New Drum Kit - expectations

Fact: You ordered a new kit.
Fact: You got a used kit.

Unless you're happy with what you got and are willing to accept a discount, send the whole mess back at THEIR expense. No ifs, ands or butts. Just ask for a shipping tag and an RMA # for full credit back to you. This isn't complicated.

If you accept what they sent you regardless of discount, you're making it easy on them not you.
 
Darth Vater said:
Fact: You ordered a new kit.
Fact: You got a used kit.

Unless you're happy with what you got and are willing to accept a discount, send the whole mess back at THEIR expense. No ifs, ands or butts. Just ask for a shipping tag and an RMA # for full credit back to you. This isn't complicated.

If you accept what they sent you regardless of discount, you're making it easy on them not you.
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I came to type exactly this.

It's pretty obvious that they sent you the floor model for new prices - this happened to me in my day job where a company that had been a rep for a long time would get discounts on instruments (these are industrial instrument not musical) on our demo fleet. They would pay 50% and either use the instrument as a demo or re-sell for maybe 65% of retail cost with no factory warranty, etc. etc.

Well this guy decided to purchase one of these units at 50% and re-sell it as new.

The customer then had issues and came us with the warranty problems on their "new instrument" and the whole thing fell apart for the rep that was deceiving us and the customer.

I let him go immediately. There's no excuse for this kind of mis-representation on a purchase, especially these days when online is king.
 
Epilogue: I called the 800 number again today after I didn't hear from the manager who was supposed to call me back. They said another manager would call me back in 30 minutes. They didn't. So I called the local The Company store and talked politely to the manager there - he asked if I could drop by and talk to him in person, no need to bring in the set. When I got there he agreed it was unacceptable, then said he'd either come pick up the set at my house himself or I could keep it and he would give me a substantial discount and new heads. I didn't think the set was damaged, it just wasn't brand new, so I accepted the discount and new heads. The manager was a decent guy and very helpful and I'm glad that I didn't lose my cool with anyone.

I don't think one has to behave like a jerk to get results. I can't bring myself to be rude to operators and store employees who aren't the ones responsible for my experience; when I hear irritation in my own voice I make a point of telling the operator that I'm sorry they are catching my irritation and that I know they aren't responsible. The manager who helped me today obviously cares about music and musicians and good customer experiences. I think if I had gone in there hot-headed and loud he would have shut down and reverted to The Company script ("I'm very sorry that happened, you can return it"). Instead, we talked reasonable person to reasonable person and found a good solution.
 
As far as the instrument goes, no big deal. HOWEVER, you did NOT get the kid that you agreed to and paid for. That wouldn't sit right with me.
 
blindrobert said:
Epilogue: I called the 800 number again today after I didn't hear from the manager who was supposed to call me back. They said another manager would call me back in 30 minutes. They didn't. So I called the local The Company store and talked politely to the manager there - he asked if I could drop by and talk to him in person, no need to bring in the set. When I got there he agreed it was unacceptable, then said he'd either come pick up the set at my house himself or I could keep it and he would give me a substantial discount and new heads. I didn't think the set was damaged, it just wasn't brand new, so I accepted the discount and new heads. The manager was a decent guy and very helpful and I'm glad that I didn't lose my cool with anyone.

I don't think one has to behave like a jerk to get results. I can't bring myself to be rude to operators and store employees who aren't the ones responsible for my experience; when I hear irritation in my own voice I make a point of telling the operator that I'm sorry they are catching my irritation and that I know they aren't responsible. The manager who helped me today obviously cares about music and musicians and good customer experiences. I think if I had gone in there hot-headed and loud he would have shut down and reverted to The Company script ("I'm very sorry that happened, you can return it"). Instead, we talked reasonable person to reasonable person and found a good solution.
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I stand corrected - Glad it worked out for you :)
 
jazzerooty said:
As far as the instrument goes, no big deal. HOWEVER, you did NOT get the kid that you agreed to and paid for. That wouldn't sit right with me.
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Yeah - I get where you are coming from. And while it isn't my goal to make things easier for The Company. it's not my goal to make things hard for them either. My goal was to get a good drum kit for a fair price. What I paid at first was a fair price for a new kit, what I ended up paying was a fair price for the instrument I received and I'm happy with how things ended up.
 
There is something wrong with this thread. I've read it twice now and yeah; something is not right.

Great story and all but there is a key element that is missing I'm afraid. You are new here so I will account for that when rendering judgement. Still the thread needs to be corrected.

So, on behalf of all forum members here... Where are the pics?

You can't post about a new drum kit and not post pictures. So... We're waiting.

:cool:
 
Ha! I will post pics, I promise - but the kit is not complete yet. I am still getting packages with hardware that I ordered from other sellers. Everything I wanted was available, but not all in one place. Snare should be here by Sunday, throne by Saturday, cymbals today (hopefully!).

Also, my shop space doubles as my music room and taking up drums has pushed me to do something I have been contemplating for a while, which is to switch the shop over to an all (or mostly) hand tool workshop. The big machines are noisy and make lots of dust (I love them!) - but my main gripe is that my dog won't come hang out in the shop when I have machines running. So this week I have sold an 800 pound planer/jointer and tomorrow morning someone is coming to pick up the Sawstop cabinet saw and router table. Then I will be able to set up the kit fully and even have room to back up and take a decent pic. I'll try to get the dog in the picture too.
 
blindrobert said:
Epilogue: I called the 800 number again today after I didn't hear from the manager who was supposed to call me back. They said another manager would call me back in 30 minutes. They didn't. So I called the local The Company store and talked politely to the manager there - he asked if I could drop by and talk to him in person, no need to bring in the set. When I got there he agreed it was unacceptable, then said he'd either come pick up the set at my house himself or I could keep it and he would give me a substantial discount and new heads. I didn't think the set was damaged, it just wasn't brand new, so I accepted the discount and new heads. The manager was a decent guy and very helpful and I'm glad that I didn't lose my cool with anyone.

I don't think one has to behave like a jerk to get results. I can't bring myself to be rude to operators and store employees who aren't the ones responsible for my experience; when I hear irritation in my own voice I make a point of telling the operator that I'm sorry they are catching my irritation and that I know they aren't responsible. The manager who helped me today obviously cares about music and musicians and good customer experiences. I think if I had gone in there hot-headed and loud he would have shut down and reverted to The Company script ("I'm very sorry that happened, you can return it"). Instead, we talked reasonable person to reasonable person and found a good solution.
Click to expand...
Good way to handle this. I don't have to be a jerk to get what I want. Keeping my cool gets me there. Being respectfully persistent and nicely not taking no for an answer, and asking for the next superior manager if I see an impasse works for me.
 
blindrobert said:
Epilogue: I called the 800 number again today after I didn't hear from the manager who was supposed to call me back. They said another manager would call me back in 30 minutes. They didn't. So I called the local The Company store and talked politely to the manager there - he asked if I could drop by and talk to him in person, no need to bring in the set. When I got there he agreed it was unacceptable, then said he'd either come pick up the set at my house himself or I could keep it and he would give me a substantial discount and new heads. I didn't think the set was damaged, it just wasn't brand new, so I accepted the discount and new heads. The manager was a decent guy and very helpful and I'm glad that I didn't lose my cool with anyone.

I don't think one has to behave like a jerk to get results. I can't bring myself to be rude to operators and store employees who aren't the ones responsible for my experience; when I hear irritation in my own voice I make a point of telling the operator that I'm sorry they are catching my irritation and that I know they aren't responsible. The manager who helped me today obviously cares about music and musicians and good customer experiences. I think if I had gone in there hot-headed and loud he would have shut down and reverted to The Company script ("I'm very sorry that happened, you can return it"). Instead, we talked reasonable person to reasonable person and found a good solution.
Click to expand...

Handled it like a pro!

I have a feeling the sales rep who pulled that stunt has had his backside kicked or got fired.
 
Finally pics of the new kit. I realize the positioning of everything is probably off, I'll remind you I'm a rank beginner with more budget than experience. I don't have a throne yet, hopefully in today's deliveries. When it arrives, I'll start getting the setup dialed in, but I promised pics so I figured sooner was better. I think she's a beauty! Sorry about all the wood and tools and brooms in the background - still getting the shop rearranged.
IMG_8292.jpgIMG_8293.JPG
 
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