The Mandolin Store

[Jim P.]

I want to give many public thanks to the crew at The Mandolin Store in Arizona.

I had purchased an Eastman 604 from them which subsequently developed a warped fret board. According to a local luthier the cost of repair was cost-prohibitive compared to the worth of the intrument.

I contacted Dennis and he arranged for Eastman to replace the warped mando with one of the same style. No hassle from Eastman and the whole transaction handled by the mando store in a professional manner.

Thanks again to Dennis and his crew!!

J

[pjlama]

Yup, they're awesome. I'd recommend them 100 times out of 100.

[JEStanek]

They are a good crew, and that, my friends is an example of how the warranty work is supposed to be handled, by the shop you bought it from. No surprise that TMS handled it smoothly and easily.

Jamie

[Galileo]

+1. They are great to work with. If only all businesses handled themseleves this way. NFI, for the record.

Robert

[blindrobert]

+1 positive experience there for me too.

[Marty Henrickson]

+1 from me, as well. I got a package from them today!

[Steve Ostrander]

Good people, square dealers. Highly recommend.

[Elliot Luber]

+1 ditto.

[mandotrout777]

Same here. I bought a used mando from them a couple of weeks ago. Brian and Dennis both really went out of their way to make a new customer happy.

[Rdawsoniii]

Dennis is the best. He went above and beyond in his customer service for me. I highly recommend the Mandolin Store.

[staggarlee]

Glad to see positive stuff on here for a change!

[tburcham]

+1 +1 and some more. They are just great people that dedicate themselves to 100% customer satisfaction. Kudos to The Mandolin Store!

[Andy Fielding]

Smart businesspeople know that, in the long run, their reputation is much more important than saving a bit of effort or money here and there. Dennis and his gang not only have that kind of wisdom, they're also genuinely outgoing people with giant enthusiasm for acoustic music and musicians.

As a result, my wife now makes me leave my credit cards at home if I'm going anywhere near Arizona. :?)

[TheMandoKit]

This is starting to be repetitive, but I also had three good purchase experiences with The Mandolin Store. Good folks, good prices, good service. Pretty hard to argue with that.

[bmm5255]

I have purchased 5 mandos and a bass from them. Actually contemplating mando #6 from them as we speak. Great people, great service, great products, and great prices! You can't go wrong with Dennis, Kathy, and Brian.

Bruce

[FloridaCracker]

There are a couple very good online vendors. TMS and FM are two that are known for their customer care. Glad you got your new mandolin.

[kirkw101]

I spoke to one of them today and he said my mandolin was "pretty much junk".

nice. I was asking about pricing on webers and told him what my current mandolin was.I told him I was not a scroll guy but my current rig has one. he told me " they are more than just looks, you can put your strap through it" Nice guy.

Kirk

[The Mandolin Store]

Kirk - I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings. What I said was true that a Weber is much better than a Chinese Flatiron F2. I never said it was junk and if that somehow came across that was not my intention at all. What I said about a scroll not making an F sound any better than an A and the scroll being a good place to hang a strap, I stand by and most would agree with that. Sometimes people dont like what we tell them................I cant help that. Dennis taught me that honesty was the first rule of business. We both do our best to deliver that with every person we deal with. At the end of the day, most people I think appreciate that.
Brian

[Mike Bunting]

Interesting how one persons hyperbole can almost turn into slander.

[kirkw101]

Care to explain Mike? I don't see the exaggeration in my statment. Have I crossed a line by expressing displeasure with a sponsor? So are allowed to praise but not share a poor experience? Have I landed in Cuba????

Feelings not hurt, I'm way to crass for that. I thought it was in poor form to say what you did. But in a battle of "he said, he said" its very clear who will win that battle. I was telling you what I currently play and said " I'm not a scroll guy" yet you only recommended 2 f style mandolins, one of which was an import.
I even told you I was more of a Tim O'Brien kinda guy.

If a guy/girl calls up and is thinking about spending 2k on a mandolin I find the best way to turn them off is by calling the current mandolin "pretty much junk". If someone is going to upgrade they understand that something is missing in the current instrument. I don't see the need to make comments like that. Just plain poor form. Thats all.

Again, only my experience. Not exaggerated, fabricated or minipulated. And if a blessed line has been violated I will willingly dismiss myself from the cafe.

kirk

Kirk

[The Mandolin Store]

Kirk - I cant do anything but apologize if I came across in a negative way...........not my intention. I'm sorry you are unhappy. I never said your mandolin was junk..............I only said that the mandolins I recommended were a significant upgrade. I recommended the Special Edition and KM1000 because those are the 2 best buys we have right now in the price range you asked about........do not have any A style F holes in that price range at the moment. People call everyday asking for our opinions. We do the best we can, but this is an obvious situation that underscores the impossibilty of making 100% of the people happy, 100% of the time. I can only give 100% effort
Brian
PS - I tried to call you this evening to clear the air but did not get an answer

[kirkw101]

Apology excepted.

Past is in the past.

Kirk

[FloridaCracker]

See guys... Even when it gets argumentative on here, folks seem to be a lot more reasonable than any other forum I've come across. I sometimes have very unpopular opinions and once in a while I let them loose on the net. The kind folks here at the cafe have been intelligent and gracious in their differing of opinion from mine.
So to lighten things up a bit...
I just went to a killer Ben Prestage show - he's a local legend and always worth seeing anywhere he plays. An old-timer playin washboard was sittin with me and told me a pretty funny joke or two about mandolins.
If you old timers have heard these- please bear with me.
Whats the difference between a mandolin player and a pizza? A pizza can feed a family of four!
What do you call a mandolin player without a girlfriend? Homeless
Sorry too much lightnin whiskey tonight. Drunken post!!