A Positive Guitar Center Story

[Kmonk]

Guitar Center seems to take a beating here so I figure I would share a positive story.

For Christmas I received a Tascam GT-R1. I actually ordered online it in late November but my wife and I decided to put it away so my son could give it to me for Christmas. I put songs on the SD Card but found that all of the artist folders whose name began with the letters L through Z had no songs listed. I put the SD Card into a Tascam GB-10 and it worked fine. All the artists and songs appeared. The GT-R1 would not format the SD card either.

I contacted GC customer service and they suggested that I go to store to return it and have them order me a new one. This is where I had a problem. When I purchased the GT-R1, it was on sale for $126. It now costs $249. The store's computer system would only allow them to take $45 off the new price. I called GC customer service and explained the situation. They placed a new order at the price I originally paid ($126) and said I will have it by the weekend.

[pica]

I too had a real good experience at GC recently. And I use to dog them for years. I noticed my local GC has all new staff working there. Hmmmmmm

[Munjibunga]

GC has always been very fair to me.

[armywalaby]

I have spoken ill of my local GC before, mostly because the previous store manager didn't buy a fretless Corvette 4 string from me because "you can't intonate a fretless instrument". if that wasn't bad enough, everyone I tried to sell the instrument to called the local GC to ask them about the instrument and he repeated the same drivel. I dunno how he still has a job at that company after that email I wrote corporate. Hope I run into him at a company affair someday, I'll be sure to ask him if he ever figured that out. I now work at the local GC, and I am not afraid to tell a customer that I don't know the answer to their question, but I'll go find out for them. I've met some ***hats over the phone that make me wonder how they are still in management level positions with the attitude they have towards work....maybe that's why they are managers?

[Kmonk]

I've had good and bad experiences at GC but it seems if you call the customer service number they go out of their way to help. Its the mindless idiots at the stores that do not have a clue.

[Indiana Mike]

my local GC has been great as of late ....up until a few years ago I was less then impressed . They had turnover to include management . Its been great ever since .

Its not really GC but the people they employee that make or break it.

[pflash4001]

Sometimes I have to wonder about their selection process...there was one time I went in and asked a guy who was working the guitar dept for a 12AX7 preamp tube. After waiting for about half an hour while he searched he came back and handed me my merchandise...a brand new halogen light bulb for one of the DJ lights. I told him I needed a 12AX7. He said that was the only one he could find....seriously? I didn't ask a drummer or a keyboardist who didn't know guitar/bass gear. I would be the wrong person to ask about drum gear, but if I worked at GC, I'd find someone to ask or to help this guy out.

[msaone]

I've had mixed results there. I was a little concerned when I bought my sons new guitar there, and they had to rifle through a box of whammy bars to find the one that fit.

I didnt buy my new amp there, because I had to search for ten minutes to find a salesman.

We shop there still, but I bought my amp at my local music store.

[uhdinator]

Originally Posted by msaone

I've had mixed results there. I was a little concerned when I bought my sons new guitar there, and they had to rifle through a box of whammy bars to find the one that fit.

They have to put all the trem bars in a box behind the counter when they open new guitars to display them. If they put them on the guitar they get stolen in a day.

Your concern and inconvenience is unfortunately a result of fellow musicians/customers that are too cheap to buy a trem bar when they've lost theirs, and steal instead.

[Indiana Mike]

Originally Posted by uhdinator

They have to put all the trem bars in a box behind the counter when they open new guitars to display them. If they put them on the guitar they get stolen in a day.

Your concern and inconvenience is unfortunately a result of fellow musicians/customers that are too cheap to buy a trem bar when they've lost theirs, and steal instead.

wouldn't be that hard to tag the bars with make model and serial number . Even if it was masking tape.


Throwing them randomly in a box reeks of lack of give a damn.

[GBassNorth]

I buy a lot of used Basses and Guitars at GC. They have a great return policy that's almost impossible to beat and you don't have to deal with all the shipping hassles. The prices are competitive with eBay. Usually they are a little higher than Craigslist but then again chances are you wont be mugged during the transaction at GC.
The only issue I've ever had with GC is when buying new Amps. They usually insist on selling the ones off the floor vs NIB amps. That's not a problem with a Bass or Guitar since you can usually spot any damage before you buy. Unfortunately there are a lot of things that can go wrong with a floor model amp/cab that's been abused by the bass hacks and Hendrix wannabees and most of them can't be seen until the unit fails 31 days after you get it home. But if you're really concerned about that you can always order one from the GC website and it will be NIB when it arrives at your door (after being dropped kicked a few times by UPS)

[ksandvik]

Got cheap drumsticks there today and a Fender pedal tuner for $17. The Fender tuner has two outputs with the second one muted when tuning which is nifty.