Do you feel bad about writing a bad review on an online purchase?

[erok123]

Specifically a guitar from a major retailer. If you are unhappy should you just let them have it?

[gardo]

It depeds on the situation. If I got ripped off I'd say how it felt. But I think completely venting would cause people to ignore the review , Be objective and factual but not emotional

I would probably still feel bad unless it was a case of outright theivery

[1001gear]

Also only the store fascia is required to treat you civilly. Unless it's automated CS which is just a troll algorithm.

[Chordite]

If it were a one off error and they responded well I wouldn't leave a review. If it was systemic I would feel it was my responsibility to my fellow consumers.

I don't like deceit like when ebay sellers try to unload a turkey saying "I don't know anything about guitars" when their history shows they have sold a dozen over the last two years. Or the infamous "Untested" meaning "I just tested it and it doesn't work"

[Freeman Keller]

Specifically a guitar from a major retailer. If you are unhappy should you just let them have it?

 

I guess it depends on why you are unhappy. I guess it depends on what you were expecting, what the store said in advertisements, conditions of sale, all those little fine print things. I guess it depends on your research into the product - did you really buy the right thing.

 

You might feel a whole lot better blasting the store, but personally I would try to work out what is wrong and how to make it right. That might mean returning the product, getting some sort of refund or credit. If you feel that the store some how really screwed you, then blast away, but don't expect anything from them.

 

A friend and customer recently brought a guitar to me for evaluation and setup. He had purchased it thru a large online store, it was pretty obvious that the guitar needed work and that the distributor had simply passed it from the builder to the customer (my friend), probably without even opening the box. The guitar was, quite frankly, pretty messed up. We called the store, they said they would refund my friends payment, he would be responsible for shipping it back. But we also called the manufacture (small production shop) and I ended up sending all my measurements and my comments that the geometry simply was not right and should never have left the shop. They agreed, actually thanked me, asked that it be shipped to them, not the distributor, paid the shipping back and returned a replacement to my friend that was set up perfectly. Everyone is happy, the shop even asked me if I would be a setup technician for their products.

 

I'm going to add one more of my pet little bitches. If you walk into a store, try the instrument, negotiate with the sales staff you'll almost always walk out happy. Buying on line puts more responsibility on you and the experience may be different.

[t_e_l_e]

i agree and disagree with freeman

 

first, i would try to contact them or their customer service and try to work it out, what ever it is why you are unhappy. but don't be unreasonable, if the product is completely fine and as described but after unboxing you found out its the wrong product for you don't expect, them to take it back for free, at least shipping cost for the return might be on you

 

if you can't work it out with them and you're still unhappy, write a review why you are unhappy and try to stay by the facts and stay objective, avoid insults, review might just be deleted...

 

and freeman i disagree with your last paragraph

local stores are not what they used to be, and with all this online competition its not easy for them. as a lefty a might be treated wth a great customer service, but still i need to go there, let them order it, need to go there again when its finally arrived to try it out and if not what i want send it back again. some said to me if they order for it me, i need to buy it (ok that was more than ten years ago), and for lefties it has been all the time so.

 

now with all the online competition, local stores can not stock all the products some might want, as they do not have the storage area, also they cannot compete with the prices, so they cannot afford qualified personal anymore and so they just become just something like you local post office were you grab package whch was delivered for you there.... its not only instruments, more so i think for other stuff its even worse and music stores with qualified personal can still fill a niche, where other stores already lost....

 

its not that i like the fact, but times have changed, and i buy almost everything gear related online.

one reason is also my store is about an hour public transportation back and forth (going by car is more in the traffic jam, and public transportation is great here), and if they do not have it stock what i need or sold just the last item, the time was wasted and they need to ordered it anyway again...

[badpenguin]

It depends on the situation. IF the seller lied, and knowing sold a faulty product, and were dicks about it, then blast away, being honest and objective about the issues.

If it was a single bad product, and they went the full mile, and did what they could to make it right, and you still weren't happy, then you praise the seller, and review the product. Again, as objective and as honest as possible.

If you played 3 of them, and they were garbage, then review the product, and point out what you hated.

[Glenn F]

I just wrote a review for the Gretsch 12 string I bought over the holidays. I first started out with just stars, and then wrote the review afterwards. Basically, I said that the guitar needed some serious work by a luthier to get the action and intonation correct. Of course, it was more detailed than that, and the store has now yanked my star review, and hasn't published my written one, lol. No, I don't feel bad.

[daddymack]

The crux here is whether you are holding the manufacturer or the retailer to blame. If you are posting a bad review regarding the actual product, the retailer should not block that, any more than they should block a negative review regarding their performance with the sales and delivery process. Transparency and honest 'warts and all' reviews are potentially costly, but hiding them, possibly as a repeated process, should be unconscionable...if the retailer has issues with their performance and does nothing to correct it, and hides it...eventually other means of getting that information out on the web will happen.

There is also a flip side to this. We recently had someone post here on HC about why you should not buy from MF ,and yet MF resolved the issue amicably, although it took a couple of tries and some time... so sometimes people go off before they need to.

[mbengs1]

If it really is a bad deal, I'd just return the item and make an honest statement about it. But I usually forget to even make a review if I didn't get what I want, to keep from ruining the name of the seller. I understand mistakes can happen so I just chalk any bad deals to that. I'm grateful I can even shop online for things I can't buy in a local store.