# NGD Yamaha A3R, Cosmo sucked



## RobC (Dec 21, 2014)

Wow! Loving this guitar... Put a Tusq saddle on, shaved it to where I like things, adjusted the relief a tiny bit and plugged her in my Roland AC60 and wow!, what a sound. Paid $899 for this Chinese guitar, it feels and sounds like $2000. 

As for the buying experience, well that's another story. It was my first and last purchase from Cosmo. I drove 5 hours to get there, the financing deal he'd offered me was no longer valid after 5pm, although they close at 6 pm. They forgot to include warranty info, manual, hex key, you know the usual, the salesman apparently threw in a pack of strings which they charged me for at the register, they forgot to charge me for the case, I was stopped by security at the door. I went back in to pay for the case and was stopped a second time for thumb picks which were paid for, total douches. No wonder they have stock when everyone else is sold out.


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## Pewtershmit (Jun 13, 2014)

The warranty card hex key and manual are most likely in the case that was supposed to come with your guitar for free. I know for a fact they come with a case. As far as the financing deal that ended at 5, well that is odd... More details?

Those are great guitars, but your buying experience would have been enough for me to walk away for sure.


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## Adcandour (Apr 21, 2013)

RobC said:


> Wow! Loving this guitar... Put a Tusq saddle on, shaved it to where I like things, adjusted the relief a tiny bit and plugged her in my Roland AC60 and wow!, what a sound. Paid $899 for this Chinese guitar, it feels and sounds like $2000.
> 
> As for the buying experience, well that's another story. It was my first and last purchase from Cosmo. I drove 5 hours to get there, the financing deal he'd offered me was no longer valid after 5pm, although they close at 6 pm. They forgot to include warranty info, manual, hex key, you know the usual, the salesman apparently threw in a pack of strings which they charged me for at the register, they forgot to charge me for the case, I was stopped by security at the door. I went back in to pay for the case and was stopped a second time for thumb picks which were paid for, total douches. No wonder they have stock when everyone else is sold out.


Welcome to the forum.

That financing things sounds odd. There's got to be more to the story.

The guy who manages the guitar area (looks like tolkien's version of Jack Black) can be a bit of an unwelcoming ass, but the rest of the guys are great.

It sounds like you were victim of a series of simple mistakes and likely one miscommunication.

I'd view walking away on the deal as a tantrum. _I _wouldn't suggest it.


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## JHarasym (Mar 27, 2007)

Just a guess, but I believe financing is often handled by a third party who may want to grant approval prior to purchase, and had "normal" business hours.


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## Adcandour (Apr 21, 2013)

JHarasym said:


> Just a guess, but I believe financing is often handled by a third party who may want to grant approval prior to purchase, and had "normal" business hours.


That makes total sense.


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## Diablo (Dec 20, 2007)

JHarasym said:


> Just a guess, but I believe financing is often handled by a third party who may want to grant approval prior to purchase, and had "normal" business hours.


good point.
Some of the other stuff is unfortunate, but sometimes service isn't the best when the stores trying to close up and everyone wants to clock out on time after a busy holiday shopping day.


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## Jim DaddyO (Mar 20, 2009)

Congrats on the new guitar! If it were me, I would have walked out on the deal somewhere in there. I think their BS would have exceeded the limitations of my medications.

Originally from Sudbury, I have to ask..is Jett Laundry still going? and what about Angelo over at Octave music? I bought a few things from Prom music in my time, but I think that is long gone.


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## bw66 (Dec 17, 2009)

Among the big-box music stores, Cosmo is my "go-to" store. But it's always possible to have a bad experience - especially this time of year when stores bring in their "second-string" employees to cover the busy times.


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## RobC (Dec 21, 2014)

Actually Prom bought the old Club Alouette and are doing just fine. I would have bought it there if they'd had stock. I'll deal with a family owned business outside of Toronto anytime. I just wanted this particular axe, my 814 is out for repairs, I missed playing and this joint was the closest one to me with that model. These people clearly don't give a rat's ass about returning customers, for now. Times are about to change if you have any sense for what's coming up.


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## RobC (Dec 21, 2014)

bw66 said:


> Among the big-box music stores, Cosmo is my "go-to" store. But it's always possible to have a bad experience - especially this time of year when stores bring in their "second-string" employees to cover the busy times.


Well, I'm not affiliated with them in any way, I had a horrid experience dealing with you're "go-to" store and I'm probably going to tell ten people about it.


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## RobC (Dec 21, 2014)

Another interesting point ...no case candy. I called the store and inquired about the whereabouts of the guitars hex key and registration info. They informed me that their policy was to keep the hex key because they did all the adjustments themselves and warranty was their responsibility as well. After I explained to him that everything that came in that guitar box was mine and paid for, the manager graciously offered to put it all in an enveloppe and expidite it to me ASAP. Hmmmm....I' ve bought a lot of guitars in the past thirty years and even a $280 Ibanez Roadstar comes with case candy, c'mon.


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## dradlin (Feb 27, 2010)

RobC said:


> Well, I'm not affiliated with them in any way, I had a horrid experience dealing with you're "go-to" store and I'm probably going to tell ten people about it.


... so you sign up here and your first post is to bitch about a music store? Nice...


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## Scotty (Jan 30, 2013)

dradlin said:


> ... so you sign up here and your first post is to bitch about a music store?


If retailers or service providers give lousy service or rip people off, I sure want to know about it so I don't get hosed also...


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## dradlin (Feb 27, 2010)

Scotty said:


> If retailers or service providers give lousy service or rip people off, I sure want to know about it so I don't get hosed also...


Doesn't sound like anyone was ripped off or hosed... he may not be happy with the deal that he got, but sounds like he left with everything he bargained for. Somebody got a different or perhaps better deal somewhere else, but that happens every day with all sorts of purchases and is not grounds to smear the retailer. Everyone of us has screwed up at work from time to time, so consider that and cut some slack.


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## GUInessTARS (Dec 28, 2007)

I don't think slack needs to be cut in this business market for poor service.


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## dradlin (Feb 27, 2010)

GUInessTARS said:


> I don't think slack needs to be cut in this business market for poor service.


So you've never made a mistake?


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## Option1 (May 26, 2012)

We hear plenty about the good deals and service from various music stores. I also want to hear when the opposite occurs and see absolutely zero problem if that is someone's first post. 

Welcome to the best guitar forum on the net, Rob. 

Neil


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## Scotty (Jan 30, 2013)

dradlin said:


> So you've never made a mistake?


Do you work for cosmo?

Yes people make mistakes, but it's high time that retailers bring BACK old fashioned service and run a tight ship. If a business owner treats people like shit or makes dumb mistakes (continually), they deserve to lose profit or their business. I've walked out of places with shitty service with remarks such as "I guess my money isn't good enough here" or "Sorry, I'll spend my money where its appreciated or "Happy bankruptcy sale". 

No, I don't expect red carpet or ass kissing service, but I do expect a polite or friendly greeting, and respectful service...not to mention knowledge and accuracy. As someone who has spent the majority of my career in some aspect of sales, I know that this basic concept goes _*miles*_ and will compensate for pricing differences (to some degree). Retailers _should be_ concerned with poor referrals. Repeat business is EVERYTHING, or you spend all your time searching for new customers..._bad idea

_There'sa saying I like; _*Shop in the stores you want to keep. *_Let the duds fade away on their own


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## dradlin (Feb 27, 2010)

Scotty said:


> Do you work for cosmo?
> 
> Yes people make mistakes, but it's high time that retailers bring BACK old fashioned service and run a tight ship. If a business owner treats people like shit or makes dumb mistakes (continually), they deserve to lose profit or their business. I've walked out of places with shitty service with remarks such as "I guess my money isn't good enough here" or "Sorry, I'll spend my money where its appreciated or "Happy bankruptcy sale".
> 
> ...


No I don't work for Cosmos, or any other retailer.

You expect too much. Retailers are staffed with people, and people aren't perfect. Are you all perfect, and your wives, sons, and daughters? Or are you and them deserving of a break once in a while? Ever been given a break when you didn't deserve one? 

What is absent these days is old fashioned GRACE, not old fashioned customer service.

People are so tightly wound these days that the slightest blip in customer service and they fly off the rails.


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## Morkolo (Dec 9, 2010)

Scotty said:


> Do you work for cosmo?
> 
> Yes people make mistakes, but it's high time that retailers bring BACK old fashioned service and run a tight ship. If a business owner treats people like shit or makes dumb mistakes (continually), they deserve to lose profit or their business. I've walked out of places with shitty service with remarks such as "I guess my money isn't good enough here" or "Sorry, I'll spend my money where its appreciated or "Happy bankruptcy sale".
> 
> ...


I have to agree, there's no point in making excuses for bad service. And it doesn't have to be just on big ticket items, if a store falls flat on their face the customer doesn't forget. I bought a guitar case on Dec 23rd 2013, it didn't fit so I brought it back and they said they would order one to fit... it's Dec 27 2014 now and guess what I still don't have a case/credit/refund/whatever. The point of this is the music store is a Gibson dealer and I was looking for and bought a Gibson J45, but I didn't give them a second look because of the poor service I received. 

As for the OP, I would have walked out. If I've learned anything it's that if they're hard to deal with during the sale they're not going to get any better when you go back looking for service.


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## dradlin (Feb 27, 2010)

Morkolo said:


> I have to agree, there's no point in making excuses for bad service. And it doesn't have to be just on big ticket items, if a store falls flat on their face the customer doesn't forget. I bought a guitar case on Dec 23rd 2013, it didn't fit so I brought it back and they said they would order one to fit... it's Dec 27 2014 now and guess what I still don't have a case/credit/refund/whatever. The point of this is the music store is a Gibson dealer and I was looking for and bought a Gibson J45, but I didn't give them a second look because of the poor service I received.
> 
> As for the OP, I would have walked out. If I've learned anything it's that if they're hard to deal with during the sale they're not going to get any better when you go back looking for service.


I'm not making excuses for bad service, I'm still trying to figure out what happened that was so bad?


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## Steadfastly (Nov 14, 2008)

RobC said:


> Another interesting point ...no case candy. I called the store and inquired about the whereabouts of the guitars hex key and registration info. They informed me that their policy was to keep the hex key because they did all the adjustments themselves and warranty was their responsibility as well.


So that was the only hex key of that size they had in the whole store. What a bunch of hogwash.


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## Adcandour (Apr 21, 2013)

RobC said:


> It was my first and last purchase from Cosmo. I drove 5 hours to get there *(irrelevant)*, the financing deal he'd offered me was no longer valid after 5pm, although they close at 6 pm *Explained already.* They *forgot* to include warranty info, manual, hex key, you know the usual, *(one mistake*) the salesman apparently threw in a pack of strings which *they* charged me for at the register (*simple miscommunication or rep was sidetracked*), they forgot to charge me for the case, I was stopped by security at the door *(boo hoo - happens at home depot every day)*. I went back in to pay for the case and was stopped a second time for thumb picks which were paid for, total douches. No wonder they have stock when everyone else is sold out.


I'm thinking you need to lighten up. All were mistakes. It doesn;t sound like you were treated rudely - which is the most important thing to me.

I bought a $2500 tele there that wasn't inspected properly and it had a couple of factory chips in it. I was inspecting it for playability and feel - I would have never thought to check for paint chips. They offered to give me some money back or get me a new one. Shit happens.

I'm glad that happened to me and not you - I'm not sure you would have survived.


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## mario (Feb 18, 2006)

...........................


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## Scotty (Jan 30, 2013)

dradlin said:


> No I don't work for Cosmos, or any other retailer.
> 
> You expect too much. Retailers are staffed with people, and people aren't perfect. Are you all perfect, and your wives, sons, and daughters? Or are you and them deserving of a break once in a while? Ever been given a break when you didn't deserve one?
> 
> ...


I do agree with you about there being a lack of grace, however I don't see how you figure I expect too much. I expect nothing less than the basics of good salesmanship. It's not up to me to keep the retailer business, that's their job. If they want the sale, they need more than to hang an item on the wall and call it sales. That's just a failure waiting to happen. I always go the extra mile and if I make a mistake I go two extra miles to make up for it. My wife was in retail for over 20 years and both my kids are in retail. We taught them well and they are the very top employees in each of their companies. in the last few decades there is been a real shift in retailer attitude, Perhaps it is in correlation with the sheer amount of fast food restaurants and drive-through's dragging everybody's expectations down. 

What these people do not realize is that if they actively engaged with the customer in a positive manner, they would enjoy their day more and to top it off, can make an unpleasant customer into a happy one, or at least one who is civil to deal with.

If you get exceptional customer service somewhere, tell them so. 
Likewise if you get shitty service, do something about it or walk away and buy elsewhere.


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## dradlin (Feb 27, 2010)

Scotty said:


> I do agree with you about there being a lack of grace, however I don't see how you figure I expect too much. I expect nothing less than the basics of good salesmanship. It's not up to me to keep the retailer business, that's their job. If they want the sale, they need more than to hang an item on the wall and call it sales. That's just a failure waiting to happen. I always go the extra mile and if I make a mistake I go two extra miles to make up for it. My wife was in retail for over 20 years and both my kids are in retail. We taught them well and they are the very top employees in each of their companies. in the last few decades there is been a real shift in retailer attitude, Perhaps it is in correlation with the sheer amount of fast food restaurants and drive-through's dragging everybody's expectations down.
> 
> What these people do not realize is that if they actively engaged with the customer in a positive manner, they would enjoy their day more and to top it off, can make an unpleasant customer into a happy one, or at least one who is civil to deal with.
> 
> ...


There is no evidence that the OP was improperly served or treated disrespectfully... certainly not enough to justify flaming Cosmo. Seems to be that he got all that he bargained for, and Cosmo willfully offered to ship a truss rod wrench and hang tags despite inclusion of those items not being there usual practice.


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## rosborn (Dec 27, 2014)

Well, there is one thing that is for sure...in today's day and age, with the internet, a retailer better make sure that they provide outstanding customer service or it will be broadcast to forums like this where potential customers are reading the complaints.

Personally, I would be more forgiving. Then again, I wouldn't drive *5 hours*, one way, to purchase a guitar. I suppose after driving that distance I would be a little torqued too when things didn't go as discussed on the phone. I would have found a retailer closer to home and purchased something in stock at the local retailer, especially since the new purchase was just a filler guitar until I got my original guitar back from being repaired. But, that's just me.


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## Diablo (Dec 20, 2007)

RobC said:


> Another interesting point ...no case candy. I called the store and inquired about the whereabouts of the guitars hex key and registration info. They informed me that their policy was to keep the hex key because they did all the adjustments themselves and warranty was their responsibility as well. After I explained to him that everything that came in that guitar box was mine and paid for, the manager graciously offered to put it all in an enveloppe and expidite it to me ASAP. Hmmmm....I' ve bought a lot of guitars in the past thirty years and even a $280 Ibanez Roadstar comes with case candy, c'mon.


That part is really weird, and unacceptable. hope you got it in writing that they will send you the stuff later. My hunch is it will be forgotten.
ive always had a good shopping experience at cosmo, but I will watch for the things mentioned, moving forward.


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## jimmythegeek (Apr 17, 2012)

I agree that the actual service doesn't sound that bad but the circumstances sou d enraging. That's a long drive into the perfect storm of mistakes. That has to have something to do with the OP's frustration (welcome by the way!). Perhaps another source of frustration could be to do with tone when speaking to sales people. Nothing they said sounds terribly offensive as I read it but hearing how it was said could make all the difference. Likely a case of boxing week stress but ultimately unfortunate.

Concerning sales at big box music stores in general I think this is an interesting and difficult time for customers and retailers alike. As shopping seems to move online and we have almost limitless options it's very easy to buy a guitar/pedal/whatever at an almost too good to be true price while sitting in your pyjamas and sipping a beer. They same can be said (perhaps with less pyjamas and beer depending on your employer) for selling these items. I think what happens a lot now is we have people (myself included) walking into brick and mortar stores (be they big boxes or independents) expecting the moon for minimal human interaction/hassle dealing with employees with similar expectations on the selling side of things. None of this is to say that on line shopping is evil, mom and pops are superior to big boxes ( or vice versa), customers are a pain in the ass, retailers are dicks etc. I guess it's more of a call for all of us to remember why we buy or sell this stuff in the first place. We're part of a community that loves music. I think if we remember that then we'll all bee inclined to treat one another better.


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## RobC (Dec 21, 2014)

adcandour said:


> I'm thinking you need to lighten up. All were mistakes. It doesn;t sound like you were treated rudely - which is the most important thing to me.
> 
> I bought a $2500 tele there that wasn't inspected properly and it had a couple of factory chips in it. I was inspecting it for playability and feel - I would have never thought to check for paint chips. They offered to give me some money back or get me a new one. Shit happens.
> 
> I'm glad that happened to me and not you - I'm not sure you would have survived.



Shit happens to victims my friend because victims let the other monkeys defecate on them. I drove all afternoon, got refused financing when five hours prior over the phone there would be no problem. Then, they improperly ring in my $1K purchase and I get hauled back into the mall like a petty thief, no less, in front of a crowd. And then I drive for another five hours back home. The guitar is super. Go ahead and try the Yamaha A series, amazing! Buy it from a retailer who can give you consistent service regardless of what time of the day it might be and has enough wherewithal to not humiliate you after you've dropped a grand in their establishment. People of your stripes "adcandour" grow wool and need bi-annual shavings.


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## Adcandour (Apr 21, 2013)

Gas = $100
Time = $200

Driving 10 hours for a "particular axe" that can be delivered and getting your shoulders s*** on = priceless.

Who's the primate?


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## dradlin (Feb 27, 2010)

What I find interesting about the OP's tale, is that he tried getting out the door without paying for the case. I suppose his claim was that he didn't realize that he wasn't charged for the case.

In my experience, people are acutely aware and vocal when they are overcharged, but suspiciously quiet and claim ignorance when they are undercharged. 

If the OP was as friendly to the cashier at checkout as he expected to be treated, then he would have paid for the case the first time and been out the door the first time without any hassle. Then he'd simply be home enjoying his guitar.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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