Went looking for a new guitar, got legalese, T&Cs and a lot of gift vouchers

darthed1981

Jez6345789 said:

But in someways they did more than they had to, and if by chance I came in the next day wanting to buy just one of those Martins they would of lost two sales. 

The main issue seems to be not so much the policy itself, as the inconsistency of application and the fact the customer left unhappy.  Certainly having one policy online because of the law, and another in store where it doesn't apply is basically asking for issues like this.

Retailers hate the distance selling regulations with a fiery passion, as many people really do take the mickey. 

At one point many years ago my local Tesco had a sign up saying "we will only exchange CDs if faulty" because many people were taking advantage of a lax return policy to buy a CD, rip it to MP3 and then return it and swap it for another, eventually just getting a refund.  They no doubt thought they had played the system, beaten "the man" and been clever, in reality its basically theft.

The same applies to clothing.  People do, regularly, treat clothes stores like lending libraries and take advantage of honest return policies to essentially get free clothes.  Those who actually pay for these policies are those honest enough to only return clothes that are genuinely not suitable or of inferior quality who pay a higher price to cover losses (they legally cant resell the returned garments as new).

That said, the OP had an honest reason for the return, and he obviously left unhappy and has now on a popular forum started a thread that has doubtless put many customers off GuitarGuitar.  Not only was the OP unhappy but it has hurt the store, this is not how what they no doubt call a "purchase interaction" is supposed to go.

Hopefully the OP can find a suitable guitar to spend the vouchers and ends up happy.

Dave_Mc

^ I'm not saying some bad customers don't exist, but I would imagine that they make more money out of online sales than the bother they get. I mean, if they're losing money because of DSRs, all they have to do is stop selling online, surely?

Jez6345789 said:

Hi dont really want to be defending GG here as they are not the style of store I like to visit. 
And the policy is one that smacks of one of so many meetings I have sat in over the years where some bright spark thinks he has found the way to make the company more money buy not letting this happen its cost us money blah blah. Director has gone right well lets stop it then and a load of yes men managers have gone ok. 

In this day and age in the UK the biggest problem with so many business is the word manager is much over used and refers to the guy who gets all the grief and no control over his own destiny. A manger should ultimately be capable of running a store achieving the companies financial objectives and tasked and targeted to do it. Sadly the mantra in most business these days is to over control and micro manager a store or whatever and come up with solutions to take away fundamental abilities like the manager knowing you are a good customer and not yanking his chain can issue a refund or get authority to do it on his say so. Ultimately it would be reflected in the results he is targeted with and he makes the call to keep his customer service first class so you come back. 

All that said I see the retailer side that in this day and age people are very much spoilt brats from buying online where companies looking to build online businesses are pretty much saving you money and like Amazon if you are unhappy with the product will send 6 dancing girls and dwarf to make you buy again from Amazon. When online has killed retail this will all change. 

So in reality the customer in so many situations is an over expectant diva, 

But buyers remorse is always the same and ultimately their job is to sell you a guitar and take money from you. Getting home and changing your mind is not really part of the transaction and ultimately why should the store lose a sale. 

Also you are a grown up and if you say yes then it should mean yes heres my card take my money. Or if you are unsure simply walk away. Selling guitars is not exactly pressure selling yes they are trying to get you over the line but its not 80's time share. 

I recently got totally giddy over the Private Stock PRS I bought not been like that over a guitar for years. But asked would they hold it till tomorrow got in the car rationalised it scraped up the dosh decide I wanted it rang them and said I would pick it up after lunch. Played it again loved it so put my money down. What i am trying to say is if you get caught up in stuff know yourself and walk away. 

So in the end it is not the way in the modern world and if I was running a store as long as the guitar was as it left I would probably look to want to keep you as a customer and look after you.

But in someways they did more than they had to, and if by chance I came in the next day wanting to buy just one of those Martins they would of lost two sales. 

Sorry for the rant

I disagree. "Real" (i.e. bricks and mortar) shops were often crap long before the internet (and I'm not just talking about guitars here) and often treated you crappily when they knew you had no choice but to shop with them. Now that suddenly there is choice and customers are voting with their feet, those same stores are crying foul.

Also I agree with @Voxman (as usual in these types of thread, it seems ). I have certainly stopped shopping as much (or at all, in some cases) with some online retailers, and actually gone back to "real" shops, in certain instances where the online stores' service got much worse (and often alongside that, prices got much higher). So the "real" shops need not worry that customers won't come back to them if they're genuinely good, if the online retailers start becoming the crappy stores.

DanR

So what we're saying is that you should be able to buy anything and then return it if you get buyers remorse.

But if someone buys something via EBay and gets buyers remorse then that's tough and they shouldn't be able to use eBay's rules to return stuff.

boogieman

I have some sympathy for the shops. They have to offer returns under the distance selling regs, but then have to try to sell the gear that's been returned. Nobody wants an open box or obviously used gear so the shop has to mark it down to sell it and swallow the loss, usually through no fault of their own.

Having said that GG seem to have handled this case poorly, especially if they know the OP spends money regularly with them. Sometimes you just can't stick to rigid policies. 

Voxman

I was just wondering if there have been any folk reading this thread who were genuinely going to buy from Guitar Guitar or who may even have been bona-fide customers before, but have now decided to go elsewhere?

No way of knowing of course, but I can't help being more than a little curious as to whether GG has lost business and/or existing customers specifically because of this thread? 

Moe_Zambeek

I've been buying off them since they opened and always had great service and excellent deals, as well as quite a few hassle-free returns, so I'll be continuing to buy there...had better experiences there than online with some of the forum favourites.

Collings

Moe_Zambeek said:

I've been buying off them since they opened and always had great service and excellent deals, as well as quite a few hassle-free returns, so I'll be continuing to buy there...had better experiences there than online with some of the forum favourites.

Same here. Have brought a fair bit of kit from them over the past couple of years and the service has been good. Had no problems with returns or getting my deposit refunded when i had them ship an amp from another store but decided it was not for me when i tried it.

I,ve never felt pressurised when i,ve tried items out.

Voxman

Moe_Zambeek said: no

I've been buying off them since they opened and always had great service and excellent deals, as well as quite a few hassle-free returns, so I'll be continuing to buy there...had better experiences there than online with some of the forum favourites.

And I think thats exactly as it should ie going by your own experience. Likewise I've had great service from DV247 and wouldn't hesitate buying from them again, even though they've been criticised and maligned by others. 

Dave_Mc

Yeah that's the thing, you're always going to go by your own experience (I would too). That being said, if a shop was said to do something really bad, it would definitely make me think twice, and depending on how bad, may well put me off.

celentium

Bought an amp at GG Birmingham about 6 weeks ago. They were excellent every step of the way, I've always enjoyed their service.

I wasn't sure if the amp would handle rehearsals and shows (5150iii 15w lunchbox) and I asked about the returns policy then. I was advised regarding the store credit policy and understood that it didn't match the online policy. However I had spent 2 hours in their soundbooth trialling many different amps and settled on one I'm still very happy with even though it wasn't on my initial list.

Personally I'd rather have the chance to try the gear in store and still have the option of an exchange/store credit rather than buying blind online and having the hassle of packing the return and possibly losing postage if it wasn't suitable.

I think the policy is fair, although it's sad to hear that you aren't happy with your purchase. I'd have been happy with the store credit