Some things never arrive and it's YOUR fault.
Written: Jan 8, 2008 (Updated Jan 8, 2008)
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My last experience with Musician's Friend will be, well, my last experience with Musician's Friend.
My wife ordered me some musical equipment for Christmas (4 pieces). Two of the pieces were backordered, and the company actually gave us a $10 credit for a future purchase, but that was where the good part of the transaction ended.
A day or two before Christmas, the first box of stuff arrived. The box contained one item, but the packing list said it contained two. I called customer service to find out where the other item was. They said they would send it out.
A couple of days after New Year's, the first of the backordered items arrived. Yay! So I called into customer service to find out where the other one was (my wife had gotten an email with an undecipherable tracking number) and where my first missing item was.
The second backordered item was shipped via USPS, so there was no valid tracking number (that might have been nice to indicate in the email) and they indicated that they had NO RECORD of my first call to alert them to the missing item. I asked that they send the missing item forthwith. The agent said that he couldn't do it, they have to go through a "missing items process". I said that it didn't seem fair that they took my money without sending a product. We went around on this point for several minutes, during which I heard "I'm sorry" and was called either "man" or "dude" more times than the rest of my 40 years on earth. The agent finally passed me over to "Chase" the supervisor, who indicated that there was nothing he would do.
I suggested that they just cancel that part of the transaction and credit me for the item (shipping, or in this case NOT-shipping, was free). He said that that would also have to wait for the 'missing items process'. I indicated that I could (as is my right as a consumer) dispute the charge with my credit card company. His reply was to threaten to "send me to collections".
My wife followed up with a call later that night, to try her luck with customer service. Her experience was equivalent, except she got commitment that they would have it resolved by the next Monday (4 more business days).
As luck would have it, the second (and last) backordered item arrived that Monday. So I called in again and asked if they had sent out the item. Uh oh! Now the item is no longer in stock, but it will take another 7 business days to get one and THEN send it out. I repeated this tale of woe t o this agent and he went off ("I'm really sorry, dude. Do you mind if I put you on hold to talk to my supervisor, man, to see what we can do?" - I recorded this call) to find out what the options were. This took about 10 minutes, but I learned all about greasy guitar strings and proper care of unused drums from the "on hold" advertising.
What was the big compensation? $15 more in store credit for an item that wouldn't arrive for another two weeks! I requested, again, that they just forget about it and credit my card. This conversation took another 8-10 minutes, where they finally relented.
The failures in this transaction are all understandable and acceptable, what's unacceptable and why I won't (and you shouldn't) order from Musician's Friend is the way they do business. It is unconscionable to force a customer to wait for THEIR process to unwind, it is doubly so to do so while holding the customer's money hostage. Fortunately, the equipment we purchased was for a hobby. If you were a working musician, you'd be out the equipment and your money twice, since you'd have to purchase elsewhere while Musician's Friend diddled their way through the 'missing items process'.
There are too many other outlets on the 'net to waste your time with this outfit. Also, remember that Musician's Friend is the shipping arm for all its sister companies:
GuitarCenter.com, LMI, Giardinelli, Musician.com, Private Reserve Guitars, Harmony Central, Woodwind & Brasswind (WWBW), and Music123.
While searching the internet for similar stories, I stumbled on this blog: http://ezra-g.com/blog/20071114/musician039s-friend-com-we-didn039t-ship-wrong-address-you-just-don039t-know-what-state-you-live
This gentleman had a very similar experience with Musician's Friend.
Recommended:
No
What product did you purchase or try to purchase? Musical Equipment (4 items)
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