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What is so special about Sweetwater?


rocketman

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Yeah, I know they have good sales. But I can always get the same deal at my local GC if I bring in their sale price. The owners at the HOG are really good to me, which is where I get all my big purchases. So, yeah, I've very lucky in that sense too. But they are an hour away so I don't get there that often.

 

I used to buy all my smaller purchases at the local GC. But I couldn't stand that the salespeople pretty much didn't know much. I'm not saying all GCs are bad though. The Sweetwater staff are very knowledgeable, which is why I like using them. When I made my first purchase from them they "assigned" me a salesperson. I've made a number of purchases with them since that time.

 

But, here's my issue. I call the salesman's direct line but he never answers. I leave messages but he's never called me back. Not ever! After a few rounds of this I end up talking to someone else. They are fine but then it seems as though the original salesperson gets the credit for the sale because I get an email from him.

 

Last week I bought some small stuff going through this now "usual" procedure. But I forgot about a few things. So I left the original salesman two messages on two different days. He still hasn't called me back. As I said in the past I just talked with someone else. But, this is getting silly now.

 

Yeah the candy is cute. But, they are certainly not making me feel special in terms of a valued customer. This time I'm going to complain.

 

Am I the only one who feels this way and/or getting this treatment?

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Yeah, I know they have good sales. But I can always get the same deal at my local GC if I bring in their sale price. The owners at the HOG are really good to me, which is where I get all my big purchases. So, yeah, I've very lucky in that sense too. But they are an hour away so I don't get there that often.

 

I used to buy all my smaller purchases at the local GC. But I couldn't stand that the salespeople pretty much didn't know much. I'm not saying all GCs are bad though. The Sweetwater staff are very knowledgeable, which is why I like using them. When I made my first purchase from them they "assigned" me a salesperson. I've made a number of purchases with them since that time.

 

But, here's my issue. I call the salesman's direct line but he never answers. I leave messages but he's never called me back. Not ever! After a few rounds of this I end up talking to someone else. They are fine but then it seems as though the original salesperson gets the credit for the sale because I get an email from him.

 

Last week I bought some small stuff going through this now "usual" procedure. But I forgot about a few things. So I left the original salesman two messages on two different days. He still hasn't called me back. As I said in the past I just talked with someone else. But, this is getting silly now.

 

Yeah the candy is cute. But, they are certainly not making me feel special in terms of a valued customer. This time I'm going to complain.

 

Am I the only one who feels this way and/or getting this treatment?

 

the sales guy there that is my contact, Joe James, calls me even if I just order a strap or a multi-pack of strings. they seem like a decent co. I always try to give my local family owned music store the bulk of my business, but I've never had an issue with Sweetwater.

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I've been going through Brent at Sweetwater for a few years now. My orders through him have been correct, and shipped when I'd like them to be shipped. One of the things I do like about Sweetwater, is the Guitar Gallery. I don't do all my bass purchases on line, but when I do, it's nice to see the bass I am ordering. Having a choice from one bass to another is welcomed.

They don't charge me sales tax since I don't live in Indiana. With some of the basses I purchase, sales tax can add a considerable amount to the cost. They don't charge shipping, and use FedEx.

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Never had any issues what so ever, I have had Zach Garrison since I started buying there and he is outstanding. I rarely have to deal with him because I choose to drive the 55 miles to visit the actual store, I love the people who work there they know what they are doing and the culture that Chuck has cultivated is phenominal, Other companies should be looking at the way SW is ran. I visited yeserday and had my hair cut, had lunch and bought a guitar, thats a good day. I visit them at least twice a month.

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3 bucks and change per set for bulk pack Dunlop 80/20's shipped free. The candy goes right in the garbage.

 

My sales guy Dave Walent calls me every time I buy, even though I tell him I only use old old guitars. He's knowledgeable about everything above my technology level, which is Flintstonian. I almost feel bad not having any questions for him.

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Just got an call from the Director of Customer Service. He's not sure why my phone calls were never returned but he did state that it's unexceptionable. I told him that I don't take things personally, but business is business. He's working on it and promised it won't happen again. So hopefully there will be a good resolution to all this.

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But, here's my issue. I call the salesman's direct line but he never answers. I leave messages but he's never called me back. Not ever!

 

Am I the only one who feels this way and/or getting this treatment?

IMHO you need a new sales guy. I've had the same one for years now, and if he's not working, I get a voice mail message telling me so, and either he calls me back when he returns or someone else calls. He's very attentive to what I may/may not like or be interested in, and I don't get "waste of my time" phone calls. Yes, the occasional email or call with their "specials", but if I'm not interested I just email him back as such. Their customer service and quality control is by far the best on the "net" and they are my first option when it comes to buying anything. I've spent some coin there over the years and have never been disappointed. In fact, they even acted as a "middle man" on a repair to a G30 wireless system that I didn't even buy from them, but were happy to act on my behalf.

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Great selection

Interest free financing

Pics of the guitar your buying

Quick delivery.

Best customer service

Candy in every box

Hand jobs upon request

 

WOW.....that is full service [biggrin]

 

 

Yeah, but you have to spend $3,000 or more.

 

There's always a catch.

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Your salesman not calling you back is certainly the exception at Sweetwater. My guy always calls back when I leave a message, or if I use their chat room and ask a question he calls within about 10 minutes, and if he doesn't have the answer he gets it an calls me back again. I'm confident they will work it out and make sure you get the same excellent service that we have come to expect from them.

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My sales guy is very good. I got a smoking deal on a Blackstar Artist 30 amp the other night. I ordered it online. Within 15 minutes I received a call letting me know that it was back ordered but due in soon. I already knew this, but appreciated the call.

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I frankly do not care if I get a call or candy or special treatment. When I order something I know exactly what I want. As far as inspection of guitars the only two guitars I have ever ordered there have been the ones that had the most finish blems.

 

They ship fast but so does everybody else.

 

I’m not knocking them down but I really do not put them above other online retailers.

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Yo, rocketman!

 

My experience is that Sweetwater sales can kinda go overboard. Not really a problem for me, but I hear people complain about that. And just yesterday, I got an email from them saying they haven't heard from me in a while (been about six months), wanting to know if they can help me with anything.

 

Sweetwater's pricing is competitive, and their service is second to none. I've never had any issues with their merchandise. And you can often finance with no interest.

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Personally I prefer not to be called to find out how my gear is working, but Sweetwater always does. I get the feeling if I had a problem with something I purchased from them they would work to fix it. But basically I only buy there for the free interest. :rolleyes:

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I've purchased quite a bit of stuff from SW over the past 8 years or so. I've had three sales engineers over the years (my current one is Zach Garrison) and have always had good luck with all of them. Most of the time I know exactly what I want and just order through website without contacting them first. The only time I remember calling first with a question was when I was in the market for a new headstock tuner wanted to make sure I bought one that handled drop tunings and the low B on my 7 string and a 5 and/or 6 string bass that I plan to purchase in the future. (I'd had mixed results with different brands/models in the past. I wasn't in a hurry so I contacted Zach via e-mail. He got back to me within 24 hours and the tuner he recommended works perfectly.

 

I've only had one problem where I needed to contact Tech Support. When I received my 7 string, I plugged it in and it played fine for about 15-20 minutes. Then I would get this terrible crackling sound coming out of the amp. Since it has active EMG pickups, the first thing I did was put a fresh battery in it. Didn't help. Then tried playing it through three different instrument cables (different lengths) and three different amps 2 tube and one solid state). Still no good. I called SW Tech Support and explained the problem and what I had done to troubleshoot it. I was given the option to send it back (free return shipping) for them to look at, or if I had a local tech, I could take it to him and they would credit me for repair costs. I chose the latter. My tech found a wire that wasn't fully shielded and secured that would move enough to ground out on my volume pot after several minutes. He also found an issue with the way the switch was wired at the factory. He contacted ESP, got a copy of the wiring schematic and with some soldering, fixed the problem. I contacted Tech Support with the cost of the repair. Within a day or so, the credit for the repair appeared on my AMEX account. Great experience.

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Personally I prefer not to be called to find out how my gear is working, but Sweetwater always does. I get the feeling if I had a problem with something I purchased from them they would work to fix it. But basically I only buy there for the free interest. :rolleyes:

 

 

I agree, I live close if there is a problem I can be back there in an hour. I like the interest free credit line. If they want to let me use their money for nothing I will, all the while I dont have to pull mine out of the bank.

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