http://www.karma-lab.com/forum/showthre ... adid=11340
Sweetwater should be crusified for this kind of behaviour!!!
Moderators: Sharp, X-Trade, Pepperpotty, karmathanever
-
thrinithan
- Junior Member
- Posts: 67
- Joined: Thu Jan 03, 2008 1:31 pm
- Location: Sweden
Re: Sweetwater should be crusified for this kind of behaviou
Dang! thanks for the warning. I'll pass on them from now on.
Riley
-
MartinHines
- Platinum Member
- Posts: 3041
- Joined: Tue Jan 21, 2003 12:56 pm
- Location: Topeka, KS (USA)
I don't think Sweetwater's behavior is bad at all:
-- they made a mistake by shipping a demo unit (companies some time do make mistakes)
-- they offered a cash rebate equal to the same dollar amount they would sell a demo unit ($200)
-- they offered to replace the keyboard with a new one
You can't seriously expect them to pay the cost for shipping from the U.A.E. back to the U.S., then from the U.S. back to the U.A.E., do you, including all taxes and duties? Sweetwater won't even sell products to people overseas. Sweetwater shipped the product to a U.S. buyer (perhaps a family member or friend of "A2zee"), who then arranged for the keyboard to be sent to the U.A.E.
It IS an unfortunate incident, but the problem was compounded by the fact the buyer doesn't live in the U.S.
This is a perfect example of the risks someone takes when they buy a keyboard in a different country than they live.
If "A2zee" lived in the U.S. Sweetwater would pay for return shipping and ship him out a new keyboard. An individual might think the difference between a new keyboard and a demo should be more than $200, but that is consistent with how Sweetwater prices demo units. If A2zee lived in the U.S., a dispute about a rebate/refund would be moot since Sweetwater would have replaced the product.
It is unfortunate that someone in Sweetwater shipping made a mistake. However, Sweetwater's "liability" has limits, especially since A2zee wasn't really the customer (Sweetwater doesn't sell to Overseas customers). Sweetwater was more than willing to pay for U.S. based return shipping and replacement. You can't really expect them to pay for Overseas shipping, duties and taxes.
I have been a Sweetwater purchaser for years, and in my opinion they provide the best service of any retailer. Their prices aren't always the cheapest, but I have never had a problem with them.
Last year I ordered a pair of nice speaker stands from Sweetwater, but one of them was damaged during shipping. I called up Sweetwater, they paid for return shipping and sent me out a replacement (which did manage to make it undamaged).
This current situation would have been a "non-incident" had A2zee lived in the U.S. (and Sweetwater would have ONLY shipped to a U.S. address).
-- they made a mistake by shipping a demo unit (companies some time do make mistakes)
-- they offered a cash rebate equal to the same dollar amount they would sell a demo unit ($200)
-- they offered to replace the keyboard with a new one
You can't seriously expect them to pay the cost for shipping from the U.A.E. back to the U.S., then from the U.S. back to the U.A.E., do you, including all taxes and duties? Sweetwater won't even sell products to people overseas. Sweetwater shipped the product to a U.S. buyer (perhaps a family member or friend of "A2zee"), who then arranged for the keyboard to be sent to the U.A.E.
It IS an unfortunate incident, but the problem was compounded by the fact the buyer doesn't live in the U.S.
This is a perfect example of the risks someone takes when they buy a keyboard in a different country than they live.
If "A2zee" lived in the U.S. Sweetwater would pay for return shipping and ship him out a new keyboard. An individual might think the difference between a new keyboard and a demo should be more than $200, but that is consistent with how Sweetwater prices demo units. If A2zee lived in the U.S., a dispute about a rebate/refund would be moot since Sweetwater would have replaced the product.
It is unfortunate that someone in Sweetwater shipping made a mistake. However, Sweetwater's "liability" has limits, especially since A2zee wasn't really the customer (Sweetwater doesn't sell to Overseas customers). Sweetwater was more than willing to pay for U.S. based return shipping and replacement. You can't really expect them to pay for Overseas shipping, duties and taxes.
I have been a Sweetwater purchaser for years, and in my opinion they provide the best service of any retailer. Their prices aren't always the cheapest, but I have never had a problem with them.
Last year I ordered a pair of nice speaker stands from Sweetwater, but one of them was damaged during shipping. I called up Sweetwater, they paid for return shipping and sent me out a replacement (which did manage to make it undamaged).
This current situation would have been a "non-incident" had A2zee lived in the U.S. (and Sweetwater would have ONLY shipped to a U.S. address).
-
GregC
- Platinum Member
- Posts: 9451
- Joined: Wed May 15, 2002 12:46 am
- Location: Discovery Bay (San Francisco Bay Area)
I had a bad sales rep experience at Sweetwater
It was for a purchase of Event ASP8's, plus a special discount offer I got in the mail from them. A very straightforward transaction
They would not honor the extra discount on the item. There were absolutely no exceptions on the mail offer I got
They told me ' sorry, we made a mistake by not having an exclusion on the mailer offer'
Long story short, they did little to negotiate and I didn't want to wrangle with them any further
I give all my business to 1 excellent source and they are very consistent with great service.
It was for a purchase of Event ASP8's, plus a special discount offer I got in the mail from them. A very straightforward transaction
They would not honor the extra discount on the item. There were absolutely no exceptions on the mail offer I got
They told me ' sorry, we made a mistake by not having an exclusion on the mailer offer'
Long story short, they did little to negotiate and I didn't want to wrangle with them any further
I give all my business to 1 excellent source and they are very consistent with great service.
-
MartinHines
- Platinum Member
- Posts: 3041
- Joined: Tue Jan 21, 2003 12:56 pm
- Location: Topeka, KS (USA)
You don' hear that many horror stories about Sweetwater, so I guess it's their moment.
All retailers have done it, whether it was by mistake or intentional.
But with most good retailers, it rarely happens.
The guy limited his options, though.
He should have done his homework on their policy, for the number one reason, that the unit was going overseas.
It would really bother me that, a company like Sweetwater would do something like that intentionally.
I'm not saying that they did, but any company that would do such a thing, it bothers me.
A few have done it intentionally, which I've encountered from experience.
GC sold me a demo Classic. It was boxed up and I couldn't see any signs that it had been opened.
They had opened the box from the bottom and taped it up the same way. This way when I looked at
the box from the top, it didn't look opened. I took it back and got a brand new one, despite the inconvienence.
I think that GC has cleaned up it's act, since then, sort of.
I now deal with online retailers for just about everything.
If I were to purchase a keyboard, I'd call and ask "how many do you have in stock".
If the answer was 25, then I'd buy.
If the answer was 1 or 2, then I'd ask if they were new or demos.
Many online retailers are very good about telling you if they're out of stock or if
the remaining stock is a demo or not.
The Sweetwater thing is surprising though, because usually they don't let those types of things happen,
or at least, I haven't heard about it happening with them.
But, I personally would never buy a large ticket item, from overseas.
If I did, I'd have to be ready to accept any consequences.
I feel for the guy, but he limited his options.
All retailers have done it, whether it was by mistake or intentional.
But with most good retailers, it rarely happens.
The guy limited his options, though.
He should have done his homework on their policy, for the number one reason, that the unit was going overseas.
It would really bother me that, a company like Sweetwater would do something like that intentionally.
I'm not saying that they did, but any company that would do such a thing, it bothers me.
A few have done it intentionally, which I've encountered from experience.
GC sold me a demo Classic. It was boxed up and I couldn't see any signs that it had been opened.
They had opened the box from the bottom and taped it up the same way. This way when I looked at
the box from the top, it didn't look opened. I took it back and got a brand new one, despite the inconvienence.
I think that GC has cleaned up it's act, since then, sort of.
I now deal with online retailers for just about everything.
If I were to purchase a keyboard, I'd call and ask "how many do you have in stock".
If the answer was 25, then I'd buy.
If the answer was 1 or 2, then I'd ask if they were new or demos.
Many online retailers are very good about telling you if they're out of stock or if
the remaining stock is a demo or not.
The Sweetwater thing is surprising though, because usually they don't let those types of things happen,
or at least, I haven't heard about it happening with them.
But, I personally would never buy a large ticket item, from overseas.
If I did, I'd have to be ready to accept any consequences.
I feel for the guy, but he limited his options.
Mr. Kay makes an excellent point:
Open the box where it is shipped to BEFORE shipping it anywhere else. This is because you just can't trust anyone - period.
And I think Sweetwater SHOULD pay the shipping for the screwup. It is the right thing to do.
Yes it is an unusual situation - that was precipitated on THEIR screw up. If they really care about the customer - they can afford to make it right (what is $60 - $200 as compared to satisfied customers? Without customers you have no business).
And if this happens to them again and again - then the wack in their wallet should make them FIX their dam problems. The only way to get companies to fix their broken processes is to hit them in the wallet.
That's my 3.14159876 cents. The cost to fix this is negligible to Sweetwater but devastating to the customer.
={> Art
Open the box where it is shipped to BEFORE shipping it anywhere else. This is because you just can't trust anyone - period.
And I think Sweetwater SHOULD pay the shipping for the screwup. It is the right thing to do.
Yes it is an unusual situation - that was precipitated on THEIR screw up. If they really care about the customer - they can afford to make it right (what is $60 - $200 as compared to satisfied customers? Without customers you have no business).
And if this happens to them again and again - then the wack in their wallet should make them FIX their dam problems. The only way to get companies to fix their broken processes is to hit them in the wallet.
That's my 3.14159876 cents. The cost to fix this is negligible to Sweetwater but devastating to the customer.
={> Art
Care for a jelly baby?
http://www.soundclick.com/artist/9/surf ... _music.htm
http://www.soundclick.com/artist/9/surf ... _music.htm
-
thrinithan
- Junior Member
- Posts: 67
- Joined: Thu Jan 03, 2008 1:31 pm
- Location: Sweden
Did Sweetwater threaten you? What fact made you change your mind?-
thrinithan
- Junior Member
- Posts: 67
- Joined: Thu Jan 03, 2008 1:31 pm
- Location: Sweden
The fact that the dude had a friend who bought the M3 in USA and then shipped it over to UAE without even looking inside if everything was in order. You can hold Sweetwater responsible for shipping a demo M3 but you can not make them pay for the shipping from UAE just because nobody checked the package as you should. And besides... The offered to replace the M3 if he sent the demoed one back. And if not he was given an $200 rebate for the demoed M3 in case he kept it. I can think that $200 was kind of cheap but they at least offered him something.
-
thrinithan
- Junior Member
- Posts: 67
- Joined: Thu Jan 03, 2008 1:31 pm
- Location: Sweden
