June 14, 2007 10:58 am
Update: The Unreliable MusiciansFriend.com
For the past month I have been trying to order an amp for my guitar. I was referred to visit musiciansfriend.com to check out their deals. The prices looked really competitive and everything sounded great. I placed an order for an amp that was out of stock but would be “available” in a week. Musicians Friend proceeded to charge my credit card for the amp, leading me to believe it was in stock and being processed. A few days later I received an email kindly letting me know they were out of stock for that item permanently and were no longer carrying it. THANK YOU, Musicians Friend, for the warning! Instead of listing false hopes with your “In stock 6/6/07″ dates, just remove the item BEFORE someone places an order.
What a pain, but it was one screw up, so I shrugged it off and found another similar amp for an even better price. This one also was presumed to be “in-stock” within a few days. I thought surely they couldn’t do this to me twice. They did the same run-around again, this time without so much as a confirmation or cancellation email. I checked the product page for the amp I ordered, and they had DOUBLED the price! I had to contact them, after seeing the charge and then the refund on my checking account. In the help response, “Daniel” informed me that they are, once again, “no longer going to be stocking that product” and were very sorry for the inconvenience. No offers to help me resolve my “ampless-ness” in any way, just an empty corporate apology.
As a result of this terrible experience I have taken my business and my money to Music123.com and placed an order for an amp that is “in-stock and ready to ship”. Even though it cost more (its a better amp), its worth it just NOT to do business with MusiciansFriend.com.
If you are thinking about ordering from MusiciansFriend, I suggest waiting until their online catalog has been completely updated and they are finished with their move. Don’t bother ordering anything that says it will be “Due: XX/XX/2007″, they probably won’t be getting any more in. While you are waiting, you might as well check out Music123, or dozens of the other decent retailers.
/end rant
Has anyone else had a similar experience with this retailer? Did they do anything about it?
Update: Music123 successfully did in 5 days what MusiciansFriend couldn’t accomplish in a month. The amp arrived today (6/19/07).
Digg this
Yeah, if you do a google search with a term like “Musiciansfriend Unreliable” or “Don’t order from Musiciansfriend”, you’ll find a plethora of sites/blogs/forums full of complaints. I just cancelled an order today in which I thought I’d use my Musiciansfriend Platinum card. I had to cancel because after seeing the site state: “In stock and ready to ship!” and after paying an Extra $38.50 to make sure I got it in a day, I was told that the guitar was still in the warehouse being packed. I called them again and told them to cancel. The guy acted like he took calls like that every day. They are getting a lot of bad press, and I wonder if they care. With any luck, they might pull out of this mess, but I for one will NEVER deal with them again.
Musicians Friend has become a terrible company to buy from!!
I placed an order for a $1800 Stratocaster on 11/28. Two days later they called to verify the charge on my Musicians Friend Platinum card, even though the name and delivery address of the order matched the card!! When I asked why they were calling to verify and why the guitar still hadn’t shipped thier only explanation was” we’re running a little behind”. I advised the rep that I needed the guitar by 12/4 and she promised to send it 2nd day air. Each day I checked the order status which consistently showed “being packed” and emailed my request for more info. No replies at all from them!!! Today 12/4 I see that the item is still “being packed”. Called to cancel and the gentleman took my request happily without even asking me for the reason.
I have bought from them in the past with no problems but they are now a much different company. Take your business elsewhere.