A smart business would have apologized profusely for the inconvenience, offered to help you look through their online inventory to find similar bass, AND given you a store credit voucher for a future purchase. Smart businesses know that its cheaper in the long run to retain a current customer who wants to but their product than to lure in a new one. Its been apparent for quite some time that there is little "smart" going on at GC.
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Guitar Center at it again
- Thread starter ethikz
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A smart business would have apologized profusely for the inconvenience, offered to help you look through their online inventory to find similar bass, AND given you a store credit voucher for a future purchase. Smart businesses know that its cheaper in the long run to retain a current customer who wants to but their product than to lure in a new one. Its been apparent for quite some time that there is little "smart" going on at GC.
It can't be GC, because I have a great rapport with a couple of managers and several sales staff at multiple GC's who have never failed me, and if they have, they have more than made up for it.
I'll give you this much: The staff member could have been a little more customer-centered and put a band-aid on your boo-boo. Of course, I am giving you the benefit of the doubt and assuming A LOT, such as: 1. You were dead serious about buying the bass and not just another poser killing time, and 2. The staff member was fully aware of that intention. We all just have to take your word for those details.
As for spending millions on a system of automatons to instantly tag flag and remove on-line purchases from the sales floor, dream on dreamers. From what I've seen, they already make the effort to get the purchase off the sales floor quickly. And internet sales are incredibly important to GC's bottom line, and they obviously want to give the on-line shopper the same opportunity to claim and purchase an item as the in-store shopper.
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While I agree with you, they really should've handled the situation better than just ripping the Bass out of the guys hand. If they had already sold it, then why was it still on the display where people can assume that since it's on the display that it's for sale? Why didn't they just keep it behind the counter? And if they're too lazy to ship it to him, how come they couldn't just have the guy come in and get it?
This is why I sometimes don't really get guitar center
You must not have been in the same situation since you are "in" with the cool people at GC. I can assure you there was no boo boo per se. It sucks yea because I wanted it and drove a good hour to buy it.
Haha poser wasting time, typical sales person mindset. If the staff member wasn't fully aware after I said I want to purchase this then they are an idiot. Why would i lie about it? What do I have to gain from posting a lie in a forum?
They're liars, plain and simple. I've had them tell me more than a couple of times that they put new strings on the used basses, but it's hogwash.
I picked up a LTD bass from them that had Black Beauties on it, and I know damn well they weren't going to sport new BBs on that old $100 bass.
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you are more fortunate than I have been in the past...... I've bought stuff online, that they had already sold. Then you have to wait for a refund.
If the salesman was rude when he took the bass, then he's guilty of being rude. That's it.
Like i said before; everyone is assuming that the bass was purchased online several hours or days previous to the OP coming in the store, and that everybody was just too apathetic (or lazy) to take it off the wall, but we dont know that. The bass could have been purchased five minutes before the OP brought it up to the register.
It's unfortunate they don't pay someone to watch the website every second of every day to make sure that inventory is immediately removed from the sales floor the moment someone purchases it. I guess that would ensure that nobody has a melt-down when they can't have their binky, but I don't know.... Somehow, that seems a little impractical.
Well that's kind of the strange thing is they couldn't seem to find the info in the computer even though I had a printed receipt. Could have simply been a bad search. I'm not so sure they could have found another of the same bass. It wasn't being produced anymore and they are a bit difficult to find. I'm glad it worked out. I have for the most part had very positive experiences with GC. Even bought my Rick from them sight unseen and it was perfect!
Yeah, I'm part of an elite group of special customers who know the secret hand shake. Or perhaps I show my face regularly, learn people's names, spend a little money, and make an impression as a mature consumer. It's funny how people are inclined to make an effort and show you the same amount of respect you show them, even when they don't particularly like their jobs.
My meaning is, you didn't deserve to be treated rudely, if indeed you were (the words, "It's been sold," seem pretty innocent to me, but whatever). And for the unfortunate coincidence, you deserved some kind of "band-aid" in the form of a freebie, discount coupon, etc. Managers have that discretion, they give them out all the time, and you should have received something by way of apology.
And it could have just as easily been a walk-in customer who sniped you if you were an hour away. Did you call ahead to check the status of this bass before you hit the road?
I wonder how those salespeople get that mindset? Could it be the millions of wankers that come in and play "Higher Ground" and "Smoke On The Water" at ear-piercing volume and chase away the customers who would like to shop in peace and actually buy things?
Look, we're giving you the benefit of the doubt and taking your word that it happened like you said, and discussing it accordingly.
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Exactly.
I think in this day and age, we're all aware how it works with shops that offer an item for sale on the sales floor and on-line. It shouldn't come as a shock or personal affront when a used bass turns out to be paid and spoken for by an on-line customer.
You've got people simultaneously advertising the same bass for sale on Craig's List, eBay, Reverb, and here on TB. Happens all the time. First come, first served. It's the way of the world, y'all.
Yeah, I've gotten all excited and pounced on items newly posted in the classifieds or on CL, only to find out that it sold on ebay, or there's another two people ahead of me, or whatever... An hour later, it's forgotten.
Plenty of other gear out there and plenty of other (sometimes better) deals.
First of all, there is this, from the GC website purchase terms and conditions:
"By purchasing products and/or services from the Site, you agree to be bound by and accept this Agreement. Orders are not binding upon Guitar Center until accepted by Guitar Center. We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone. Guitar Center will indicate its acceptance of an order by acknowledging your order by reply email or by shipping the ordered items to you."
In my retail world, (admittedly not unique merchandise like instruments but entirely replaceable product,) that acceptance email was triggered at the POS by store personnel when the order was picked off the floor. The main reason for that was that inventory shown online did not necessarily reflect inventory on hand when the store processed the order. (i.e product could be sold while the order was processing.) The email that was sent was boilerplate "sorry, that order couldn't be fulfilled, the item was out of stock, here is your money back."
Since you have such legal expertise I probably don't have to spell it out for you, but the exercise of the right of refusal claimed by our company in its terms and conditions was vested in us as agents of the company, for the precise purpose of making the correct customer service decision, according to our discretion.
I would love to ask a self-appointed arbiter of purchase ethics what should happen if while the OP was playing the bass a 2nd customer walked up to the counter and said 'I want that Warwick I saw online. Here's my credit card.'? Do you sell the bass without finding out whether the person who has it in their hands wants to buy it? The guy playing it got to it first.
In corporate retail your job is basically to serve up the poop sandwich your company's policies create to one and all. If it's dictated by the company overseers that I have to snatch an item out of someone's hand to fulfill an online order, then that's what I will have to do. If I have any degree of discretion though, I am going to privilege the customer who I have a relationship with over anonymous online buyers. If that is not GCs policy, then in my opinion that is a bad customer service decision. It's not a question of cowardice, its a question of building and maintaining relationships with clients who are known quantities. If that comes at the expense of someone remote, who will just buy the next bass from the next store that gets one in, so be it. Although you are the same company, your focus (and possibly incentive) are not the same at store level as they are company-wide.
Finally, I would say that the definition of plain old fashioned douchebaggery is calling people coward or douchebag in an online forum. You're the one claiming that something that happens all the time and is covered by terms and conditions is somehow illegal and unethical.
The first part is a bit worrying but as you say, maybe a bad search or they need to fix the IT or processes. Point taken on bass rarity.
A contract of sale has four basic parts. So GC has buried a fifth part in their T&C's. It doesnt make it right. And I will describe actions any way I see fit, and do not constrain my expression based on whether online or in person. Treating people differently when online is GC's speciality apparently so you would know more about that than I do. By describing specific actions I didnt call any person a name, but if the shoe fits...
It kind of sucks, and lets face it either way someone was going to be ticked off. In this case, the guy physically in the store got disappointed. If this had gone the other way, this thread could just as easily have been someone on line angry that they got sniped by someone in the store.
Unless we're talking about something truly unique and one of a kind, Guitar Center is big enough that they should be able to apologize and offer as close a match as they can and toss in something to smooth feathers like new strings, better case, or $25 bucks off, whatever as an apology and get it shipped overnight to the store.
I totally get being mad about going all the way to the store, being ready to buy, and getting stuffed like that at the last second. It would make me angry too. The store manager should be smart enough to try to make up for the inconvenience.
Unless we're talking about something truly unique and one of a kind, Guitar Center is big enough that they should be able to apologize and offer as close a match as they can and toss in something to smooth feathers like new strings, better case, or $25 bucks off, whatever as an apology and get it shipped overnight to the store.
I totally get being mad about going all the way to the store, being ready to buy, and getting stuffed like that at the last second. It would make me angry too. The store manager should be smart enough to try to make up for the inconvenience.
In that scenario, with two in-store customers, neither of whom has paid for the item, it seems fairly obvious the person who got to it first and is holding it in his hands has first right of purchase or refusal.
I do not believe that applies to an on-line customer versus an in-store customer for a variety of legitimate reasons. First among those, the on-line customer has no knowledge of what's going on in the store, or that the very item he's interested in is simultaneously being looked at by an in-store customer (and vice-versa). So the standard ethics of two in-store customers eyeing the same item no longer apply. Welcome to the 21st century shopping paradigm.
Second, and very important and unique to this situation and music retail in general, is that the vast majority of music store shoppers use the rhetoric of a buyer without any intention or resources to actually make a purchase. If you've never worked music retail, please trust my five years' experience on this: You hear these kinds of words from customers A LOT: "Wow, cool bass, I've always wanted one. Is this price in stone? I'd love to take this home. Do you have layaway? Do you take trades? Golly, I really want this bass. I think I have room on my credit card. Mom, can you help?" etc. etc. eventually followed by a change of heart, excuse making, and the customer leaving the store empty-handed despite the salesperson's desperate attempts to finish the sale. When I say that is the norm, I am not exaggerating. I'd estimate that dozens of customers handle and droool over an instrument before one actually puts his money down. Pretty crappy odds in musical instrument sales, and lots of time wasters, foot draggers, and day dreamers.
To boil down a complex situation using the mentality of music store sales staff, on-line buyer serious about the purchase who puts his money down trumps in-store buyer who may very well be dicking around and wishing he could buy the bass but in reality CAN NOT and WILL NOT be buying that bass--no matter how he makes love to it in the store and romances the sales staff--because it happens so frequently. No smart business tells a customer who saw the item as "available" and put his money down to "hang on while I see if this tire kicker wants it first." That's a sure-fire way to lose the sale and the patronage of serious mature buyers.
And consider this: If I'm an on-line buyer ready to spring for a used bass I see on the GC website, and I get a message to the effect "Please wait while we check availability," and I'm torn between that bass and a great deal on another bass available locally for a short time, I'll be tempted to abandon the on-line bass and spring for the other. Meanwhile, in-store tire kicker changes his mind and GC loses the sale completely. Dumb and dumber.
Money talks, BS walks. Strike while the iron is hot. A bird in the hand is better than two tire kickers in the store. And all that common-sense wisdom stuff.
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