I've never been someone who complains about shoddy service, preferring the very British stiff-upper-lip approach. You know, the approach that's made customer service in the UK what it is today (ahem).

However...

A week ago I ordered a mic (plus accessories) from DV247.com. All items indicated they were "in stock" and would arrive the next day. At £580, it was a substantial layout for an occasionally-paid hobbyist, such as myself, but the mic was reasonably-priced (it's a Neumann).

The next day, the accessories turned-up, in the form of a cable, stand, and shock mount. No "main event", so-to-speak.

Perplexed, I called D.V. and (very politely) asked where my mic was. I was told someone would call me back with an update in a few minutes.

No one did.

It's now Monday. I called back, and was dealt with by someone who's manner suggested they were very busy, and I was inconveniencing them somewhat. They explained the mic was ex-demo, and had a dent on the grill. After negotiating, they would sell the mic to me at £560 instead of £580. Twenty pounds off for an essentially damaged, secondhand mic.

They original price was a good one, and as I had to record a ten piece band the next day, i.e. Tuesday evening, I begrudgingly accepted this not-so-generous offer.

It's now Tuesday. There are ten people turning-up this evening to record their band demo. I have found-out that D.V. made a mistake, and they haven't sent my new-money-for-secondhand-goods mic out to me, but hopefully, it should be with me tomorrow (Wednesday). I don't have enough decent condensor mics to go around, so will probably have to record one of the singers with an SM58.

D.V. used to be a quality provider, and my "go to" online shop. What's happened???

I feel better for getting that lot off my chest, and if there's anyone still reading at this point, thank you for listening.

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www.thediplomatz.com

Very annoying. I'm not surprised you're....frustrated.

J

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www.jackruston.com

You are not alone!!!

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My head hurts!

Seems unusual for them. I've bought tons of kit from them over the years with no problems. I do get the impression they are more into box shifting these days however. But I guess that is them doing what they need to do to stay in the game.
I'd try to speak (or write) to a manager and discuss the situation. I'd be surprised if they were not sympathetic..

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Paul

I know(!) I don't understand it!

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www.thediplomatz.com

No trouble here, but I speak to one person directly who manages all of our orders.

If you feel dissatisfied, then a friendly phone call (or, as Paul says, preferably a letter) to a more senior member of their staff should get it all sorted out for you. I'll be very surprised if they're not apologetic and keen to give you customer satisfaction. Usually they're quite good, I thought?

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SOS Web Editor, Support & Social Media
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Quote The_Big_Piano_Player:

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... After negotiating, they would sell the mic to me at £560 instead of £580. Twenty pounds off for an essentially damaged, secondhand mic.

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They've offered you a whole 1% off, what are you complaining about?

I did have problems with DV earlier this year. But a polite complaint by email was picked up immediately by a manager there who emailed me back the following morning. And from the reply it was clear that he'd taken the time to appraise himself of the facts rather than just bashing out a standard response. With the exchange of a couple more emails we were able to reach a resolution that I was entirely satisfied with.

Mistakes and errors do happen in any large organisation, but my experience has been that the management at DV take customer service seriously and respond well to a polite complaint.

Andy

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When the going gets weird, the Weird turn Pro.

Quote Jennifer Jones:

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If you feel dissatisfied, then a friendly phone call (or, as Paul says, preferably a letter) to a more senior member of their staff should get it all sorted out for you. I'll be very surprised if they're not apologetic and keen to give you customer satisfaction. Usually they're quite good, I thought?

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I thought they were quite good, too, and have done for years. I wouldn't normally complain, either, but this time there's been glitch after glitch.

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www.thediplomatz.com

I'm in the fortunate situation of having a DV shop in town. I only ever use the website for checking prices - actually ordering is always done through the shop, with a human being on the other end, and they've always been great. Sometimes they've been let down by suppliers or by the DV distribution system (which it seems is not always what it could be), but it's not the fault of the guys in the shop.

Knowing what the Cambridge shop is like, I'd certainly expect them to sound rushed off their feet if I called them. They're not exactly overstaffed!

FWIW, I wouldn't buy an expensive mic with dents. For all you know, it might have been dropped and the damage to the delicate innards could be substantial. It might also be such that you won't immediately notice it.

Cheers,
Frank

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Imagination is more important than knowledge - A. Einstein

Quote Frank Eleveld:

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FWIW, I wouldn't buy an expensive mic with dents. For all you know, it might have been dropped and the damage to the delicate innards could be substantial. It might also be such that you won't immediately notice it.

Cheers,
Frank

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I did wonder about that, but it comes with a 4-year warantee, should there be an issue.

The recording session went well, last night. I ended-up using my old SM57 (seemed to sound better than the SM58 for some reason) on a backing vocalist, and it fitted the mix perfectly. I can totally see why it's an industry standard.

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www.thediplomatz.com

Disappointing and surprising. I have always found Digital Village to be prompt, professional, courteous and competitive. Not to mention very helpful in post sales care. But I too have a branch local enough to mean I tend to go into the store and usually deal with the same individual, with whom I am on first name terms. I really would take this up with senior management. I think you deserve some redress for what happened (did you know it was beta stock when you bought the mic)? Maybe you should tell them to keep it and send you six new SM57s instead!

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Strictly project and just for fun

Quote Frisonic:

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I think you deserve some redress for what happened (did you know it was beta stock when you bought the mic)? Maybe you should tell them to keep it and send you six new SM57s instead!

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Not sure what a complaint to senior management will do for me at this stage. As long as the mic arrives today, and works, then I guess I've got what I paid for.

There was no indication the stock was ex-demo on the website, the status was merely "in-stock" and new.

That's the worrying thing... if the mic hadn't got a dent on the mesh, does that mean they would have just sold it to me at the "new" price, and not mentioned it's less-than-mint past?

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www.thediplomatz.com

Same with all of these shops, and I should know I used to work in one.

You are at the behest of the level of competence and experience of the member of staff who picked up the order. With the poor wages you can expect to earn as such a place, anyone with the skills is unlikely to stick around the shop floor for long.

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http://www.jeremycorbett.co.uk

Like others above, I've used them many times over the years and almost always had good service. Sometimes though I experienced delays and wondered in those instances if "in stock" actually meant "If you order it we'll quickly order it ourselves from the distributor and send it on to you."
They've got a forum, have you had a vent there to see what their response would be?

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When I'm sad I sing, and then the whole world is sad with me.
Band / Songs

Quote The_Big_Piano_Player:

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That's the worrying thing... if the mic hadn't got a dent on the mesh, does that mean they would have just sold it to me at the "new" price, and not mentioned it's less-than-mint past?

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I have to say, DV have always been great in my experience, so I think you were really unlucky this time with some over-worked staff. I have ordered several things from DV that took a while to arrive and though they said they'd let me know they often didn't get round to ringing me. I had to follow it up myself, but I'm not going to hold this against them. I'd like to think in general I can trust them and they wouldn't try and sell on abused equipment. They may not have the expertise of Funky Junk, but their prices are nearly always the best, they're very good about letting you try out equipment in their shops and from what I can glean reading the small print, their 4-year warranty seems to be genuine. I'd send a letter to a senior member of staff if you're really unhappy.

(I'm writing this post mostly because I think it's an exceptional case and I wouldn't want anyone reading this thread to get put off DV before they've even tried them. We need to keep alive businesses that let us try out stuff instore with 'internet' prices!)

Like I pointed out, I have used them before without problems, just wanted to air my frustration at this particular incident.

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www.thediplomatz.com

Quote The_Big_Piano_Player:

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Like I pointed out, I have used them before without problems, just wanted to air my frustration at this particular incident.

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For me tho, its not how good it is when its good, its how good it is when it gets bad!...if you follow my drift. A shop should rely on customer service , not be a glorified postal service. I have had mostly good things to say about DV , but when it was bad, it got really annoyingly, arrogantly bad. Dave

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My head hurts!

Well, you've learnt one lesson - "It isn't about the gear" :-) Are you still lusting for the mic with the Neumann label, or will you save your money?

I use the East London store sometimes. These are the bad stories:

I've called in advance to check availability, arrived to find it wasn't. Alright - they looked on the computer, not on the shelf. It can happen. But I hung around nearly an hour until they decided to sell me a similar item at the same price (and we're only talking a few quid difference).

I sent a friend to Romford to pick up a Zoom R16. It arrived with the wrong power adapter. Not the wrong input voltage, but completely the wrong fitting. They weren't terribly interested. If I brought it back, they'd swap it. Good service would have been "Sorry - we'll pop the right one in the post to you now!"

More recently, I ordered a couple of wireless microphones. Not in local stock - delivery promised next day. The system was that the carrier texted a one-hour delivery time slot. They didn't. Picked up from the carrier's depot next day, they'd sent the wrong thing. Back to Romford - the right item WAS in stock, but was on their system at a higher price. They made me feel like I was being done a favour by getting it at the agreed price.

I'm not suggesting any similar outfit would be any better :-)

All I know is that when I ordered a DBX386 mic preamp from them some years ago, they sent me what was clearly a used/B-stock/returned item and had tried to pass it off as new (they charged the price for a new item, of course). I sent the damn thing back. They have never got a pound of my money since. I find places like Dolphin Music, Soundslive or Intaaudio generally good to deal with.

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www.youtube.com/leonardngmusic

Quote Len:

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I find places like Dolphin Music generally good to deal with.

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You mean PMT now, as that's who owns them after there recent "stumble".

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Hi,

Did you know initially that the said mike was either damaged, ex demo or second hand?

If not I wouldnt give a toss what price or make it was! Damaged goods are damaged goods.
You never know where its been or how much force was used to damage it. It may have fallen into a cows ass... and to think you were going to put that close to your mouth?

Are the internal parts ok????

Its a lot of money to pay for something that was a dodgy sale to begin with?

I would far rather pay full whack for something knowing that it came to me just off the production line than take a chance with something unknown.... even if it is a Neumann!

There again DV do have a unique life time warranty with everything they sell or at least they used to?

This isn't the first time someone has complained about DV247 on this forum!



sthum..........





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Edited by sthum (17/06/11 05:17 PM)

Quote sthum:

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You never know where its been or how much force was used to damage it. It may have fallen into a cows ass... and to think you were going to put that close to your mouth?

Are the internal parts ok????



sthum..........





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Apparently the Cow is comfortable and making a speedy recovery

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www.myspace.com/shambolic-charm

Quote Shambolic Charm:

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Quote sthum:

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You never know where its been or how much force was used to damage it. It may have fallen into a cows ass... and to think you were going to put that close to your mouth?

Are the internal parts ok????



sthum..........





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Apparently the Cow is comfortable and making a speedy recovery

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"It just fell into my ass" is only an acceptable explaination if the cow is in Holy Orders.

Quote sthum:

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Are the internal parts ok????

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No, the rectal lining is badly torn.

Or did you mean the internal parts of the microphone?!

Quote sthum:

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This isn't the first time someone has complained about DV247 on this forum!

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And it won't be the last. They are one of the bigger UK retailers, so you are bound to see a proportionally higher number of grumbles.

A truly bad dealer just wouldn't have survived this long in this economic climate..

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Paul

Quote ~Paul:

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Quote sthum:

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This isn't the first time someone has complained about DV247 on this forum!

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And it won't be the last. They are one of the bigger UK retailers, so you are bound to see a proportionally higher number of grumbles.

A truly bad dealer just wouldn't have survived this long in this economic climate..

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But then, Dolphin always treated me rather well...

Quote Exalted Wombat:

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Quote ~Paul:

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Quote sthum:

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This isn't the first time someone has complained about DV247 on this forum!

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And it won't be the last. They are one of the bigger UK retailers, so you are bound to see a proportionally higher number of grumbles.

A truly bad dealer just wouldn't have survived this long in this economic climate..

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But then, Dolphin always treated me rather well...

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I've bought a few things from Dolphin over the last couple of months and their prices were good and delivery prompt. Then they sent me a mic cable which had a damaged XLR barrel (quite probably damaged by the courier). I sent them a couple of emails via their customer services site but without reply. It's only a £10 cable so I haven't made the time to ring them up and chase it. I am, however, planning some more purchases in the coming months and Dolphin are a lot less likely to feature in my plans.

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http://www.random-thought.co.uk/

email the head of the company, that even worked with turnkey.

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'You know it's a bad role when Nic Cage passes on it.'