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Post by Vincent on Mar 2, 2019 12:04:32 GMT
Yes I remember those screws on that guitar. Not the finer details, but. I think maybe what happens is Lasse himself gets assurances from the supplier-manufacturers that changes is going to come and then nothing happens. They will say yes to anything and everything to keep the orders coming in, until they stop of course.
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Post by salteedog on Mar 2, 2019 12:18:04 GMT
It appears they have definite trouble with scaling to cope with growth in their business. They have changed guitar suppliers and installed a new supply chain and ordering management system and most of the 'due date' problems seem to have occurred since those changes happened. They may be having problems related to the supplier, or to managing the supply chain (and hence what we call order promising), it may be system related or process related - perhaps they are struggling to resource and train the people the need to keep this running smoothly. Maybe they have assigned limited resources to other aspects of their business to the detriment of the Harley Benton products.
They run a different model to Swee****er. I stand to be corrected but I think Swee****er assigns an individual agent to every single customer - basically a sales account rep - and those guys are compensated on the basis of sales to their named customers. So that adds to the margin. Also, I don't believe Swee****er have much of an international business focus. Its more or less all American timezones in one language.
Nevertheless there is no doubt Swee****er are a well managed operation who pride themselves on customer service and who run a tight supply chain. Thomann have started to slip back a bit - certainly when it comes to the Harley Benton range - and it's starting to hurt their brand.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 2, 2019 12:19:29 GMT
Last time I've had an argument with Thomann they gave me a Harley Benton Dynamic for free. Before I also had some complaints and each time they would give me 20-30 euros refund. Then when I look at buying a new guitar I can never make my self give more money for a SQ Tele or Strat when I get better specs and price with HB guitars. But you contacted Lasse directly didn't you? He would most certainly have emailed the agents supervisor or the agent directly who would have (being fearful for his job) made sure that the matter was resolved asap. I emailed thomann denmark but not sure if that was Lasse. Could be a danish person working at Thomann, more likely. I dont think it has anything to do with Lasse in my case.
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Post by salteedog on Mar 2, 2019 12:24:41 GMT
But you contacted Lasse directly didn't you? He would most certainly have emailed the agents supervisor or the agent directly who would have (being fearful for his job) made sure that the matter was resolved asap. I emailed thomann denmark but not sure if that was Lasse. Could be a danish person working at Thomann, more likely. I dont think it has anything to do with Lasse in my case. Yup..sorry I had edited my post at the same time as your response. So was nothing to do with Lasse then.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 2, 2019 12:34:57 GMT
I emailed thomann denmark but not sure if that was Lasse. Could be a danish person working at Thomann, more likely. I dont think it has anything to do with Lasse in my case. Yup..sorry I had edited my post at the same time as your response. So was nothing to do with Lasse then. I can't tell really but all I know is the signature was like " ... yours Thomann Team Denmark" or similar, not a name.
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Post by k2347 on Mar 2, 2019 15:17:00 GMT
It appears they have definite trouble with scaling to cope with growth in their business. They have changed guitar suppliers and installed a new supply chain and ordering management system and most of the 'due date' problems seem to have occurred since those changes happened. They may be having problems related to the supplier, or to managing the supply chain (and hence what we call order promising), it may be system related or process related - perhaps they are struggling to resource and train the people the need to keep this running smoothly. Maybe they have assigned limited resources to other aspects of their business to the detriment of the Harley Benton products. They run a different model to Swee****er. I stand to be corrected but I think Swee****er assigns an individual agent to every single customer - basically a sales account rep - and those guys are compensated on the basis of sales to their named customers. So that adds to the margin. Also, I don't believe Swee****er have much of an international business focus. Its more or less all American timezones in one language. Nevertheless there is no doubt Swee****er are a well managed operation who pride themselves on customer service and who run a tight supply chain. Thomann have started to slip back a bit - certainly when it comes to the Harley Benton range - and it's starting to hurt their brand. Yes......Ted Hunter has been my sale's agent at Swee****er since the 90's.He has been amazing all these years.Their free 2 or 3 year tech service has been a life saver.Imagine going from a native recording rig to a full blown Pro Tools HD rig with a new custom computer and Control 24 control surface and trying to figure out how to hook everything up and get it running.Swee****er tech spent 4 hours on the phone with me and dialed me in.In 2017 I bought their CS400 audio pc and tech spent 2 hours on the phone and remotely through my CS400 showing me everything about the new computer.Like I said......I am very spoiled.
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Post by k2347 on Mar 4, 2019 3:01:11 GMT
Thomann just keep's ignoring me.Unreal!
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Post by Deleted on Mar 4, 2019 9:36:15 GMT
Thomann just keep's ignoring me.Unreal! When did you send them an email?
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Post by glenmornan on Mar 4, 2019 14:34:31 GMT
Hi,
I think the issue with all of the big music warehouses is they have so many fingers in so many pies they just cannot always handle the volume of sales.
Last week I decided to place an order for a guitar with "Bax UK", in the belief that they were based in Canterbury in the UK, as stated on their website.
After sleeping on it overnight I decided the guitar wasn't for me and sent them an e-mail early next morning requesting to cancel the order. I'd never cancelled an online order before and just assumed that would be the end of the matter. After close of business the following day they sent me an e-mail saying the guitar had been dispatched, so I couldn't contact them to tell them I'd cancelled the order and didn't want it. By the time I managed to telephone them I was told the guitar was en route from The Netherlands to the UK, by a Dutch courier to a UK Parcelforce hub, and they told me that as the delivery was underway it couldn't be cancelled. The Canterbury address appears to be for company registration purposes only, as I have now discovered.
I had to contact UK Parcelforce and refuse to accept delivery. The guitar is currently being held at a hub (probably Coventry) for 20 days before it will be returned to Bax. Apparently that's what Parcelforce do with all parcels that are refused by the addressee. In the meantime I'm £320 down with nothing to show for it, as Bax obviously won't refund me until they get the guitar back.
I appreciate this is effectively the opposite of what is being discussed in the topic, but I thought I may as well post this to draw attention to he fact that I still don't know whether they failed to pick up my cancellation e-mail, or whether they just wanted my money in their account for a month. I've had no apology for any inconvenience, but have received an e-mail acknowledging that I no longer want the guitar.
Is it another case of too many orders and not enough staff? I've a feeling that it may well be. There is also an issue with the new Squier range of instruments. Squier cannot give an accurate manufacture/delivery date for some of the new models, and the retailers are receiving orders one month and cancellations the next, as the projected dates move further into the future.
Importing musical instruments into the UK on an individual basis from outwith the EU is not for the faint of heart, and I've placed a recent order with Thomann for an HB TE-20, just in case the exceptionally low retail price means that won't be financially viable after the end of this month. Theoretically they should be able to adjust prices to cover customs charges, tax, and import duty, but it is the buyer's responsibility to ensure such charges are paid in full, including a fee to the courier if they have to re-seal any packaging opened by our ever vigilant UK Customs staff.
They tell me that my guitar is available "immediately", and I only placed the order over the weekend. At least they have acknowledged it, and given me the chance to re-consider. Wish Bax had done that.
Good luck to those whose guitars won't arrive until after 29th March.
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Post by salteedog on Mar 4, 2019 17:14:41 GMT
Automation is the name of the game with e-commerce. Similar to a vending machine - it's difficult to change your mind once you put your money in the slot and select your chocolate bar. Which is of course no consolation to k2347 and those who ordered on a promise that kept getting broken. P.S> I'm one of those who have ordered one of the new Squiers. Supposedly it'll be with me in a couple of months. I'm in no hurry though as long as it doesn't arrive when I'm on holidays for 2 weeks!
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Post by k2347 on Mar 4, 2019 20:12:31 GMT
Thomann just keep's ignoring me.Unreal! When did you send them an email? They finally cancelled my order today.I will never,ever order squat from them in the future.
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Post by glenmornan on Mar 4, 2019 21:34:05 GMT
That's pretty poor show k2347, and I don't blame you. I've ordered from Thomann once before in 2014, although I usually make a point of only ordering items that are actually in stock when using mail order. I hadn't heard of Harley Benton until very recently, but there seemed to be a rush to buy the last models to have been made in China before they moved out. I'm kind of hoping that the TE-20 BK that's on its way to me was made in China, but I don't suppose it will matter at that price.
Is it maybe the case that their factory in Vietnam is not yet fully operational?
Until a few years back I'd never even have considered buying a guitar online, but so far I've bought about 6 or 7 without any issues at all. I learned a lesson with Bax, but at the end of the day I should have made absolutely sure I wanted the guitar before pulling the trigger. They maintain they never received my cancellation e-mail, which I sent less than 8 hours after placing the order, and I wasn't impressed by their pushy customer service operative. Thing is, they probably have thousands of satisfied customers, and I may have been one of them had I not decided to change my mind.
Obviously, if you want a new HB you need to order via Thomann, so the brand name is bound to suffer if Thomann cannot fulfil the orders. I've also noticed of late that Thomann's current guitar prices are no longer necessarily the cheapest option for UK buyers.
Have I discovered Harley Benton too late? I hope not.
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Post by salteedog on Mar 4, 2019 22:11:34 GMT
P.S> I'm one of those who have ordered one of the new Squiers. Supposedly it'll be with me in a couple of months. I'm in no hurry though as long as it doesn't arrive when I'm on holidays for 2 weeks! Really saltee? I can't imagine what they have to suit you. There's not much left handed stuff. A tele? I'm treating myself to one of these. Squier's first ever left handed offset.
www.thomann.de/ie/fender_sq_cv_60s_jazzmaster_lh_lrl_ow.htm
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