Bass Central Trip!

[FunkyLemz]

Hey Guys, I just though everyone should know about the experience I had one my first visit to Bass central in Orlando. (Davio knows this story and was quite shocked)- Anyways, so I went to Orlando with my fiancee' and decided to stop in Bass Central while she was doing some food shopping - so I had about an hour and a half to kill. I went in and was in awe of all the bass gear around being that the only store that had a decent amount of gear was one Guitar Center in Jersey (which wasnt much at all). So, I'm roaming around I say wassup to Grasshopper and Mike (very cool guy I may add) and I ask if I could pick up a bass and play. They say sure and so I do so for a short while at a low volume. Then, I strike up a conversation with both Grasshopper and Mike - we're talking and in the middle of our rap Beaver comes over and tells me to shut the F*** up because Im just a costomer and there is a guy on the phone who may want to buy a Fodera. So he orders Mike to take the call and that was the end of the conversation for me. Mind you I was only in the store for around 5 minutes and was not being any sort of pest, abusing equipment, or anything. I am a well mannered person (when the situation calls for it -haha) and Davio could back me up one that. Anyways, so I was pretty taken aback by the comment and continued to admire the basses. (I would have left, but my financee' had the car and I still wanted to test some gear out). Well, he later put on a facade of a nice guy (when he though I might spend some green) and let me test out some cabs. Mike was off the phone and did a great job at assisting me with pretty much everything (very cool to talk to as well). In the midst of testing the cab, Beaver rolls by (I make an attempt to reconcile any anger he had towards me - for no good reason) and ask him - why did you pick Orlando for the spot to open the store? - I was saying this in the a very upbeat tone. His reply was something to the effect of "are you kidding me" (in an extremely and I mean extremely authoritative tone - as if I was his 7 year old son and he was a deadbeat father. Again taken aback, I brushed him off and continued on with Mike. From then on I pretty much direguarded him as even being there. I am very uneasy having so many people buying from a guy that is such a jerk (to put it lightly). I just saw a money-hungry buisness owner not a laid back bass player selling for gear for a cause he believes in - Bass Player's sound. I'm sorry if I'm coming across too strongly myself, but I live so close to one of the most famous bass dealers in the nation and I will never buy a piece of equipment from them. I'd rather go to Bass Northwest in WA, Rock City in MA, or the many other places for my bass gear. Thanks and I hope you all hear me out and maybe take a stand yourseleves. - Mike

[g.]

Maybe it was just a bad day. Maybe he had to read hundreds of pages of scrunched up text and had a headache. At least his store stocks lots of bass stuff, takes the risk. Maybe he cares, it just came out wrong that time.

[JBFLA]

Hi Funky -

 

I can't account for that particular days events, but I can say that the day Davio/ATM/BGO and I went in, Beaver and Casey(KC) and Dave LaRue were very nice and supportive. We had the run of the shop and Beaver came out to make sure we were attended to. Anything and everything was at our disposal and they were happy to help or answer questions... and Beaver gave us some great stuff (SCAG? is that the term? I'm such a nubie, in retrospect).

 

You'd be hard pressed to find the same quality gear anywhere else in this bass-forsaken state...

 

 

Sometimes (as GB says) we have bad days. I'd say that you might want to give them another shot.

[g.]

You guys SUCK!

 

I mean, the woid is "swag".

[saxofunk]

I've been rather quiet about my one visit to BC, and it was almost two years ago.

 

During my 20-30 minute visit the phone didn't stop ringing. I remember meeting Grasshopper; he was finishing a set-up job as I walked in and played some funk licks to test drive his efforts. I can't legitimately comment on his customer service, especially to people who spend their money, but his ego reminded me of the guys I met in college who thought they were Charlie Parker incarnate. The other guy, who certainly wasn't Beaver, helped me as well as he could between calls. I do remember him being easy to deal with and accommodating to me, in spite of the fact that he was constantly dodging off to the phone.

 

As I stared at a Godin fretless one of them took it down for me to play and made sure I tried a Rob Allen also. About this time Grasshopper went back to his setup and phone. I wanted to try some preamps and "non-Grasshopper guy" took time to switch some cables around for me and get one unit dialed in... by the time I was ready to move on to the next one he was on the phone again. I played for a bit more while eavesdropping enough to know that he'd be on the phone a long time. Meanwhile, the revelation comes upon me that I'm in their store only because I'm in Orlando at the time. I had no intention to buy, no cash to spend, and not enough bass knowledge at the time to make an intelligent decision. So I put the bass up, waved, smiled, said "thanks" and picked up a business card.

 

As it is, I decided not to bother with them unless I am ready to buy, cash in hand. They're not worth my time until I am worth theirs.

 

In your shoes, I probably wouldn't even consider them again. It's one thing to say, "please excuse him, he has an important call to take." It's inexcusable to act the way you allege Beaver acted.

 

The Bass Central guys do a LOT of business by phone - big business. Those who have bought custom basses can testify to the number of phone calls it takes to discuss options and ideas. My advice to these shops is to put the phone in a back room and dedicate staff to take phone calls; allow the floor sales team to do their job without interruptions. That way the phone gets picked up in a reasonable time and the phone customer stays happy, the walk-in customer gets the attention he expects and he stays happy.

[Stackimo]

I don't care if you are having a bad day or not. I can't imagine speaking to a stranger for which you know nothing about, in that tone.

 

That is either extremely uncalled for or you did something to piss him off while in conversation with the others.

 

Has anyone else had this kind of experience with this fellow, named after a female's sacred spot, before?

[ArwinH]

I had a similar experience at a music store here in so cal, very welml known. They stock great gear and are known for their several celebrity clients. I was shocked in the way they acted. Yet, when my friend wanted me to go to the shop with him to help with a purchsing decision, the staff was very nice and informative, the polar opposite of the experience I had earlier. I actually ended up buying something on that second trip, though I had promised myself never to give that shop my business earlier. These people are human beings and they have bad days just like the rest of us,even if they are surrounded by beautiful gear all day. I would say, appreciate the experience and don't disgard it, but don't hold a grudge or have hostility because of it. Life's too short anyway, no time to drive to WA or MA every time you want to try out some gear. Hopefully future experiences will be more pleasant for you!

P.S. Let me know what you think of the JR> once it comes in! I had an eye on that talkbass ad, some good stuff in that sale! Have fun with it!

[JBFLA]

Originally posted by greenboy:

You guys SUCK!

 

I mean, the woid is "swag".

SWAG would refer to items of worth. A Tie Dye BC shirt(Tie Dye? That is sooo 2 generations ago) and an edited version of "BassChops" on CD isn't SWAG. If anyone 'sucks', it's me for forgeting the ... tags...ergo, SCAG.

 

Otherwise - they were real nice to us. Could be because ATM alerted them to our trip?

 

Still - they were very accomodating, regardless of intentions.

[g.]

Oh. I thought maybe they were giving away HEROIN.

 

...Never mind ; }

[davio]

Well, Jim, I'd say that Beaver also saw a good chance that we'd buy some gear while there or might be inclined to make sizable purchases in the future if he was curtious. Mike doesn't give the first impression of a guy who's going to dump a bunch of money down high-end equipment.

 

Regardless, Beaver would've gotten an earfull if he had spouted off to me like that. My business would not go to a place that treated me that way. I'd rather spend a little bit more and have things shipped if need be (especially since I'm at BassNW at least once or twice a year anyway )

 

Fact is that I wasn't treated like that but I will be more cautious next time I'm there.

 

I still dream about that Dingwall...

[JBFLA]

Hey davio -

 

"Upon further review..."

That was not good customer service; and yes, Beaver may have seen dollar signs when he heard of our visit (along with the fact that there may be some 'good press' from our post visit review).

 

And, they do most of their business from on-line/phone orders (which may de-value any 'personal tryouts')...

 

Still - I give them points for going out of their way (whatever their intentions).

 

Maybe I'm too jaded by the attitude of the major retailers in my area (GC and SamAsh)?...neither of which have the quality gear that I wish to try, or exhibit the attention I need.

 

Not that that should give them an excuse for shoddy treatment of customers.

[FunkyLemz]

I dunno if having a bad day could justify the way he acted towards me. I'm not trying to hold a grudge against him, but I have spoke to some major bass manufactors and other store owners and they knew exactly what I was speaking of about Beaver. Surprisingly, I have had some great and some also some horrible encounters with other music retailer employees, but nothing as bad as my first (and hopefully last) trip to bass central. The only reason I would contemplate going back (not to buy/just play)is because Mike was serious a really great guy to work with.

I 2nd that phone in the back idea and I totally think that Beaver had green in his eyes when he had a head's up on your arrival. Let me finish by saying that I'm only 21 years old and have no affiliation with any other companies, but for sure know that I would never recommend BC solely because of one of it's owners.

Thanks and I forgive you Beaver, but I just can't forget - Mike

[BenLoy]

I'm sorry FunkyLemz, but were Beaver's actual words to you "Shut the f**k up because you're just a customer"?? Is this the quote you would give a newspaper?

 

That doesn't sound right to me. Anyone who speaks to customers like that wouldn't be able to keep his store open very long.

 

I know I wasn't there, but this just sounds difficult to believe.

[WCunha]

I never spoke to Beaver directly when I purchased my Dingwall but, he answered my all my questions quickly and professionally through email.

 

When I ordered it over the phone I spoke tp Mike and he was very eay to deal with.

 

I'd say my overall experience with them was very good.

 

I agree with Ben on that quote. Is that exactly what he said?

 

Wade

[FunkyLemz]

His exact words were very close to my quote (if not dead on) - I would feel comfortable enough to report it to this forum and to a large medium - like a magazine. - Im not trying to exaggerate whatsoever.

Mike -

[EddiePlaysBass]

Mike, I know it isn't easy, but try not to let it chew at you. Do the "other cheek" thing (and I don't mean go back and moon the sucka ) and give them a second chance. Someday. If need be.

[Basso]

I have been in Bass Central many times and I am amazed by the way they treat the customers.

I've seen people walk out pissed and come back in just tell them to go to hell!

It makes me think that all the positive comments on these forums about Bass Central are the employees working up the bass public.

[Pernax]

I've only dealt with BC once, I sent them an email asking about ordering a bass. Never heard back from them.

 

I sent a similar email to BassNW, and got a reply in mere minutes. This has happened with all my emails to them.

 

Anyone want to guess which of the two companies would get my business?

 

-P

[davio]

That's strage Pernax. All the info that I've gathered has led me to believe that BC is very good about doing business by phone and email but pretty lacking face-to-face. I have sent them several emails in the past and made a few phone calls about the availability of certain pieces of equipment and their experiences with them and they've been most gracious and timely. I'm still bothered by Mike's story though.

[bottle12am]

Just do what I do... send them receipts of your purchases from elsewhere.

 

Had that problem with the end of my lease with a Toyota-- after fighting their hiearchy and going a few rounds with them via the BBB, I just sent copies of the temp tag from my new non-Toyota vehicle to both the Toyota Financial Services dept and the supervisors there.

 

Same when I walked into Circuit City a few years back, $2k in pocket looking for a computer. After a few minutes of them looking down at me like dirt, I just crossed the street to Radio Shack, got what I wanted, sent a copy of the receipt to the CC store mgr and district mgr.

 

Insofar as music stores are concerned, I thought BC would be pretty good (I'm not big on corporate stores, and teh BC site seemed pretty southpaw-friendly). I e-mailed them once inquiring about a lefty MM Sterling; Grasshopper shot back at me within 15-20 min of my e-mail, with a very friendly and informative note. I sent a second e-mail to him the next day with some questions (letting him know that I was ready to buy but had a few ?? first).

 

Three months later, I'm still waiting to hear back.

 

I wasn't insulted, at least. Just very disappointed.

[Pernax]

I'll have to add that email is something of a two bladed sword, as it can be really convenient but also problematic. A phone call would be best, but for me it's out of the question.

 

-P