Last Friday Mrs R ordered a Takamine F250SM acoustic guitar from Thomann.
See my thread
here.
Not only was the guitar an absolute bargain basement price with 62% discount, no sooner had the order been placed it went out of stock. Then a day or so later it disappeared from their site altogether.
Throughout the whole process from ordering to the guitar's arrival today they sent emails to inform us of its progress.
The guitar and its hard case arrived in pristine condition (despite it being delivered by Parcel Force!) and that is in no doubt down to their superb packaging. The guitar was triple boxed with using cardboard with polythene padding in the spaces.
Overall I think their service has been second to none and I won't hesitate to use them again.
It's just a shame the guitar has got to go away now
until my (50th) birthday in July
:O
Comments
Seriously: If you value it, take/fetch it yourself
The problem comes when people don't want to send it back, as in the example above. No online retailer copes well with this. Someone has to investigate - costs money. They have to send something like the Tronical tuners that the buyer suggested. Tronical only supply complete kits not spares. Because that is the Tronical contract with Tronical suppliers. If Thomann sent a complete kit to the buyer who pays for it? Gibson won't because their contract only covers complete guitars. Tronical won't because their contract only covers complete kits not Gibson guitars that are supplied with min-etune.
The buyer said they "only offered to take the guitar back and maybe send it to "the manufacturer to be repaired" - why would you return a guitar to Gibson when they don't even make the tuners?
Thomann will offer you your money back or to get the guitar repaired. Both are entirely reasonable offers to make as a retailer. Also, in effect Gibson >do< make the tuners. The contract for the guitar will have Thomann at one end and Gibson at the other end. Tronical will not be mentioned in that contract. So the Thomann-Tronical contractual relationship is irrelevant to your purchase of the guitar.
So the rule with Thomann is simple - if you like it keep it, and if you don't like it then send it back. Follow this simple rule and you will always get first class service from Thomann.
This sort of contractual process spaghetti applies to the retailers of most electrical things you've bought recently. Follow their process and don't try to invent your own.
It was shipped anyway and I never got a reply.
Now I have to live with £10 worth of incorrect potentiometer or post it back to them which will cost me again.
I'm ambivolent about Thomann. Great stock and prices, but seem too boxshiftery to me. I'll use Strings Direct or GAK out of preference.
Vintage v400mh mahogany topped dreadnought acoustic FS - £100
Every last day is precious here on in - get using it!