And how is pickups falling out of a bass the fault of your GC? (I know, they didn't catch it...but that evidently was the omission of the store that shipped it.)
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How to effectively deal with Guitar Center
- Thread starter ThinCrappyTone
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- center deal guitar center
For the record, I worked at GC in the warehouse and shipping/receiving departments from 2007 to 2011.
When I shipped a used instrument, our SOP was to loosen the strings slightly, wrap the guitar in butcher paper or newspaper (whichever was handy), place the guitar inside the hard case (we always shipped guitars over $500 in a hard case whether the customer was buying one or not), loosely pack the interior of the case with wadded up paper to act as cushioning and so the guitar wouldn't shift, place inflatable packing in the bottom of a cardboard guitar carton, put the hard case in, fill the space around the case with packing peanuts, put more inflatable cushions on top, seal the box.
Same thing went for guitars under $500 except we'd use an inner and outer carton instead of inner hard case.
Shipments are insured by UPS, so if the shipment was damaged, UPS got to buy the guitar.
In all the shipments I packed, I never had a single breakage reported from the other end.
Also, we would do a once-over of the instrument when we pulled it from the floor to ship - something like pickups falling out would have gotten that guitar sent back to the ops office for a fix before it was packed.
This was years ago and in a couple of the flagship L.A. area stores, so I have no idea whether the GCs scattered across the country do this or if any GC does this any more.
When I shipped a used instrument, our SOP was to loosen the strings slightly, wrap the guitar in butcher paper or newspaper (whichever was handy), place the guitar inside the hard case (we always shipped guitars over $500 in a hard case whether the customer was buying one or not), loosely pack the interior of the case with wadded up paper to act as cushioning and so the guitar wouldn't shift, place inflatable packing in the bottom of a cardboard guitar carton, put the hard case in, fill the space around the case with packing peanuts, put more inflatable cushions on top, seal the box.
Same thing went for guitars under $500 except we'd use an inner and outer carton instead of inner hard case.
Shipments are insured by UPS, so if the shipment was damaged, UPS got to buy the guitar.
In all the shipments I packed, I never had a single breakage reported from the other end.
Also, we would do a once-over of the instrument when we pulled it from the floor to ship - something like pickups falling out would have gotten that guitar sent back to the ops office for a fix before it was packed.
This was years ago and in a couple of the flagship L.A. area stores, so I have no idea whether the GCs scattered across the country do this or if any GC does this any more.
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bass40hz
Cigar smoker, scotch drinker, American Patriot
Yes, it was shipped from a GC in NYC to a GC in NJ...GC is responsible either way.
other GCs definitely don't ship in a hard case for all guitars over $500
the used Dave Murray Strat was $800 & it came with a gig bag
but it looked brand new
the used Dave Murray Strat was $800 & it came with a gig bag
but it looked brand new
bass40hz
Cigar smoker, scotch drinker, American Patriot
I would have put it in a hard case and put the gig bag down the side.
But that's just me in the past.
Also, if it was a new instrument, we would just ship it as it was delivered to us from the manufacturer. So, however Fender or Gibson packed their stuff at the factory was how it would go between GCs if it was never put on the floor for sale.
I've gotten to the point where I don't believe anything that Guitar Center employees tell me. I once tried to buy an EBMM Stingray Classic bass that was a special edition color done only for Guitar Center.
I had three bases shipped to my local GC, and each of the "perfect," "no issues," "inspected by the manager" instruments arrived with pre-shipping (in-store) damage or parts missing.
I finally gave up and bought a plain, natural finish Stingray Classic from my local mom and pop music store. Couldn't be happier with that bass.
Not bashing, just sayin'...
I had three bases shipped to my local GC, and each of the "perfect," "no issues," "inspected by the manager" instruments arrived with pre-shipping (in-store) damage or parts missing.
I finally gave up and bought a plain, natural finish Stingray Classic from my local mom and pop music store. Couldn't be happier with that bass.
Not bashing, just sayin'...
I'd say each GC is different (like each location of every chain in existence). The culture within each store will dictate how the employees behave. Get a good manager who cares and he will staff the place with good people who care. The corporate office pays lip service to customer service, but I don't think they really care about anything beyond the bottom line.
Like most businesses.
It's rare to find a location of a chain where the employees care about doing an excellent job because it's rare to find a business and/or a manager that really values the customer beyond a single transaction.
I haven't bought a piece of gear as a walk-in or online customer from a chain store in over a decade except for the one time I ordered three different basses from GC to try out at home. They were all brand-spanking new and I was the first person to open the packaging, so I felt relatively confident I would get what I paid for.
Like most businesses.
It's rare to find a location of a chain where the employees care about doing an excellent job because it's rare to find a business and/or a manager that really values the customer beyond a single transaction.
I haven't bought a piece of gear as a walk-in or online customer from a chain store in over a decade except for the one time I ordered three different basses from GC to try out at home. They were all brand-spanking new and I was the first person to open the packaging, so I felt relatively confident I would get what I paid for.
Yes, it wasn't in their registers on computers, so it definitely is a non-existing item. It could've been your own amp you carried in and out to test if some equipment, bass, guitar, or pedal would work with it. I agree completely. It is a - de facto - non existing item. For GC that is.
yes ever so slowly...
"In May 2013, Standard & Poor's cut its debt rating on Bain Capital-owned Guitar Center Holdings Inc to "junk bond" status, citing struggles with "weak operating trends." The corporate credit rating on the company dropped from 'B-' to 'CCC+'."
Oh, BTW Bain Capital owns Burger King too... go figure...but they will not go belly up anytime soon, as far as I am concerned...
The End of Guitar Center
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- Oct 7, 2000
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- Endorsing artist: Musicman basses
Guitar Center just sent me a 20% off coupon.
I love those.
Sometimes I can get Musiciansfriend to honor them.
I love those Musiciansfriend people who do that even more.
I love those.
Sometimes I can get Musiciansfriend to honor them.
I love those Musiciansfriend people who do that even more.
bass40hz
Cigar smoker, scotch drinker, American Patriot
I am clearly on the " F GC" side of the argument, but I try to step back and be as balanced as I can, I think I, and most of you all, are on the "F GC" side is because we have the benefit of experience. We've been in the game for some time, know what we want, what we will pay for it, what level of sales/serice/supoort we want, etc...GC serves a purpose for the beginning player, the high school band player, the Dad who wants to buy his kid a cool first instrument as a gift...we here on TB already know what to expect when dealing with GC, to some extent so choosing to do so is "at your own risk"...me, I learned by being burned 3 times and using my 37 years of experience to learn to stay away from GC, its just another retail-mart where you are sold things, I prefer to buy instead. YMMV.
I recently saw the opposite at my GC, they had a sale where they'd honor Musiciansfriend discounts.
I went to GC the other day to waste time, and all they had for basses were poopy low end Fender, Squire, Ibanez etc... No 5 string Fender or Squire....Only 4 MIA Fenders....And nothing for amps... I could have fit all the poopy bass gear they had in my bedroom there was such little there...
I can see why you were upset. If they can't afford to stock real Squier basses, something is wrong
accept no substitutes
I haven't had any bad experiences with them yet. I normally go there when I need something fast and just buy what is in stock though. I did order a speaker once from my PA and it arrived as expected, so that was good.
yes ever so slowly...
"In May 2013, Standard & Poor's cut its debt rating on Bain Capital-owned Guitar Center Holdings Inc to "junk bond" status, citing struggles with "weak operating trends." The corporate credit rating on the company dropped from 'B-' to 'CCC+'."
Oh, BTW Bain Capital owns Burger King too... go figure...but they will not go belly up anytime soon, as far as I am concerned...
The End of Guitar Center
An article on Slate says of Garland:"He’s a charlatan, a snake-oil salesman, peddling sleek gibberish to people who’ve never read a book without “… and how YOU can profit” in the subtitle; in any true meritocracy he’d be putting his strategic skills to work hawking trinkets by the roadside. And it shows."
You can Google that, but I didn't intend this to get political so no direct link.
Who knows?
Honestly, I haven't been in a GC in years. It's not that they are necessarily "bad" - but I'm an old man and dealing with children is beyond my magical powers. 