Customer Service in Pedal Steel World

[Chris LeDrew]

Well, it looks as if only a few of us have experienced deficiencies in customer service. However, I do understand that folks are more apt to post positive experiences rather than negative instances. This thread has been viewed over 1000 times in three days.

[David Pinkston]

Fool me once... shame on you.

Well shame on me. I had a well-known steel guitar store promise when I bought a steel that I could trade up and not lose money. When time came to do that it wasn't honored. Be careful who you do business with and get all promises in writing.

I find that most in this industry are trustworthy. Duane Marrs set the bar high. Jeff Surratt and Mr. Franklin as well. I know there are many others.

I prefer to trust people until they prove otherwise. After that I vote with my dollars.. (which are fewer these days).

[Charles Davidson]

For about fifteen years have been dealing with Mr. Seymore,NEVER a problem,Have bought or traded several guitars from,some over the phone,some at his store.The first time I called him and told him I wanted to trade,he told me what he had,I told him about mine I wanted to trade,But I needed to keep mine because I was playing a lot,and could'nt send mine to him untill I got his,[he did'nt know me from Adam]He said no problem,I had the new guitar in three days.The ONLY problem was the time he WAS not running his store,got screwed big time,had to take legal action to get it resolved.Another one I would like to mention is Frencheys,he's one of the good guys also. DYK?BC.

[chris ivey]

i second the votes for frenchy and tom bradshaw.

[Norbert Dengler]

tom bradshaw is really cool.
i once ordered a volume pedal and though i never dealt with him before he shipped before my payment had arived.
he also included a nice belt buckle for free!
biggest appreciation!

[David Pinkston]

Yep Bradshaw is a hoot. When we first did business I misunderstood his sense of humor. Once I figured out he was joking most of the time...

He has been stellar though.

On that note I heard one of the new Webbs the other day and it sounded great. I got rid of my old one because I couldn't tweak it in (probably my fault) but the ported cabs sound great to me.

[Mike Perlowin]

Another vote for Tom Bradshaw, and one for Jim Palenscar.

It is exactly 389 miles from my front door to Tom's, but I've made the trip several times because he does such great work. Now that Jim has opened his shop 300 miles closer to home I use him. But both men get an A++ rating.

[Bill Stroud]

Who comes to my mind is Keith Hilton, always takes care of his customers...
Dan & Ken Rollans is another good pair...
Just too many to list.................
Your friend,
Bill

[Chris LeDrew]

You the man, Bill! BJS bars rule!!

I'm not too concerned about customer service when I'm dealing with small items like strings and stuff. But if i'm laying down $2-3,000 on a steel, I have high expectations of courtesy and fast response time on phone/email, etc. That's not pocket change to me. It's my hard-earned money, and I like to put it in places where it will be valued and appreciated.

In such a relatively small niche market, there are surprisingly a lot of places to get a steel. I've bought steels from at least 6 dealers alone, and that doesn't include the custom orders i've placed with builders. It's nice to know there's a choice out there. There are only a select few I will deal with these days. The rest are probably relieved!

[Ken Byng]

Tom Bradshaw is the straightest person that I have ever dealt with in my life. Not every dealer in the States makes it easy for those of us across the pond to buy from them. Tom is the exception and has great customer care values. He is also an honourable guy, and yes, his sense of humour is wicked.