Musically speaking

First, let me start this post by saying that I wish all businesses treated their customers the way the two music stores I've dealt with have treated me. My experience with this began mid-June, when I decided I really could use a new hobby. On the way back home from the grocery store, I decided to take a look in Simply Guitars. I walked out about 20 minutes later, my wallet roughly $230 lighter, with a complimentary gig bag on my shoulder - carrying a brand new SX-20/WRS with a wicked-looking crimson-black sunburst finish:




Thereafter followed a month of much learning – such as “Ah crap, I've been reading tabs upside down this whole time!” (a week into my ownersip), and finding that until the callouses set in, you really regret having a job that requires a lot of typing after saying up playing the night before. You also gain new appreciation for the music you listen to – I began re-visiting my entire CD collection during my ride to work, and whenever I heard something that sounded good and simple enough, I'd look up the tab and try to learn in when I got home that night.

Eventually, in mid -July, I learned enough to suspect there may have been something wrong with the guitar – a loud buzzing that only happened on the 5th fret, 5th string. I took it back to Simply Guitars to get fixed (apparently an uneven 6th fret), and within half an hour of me dropping it off I got a call to pick it back up. So I head back to the store, and find that on top of the string buzz being gone, all the frets had been polished (not just the problematic 6th fret) – as had the entire guitar, and it had been restrung – all free of charge. It looked really shiny. So I asked what polish had been used on the guitar, bought a bottle of it, some cloths, and a strap.

Another great experience was yesterday, at Steve's music downtown. I went with a couple of friends (I needed strings and some picks, one needed picks also, and the other has his mind on buying a bass guitar by next friday). As I am paying for the strings and the 16 picks that my friend and I picked out, I notice I've only been charged for the strings. I mention this and the clerk replies “yeah, I threw those in, no worries”. Now that may seem like a small thing, but i'm just not used to getting $2 worth of picks free with the purchase of a $7 set of strings.

So that's all I have to say on the business aspect of this subject. That's some of the best customer experience I've ever had, and I've been working at customer service jobs for the past 6 years. Another thing I will says is that I now want an electric. Don't get me wrong – I love my acoustic, but I was mucking around with a late 1960's Kalamazoo in my buddy's basement last night, and I have to say, the intro to the Chilli Peppers's 'Otherside' sounds really cool with an echo effect cranked up. That and watching a Tragically Hip concert DVD, and being able to play along with the main riff of New Orleans is Sinking LOUD was a great feeling. Here's a cellphone picture of that particular jam session:



I even know which electric I want, and in a couple of months I can hopefully justify getting it. It's really shiny.