Shipping problems with MusiciansFriend

[tubafatness]

Hello, one and all!

I thought I'd let you guys know about a problem I've been having recently with MusiciansFriend, in case it is something that would affect any future purchases.

Here's the story: I ordered a Behringer bass amp from the company in the second week of June, with an expected delivery date a week later. I did get it a week later, but upon arrival, I could tell that something was wrong. The amp was inside a box that was twice the depth of the amp, taller than the amp and with only a few strips of packing paper inside. Two of the corners were crushed open, and I could actually see the amp inside the box from several feet away. One of the bottom legs, (i.e., those little saucer things it rests on,) was torn off, and there was no manual, no warranty card, nothing. The UPS driver who delivered it said he had never seen anything like this, it was so bad.

Needless to say, I was immediately on the phone with Customer Service, negotiating an exchange for a new one. The 'agent' I talked to did not explain the extremely awful packaging job, but he did say that they had apparently shipped me one of the "B stock" used amps instead of a new one, like I had ordered. The new amp should have been in a manufacturer's box, and with all the proper paperwork and warranty information.

So, I sent it back. They then sent me a new one, and it arrived today. Here's where it gets really nasty...

First off, they sent it to the wrong address. Instead of sending it to the original shipping address, (the machine shop where I work, and where there is always someone around during the normal shipping and receiving time,) they sent it to my home address: luckily, I was home at the time, after taking the afternoon off. Otherwise, it would have sat on the porch in the afternoon heat for several hours.

This new amp was in a manufacturer's box, like it should be. But that box was scuffed and dirty, with one corner having been ripped open and taped shut. When I got it inside, I discovered that the only thing protecting the amp was a thin plastic bag and four partially broken styrofoam blocks. After pulling it out of the box and bag, I further discovered that there was a large dent on the front bottom lip of the casing. So far, so good...

I plugged it in, and it seemed fine at first. But then, when I ran it up to 3/4 full master and 1/2 volume, it started to crackle and pop. Also, the amp would shut off if the cord was even slightly jarred. So, off this second amp went! I'm giving up and sending it back in for a full refund.

My brother, who worked at a warehouse for awhile, said that the shipping errors looked like the work of someone who didn't know what they were doing, or someone who had a massive hangover, etc, etc... Also, as my dad said about the second packing job, "If I wanted to ship something and know that it would break, that's how I would ship it."

Hopefully this story will prevent anyone from having a terrible experience with this particular company. Maybe they need to look a little closer at the job applications for their shipping department...

And now, here's some photos:




Good luck,
Aaron Hynds

Edit: to make the title a little more clear.

[scottw]

Whether or not it's a sign of a troubled company or not, I can't say in your case. In mine, they did something I've never heard of or even thought possible. I ordered a tuba harness [yes, that one!] from them. Upon trying it, I found that it just would not do the job I needed it to do.I called customer service, explained the problem and the rep said he would cancel the sale and refund my credit card. As he was about to hang up, I asked him what I should do about returning the merchandise. He said I should do whatever I wanted with it: they didn't want it back! This was a $50. purchase, not absurdly expensive, but not chump change, either. Odd, very odd.A strange way to do business.

[Kayla]

I ordered a tuba mouthpiece in early May and got it on time, but when I picked up the box I thought it was awfully light. I opened it to find a saxophone neck strap! Turns out that the item numbers were very similar, only one or two numbers different. I called customer service and they sent me the mouthpiece, but they never said anything about the neck strap. Also, it was almost like they trusted my word that only the strap was sent rather than the strap and mouthpiece. I guess they can check inventory or something like that.

[jacojdm]

Aaron,
There's a strong likelihood that it's a Behringer problem, not a WWBW/Musician's Friend/Guitar Center/Music123 problem.
Those amps travel a long way over the land and sea from "Behringer City" in China to Guitar Center's fulfillment center (I think it's somewhere in the lower midwest like Kansas or Nebraska) to your door. The retailer has no reason to open each and every box that comes in from overseas, especially boxes of items like many pro audio pieces that should be secure with the styrofoam blocks in the corners (I've received lots of product this way...from Behringer to Crown).
Furthermore, Behringer isn't renowned for its consistent quality. It's entirely possible that you got a dud of an amp. Some Behringer stuff is fantastic, but there are certainly plenty of lemons out there.
Anyway, I think that your anger is misdirected. This issue could have happened anywhere along the way in the supply chain.
I also recommend that you search for a used amp that you can pick up for a price similar to the new Behringer...like a Hartke, Peavey or Carvin, and send your Behringer back to MF. All great equipment with great track records that, I think, will probably last longer.

[tubafatness]

It's entirely possible that the problem is on Behringer's end, but I would think that such terrible shipping errors would be noticed in the MF warehouse. After all, with their flexible return policy, they're the ones that are losing money in the process. The combination of their return policy and my pre-purchased warranties basically means I have lost $0 in this transaction, but I would rather not have dealt with all of this at all.

The weird part is that this isn't the first Behringer product I've bought, and the other items from this particular company are solidly built and were shipped well. Maybe they don't like their amps as much...

Aaron "looking at other stores and other products" Hynds

[tubafatness]

Bump, with photos.

[lgb&dtuba]

I've bought quite a bit of stuff from Musicians Friend over the years and never had any problems. Just received a guitar last month in perfect condition. Several smaller things just this week. No problems.

Sorry you had a problem, but I don't think it's a general problem with Musicians Friend.