[Harp-L] My Recent Experience with Bushman (long)

["Randy G." <frcn@xxxxxxxxxx>]

My Recent and Last Dealing With Bushman Music Works

9/19/08 - placed an online order (I believe my 
third of fourth order with them) for harps and 
reed plates (this order totaled about $130)

10/7/08 - called to add to order - one additional 
reed plate $10.80. Order had not yet been sent out, so this was an easy add.

11/19/08 - Called to find out when order would 
ship. Told shipment arrives there +/- 11/21/08 
and so my order would ship out shortly.

12/3/08 - Called again to find out about order. 
Got berated for calling so much. Told I was a 
"squeaky wheel" kind of person who thinks that if 
I keep calling my order would get shipped sooner. 
Told that they would just cancel order and send 
me my money back. I said I just wanted what I had 
ordered in September and wondered where it was. 
Told truck arrives 12/5/08. I should have my 
order by 12/13/08. I gave him my E-Mail address 
(which he stated was not in his records), he read 
it back to me at my request, and I requested that 
he send me an E-Mail to assure me that it works. No E-Mail ever arrived.

12/29/08 - Still no order. I was done with all 
this and wanted my money back. I E-mailed for a 
refund, then called on the phone later that 
afternoon and talked directly to John and 
canceled both orders and asked for a full refund. 
Amount and address was verified and I hung up.

12/29/08 (later that same afternoon)- John Hall 
called me three times and gave me a detailed 
reason why my order never shipped. Said order was 
held up in shipping department because two of the 
harps I ordered are out of stock and they have 
trouble getting them. Promised refund and to send 
my long-delayed order to me at no charge to 
apologize and as a good will gesture. I had him 
verify my E-Mail address and asked for him to 
send me an E-Mail to assure that it works. No 
E-Mail ever arrived. Stated that he didn't want 
to lose me as a customer. At this point I figured 
things can happen, and was satisfied with the 
explanation, although still not pleased with the way I was treated on 12/3.

1/09/09 - No refund has been issued and no goods 
have been delivered. I contacted my credit card 
company and filed a dispute for a full refund of both charges.

1/13/09 - As of today no refund and no order. No 
contact at all from Bushman since the phone calls 
on the day I canceled the order (12/29/08). I 
posted another reply on alt.music.harmonica 
talking about how poorly this has been handled 
and how undependable Bushman has been to me as a 
business, etc. I also stated that I would only 
communicate with them in writing from this point forward.

1/14/09 - (the day after I posted on 
alt.music.harmonica) I receive an E-mail from 
Bushman stating, once again, that parts are in 
the mail and refund to my credit card has been 
issued. The first E-Mail message I have received 
concerning this refund/unsent order situation.

1/16/09 - The refund from Bushman for $132.95 now 
appears on my credit card statement, but they 
failed to credit me for the additional $10.50 
from the second order I placed as they had agreed to do.

1/19/09 - An E-mail from Bushman I received today 
now states that the reason the refund was slow to 
post was due to how old the charge was, and it 
also states, "I also arranged a very nice 
selection of products, and one super nice 
surprise that you don't even know about, to ship 
out to you today (I actually pulled it and 
arranged for it to go out last week while I was 
in Anaheim for the NAMM show, but my people 
didn't ship it as I asked them to, so it is going 
out today)." [This is three weeks from the day he 
stated that the refund would be issued and the package would be mailed.]

1/22/09 - Phone call from Bushman this AM; I 
checked the caller ID, saw it was Bushman, and so 
I did not answer. E-mail with tracking number 
arrives a little while later. According to 
tracking info, parcel shipped 1/19/09 and will arrive here tomorrow, 1/23/09.

1/23/09 - Parcel arrives. The contents were:

1 - Reed plate/comb assembly - new - key of C
1 - Reed plate/comb assembly - new - key of Bb
1 - Delta Frost harmonica - USED - key of A
1 - Lee Oscar Harmonica - USED - key a Dm
1 - Lee Oscar Harmonica - USED - key of Em
1 - heavy leather snap case for 6 harmonicas

Not included were the three "A" reedplate sets I 
had ordered which were what I really needed 
because of the repeated failure of the 5-draw 
reed on these harps. Since they are the 
"manufacturer" of the harps I believe that they 
can accept used harps on warranty (depending on 
their local health laws), but sending used harps to customers!?

I never wanted to take the time nor the expense 
to find a different harp. I like the DF's for 
lots of reasons­ They have a good sound, are well 
tuned and set up right out of the box, are 
responsive, and are relatively affordable for the 
quality they offer. On the other hand, I am 
playing with a group now and depend on my harps 
and need their supply to be equally dependable. 
Unfortunately, it seems that the decision to 
change harps has been made for me by Bushman. 
Sad, really. Great harp, but based on my recent 
experience in dealing with them, not a great business.

I have 10+ pages of detailed, chronological 
documentation covering this entire situation. I 
originally did not want to just post a "don't do 
business with these people" message as I find 
that those just sound like one pissed off person 
trying to ruin a business. I could post the 
entire thing if it would serve any need, but I 
think this suffices for the moment. I think that 
the details I have shared here create a mass of 
evidence that anyone thinking of dealing with 
Bushman directly would be well served by reading. 
Suffice to say that after what I have been though 
my dealing with Bushman or buying any more Bushman products is at an end.

I will post another message regarding my search for a replacement harp.

              From Randy G.
      Live to Play  -  Play to Live
http://www.myspace.com/RandyGBlues
http://www.myspace.com/PhatBoyzBlue