I actually just got off the phone with a local shop here and the guy I was talking to commented on how prepared I was (ordering a part) and that I already knew more than he did on the subject.
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GC is apparently not interested in selling stuff
- Thread starter SMILEYSIXX
- Start date
Exploiter8
Demons run when a good man goes to war
I really don't hate Guitar Center. I have less respect for them than I used to because of a couple of bad experiences. I know I will never buy a guitar from them again unless I find a good used one that is set up properly, and not on the showroom floor. I only buy some accessories and pedals there. However, I became very angry with them yesterday. I had put a Bag End S18B-D on layaway in a store in Tampa, FL.(or I thought I did). I went to my closest store here in Texas and had them send the money to the FL store. I talked to the store in Tampa, and they said they would call my store and get it all taken care of, and call me when he got it done. Well, I never heard from them, but I had a receipt showing the money was transferred. Well, two weeks later(yesterday) I called to set up payment for the remaining balance. They couldn't find anything showing I had sent my payment to them and had sold the cab two days prior. I was furious. That type of cab was hard to find in the condition it was in. They found out the money had never made it to their store. I know people make mistakes, and they are going to up for it by giving me a free pack of strings along with my money back. I'll make sure and get the most expensive set for my fiver.
My biggest gripe about GC relates to the way they jerk you around when you return something to try and avoid paying you. Had a family member buy me something for Christmas. The employee talked said family member into buying a piece of used Behringer gear at a higher price than new. Plus the extended warranty that was shorter than the factory warranty on a new one would've been. Not cool. Took it back. I was firm but civil about letting them know that I was aware that they had taken advantage of an unknowledgable family member and that I wanted the money back, no exchange. They made me wait an hour and a half for a manager. No bueno.
Had a friend who had worked at the OKC GC tell me that they were instructed to delay returns and ask customer if they would opt for store credit/exchange when they grew tired of waiting. I haven't made a major purchase there since.
And now I have participated in beating the dead horse. I feel dirty. Almost as dirty as I feel after shopping at guitar center.
Had a friend who had worked at the OKC GC tell me that they were instructed to delay returns and ask customer if they would opt for store credit/exchange when they grew tired of waiting. I haven't made a major purchase there since.
And now I have participated in beating the dead horse. I feel dirty. Almost as dirty as I feel after shopping at guitar center.
So far my dealings with the GC I go to have been very good. They leave me alone and it's only after I've been trying something out for about 5 minutes is when they approach me.
Very polite in asking if I have any questions to which I reply "not right now...just making some comparisons." Then they'll say "if you have any questions just let me know."
When I do have questions they've always been answered to my satisfaction.
I have no problem with GC.
Very polite in asking if I have any questions to which I reply "not right now...just making some comparisons." Then they'll say "if you have any questions just let me know."
When I do have questions they've always been answered to my satisfaction.
I have no problem with GC.
Yeah, but I've never been in "every other retail store" and experienced the horse**** I've seen at GC. I've never been to a Best Buy where my very presence was an imposition on someone whose job it is to help me find what I want.
If I went to look at plasma screen TV's with the full intent to buy something, I can't imagine an employee being inconvenienced by my desire to buy a product from them.
i've had good experiences and painful experiences, if you'd like more details search the countless other gc threads
Please let me know which Best Buy you shop at. It sounds significantly better than the one near me.
I went into GC a couple of weeks ago. I hadn't been in years, because I really didn't need anything. I took my bass, and they checked it in with no comment. I was looking for a cabinet to pair with a head I had on the way. First guy I ran into asked if he could help, I told him I needed a cab. We went into the bass room and proceeded to move things all over the room pairing different cabs with different heads. He commented on my bass, and I let him play it (I had my Warrior signature 4 with me), said he loved it, and he even said "this smokes anything we have, I understand why you brought it".
No problems at all. I'm a 36 year old guy who looks like a high school assistant principal (I am, by the way), and doesn't look like a bass player. He was cordial, very helpful, and even knocked a few dollars off the cabinet for me.
Sounds to me like you just got a guy who is an idiot. Don't bash an entire chain for one idiot.
No problems at all. I'm a 36 year old guy who looks like a high school assistant principal (I am, by the way), and doesn't look like a bass player. He was cordial, very helpful, and even knocked a few dollars off the cabinet for me.
Sounds to me like you just got a guy who is an idiot. Don't bash an entire chain for one idiot.
I guess I can consider myself lucky. My local GC is great. Manager is a bass player and helluva nice guy, so I guess that helps. But the staff is friendly and reasonably knowledgeable, and the basses are usually set up pretty well and in tune.
D
D
I once bought some PA cabs from GC without hearing them because the sales guy was too lazy to hook them up. He pointed out the 30-day money-back deal...take the cabs out on some gigs, don't like them bring them back.
I would have preferred to at least hear if I was going to have a very unpleasant surprise on my next gig
but the sales guy would rather blow a sale than spend two minutes plugging the cabs in 
Just one reason why I avoid GC as much as possible 
I only go in when they have advertised specials that are especially good deals. Even then I need a shower when I get home
I would have preferred to at least hear if I was going to have a very unpleasant surprise on my next gig
but the sales guy would rather blow a sale than spend two minutes plugging the cabs in Just one reason why I avoid GC as much as possible I only go in when they have advertised specials that are especially good deals. Even then I need a shower when I get home
That's really bizarre! I've never been in a GC or any other music store set up like that. Where is this store located?
I've been to Jeremiah's GC (great guy, btw) and his is a good one!
i saw nearly the same BS the orig poster said go down at the clack. store with a first time buyer(felt sorry for him)but,,,after BSing my way around a bit i found`Jeff' who is actually the Bass Guy and he was cool/said he'd ship me whatever i needed either to the store nearby or direct to me,,so yeah they hire people who aren't really up to snuff on what it's all about(like using your own bass to try amps),,
that's all the whipping i'm going to partake in, i've ground on them before here
make friends with someone where you shop it'll be a hole lot easier
that's all the whipping i'm going to partake in, i've ground on them before here
make friends with someone where you shop it'll be a hole lot easier
Funny that I just posted earlier. I called GC today because the switch for the horn on my new 115MBX cab stopped working, and the horn is now permanently off. I called and talked to them, and they said they would order a new one and call me when it came in so I could come in and swap it out. He said "come in and give it a good run through to make sure it is to your liking." Very helpful and friendly.
GC empoylees astound me. I go in looking to find a head and cab. I already have a head in mind, but wanted to find an appropriate cab. Seeing as how I never tested the head with my own bass, I take mine in. My bass is heavily modded, so GC assuredly will have nothing like mine. I walk in and tell the worker right in front that I'm taking in my own bass.
Him: "Well why? We have tons of basses to test it with."
Me: "None with quarter pounders and nylon wounds."
Him: "What's the difference?"
Me:
Get past this. Go look at the amps. They have the head I want but it, for some reason, is plugged in to a 2x8, which I'm definitely not interested in. All the heads plugged into cabs 4x10 or bigger are at least $800 which I'm in no position to spend. So I ask an employee if he can just switch the heads so I can try out a 4x10 I had my eye on.
Him: "Well that head is plugged in over there, just use that."
Me: "I don't want a 2x8, that's less than what I'd like."
Him: "But it's the same head, it will sound the same no matter what amp it is."
Me: "They're two entirely different setups and entirely different brands, they are nothing alike."
Long story short, I left without testing any amps. Is GC hellbent on leaving their customers unsatisfied?
Say, wait a minute now...
If I didn't know any better, it's almost like different people behave in different ways because they're individuals and lumping many people together into one massive generalization is a bad idea that leads to prejudiced and unfair bias! No way!
