sidereal Posted December 14, 2001 Share Posted December 14, 2001 Allow me to tell you why (pardon the drawn out bitching and whining).... - I do a web search to find the best price on the Yamaha Hip Gig. 8th Street has the best price, $1,319. I order it. - I get an email saying they don't have it in stock, it would take 10-14 days to have it shipped to my home. tells me I have to contact them to go ahead with the order. I reply to the email saying "fine. go for it." I get no email back confirming order or receipt of email. so I call and she says "yeah, I got your email." would have been nice to get confirmation, but that's a small issue. - 16 days go by and I don't have the kit. Yesterday, I call 8th street to check status. she says "I'll look into it and call back in an hour." 3 hours go by with no phone call. I call her and she says "so sorry, but I'm still checking into it. I'll call you before the end of the day." the day goes by without a phone call. - Finally this afternoon I get a call from her saying "I'm sorry, they no longer make that kit." Then she says "oh, wait, hold on..." and leaves me on hold. she comes back and says "oh, sorry, they do make the kit, but they can't sell it at that price." So she said she could sell it to me at a "new" higher price, minus $50 for the mistake. I was insulted but calm, and told her politely that I was surprised she wouldn't honor the price listed on the website since it was their mistake and not mine (we're talking about roughly $150 here). she said she couldn't do that. I said that that was a shame, that I hoped she could in the spirit of good customer service. Nope. So I said "forget it. cancel the order." The non-confirmations of the order, lack of phone calls, even the lateness of the order I can forgive. (even though I NEEDED this kit for a particular gig coming up.) But not honoring the price listed even though it's their mistake is something I can't forgive. What I would have liked to hear was this: "So sorry for the mixup and all the hassles. We'll honor that price, and not only that, we'll get it in stock immediately and send it via Overnight Fed Ex." That would be considered good customer service. Incidentally, I'm not calling for you all to boycott 8th Street. I'm not that crass. I'm saying that I'm staging a personal boycott, and also letting you all know what kind of business they run. I'm sure many of you have had great experiences with them, so please spare me the flames. I'm just telling you my situation. I'll be out of town several days, so I won't post for a while. But I'm curious to read any responses you might have. Just for the record. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
felix stein Posted December 14, 2001 Share Posted December 14, 2001 Consider it divine intervention...you got a second chance not to buy that silly little kit. I would be thankful. felix's band Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve LeBlanc Posted December 14, 2001 Share Posted December 14, 2001 I think any way you look at it that's shitty customer service...I generally take my business elsewhere when I come across shit like that. http://www.youtube.com/notesleb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazzman Posted December 14, 2001 Share Posted December 14, 2001 What would really tick me off would be if they sent me a bill in the mail for the set! I don't buy anything on the net. Period. Jazzman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve LeBlanc Posted December 14, 2001 Share Posted December 14, 2001 To be fair, I've had some excellent experiences buying stuff on the net. Especially small stuff that wouldn't make a sales rep much money anyway. I've bought strings, picks, drum sticks, cords, Jr. Drumkit for my son, TAPE, Power supply for my pedal board, etc. All great experiences. Best online music stores IMO: http://www.americanmusical.com/ (hands down the best) http://www.music123.com/ http://www.musiciansfriend.com/ (I had one bad experience but they've really put in some effort lately to improve shipping, etc.). Every once in a while they'll have cool internet sale items. http://www.youtube.com/notesleb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrummerCafe Posted December 14, 2001 Share Posted December 14, 2001 Originally posted by sidereal: I do a web search to find the best price on the Yamaha Hip Gig. 8th Street has the best price, $1,319. I order it. You're joking right? Steve Weiss Music has it listed in their catalog for $1,250.00 and I have never, in 20 years of ordering and working with them, known anyone that could beat their prices. You should definitely give them a call. Everything is drop-shipped directly from Yamaha ... and it's very fast service. Now don't hold me to this during the holiday season. Things are a bit different after 9/11 as well. Drummer Cafe - community drum & percussion forum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidereal Posted December 18, 2001 Author Share Posted December 18, 2001 Wow Bart, thanks! Couldn't find the kit on his website but I will call him this week. The guitarist in one of my bands is a lawyer. He says what 8th st. did is essentially a breach of contract (he said some legal term that I can't remember.) and I can take them to court if I want to. I doubt I'll have the energy to do that. But keep that in mind if any of you get screwed. Just for the record. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oyajipunk Posted December 20, 2001 Share Posted December 20, 2001 Sidereal, I think the technical term for this is "Fraud", or "Misrepresentation". You advertise a product for $$XX then you must sell it for $$XX. Get a reputation for not doing that and nobody will by from you, let alone the law being after you. Heresay I know, but you could have reminded them that they must stick to their advertised price (unless they have a sticky clause on the bottom of their home page like "Prices and availability are subject to change without notice"). If that doesn't work you can suggest the law is on your side, and that you could go to court to settle this - in other words threaten them diplomatically. Then the person on the phone would pass the call on to their supervisor, who may decide that a happy customer is more preferable to a court case. I love giving companies who rip off or deceive customers a hard time. All you are doing is sticking up for your rights, better luck next time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gigabite Posted January 11, 2002 Share Posted January 11, 2002 I must say that I've had my best experiances with Musiciansfriend and 123music.. There prices are so much better than any music store in town, the only problem is getting technical support. If you know what it is your buying fine, but if you don't and have to ask technical questions, forget it. They are there only to sell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drumz Posted January 11, 2002 Share Posted January 11, 2002 With online places that do not have realtime "in stock" icons, I always call first to make sure it is in stock. Dealt w/ 8th Street many time. Called first to check and have had no problems. had problem one time w/ music123 but was small- sent wrong item. Called them first as well. AMS is the best and I usually get my stuff next day as I am in a nearby state. They do however, lack some of the selection that 8th street has- Empirical Labs, and a few others. Call first if no in stock realtime icons Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sidereal Posted January 11, 2002 Author Share Posted January 11, 2002 Yeah, well, they actually sent me an email saying the kit wasn't in stock and that I should call to confirm that I'd be willing to wait 14 days. I called and said go ahead and process it. They did, and sent me the actual invoice! So it's not like it was some sort of internet lag or something. In essense, the contract was signed, the deal was done. Then they tried to change the price after the fact. grrr... this still makes me mad. And they treated me like shit to boot. Just for the record. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
felix stein Posted January 11, 2002 Share Posted January 11, 2002 Yeah, but you have not said...do you like the drumset or not? Did you even get the damn thing yet? felix's band Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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