Okay, I'm less impressed now.

[dianec42]

Am getting less and less impressed with sheetmusicplus.com as a source for dead-tree songbooks. Does anyone have a more reliable source?

With each of my last two orders, the packing slip had a coupon printed on it, "Save $1.50 on your next order!" (I forgot to use the first one, as I'm a little lame sometimes.) This time I actually remembered to use one: the first coupon expired in December, but the second one says it expires on January 16, so away we go!

I also opted for the $2.99 "slow boat" shipping, because who knows when I'll actually get the band together to try this stuff anyway? It's pretty low priority. And I'm tired of shipping being like 30% of the cost of the books.

I placed the order yesterday -- got the confirmation email at 1:30.

Today I had a nagging "Hmm, that's odd" thought at the back of my head... went back and checked the total on the confirmation email. There's the songbook, there's the sales tax, there's the shipping... where's the coupon? Nowhere to be seen. The total number adds up if you assume there never was any coupon.

Now that I think about it, I don't think the total was ever updated on the web site while I was ordering. Am I the only one who finds this strange?

I clicked the link for "Click here to check the status of your order online", put in the order number and my email address... and get this cheery message: "We are not yet able to find your order status!"

Gee, I copied and pasted the order number straight out of the confirmation email. And a full business day most certainly has passed. Any other bright ideas? Didn't think so.

I have used their online comment form to complain about the above (both the coupon and the inability to find the order status) in as polite and friendly a manner as I can muster. We shall see what happens.

All of my previous issues with them have been extremely minor and could be blamed on DHL. This is getting on my nerves a tad though. Why can't people just bloody well DO WHAT THEY SAY already?!

Update: They have sent a very prompt and courteous email in reply, telling me (1) how to enter the coupon code when ordering (which is exactly WHAT I DID thankyouverymuch) and (2) that the order was "imported" into the system today, so I should be able to check the status online tomorrow. I have sent the obvious reply. Hopefully I have been so sweet that their teeth ache. I do not think I will be doing business with these bozos again.

Update 2: Have finally gotten off my lame ass and looked up the music shop that Jim told me about. Crikey, it's half a mile down the street! I'm going! (And if they have the book in question, I think I'm just going to cancel my order with sheetmusicplus...)

Update 3: Sheetmusicplus is processing my coupon as a refund to my credit card, since it didn't go through on the order, which is fair enough. I just got the confirmation email with the details. So WHY IS IT that they can charge my card instantaneously, and yet it takes TEN TO FIFTEEN BUSINESS DAYS to process a refund? How does that work?

I am so sad that there is no way I can make it to Marshall before they close tonight. I am never ordering from these idiots again.

Comments

[dieppe.livejournal.com]

Well... you could always find MIDI files and print them out.. heh.. *cough* It's difficult to make sure that the original artist gets paid that way though.

[dianec42.livejournal.com]

I've been in the software biz long enough to believe that people should get paid for their work. (I've also downloaded enough dodgy guitar tabs from the Internet to believe that you generally get what you pay for. Sometimes not even that much.)

I'm weird and old-fashioned... I like having paper books. They're refreshingly immutable; when I misplace them, I can usually find them again (unlike software copies which can disappear if I lose a hard drive or do something stupid); and most to the point, when the Official Version is STILL WRONG, I get to complain about it. (-:

I like complaining. You may have noticed.

Anyway, I can also always lock myself in a room with the CD, the PA, and my lead guitarist, and not come out 'till the chart is done. But who has time for that any more? I'd rather pay people to do that sort of thing for me.

[dieppe.livejournal.com]

I hear that.. it's the difference between actually owning a book and having just a digital copy. And when it's free, ya get what ya don't pay for is right. :)