Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:05/30/2023

  Type:Customer Service Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I have been working to get a Fender Twin Reverb 1976 amplifier fixed and had a tech friend work on it (I'm a non-tech type) and around the end of April everything was working satisfactory except for a amp tube. So I purchased a tube from Amazon for $20 but when he went to install it we found it was cracked. My friend suggested that I take it to Bill's Music House since they probably have it in stock. I t*** the entire amp there (and broken tube) on 5/1/23 to ensure I got the right one and explained situation to Ron C*** (store tech). I thought I would run in and get it installed and leave but Ron said would be at least a week until it could be serviced so I decided to leave it. I told the store tech that I was only looking for a tube (expecting it to be $20-$30 plus labor to install). I received a text on 5/3 that the amp was ready and that balance of $484.27 was due. I called the store and spoke with the owner and told him the story and he offered to pay for half the parts. I was also told that many things didn't work on the amp which contradicts my friend's fixes. My friend has a video showing that everything worked which I can produce and I was told by store tech that if they reinstalled the old parts, it may not work. It went from working to might not work. Owner told me that with fixes a vintage amp like this can sell for $1500-$1600. I don't have several hundred dollars for this "fix" so an easy solution is for store owner to buy it from me for $800 and resell it for profit. I will buy a new amp. Since they repaired it, it should be fine now. I'm so dissatisfied on how this all went down and think I should have been given a call with anticipated repair costs since I was expecting it to be well below $100. The business has not tried to resolve this as I have not heard from them since 5/3/23. The work order # is ******* and account # is ******.

  Business Response

  Date: 07/13/2023

  Hello Better Business Bureau,

  Mr. ******** did bring his Fender Twin Reverb Amplifier into our service center on May 1, 2023.  He dropped it off and spoke with our Service Manger Ron C*** who has been repairing instruments here at Bill's Music for over 57 years.  Mr. ******** did tell Ron that there was an issue with the tubes and to "go over" the amplifier.  It is true that you can't just "run in" to have a repair worked on.  We have hundreds of instruments in our shop and we take them in the order that they are received so it is very possible that Mr. ********'s repair could have taken at least a week.  When our technician Gib (who has been repairing electronics here at Bill's Music for over 25 years) opened up Mr. ********'s amp it had more issues than just the single tube that he had purchased off of Amazon.  Below is a description of the work that was performed on the amplifier to get it into working condition:

                                         "Installed missing V1 preamp tube. Replaced broken V2 preamp tube. Tested tubes. Replaced matched set of power tubes and bad V6 preamp tube. Cleaned all pots,                                             jacks and tube sockets. Replaced bad bias resistor for V10 power tube. Set bias. Replaced reverb cables."

  The amplifier was completed and ready for pickup 2 days after it was dropped off.  We notified Mr. ******** that his repair was completed on May 3, 2023.  The total invoice came to $484.27 which is $195.00 for Labor and $272.90 plus tax for replacement parts.  

  Mr. ******** called our store after he received  notification that his repair had been completed and was unhappy about the repair bill.  He spoke with our Store Manager Brian.  Brian explained that the amplifier had more issues than the single tube that  Mr. ******** mentioned at time of drop off.  Mr. ******** did not request an estimate to get his amp in working condition so the technician went ahead with the repairs.  Due to the repair bill total being more than expected Brian our Manager offered to discount the parts by 50% as a courtesy which would have made the new total of $339.64 which we are stilling will to do.  At that time Mr. ******** was going to talk this over with his friend but we have not heard from him since our first contact with him back in May.  We are still holding his amplifier in our shop pending his decision.

    If that offer is not satisfactory to Mr. ******** we would agree to his request to purchase his amplifier for $800.00 to resolve this issue.

    Thank you,

  Tracey K***

  Bill's Music