Service over Prices gets the sale

[nuntius]

I just wanted to express my views on my visit today to a shop near me called "sound control".

Well i went in their new shop, and WOW its huge, theres anything you'd ever want to try, full ranges of pretty much every major guitar brand and amp.

I was browsing and picked up a korean wolfgang... omg. Some retard had locked it down in such a completely off tuning, the fine tuners couldnt save it

but they had another one, so i picked that up, seemed fine, but it choked on the E string higher up the neck, i'd expect something like that to be sorted out in a shop..


well anyway i saw a pretty nice fender tele (the fender stand was at the front of the shop) so i asked if i could have a lead for it so i could plug into the 2x12 Flex III at the back of the shop (closest to what i have at home, a flex 2 2x12)


well the guy said you might as well plug into this one instead and directed me to a 1x12 50 watter at the front of the shop as it already had a power cable etc.

well the guitar seemed like it had been tuned too low by the feel of the strings, so i asked for a tuner to tune it to standard so i didnt snap a string tuning to high or something (i dont have perfect pitch but i can tune from a single note).

he said ok, walked off and didnt come back with one, instead walked past me to the counter to take phone calls.

barely 2 minutes later he came over to tell me to turn down because he couldnt hear the phones, so i told him Look, you put me here, I asked to plug in to the amp at the back of the shop. If you want me to buy a guitar from here i have to hear it

to which he said "oh right" and moved me..

but what really P!ssed me off was there was a guy playing a LP standard through a recto louder than i was playing through the flex, but he looked 30 ish so i assume they were thinking - im a kid and i cant afford this tele, but he could afford the LP. There was also a drummer that was louder than the both of us!

yet i was told to turn down. well my dad came into the shop 10 minutes later wearing his suit (just got off work before he gave me the lift, and had been in the carpet shop next door) and i went looking at schecters, the guy then came over and asked me if i wanted to try anything...


Strange!?!?!? i had to ask him before, and its not like im some run of the mill kid, he could hear i could play alright, but never went out of his way to help me


I would just like to say you just lost my custom Sound Control. I'd rather go to the other shops in manchester where i get service whether or not im with my dad..

actually i might email them this, because hats twice in two visits their salesmen have treated me badly.

last time i tried a wolfie and asked for a whammy bar, and the guy brought me back a left handed strat one. Ok so he made a mistake, so i asked him to bring me a right handed one for the wolfie, so he brought me back a right handed one, that didnt fit.. i asked him again, he went off into the back of the shop and didnt come back.

[martinsixstringcustoms]

Yep, sounds fairly typical. Been in similar situations and nothing pisses me off more. I'm lucky where I live because we have an excellent "mom & pop" type guitar store that has great service and friendly, knowledgable staff. Your story reminds me of trips to places like Guitar Center and Sam Ash. Even if GC's price is a little better, I'd sooner pay a bit more to have a pleasurable buying experience!

[nuntius]

Unfortunately Sound Control are the only UK suppliers of Schecter guitars.. whether thats a huge loss to me now i'm boycotting the shop i'll never know.

[ArtieToo]

You know . . . you may want to send the email to Schecter, rather than the shop. They might be interested in why they just lost a sale more than the shop does.

[TwilightOdyssey]

I agree with Artie. If you let Schecter know they are losing sales b/c the salesmen are pimples, they will act.

I had a similar story when I ordered my M1 ... due to orders that needed to be filled, there was an unexpected backorder on the M1. Now that's strange enough, because, seriously, besides George and myself, who's out there playing a bright yellow, tiger-triped guitar with only one pup! lol Anyway ..., I had ordered the guitar with the understanding that it would be in by the time I played a gig opening for Symphony X. One week before the show, and no M1! So, I called the California office, and spoke to someone. I explained the situation to them. Not only did they hand pick my guitar and put it at the front of the line, but they offered to put on my own strings if I sent them out to them, and do the setup as well ... One week later, the guitar arrived the night before the gig, and I was a very impressed customer, so much so that I bought the Kamikaze 4.

[Zerberus]

You know . . . you may want to send the email to Schecter, rather than the shop. They might be interested in why they just lost a sale more than the shop does.

[\m/(00)\m/]

sounds like guitar center

i went there looking for a dimarzio YJM and they handed me a super distortion and a tone zone
haha

btu sam ash isn't that abd down here, or at least the one i go to.

[nuntius]

Draft to Schecter:

I am writing to inform you about the actions of a salesperson at the Manchester store "Sound Control" which is coincedentally, the only UK outlet stocking your guitars.

I asked a salesperson to try a guitar through a particular amp which was at the back of the shop. Instead, the salesperson took me to a nearby amp and plugged me in because it was "similar" to the one at the back. The reason to which i wanted to try it through the other amp was that it was the amp that i own, which is a 2x12 line 6. The salesperson plugged me into a 1x12.

Furthermore, when i turned up the amp to hear the guitar, the salesperson came over and asked me to turn down because he couldnt hear the phones at the front of the shop - to which i replied: You put me here. I asked to plug in to the amp at the back of the shop. If you want me to buy a guitar from here i have to be able to hear it

The sales person then moved me to the amp, but i did not stay any longer playing gutiar.

The fact that I am 16 is irelevant, I can play guitar to a higher standard than a lot of people twice my age and i often recieve compliments off salespeople from other stores.

Another guitarist was trying an expensive Les Paul Standard at a higher volume than i was, and was not asked to turn down.

The only reason i can see for this is he was older than I am, and therefore the shopsalesmen must have assumed he could afford it.

However, when my father came into the shop (he had been in the nearby carpet store whilst i was trying guitars) and talked to me I was treated more seriously, with an offer "would i like to try anything"

To which i replied no, as i should not need my father stood next to me to qualify for good service

I went to the shop with the full intention of trying out as many Schecter guitars as I could having little previous experience with them. The way I was treated today ensures that i will not return to that establishment, henceforth I will not be purchasing a Schecter guitar.

[nuntius]

hmm i should mention i was plugged into an amp at the front of the shop.. Redrafting

[TwilightOdyssey]

It's perfect.

[nuntius]

A slight redraft - do i need the bolded part?

I am writing to inform you about the actions of a salesperson at the Manchester store "Sound Control" which is coincedentally, the only UK outlet stocking your guitars.

I asked a salesperson to try a guitar through a particular amp which was at the back of the shop.
Instead, the salesperson took me to a nearby amp at the front of the shop (near the desk) and plugged me in because it was "similar" to the one at the back. The reason to which i wanted to try it through the other amp was that it was the amp that i own, which is a 2x12 line 6. The salesperson plugged me into a 1x12.

Furthermore, when I turned up the amp to hear the guitar, the salesperson came over and asked me to turn down because he couldnt hear the phones at the front of the shop - to which I replied: You put me here. I asked to plug in to the amp at the back of the shop. If you want me to buy a guitar from here i have to be able to hear it

The sales person then moved me to the amp, but I did not stay any longer playing gutiar.

The fact that I am 16 is irelevant, I can play guitar to a higher standard than a lot of people twice my age and I often recieve compliments off salespeople from other stores as regards to my playing.

Another guitarist was trying an expensive Les Paul Standard at a higher volume than i was, and was not asked to turn down.

The only reason I can see for this is he was older than I am, and therefore the shopsalesmen must have assumed he could afford it.

However, when my father came into the shop (he had been in the nearby carpet store whilst i was trying guitars) and talked to me I was treated more seriously, with an offer "would i like to try anything"

To which i replied "no" - as i should not need my father stood next to me to qualify for good service.

I had no such problem when I visited another Manchester store (of a different chain) with a friend (also 16 years old). There, the salesperson engaged in conversation with me as to my likes and dislikes of the guitars i was trying and recommended me other guitars to try. He went out of his way to bring in the amp i asked to try into the demo booth.

I went to the shop with the full intention of trying out as many Schecter guitars as I could having little previous experience with them. The way I was treated today ensures that i will not return to that establishment, henceforth I will not be purchasing a Schecter guitar.

[Norman_T]

My comment on the letter is that you will probably get a typical respomse from them and nothing anymore. After all if Sound Control has got exclusive dealership rights in the UK then it is likely that they are not going to do a great deal and probably not worry anymore about you. I will try and explain my reasons below.

As you know I love US Hamer guitars and in the UK only one dealership has these guitars (Soho Soundhouse in London) despite writing to Hamer and telling them of the absolutely shocking service that you get from the shop they are still the only dealership in the UK. I was told by Hamer that they were the only dealer who could offer a comprehensive service to customers and offered the best deals that could not be matched by others. I disagreed with Hamer and told them that I knew at least have a dozen great dealers in the country who were better.

Having said that I know will only buy guitars directly from the US - not only do I save a lot of money but the people who I have bought from are more passionate than the service one gets in this country.

[nuntius]

Don't get me started on Soho Soundhouse...

I think I said already about the service I got from them.

I ordered a TB4, and some retard sent me a TB5.

To make it worse it arrived 2 days after it was supposed to which was an added kick in the nads.. anyway its the reason i came on this forum to ask if i should keep the custom or not. Turns out it was more my style at the time than the JB would have been and i've stayed on the forum since.

Guess one good thing came out of that

it's not hard to read numbers...