Why does Guitar center want to record my life's history?

[de la mocha]

Anybody know why they enter you in their computer? It's so anoying. Even if you're not buying something and you just asking a question they want your name and number and ask if you shopped their before, it's so creepy!

It's the mark of the beast! 666 y'all!

[jgroh]

Art Vandelay doesnt mind sharing information about his importing/exporting business =)

[Smurf-o-Deth]

So they can add you to their chain letter mailing lists.

[J. Crawford]

Its so they can send you all the coupons and spam I receive weekly.

Thats it.

[CatfishStudios]

I kind of like the catalogs they send me, if nothing else I can compare prices and see new products before I buy them from somebody else.

[J. Crawford]

Originally Posted by CatfishStudios

I kind of like the catalogs they send me, if nothing else I can compare prices and see new products before I buy them from somebody else.

I dont know how much comparison you can do with the page or two of basses, effects, and amps..

[TheBear]

So they can send you marketing spam to try and entice you to buy something, and I have a sneaking suspicion that they sell our info to other industries for their marketing tactics as well...

[xzzy]

You have to submit your SSN to take part in their "king of blues" competition they got going on. I guess to run background checks?

I wonder how many blues legends would have never been discovered if a clean criminal record was necessary to perform. ;)

[Din Of Win]

Originally Posted by xzzy

I wonder how many blues legends would have never been discovered if a clean criminal record was necessary to perform.

+1

[PBass101]

It's their business. If you don't like the way they run it, you can use your free market right to avoid them.

[ghostjs]

its just incase you become famous so they have your number and autograph

[cheamo]

They plan to break into your house and steal your bass and sell it back to you.

[socialleper]

Being a former GC employee, I can probably shed some light on this, even though my information is about 10 years old. What they are doing is taking what is/was called an "up". This is a way they can follow 'up' on leads and to show that the sales people have been trying to sell. We needed to have a certain amount a day or our managers would think we were just screwing around all day if we didn't hit our numbers.
GC employees used to be much more aggressive about following up on sales and leads, but I've noticed that even in the stores they've laid back a little. I guess they got tired of the nick name "the shark tank."

[nsmar4211]

I inquired about a bass once.......and got weekly phone calls for months afterwards telling me about the great new deals they got in on used basses. Problem is, I live an hour away and am not coming down every week to look at a bass.......I think they've finally given up! The only issue I had was I didn't "opt in" to weekly phone calls.......those are *my* cell phone minutes. Emails I don't mind, they don't cost me anything.......

[AwesomeMcBadass]

It doesn't bother me.
I like to get the magazine things in the mail and my name is on the list for when they have events.
(For example, I remember one time the top 10% of buyers on the list had a special day where only we were allowed in and everyone on the list was mailed a gift card beforehand to use.)

[RTL]

Originally Posted by PBass101

It's their business. If you don't like the way they run it, you can use your free market right to avoid them.

+1

That's what I do.

[speedkills]

It worked in may favor for sure once...I called to see if they had a particular bass in stock which they didn't, but they took my name and phone number and about 2 weeks later I'm sitting here and I get a call..."We have that bass you were looking for..." and I was down there in 30 minutes and back home in an hour with it...

[The Owl]

Guitar Satan at your service:

[adammazza]

It's called marketing. You don't have to submit your information (though I'm guessing you do if you return an item). At most stores I frequent I am asked for my email address/address at checkout, I always refuse, I've never had an issue.

I'm surprised they ask for a SSN for anything, but even if they have it, they can't legally perform a background check unless they you permission.

Side Note: I've used my own email domain for years. Whenever I need to use an email address for anything I always use something along the lines of company<some variable>@mydomain.com. So for example let's say for talkbass I may use talkbass3737@mydomain.com (I don't really use that for talkbass).

Now if I ever receive spam addressed to talkbass3737@mydomain.com I know where they got my email address from. I then set up an email rule that'll automatically forward any message I receive at that address to abuse@companythatsoldmyemailaddress.com

Works great.

[xgator4u]

Originally Posted by PBass101

It's their business. If you don't like the way they run it, you can use your free market right to avoid them.

~^ EXCELLENT choice, avoid them. Or give them Art Vandelay's info.