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

[IamGroot]

I used to water the palm tree outside Mit Romney's oak office door at Bain Cap. when he was still the boss, I had heard Bain picked up GC and other people have been mentioned. What company has them now? Bain may have been the initial entity to hold it's fate in it's talon sharp hands. What a name Bain is. It means burden. The bain of my existence

Bane?

 

[AndyPanda]

Three whole days of waiting ... that's gotta be rough!

Did you ever order a Captain Crunch secret whistle ring by cutting out the mailer on the back of the box? I think your head would have exploded waiting the months that I waited for Captain Crunch to come thru.

 

[LBS-bass]

Which is a big reason I avoid Sweetwater.

It's funny. In a thread about poor customer service, people are complaining about receiving good customer service

 

[IamGroot]

I have bought 100% of my stuff from GC in the store in the last decade. I have had some really good experience and first class sales support at some stores, and some crappy behavior too in the same store. It all boils down to the people.

If GC goes under, I will be sorry for the nice people.

PS GC looks very good compared to some of the locally owned stuff.

 

[jwr]

Age has nothing to do with it. Training does. I’ve used Guitar Center and have made many instrument purchases. Your ageism post makes me not care at all because you’re insulting people based on their age and not anything else. I have had more trouble with old guys who work there than the younger ones. The older guys are cocky and they still don’t know anything.

 

[LBS-bass]

Yep! Local music stores have not failed solely because of online sales. Many music stores were dishonest and provided bad service for decades before online became a thing. Many of them use the same manipulative high pressure sales tactics as car dealers. Many of them also tend to stock only low-quality high-volume items.

Yep. Some of the salespeople I worked with were less than honorable. Most of them were actually fairly decent people but my store may have been the exception rather than the rule. I do know that the more we got squeezed on the bottom line, the more apt management was to turn a blind eye to some of the more questionable practices and that's one reason I got out. But I'd say that's a situation that evolved over time due to stresses on the bottom line, at least in the store where I worked.

However... all that manipulative sales stuff? Don't for a minute start believing those online sales outlets aren't also manipulating you in exactly the same way. You see something that's advertised at a deep discount? 40% off? That means the store got a volume discount on wholesale and they are probably still making 5% more on your purchase than they normally would. This is how the business works. It's about making you think you want the shiny object and making you open your wallet.

 

[And I]

I have had more good than bad experiences there, but the bad ones have been pretty bad and seemed to be due to bad management policies, not the people that work there.

One example, I wanted to buy a pedal. They said all they had was the display model out on the floor with no box and no manual. I asked for a discount since they were selling me a used pedal with no box or manual and they refused.

I called ahead to try confirm a particular bass i saw was available in the store. I was told yes, we have that actual bass. Got there, they didn't have it, but had "something just like it". Different color, $200 more.

 

[socialleper]

So, after having their business turned upside down, the supply chain interrupted, and probably a lot of layoffs, they are slow on shipping a bass you grinded them on?

My wife has to stand in line to get into get into Walmart, had her hours cut, and hasn't been able to get the EDD to do anything about her claim for weeks.
I have been working this whole time in an unsafe environment because Uncle Sam wants his toys for killing people.
Two weeks ago I watched places I went to as a kid get looted and burned.

 

[fhm555]

If you’ve been here any time at all you’ve seen the endless procession of GC bashing that goes on here. What amazes me are the folks who’ve seen all that and then appear to be surprised or hurt when it happens to them.
I’ve done business with GC in several locations in three different states and so far I’ve dodged the crappy experience bullet, but i figure if i keep going there it’s just a matter of time before it’s my turn in the barrel.
Point being, if you know it’s possible and it happens to you, it’s not like you were not forewarned. Rather than feel victimized and butthurt, accept it and work to solve the problem, then cool off and decide if you are willing to chance it again or if you’re done with GC. But why believe it won't happen to you when you’ve seen endless rants about the spotty service that is part and parcel of the GC experience.

 

[TNCreature]

We've been buying from GC since the late 70's. All levels of transactions in multiple states: new, used, pawn, returns, layaway, online, -zero problems, zero bs.

Sam Ash otoh, seems to have a corporate system engineered for a circus of store-wide f-ery. Every transaction from an in-store pack of strings, a bag of picks, to a credit card purchase, to an online sale, seems to be a quagmire of lunacy and compound misunderstandings. Involving at the store level immense wait time and multiple manager level employee bail-out and troubleshooting sessions at the cash register.

I recall once buying a bag of picks taking nearly an hour of time. Online transactions seem to require multiple phone calls to chase down, verify, validate, and re-order nearly every purchase.

I've noticed over the years that their system seems poorly designed and overly complicated and isn't really understood by the floor level people and all seem to have multiple personal "work-arounds" to just get things done which seem to back fire regularly.

In the end we get what we want, but they sure make you work for it.

One time I was at the NYC 47th street Sam Ash and the wannabe rockstar manger refused to let me purchase something with my Sam Ash card because it didn't cost enough money in his opinion. Nevermind the thousands of dollars I spent on there for years. He got on the phone and refused to even converse with me while I stood at the counter. So I picked up the scissors, cut up the card in front of him and walked across the street over to Manny's.
That was some NY attitude, but no.

 

[brushfirewolf]

They dont focus on strings very well, as the more popular brands are sold out.

also strings always ship via usps which takes forever a lot of the times.

 

[Killing Floor]

One time I was at the NYC 47th street Sam Ash and the wannabe rockstar manger refused to let me purchase something with my Sam Ash card because it didn't cost enough money in his opinion. Nevermind the thousands of dollars I spent on there for years. He got on the phone and refused to even converse with me while I stood at the counter. So I picked up the scissors, cut up the card in front of him and walked across the street over to Manny's.
That was some NY attitude, but no.

Well I'm sure that manager is touring with Aerosmith now. No?

 

[Wasnex]

Yep. Some of the salespeople I worked with were less than honorable. Most of them were actually fairly decent people but my store may have been the exception rather than the rule. I do know that the more we got squeezed on the bottom line, the more apt management was to turn a blind eye to some of the more questionable practices and that's one reason I got out. But I'd say that's a situation that evolved over time due to stresses on the bottom line, at least in the store where I worked.

However... all that manipulative sales stuff? Don't for a minute start believing those online sales outlets aren't also manipulating you in exactly the same way. You see something that's advertised at a deep discount? 40% off? That means the store got a volume discount on wholesale and they are probably still making 5% more on your purchase than they normally would. This is how the business works. It's about making you think you want the shiny object and making you open your wallet.

My impression is online stores have largely transitioned to focusing on high volume, low value items. Whenever I get a sales brochure in the mail I rarely see much that I am interested in buying.

The stores I have had the best luck finding interesting gear in are similar in size to Guitar Center. We had a nice local store I liked when I arrived here in 2012, but it's closed now. I bought both new and used gear from them, and also took some of my amps in for service. The owner pretty much got fed up, closed the store, and moved away.

The stores that were most successful probably made more money off services than gear. Lessons, backline rentals, instrument rentals, audio/tech support, recording services, installation/design, etc. Course I imagine all of the stores with that sort of a footprint are really struggling with the pandemic going on, since few people are paying for services right now.

 

[juancaminos]

I was always treated well, fabulously actually, by the Tempe AZ GC store. But have not been there in 5 or 6 years because I no longer work on that side of town. The Avondale store is ok as is the N Phoenix store but I'll always have a soft spot for the Tempe store.

 

[Sub-hoo-fer]

GC always does right by me.

I bought a used Affinity for a project 5/27 from a GC store in Texas. The order sat for 4 days then shipped from their KC warehouse. Go figure. I got it 6/4 packed in more bubble wrap than I have seen in my life.

I am guessing they have changed their shipping process for good reasons. A week door to door is not not a big deal.

A little patience and understanding goes a long way right now.

 

[RabidMusic]

I bought one used item from GC. Never again. It was a horrible experience.

 

[Hand slap]

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.

I’ve complained about this before from that store, (drives me nuts) when they answer the phone, and you listen to their too long “intro” usually, I tell them what I looking at, a good description, and of course the SKU #, I typically get a pause, and “ hang on while I get a pen” what the he_ _, or “something to write on” Really? How about answering the phone, with the thing’s you might need, seriously it’s common sense, it amazes me how often that happens. They really need to improve a lot of things they do, I doubt they will.

 

[cataract]

I’m mostly perturbed from OP’s idea that all GC employees are literal high school aged know nothings. I just recently left the company after a year of working there with many a friendly repeat customer & also surrounded by coworkers with the same work ideal & level of gear knowledge that I have.
I’ve also been playing bass since 1994 so maybe that had something to do with my excellent experience with GC overall. Definitely hired on the spot just talking to the store manager (who is now a friend) based on that + my general cool demeanor.
I love TalkBass so much and have been frequenting the site since it became an actual website but can’t wrap head around peeps that wanna complain just for the sake of complaining.
Get a supporting membership and do a deep dive. Buy AND sell & profit.

 

[loveandbass]

but in reality, no the kids making minimum wage dont really care and probably shouldnt to be honest. Lotta cranky boomers out there

 

[darwin-bass]

It's funny. In a thread about poor customer service, people are complaining about receiving good customer service

Yes, the irony was not lost on me. But I consider Sweetwater's cold-calling to be overly intrusive. But that's the only part of their business I have heartburn with. Well that and no sales. You get the idea.