 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: kev182
Date: 2012-08-23 20:57
I just thought I'd mention that I just walked in to Weiner music and received some of the worst customer service I've ever experienced. Very rude and it generally seemed that everyone hated their job and didn't want to be there...
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Author: Buster
Date: 2012-08-23 21:26
Sounds like you might have inadvertently wandered into the DMV by mistake...
I just thought I'd mention, in Weiner's defense, that I have never had a single problem, even when a return was needed.
Six of one half a dozen of the other.
-Jason
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Author: GBK
Date: 2012-08-23 21:36
kev182 wrote:
> I just thought I'd mention that I just walked in to Weiner music and
> received some of the worst customer service I've ever experienced.
> Very rude and it generally seemed that everyone hated their job
> and didn't want to be there...
[ I've forwarded your posting to Sharon at Weiner Music. - GBK ]
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Author: rtmyth
Date: 2012-08-23 22:51
They were great for me, for many ,many years
richard smith
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Author: Tobin
Date: 2012-08-23 23:58
I'm torn. I'm not interested in a store being smeared, but I also think that there's no appropriate thought to add (aside from GBK'S) without actually knowing what you experienced.
Hm.
James
Gnothi Seauton
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2012-08-24 01:14
But are we really talking about Weiner Music? The store front has some crazy name on it like "Mikes Drums." I drove passed it three times before I went in.
My experience was mixed. Their system of having to "call up" what you want to try from their basement becomes rather logy and uninviting after awhile. They also DO charge for mouthpieces tried out. I bought a clarinet there years ago for the price. Probably will go somewhere else next time.
.................Paul Aviles
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Author: Dileep Gangolli
Date: 2012-08-24 01:14
This isn't YELP.
Are you sure your experience was indicative of the vendor?
Posting something like this can be very harmful to someone who is trying to make a living in music retail where margins are increasingly shrinking.
Have you really exhausted all avenues of recourse before posting something that could have an indefinite lifespan here in cyberspace?
I have worked with Weiner for years off and on. I have had good and bad experiences but he has had some rough times in the past while always trying to make good on his obligations. It is a honorable franchise.
Let's try to help each other out before nuking someone on the Internet.
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Author: Ed
Date: 2012-08-24 01:41
I think the business is mainly focussed on the mail orders and is not really designed as much toward the walk in customer.
Post Edited (2012-08-24 12:07)
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Author: Clarineteer
Date: 2012-08-24 07:31
I have dealt with Sharon for years and have always had an honorable experience. Great prices and they stand behind their products. A pleasure to deal with.
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Author: bradfordlloyd
Date: 2012-08-24 10:45
I can't speak to their in-store service, but I have ordered several things from them online in the past year or so and they have been uniformly terrific....and, generally, at the lowest prices around.
They are one of my favorites, and I'll give them much more business in the future.
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Author: Red Chair
Date: 2012-08-24 12:28
customer experience can be just as varied as any aspect of clarinet artistry that we comment on here. That the author of this post had a negative experience is actually useful information. Most of the time i have pleasant service when shopping anywhere, however when one receives exceptionally good or bad service I do believe it is worth sharing that information. That the subsequent replies have only now come to light and fail to state exceptional customer service skills to me says that perhaps service at this store can be categorized as sometimes acceptable/sometimes unacceptable.
for the record i have never shopped there.
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Author: Ken Shaw ★2017
Date: 2012-08-24 12:47
Weiner Music's mail order service is excellent, but every time I've gone to the store it's been frustrating. Their clarinet expert is seldom there, and the other clerks are not knowledgeable. I've gone there with printouts of pages from their catalog and have still been told they don't know or have what I'm talking about. It's only when they have reluctantly let me look through their shelves that I've found what I want.
It's a puzzlement. I'd say order by mail or at least call ahead and have them pull what you're looking for and hold it for you.
Ken Shaw
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Author: AlecThigpen
Date: 2012-09-05 16:01
I ordered two Bass Clarinets from them many years ago, they arrived in perfect condition other than a broken backstrap clip on the 1193, which I ended up keeping, no problem really for me. I returned the 1183 for credit, and it took three months to get the credit applied to my Visa. Slow in that regard, is the only thing negative I took away from the experience.
One more thing, neither clarinet came with the mouthpiece, ligature or cap, as was advertised in the Buffet literature. I don't know if that policy changed, or Weiner's just kept the mouthpieces. I ended up buying a Bay, Selmer, and Grabner MP anyway. I rarely find the stock mp to be what I want anyway.
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Author: kdk
Date: 2012-09-05 20:26
I'll chime in to add that Weiner has been my main online outlet - I've never been to their store. I've always been pleased with the service and find consistently that their prices are lowest of the vendors I shop. I've rarely run into a back-order situation, and when I have (most recently with a Rico mouthpiece I ordered), the order has been filled within days.
Karl
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Author: Wes
Date: 2012-09-05 21:02
Weiner's has given me good online experience. The title of this thread is not appropriate!
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Author: Ed
Date: 2012-09-06 00:09
If you have only done online shopping with them, I don't think you can really say that. As I posted above, I don't think their focus is on the walk in customer, they are primarily designed as a mail order store. I am sure that is where they do the bulk of their business. I agree with Ken Shaw's comments.
Post Edited (2012-09-06 01:52)
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Author: JEG ★2017
Date: 2012-09-06 01:27
For what it's worth, I used to work about a 10 minute drive away from Weiner's, so I could stop by the store on my lunch hour. Though I never had any trouble with them when I came to the store it was obvious to me that they were primarily a mail order business.
I did buy a BAM low-C bass clarinet case from them that I ordered and picked up at the store. I was able to order it, then bring in my bass to be sure that the parts fit in the case, with no hassle. I bought the case after I saw that the parts fit well.
Now that I work a longer distance away I do strictly mail order, and my experience has always been good.
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Author: salzo
Date: 2012-09-11 21:14
I dealt with Weiner for many years, and put up with a lot of nonsense from them. And I see from some of the posts on this thread that I am not the only one.
When they were the only one in the game, you had to deal with it. But there are many other on line retailers, who will match Freds prices, and the service is much better.
If Weiner is having "bad times", perhaps he should look to himself, and improve his customer service.
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Author: ww.player
Date: 2012-09-12 13:49
To be fair, I haven't dealt Weiner's in years, but the two times I did visit their location it was obvious they were a mail order business and not a real retail outlet. Fred did go out his way to accommodate me once but was so busy with other stuff that it turned what should have been a 15 minute tryout into a two hour affair. I never had a problem with them on phone orders, though your mileage may vary. I wouldn't hesitate to order from them again.
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Author: Mike Blinn
Date: 2015-07-26 23:14
This is an update on Weiner music of Mineola, NY. This week, I traveled from Connecticut to try out a Selmer bass clarinet, and arrived unannounced at Poppy's Music, the store front used by Weiner.
The vice president, Mark Kasten, was very helpful and had me try out a Selmer Paris in the music studio next door. I purchased it and Mark took good care of me, even contacting Fred Weiner as needed.
It is obvious that Weiner is mostly an internet store, and I regretted arriving unannounced. I would do business with them again, by appointment.
Mike
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Author: WhitePlainsDave
Date: 2015-07-27 06:44
My 35 years dealing with Weiner have been honest ones. I've never had a problem with mail order from them.
Living not too far away, I'll sometimes drive to the store to buy stuff, but I send Sharon a list of the items I want ahead of time. It's always ready and accurate. I treat the staff with respect and get it back.
I don't expect warm and fuzzies although I usually get them from Mark (Kasten)--even though I'm not there to see him (he handles instruments and repairs.) The storefront exists in part for people to try instruments by appointment. They've got everything, near all products are in stock, and their prices are very competitive.
I'm sorry some have had a bad experience, but their markup is so thin, that I think, to make money, they need to be more order takers than product marketers.
That Sharon won't ask be about my kids (Mark will) or leave me with a "warm and fuzzy glow" needs to be counterbalanced by the fact that she'll be the first to tell me, "you wrote down too expensive a price on item X, here's money back."
They are a very reputable outlet who should not be tarnished by one customer's bad experience--as legitimate as that negative experience may have been. Nobody can be all things to all people.
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Author: Covertheholes
Date: 2015-07-29 09:51
I have ordered from Weiner in the past and been a satisfied customer. Also, to echo what others have said, it is a very tough time to be a retailer of any kind, with shrinking margins, giant online competitors, etc.
BUT, what's disconcerting to me (in combination with the negative feedback left above) is to see them advertising their "full price" nickel Bb R13s at $3,000, which is currently hundreds of dollars below Buffet's MSP of $3,363 (minimum sale price). See WWBW for reference. I also get suspicious when I see dealers promoting their "B Stock" at even lower prices, which is often code for an excuse to sell below MAP or MSP. Why should I trust them with my business when they are in violation of their dealer agreement with what is likely a key vendor? It also reflects poorly on Buffet for lax or uneven enforcement of its policies, but that's another issue...
Post Edited (2015-07-29 10:05)
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Author: pbjclarinet
Date: 2015-07-30 02:05
I agree with the poster upthread who pointed out that this is not Yelp, and that we shouldn't be tearing businesses down on an insider forum without specific details. So, I'm chiming in to say that I have had nothing but outstanding experiences with Weiner Music over the last 25 years. I shop with them because they have excellent prices and great service, and I recommend them to everyone I work with.
I recently went to their store on very short notice to try instruments. I wanted to try different brands and models and was given time and space to try everything that I wanted to. Mark and the staff made it a really wonderful experience, and I left a very happy customer. Looking forward to shopping with them again and again.
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Author: Irwin J
Date: 2015-08-01 04:20
I had an excellent experience with Mark Kasten several months back when I purchased a Greenline Festival. Mark spent a week after I bought it before he shipped it to me because he wanted to make appropriate adjustments to intonation throughout the range. A month after I got it, I had a pad/spring problem, sent it to Mark and he fixed and sent it right back to me. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend him to anyone looking to buy a new horn.
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