Free shipping doesn't mean free delivery
Written: Nov 09 '06
| Ease of Ordering: |
 |
|
| Customer Service: |
 |
|
| Selection: |
 |
|
| On-Time Delivery: |
|
|
|
| Full Review |
Because of some of the other reviews I've read, I knew going in that I was taking a risk ordering a large digital piano from Music123. Nevertheless, they were the only store that carried it and it was in a price range I could afford without moving up to a higher priced Yamaha so I decided to throw caution to the wind.
Ordering via the website was easy, the item was in stock as advertised, and shipping was free. I thought this was a nice bonus considering the shipment weighed in at 350+ pounds and was coming via a freight company. I was sent an email within 24 hours that the item had shipped. No tracking number was included with the email so I called customer service and was given a number. After checking on my shipment for two days, I became concerned since it wasn't showing up on the freight company's records. I called customer service and they said it shipped on the day I received the email. I called the freight company and they had no record of any packages going to my zip code! A return call to customer service (and after they actually checked this time) revealed the piano actually never shipped when they said it did, rather it shipped the morning I called (two days after I was notified that it shipped).
A couple days later, we received a call from the freight company wanting to deliver the piano. Unfortunately, they asked if we had enough people to carry it off the back of the truck! If we needed assistance, that was going to be an extra charge. Needless to say, we couldn’t have 3 to 4 men available within the 5 hour window they gave us to lift this large crated piano off their truck. We tried to tell them that shipping was free and should be taken care of by Music123. The freight company contacted Music123 to get approval to lower the piano to the end of our driveway and Music 123 denied the request. This was just not acceptable and we couldn’t determine why there was such a breakdown in the shipping process. We were not happy consumers and after numerous phone calls to Music 123 trying to straighten this out, they continued to say this was our problem. They even tried to tell us that shipping was not free and all of this was fully disclosed on their website. Our shipping was free and nowhere on the website does it state that extra charges would apply to get your purchase off the truck. After enough phone calls and complaining to supervisors, Music 123 took $109 off the price of the piano to reimburse us for the cost of getting it off the truck. We did have to pay an additional $60 for the driver to move it from the end of the driveway to the garage.
As an aside, after our phone calls, they changed their website so that shipping is no longer free on this item and they have added the freight charges. They also added “white glove” service for $250 (including shipping) which I would recommend as this piano was a monster to move in the house, uncrate, and set up.
Aside from the shipping issue (both the delay and the added hidden cost), the instrument exceeds my expectations. Buying this was a gamble, and at times I had my doubts, but luckily we now have a beautiful baby grand digital piano in our home…but the process was not without a lot of stress and Music 123 is to blame for the breakdowns in the shipping process.
Recommended:
No
What product did you purchase or try to purchase? Digital Baby Grand Piano
|
|
|
|
About the Author
Reviews written: 2
Trusted by: 0 members
|
