wwbw promotional fiasco

[Tomcat]

I purchased a new horn from WWBW under their 12 mo. same as cash finance plan. Uh oh. They work with an outside financial institution HSBC.
Unfortunately neither company honored the plan. Interest was charged to my account on the first statement in the amount of $45.58 at a rate of over 20%. WWBW offered no assistance - they just referred me to HSBC.
It took two months and hours on the phone with both WWBW and HSBC to get this straightened out. All that to get the remaining 10 months of interest free financing. Before I made the purchase I did verify the terms with both the credit company and wwbw.
I just want to alert potential buyers of what my experience was.
WWBW, Musician's Friend, Music 123 are all essentially the same company operating out of the same warehouse. The last pro horn I ordered from them, they sent the wrong one. Maybe they're just too big to care anymore.
Caveat Emptor.
_________________
Bel Canto 54 & 59
Stomvi Master Cornet
Flugelhorns: Calicchio

[2LIP]

I too had a bad experience recently with wwbw. You can read the full post here: http://www.trumpetherald.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=119892

They sold me a new horn and shipped me a used horn. I'll not order anything major from them again so they've lost a long term and profitable customer. I spent $1000s with them building up my home studio and on live sound stuff like mics/cables/stands etc. Plus my son is a musician and he also will no longer be spending with them, so they effectively lost 2 customers just not playing fair.

So long WWBW. Sorry to hear about your experience.

[James Becker]

Is bigger better? Here's some food for thought when you consider you're next purchase.


From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Guitar Center, Inc.

Type Private
Industry Musical Instruments
Founded 1959
Headquarters Westlake Village, California
Key people Greg Trojan, CEO
Products Musical instruments, Recording equipment and accessories
Revenue $1.78 billion
Owner(s) Bain Capital
Employees 10,000
Website www.guitarcenter.com
Guitar Center is the largest chain of musical instrument retailers in the world[1] with 239 locations[2] throughout the United States. Its headquarters is in Westlake Village, California.
Guitar Center's sister companies/subsidiaries incorporate Music & Arts, Musician's Friend, GuitarCenter.com, LMI, Giardinelli, Musician.com, Private Reserve Guitars, Woodwind and Brasswind and Harmony Central.

[Tomcat]

Fascinating to learn that the Conglomerate is even BIGGER - Guitar Center, Harmony Central and that BAIN Capitol is behind it all. WOW! I used to be a customer of Giardinelli. Back in the day, you could call customer service and speak with knowledgeable staff. Not any more. They were bought out too.
I am one who tries to do business locally but even in a medium size city- this is not always easy to do. We have a monopoly on cable, a monopoly in national music retailers, and a near monopoly on instrument manufacturing. Thanks to what I've learned here I'm not doing business with them anymore.
_________________
Bel Canto 54 & 59
Stomvi Master Cornet
Flugelhorns: Calicchio

[Mike Sailors]

[TrumpetMD]

Sorry to hear about your troubles.

I've found WWBW (and it's related companies) to go out of their way to make sure its customers are satisfied.

What did the financial institution tell you when you contacted them? Did they agree it was a mistake? Or did they feel you violated the terms of the agreement? What did they say was the reason for charging you interest?

Mike
_________________
Bach Stradivarius 43* Trumpet (1974), Bach 6C Mouthpiece.
Bach Stradivarius 184 Cornet (1988), Yamaha 13E4 Mouthpiece
Olds L-12 Flugelhorn (1969), Yamaha 13F4 Mouthpiece.
Plus a few other Bach, Getzen, Olds, Carol, HN White, and Besson horns.

[Tomcat]

Both companies agreed it was a mistake. Just was a big pain to fix.
Took two billing cycles and lots of phone calls. Huge waste of time.
_________________
Bel Canto 54 & 59
Stomvi Master Cornet
Flugelhorns: Calicchio

[TrumpetMD]

Thanks for the clarification. I'm glad it got cleared up.

Mike
_________________
Bach Stradivarius 43* Trumpet (1974), Bach 6C Mouthpiece.
Bach Stradivarius 184 Cornet (1988), Yamaha 13E4 Mouthpiece
Olds L-12 Flugelhorn (1969), Yamaha 13F4 Mouthpiece.
Plus a few other Bach, Getzen, Olds, Carol, HN White, and Besson horns.

[MattC]

I didn't know about the guitar center link. About a year ago I had an incident at guitar center and vowed never to go back. It helps that a locally owned competitor opened a few blocks down the road.

[Brad361]

WWBW has, IMO, gone from being a great source (my experience with them goes back to the late 70's) for brass players to a very incompetent organization. I would not do business with them again.

Brad361
_________________
When asked if he always sounds great:
"I always try, but not always, because the horn is merciless, unpredictable and traitorous." - Arturo Sandoval

[MattC]

My purchases from wwabdbw have been smooth. I've never used the financing there. I did use "no interest" financing years back for furniture. Same story: they started charging interest immediately.

[INTJ]

I have had NOTHING but top notch service from WWBW and Music 123. I am pleased to see they are BAIN companies and will most definitely do more business with them in the future.
_________________
Harrels VPS Summit
Wild Thing
Flip Oakes C
Flip Oakes Flugel

Harrelson 5mm MP

[etc-etc]

WWBW and Musician's Friend make mistakes sometimes (as everyone else). Their used gear, especially with an extra discount, is often a great bargain, as the price is right and you can return the item if you do not like it.

[Crazy Finn]

[Tomcat]

Packing - I didn't even mention packing in my original post. They took an instrument which I paid over $3,000 for (after discount) and put the soft case in a small box. No packing, not a peanut in sight. I pack empty cases in bubble wrap and peanuts for shipping.
Some will be happy with a discount & a liberal return policy - that's the Walmart way. But like trumpet playing itself, some have higher standards than others.
_________________
Bel Canto 54 & 59
Stomvi Master Cornet
Flugelhorns: Calicchio

[Tomcat]

[musicalmason1]

Two times in the past six months I nearly bought stuff from them, but they convinced me to spend my money elsewhere, and now that I know they are paired Bain, I'm glad they did. 1. They had a selmer 80j used for a really reasonable price, but only had stock images up. I asked for pics of the actual item (so I could see how used it was) and they replied saying that the instrument was already packed in a box waiting to be purchased and shipped. I responded asking if they could open the box, which isnt much work, they never got back to me. 2. A while back I heard they were having a sale on buffet instruments. I called asking about the sale price on an e11 in a. The guy told me that e11's only come in Bb. Anybody who knows anything about clarinets will know how dumb that is.

[chuck in ny]

we're all different so whatever resonates with you.
BAIN does not resonate with me. i'm considering selling my stock and investing instead in companies that construct gas chambers.
you know the really funny thing about this last little internet stretch is doing ebay business, and the shocking early 20th century ethic of nearly all of the small vendors. they've all been rolled over and crushed in the machine and wouldn't consider putting anyone through it, and will lay themselves down to make you happy.
a company that adds to the sum total of unhappiness is a different matter.
thanks for the heads up.
chuck

[Craig Swartz]

I've used WWBW when ever I couldn't find what I needed locally, and we do have a very good source here. I've never had any issues with any transactions with WWBW, have found them to be prompt, and will continue using them when necessary. I'm not one to purchase instruments on installment plans, however, since the best deals almost always come from having cash in hand.

As for a company associated with BAIN Capital, at least the business would be run by people who know how to make money, and people who would know when a business is not able to keep itself afloat. Strange, that's the way all businesses used to have to operate...

[Tomcat]