# Anyone else get a robocall from L&M?



## Fiveway (Mar 21, 2010)

I hate robocalls. I think it's the laziest (but not the greasiest) type of marketing out there. But I got a message from L&M today with a recorded voice. I got as far as "blah blah Long and McQuade..." before I deleted it. I think I'm going to find out who the head of marketing is there and give him/her a shout. At home. At 3 am. After about 20 bourbons. Tell them about the deals I've got going on.

Any of you fellers find unexpectedly find yourself on their "please do call" list?


----------



## Diablo (Dec 20, 2007)

Yup I got one today in the late afternoon as well.
not too perturbed about it.
if you listen to the mesg, they did provide a way to unregister from future calls.


----------



## Bubb (Jan 16, 2008)

Diablo said:


> if you listen to the mesg, they did provide a way to unregister from future calls.


I like Fiveway's idea even though I didn't get a call .

you shouldn't have to listen to a message you didn't want to get to not get any futher messages you don't want .

or something


----------



## smorgdonkey (Jun 23, 2008)

Fiveway said:


> I think I'm going to find out who the head of marketing is there and give him/her a shout. At home. At 3 am. After about 20 bourbons. Tell them about the deals I've got going on.


HA!! That's some funny shit!!

I haven't bought any big ticket items there in a while so I don't even get the sale catalog that used to come in the mail.


----------



## Diablo (Dec 20, 2007)

Bubb said:


> I like Fiveway's idea even though I didn't get a call .
> 
> you shouldn't have to listen to a message you didn't want to get to not get any futher messages you don't want .
> 
> or something


Don't give them your phone number when you buy there then.
i doubt they're calling every home in the phone book.


----------



## mrmatt1972 (Apr 3, 2008)

No, but robo Justin Trudeau asked for my support in the upcoming leadership race yesterday.


----------



## Short Circuit (Mar 25, 2007)

Got the call this afternoon.
I didn't even realize there was a sale going on. I may have to slip over to Burlington on Friday .........

Mark


----------



## dodgechargerfan (Mar 22, 2006)

They posted a nice apology on Facebook.
I'm kinda upset that I haven't gotten the call. I didn't get an email either. I wouldn't have known about the sale at all if not for this little incident.
As it happens, I'll be on the road on Friday and might be able to stop in to a couple of stores. 

"To our customers who have received an unwanted automated call advertising our upcoming Inventory Blowout Sale, we apologize for the inconvenience. 

We get mixed opinions on this method of advertising for our large promotions. Most customers appreciate us going with the greener solution of phone calls over our previous method of mailing out 250,000 postcards or flyers that will just get thrown away next week. Others also appreciate it because they either are not signed up to our email list, do not have an email address, or their email address has changed recently and they have not been in a store to update their account. 

A few customers have found it to be more of a nuisance than a service. We completely understand this viewpoint as well and we appreciate your feedback.

If you receive an unwanted automated phone call, you can press * to be instantly and automatically removed from our automated call list. If you already received an unwanted automated phone call and didn't press *, or if the call went to voicemail and you didn't call the 1-800 number to be removed, please feel free to send us a private Facebook message with your name and phone number and we will remove you from our automated call list manually. 

Again we apologize for the inconvenience, but we assure you that we only had the best intentions of keeping our valued customers informed about our biggest promotions of the year."


----------



## keto (May 23, 2006)

More importantly, when is the sale? no robocall, no facebook account, no email on file w. them, no flyer.


----------



## Kenmac (Jan 24, 2007)

Yes, I received the "robo" call at about 2 in the afternoon. It actually interested me as to what kind of sale was going on so I checked out the L&M website and there's a PDF you can download that lists some of the items on sale February 15 and 16th. There was nothing there that really interested me though, but I can understand why people wouldn't want L&M calling them.


----------



## dradlin (Feb 27, 2010)

L&M states to be doing this as a greener marketing method over sending out 250,000 flyers... I'm sure it does save them some green (money). I hate it when companies who are obviously motivated by money justify their actions based on environmental concerns. 

Robo calls are wrong, and are trending upwards. I get more unsolicited calls in a day than legitimate calls, and many come from the US. It's so bad that I mostly don't answer unless it is a local number, a legitimate caller will leave a message.

I got an emailed notice of the sale, and saw the Facebook post. No phone calls or mailed flyers required.


----------



## zurn (Oct 21, 2009)

keto said:


> More importantly, when is the sale? no robocall, no facebook account, no email on file w. them, no flyer.


Long & McQuade Nation-wide Inventory Blowout Sale February 15th and 16th!

http://www.long-mcquade.com/promos/web/social/InventoryBlowout2013/InventoryBlowout2013.pdf


----------



## Diablo (Dec 20, 2007)

lol....a pretty mixed bag of reactions....I love this forum


----------



## zurn (Oct 21, 2009)

http://www.long-mcquade.com/location/Quebec/Trois-Rivieres/
http://www.long-mcquade.com/location/Quebec/Montreal/


Sorry to somewhat change the subject but has anyone been to the new store in Montreal? Is it worth having a look see ? What a bout the one in Trois-Rivieres?


----------



## Steadfastly (Nov 14, 2008)

I'm glad they apologized and told people how to remove their number from L & M's list. I hope that asterisk (*) works on other automated calls as well. I'll definitely be trying it.


----------



## 10409 (Dec 11, 2011)

this is why i don't give my information when i buy things
i hate it when you go to a store and the cashier wants your postal code and phone number "For their files"
like bitch, i'm just buying a damn tshirt, if you're gonna collect my information to sell to a 3rd party mailing list i want a hefty discount.


----------



## Duster (Dec 28, 2007)

Pretty solid customer service to post the apology on Facebook. I respect their approach. I hope you all gave them feedback so that they can know whether more people felt it was a nuisance or a service. Based on their post, I think they'll actually take that into account. I'm impressed they bothered to address it. 

I'd be firmly in the "nuisance" category. You call people on the phone to speak with them, not to have a computer speak with them. If you're going to interrupt what I'm doing and request my personal attention (that's what a ringing telephone does), you had better be prepared to reciprocate with your personal attention. If not, use another automated mode of communication, like email.

--- D


----------



## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

Just now, 30 seconds ago, from "Sherry". 

If she spoke a little more seductively I might have listened longer.

Peace, Mooh.


----------



## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

Mooh said:


> Just now, 30 seconds ago, from "Sherry".


Same here......


----------



## LongMcQuade (Feb 12, 2013)

Fiveway said:


> I hate robocalls. I think it's the laziest (but not the greasiest) type of marketing out there. But I got a message from L&M today with a recorded voice. I got as far as "blah blah Long and McQuade..." before I deleted it. I think I'm going to find out who the head of marketing is there and give him/her a shout. At home. At 3 am. After about 20 bourbons. Tell them about the deals I've got going on.
> 
> Any of you fellers find unexpectedly find yourself on their "please do call" list?


Hi Fiveway, 

No need to find out who the head of marketing is here. We found you instead! 

While I'm not the head of marketing for the company, I am taking the brunt of the complaints regarding our automated phone calls. We understand the annoyance that automated calls can cause certain people, and we do apologize. We have given customers the ability to remove themselves from our phone list by simply pressing * when they receive the call. If it goes to voicemail, like it did with yours, we do give you a way to add yourself to our Do Not Call list, as Diablo mentioned. If you didn't press * or didn't remove yourself from that list, please feel encouraged to email me with the phone number that you were called on, along with your name, at [email protected]. 

I don't want to give you a generic copy and paste answer, as I understand that's just as impersonal as an automated phone call... but we did make some official statements via Facebook that I'd like to bring to your attention:



> _To our customers who have received an unwanted automated call advertising our upcoming Inventory Blowout Sale, we apologize for the inconvenience.
> 
> We get mixed opinions on this method of advertising for our large promotions. Most customers appreciate us going with the greener solution of phone calls over our previous method of mailing out 250,000 postcards or flyers that will just get thrown away next week. Others also appreciate it because they either are not signed up to our email list, do not have an email address, or their email address has changed recently and they have not been in a store to update their account.
> 
> ...


_
_https://www.facebook.com/LongMcQuade/posts/10152237639663840

Many people like yourself hate automated phone calls. We completely understand. However, many people unlike yourself hate to see paper go to waste. There are also many people that hate to see email notifications in their inboxes. Unfortunately it's not possible to please everyone right away, but we are taking the steps to figure out which of our customers prefer to be contacted via phone, via email, via snailmail, and via social media. Like we've mentioned in our statement, we have many customers without email addresses and THOUSANDS more without Facebook. It would not be possible to reach all of our customers with just email and Facebook, and we wouldn't want to alienate our customers who choose to remain off the grid of social media. We understand that it's not a perfect system, but we are removing people from the phone list who prefer to not be called. From what we've seen there have been far more people appreciative of this form of advertising than people complaining about it, so the best we can do is call customers and remove them as they choose to opt out. This is a relatively new method of advertising for us, and the more we use it, the more we can adjust for people who prefer to be contacted in a specific way. Hopefully, soon, we will only be calling people who prefer to be called, emailing people who prefer to be emailed, and Facebooking people who have chosen to Like us on Facebook.

We apologize for the inconvenience and I will be going through the rest of this thread and apologizing personally to those who were also inconvenienced by this phone call. Thanks.

_



_


----------



## LongMcQuade (Feb 12, 2013)

Diablo said:


> Don't give them your phone number when you buy there then.
> i doubt they're calling every home in the phone book.


Hi Diablo, customer information such as name, address and phone number is crucial to our business. This information is what allows us to rent, finance and sell serialized equipment to our customers. That is the primary reason that we collect this information, and we would not be able to conduct business with our customers if we did not have this information on file. If customers are purchasing strings, picks, drumsticks, etc. we don't ask for a phone number. But when a customer chooses to purchase anything serialized (guitars, amps, PAs, etc) we take their phone number and other information for warranty purposes, repair purposes, and to track the previous and current owners of equipment in case that piece of equipment comes back to us, we know it's history. And when customers purchase used equipment from us, they appreciate the fact that we have the complete history on the item.

You're right, we are not calling every number in the phone book - only customers who have chosen to shop with us within the past 18 months and have willfully given us their phone number when they set up their account with us. We have made the necessary changes to our system to default new customer accounts to "no" on our phone dialer, and we are individually contacting each and every existing customer who has been inconvenienced by this call and are manually removing them from our call list.


----------



## davetcan (Feb 27, 2006)

I just received my robo call about an hour ago. I tend to hang up on any calls that don't immediately involve talking to someone "live". Of course I also hang up on anyone trying to sell me something I'm not interested in. I usually give them one chance to end the call after telling them I'm not interested, I wouldn't want to appear rude


----------



## LongMcQuade (Feb 12, 2013)

davetcan said:


> I just received my robo call about an hour ago. I tend to hang up on any calls that don't immediately involve talking to someone "live". Of course I also hang up on anyone trying to sell me something I'm not interested in. I usually give them one chance to end the call after telling them I'm not interested, I wouldn't want to appear rude


I'm having trouble determining if you appreciated the call or hated the call! If you hated the call, sorry for the inconvenience. If you didn't hate it.... you're welcome? 

Either way, feel free to email me at [email protected] if you wish to have your phone number removed from our call list. Thanks.


----------



## hardasmum (Apr 23, 2008)

I honestly don't see what the big deal is. Seriously, how inconvenienced are you by an unsolicited "robo call"? Are you busy in surgery or flying a plane?

If you don't recognize the number don't answer it, if you answer the call hang up, if someone from India calls to tell you about an offer from Bell have some fun with them. Ask about the weather over there or what time it is where they are.

This falls into the "Who cares" file for me. North Korea are working on a nuclear missile, isn't that a little more important than a message from Long & McQuade?

Seems to me some folks would be pissed off if they read about the sale after it was over and felt they missed out.

Personally I like the convenience of all my info being on file when I purchase something from L&M. I don't have to worry about losing a receipt for warranty purposes and I don't have to give them this info each time I make a purchase. 

This isn't an Orwellian "big brother" scenario, they don't know who I vote for or what porn I watch to masterbate. 

Some people need to R E L A X


----------



## LongMcQuade (Feb 12, 2013)

hardasmum said:


> they don't know ... what porn I watch to masterbate.


And for this, we are thankful. 

But I otherwise appreciate your post. We only use the phone dialer for our largest promotions, which only happen once or maybe twice a year. So customers should not be receiving more than two calls for the _entire year_. Now there are some situations where the customer has duplicate accounts or multiple phone numbers, thus calling them twice for a promotion instead of only once, and unfortunately we cannot pinpoint those instances unless the customer notifies us. This is why we are taking the necessary steps to attend to cases like this, as well as removing any customer who feels that the phone call method is too intrusive.


----------



## davetcan (Feb 27, 2006)

I tend to view all unsolicited sales calls as an invasion of privacy, simple as that. I'd much rather continue getting the fliers or email notification than direct contact calls. As long as I have a choice going forward I'll be OK with it. If the calls continue after I've asked to be removed then you'll likely lose my business. Hopefully that clarifies things  I'll send you an email.

Please don't take this the wrong way, I've been a customer for many years and would like to continue being one 



LongMcQuade said:


> I'm having trouble determining if you appreciated the call or hated the call! If you hated the call, sorry for the inconvenience. If you didn't hate it.... you're welcome?
> 
> Either way, feel free to email me at [email protected] if you wish to have your phone number removed from our call list. Thanks.


----------



## LongMcQuade (Feb 12, 2013)

hardasmum said:


> Seems to me some folks would be pissed off if they read about the sale after it was over and felt they missed out.


I'd also like to bring attention to this quote. I have personally received many complaints about this situation, but honestly, several people are complaining that they DID NOT receive the phone call yet, and are eagerly awaiting it. Now we admittedly find this equally perplexing since we have already since sent out the flyer and all the other details of the promotion, but it just goes to show that it's impossible to please everyone. We receive complaints that they got called, we receive complaints that they didn't get called. But there has been a large number of people who have shown appreciation towards us for leaving them a voicemail about the sale or giving them a phone call as a heads up that there are huge savings to be had. We understand that some customers simply do not prefer this form of contact, and we are doing what we can to make everyone happy by removing those who hate it and keeping only those who love it, or at minimum don't mind it.


----------



## LongMcQuade (Feb 12, 2013)

davetcan said:


> I tend to view all unsolicited sales calls as an invasion of privacy, simple as that. I'd much rather continue getting the fliers or email notification than direct contact calls. As long as I have a choice going forward I'll be OK with it. If the calls continue after I've asked to be removed then you'll likely lose my business. Hopefully that clarifies things  I'll send you an email.


Thanks, I will remove you when I receive the email. I can only stress that it *SHOULDN'T* call you once I remove you from the list. But please take note that we will adjust your account accordingly, and if you receive another call later this year (again, we send out a maximum of two calls for the entire year), there must be a duplicate account or multiple phone numbers somewhere on our system, and we will address this as it comes up.


----------



## davetcan (Feb 27, 2006)

This bit I agree with. 

I do get concerned about the "sharing" of information however. It seems once you're on one call list you end up on many. 

Oh, and I am relaxed by the way 



hardasmum said:


> Personally I like the convenience of all my info being on file when I purchase something from L&M. I don't have to worry about losing a receipt for warranty purposes and I don't have to give them this info each time I make a purchase.


----------



## davetcan (Feb 27, 2006)

Quite possibly duplicate accounts as I've purchased from different L&M's over the years, hopefully not though 

cheers and I do appreciate your understanding and the company's response to this.



LongMcQuade said:


> Thanks, I will remove you when I receive the email. I can only stress that it *SHOULDN'T* call you once I remove you from the list. But please take note that we will adjust your account accordingly, and if you receive another call later this year (again, we send out a maximum of two calls for the entire year), there must be a duplicate account or multiple phone numbers somewhere on our system, and we will address this as it comes up.


----------



## hardasmum (Apr 23, 2008)

LongMcQuade said:


> hardasmum said:
> 
> 
> > Seems to me some folks would be pissed off if they read about the sale after it was over and felt they missed out.
> ...


I didn't receive a call but I did get an email. I would welcome a call from Long & McQuade more so than a call telling me I won a free trip.

Perhaps it's a generational issue or maybe I don't value my privacy enough. IMHO it's not the hill to die on.


----------



## hardasmum (Apr 23, 2008)

davetcan said:


> Oh, and I am relaxed by the way


Not directed at anyone specific.


----------



## Steadfastly (Nov 14, 2008)

hardasmum said:


> I honestly don't see what the big deal is. Seriously, how inconvenienced are you by an unsolicited "robo call"? Are you busy in surgery or flying a plane?


Surgery. Seriously, it's not the one call but the many that irritate me and, I'm sure, many others. If I want to be contacted about a sale, I'll sign up for their email.


----------



## LongMcQuade (Feb 12, 2013)

Steadfastly said:


> Surgery. Seriously, it's not the one call but the many that irritate me and, I'm sure, many others. If I want to be contacted about a sale, I'll sign up for their email.


I originally thought that we used the automated phone call twice a year, but I just found out that this is the _one and only time of the year _that we bust out the auto dialer. So there are not "many" calls that we make, but I understand that it can be irritating when you get one call from us mixed in with the several you might get from other businesses. 

So for the three days that it takes for our phone system to call our customers across the country, the people who hated the call will make their voices heard. Come Friday morning though when the sale starts, the people who loved the call and thus managed to scoop a brand new Les Paul Standard for $600 off and then financed it interest free, I hope they speak up equally as loud.


----------



## davetcan (Feb 27, 2006)

To be honest if it's "once a year", it's not a big deal. As you've said, grouped in with all the others it is, but if I HAD to choose who to get calls from it would likely be a guitar store


----------



## Chito (Feb 17, 2006)

Got my call today. Wasn't too bad and initially I was kinda 'why is L&M spamming me' but then after I heard about the sale, I figured it was okay. No big deal really.


----------



## the_fender_guy (Jul 22, 2008)

I had to save the voice mail. I so rarely get robo calls from robo girls named Sherry. Would it be inappropriate to make a robo tug joke?


----------



## Woof (Jan 13, 2010)

hardasmum said:


> North Korea are working on a nuclear missile, isn't that a little more important than a message from Long & McQuade?


Wait... this is important... there was a message from L&M??? 9kkhhd


----------



## hardasmum (Apr 23, 2008)

Woof said:


> hardasmum said:
> 
> 
> > North Korea are working on a nuclear missile, isn't that a little more important than a message from Long & McQuade?
> ...


Hahaha. I meant more important than complaining about a call from L&M!


----------



## marcos (Jan 13, 2009)

My feelings on this are very clear. If I need something I will go and buy it. I do not appreciate or tolerate calls of any sort to my house in order to sell me something.


----------



## Maxer (Apr 20, 2007)

I got mine a couple of hours ago. I wasn't annoyed by it, only mildly intrigued. Don't know that I'll even bother to head over there this weekend however. And if they resorted to routinely robo-calling, I'd probably get pissed.


----------



## Guitar101 (Jan 19, 2011)

Now, if the people at marketing would provide a code at the end of the call offering me an extra 25% off the sale price during the sale. I may listen next time instead of hanging up.


----------



## LongMcQuade (Feb 12, 2013)

Maxer said:


> I got mine a couple of hours ago. I wasn't annoyed by it, only mildly intrigued. Don't know that I'll even bother to head over there this weekend however. And if they resorted to routinely robo-calling, I'd probably get pissed.


We will not be making routine calls. Again this is the one and only sale of the year that we choose to go with this method of advertising.


----------



## Rick31797 (Apr 20, 2007)

I got one today, i hung up, don't care to listen to a recording..I think there marketing person needs to re-think this new strategy to increase sales.


----------



## LongMcQuade (Feb 12, 2013)

Rick31797 said:


> I got one today, i hung up, don't care to listen to a recording..I think there marketing person needs to re-think this new strategy to increase sales.


Hi Rick, if you didn't press * when you got your call and would like to be removed from our phone list, please email your phone number to me at [email protected] and I'll remove you manually. Thanks.


----------



## Rick31797 (Apr 20, 2007)

> Hi Rick, if you didn't press * when you got your call and would like to be removed from our phone list, please email your phone number to me at[email protected] and I'll remove you manually. Thanks.


I will do this, i don't mind getting the sales flyers in the mail , but phone calls really erk me, i guess because we still get our share of telemarketers , after submitting our number to the no call list that doesn't work.


----------



## LongMcQuade (Feb 12, 2013)

Rick31797 said:


> I will do this, i don't mind getting the sales flyers in the mail , but phone calls really erk me, i guess because we still get our share of telemarketers , after submitting our number to the no call list that doesn't work.


Hi Rick, just to clarify this...

Even though there is a national Do Not Call list, companies that you have an existing relationship with are exempt. Technically, any company that you choose to do business with in the previous 18 months has every right to call you. This might also explain why a lot of people claim that the DNC list "doesn't work". For example, if you're currently a customer of Rogers Cable and are receiving their service, they are allowed to call you even if you are on the DNC list.

Refer to this link here: Key facts for consumers, specifically the following:


_"Companies with whom you have an existing business relationship are also exempt. For example, if you have done business with a company in the previous 18 months, that company can call you. After 18 months it must stop calling if you’re on the National DNCL, unless you give permission otherwise."_


We have made the necessary provisions to call only those customers who have chosen to conduct business with us within the last 18 months. However we completely understand that this is not everyone's preferred method of contact and the absolute last thing that we want to do at this point is purposely annoy our customers by calling them if they do not want to be called. That is why we carry our OWN Do Not Call list, and have reached out individually to customers who wish to no longer be called for promotional reasons.


----------



## hardasmum (Apr 23, 2008)

Rick31797 said:


> I will do this, i don't mind getting the sales flyers in the mail , but phone calls really erk me, i guess because we still get our share of telemarketers , after submitting our number to the no call list that doesn't work.





marcos said:


> My feelings on this are very clear. If I need something I will go and buy it. I do not appreciate or tolerate calls of any sort to my house in order to sell me something.


What did you guys do to travelling salesmen back in the day? How did you deal with unsolicited guys selling Hoovers? 

I'm sick of kids knocking on my door selling apples for Scouts or whatever BS charity they claim to be working for. I tried greasing my front porch in motor oil but the buggers have excellent balance.

I'm also curious as to how those methods you used might transfer to present day telephone salesmen. I suspect the same principles apply.


----------



## 10409 (Dec 11, 2011)

kinda cool that someone from L&M took the time to address the issue on here. Sounded pretty ridiculous but he worded everything really nice. i'll bet he'd make a great jehovah's witness.

"We're spam calling you to save the trees"

nicely played. use the trees to make us feel bad about disapproving of your invasive telemarketing. it almost worked.


----------



## Rick31797 (Apr 20, 2007)

> > Even though there is a national Do Not Call list, companies that you have an existing relationship with are exempt. Technically, any company that you choose to do business with in the previous 18 months has every right to call you. This might also explain why a lot of people claim that the DNC list "doesn't work". For example, if you're currently a customer of Rogers Cable and are receiving their service, they are allowed to call you even if you are on the DNC list.[/QUOT
> 
> 
> i know all that and don't have a problem with sears calling me regarding my account but i have an issue with them calling me trying to sell me something or telling me about there is a 20 percent sale on towels. We get calls people wanting to clean our carpets,people wanting to install new windows and doors, people that i cannot even understand call me, i have even won a trip but i am not sure were because i hung up.


----------



## GuitarsCanada (Dec 30, 2005)

LongMcQuade said:


> Hi Rick, just to clarify this...
> 
> Even though there is a national Do Not Call list, companies that you have an existing relationship with are exempt. Technically, any company that you choose to do business with in the previous 18 months has every right to call you. This might also explain why a lot of people claim that the DNC list "doesn't work". For example, if you're currently a customer of Rogers Cable and are receiving their service, they are allowed to call you even if you are on the DNC list.
> 
> ...


Sounds reasonable to me


----------



## Hamstrung (Sep 21, 2007)

LongMcQuade said:


> Hi Rick, just to clarify this...
> 
> Even though there is a national Do Not Call list, companies that you have an existing relationship with are exempt. Technically, any company that you choose to do business with in the previous 18 months has every right to call you. This might also explain why a lot of people claim that the DNC list "doesn't work". For example, if you're currently a customer of Rogers Cable and are receiving their service, they are allowed to call you even if you are on the DNC list.
> 
> ...


Despite the legal loophole that allows this type of call, in this case from a company one has done business with recently I find these calls EXTREMELY annoying anyway! I'm on national the DNC registry and if it were up to me that would include ALL the entities that have slithered around this provision (special venom for political robo-calls). Any Non-human calls should be illegal with the possible exception of an evacuation order! 
It's bad enough we have to deal with offshore call centers that ignore the DNC registry (duct cleaning anyone?). I do a lot of business with L&M but I don't want to hear from them unless I've asked them to call and that's only when there's a specific reason like a product I ordered has arrived. If you want to market, find another way. Don't put the onus on me to guess who this non-specific number is that is calling me only to have to suffer through a sales pitch to put myself on yet another DNC list. It's bad business and really colours how I view a company.


----------



## LongMcQuade (Feb 12, 2013)

Hamstrung said:


> Despite the legal loophole that allows this type of call, in this case from a company one has done business with recently I find these calls EXTREMELY annoying anyway! I'm on national the DNC registry and if it were up to me that would include ALL the entities that have slithered around this provision (special venom for political robo-calls). Any Non-human calls should be illegal with the possible exception of an evacuation order!
> It's bad enough we have to deal with offshore call centers that ignore the DNC registry (duct cleaning anyone?). I do a lot of business with L&M but I don't want to hear from them unless I've asked them to call and that's only when there's a specific reason like a product I ordered has arrived. If you want to market, find another way. Don't put the onus on me to guess who this non-specific number is that is calling me only to have to suffer through a sales pitch to put myself on yet another DNC list. It's bad business and really colours how I view a company.


Email the phone number that you were called on to [email protected], and I'll remove you from our call list. Thanks.


----------



## hardasmum (Apr 23, 2008)

mike_oxbig said:


> kinda cool that someone from L&M took the time to address the issue on here. Sounded pretty ridiculous but he worded everything really nice. i'll bet he'd make a great jehovah's witness.
> 
> "We're spam calling you to save the trees"
> 
> nicely played. use the trees to make us feel bad about disapproving of your invasive telemarketing. it almost worked.


^ member of the "GC Unwelcoming Committee"


----------



## 10409 (Dec 11, 2011)

oh don't get me wrong i'd love for the guy to join as a person and not just someone representing a corporate box store. he seems really well spoken and played the cards he was dealt very well. i'd lose my shit if my job was to convince the internet of all places that automated telemarketing was a last ditch effort to not waste paper and that they mainly collect our phone numbers for the sake of warranties.


----------



## LongMcQuade (Feb 12, 2013)

mike_oxbig said:


> oh don't get me wrong i'd love for the guy to join as a person and not just someone representing a corporate box store. he seems really well spoken and played the cards he was dealt very well. i'd lose my shit if my job was to convince the internet of all places that automated telemarketing was a last ditch effort to not waste paper and that they mainly collect our phone numbers for the sake of warranties.


I appreciate the invite, but on my off-time I find my self too consumed with the drummers' forums.


----------



## 10409 (Dec 11, 2011)

your off time?

you're getting paid to do this?

are you hiring?


----------



## LongMcQuade (Feb 12, 2013)

mike_oxbig said:


> your off time?
> 
> you're getting paid to do this?


No, at this point, at 9:28pm, this is my own time. Yes, I care that much. Like I mentioned, we know that automated phone calls can be a nuisance. We get it. However, from the feedback we've received, there are far more people who appreciate the call than those who don't. And I hope that people understand that we do what's best for the greatest number of people, but we will go out of our way to _try_ to appeal to everyone, as impossible as that may sound. That's why the majority of our customers are on our phone list, and we will remove people that prefer not to be called or prefer to be contacted in a different way. We know the system isn't perfect right now, but as I explained, eventually we'll get it to a point where only people who prefer to get called get called, only people who prefer to get emailed get emailed, etc.

EDIT: Some customers who have submitted complaints find it hard to believe that most of our customers appreciate the call... but when some lucky guitarist walks out of one of our stores with an Antique White Gibson Les Paul Custom for half price... trust me... they'll appreciate that they were reminded of the sale!


----------



## hardasmum (Apr 23, 2008)

mike_oxbig said:


> oh don't get me wrong i'd love for the guy to join as a person and not just someone representing a corporate box store. he seems really well spoken and played the cards he was dealt very well. i'd lose my shit if my job was to convince the internet of all places that automated telemarketing was a last ditch effort to not waste paper and that they mainly collect our phone numbers for the sake of warranties.


You're crystal clear Mike. 

Perhaps LongMcquade can correct me if I'm wrong but isn't the chain still owned by Jack & sons?

Personally I like it when companies have representatives on forums. L&M seem to actually give a shit about what you think unlike a lot of other gigantic corporations that would just continue to bombard you with propaganda despite your requests to stop.


----------



## LongMcQuade (Feb 12, 2013)

hardasmum said:


> You're crystal clear Mike.
> 
> Perhaps LongMcquade can correct me if I'm wrong but isn't the chain still owned by Jack & sons?
> 
> Personally I like it when companies have representatives on forums. L&M seem to actually give a shit about what you think unlike a lot of other gigantic corporations that would just continue to bombard you with propaganda despite your requests to stop.


Long & McQuade is still owned 100% by the Long family. Jack himself still comes into the office day to day. As gigantic a company as it may seem, it is still a family-run business, and we (they) still run it as a family-run business as much as possible.


----------



## Hamstrung (Sep 21, 2007)

LongMcQuade said:


> EDIT: Some customers who have submitted complaints find it hard to believe that most of our customers appreciate the call...


Just curious, does _not_ hitting star or going to the trouble of contacting you to register displeasure automatically qualify the call as "appreciated"?


----------



## dradlin (Feb 27, 2010)

LongMcQuade said:


> Long &amp; McQuade is still owned 100% by the Long family. Jack himself still comes into the office day to day. As gigantic a company as it may seem, it is still a family-run business, and we (they) still run it as a family-run business as much as possible.


Post Mr. Long's home phone number so we can call him at home... we'll see how much he appreciates unsolicited calls at home... my guess is not so much.


----------



## hardasmum (Apr 23, 2008)

dradlin said:


> LongMcQuade said:
> 
> 
> > Long &amp; McQuade is still owned 100% by the Long family. Jack himself still comes into the office day to day. As gigantic a company as it may seem, it is still a family-run business, and we (they) still run it as a family-run business as much as possible.
> ...


Wow that's clever.


----------



## dradlin (Feb 27, 2010)

LongMcQuade said:


> Technically, any company that you choose to do business with in the previous 18 months has every right to call you.


It may be lawfull to call, but for a company to think it has a right to call is completely unwarranted.

I may purchase products from L&amp;M but in doing so I am not relinquishing my right to be undisturbed at home.

I received an email, saw the Facebook post, and received the phone call today. The email and Facebook was appreciated, a mailer unnecessary, and a robo-call too far.

L&amp;M has one goal and that is to sell product and make a profit, and marketing is a means to that end. Don't try to spin this as though you are doing it in the interest of the customer or the environment... that is disingenuous.

And when the call came in today it was from an 855 number... obviously a tele marketer so I didn't answer and the call went to voicemail. Since I didn't answer I couldn't press star to opt out of future calls, I had to call a phone number to opt out. So one interruption to ignore the call, one to check voicemail, and one to call and opt out... that totals three interruptions resulting from your one call.


----------



## hardasmum (Apr 23, 2008)

sarcastic comment removed


----------



## bw66 (Dec 17, 2009)

We all complain about the way large businesses operate, but how many of us are willing to pay a little extra to patronize small businesses? I probably pay 5% more at my favourite guitar shoppe, but the only person who _ever_ calls me is the owner (who also greets me by name every time I enter his store), and then only when something I've ordered is in. He would also carry my CD (if I had one) and has offered to keep a stack of my business cards (I'm a guitar teacher) on his counter - which I will drop off next time I'm there.

Rant over.

For now.


----------



## 10409 (Dec 11, 2011)

hardasmum said:


> Wow that's clever.


you've really got a hard on for this place don't you. are you going to fanboy it up every time someone makes a completely valid complaint? Just cut the shit and say it if you're hoping to be their backup justifier of poor business ethics. it does sound like a pretty awesome job. if you do really good you might land a gig with a tobacco company next.


----------



## Guest (Feb 13, 2013)

I got a robo call from them this morning. Unfortunately, because they think I'm in the EST time zone, but I'm really three hours behind, it means the call came in around 6:00 am this morning. Not nice.


----------



## LongMcQuade (Feb 12, 2013)

Hamstrung said:


> Just curious, does _not_ hitting star or going to the trouble of contacting you to register displeasure automatically qualify the call as "appreciated"?


No. Feel free to look on our Facebook wall to read all the customers who are happy with this form of advertising. These, along with several private messages and emails that we've received, are what we consider "appreciated". Thus far we have received a total of 17 complaints that have taken the opportunity to message us to be removed. Sure, there are likely more people who were inconvenienced by this call, but unless they bring it to our attention, we will never know. 



dradlin said:


> I received an email, saw the Facebook post, and received the phone call today. The email and Facebook was appreciated, a mailer unnecessary, and a robo-call too far.


You just _happen _to be one of our few customers who _happen _to be connected with us in 4 different ways. There are hundreds of thousands of our customers who are not signed up to our email list or who choose to not Like us on Facebook, and who ONLY received the call. We understand that customers like you are getting bombarded, and this is why we are removing certain people from the phone list. 



iaresee said:


> I got a robo call from them this morning. Unfortunately, because they think I'm in the EST time zone, but I'm really three hours behind, it means the call came in around 6:00 am this morning. Not nice.


This will be my last post in this thread. To you, and to everyone else who was annoyed by our phone call alerting you of our sale, we apologize. My personal email address is listed several times in this thread, and I encourage anyone who felt that this was an intrusive form of advertising to email me at [email protected], so that we can take note of your complaint, and so we can ensure that you will no longer receive our once-a-year phone call promoting our sale.


----------



## dradlin (Feb 27, 2010)

hardasmum said:


> I honestly don't see what the big deal is. Seriously, how inconvenienced are you by an unsolicited "robo call"? Are you busy in surgery or flying a plane?


The big deal is that I get these sorts of calls every day... literally more telemarketing calls than legitimate calls. One call a year would be fine, but I receive hundreds over the course of a year. So the practice is not welcome.


----------



## Rick31797 (Apr 20, 2007)

> . but when some lucky guitarist walks out of one of our stores with an Antique White Gibson Les Paul Custom for half price... trust me... they'll appreciate that they were reminded of the sale!


I find this a bit of a stretch, i have never seen any store put a new custom on sale 1/2 off. this must be one guitar, and one selected customer over the phone.


----------



## GuitarsCanada (Dec 30, 2005)

I reached a point a year or so ago where the only calls I would get 98% at home were sellers of some kind. This may have been an indicator of my lack of friends and miserable attitude towards the world. Maybe not. But I canceled our land line about 10 months ago and have never missed it. We use our cellphones for whatever calls we need to make. I never get calls on my phone now unless its my kids or the wife etc.


----------



## ronmac (Sep 22, 2006)

Anyone else appreciate the irony of a bunch of wankers hanging out on a guitar forum complaining about having their time wasted?


----------



## hardasmum (Apr 23, 2008)

mike_oxbig said:


> hardasmum said:
> 
> 
> > Wow that's clever.
> ...


That was in response to a cliched argument about calling a telemarketer / business owner at home. Originated on Seinfeld I think, so it's not a "valid complaint".

You don't make complaints Mike, you just attack other posters. 

I just don't see why some folks here are being so aggressive and unwelcoming towards the gentleman representing Long & McQuade. 

I thought GC wanted involvement from retailers and manufacturers but with the way they're being received they'll likely avoid coming here at all.

I'm not talking about him receiving complaints, I'm referring to him being insulted.


----------



## GuitarsCanada (Dec 30, 2005)

hardasmum said:


> That was in response to a cliched argument about calling a telemarketer / business owner at home. Originated on Seinfeld I think, so it's not a "valid complaint".
> 
> You don't make complaints Mike, you just attack other posters.
> 
> ...


Actually I give them credit for signing up here and at least trying to explain. I have never seen that anywhere, ever. It's not the first time Long and McQuade had posted here in response to something either. In fact I can remember a few times in the past. I also understand some peoples concern/displeasure with getting any kind of solicitation via the phone. But again, I give them credit for caring enough to have someone spend about 6 hours or more on here yesterday trying to make things right. I don't even shop there, none in my area.


----------



## Rick31797 (Apr 20, 2007)

> Actually I give them credit for signing up here and at least trying to explain. I have never seen that anywhere, ever. It's not the first time Long and McQuade had posted here in response to something either. In fact I can remember a few times in the past. I also understand some peoples concern/displeasure with getting any kind of solicitation via the phone. But again, I give them credit for caring enough to have someone spend about 6 hours or more on here yesterday trying to make things right. I don't even shop there, none in my area.



I agree he is a good guy, just trying to please everybody.

Now i challenge all the telemarketers around the world to come here and pay there dues.


----------



## bw66 (Dec 17, 2009)

ronmac said:


> Anyone else appreciate the irony of a bunch of wankers hanging out on a guitar forum complaining about having their time wasted?


Not until now. Thanks!


----------



## Midlife_Crisis (Jan 1, 2011)

Originally Posted by ronmac Anyone else appreciate the irony of a bunch of wankers hanging out on a guitar forum complaining about having their time wasted?  Not until now. Thanks!

What they said....


----------



## zurn (Oct 21, 2009)

This probably sums it up for a lot of people here  I have'nt received the call yet, maybe they don't call us Quebec'ers ? I normally don't anwser if I don't know the number on the callerid, so it doesn't bother me that much. 

[video=youtube;jpm-leztWco]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpm-leztWco[/video]


Sent from my ASUS Transformer Pad TF300T using Tapatalk HD


----------



## Option1 (May 26, 2012)

Is there popcorn available at the concession stand for this movie?

I'll admit to being confused at the moment as to who's wearing the black hats. 

Neil


----------



## 10409 (Dec 11, 2011)

Actually hardasmum I'm attacking nobody, yet finding humour in everybody. if you can't appreciate my tongue in cheek replies (which you obviously can't since this thread seems to have upset you more than anyone else) then maybe you're not cut out to be the devils advocate you wish you were? You need to grow thicker skin, you seem to get upset on here all the time.

Why do i find humour in this? lets do a recap shall we?

1) Some of the comments in here were legitimately funny. Ronmac hit the nail on the head. it shouldn't be a big deal to anyone to answer the phone and hang up. It's automated. You're not hurting a real humans feelings. you're not obligated to let them stop talking before you say you're not interested. The idea of a bunch of stereotypical forum dwellers getting so upset that they finally have something to talk about is great. (whether any of us are actually the kind of "shower once a week and only get dressed to take out the garbage" internet user stereotype or not is beside the point) The real point is that many of us are disappointed with their choice of business ethics. Especially because....

2) Long & Mcquade is soliciting people via a legal loophole, and they've tried to publicly justify (and yes, offer a backhanded apology for) it. They make it sound like it's our responsibility to opt out of solicitation calls. (that's the funny part, we need to wait for a solicitation call to opt out of solicitation calls) it begs the question of whether or not there was an option when writing down your phone number (for warranty purposes, wink wink) to opt out of being notified of future deals. Did they inform the people handing over their information in confidence that they would be subject to telemarketing as a direct result of their patronage? Was anyone given the option to nip the problem in the bud?

3) Instead of making a new thread to address the general population all at once he's given himself a hand cramp by personally replying to everybody with a keyboard saying "durr, i don't like phone calls" Sorry but i remember lamb-chops-play-along and i know damn well what happens when someone starts singing the song that never ends. it's like watching a house fly do circles around the living room. eventually you'll either chuckle at the vicious circle and pity the fly for even bothering to exist or you'll get dizzy and fall over.

So just take a deep breath and relax. wasn't that the advice you gave everybody? You can take off your superhero-cape. i'm sure it needs to be washed by now.


----------



## GuitarsCanada (Dec 30, 2005)

mike_oxbig said:


> 2) Long & Mcquade is soliciting people via a legal loophole, and they've tried to publicly justify (and yes, offer a backhanded apology for) it. They make it sound like it's our responsibility to opt out of solicitation calls. (that's the funny part, we need to wait for a solicitation call to opt out of solicitation calls) it begs the question of whether or not there was an option when writing down your phone number (for warranty purposes, wink wink) to opt out of being notified of future deals. Did they inform the people handing over their information in confidence that they would be subject to telemarketing as a direct result of their patronage? Was anyone given the option to nip the problem in the bud?
> 
> .


There is some legitimacy to this with respect to how information is used. I have over 10,000 emails addresses from you guys. I send out an email maybe once every few months, I normally set it so it goes only to users that have not logged on in like 3 months or so. I have only ever sent them to active users maybe 4-5 times in 7 years. I figure they are on here all the time, they know whats going on. Of course there is opt out features on all emails as well as opt out controls in everybody's profile settings. I believe its also right there on the form you fill out to become a member. 

But it would be easy for me to abuse that email list. I have been offered many many times money for that list. I have been offered tons of other "make money" schemes involving that list. Got another one this morning actually. It's not for sale and never will be, at least not while I am running it. I would also never abuse the email system. Typically the emails are items that are for sale or some upcoming event etc. I normally receive about 5 or so take me off the list emails each time I send one. They are normally always from some that signed up 4 years ago and never made a single post and left. Which always amazes me as to why they signed up in the first place.


----------



## hardasmum (Apr 23, 2008)

mike_oxbig said:


> Actually hardasmum I'm attacking nobody, yet finding humour in everybody. if you can't appreciate my tongue in cheek replies (which you obviously can't since this thread seems to have upset you more than anyone else) then maybe you're not cut out to be the devils advocate you wish you were? You need to grow thicker skin, you seem to get upset on here all the time.
> 
> Why do i find humour in this? lets do a recap shall we?
> 
> ...


This is the most coherent post you've made in this thread. It's not at all cryptic.

I have no desire to play the Devil's advocate. His reality checker maybe or spade identifier. 

Finally for your information I don't wear a cape in this weather.


----------



## Guest (Feb 13, 2013)

LongMcQuade said:


> This will be my last post in this thread. To you, and to everyone else who was annoyed by our phone call alerting you of our sale, we apologize.


Hey! Thank you. That was really nice. I do appreciate you taking the time to join the forum and wade in to the muck. Tough to do. So: thank you.



> My personal email address is listed several times in this thread, and I encourage anyone who felt that this was an intrusive form of advertising to email me at [email protected], so that we can take note of your complaint, and so we can ensure that you will no longer receive our once-a-year phone call promoting our sale.


It's great to hear it's a once-a-year thing. That's a perfectly reasonable rate of contact via phone for me.


----------



## 10409 (Dec 11, 2011)

GuitarsCanada said:


> There is some legitimacy to this with respect to how information is used.........


I can understand and respect that. It's good business ethics. The one and only email i think i've received from GC (aside from notifying me of private messages) was informing me about a contest. Not trying to sell me something, trying to give me something. Also emails are far less invasive than phone calls.

A lot of time and money was spent on creating the national do not call list. once this loophole becomes commonly used more money will have to be spent on legislative bullshit to amend the law. I blame the politicians that wrote the fine print, but i'm also fully justified in looking down on companies that exploit the flaw.




hardasmum said:


> This is the most coherent post you've made in this thread. It's not at all cryptic.


Very seldom do i enjoy getting deep into debates that don't interest me. I much prefer to toss in my 2 cents and move on.


----------



## dradlin (Feb 27, 2010)

hardasmum said:


> That was in response to a cliched argument about calling a telemarketer / business owner at home. Originated on Seinfeld I think, so it's not a "valid complaint".


That is fallacy if ever I heard one. The reason it is a cliche is because it is entirely true and valid!


----------



## plasticfishman (Dec 14, 2011)

Didn't get a call, email, or flyer and I just got a new guitar there and gave them all this information last week! Hmm... well definitely some things I want from the online flyer on their site I saw, so thanks to you guys for bringing this sale to my attention


----------



## hardasmum (Apr 23, 2008)

mike_oxbig said:


> Very seldom do i enjoy getting deep into debates that don't interest me. I much prefer to toss in my 2 cents and move on.


This is probably a strategy I should adopt in the future.


----------



## hardasmum (Apr 23, 2008)

dradlin said:


> hardasmum said:
> 
> 
> > That was in response to a cliched argument about calling a telemarketer / business owner at home. Originated on Seinfeld I think, so it's not a "valid complaint".
> ...


How did you handle door to door salesman pitching Hoovers?


----------



## Woof (Jan 13, 2010)

Having recently made a few purchases, my budget is pretty much shot but I will none-the-less check L&M just in case 

I received an email and a automated message. While I do not appreciate telemarketers calling on a regular basis, in this case I would have felt bad not being aware.

For something I want to know about over informed is better than not informed...

And I didn't request my info be deleted from the list, let me know again next year for I will surely forget by then - lol


----------



## Steadfastly (Nov 14, 2008)

LongMcQuade said:


> I originally thought that we used the automated phone call twice a year, but I just found out that this is the _one and only time of the year _that we bust out the auto dialer. So there are not "many" calls that we make, but I understand that it can be irritating when you get one call from us mixed in with the several you might get from other businesses.
> 
> So for the three days that it takes for our phone system to call our customers across the country, the people who hated the call will make their voices heard. Come Friday morning though when the sale starts, the people who loved the call and thus managed to scoop a brand new Les Paul Standard for $600 off and then financed it interest free, I hope they speak up equally as loud.


That's no deal at $2000.00. I can buy one with no haggling for $1950.00.


----------



## Chito (Feb 17, 2006)

I don't understand the big deal about it. One phone call and that is what I got. They're not even trying to sell you anything, just letting you know there is a sale this weekend. And they're decent enough to come over here and explain things.


----------



## mario (Feb 18, 2006)

Agreed. I can think of a lot more s****er robocalls. Or worse...people coming to my front door trying to sell me things or convert me. Kudos to L&M for stepping in to this thread and trying to make things right.


Chito said:


> I don't understand the big deal about it. One phone call and that is what I got. They're not even trying to sell you anything, just letting you know there is a sale this weekend. And they're decent enough to come over here and explain things.


----------



## dmc69 (Jan 20, 2011)

Chito said:


> I don't understand the big deal about it. One phone call and that is what I got. They're not even trying to sell you anything, just letting you know there is a sale this weekend. And they're decent enough to come over here and explain things.


And the guy's doing it on his free time too. I've been personally looking forward to this sale, as I snagged some really good unadvertised items last year (Traynor YCV80 for around $200?). I appreciated the call, as I didn't know when it was.
People, ease up. 1 phone call from a store you shop at, that sell _things you like and have interest in_ (don't you tell me GC forum members are not interested in guitars), isn't going to kill you. They're not asking you to buy, they're letting you know when a sale is going on. They even allow you to opt out of notifiers. I wouldn't even put them in the same category as those stupid air duct cleaning guys who persistently pester you when you have no interest at all in their service.


----------



## sulphur (Jun 2, 2011)

You want intrusive calls? 
Donate to a political party on the phone and just sit back and wait for the incessant calls to follow.

It seems to me that some people are blaming L&M for all the soliciting phone calls that they've recieved.
One or two calls a year is not a problem in my books. Same guys would probably bitch if they were unaware of the sale.

On the other hand, I think that an email would suffice. NO flyers is a good idea, imo.


----------



## GuitarsCanada (Dec 30, 2005)

sulphur said:


> You want intrusive calls?
> Donate to a political party on the phone and just sit back and wait for the incessant calls to follow.
> 
> .


Oh man, I made that mistake once. They were calling me like every week


----------



## TA462 (Oct 30, 2012)

I kind of feel left out, I didn't get a call. I've dropped around 3 grand in the Oshawa store over the last couple of months to boot. I just looked over the flyer and see they got Les Paul Studios and Standards on sale!!!! I've been wanting to get one for awhile now. Guess who might be getting a new guitar on Friday?????:banana:


----------



## Fiveway (Mar 21, 2010)

Ah, the internet. It's nice to see my half-drunken misanthropy can spawn a ten page shitstorm.

But seriously. I appreciate L&M joining the conversation and I'm glad they chimed in. I will be emailing that guy imminently to remove myself from the list.

I still feel pretty strongly that telemarketing is the retarded step-child of marketing practices. When the government has to step in to provide a means for the general public to be protected from it, you have to figure it's a questionable tactic.


----------

