’t involved.

I did not post anything on the EBMM board, or contact their customer service again, as I didn’t feel the need to. I was told my bass would be taken care of and that I’d be called if need be. I’m a patient person, so I didn’t feel like “bugging” anyone at EBMM before I felt I needed to- I always feel it’s better to let people do their work in peace, and you’ll end up with a better result because of it. I also didn’t post in the EBMM forums asking what is going on with my bass because I was told I’d be updated, and to be honest I see no reason why I (or anyone else) shouldn't be updated just as regularly as those who aren't forum members- speaking as someone who runs his own business and has dealt with many customer service issues, it’s not my job to ask.

I finally contacted them yesterday after a friend advised me to. I did not call Customer Service again after receiving my email because I didn’t feel there was a need…what more could be done? Getting an apology from someone else on the issue wouldn’t change the past events. I didn’t think I should contact Sterling, a very busy professional, to ask for an apology for something that was not his doing. I posted my experience on TalkBass because I’ve been a regular member there for four years, and it is common to share any c.s. experience, good or bad, with fellow members. I had planed on posting in the EBMM forum as well, but just hadn’t done so yet. I only posted my TalkBass thread last night. I was also worried that some EBMM posters might become overly defensive about the issue if I posted it in their own forum- I felt TalkBass was a better place to post as it has people both with and without vested interests in EBMM.

Some of the posts I’ve seen in this thread have led me to believe I was correct. It was assumed that I said something wrong and outwardly hostile; seeing quotes like “And to see you guys get slagged like that just burns me up!” and “If someone is unhappy with customer service at EB then the problem must be with them.”

It has been said that I was “bashing our team”, which is not at all true. I went out of my way to make sure I did not say anything derogative, and I mentioned nothing of EBMM outside of the customer service I received from a specific person. When it was stated that “Eh, while your sitatuation is certainly unfortuante, they are doing what they can to make it better.” on the TalkBass thread, I responded:
“They are, and I'm grateful for that. It's not like I'm furious or anything, or have a chip on my shoulder against EB/MM- I was just unhappy at how things were done. I don't think it's a sign of bad customer service in general either- EB has some of the best customer service from all the things I've read. Just wanted to relay my story.”

Other people may have slagged EBMM at TalkBass, but it was not me and I take no responsibility for them doing so. Likewise, EBMM is not responsible for forum members blaming me for my issues or claiming I attacked EBMM, but it may give an insight as to why I was leary about posting here first. I also never complained that my problem wasn’t being fixed- my issue is just how it was initially taken care of- and I also don’t blame anyone for chipping the body. The body is being replaced and I made no complaints about it.

As to why I did not contact Sterling, Brian, etc., as I stated in the TB thread, I'm actually patient to a fault sometimes. I had assumed that they had started shipping the bass back already because I didn't think that they'd go so far as to keep it three weeks without telling me about it. I didn’t want to step on anyone’s toes.

There are two sides to every story and I’m sure that the person whom I spoke with has a different story than I have. And I know that even if their perspective is different from mine, they are not wrong to have it and may have seen the situation in a completely different manner. I never denied this. While I wouldn’t go to the point of saying EBMM has gone to EXTREME lengths to make me happy (I sent the bass in to have some frets replaced, and that’s what they did), I will say that they are taking care of their business and I am very grateful of that. I am also grateful the Sterling has taken the time to apologize publicly. Even though you may run things, I don’t blame you at all (nor EBMM as a whole) and you didn’t have to apologize for a mistake that wasn’t yours. I am thankful.

The TalkBass thread was closed because apparently some folks started posting some hostile things- I didn’t see the posts as they occurred after I had turned off my computer and the thread was edited and closed because of these posts. Just as thread pertaining to great customer service abound on the EBMM and TalkBass forums are not seen as something that should be kept between the musician and the customer service team, I don’t feel that threads expressing negative customer service should be kept between the musician and the customer service team. I did not post on TalkBass to try to resolve my issues- as I’ve stated, the only issues I have are now in the past and can’t be helped. I do not wish for there to be any sort of inter-forum hostility of any sort, and please accept my apologies if anyone has felt that I handled the situation improperly. I handled it as I saw fit, but that may not coalesce with other people’s ideas of how the situation should have been handled and I send my apologies to those who feel this way.

BTW, thanks to Dave for pointing out all of the y's in my name It's probably because I've told him in the past that it's almost always spelled incorrectly- they even spelled it with an i on my Junior High graduation certificate

 

[Aragorn35016]

I am the person who started the thread.

First off, I would like to say that I had made sure not to name any names as far as the people I dealt with at EBMM so as not to point the finger at anyone. Several folks have made assumptions about who it was (and most of them are incorrect), so I’ll ask people to not assume who I’ve spoken to so as not to drag anyone’s name into this who aren’t involved.

I did not post anything on the EBMM board, or contact their customer service again, as I didn’t feel the need to. I was told my bass would be taken care of and that I’d be called if need be. I’m a patient person, so I didn’t feel like “bugging” anyone at EBMM before I felt I needed to- I always feel it’s better to let people do their work in peace, and you’ll end up with a better result because of it. I also didn’t post in the EBMM forums asking what is going on with my bass because I was told I’d be updated, and to be honest I see no reason why I (or anyone else) shouldn't be updated just as regularly as those who aren't forum members- speaking as someone who runs his own business and has dealt with many customer service issues, it’s not my job to ask.

I finally contacted them yesterday after a friend advised me to. I did not call Customer Service again after receiving my email because I didn’t feel there was a need…what more could be done? Getting an apology from someone else on the issue wouldn’t change the past events. I didn’t think I should contact Sterling, a very busy professional, to ask for an apology for something that was not his doing. I posted my experience on TalkBass because I’ve been a regular member there for four years, and it is common to share any c.s. experience, good or bad, with fellow members. I had planed on posting in the EBMM forum as well, but just hadn’t done so yet. I only posted my TalkBass thread last night. I was also worried that some EBMM posters might become overly defensive about the issue if I posted it in their own forum- I felt TalkBass was a better place to post as it has people both with and without vested interests in EBMM.

Some of the posts I’ve seen in this thread have led me to believe I was correct. It was assumed that I said something wrong and outwardly hostile; seeing quotes like “And to see you guys get slagged like that just burns me up!” and “If someone is unhappy with customer service at EB then the problem must be with them.”

It has been said that I was “bashing our team”, which is not at all true. I went out of my way to make sure I did not say anything derogative, and I mentioned nothing of EBMM outside of the customer service I received from a specific person. When it was stated that “Eh, while your sitatuation is certainly unfortuante, they are doing what they can to make it better.” on the TalkBass thread, I responded:
“They are, and I'm grateful for that. It's not like I'm furious or anything, or have a chip on my shoulder against EB/MM- I was just unhappy at how things were done. I don't think it's a sign of bad customer service in general either- EB has some of the best customer service from all the things I've read. Just wanted to relay my story.”

Other people may have slagged EBMM at TalkBass, but it was not me and I take no responsibility for them doing so. Likewise, EBMM is not responsible for forum members blaming me for my issues or claiming I attacked EBMM, but it may give an insight as to why I was leary about posting here first. I also never complained that my problem wasn’t being fixed- my issue is just how it was initially taken care of- and I also don’t blame anyone for chipping the body. The body is being replaced and I made no complaints about it.

As to why I did not contact Sterling, Brian, etc., as I stated in the TB thread, I'm actually patient to a fault sometimes. I had assumed that they had started shipping the bass back already because I didn't think that they'd go so far as to keep it three weeks without telling me about it. I didn’t want to step on anyone’s toes.

There are two sides to every story and I’m sure that the person whom I spoke with has a different story than I have. And I know that even if their perspective is different from mine, they are not wrong to have it and may have seen the situation in a completely different manner. I never denied this. While I wouldn’t go to the point of saying EBMM has gone to EXTREME lengths to make me happy (I sent the bass in to have some frets replaced, and that’s what they did), I will say that they are taking care of their business and I am very grateful of that. I am also grateful the Sterling has taken the time to apologize publicly. Even though you may run things, I don’t blame you at all (nor EBMM as a whole) and you didn’t have to apologize for a mistake that wasn’t yours. I am thankful.

The TalkBass thread was closed because apparently some folks started posting some hostile things- I didn’t see the posts as they occurred after I had turned off my computer and the thread was edited and closed because of these posts. Just as thread pertaining to great customer service abound on the EBMM and TalkBass forums are not seen as something that should be kept between the musician and the customer service team, I don’t feel that threads expressing negative customer service should be kept between the musician and the customer service team. I did not post on TalkBass to try to resolve my issues- as I’ve stated, the only issues I have are now in the past and can’t be helped. I do not wish for there to be any sort of inter-forum hostility of any sort, and please accept my apologies if anyone has felt that I handled the situation improperly. I handled it as I saw fit, but that may not coalesce with other people’s ideas of how the situation should have been handled and I send my apologies to those who feel this way.

BTW, thanks to Dave for pointing out all of the y's in my name It's probably because I've told him in the past that it's almost always spelled incorrectly- they even spelled it with an i on my Junior High graduation certificate

I apologize for any statements that I made that might have offended you Bryan, or to anyone else for that matter, it was too early for me to be reading or making post I guess. I hope you get your bass back soon and get many years of enjoyment out of it. I know that EB will make sure of that.

John

 

[Steve Dude Barr]

First of thanks Steve for forwarding me this.

You're welcome BP, just thought you should be informed of the thread and given an opportunity to respond.

Dude

 

[Spudmurphy]

BTW, thanks to Dave for pointing out all of the y's in my name It's probably because I've told him in the past that it's almost always spelled incorrectly- they even spelled it with an i on my Junior High graduation certificate

Yeah, Koogie mentioned "Murphys law" which is why I don't get offended the number of times I have been called "Murray"

Nice descriptive post by the way - glad you're being looked after.
Spudmurphy

 

[Aragorn35016]

Yeah, Koogie mentioned "Murphys law" which is why I don't get offended the number of times I have been called "Murray"

Nice descriptive post by the way - glad you're being looked after.
Spudmurphy

Cursed Murphy's Law, gave us all a bad name.


John Murphy

 

[Spudmurphy]

Cursed Murphy's Law, gave us all a bad name.


John Murphy

Nice one Spud!
Spud

 

[barkatozz]

My only contact w/ CS was for a string problem....while tightening the 'G' string the string broke at the ball....defective merch. I was taken care of VERY quickly.
I personally would call CS every week to check on the status of a returned bass.....esp. one of such high value....but that's just me.

 

[TSanders]

Joshua,
I think that most people get treated nicely here. It is all in the delivery.

The last part of that statement is THE key.

Thank You BP.

In regards to Brians problem, I know he will be taken care of. I know that hes frustrated, and I cant say he shouldnt be. My only argument or question would be this: If you havent heard about your bass in three weeks, why not call EB and see whats up? Yes its their job, but if theres a breakdown, it wouldnt take half as long to call and get resolution, as it did to type that thread. Please Brian, know that I dont mean that sarcastic. While I was typing, I saw that you said you are sometimes "patient to a fault".

 

[TSanders]

I am the person who started the thread.

First off, I would like to say that I had made sure not to name any names as far as the people I dealt with at EBMM so as not to point the finger at anyone. Several folks have made assumptions about who it was (and most of them are incorrect), so I’ll ask people to not assume who I’ve spoken to so as not to drag anyone’s name into this who aren’t involved.

I did not post anything on the EBMM board, or contact their customer service again, as I didn’t feel the need to. I was told my bass would be taken care of and that I’d be called if need be. I’m a patient person, so I didn’t feel like “bugging” anyone at EBMM before I felt I needed to- I always feel it’s better to let people do their work in peace, and you’ll end up with a better result because of it. I also didn’t post in the EBMM forums asking what is going on with my bass because I was told I’d be updated, and to be honest I see no reason why I (or anyone else) shouldn't be updated just as regularly as those who aren't forum members- speaking as someone who runs his own business and has dealt with many customer service issues, it’s not my job to ask.

I finally contacted them yesterday after a friend advised me to. I did not call Customer Service again after receiving my email because I didn’t feel there was a need…what more could be done? Getting an apology from someone else on the issue wouldn’t change the past events. I didn’t think I should contact Sterling, a very busy professional, to ask for an apology for something that was not his doing. I posted my experience on TalkBass because I’ve been a regular member there for four years, and it is common to share any c.s. experience, good or bad, with fellow members. I had planed on posting in the EBMM forum as well, but just hadn’t done so yet. I only posted my TalkBass thread last night. I was also worried that some EBMM posters might become overly defensive about the issue if I posted it in their own forum- I felt TalkBass was a better place to post as it has people both with and without vested interests in EBMM.

Some of the posts I’ve seen in this thread have led me to believe I was correct. It was assumed that I said something wrong and outwardly hostile; seeing quotes like “And to see you guys get slagged like that just burns me up!” and “If someone is unhappy with customer service at EB then the problem must be with them.”

It has been said that I was “bashing our team”, which is not at all true. I went out of my way to make sure I did not say anything derogative, and I mentioned nothing of EBMM outside of the customer service I received from a specific person. When it was stated that “Eh, while your sitatuation is certainly unfortuante, they are doing what they can to make it better.” on the TalkBass thread, I responded:
“They are, and I'm grateful for that. It's not like I'm furious or anything, or have a chip on my shoulder against EB/MM- I was just unhappy at how things were done. I don't think it's a sign of bad customer service in general either- EB has some of the best customer service from all the things I've read. Just wanted to relay my story.”

Other people may have slagged EBMM at TalkBass, but it was not me and I take no responsibility for them doing so. Likewise, EBMM is not responsible for forum members blaming me for my issues or claiming I attacked EBMM, but it may give an insight as to why I was leary about posting here first. I also never complained that my problem wasn’t being fixed- my issue is just how it was initially taken care of- and I also don’t blame anyone for chipping the body. The body is being replaced and I made no complaints about it.

As to why I did not contact Sterling, Brian, etc., as I stated in the TB thread, I'm actually patient to a fault sometimes. I had assumed that they had started shipping the bass back already because I didn't think that they'd go so far as to keep it three weeks without telling me about it. I didn’t want to step on anyone’s toes.

There are two sides to every story and I’m sure that the person whom I spoke with has a different story than I have. And I know that even if their perspective is different from mine, they are not wrong to have it and may have seen the situation in a completely different manner. I never denied this. While I wouldn’t go to the point of saying EBMM has gone to EXTREME lengths to make me happy (I sent the bass in to have some frets replaced, and that’s what they did), I will say that they are taking care of their business and I am very grateful of that. I am also grateful the Sterling has taken the time to apologize publicly. Even though you may run things, I don’t blame you at all (nor EBMM as a whole) and you didn’t have to apologize for a mistake that wasn’t yours. I am thankful.

The TalkBass thread was closed because apparently some folks started posting some hostile things- I didn’t see the posts as they occurred after I had turned off my computer and the thread was edited and closed because of these posts. Just as thread pertaining to great customer service abound on the EBMM and TalkBass forums are not seen as something that should be kept between the musician and the customer service team, I don’t feel that threads expressing negative customer service should be kept between the musician and the customer service team. I did not post on TalkBass to try to resolve my issues- as I’ve stated, the only issues I have are now in the past and can’t be helped. I do not wish for there to be any sort of inter-forum hostility of any sort, and please accept my apologies if anyone has felt that I handled the situation improperly. I handled it as I saw fit, but that may not coalesce with other people’s ideas of how the situation should have been handled and I send my apologies to those who feel this way.

BTW, thanks to Dave for pointing out all of the y's in my name It's probably because I've told him in the past that it's almost always spelled incorrectly- they even spelled it with an i on my Junior High graduation certificate

Well Bryan, thanks for the post, and for the delivery. Made your point, and did it with class.

I really hope this gets worked out, and that your Bongo will be taken care of.

 

[Mobay45]

Having seen the responses from both sides, I would say that the whole thing has been blown way out of proportion.

I happen to have first hand knowledge about those kinds of things. Glad it looks like everything is being worked out to everyone's liking.

 

[UKFIN]

Lets close this thread

 

[bovinehost]

Good thinking.

If BP wants to reopen it, I understand he has that power!

Jack

 

[Big Poppa]

I did ask Bryan to post here when he first told me his side of the story a few weeks ago (I was mentioned in Bryan's TB post so I thought I'd post here).

If you read Bryan's post, there are two failings that occurred. The first is the ramp issue. Ramps may not be common on EBMM products, but that doesn't give anyone at EBMM the right to dismiss the customer out of hand and tell the customer they have no clue about proper setup when the bass hadn't been properly examined yet. (Rule #1 - The Customer is always right.)

The second failing is no one; let's say that again, no one from EBMM called Bryan to let him know the body got messed up and it was going to take weeks for his bass to be fixed. Personally I wonder if the paint chip occurred when the evildoing ramp was removed, not when the neck was removed.

I've only had one reason ever to contact EBMM customer service, and I was handled exceptionally well. For this reason I told Bryan his initial phone contact with EBMM must've been a fluke. I also asked him to post here as well.

But seeing some of the posts in this thread and over at TB I can understand why he didn't want to go this route. Bryan is a laid back guy who doesn't want to cause a commotion. If he's like me, he probably just wants to get his bass back in proper working order so he can get back to enjoying it.

I'm glad that EBMM is taking care of Bryan, he's a great guy who just wants to make music and art. I wish Bryan had posted here first as I suggested to him weeks ago as I think the resolution will still be the same, but the emotions of everyone involved would be much more mellow.

Nice Job of makng you laid back point. I spelled BrYan name wrong. Do you think that both sides have been presented? Do you think that he gave us a chance to fix it? No, He went to a third party web site and bashed the **** out of us.