Coda Music - Wow!!

thebreeze

Coda Music get a lot of good press on here and how thoroughly deserved it is.   When a business goes out of it's way, time and again, to look after it's customers it's tempting just to sit back and say nothing, either because other people say it or it's just expected........that they really are brilliant in customer care. 

So check out my experience with them and tell me it's not worth high praise and gratitude (very much from me).

I bought a guitar on Gumtree.  A CS Tele.  I had a feeling something wasn't quite right and that the middle position sounded out of phase. (If you're really interested in the back story and the very helpful comments from people of this forum about it there was my thread a while back: http://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/112521/tele-people-advice-please-ngd-pics#latest).

The original invoice was still in the case and so I knew it had been bought at Coda.  I checked their web-site and saw they had exactly the same model but a relic version (mine is NOS) so I thought I'd get them to play it just to double check there wasn't some deliberate out of phase, honky, country thing going on for this particular model.  I checked the pickups and one was an Abby and one was a Josefina and after various phone calls the possibility was discussed that even one of the pickups had been wound with the magnets the wrong way up.

To cut a long story short Coda told me not to worry about it, to bring them the guitar and they would arrange for a correctly wound pickup (by Josefina obviously) to be sent from the States and they would then have it installed and set the guitar up correctly and courier it back to me.  At NO COST.  I am not even their original customer and bought it used off Gumtree!! (so they had every legal right to just say "tough, sorry").  In the end it got taken to their tech and all it was was that the wires had been wired the wrong way round so that's been corrected, it's been set up and is being couriered back to me as I write.

I think this is an outstanding approach to one's business.

Mark Powell who dealt with this put it this way.  "You're a guitarist and we like to look after guitarists".

There are a few threads about today about which shop to use for various reasons.  I hope this speaks for itself.  Absolutely first class in my opinion.

Mark, if you read this - Thank you once again to you and everyone at Coda Music!!

lovestrat74

Now that is what I call service @thebreeze !  We are all quick to criticise when it doesn't go our way, so fair play to you for highlighting and giving them the praise they deserve 

RandallFlagg

Exceptional

Jalapeno

Always pleasant and helpful when I go, great place.

Musicman20

...and that is how to get a good customer base with trust. Great news.

Jonathangus

Superb.  @DougCoda ;

fretfinder

Great to hear. They're the only dealer I've bought stuff from in the past several years. Always a fab service and usually a little bit of a deal to be had through polite negotiation!

thebreeze

RandallFlagg said:

Exceptional

That's the word for it.

ourmaninthenorth

Fan-bloody-tastic.

richardhomer

That’s awesome service!

axisus

Fab shop(s). I just wish they were still in Luton

merlin

Coda offer exceptional Customer Service. I used upper case deliberately, they are thoughtful, kind, courteous and go well beyond the call of duty to help. In the two instances I've had with them, they were brilliant. 

Brize

That's a great story. I've always received top-notch service from Coda - @DougCoda and his team are a brilliant bunch of guys.

Funkfingers

thebreeze said:

the possibility was discussed that even one of the pickups had been wound with the magnets the wrong way up.

Depends whether Fender assembles using pre-charged rod magnets or not. ICBM will probably know the answer.

It is easy enough to reverse the magnetic polarity of a pickup but NOT while it is installed in your guitar.

bingefeller

That is amazing.  You probably saw a thread that I'm in the market for a new guitar, Coda are now at the top of my list after reading this.  

thebreeze

bingefeller said:

That is amazing.  You probably saw a thread that I'm in the market for a new guitar, Coda are now at the top of my list after reading this.  

Honestly you can't go wrong.  The comments above are a testament to everyone's experiences.  They have lovely guitars too!

Alterlifeson

Fantastic, I've not used them yet but this is another reason to!

JerkMoans

That's astonishing.  Next stop Stevenage!

capo4th

Mark at Coda is an absolute gent go and buy a guitar from him tomorrow.

markblack

Another bit of praise for Coda Bought a CS tele off them and it was a great experience. Made me feel every welcome, nothing was too hassle to play be it £1000 or £5000. I know this should be basic stuff in a shop, but it often isn't.

Voxman

Brilliant. One of the (sadly) ever fewer number of stores that I'd buy from in a heartbeat with total confidence in their truly friendly first class customer service.