Musician's Friend - Music123 rant

[Spudman]

I'm not wanting to get overly negative here but I have a few insights that I'd like to pass along.

First with Musician's Friend.
I have emailed them 3 times now and not gotten a response after being instructed to do so. I was looking to get a price match and also some availability and product questions. Two of the emails are 2 weeks old and the other over a year. No replies.

I also bought a Switch Vibracell guitar that was on sale. After working with it for a few days it was determined that the neck was not right and it also came with a blemish/notch on the back of the neck at fret 5. This guitar does not have a wooden neck so it wasn't something that could simply be sanded out. This guitar has two distinct issues.

I called and got a prepaid return tag since it was defective and it was shipped back to be exchanged. During the time it was gone I noticed that any others were being back-ordered so I thought it would be weeks before I was issued a replacement. Not so. One was shipped out almost the day they got the returned guitar back in their possession. It came yesterday and I opened it up today. IT'S THE SAME BLOODY GUITAR THAT I HAD SENT BACK! They did nothing to it and the problems are still the same. So...off it went again today on their dime. This time I am just asking for credit. Too bad because it was a really cool guitar. If they get them back in stock check out the Switch Wild IV Signature guitar.

So how did the same return get shipped out so quickly? Especially if it was a blem or poor quality item. Was this presumed to be going to someone different who might not notice the difference? I don't know for sure.

Music123


I ordered the Blackhart amph using my Music123 card. I was issued an order number then 2 hours later an email came saying that it was "out of stock" and orders for items that are currently out of stock cannot be back-ordered using the Music123 card.

So I waited a day and did another order the same way, and the same thing happened again. Two emails again. One giving me an order number and one saying the the order is cancelled.

The reason I was so hot to order is because since I've been a good customer they made me a special deal on a discount and time was running out.

So an hour later I place the order using my regular credit card. Shazam! Here sits the amph. Guess it wasn't out of stock after all or maybe it was. I don't know for sure why I got one using my regular credit card and not the Music123 card. Since they have been purchased by Musicians Friend did they not want to honor my Music123 card any longer?

Even though I was issued a confirmation email with a UPS tracking link it never worked so I couldn't tell that the amph had actually been shipped. I'm happy it was, but...


I just hope I don't have to return the amph.:rolleyes:

[just strum]

I'm not wanting to get overly negative here but I have a few insights that I'd like to pass along.

First with Musician's Friend.
Music123




One word: Sweetwater

[pes_laul]

thats a shame i know I've used Zzounds and never had any problems

[tot_Ou_tard]

One word: Sweetwater
I agree, get to know your Sweetwater rep & you'll be alot happier.

[Spudman]

Sweetwater does have good service. However, they don't have the same products or deals.

I have a good rep in Chris at Sweetwater. Too bad they don't carry Ernie Ball Musicman guitars. And no the Luke isn't coming from Music 123 or MF.

[oldguy]

That sucks, Spuds...
The Switch Innovo I got off e'bay has been a great axe. Sorry to hear about yours. I saw the sale and almost ordered one myself. There are some good Switch guitars, I wish you'd gotten a good one. The sustain is incredible, the downside, as you said, is if they're defective from the get-go, there's no easy fix.
Here was my experience w/ Musician's Friend, so I feel for ya.......

http://www.thefret.net/showthread.php?t=4894&page=3

Easy to say "check it out", but it don't always work that way.
Thought I had a done deal........ended up doing it myself.:thwap:

[just strum]

Sweetwater does have good service. However, they don't have the same products or deals.



I would have to agree with you there. Sweetwater has a huge selection of product, but it tends to be geared a little differently then the others. When they have it, it's great to deal with them.

I know people have slammed the others, I've been lucky and really could not give a negative testimonial on M123 or MF although in the last year I've limited my purchases with them.

[Justaguyin_nc]

It seems as time goes on.. we all have mis-dealings with Musicianfriend/music123...

I know I have a rant or two on here about them..

Sorry for your heartache and headaches Spuds..

Hopefully it's just their new center and all will mellow out..

They have some excellent deals.. it's hard to resist!!

I been though... there are other stores online..

[Tone2TheBone]

5 words. Buy your stuff in town. You guys can have Musician's Friend et. al.

[wingsdad]

I, too, could give a long list of rants on Musician's Fiend (sic), but I'll just say that I swore off of them 5 years ago after a similar experience to yours, Spud. My same returned item (an amp...I'd noted its s/n) came back. So, yep, they send the returns out to unsuspecting patsies, and not even as marked down blems either. And I think they have Chimpanzees doing their packing, the way I used to get some stuff. They're either unethical or too automated or both.

And their brick & mortar sibling, Guitar Center, lost my business 3 years ago after being told by one of their lame-brained salesfolk that I didn't want the Strat I was trying out, what I really wanted was a Les Paul, and man, I oughta check it out, as he snatched the Strat from me and offered the LP. :thwap: Nice technique.

Back to topic: online. If Sweetwater doesn't carry what I need, I check American Musical Supply. Still lack some stuff, but...

Before I even go online, I go with Tone-2's advice: my local independently owned & operated GAS Station.

A great deal is a great deal only if you get what you paid for.

[Spudman]

Like I said originally I'm not overly negative about the deals, I just thought both of these circumstances were peculiar. I know perfectly well how to get things corrected with little hassle to me. So I'm not sweating it.

Although I really like the way that guitar sounds, feels and works I'm not crushed. I would like to have one sometime especially after trying one out. They are really neat guitars. Unfortunately local music stores don't carry them or much of anything else I want. I live in Idaho for cripes sakes.

Since my dream guitar has been ordered I don't really care anymore and I'm just going to take the credit and get a cajon.

My intent with this post was to illuminate how they do business either intentionally or not. I don't believe they intend to defraud anyone. It's possible that their systems are flawed or their people are not informed well enough to avoid mishaps. Or maybe the employees just don't care. It's all speculation on my part. I just deal with it as it happens. It doesn't mean I'm going to stop doing business with them. More like I'll never let my guard down.

[tot_Ou_tard]

Spud, you are right. Sweetwater is geared more toward recording & they don't do blowouts like MF does. I still get stuff from MF.

The local GAS Station totally blows, they have nothing, it costs a lot, & the employees know nothing.

You can still get things if they are out of stock if someone returns it.

I always wonder on those blowouts, whether they are just trying to wash their hands of the guitars that keep getting returned.

[duhvoodooman]

When you're competing as the low price, be-everything-to-everyone seller, you end up cutting costs in other areas, like customer service, information systems, training, etc. And to keep costs down, you don't exactly hire "the best & brightest"--those people want too much money and they leave pretty quickly for better jobs. So I don't think MF and M123 are unethical--just under-resourced and incompetent. I've had minor screw-ups with them, but never received a returned item back again. That would get me unglued.... :reallymad:

[Guitar Gal]

I have had dealings with both MF and to Music123 and not had any major problems in the past. I've had to return one thing to MF and Music123 without incident. Because I live where there are few choices of local music stores (one within a 50 mile radius of my house) I choose to look for deals online and am willing to accept the risks with internet purchases.

With that being said.....I also took advantage of the Music123 instant cash back deal and ordered a Switch Wild IV Signature (same guit that Spud ordered) a few days ago. I received an e-mail a day after my order that it was shipped but it did not include a tracking number :confused: I then got worried because I checked online and noticed that the Wild IV Signature was no longer listed on the Music123 website. My first thought was....great....I'll probably get someone's return or a blem they are trying to get rid of. :mad: Only thing I could do was wait and see what showed up at my door.

Last night it was waiting for me when I got home from work. I opened the box, not knowing what to expect. My initial inspection found no chips, dings, cracks, or other obvious structural defects. It did not look like a return or a second. It needed a set up.......bad......I could have driven a mac truck under the strings. After spending a couple of hours adjusting the action, polishing the frets, tweaking the truss rod, and replacing the stock strings....this thing can SING :rockon: I played it through my VJ last night and it is SWEET! It sounds different than any other guitar that I have....which is what I was hoping for. A great deal for $125.00 :AOK:

GG

[Bloozcat]

First off, I have to say that I've never experienced a problem with Musician's Friend that they didn't resolve quickly and efficiently. I've only bought minor things from Music 123 without incident. I once had to return a guitar to MF because of a high fret/buzzing issue. The sales guy on the phone took my information down, and then e-mailed me a return label for the guitar. Within ten days of my phone call, I had a new replacement guitar that was right...and I examined it in great detail to ensure that it was. So, I count myself lucky in my dealings with them.

I think it may be an issue of poorly trained and unmotivated sales people that's the problem with companies like this. As a deep discounter of music equipment, I'll bet they don't pay their front line sales people much. And since they apparently don't spend much time (read-money) on training, the sales people are probably given just enough to get them on the phones/computers and little else. They probably have a sheet with a set of canned answers to the most common complaints and questions, and are not empowered to make any decisions.

In most cases I heard about, when a complaint finally gets to a manager, there's a satisfactory result. I think that MF and Music 123 figure that this is the most cost effective way to distribute their limited resources. They may go by the numbers too. If they have say, a 98%, or 99% success rating, that may be within the parameters of their business model. This is all just speculation on my part, but I'll bet their finance people do a lot of number crunching.

[Spudman]

.....I also took advantage of the Music123 instant cash back deal and ordered a Switch Wild IV Signature (same guit that Spud ordered) a few days ago. After spending a couple of hours adjusting the action, polishing the frets, tweaking the truss rod, and replacing the stock strings....this thing can SING :rockon: I played it through my VJ last night and it is SWEET! It sounds different than any other guitar that I have....which is what I was hoping for. A great deal for $125.00 :AOK:

GG

:cry: Lucky you. They are a kickin' axe for the price. Glad yours is a good one.

[Plank_Spanker]

MF has been going through some bad spasms since GC sold them. I've heard of many bad experiences with them as of late. I hope they get it back together. I've done a ton of business with MF in the past, and it was all good.