Bushman Harp shipment....?

[Randy G.]

I ordered some (more) Delta Frost harps and reed plates (which I
really love playing) back in September. Have called a couple of times
and been told that they would be mailed in a couple of days (last time
was nearly three weeks ago). Anyone have any updated news on when the
harps will ship from Bushman? I have had no E-Mail contact from them
at all.

Randy G.
http://www.EspressoMyEspresso.com

[Harpman]

Randy G. wrote:
> I ordered some (more) Delta Frost harps and reed plates (which I
> really love playing) back in September. Have called a couple of times
> and been told that they would be mailed in a couple of days (last time
> was nearly three weeks ago). Anyone have any updated news on when the
> harps will ship from Bushman? I have had no E-Mail contact from them
> at all.
>
> Randy G.
> http://www.EspressoMyEspresso.com
>
>
Randy, I was a big advocate of Bushman Delta Frost harps and one day
,over a year ago read a terrific review of Suzuki Bluesmaster, being
almost identical in every way to the Bushmans. I ordered their
6 pack and have never been happpier. I use them for my gigs.
Considerably cheaper then the Bushmans and just as good in my opinion.
Try one and see what you think. Allen

[Randy G.]

I do not like the sound of brass reeds, at least not on the plastic
combs. I called Suzuki concerning a discrepancy between various
sources in regards to the Bluesmaster. IIRc, Suzuki told me that it
has brass reeds. If you can verify otherwise I will call them again.

I have two Seydel Blues Session harps which I do not like. The covers
are nice but they are not set up as well as the Bushman Delta Frost in
that they take more air and are slower to respond. I also have a
Suzuki Harpmaster which plays fairly well but the brass reeds sound
too "ringy" for my playing style and music.

Suzuki harpmaster = 72mm
Bushman Delta Frost = 73mm
Lee Oscar = 73mm
Suzuki 1847 Silver = 77mm
Seydel Blues Session = 78mm
Suzuki Bluesmaster = ?

If you have a good ruler handy, could you measure the distance from
the outside edge of hole 1 to the outside edge of hole 10 on the
Bluesmaster? That is, what is the total width of the working section
of the harp? I ask because I just got one Seydel 1847 Silver and it is
wider than the Bushman, and the way I play I like the narrower harp.

Thank you for the response. It is appreciated!

I am playing with a group and depend on my harps, and the questionable
supply problems with Bushman has me wanting to find a more dependable
source. I don't want to, but I may not have a choice at this point.

Randy G.
http://www.EspressoMyEspresso.com

[Harpman]

Randy G. wrote:
> I do not like the sound of brass reeds, at least not on the plastic
> combs. I called Suzuki concerning a discrepancy between various
> sources in regards to the Bluesmaster. IIRc, Suzuki told me that it
> has brass reeds. If you can verify otherwise I will call them again.
>
> I have two Seydel Blues Session harps which I do not like. The covers
> are nice but they are not set up as well as the Bushman Delta Frost in
> that they take more air and are slower to respond. I also have a
> Suzuki Harpmaster which plays fairly well but the brass reeds sound
> too "ringy" for my playing style and music.
>
> Suzuki harpmaster = 72mm
> Bushman Delta Frost = 73mm
> Lee Oscar = 73mm
> Suzuki 1847 Silver = 77mm
> Seydel Blues Session = 78mm
> Suzuki Bluesmaster = ?
>
> If you have a good ruler handy, could you measure the distance from
> the outside edge of hole 1 to the outside edge of hole 10 on the
> Bluesmaster? That is, what is the total width of the working section
> of the harp? I ask because I just got one Seydel 1847 Silver and it is
> wider than the Bushman, and the way I play I like the narrower harp.
>
> Thank you for the response. It is appreciated!
>
> I am playing with a group and depend on my harps, and the questionable
> supply problems with Bushman has me wanting to find a more dependable
> source. I don't want to, but I may not have a choice at this point.
>
> Randy G.
> http://www.EspressoMyEspresso.com
>
>
I got 2 7/8 inches from outside of hole 1 to outside of hole 10. Allen

[salmon]

Yeah 72mm or to be precise 71.59mm. Delta Frost, Harpmaster and
Bluesmaster all use the same comb.

[Jaybird]

Randy,

WTF?? You are waiting 3 months for Bushman to fill your order, and
they don't reply to e-mails. They are NOT a reliable company to deal
with. Period. (Believe me, I know this for a fact.)

Now as regards the Suzuki Bluesmaster. They are the SAME as Delta
Frost except for the covers. Made in the same factory in Shanghai
China. The Bluesmaster covers are exceptionally comfortable in the
mouth, thus making the Delta Frost inferior in my opinion. They sound
THE SAME.

Cancel your order with Bushman. I hope they did not charge your credit
card yet!

Now go get youself some Bluesmasters NOW. Try one and see for
yourself. Don't worry, the hole spacing is the SAME as Delta Frost,
but more comfortable to play, cheaper, and AVAILABLE from numerous
harmonica dealers.

I have no association with Suzuki except as a customer.

Jaybird

www.YouTube.com/Jaybird33066

[Harpman]

Jaybird wrote:
> Randy,
>
> WTF?? You are waiting 3 months for Bushman to fill your order, and
> they don't reply to e-mails. They are NOT a reliable company to deal
> with. Period. (Believe me, I know this for a fact.)
>
> Now as regards the Suzuki Bluesmaster. They are the SAME as Delta
> Frost except for the covers. Made in the same factory in Shanghai
> China. The Bluesmaster covers are exceptionally comfortable in the
> mouth, thus making the Delta Frost inferior in my opinion. They sound
> THE SAME.
>
> Cancel your order with Bushman. I hope they did not charge your credit
> card yet!
>
> Now go get youself some Bluesmasters NOW. Try one and see for
> yourself. Don't worry, the hole spacing is the SAME as Delta Frost,
> but more comfortable to play, cheaper, and AVAILABLE from numerous
> harmonica dealers.
>
> I have no association with Suzuki except as a customer.
>
> Jaybird
>
> www.YouTube.com/Jaybird33066
>
>
Whoa!!What great harp playing!!!! .Just viewed afroinspiration and your
Poor Boy Boogie clip.I play blues harp exclusively and am about 10
levels behind you, even after 12 yrs.of playing with 18 months of
private lessons and being 67 yrs. old, I agree 100 % with your views on
the Suzuki Bluesmaster and tried to convey your idea to Randy last week.
I would like your critique of me at
http://www.reverbnation.com/frontporchblues. If it sounds shitty, just
say so. Thanks Jaybird,and do I detect an East coast accent, like N.Y.
or Jersey? Allen

[Randy G. Blues]

Harpman <***@sonic.net> wrote:

>.... I agree 100 % with your views on
>the Suzuki Bluesmaster and tried to convey your idea to Randy last week.
>

Just for the record.... I got a Bluesmaster the other day. I played
it, A-B, against the same key Bushman for my wife, repeating the same
riff on each, back and forth. She was easily able to pick out the
Bushman against the Bluesmaster, commenting that the Bushman sounded
more full and alive compared to the Bluesmaster. I felt the same way.
Also, two reeds of the Bluesmaster will need adjustment out of the box
while I have never had to do that with a Bushman. All FWIW....

Randy G. Blues
www.MySpace.com/PhatBoyzBlue
Play to Live - Live to Play

[Harpman]

Randy G. Blues wrote:
> Harpman <***@sonic.net> wrote:
>
>> .... I agree 100 % with your views on
>> the Suzuki Bluesmaster and tried to convey your idea to Randy last week.
>>
>
> Just for the record.... I got a Bluesmaster the other day. I played
> it, A-B, against the same key Bushman for my wife, repeating the same
> riff on each, back and forth. She was easily able to pick out the
> Bushman against the Bluesmaster, commenting that the Bushman sounded
> more full and alive compared to the Bluesmaster. I felt the same way.
> Also, two reeds of the Bluesmaster will need adjustment out of the box
> while I have never had to do that with a Bushman. All FWIW....
>
> Randy G. Blues
> www.MySpace.com/PhatBoyzBlue
> Play to Live - Live to Play
Randy, Went to your myspace site and listened to Tore Down. Very nice
har playing. Are you in the East Bay area? I'm in Santa Rosa. Allen

[Randy G. Blues]

Harpman <***@sonic.net> wrote:

>Randy, Went to your myspace site and listened to Tore Down. Very nice
>har playing. Are you in the East Bay area? I'm in Santa Rosa. Allen

THANK YOU! That is very much appreciated!

The problem with most of the current recordings is that they are from
rehearsals in a small bedroom and done without anyone on the mixer,
and many of them (like that one) were the first time we played the
tune. That recording was from only the second time we had played
together as a group! Things have progressed nicely from that session.

I am in the greater Oroville area (actually about 18 miles up Highway
70 from Oroville in the unincorporated area). If you saw the news
about the Camp Fire, one edge of that fire was about one mile from my
house. Our rehearsal venue is the Guitarist's home, in Orland, about
an hour drive, one-way for me... But it's worth it!

We hope to have a CD done by the end of February and will "tour"
locally...

BTW- the logo? I created that as well... ! :-)
Randy G. Blues
www.MySpace.com/PhatBoyzBlue
Play to Live - Live to Play

[Randy G. Blues]

Jaybird <***@hotmail.com> wrote:

>Randy,
>
>WTF?? You are waiting 3 months for Bushman to fill your order, and
>they don't reply to e-mails. They are NOT a reliable company to deal
>with. Period. (Believe me, I know this for a fact.)


Jaybird (and all the rest who replied),

Thanks for the replies. I have been playing the Delta Frost harps for
over a year, first at a weekly open mic jam, and now that I am in a
group. I have ordered a Bluesmaster and it should be here today or
tomorrow.

I like to play some fast runs at times, and have become accustomed to
the narrower size of the Delta Frost and it's hole spacing, so knowing
that the other harps mentioned have the same spacing is nice to hear.
I have not seen a Hohner I want to play. I have big hands and I lack
subtlety in most things I do, and so I tend to grasp my harps fairly
hard. The sharp corners of the Hohner harps would hurt my hands. it is
why I tried a couple of Sydel Blues Session harps. I also love the
sound of the Phosphor Bronze reeds. I picked up a Suzuki Harpmaster to
fill in for a spare "A" harp, and it does play well, but I do not like
the sound of the brass reeds.

Got a Seydel 1847 Silver and what great sound. Feels like the
stainless steel reeds take more breaking in than other materials. The
wider spacing has me mentally adjusting while playing it and it is a
bit distracting ("old dogs and new tricks," and this old dog has few
tricks left- just ask my wife).

When I was measuring the harps the other week I took a good look at
the Lee Oscars. The backside of the covers are almost closed off- no
wonder I moved away from them. They sound so choked off compared to my
other harps. They also do not respond as well out of the box which was
one great thing about the Bushman harps.. great response.

It would be nice if reedplates are available for the Bluesmaster
harps, but if the sound and response of the Bluesmaster compares to
the Delta Frost, I will be switching. I need a dependable source for
harps, and at this point it is not Bushman. I will relate the details
of my dealings with Busman in a separate thread. I just cancelled my
order with Bushman (placed back on or about 9/26!) and will no longer
be dealing with them, at least not directly.

I guess it is sort of like underwear. You get use to one thing, and if
you switch you need to sort of get use to the change. One thing,
though.. you won't find me wearing boxers! ;-)

Randy G.
Bushman Harps - Genz Benz BP-30
Play to Live - Live to Play

[Harpman]

Jaybird wrote:
> Randy,
>
> WTF?? You are waiting 3 months for Bushman to fill your order, and
> they don't reply to e-mails. They are NOT a reliable company to deal
> with. Period. (Believe me, I know this for a fact.)
>
> Now as regards the Suzuki Bluesmaster. They are the SAME as Delta
> Frost except for the covers. Made in the same factory in Shanghai
> China. The Bluesmaster covers are exceptionally comfortable in the
> mouth, thus making the Delta Frost inferior in my opinion. They sound
> THE SAME.
>
> Cancel your order with Bushman. I hope they did not charge your credit
> card yet!
>
> Now go get youself some Bluesmasters NOW. Try one and see for
> yourself. Don't worry, the hole spacing is the SAME as Delta Frost,
> but more comfortable to play, cheaper, and AVAILABLE from numerous
> harmonica dealers.
>
> I have no association with Suzuki except as a customer.
>
> Jaybird
>
> www.YouTube.com/Jaybird33066
>
>
Jaybird, Go to myspace.com/thefrontporchblues. Allen

[Randy G. Blues]

Jaybird <***@hotmail.com> wrote:
>WTF?? You are waiting 3 months for Bushman to fill your order, and
>they don't reply to e-mails. They are NOT a reliable company to deal
>with. Period. (Believe me, I know this for a fact.)
>
Actually, to be accurate, you have misinterpreted my original message.
I never said Bushman did not reply to E-Mails. I said I never got any
E-Mail from them. Evidently, when my early orders went in they were
taken over the phone and so they forgot to put my E-Mail address on my
account. That has been remedied.

I just had (another) long talk with John at Bushman. What happened was
that part of my order was backordered (two Soul's Voice harps in a
minor key, NOT Delta Frost) and because their manufacturer/supplier
had not been able to ship those harps to Bushman the entire order got
held up by the shipping department even though there were a number of
Delta Frost reed plates that were part of the order and available for
shipping. This problem is being addressed so that it doesn't happen
again. In a small business like Bushman, things happen. oh, well.


>Now as regards the Suzuki Bluesmaster. They are the SAME as Delta
>Frost except for the covers. Made in the same factory in Shanghai
>China. The Bluesmaster covers are exceptionally comfortable in the
>mouth, thus making the Delta Frost inferior in my opinion. They sound
>THE SAME.
>
They do sound similar. The combs for the Delta Frost are made in the
US, though (according to John). I have not played the Bluesmaster long
enough to thoroughly break it in to really know how similar they are.
The Bluesmaster I just got in the mail (about two hours ago) is
inferior to the Bushman in the set up of the reeds— the #10 blow and
draw reeds need to be reshaped right away as they do not play well at
all on the Bluesmaster. Although I have broken a few reeds after
extended play, I have never had a reed be bad out of the box with any
Bushman (and I have 17 of them!). I talked to a couple of folks at the
Dave Barrett Harmonica Master Class earlier this year and they agreed
that the Bushman Delta Frost harps are the best harps out of the box
available today, at least in that price range.


>Cancel your order with Bushman. I hope they did not charge your credit
>card yet!
>
Well, when the order was placed they did charge my card as is their
stated policy, but John assured me that the refund will be posted
shortly (like tonight or tomorrow). As a matter of fact, to make up
for this entire debacle, John said he would credit my entire order
back to my credit card, and I cancelled the Soul's Voice harps *1. He
said he would give me the entire rest of my order— around $70 worth of
reed plates, at no charge at all to me as an apology for this entire
misunderstanding.

I suggest that if you have a problem with Bushman you call John and
work it out. From all my dealings with him and the Bushman company
they (and he) seem like up front, honest folks trying to run a small
company against the giants of the industry. Stuff occurs.. the real
test of a company is how they handle problems. And although the entire
situation has been frustrating, the above-mentioned solution seems
pretty fair to me.


>I have no association with Suzuki except as a customer.
>
And I have no association with Bushman other than being a customer,
and being a better player because of their harps. ....


******************************************************************
So, to be fair to Bushman and to you folks, when I receive the refund
as well as when my "apology order" arrives I will let you know.....
******************************************************************

So, stick around for the exciting conclusion..... ;-)


*1 - Funny thing about that. I had ordered the two minor key harps
back then because I was not very good at all in third position and the
folks I was playing with did a few minor tunes. Since then I have
gotten more proficient in third position and do not need them! So
maybe I lucked out on this in some small way, not buying two harps I
now do not need....
Randy G.
Bushman Harps - Genz Benz BP-30
Play to Live - Live to Play

[Jaybird]

Randy,

How convienient is this?

For three months Bushman has been holding your money, without shipping
your order, and without informing you what is going on. Maybe they
forgot to put your e-mail address on your order??? I doubt it. They
sure did have your PHONE NUMBER! You gave it to them when you placed
your order. Remember?

So now Jaybird jumps in and tells you you're getting ripped off in
more than one way, (Suzuki Bluesmaster is better and cheaper), and ALL
OF A SUDDEN, after three months, John Hall from Bushman jumps in from
out of nowhere and fixes everything!

Sure, he attributes it to some kinda mixup. It's always some kinda
mixup and all kinds of apologies are made when he is EXPOSED. Then he
offers you all kinds of free stuff, and you become a happy camper with
nice stuff to say.

That is the way it always is. You are cheated and ignored and
sometimes they get away with it. It's easy to pull this stunt with
faceless internet customers who pay online. If you went to harmonica
shows and he knew who you were, this never would have happened.

I have seen this scenario before. It is not new.

Repeat.

I have seen this scenario before. It is not new.

Another company that uses similar tactics is HARP DEPOT. In case any
of you guys dont belive me, search HARP DEPOT in the Harp-l forum
archives and elsewhere.

http://groups.google.com/group/harp-l/search?hl=en%3Fhl&group=harp-l&q=bushman+%2B+%22harp+depot%22

It's shocking at how many complaints are made about these two
companies. They are related in some way, I do not know for sure, so I
will not say.

Jaybird

[Jaybird]

>
>  ******************************************************************
> So, to be fair to Bushman and to you folks, when I receive the refund
> as well as when my "apology order" arrives I will let you know.....
>  ******************************************************************
>
> So, stick around for the exciting conclusion.....  ;-)
>


Hi Randy,

It's been two weeks since Bushman made promises to you. I wonder if
you ever got anything from them.

Jaybird

[Randy G. Blues]

Jaybird <***@hotmail.com> wrote:

>>Randy G. Blues wrote:
>>  ******************************************************************
>> So, to be fair to Bushman and to you folks, when I receive the refund
>> as well as when my "apology order" arrives I will let you know.....
>>  ******************************************************************
>>
>> So, stick around for the exciting conclusion.....  ;-)


>Hi Randy,
>
>It's been two weeks since Bushman made promises to you. I wonder if
>you ever got anything from them.
>
>Jaybird



I have not forgotten my promise, and have been watching this thread
carefully. I have been trying to be as patient as possible through all
this. After all, things happen. People get ill, paperwork gets lost,
accidents happen. But this has really got to the point that Job's
patience would have worn more than thin... it would have been worn
off.

As of today, Tuesday, January 13, it has been 10 business days and 12
mailing days since I was promised rectification of this matter by a
refund of my money and a parcel delivery of 'apology parts.' In that
time I have received no E-mails, no phone calls, no parts, and no
refund issued by Bushman. My credit card company said it would take up
to 4 to 5 business days for the refund to post once issued by Bushman.
Since we are now at twice that amount of time it is fairly clear that
this is not a trustworthy business with which to deal.

I have a 6+ pages of chronological documentation covering this entire
situation including many details concerning how this has proceeded. I
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 think that the details I have to share
will create a mass of evidence that will be more compelling and
valuable to those thinking about doing business with this company.

For me to say that it has not gone well is an understatement. I will
be posting that detailed treatise later this week or early next week
so that others can avoid being in the same situation. Why wait? I
wanted to allow plenty of time— way more than enough time, just in
case, and to be sure that I not only got my refund as well as to be
sure that the post is as complete as possible. I will post my treatise
in a new thread here as well as on the harp-l list and maybe even on
the Bushman forum, although I do not think it will last long there..

I have been sending E-Mails to Bushman and none of them have been
answered. I used two different E-Mail addresses- one they used to
communicate with me earlier in the year and one that was printed on my
receipt, but I have received no replies, and none of the messages
bounced. No refund from Bushman was issued and no parts have arrived
here. As you so deftly noted earlier, there were plenty of phone calls
from Bushman when something happened that affected their business, but
silence from them when something was happening that affected me, the
customer. Sad, really.

I will say that I am not at all happy at this point, will not be doing
business with Bushman again. To get my money back I had to call and
file a dispute with my credit card company over this. There's thirty
minutes of my life I'll never get back. Fortunately, my credit card
company is quite helpful in such matters, and quite efficient as well.

If Bushman does try to contact me I will no longer deal with them on
the phone. If they do call I will request that all future
communication be done in writing, either by E-Mail or by snail mail,
and then I will hang up. Voice communication for business purposes can
only be done with a business you can trust. I no longer trust Bushman.

So keep watching alt.music.harmonica... I do not claim to be perfect
nor some sort of moral guidepost, but between me and Bushman I can say
that at least _I_ try to be a man of my word.


Randy G. Blues
www.MySpace.com/PhatBoyzBlue
Play to Live - Live to Play

[Jaybird]

Randy,

I am glad you finally WOKE UP. You are not alone. This is not an
isolated case. There are many other people in the same boat.

Do not delay. Everyone should know about this. Start your threads on
the various websites. I also suggest Gussow's Modern Blues Harmonica
Fourm.

I will support you. I have much to say and reveal.

This guy from Bushman, JOHN HALL, is so full of SHIT it makes me sick.
He will probably call you again to smooth things over. It's all LIES.

Jaybird

[Jaybird]

Randy,

I forgot to mention...during this past two weeks when all your e-mails
were ignored, John Hall was e-mailing and replying to ME several
times. He does not have my phone number.

Like I said before... I have MUCH to say and reveal. Some of it
shocking.

Unfortunately this Google group has low activity. Go ahead, start your
threads at harp-l and Modern Blues Harmonica. People need to know what
happened to you. There are many others with similar experiences. They
will join in.

I support you. I have ALOT to say.

Jaybird

[Randy G. Blues]

Randy G. Blues <***@NOSPAMcncnet.com> wrote:

>.....I have been sending E-Mails to Bushman and none of them have been
>answered.... and none of the messages bounced.
>.... To get my money back I had to call and
>file a dispute with my credit card company over this.
>...If Bushman does try to contact me I will no longer deal with them on
>the phone. If they do call I will request that all future
>communication be done in writing, either by E-Mail or by snail mail,
>and then I will hang up. Voice communication for business purposes can
>only be done with a business you can trust. I no longer trust Bushman.

The excerpt quoted above was from my alt.music.harmonica post on
1/13/09.


On 1/14/09 (yes, the next day after posting the above, and after
waiting for my order since 9/26/08 when my credit card was charged) I
received an E-Mail from John at Bushman stating that a refund has been
issued and, "...your Delta Frosts are being sent today via Priority
Mail."

This message was very business like and impersonal, offering no
further explanation as to why it has taken so long nor why the refund
and shipment promised on 12/29/08 (2½ weeks ago) did not take place.
The E-Mail message included the closing line of:
"Thank you for your loyal and faithful support of Bushman,"
which makes me think it was a form letter of some sort. This e-mail
from Bushman is the first E-mail message I have received from Bushman
concerning this problem.


Randy G. Blues
www.MySpace.com/PhatBoyzBlue
Play to Live - Live to Play

[Jaybird]

So? What is your point? Randy?

[Randy G. Blues]

Jaybird <***@hotmail.com> wrote:

>So? What is your point? Randy?

Since this is still an ongoing situation I don't feel comfortable
drawing any final conclusions over this, but here is the synopsis of
the event as it has progressed so far:


My Recent Dealings With Bushman Music Works

9/19/08 - I 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 - I called to add to order - one additional reed plate $10.80

11/19/08 - Called to find out when order would ship. John told me that
their shipment should arrive there on 11/21/08 and so my order would
ship out shortly.

12/3/08 - Called again to find out about order (had to call 4 or 5
times before anyone picked up the phone). 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 and give me the name of a
dealer. 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. I E-mailed for a
refund, then called on the phone later that afternoon and canceled my
order for a refund. Amount and address was verified and I hung up.

12/29/08 (later that afternoon)- John Hall called me three times and
gave me a detailed reason why my order never shipped. Apologized for
delay and treatment I received, and he promised a refund and to send
me 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 ask 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.

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.

1/13/09 - (as of today) No refund and no order. No contact at all from
Bushman since the phone calls the day I canceled the order (12/29/08).
I posted another reply on alt.music.harmonica [in this same thread]
talking about how poorly this has been handled and how undependable
Bushman is as a business, etc.

1/14/09 - The day after I posted the above-referenced message 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
entire situation. No explanation nor apology was included in the
message.

... get out a calendar and count the days this has been going on.. so
far. Then you can draw your own conclusions....


Randy G. Blues
www.MySpace.com/PhatBoyzBlue
Play to Live - Live to Play

[Brett King]

Randy G. Blues wrote:
<snipped the tale of woe>

>
> ... get out a calendar and count the days this has been going on.. so
> far. Then you can draw your own conclusions....
>

That's easy. After following this ridiculous account of extremely bad
customer service, you appear to be one who has to be kicked in the balls
to know you have a pair.

Cancel, reverse the charges, whatever, and tell the entire Bushman bunch
of losers and chicken-shits to kiss your ass.

[Randy G. Blues]

Brett King <***@the.hill> wrote:

>Randy G. Blues wrote:
><snipped the tale of woe>
>>Then you can draw your own conclusions....
>>


>That's easy. After following this ridiculous account of extremely bad
>customer service, you appear to be one who has to be kicked in the balls
>to know you have a pair.

Dude! pretty rude. The above post of mine was just a synopsis of the
incident. I have about 9+ pages of typed documentation that I will be
sharing. It's not because I am anal. I owned and operated my local
newspaper for over a decade and so my investigative sense takes over
when I begin writing about such things. This is not the first expose I
have written, although it is the first one which was
harmonica-related.

I had been doing business with Bushman for over a year and had decent
service and response from them all along, so there was no reason, at
first, to think that it would be anything different when I placed this
order.

When someone owes you money and has proven to be undependable, you
really do not want to piss them off any further than is necessary
until you have your money back. it could easily become, "Sorry.. We
have no idea how that other charge got on your credit card. We will
investigate that and issue you a refund as soon as possible." They
really can make your life miserable if they want to. Sure, it's
illegal, but it's your time it would take to deal with it.

Third, I am not whining. I am documenting this all so that others who
might be considering doing business with these individuals might be
warned so that they do not have to go through the same situation I am
currently.

I will add that the refund that Bushman promised posted to my account
this morning... well, part of it, anyway. Sure, they refunded the
first part of the charge, the $132.95. But they did not refund the
additional $10.80, so I am still dealing with that. I have filed
locally with the DA's office for a bad $20 check, so you bet I will
pursue the $10.80!

If you caught someone reaching into your pocket and they took a $5
bill out, what would you do? [rhetorical question]

Randy G. Blues
www.MySpace.com/PhatBoyzBlue
Play to Live - Live to Play

[b***@hotmail.com]

On Jan 13, 3:27 pm, Jaybird <***@hotmail.com> wrote:
> Randy,
>
> I forgot to mention...during this past two weeks when all your e-mails
> were ignored, John Hall was e-mailing and replying to ME several
> times.  He does not have my phone number.
>
> Like I said before... I have MUCH to say and reveal. Some of it
> shocking.
>
> Unfortunately this Google group has low activity. Go ahead, start your
> threads at harp-l and Modern Blues Harmonica. People need to know what
> happened to you. There are many others with similar experiences. They
> will join in.
>
> I support you. I have ALOT to say.
>
> Jaybird

In the same time frame the original poster was waiting for Bushman, I
ordered a Delta Frost from Coast to Coast Music on 9/26. They sent me
an e-mail that it was back ordered. The harp shipped on 11/4.