Who has Worked at GC

[tycobb73]

Ok, a little about myself. I have masters degrees in Accounting and Business Administration and am currently an accountant. I'm thinking about selling basses at GC, maybe even trying to become manager. I'm just at one of those points in my life where things aren't going good at work and I'm trying to sort things out.

So my question is, if you've worked at GC, can you tell me about your experience? How much money do you make, what are the hours, what are the business practices? Anything?

Thanks,
Mike

[Eric Killinger]

I heard that guitar centers pay sucks, and its a generally all-around bad place to work.

[95JettaCity]

It definitely sucks when you first start. The hourly is usually minimum wage and it takes some time to build a following at the store. But once you do, you can pull off some serious comission checks.

My advice...

Work in the Pro Audio department!

[Dr. PhunkyPants]

If you are passionate about basses and about quality service, you might be much better off either working as a rep for a reputable manufacturer or for a store with a reputation for good service, such as BassNW or BassCentral.

GC is a tech stock. It's shareholders demand max profits over the short term. You should therefore go into any potential employment position with that clear understanding of the business model at work here.

Whereas you may get lucky and find a store with a loyal clientele or enlightened management, turnover is likely to be 100% per year or higher and the core business model will always prevail, sooner or later. GC=good summer job, but not a satisfying environment for a professional such as yourself.

My recommendation is to look elsewhere in the industry.

[tplyons]

I've applied being in college, and frankly the hours are more flexible than most places. Haven't heard back yet, but I have 3 more days til they told me I'd have a call.

[vindy500]

look for a local (not chain) store, where you can atually influence how the shop is run

[syciprider]

Well since you have an MBA, GC might be a good place to start in because you may get kicked up to corporate levels later on. At least with your background the potential for upward mobility is there unlike @ the "TB approved" or "bass chic" stores.

[Folmeister]

Just pray GC doesn't promote you to accounting. With degrees like that, why don't you try teaching at the community college level? The pay and conditions are much better!

[SoComSurfing]

Originally Posted by tplyons

I've applied being in college, and frankly the hours are more flexible than most places. Haven't heard back yet, but I have 3 more days til they told me I'd have a call.

More flexible? Wow. When the one here opened up they hired me, but wanted me 40 hours/week, and weren't willing to work around my school schedule. Even now, I believe everyone in there, except for whatever high-school kid they have at the front door for that day, is a full-time employee.

[hyperlitem]

there are 2 guys that work at the sam ash i worked out, extremely similiar company, that both have masters and theyve made 6.50 an hour for the last 2 years. Dont do it, working for a guitar chain sucks ass. and you will make less than $200 a week for sure. Im getting my MBA right now just so I never have to do anything like that again.

[vindy500]

Originally Posted by hyperlitem

there are 2 guys that work at the sam ash i worked out, extremely similiar company, that both have masters and theyve made 6.50 an hour for the last 2 years. Dont do it, working for a guitar chain sucks ass. and you will make less than $200 a week for sure. Im getting my MBA right now just so I never have to do anything like that again.

this is the sort of thing that comforts me when paying a whole lot more for gear than the yanks, 14 year old kids get paid more than that here

[ElMon]

Here's something I posted in another thread. Thought it might help



I feel very passionate about this as someone who spent 3years at Mars Music and over a year at Guitar Center.

The truth is that GC doesn't really want your business as a bass player, because the fact of the matter is that bassists have a much healthier appetite for boutique basses than do guitar players, and the businesses we all buy from (BassCentral, BassNW, etc.) reflects that. This is why you don't see a lot of strictly-bass-oriented salespeople in either chain. The commission structure at these stores is such that they make you starve with their measly base-pay, so that you are left with two choices: 1) Get frustrated and quit (GC once had a turnover rate of 165% and now hovers around 85% I believe); 2) Turn in to a slimy, move-anything-possible-out the front door kind of salesperson. You don't really have an option if you want to pay rent.

So, inevitably, you learn to ascertain who is a potential buyer, and thus customer service starts to slip. Another rant.....

GC is making a concerted shift to only selling true high-end gear on its sister site Musicians Friend, as well as the new guitarcenter.com. The reason is simple. The 'play anything you want regardless of your age or ability or of the price of the instrument' philosophy is doomed to produced mangled setups, dinged bodies, and dead strings. Ever go in to a bass only store?
They are much different in their philosophy: accomadating but ever watchful.

In regards to the salesperson who didn't know the product, this actually doesn't hinder you from making huge numbers, and corporate knows this. With the commission structure as mentioned previously, your much better rewarded by quick turnover of sales rather than spending a bunch of time with a custy. I learned this the hard way. I was the guy that would spend over an hour with any customer to make sure they were getting what they needed for their particular musical desires, and while this gained me a loyal base, I could've written twice the profit each month just by hitting up as many people as possible.
I know one ex-coworker in proaudio who knows next to nothing about any of that stuff, yet he outsells all the tech-nerds in his department by AT LEAST 10k a month in profit.

[Vic Winters]

I must live near the best GC in the US because I never have any problems with a salesperson. It's incredibly rare that they try to sell me something of a higher cost than what I am looking at, but they never put forth any pressure when they do it. Sure they ask if I need an accessory here or there, but they never push it beyond that, plus they have given me some pretty good discounts. Hell the assistant manager and I strike up a conversation once and a while about what bands are coming to town, even inviting me to see his band at a local club. It's a friendly environment from my experience.

For those who complain about them trying to reccomend something a bit more pricey, that is their job. When a waiter asks you if you want shrimp with your steak, I doubt you get all huffy about it. Or if the guy at the drive through asks if you want it super sized, that's the same thing. If a waiter doesn't know all the ingredients in the crunchy chicken salad, it's not because he's an idiot. It's because there are 50 something items on the menu and to expect him to know the ins and outs of each dish is a bit outrageous, especially if it's a 17 year old kid doing it part time. Same with gear. If you like a bass or amp, you'll do the research and know everything about it, the salseperson will know the selling points, the things most people look for when buying new equipment. A local guitar store may be more knowledgeable of what they have on their walls, but when you only have 5 basses, it's alot easier. As the amount of gear increases, the amount of knowledge for each piece of gear goes down. Besides, I'd rather do my own investigating on a product than take someone's word for it, but hey that's just me. Every salesman reguarless of who they work for is trying to sell you something. Give me product diversity and lower prices over a perfectly knowledgeable salesperson.

[tkozal]

I have jammed with a couple of full time GC employees. Both tell me that once they got over the hump of the trial period, and got on full time, etc..it was not bad at all. One said he was making $45-$50,000 per year, plus bennies. Not bad at all, but frankly chump change to a MBA. You should apply to their corporate office.

These were, however, adults.

[Matthew Bryson]

Originally Posted by ElMon

(snip) GC once had a turnover rate of 165% and now hovers around 85% I believe (snip)

turnover rate of 165% - How does that work? does that mean that over half of the people that applied, but did not get hired, have already quit?

[syciprider]

Originally Posted by hyperlitem

there are 2 guys that work at the sam ash i worked out, extremely similiar company, that both have masters and theyve made 6.50 an hour for the last 2 years. Dont do it, working for a guitar chain sucks ass. and you will make less than $200 a week for sure. Im getting my MBA right now just so I never have to do anything like that again.

I'm confused by this post. Two guys with Masters get paid $6.50/hr for the last two years (idiots obviously, must be Fine Arts students). Poster gets Masters so he or she doesn't have to experience same.

[Poop-Loops]

Originally Posted by Matthew Bryson

turnover rate of 165% - How does that work? does that mean that over half of the people that applied, but did not get hired, have already quit?

They wrote "I quit." on their application.

[Dr. PhunkyPants]

Originally Posted by Matthew Bryson

turnover rate of 165% - How does that work? does that mean that over half of the people that applied, but did not get hired, have already quit?

No. Assume the store maintains staffing at 100 positions. He's saying the manager had to deal with 165 people leaving for other employment opportunities in the course of one year.

It means the average employee tenure was just over seven months.

[RAM]

Have you ever worked in retail sales before?

Out of curiosity, why the masters degrees if you have no desire to use them?