Sam Ash is killing me!!!!

[mystixboi1]

I don’t know if this is allowed to be posted here or not, but I want to vent.

I started going to my local Sam Ash the day it opened. I was just a kid, but I was there. I’ve done shopping on and off from Sam Ash ever since then.

This recent experience has made me realize why I’ve been taking my business elsewhere the past few years.

I purchased a used Ernie Ball Music Man Luke III from Sam Ash in Paramus, NJ. I received the guitar on June 28, 2013. I immediately noticed that even though the guitar was in excellent condition, the boost switch that was broke. It always stayed turned on. I took the guitar to Sam Ash in Cherry Hill on July 1, 2013 and informed the tech that it had a broken switch.

The tech told me that the broken switch was covered by the 30 Day Used Warranty from Sam Ash. He said he would have the guitar department manager order the broken piece.

The following week I called back to see what the status of the new piece was… there wasn’t any update. He was going to check with the guitar section manager... never heard back.

I called back a week later. The tech said that he would check with the guitar department manager again to see where the piece was. After a few hours, he called me back and told me that I had to bring the guitar in so he could remove the broken switch and send it back to the EB MM so they could send a replacement piece.

OK… soooooo… why didn’t we know this a week or so ago when I called in to check on the status? Sounds like nothing was done at all in the 2 weeks since I first reported the problem.

Either way, surely it doesn’t take more than a week to find something like that out. Right?

A week later, still no update. Now, it’s been over a month since I first reported the problem. I’ve only gotten updates from the tech because I’ve called in to see where things were progressing. It’s almost 5 weeks since I first reported the problem to Sam Ash. They still have my guitar and told me that it will probably be another week until I get it back.

Finally, I spoke to the tech on 8.6.2013 and he told me that it would probably take another week or so to get the switch in from EB MM.

You’re telling me that it takes almost a month and a half to replace a broken switch on a guitar?!?!?!

I know it's not the Cherry Hill Sam Ash's fault for me receiving a faulty guitar, but they have done nothing above the bare minimum to make sure the guitar was fixed in a decent time.

Sam Ash had no problems taking my money, but when it came time for them to make things right, they drag their feet on it.

Lame.

/End rant.

 

[Dr.Strangenote]

sounds to me like somebody there is dropping the ball. perhaps either lack of experience or just somebody who has no value in work ethic and probably is seeking the job wanted ads on a daily basis. either that, or they just don't care at all about customer service. what's really fantastic is our ernie ball customer service. question: how come you didn't just take care of the switch through ernie ball customer service. the replacement part would have been at your door in a weeks time. I realize that you want sam ash to fix it, but I guess moving forward, they aren't that reliable as it turns out.

 

[sballow]

The best part of Sam Ash is their low prices on used gear. I would never trust them with fixing any of my stuff though. I ordered a new guitar there and they offered to sell me 6 set ups for it for $50. I declined and was glad I did because the guitar didn't even come to me set up. If you can't get the first one right, what ensures me that you would do it a second time? The moral of the story is you can have fun learning to fix your guitars yourself.

 

[mystixboi1]

yeah... I do a lot of work on my own gear, but in this scenario, I don't feel like I should have had to do the work myself. you know? I spent $1200 on a guitar that has a faulty switch... that shouldn't be my problem.

 

[A.J.]

The part will be delivered to them today.

 

[mystixboi1]

Thanks AJ

 

[Razzle]

As an aside... I went into the Sam Ash in Nashville (never having been there) and I didn't see a single EBMM. I was disappointed to say the least. And I probably won't ever go back into the store.

 

[mystixboi1]

just got the call that the guitar is ready to be picked up... wow... 5 weeks...

 

[GWDavis28]

just got the call that the guitar is ready to be picked up... wow... 5 weeks...

AJ to the rescue!!! Great job AJ. I'm sure your more than happy Mystixboi.

Glenn |B)

 

[baimun]

Another case of having to talk to the right person.

 

[mystixboi1]

AJ was great during this whole process... I talked to him when this all started and once or twice during and he always had the most up to date info.

 

[TNT]

hmmmmmm..............

 

[Jack FFR1846]

In the 1 experience I had with a big box store shipping me a used guitar (an Al HH made for a band), I found that the description was inadequate and pictures not detailed enough to show the true condition of the guitar (beat to heck). I was unhappy with the condition but upon returning it to the local store, quite happy that the staff agreed with my assessment and refunded me 100% of what I originally paid, including shipping. It did take nearly an hour for the return process, but I expected this and my son and I spent time playing different guitars in their used section and I ended up buying one of those on my way out.

 

[PHILSALAZ47]

Hi there

My name is Phil , I am the Guitar Department Mgr at Sam Ash here in San Antonio, TX. Hope all is well in your world and I just wanted to take a quick minute to get back with you after reviewing the situation. I spoke to Sammy Ash today about this incident and would like to take a minute to say that Sammy is personally sorry for the mistakes that were made in the handling of your Luke III. This sort of thing is very uncharacteristic of our techs as we have employed some of the industries finest luthiers across the stores nationwide and always back up all work with full guarantees.
It is quite rare that complaints happen , but they do arise from time to time. We always want to make it right , Full money back guarantees have always been honored at our stores if you feel the instrument was not up to playable standards , got a raw deal , or just simply changed your mind. This is probably not what you want and surely not what we want , we strive on building relationships in this business. I have made many lifelong friends and contacts by working in this industry and with great satisfaction. The refund policy is there for your peace of mind. Dropping the ball has nothing to do with lack of experience , well ( maybe in some places that can happen ) It has everything to with human nature. Working in a high volume music store sometimes it is difficult to get to everyone in the timely fashion we would like , We are not perfect but we try our best to strive towards that goal.
It is true that we feel we have also feel we have the Absolute best prices on used gear , Our techs are trusted by some of the finest musicians in the country , This is from a reputation 90 years long. Last but not least , we do not have EBMM in Nashville or any other store at this moment but what someone did not say was that our Nashville Guitar Store is considered one of the most awesome guitar stores in the world , and clearly the best in Nashville. We love Music Man instruments, Sammy Ash is personal friends with Sterling Ball , owner and CEO of the company and has been his good friend for over 30 years, and owns several MMs in his collection. These are some of the finest instruments in the USA. As much as we would like too we cant carry everything , although this would be awesome in a perfect world. We are hoping that will change in the very near future.

P.S. The person who chimed in on the bad experience with the " Big Box Store" , I wish would have said that it wasn't a Sam Ash Music because from our records it wasn't , it must have been another " Big Box " company .


Everyone have a rockin rest of the day .....
And as always we are always here to help I know I am

Phil Salazar / Guitar Mgr
Sam Ash Music

 

[Big Poppa]

thanks Phil...You know the problem here is that also we got thrown under the bus with the comment that we made a defective guitar...It was used We have no idea what the original owner did with it...and also we dont make parts like this and are at the mercy of periodic failure...its totally out of our control



How having said that I do consider Sammy Ash a great friend....a friend when we do business and a friend when we dont We both grew up in this business.....

But I think that there are some mm's in the air....some may be landing at Sam Ash...

Phil thanks for posting!

 

[mystixboi1]

Big Poppa - please allow me to clarify something... I never ever threw EB MM "under the bus for making a defective guitar". I said that when I bought the used guitar, the switch was broke. If you, and the rest of EB MM, thought I said you made a defective guitar, then I apologize for the misunderstanding. I have no idea what the previous owner did with the guitar.

I've bought and owned at least 20 different Music Mans over the past few years. No other company puts out a product this good... especially at this price point. I make this known not only on this forum, but others like Rig Talk, The Gear Page, Sevenstring.org and the MarkWein Guitar Lessons. I even consider the Liii the most fantastic guitar I have ever owned(and I've bought and owned at least 300). the playability and tone is off the charts good.

I don't want EB MM thinking I am ever bad mouthing them due to a misunderstanding of one post. I've only been part of the EB MM online community for a while, but if you look at my other posts and threads, they have always been positive about EB MM.

And to Phil from Sam Ash, I appreciate you taking the time to write a response to my thread. While I still think it's completely ridiculous that this matter took almost a month and a half to resolve, the guitar is finally back at home. My frustration came from the fact that I spent $1,200 on a guitar that was, when I got it, defective... I never said that it was the fault of EB MM or Sam Ash. However, the fact remains that the people at my local Sam Ash dropped the ball in handling it. To this day, I don't think that this issue would have been resolved if I hadn't been so persistent in my follow ups.

Is Sam Ash a great company to do business with? I'm sure it is. I just didn't see that in my experience.

Thanks again for your response.

 

[The OGG]

Hi everyone,

I'm a professional musician, writer, producer, engineer and all around generally cool dude for the most part. I have been working professionally in the industry for over 20 years, have appeared on, or have otherwise been involved in the making of numerous Grammy winning records and multi-platinum releases. I am an avid gear collector, and have owned countless guitars over the years from a variety of manufacturers including EBMM. I have loved every one of those EBMM guitars.

I have also known mystixboi1 from various LARGE musician forums for many years. A nicer guy, you will not meet. His love of EBMM guitars is legendary on certain forums, and a source of "shill" jokes due to his steadfast allegiance to the quality of the brand. Not once, can I or anyone else recall a time when he spoke ill of the company in any way, shape or form. This thread here is no exception.

We have here, a thread born out of frustration by a man who loves a product, and was forced to wait an inordinate of time to enjoy that product, because the retailer failed on multiple levels. They clearly failed to make sure the guitar was in proper working order before selling and shipping it to the end user, they further failed by not adequately addressing the needs of the end consumer in a timely and professional manner. No one, as a consumer could fault the OP for their disappointment over the situation, or for venting that frustration in a way that clearly defined the nature of the failure and the parties responsible for that failure. If the bulk of folks here shelled out $1200 for an instrument only to get it home and find it to be faulty, and were then run through the wringer by the retailer for over a month, I'm quite certain that they would be at least as upset with the situation.

What transpired in this thread after the initial post is shocking and shameful. I am disgusted that it was turned into a PR coup for EBMM and Sam Ash. Below, is my response on another forum to reading this thread. I think it sums it up pretty well...

I read that whole thread, and I have to say that not only did you (Myz) NOT throw EBMM under the bus, but you were very tactful in pointing out the specific failings and "guilty" parties in the process. To be honest, the responses from the big wig guys were unwarranted, unapologetic, condescending and entirely self serving. It actually pi$$ed me off. It's great that they took the opportunity to use a public forum to establish whom all of the rich golf buddies were, but at no point did I see any effort from them to acknowledge that ultimately, you bought an expensive instrument from a retailer that then completely failed to make that instrument as advertised prior to sale, and ran you, the customer through the **** for 5 weeks.

I don't give a rats a** about Sterling Ball and his group of friends. And, from the replies, they don't give a rats a** about you.

The whole process was a complete breakdown of customer service. For anyone to twist that failure into an opportunity to put the onus back on to the customer while stroking their own ego's is disgusting.

I will NEVER do business with EBMM or Sam Ash after reading that thread. Ever. What a crock of **** that was. If a guy has such poor reading comprehension that they mistook your thread for a shot at EBMM, then I wonder about their intelligence.

Yeah, I'm one of those extremely lucky folks who can drop absurd amounts of money on gear if I want. I mentioned going through a similar experience years ago with GC wherein at the end of it all, I got what I needed, I got an apology, and I got a very nice free guitar. The fact that I had spent over $200K in their store didn't factor into that. It was an astute manager who realized a huge failing and did the right thing to retain good will and keep a customer.

These guys here are just 4$$holes.

Feel free to copy and paste this over to that thread, but leave ******** out of it.

So, as someone who can and does purchase high end gear regularly, and whom doesn't often go to fanboi type forums I am here to tell the guys from both companies that this thread has turned myself and a whole lot of other people off to both the brand and the retailer. an unfortunate thing considering it could have been a great opportunity to earn good PR rather than turn the tables on a very loyal customer while skirting the entire issue and offering no semblance of contrition.

Shame on you. Your customers and fans deserve much, much better.

The OGG

 

[douglasspears]

well, wow. That just happened.

 

[Sweat]

OK time to get the popcorn and a beer!

 

[Axis Sport]

I would say that is a little over the top, but there are some reasonable points made about what was actually said and the response given. I am sure this one wont stay open much longer. Sweat, I just flew over your city.