No Wonder Guitar Center is going down the tubes????

[Eddie LeBlanc]

I keep hearing about the possible upcoming demise of Guitar Center. Sad. But I can share a reason why.

Been trying to deal on a used 2019 Rickenbacker 4003 with a store in Winter Park Fl. They finally gave me a sort of decent price, not the best, but decent.

I bought it on Monday morning June 15th with my Mastercard. Paid for taxes, shipping, and etc. I have the sales receipt.

So far no shipping date, no tracking number, no nothing. Call there, and get some kids on the phone, after the phone is on hold for over 20 minutes. And that the phone rang for over 10 minutes before it was answered.

They have no idea of shipping, and don't seem to care. You can't talk to a person that knows or even cares. And this is during regular business hours.

Guess my over $1700 purchase is not important to the kids that work there. Guess they'd rather sell $30 strings and talk on their cell phones to their friends.

In the midst of this COVID crisis, I kinda doubt there is a land-office business going on in Winter Park, Fl. And after they get your money, maybe no one cares.

I am sad that Guitar Center has allowed such careless business practices to take place in it's franchises.

And sad to say, Musician's Friend is the online partner with GC.....

Kind of makes one wonder.

 

[bassbones2]

I can’t say I don’t disagree with you, but after stopping by the local one I’m not surprised since there were only 2 people there and one was at the door making sure they didn’t exceed capacity and make sure everyone had a mask

JB

 

[Eddie LeBlanc]

BTW... Florida is a state that is more opened up since this Pandemic. So it shouldn't be a problem to ship something already paid for, I'd think...

At least in Texas that is the case.

 

[kcducttaper]

Can't say I disagree either. There seem to be a couple different types of employees.

1) The kid that literally would rather be spending his time swiping on his phone and only has this job because his mom/dad made him get a job.
2) The claimed "ex-pro" guy that won't shut up and tries to pressure you into something you don't want. Often times, this guy tries to sell an inferior product "because he had one once" or is simply clueless about current gear.
3) The "yes man" that says yes to everything you ask, but dissolves those promises when it comes time to deliver.
4) An actually good employee/musician that knows what they're talking about, has good communication skills, and it legit interested in making the customer happy.

Sadly, I run into a lot more of #1-3 these days than I would like to admit, but #4's do still exist.

 

[Relayer71]

Meanwhile, at Sweetwater...

Ordered a new Spector Euro LE last month: shipped out right away, ETA 7 days, received in 4. Got an email from salesperson letting me know it shipped along with the nice multi-angled pics they displayed on their site; got an email soon after receiving it from salesperson asking if it was ok; got a "thank you for your business" email from the owner/company some time later.

Someone in another post mentioned ordering a new item from GC and getting a clearly used one.

Very cool that Sweetwater shows detailed pics of the instruments they have in stock and include the weights. And they show all the items so you can choose between 3 of the same model with the weight, finish/figuring you prefer.

GC has the worse pics online of used items; they're tiny, sometimes blurry and I have asked them to send better pics on items I've been interested in only to have them not reply or say they couldn't. Sweetwater also offers Plek as an option.

Not trying to sound like a Sweetwater fanboy, but I've had good experiences so far.

 

[BigBigGuy44]

Another GC bashing thread? Why not right? It has been a few days since the last one.

 

[HELLonWHEELS]

I keep hearing about the possible upcoming demise of Guitar Center. Sad. But I can share a reason why.

Been trying to deal on a used 2019 Rickenbacker 4003 with a store in Winter Park Fl. They finally gave me a sort of decent price, not the best, but decent.

I bought it on Monday morning June 15th with my Mastercard. Paid for taxes, shipping, and etc. I have the sales receipt.

So far no shipping date, no tracking number, no nothing. Call there, and get some kids on the phone, after the phone is on hold for over 20 minutes. And that the phone rang for over 10 minutes before it was answered.

They have no idea of shipping, and don't seem to care. You can't talk to a person that knows or even cares. And this is during regular business hours.

Guess my over $1700 purchase is not important to the kids that work there. Guess they'd rather sell $30 strings and talk on their cell phones to their friends.

In the midst of this COVID crisis, I kinda doubt there is a land-office business going on in Winter Park, Fl. And after they get your money, maybe no one cares.

I am sad that Guitar Center has allowed such careless business practices to take place in it's franchises.

And sad to say, Musician's Friend is the online partner with GC.....

Kind of makes one wonder.

Having just bought a guitar from guitar center I know a bit how the process works. There were some unforseen issues, and truth be told GC worked with me to get to a happy resolution.

Once you purchase the guitar, they inspect it before shipping it to you. My guess is that your bass in a queue to get inspected before shipping out, I know at my local store their tech was only working part time. Call the store and ask to speak to the manager. They have the power to give you a discount if you request it...

 

[Beej]

Meanwhile, at Sweetwater...

Ordered a new Spector Euro LE last month: shipped out right away, ETA 7 days, received in 4. Got an email from salesperson letting me know it shipped along with the nice multi-angled pics they displayed on their site; got an email soon after receiving it from salesperson asking if it was ok; got a "thank you for your business" email from the owner/company some time later.

Someone in another post mentioned ordering a new item from GC and getting a clearly used one.

Very cool that Sweetwater shows detailed pics of the instruments they have in stock and include the weights. GC has the worse pics online of used items; they're tiny, sometimes blurry and I have asked them to send better pics on items I've been interested in only to have them not reply or say they couldn't. Sweetwater also offers Plek as an option.

Not trying to sound like a Sweetwater fanboy, but I've had good experiences so far.

And that's just the beginning! Now Sweetwater will stay in touch weekly for the rest of your life.

 

[Lammchop93]

Cancel it. You can do better elsewhere price wise

 

[TC.65]

I keep hearing about the possible upcoming demise of Guitar Center. Sad. But I can share a reason why.

Been trying to deal on a used 2019 Rickenbacker 4003 with a store in Winter Park Fl. They finally gave me a sort of decent price, not the best, but decent.

I bought it on Monday morning June 15th with my Mastercard. Paid for taxes, shipping, and etc. I have the sales receipt.

So far no shipping date, no tracking number, no nothing. Call there, and get some kids on the phone, after the phone is on hold for over 20 minutes. And that the phone rang for over 10 minutes before it was answered.

They have no idea of shipping, and don't seem to care. You can't talk to a person that knows or even cares. And this is during regular business hours.

Guess my over $1700 purchase is not important to the kids that work there. Guess they'd rather sell $30 strings and talk on their cell phones to their friends.

In the midst of this COVID crisis, I kinda doubt there is a land-office business going on in Winter Park, Fl. And after they get your money, maybe no one cares.

I am sad that Guitar Center has allowed such careless business practices to take place in it's franchises.

And sad to say, Musician's Friend is the online partner with GC.....

Kind of makes one wonder.

You should try calling the main office. I had a problem with a Squier 70's PBass I ordered a couple of years ago and when I talked to the manager he was very rude! I tried calling back again and he refused to talk to me. Called the main number the next day and explained the situation. I ended up getting the bass for free!

 

[Sixgunn]

And that the phone rang for over 10 minutes before it was answered.

That is SUCH a pet peeve of mine!! In fact, it's a whole herd of peeves. Anyone who lets phones ring like this is... well... I better not say.

 

[Relayer71]

And that's just the beginning! Now Sweetwater will stay in touch weekly for the rest of your life.

Haha, that's the kicker! I just ignore the emails/texts. But on the flip side, they have good customer service, and my sales rep has gotten back to me quickly on any questions.

Also, I'm not trying to crap on GC, I don't use them anymore but when I did, my experience wasn't terrible, it was ok, more or less.

I will say that their customer service can be lacking, depending on where you are. I stopped going to one of my local stores (NYC) years ago because a few of the sales reps there only paid attention to people buying high ticket items and flat out ignored everyone else. Meanwhile, I had a much better experience at a different store. I guess, they're just inconsistent.

 

[Bassist30]

Guitar Center is part of musicians friend. They are owned by the company Bains.

 

[Jeff Scott]

And that's just the beginning! Now Sweetwater will stay in touch weekly for the rest of your life.

I'd prefer that to the other scenario.

 

[TolerancEJ]

@Eddie LeBlanc I will put forth that not all GC locations may behave in the same manner. I immediately recalled this great post 2 days ago from @the federalist .

Shout Out for GC!!

I will also add my personal experiences, as my nearest GC location in Bellingham, WA always treats me well. I've only bought used gear from them and they begin processing it immediately.

 

[Weberman]

Another GC bashing thread? Why not right? It has been a few days since the last one.

Yeah, but this is groundbreaking information. No one has ever made a complaint like that against GC, so this is a whole new angle.

 

[ellipsis]

not important to the kids that work there

Guitar Center has been strip mined by vulture capitalists. I don't think "the kids that work there" are responsible for the company falling apart.

 

[Stranger Danger]

I keep hearing about the possible upcoming demise of Guitar Center. Sad. But I can share a reason why.

Been trying to deal on a used 2019 Rickenbacker 4003 with a store in Winter Park Fl. They finally gave me a sort of decent price, not the best, but decent.

I bought it on Monday morning June 15th with my Mastercard. Paid for taxes, shipping, and etc. I have the sales receipt.

So far no shipping date, no tracking number, no nothing. Call there, and get some kids on the phone, after the phone is on hold for over 20 minutes. And that the phone rang for over 10 minutes before it was answered.

They have no idea of shipping, and don't seem to care. You can't talk to a person that knows or even cares. And this is during regular business hours.

Guess my over $1700 purchase is not important to the kids that work there. Guess they'd rather sell $30 strings and talk on their cell phones to their friends.

In the midst of this COVID crisis, I kinda doubt there is a land-office business going on in Winter Park, Fl. And after they get your money, maybe no one cares.

I am sad that Guitar Center has allowed such careless business practices to take place in it's franchises.

And sad to say, Musician's Friend is the online partner with GC.....

Kind of makes one wonder.

Its only been going out of business for about 20 years . . .

 

[WI Short Scaler]

My experiences with GC have been positive.

But places like Target, Lowes, and Best Buy have disappointed me greatly.

When you get that big the number of customer experiences increases exponentially, and not all of them will be positive. It's a well accepted convention that unhappy customers speak louder than happy ones.

 

[lowfreqgeek]

Guitar Center is part of musicians friend. They are owned by the company Bains.

And there it is.

No, they are not owned by "Bains". Nor are they owned by Bain, nor have they been owned by Bain for 7 years. Please get your facts straight before you post. I'm in no way defending Bain's business practices or GC, but I'm sick of the same misinformation being thrown around every time GC comes up.