Jump to content
aberdeen-music

R&B Music: I've had enough


modman

Recommended Posts

Apologies in advance to those of you who don't appreciate polemic on your forum but I just can't keep silent anymore!

I forgave them when I bought a shoddy guitar from them 8 years ago. I even forgave them when I put my electro acoustic guitar in to have it's electrics fixed only to find, that the first time I plugged it in it didn't work. However when I recently put my beloved Fender Twin in for a simple bias and it was returned to me in a far worse state electronically than it had been before, I hit the fucking roof, and have remained there ever since.

A bias and a general service was all I requested. I was told that they had fixed a dry joint on the reverb unit but that was all they could see that was wrong. 50, there you go, thank you very much.

But then I plugged her in at next practice and she started violently screaming at me; she was clearly not happy. Nor was I. I took it back to R&B Music and was seriously gobsmacked when I was immediately met with a barrage of defensiveness and eventually veiled insults from the manager (can never remember his name, but he has a ridiculous minge-tickler on his chin. You know the guy). From the outset he sought to distance his business from any responsibility or liability for the problems, telling me that the bias was perfect (which, voltage-wise it was) and that they could not possibly be responsible for what might have subsequently happened to it. He insulted me by suggesting it was probably the valves (almost brand new Fender Groove Tubes by the way) and then had the cheek to state that I had entered his shop with an attitude problem.

After ten minutes with the amp turned on (It's a twin; it aint even warmed up by then) he concluded that he could hear no wrong with it (it actually crackled violently, which we could all hear. In fact I could sense that his staff were rather embarrassed by his attitude but were clearly unable to say anything). After arguing my corner for 20 minutes, he reluctantly agreed to take it back in and see if they could find anything wrong with it over the next few days. Call me a cynic but I would have bet the family farm that they wouldn't find anything wrong with it, despite its symptoms being as glaringly obvious as the big fucking grey elephant playing a Tele in the corner of the room.

Minge-tickler called me back 5 days later and told me that they could still find nothing wrong with it. Yet they had gone to the trouble of changing the pre-amp valves now, which he tried to charge me for!

So to recap: Amp fine, perfect in fact. R&B take it into their posession for a few days, amp no longer fine. In fact, amp so ill with iatrogenic symptoms that it was unplayable. R&B take it back in, continue to deny that they could hear anything wrong with it (elephant in the room remember) yet attempt to charge me another 70 odd for new pre-amp valves.

I demanded they put my old valves in and left the shop, never to return. The amp is still ill and I have completely lost faith in a shop in which I have spent 1000s over the last 15 years.

Don't know what you guys think but I'd like you to share your experiences of dealing with what is ostensibly Aberdeen's finest music shop. I for one am never shopping there again. Ever.

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

i agree man, i rarely go in these days, the place isnt what it used to be

i am not a tech guy, but i managed to fix all my amps all solid state but i know some ins and outs. if you want me to have a wee look for you i could but i might just say the same as rnb lol not cos it is fine becuase i dont know that aspect.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I can vouch for Modman's story. The amp was in perfect working order when it went in, and it came back temperamental and developed a habit of making queer noises at random. He has taken to borrowing an amp for gigs now, R&B having rendered his totally unreliable.

When you put something in for a service it's not meant to come back broken. And if it does come broken, the culprit is not supposed to shirk their responsibility to fix it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest idol_wild

The first time I ever bought a proper guitar (my first, like many people, was a shitty nylon stringed acoustic from Argos for 39.99), it was from R&B and it was a second-hand electro-acoustic Westfield. By no means a great guitar, but it did what I was looking for. It was only 109.99, but at 16, in 1996, it was a lot of money to me. Anyway, it was the owner who served me and started processing the sale, whilst patronising me about guitar strings, but he got interrupted about thirty seconds in to the sale by a chap who was after one of the Fenders, which was valued at c.599. Immediately, he literally just abandoned me and ensured the man interested in the Fender got his item and spent around ten minutes processing his sale before mine, casually chatting to the guy and avoiding patronising him about strings, instead encouraging him to go and see some shitty pub-rock blues band that weekend in the Malt Mill.

He then took a step back, inhaled and exhaled a considerable amount of air, clearly absolutely delighted with himself, before taking around ten seconds to notice me still standing there.

I avoided R&B at all costs after that.

I also found it curious that the owner of R&B was friendly with one-half of the ownership of One Up, so he always insisted the One Up staff gave him discount on all purchases, but the One Up staff never got discount in R&B, and there were always a number of musicians working in One Up. That's just not cricket, mate.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The first time I ever bought a proper guitar (my first, like many people, was a shitty nylon stringed acoustic from Argos for 39.99), it was from R&B and it was a second-hand electro-acoustic Westfield. By no means a great guitar, but it did what I was looking for. It was only 109.99, but at 16, in 1996, it was a lot of money to me. Anyway, it was the owner who served me and started processing the sale, whilst patronising me about guitar strings, but he got interrupted about thirty seconds in to the sale by a chap who was after one of the Fenders, which was valued at c.599. Immediately, he literally just abandoned me and ensured the man interested in the Fender got his item and spent around ten minutes processing his sale before mine, casually chatting to the guy and avoiding patronising him about strings, instead encouraging him to go and see some shitty pub-rock blues band that weekend in the Malt Mill.

He then took a step back, inhaled and exhaled a considerable amount of air, clearly absolutely delighted with himself, before taking around ten seconds to notice me still standing there.

I avoided R&B at all costs after that.

I also found it curious that the owner of R&B was friendly with one-half of the ownership of One Up, so he always insisted the One Up staff gave him discount on all purchases, but the One Up staff never got discount in R&B, and there were always a number of musicians working in One Up. That's just not cricket, mate.

Was that 'Minge Tickler' as well?

There's someone in there who fits that description who is always a bit of a patronising arse no matter what I'm buying (Though I don't know if he is the owner!). Even when I asked for HIS recommendation on strings, based on HIS expert opinion, he still found a way to be a sour little shitfuck about it. Everyone else who works there seems jolly nice though. I was in there buying two patch cables a couple of weeks back, and I was greeted by some older gent as if I was buying a half stack. The guy was delighted, and very helpful.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest idol_wild
Was that 'Minge Tickler' as well?

There's someone in there who fits that description who is always a bit of a patronising arse no matter what I'm buying. Even when I asked for HIS recommendation on strings, based on HIS expert opinion, he still found a way to be a sour little shitfuck about it. Everyone else who works there seems jolly nice though. I was in there buying two patch cables a couple of weeks back, and I was greeted by some older gent as if I was buying a half stack. The guy was delighted, and very helpful.

If "Minge Tickler" means an upper lip moustache, then yes.

I agree with you about the rest of the staff in there, though. Whenever I have been in, they have always been polite and knowledgable. In fact, if my guitar-buying experience endured in R&B was from anyone other than the owner, I would have happily returned to the shop in the future and considered it my first choice music supplies shop, but because it was the owner who showed that disrespect and repugnant attitude, I didn't want to give him in any more money. Ever. I only went in for plectrums after that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The first time I ever bought a proper guitar (my first, like many people, was a shitty nylon stringed acoustic from Argos for 39.99), it was from R&B and it was a second-hand electro-acoustic Westfield. By no means a great guitar, but it did what I was looking for. It was only 109.99, but at 16, in 1996, it was a lot of money to me. Anyway, it was the owner who served me and started processing the sale, whilst patronising me about guitar strings, but he got interrupted about thirty seconds in to the sale by a chap who was after one of the Fenders, which was valued at c.599. Immediately, he literally just abandoned me and ensured the man interested in the Fender got his item and spent around ten minutes processing his sale before mine, casually chatting to the guy and avoiding patronising him about strings, instead encouraging him to go and see some shitty pub-rock blues band that weekend in the Malt Mill.

He then took a step back, inhaled and exhaled a considerable amount of air, clearly absolutely delighted with himself, before taking around ten seconds to notice me still standing there.

I avoided R&B at all costs after that.

I also found it curious that the owner of R&B was friendly with one-half of the ownership of One Up, so he always insisted the One Up staff gave him discount on all purchases, but the One Up staff never got discount in R&B, and there were always a number of musicians working in One Up. That's just not cricket, mate.

He did the same to me when i went in to buy an effects pedal that i couldn't get in Bruce Millers. He was the only person free so i had to deal with him and he'd got as far as boxing the pedal for me when someone asked him about a guitar and off he went. I waited about 5 minutes before i left and went and bought it online. His attitude stinks. I haven't been in the place since and don't intend on gracing their premises again.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Why was a customer barging into your transaction anyway? Manners don't cost a jot. You should have twatted him for being an impatient berk.

To be fair to the customer, in my case, minge-tickler wasn't standing with me at the time. However, it is his responsibility to tell said customer that he is dealing with another customer at that particular time and say he'll be with him asap. At least that how it works when i'm serving customers.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Now now boys, for all you know it could be a Freddie Mercury style balls-tickler, each to their own and all that.

I've been going into R&B for close to 20 years and I can tell all you young whippersnappers that you don't know you're born. I've never had a particular problem with the guy with the 'tache, even when I was a young kid with no money and a penchant for trying out pricey guitars at the old R&B up at Rosemount. In fact, said chap impressed me a few years ago by digging out an imperial bridge screw for a Fender tele and giving it to me free of charge a few years back when all I could source in this country were metric.

But I'm telling you, this guy is a PUSSYCAT in comparison to the bald guy with glasses that used to work here. Patronising doesn't even cover it, BUT I have to say he always did it in a way that amused me and I never really got pissed off with him. I think he died a few years back.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

But I'm telling you, this guy is a PUSSYCAT in comparison to the bald guy with glasses that used to work here. Patronising doesn't even cover it, BUT I have to say he always did it in a way that amused me and I never really got pissed off with him. I think he died a few years back.

Mike? Mike never, to my knowledge, broke something then lied to the customer's face about its condition.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Think his name was maybe Alastair? Don't know for sure.

But fair enough, point taken, was just referring to arsey attitudes in general rather than this specific incident.

Was it not Steve? Sure there was a tall, bald guy with glasses called Steve there for years. He was pretty funny.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Now now boys, for all you know it could be a Freddie Mercury style balls-tickler, each to their own and all that.

I've been going into R&B for close to 20 years and I can tell all you young whippersnappers that you don't know you're born. I've never had a particular problem with the guy with the 'tache, even when I was a young kid with no money and a penchant for trying out pricey guitars at the old R&B up at Rosemount. In fact, said chap impressed me a few years ago by digging out an imperial bridge screw for a Fender tele and giving it to me free of charge a few years back when all I could source in this country were metric.

But I'm telling you, this guy is a PUSSYCAT in comparison to the bald guy with glasses that used to work here. Patronising doesn't even cover it, BUT I have to say he always did it in a way that amused me and I never really got pissed off with him. I think he died a few years back.

Well, make of it what you will, but it's poor customer service no matter what way you look at it, and it was enough to make people here not shop there any more, which is very evidently counter productive for their business. I buy my strings and picks online and only go there if I need something right away. If I spoke to customers like that where I work, I'd be getting a disciplinary. If he's the head honcho, then he can obviously do as he pleases, but he's losing business. I go to these 'experts' for their knowledge and experience. Not to be talked to like a naughty child because I don't know as much as they do. It's just poor form.

Last time I was in, I asked about the difference between the Elixir's and the new Ernie Ball 'coated' and which he recommended, since I like Elixir for the life but not so much the tone, where as I've always liked EB regulars, but they don't last. Christ. You'd have thought I'd asked the difference between a guitar and bass the way he scowled at me. I was gonna buy some based on his belittling guitar god soapbox rant, but I got some off ebay instead. Fuck that guy.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...