Guit@r Cen+er sucks @zz

Hutnick · Post by **Hutnick** » Wed Aug 02, 2006 4:46 pm

I try to keep a positive attitude but now and then something just tips me over the edge and I can't help but vent my frustrations. So here goes..

A couple days ago I was in need of a new music stand. Mind you, I am a busy musician who plays out frequently with several different acts so a music stand that is portable and sturdy is a must. Foolishly, and in a bit of a pinch on my way to a gig,(I left my stand at home on accident), I decide to stop in at our local catalog outlet and make a purchase.

I located a stand that I was interested in and asked to see one. Upon inspection I noticed that all of the fittings appeared to be made of a cheapish looking plastic. However this was the the best option as far as stands go that they offered. So I ask the guy that is helping me if it has a warranty and if there were problems could I replace it at their store or would I have to send it to the manufacturer. He asked his manager who was standing by closely what the deal is on this. Before the manager got any words out the smart azz sales guy standing next to him chimed in, in a condesending tone, "if you don't like it, buy a nicer stand".

So I'm about ready to choke this little @sshole, when the manager said "I'm not sure, go ahead and get it and if you have problems with it talk to me". Needless to say, I said no thanks and left before I blew a gasket.

This is not how a retail establishment is supposed to work. That manager should have put his salesman in his place and tried to make the sale. I mean come on, this little pr!ck salesman was still playing GI-Joe when I started gigging in the area. Show a little respect to your customers for a change.

This isn't the first time I've dealt with rude help at this place, but it was definitley the last time. I'd quit playing before I would drop another dime into their business again.

O.k. sorry about the rant. I had to get it off my chest.

WBOB · Post by **WBOB** » Wed Aug 02, 2006 5:00 pm

a true example of a poorly run business...
...at least by what you're saying.

You were in the right to say,.. "forget it"

Move on to someone that wants your business.

Oliver's Army · Post by **Oliver's Army** » Wed Aug 02, 2006 5:05 pm

When I sold audio for the now-defunct Lehman Electronics we were commissioned on sales. This meant I busted my ass to make a dime. I knew my product, I treated people well, I followed up on things, I bent the rules, I NEVER lied to the customer, I made good my promises, and I went out of my way.

If I didn't...I would have starved.

Now because of the push to keep lower prices, these places pay thier staff a measly salary, or at best, an crappy hourly wage and you get what you pay for *most* of the time.

Apathy, ignorance, anti-social behavior and a desire to do a little as possible to keep their job.

The irony is that in places like this the only 'bonus' for a sales person is when they unload a piece of crap that is overstocked. So not only don't they care, they are rewarded to steer you towards the duds.

Even though Lehman's prices were competitive, I would still have people buy from us because we knew our sh*t.

WBOB · Post by **WBOB** » Wed Aug 02, 2006 5:09 pm

Even though Lehman's prices were competitive, I would still have people buy from us because we knew our sh*t.

..tis human nature to gravitate towards the
course of least resistance,..sometimes even
despite price!

doubleshot · Post by **doubleshot** » Wed Aug 02, 2006 6:59 pm

Lame.

And sadly common.

You're still the man Aaron---stand or no stand.

Hutnick · Post by **Hutnick** » Wed Aug 02, 2006 8:21 pm

Oliver's Army wrote:Even though Lehman's prices were competitive, I would still have people buy from us because we knew our sh*t.

I would rather pay more to the guy down the street, who treats me like a customer, any day of the week.

Grindspine · Post by **Grindspine** » Thu Aug 03, 2006 10:45 am

I don't buy ANYTHING from ANY local music retailers.

I'm not a fan of GC.

Sweetwater has messed up too many of my orders.

Recycled Music closed.

Tri-state Music have always been Chodes.

Music Star rips people off.

Blah!

sevesd93 · Post by **sevesd93** » Thu Aug 03, 2006 10:55 am

Not a fan of Tri-State either. They have horrible prices on drums, and act like they are giving sweet deals.

WBOB · Post by **WBOB** » Thu Aug 03, 2006 11:04 am

Not a fan of Tri-State either. They have horrible prices on drums, and act like they are giving sweet deals.

personally,.... my last choice!

Al Quandt · Post by **Al Quandt** » Thu Aug 03, 2006 1:51 pm

Guitar Centers biggest problem is infact their pay situation (your right ollie). While Guitar Center was a neat place to work (mainly because of the weekly visits from product reps. to train us).

The way they set up their pay, it is impossible for the regular sales men to make any money because their managers take most the sales. You cant get mad at the managers because they have a much higher quota to meet or they are broke and on the street too.

Because of this poor situtation they cannot keep anyone, even folks that really know what they are talking about cant stick around. So I can only imagine that by now they are just hiring anyone off the street that knows use a cd player.

You can get great deals there, but sadly we dont have the market here to keep that store alive and running with complete quality service. Especially with Sweetwater around the corner.

All the guys I worked with there are pretty cool guys, especially out of the store. But under the sales pressure they have it forces some to have to be the occasional douche

Hutnick · Post by **Hutnick** » Thu Aug 03, 2006 2:48 pm

My personal vote has to go to the Guitar Exchange. They have never done me wrong. While their prices aren't always the best, their customer service has always made up for it.

eds · Post by **eds** » Fri Aug 04, 2006 11:59 am

Hutnick wrote:This isn't the first time I've dealt with rude help at this place, but it was definitley the last time. I'd quit playing before I would drop another dime into their business again.

that sucks.

and yeah, having worked for sweetwater, i know they are no better. maybe better customer service, but be prepared to either wait two months for your product to come in that wasn't in stock, or have an order severly jacked up.

when bad meets evil.

bassjones · Post by **bassjones** » Sun Aug 06, 2006 5:18 pm

The other big problem with GC is you can expect to spend an additional $60 - $100 to have your instrument set up correctly. By the time you do that, you're better off having spent the additional $20 to buy from B# who always has their instruments set up well. I've played $2500 basses at GC that played and sounded like complete crap due to their lousy set up jobs. I'm not just talking action which is completely subjective. I'm talking about intonation, out-of-phase pickups, not following the radius of the fretboard, etc... There's currently a gorgeous used Carvin LB75 fretless sitting on their showroom floor with a broken truss rod - and they're asking $500 for it. By the time you send the bass to Carvin and have them replace the truss rod, you might as well just order a new one. I'm not sure they even care that it's broken and I'm sure they'll sell it to some unsuspecting person without fully informing them of the extensive repair job necessary to make it playable. They also have a used ZON 5-string that plays horribly. I am hoping they start carrying the MarkBass line of bass amplifiers, but only so I can go in and check them out. If I like them, I'll probably just order one from somewhere else.

Hutnick · Post by **Hutnick** » Sun Aug 06, 2006 8:05 pm

bassjones wrote:There's currently a gorgeous used Carvin LB75 fretless sitting on their showroom floor with a broken truss rod - and they're asking $500 for it. By the time you send the bass to Carvin and have them replace the truss rod, you might as well just order a new one. I'm not sure they even care that it's broken and I'm sure they'll sell it to some unsuspecting person without fully informing them of the extensive repair job necessary to make it playable.

My thoughts exactly! I saw that bass and the price and thought- WOW! I'm not a fan of Carvin, but for $500 you about can't go wrong. Think again. Their just waiting for some kid to snatch it up, thinking it just needs a set up. Pretty shady if you ask me.

kevrayhiya · Post by **kevrayhiya** » Tue Aug 08, 2006 7:16 pm

Well there we have it, if you want to work in a music store in FW you can take it up the arse high tech style as they do at SW or you can go lowbrow workingclass a la Walmart and work for GC. The common thing it that each are not much more than legal pyramid situations which is about all that retail sales is anyway. Just so you know I moved here five years ago to work for SW and just quit after three days at GC.

The sad fact is that more and more businesses are taking the model of totally manipulating the worker's mind via various psychological corpoate mind control methods to strive towards unattainable sales/performance standards. When the person shows the slightest sign of burnout they are fired. To quote the Who: "Meet the new boss, same as the old boss."
Ya da Ya da,

I'm out.............[/i]

FortWayneMusic.com

Guit@r Cen+er sucks @zz

Guit@r Cen+er sucks @zz

Re: Guit@r Cen+er sucks @zz

Sweet and Center!!