Why hate guitar center?

CityEscape · #1 07-15-2009, 10:56 PM

From looking around these forums...and knowing many musicians in general...it seems like lots of people hate GC. What I'm asking is...why? I've only been there once to get a replacement strap button, but is there something I don't know?

thndrstk6 · #2 07-15-2009, 10:58 PM

I worked there for about a year. There's a lot going on that the customers don't see that
is pure shady and is a shame. It's the Wal-Mart of guitar stores. Seeing the things I did
I will not give them any of my business ever. I don't care how small the item is. I don't
care if I need to pay another few dollars. I'm not going back.

Zombbg4 · #3 07-15-2009, 11:00 PM

Care to share? Or quote what your "friend" has to say who also worked there?

infamusblkdeath · #4 07-15-2009, 11:00 PM

^shady like what exactly?? i'm just curious

CityEscape · #5 07-15-2009, 11:00 PM

...do you mind me asking what people "don't see"?

two fingers · #6 07-15-2009, 11:01 PM

Lots of older guys (and by that I mean anybody over 35, myself included) remember the old "mom and pop" stores of yesteryear. Service was good. The people who worked there KNEW their product. They were happy to order something for you. Lots of times when you go into one of the "big box" stores, there are a few kids in there who don't know what they're talking about. Other kids are playing really loud and playing the SAME OLD STUFF over and over and over again. It's just not the same kind of experience. That being said, I don't hate GC. I only go in there when I need something very specific though. They are nice to have around, but browsing is no fun in there for me.

CityEscape · #7 07-15-2009, 11:01 PM

Wow...we all posted the same thing.

southernrocker · #8 07-15-2009, 11:01 PM

I go there because they have selection.

vegas532 · #9 07-15-2009, 11:04 PM

I went to one today. Had to climb up to get my own guitars because the salespeople acted like I wasn't there, had to do quickie set-ups on 3 different basses to make them remotely playable, and begged the manager (who was trying to avoid me, actually) for a small wrench to reattach a knob on a bass I wanted to try out. After waiting 15 minutes for him to return, I gave up, return the bass to its place, and left.

...and this is not an unusual occurrence for a Guitar Center in any way. They're pretty much all this way and I for one am glad the big box retailers are hurting...it serves them right for treating customers like crap.

strke-fender · #10 07-15-2009, 11:05 PM

my experience with guitar center is poor service, lack of knowledgeable sales people, and poor maintenance of guitars on the wall.

i was excited to try out the geddy lee jazz one day and the set up was so poor i couldn't even play it. same with a warwick.

the guy behind the accessories counter didn't know that a boss tu-2 tuner had two different output types. (output and bypass) and argued with me about it.

there was a person in the bass section looking to buy a bass for his church when he wasn't a bass player so he asked an associate. but her offered little help.
so he asked me and i walked him through every bass on the wall and talked him into a schecter lol.

i think its kinda disappointing. i agree with the walmart of guitar stores. i would MUCH rather buy from a shop where i can meet the owner and talk with him.

i really only use guitar center to try out gear they carry before i buy it cheaper on ebay or craigslist.

electracoyote · #11 07-15-2009, 11:05 PM

If you know what you're doing, GC is as good as the next place. They are all just resources. If you're not sure what you're doing, GC will take advantage, but so will a lot of places.

They don't pull anything on me, because I know better. In fact, they know me so well by now, I've got the manager and staff like puppets on a string. I can honestly say I've gotten away with murder on several deals.

But I won't let my students shop there alone.

allexcosta · #12 07-15-2009, 11:06 PM

I've been to many Guitar Centers across the country and never had a problem. Expecting them to know A LOT about everything is not realistic.

bongomania · #13 07-15-2009, 11:07 PM

We've had hundreds of threads about "why", with people running down their individual grievances.

Short version: they are a massive corporation (relative to the world of musical instruments anyway), and they have gotten that massive by practicing predatory business practices, and by hiring people with no training whatsoever. The biggest complaints are about the employees who don't know that a bass can have more than 4 strings, or who don't even know that they carry a brand like Markbass.

Note: there are also smart, well-educated GC employees... I think every single one of them is a TB member.

**Mark Wilson** · #14 07-15-2009, 11:08 PM

I think this would be better in...Misc.

Yea. Misc.

allexcosta · #15 07-15-2009, 11:09 PM

People need to realize that nobody is perfect. The OP himself posted this thread in the wrong section...

ad9000 · #16 07-15-2009, 11:09 PM

There are really no alternatives to GC close to where I live, but I try not to give them my business except for emergencies, for all the reasons previously noted.

vegas532 · #17 07-15-2009, 11:10 PM

I did want to add a positive statement for people in the Greater LA area. I also went to Truetone Music in Santa Monica today and that more than made up for my (usual) bad GC experience. I've never had a bad experience in that joint. The staff is great, humorous, and helpful, they know their product, and staff and management alike has always been very courteous to me...I like to give kudos where they're due!!

infamusblkdeath · #18 07-15-2009, 11:13 PM

i go there cause they are the best we have around,honestly.
there are smaller local guitar stores,but as funny as it may sound,they really don't seem to have as good service.and even stranger,i find some of the guys at the smaller shops to kind of be snobby,and moody too(their time of the month?

)as to where the guys at my GC are actually very friendly and way more helpful.plus they have the best selection around as well,obviously.

a fellow TB'er actually commented on how impressed he was with the service there on a thread one time(the albany store)
and it's funny to think that it's my local GC,and that all the rest of them are bashed like crazy on here.

fdeck · #19 07-15-2009, 11:13 PM

I hate getting shaken down like a criminal to buy a $5 cable. Honestly, do they need my name, address, phone number, and then send me to a separate person to check my merchandise against the receipt before I can leave?

It's like Radio Shack used to be.

thndrstk6 · #20 07-15-2009, 11:16 PM

Employees are hired for their selling skills not what they know. I saw several salesmen
who had no idea what they were talking about get promotions. The first week you start
there they train you on how to be a salesmen. They truly don't care about what the
customer wants or needs it's all about selling. They pay their employees crap and
promise commission but they set the commission % so low that it's nearly impossible
to make money. This makes a very aggressive and hostile environment. The gear isn't
cared for at all. I would get in trouble for taking of a bass because it was time that I
could be selling something. The managers force the employees to make certain quotas
and sell specific items because their bonuses are based on these things. They treat
customer like an opportunity. There has been so many times that I thought "man that
guy was cool". I now realize he was just manipulating me. I've seen the managers
passing around these psychology books on how to make people like and believe you.
It's apparently a common practice. I saw guys get fired or made to quit because they
didn't sell enough. There is literally thousands of things I can think of.

I realize that this may not be a big deal to others because hey your just buy a pack of
strings right? I also realize that that's how big business works but I think guitar stores
be run by musicians that care about what the customers needs are and not be run by
salesman. I don't like slimeball salesmen and guitar center is literally a
breeding/training ground for them. It's not about the musician it's 100% about the sale.

Like I said there's a lot of stuff that's going on with upper management that I find
repulsive. This is just the tip of the iceberg.

I also know that most people will just say "ahhh whatever I just want some cheap
strings".

I just feel like I'm supporting a organization that screwed me over and has screwed
over a lot of there fellow musicians in the process.

I refuse to give a single cent to a company that I don't trust.

Yes I am a disgruntled ex employee but I'm disgruntled because of what they do to
musicians and what they did to me before I stopped giving them my business.