Best/Worst Customer Service from a Distro/Label?

[jase]

Also, update on Asian Man. I posted a few weeks ago about how Mike Park accidentally sold me an acetate he didn't have, and sent me a regular test pressing instead, but fixed the situation like a true gentleman and refunded me a big chunk of the money, letting me keep the test pressing dirt cheap.

Well, Mike found the acetate that was misplaced and hooked me up at a fantastic price.

Mike Park is a good fucking dude. If I could buy all my records from him, I'd do so in a heartbeat.

Yep Asiaman is probably my favourite label to order from. Both mike and bob are superb. The prices are great, and usually the music is to my taste

[electromaniac]

So Third Man is the worst because your colleague gave away your package and won't replace it. Jesus what would make you happy with a label. Some of the complaints in this thread are outrageous.

No, TMR made a mistake, send my package with a wrong adress Label, because my Name was not on it and now they say: your Problem...

[dem555]

Ska Is Dead - Asbestos Records / Underground Communique

At the end of October 2012 I wrote to their info asking why I didn't get the first four 7"s of the series but they never replied.

I tried to write to Underground Communique email and I even pm'd Justin on here but he never replied.

Then I pm'd Flood, he replied he would check my order. After some days I asked for news but he didn't reply so I sent a message to the Asbestos Records Facebook page. He said "sorry for the delay, that went out a few days ago".

It was November 9 2012.

Since I didn't get nothing after one months or two I messagged Asbestos again and Flood said "maybe it got lost, I'll send another one tomorrow". After another month I got the last two 7"s but no trace of the first part of my order. This time he said I gave him a wrong address and name (my girlfriend's name and address) and then he said to wait for another package.

I wrote him other ten/twenty times and according to what he wrote my package got lost three/four times at least and in the last two months he started ignoring my messages.

Needless to say I received every other order I made from US (40-50 orders in the last year)

 

Then Flood responded me in a different thread 

I'm sorry things got messed up, but sadly you live in Italy, who's post office notoriously loses things to the point that most ebay sellers refuse to even ship there. I'm sending these out now for the 3rd time to you, and i have no way of knowing if they actually get to you or not.

 

And FINALLY THEY ARE HERE!! Shipped on 06/15 Delivered on 06/28

 

As they say, three is the magic number! 

[phil007]

Dr. Strange records :

 

Ordered some RSD stuff... Got an e-mail from them to let me know my order was cancelled.

Couples of days later, I saw that my credit card was charged so, I sent them an e-mail to let them know about this.

 

They told me:

 

Sorry for the Confusion due to the sheer number of orders placed on RSD you fell through the cracks. but because of this your order was sent out.We will be more then happy to pay for the shipping and refund you once it we recieve it in the mail. If you have any questions please give us a call.

 

So, I sent them back the record like they told me to do...

One week later, they got it back and the transaction was credited on my credit but, I got nothing for the $15.00 I paid in shipping to ship this back to them.

 

I sent them another e-mail ... They told me that they couldn't credit this on my card and offered me some store credit.

I told them I wanted my money and gave them my paypal e-mail address.

 

One week later... no news... sent them another e-mail.

They told that the owner was out of town for one week and that I will get my shipping refund when he will be back.

 

This is the last e-mail I got from them last Sunday:

 

I talked to my boss and he has decided not to issue you the shipping.We did our part of filling the order in a quick time frame. Sorry you were un happy with your purchase.

 

WTF??? You guys cancelled my order and decided to sent it to me without letting me know and I'm the one who is wrong in this story!

 

Conclusion : I will never order again from them!

[Neanderthal]

Bleep has really great customer service.

[agua]

Bought TSSF - US&D from merchconnection, description led me to believe that the vinyl would be the limited edition color but instead I received black.
e-mailed them and their response can be pretty much summed up as an "oh well"

[dantheriver]

Bought TSSF - US&D from merchconnection, description led me to believe that the vinyl would be the limited edition color but instead I received black.

e-mailed them and their response can be pretty much summed up as an "oh well"

Sucks that you didn't get the variant they pictured... But technically the black one is also limited to /1000 and is a color. So the description was still accurate. Unless it is not 180g, then you probably got a /500 first press black, which would be more limited than the pictured variant.

[Nateisgame]

So I needed to cancel a order from merchnow since I lost my job and instead of simply issuing me a refund, they sent me a payment. So PayPal charged me a fee on it. I contacted them and I got "there's nothing we can do"

[behindthescenester]

I have always had a good experience with:

 

Havoc

Lifeline

Deathwish

Midheaven

Relapse

Bridge 9

Interpunk (expensive but I always get my merch in good condition)

Fat

Kingsroad (expensive as well and a little slow but no real issues)

Southern Lord (slow and a little disorganized but they were communicative and rectified all issues) - I will probably go through their Blue Collar distro in the future.

 

I think I have been spoiled by the evolution of mail order. When I first started buying records I would stash money in an envelope, send it to an address I found in a zine and hope for the best. Now I get stuff from people like Deathwish within days of ordering.

[Metal Mike]

I'm going to throw this out here...

 

Be very wary of ordering from Soul Temple. 

 

I ordered the RZA Shaolin Soul Collection 3xLP with the Ghostface 12 Ways to Die LP, knowing they'd likely ship together at the Ghostface release date.

 

Ghostface was delayed for several weeks. No worries, I've been in this game long enough to know that shit happens.

 

Some folks got their delayed Ghostface with upgrades and bonuses. I got my Ghostface on black as ordered, but no RZA comp.

I've politely emailed them once a week since mid May with no response.

On June 3rd, I got a mass email from someone who claimed to have been hired full time to sort order issues out (Really? You fucked up that many orders to require a full time employee?) and that I was getting the email because they were aware I had an issue and that I'd soon receive a tracking number. 

Almost two months later...nothing. 

Monday, I sent them an email asking for a refund or a tracking number and that my only recourse would be to point out my experience any time I saw someone post a thread promoting one of their releases.

I know other folks had problems ordering the Man with the Iron Fists soundtrack from them, but that they eventually got what they ordered, although in some cases it took six months. 

I don't have high hopes. 

Sorry for the essay.

[jtcohenour]

I know a lot has been written on this threat about Asian Man Records but I have to throw my 2 cents in as well.  Mike and his team are fantastic.  

[ratbrain]

Graveface is awesome, as many have said. (has anyone redeemed their "Freddy points?" i keep losing mine...)

 

Burger Records rules, both online and in their physical shop. my pre-orders usually arrive well ahead of their release dates, and a couple times the dude Lee has found me copies of OOP stuff that i asked about.

 

not a distro or label but Amazon.co.uk is quality, moreso than Amazon US. they pack well, and they once told me to keep a defective record since it would cost too much to ship back. "perhaps consider donating it to charity," they said, which i thought was nice.

 

no nightmares to report, though i recently ordered from an unnamed label and found some uhhh greenery in the bottom of the package.

[sjb2k1]

oh no, i must know what label that is

 

so i can

 

avoid them.

[amnstypls]

Just want to thank Enjoy The Ride for sending me a free record!

[nofuneral]

Deathwish all day. They didnt put stickers in my order so i tweeted them as a joke and they sent me another package wiht a shitload of stickers and posters and shit for free.

[nofuneral]

Also Art Of The Underground. Ordered  3x 5 for $5 7" bundles and the package got lost in the mail twice. Alex Kerns kept in contact constantly, kept asking if my package arrived and sent me a third package, and the last one finally came. Good d00d good label.

[jtcohenour]

Also, update on Asian Man. I posted a few weeks ago about how Mike Park accidentally sold me an acetate he didn't have, and sent me a regular test pressing instead, but fixed the situation like a true gentleman and refunded me a big chunk of the money, letting me keep the test pressing dirt cheap.

 

Well, Mike found the acetate that was misplaced and hooked me up at a fantastic price. 

 

Mike Park is a good fucking dude. If I could buy all my records from him, I'd do so in a heartbeat.

 

I agree as well.  Mike is fantastic.

[jtcohenour]

Dr. Strange records :

 

Ordered some RSD stuff... Got an e-mail from them to let me know my order was cancelled.

Couples of days later, I saw that my credit card was charged so, I sent them an e-mail to let them know about this.

 

They told me:

 

Sorry for the Confusion due to the sheer number of orders placed on RSD you fell through the cracks. but because of this your order was sent out.We will be more then happy to pay for the shipping and refund you once it we recieve it in the mail. If you have any questions please give us a call.

 

So, I sent them back the record like they told me to do...

One week later, they got it back and the transaction was credited on my credit but, I got nothing for the $15.00 I paid in shipping to ship this back to them.

 

I sent them another e-mail ... They told me that they couldn't credit this on my card and offered me some store credit.

I told them I wanted my money and gave them my paypal e-mail address.

 

One week later... no news... sent them another e-mail.

They told that the owner was out of town for one week and that I will get my shipping refund when he will be back.

 

This is the last e-mail I got from them last Sunday:

 

I talked to my boss and he has decided not to issue you the shipping.We did our part of filling the order in a quick time frame. Sorry you were un happy with your purchase.

 

WTF??? You guys cancelled my order and decided to sent it to me without letting me know and I'm the one who is wrong in this story!

 

Conclusion : I will never order again from them!

 

I hate to hear this as the folks were really awesome last time I shopped at their store.

[danementzer]

I ordered a handful of albums and a slipmat from No Idea. On the way, it appears the USPS broke a bottle of pure vinegar or something and it spilled all over my records, ruining the sleeve of an Alkaline Trio record and my Hot Water Music slipmat. On the package was a note that said, "sorry we damaged your package" with no way to rectify the situation. I emailed Matt at No Idea and within a day I had an entirely new package on the way at no charge. New records, new slipmat, new shipping, all at no charge. He also said, "Next time don't order your records and tobasco sauce at th esame time", hahaha.

 

Incredible service. I have already spent about another $100 with them and would do it again in a heartbeat.

[Godflesh]

Blood Music! The best service from a label (every time, two years in already) I've ever had in 20+ years, in every respect possible, with customer-friendly prices too. Period.

 

Other labels, suck on that

[jtcohenour]

I received a shipment from No Sleep Records today, I was very impressed.  

 

The 10" EP I bought was packaged well.  Also, the label threw in a few stickers and a free 2013 Summer Sampler CD.  Now I have some new tunes for the car.

[russell]

I received a shipment from No Sleep Records today, I was very impressed.  

 

The 10" EP I bought was packaged well.  Also, the label threw in a few stickers and a free 2013 Summer Sampler CD.  Now I have some new tunes for the car.

no sleep is a great company. always throwing in free stuff, and pretty nice dudes too

[nickmollindo]

Ordered B&C's Separation from No Sleep and I chose warehouse pickup since I live in Orange County. My car broke down this week of course, but I emailed them asking them to switch to shipping to my house. They emailed me the next day and sent me an invoice for shipping. It's on its way now, and it was overall, a great experience.

[dreamwolf]

Kanine Records was awesome!

 

Ok their shipping sucked no tracking or whatever because they pay the 2.98$ media mail but dude, one record came with a promo vinyl, 2 pins and a zine. 

 

Fucking rad!

[xtobi-wanx]

Although Kingsroad is mentionend quite some times for their good service on here, and also my own orders with them have been flawlessly handled for the past years, I got this unfortunate story of poor customer service with my last order:

 

As mentioned in this thread ( http://boards.vinylcollective.com/topic/92995-kings-road-merch-bad-religion-oopowth-oop-and-others/ ) KRM recently put up some long OOP variants in limited quantities back in stock. I ended up ordering five records. The shop system gave me only two shipping options to Europe: UPS expedited and UPS Express. The latter slightly cheaper, still coming to $49.93; but that's the way it is if you order overseas.

As also pointed out in the other thread, this relisting was mostly by mistake and in fact these were just regular black pressings.
So, I contacted them, asking for the actual available variants of my order (note: I had to contact them asking about falsely listed items!).
Turns out, two records were actually not available.

Asking for the total on an order of three records, they replied shipping would still be $50.

I checked the website and started placing an order for two records. The shop offered me USPS First Class International shipping for $23. An now it starts...

 

Thursday: I asked to change my order to just two records and ship via USPS First Class International

 

Friday: no reply.

 

Monday: ok, Labor Day

 

Tuesday: Re-requested the changes to my order and asked for a confirmation. --> no reply

 

Wednesday: Again, requesting the changes to my order and a refund.

 

And Thursday Europe morning?
Received a partial refund, a shipping notification via UPS Express and the following message:
"Please note that your shipping was not decreased because you had requested UPS worldwide express. The $25 price you saw was for first class international USPS"

 

WTF??? Have I not requested three times to ship via USPS First Class International? Why in the world would I pay twice as much for shipping than the value of the records???
Still waiting for a reply, but I guess I have to bite the bitter fruit...

 

EDIT ------------ UPDATE Friday:
I actually received an email with an apology and a payment refund. Thank you KRM!!! Seriously, you're great. Will order over and over again from you :-)

Edited September 6, 2013 by xtobi-wanx