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Guitar Center Etiquette (Trying out Gear)
- Thread starter organworthyplayer337
- Start date
Despite what others may think, most bumpkins around here don't walk around carrying guitars.
To the OP:
There has been very good advice posted here. I think the biggest thing(besides respect to the equipment and noise level) is honesty to the salesman. If your just test driving and not buying, it's good to be upfront.
That way, the salesman knows that no amount of pitching is going to make you buy today which saves you and them lots of time.
Another big thing is if the store is busy and you aren't buying anything, it's not fair to eat up the employees time with a ton of questions and endless requests for instruments you would like to play. Most of these places the employees work for commission and that type of behavior can directly affect their paycheck.
That being said, if someone is free, they are usually more than happy to BS about gear, answer questions, and give suggestions.
Based on your posts in this thread and the other GC thread, you seem to have ample common sense when it comes to interactions at a guitar store. Just use your best judgement and I'm sure you won't upset anyone who is mentally stable.
There has been very good advice posted here. I think the biggest thing(besides respect to the equipment and noise level) is honesty to the salesman. If your just test driving and not buying, it's good to be upfront.
That way, the salesman knows that no amount of pitching is going to make you buy today which saves you and them lots of time.
Another big thing is if the store is busy and you aren't buying anything, it's not fair to eat up the employees time with a ton of questions and endless requests for instruments you would like to play. Most of these places the employees work for commission and that type of behavior can directly affect their paycheck.
That being said, if someone is free, they are usually more than happy to BS about gear, answer questions, and give suggestions.
Based on your posts in this thread and the other GC thread, you seem to have ample common sense when it comes to interactions at a guitar store. Just use your best judgement and I'm sure you won't upset anyone who is mentally stable.
I agree with this one. I always say I am in the market for a new bass and I would like to check out ones I am interested in purchasing. This phrase says two things to the salesperson I am testing basses I have already researched and if I like something I am buying it. This way I am not offered anything other than what I am looking for. This came about only because I ended up with a pushy salesperson during a visit one time and this person was throwing suggestion after suggestion and I was like I have one, I have one, it was bass number 10 at the time so yea ha ha ha.
I'm with you on three but will disagree with 1 and 2.
I know it may sound weird, but as with any retail store, being empty is a curse. A store would rather have people in it than be completely empty. A quiet MI store is a sad thing. Yes, the sales people would rather you buy something rather than just beat up their equipment. However, an empty, quiet store, may be intimidating for the kid or weekend warrior that wants to try out some gear.
Test driving in person is kind of a jerk move, but we all know it is happening. I'm never going to buy an instrument without playing the model first, and unless you like turning things over quickly, you are stuck with it if you buy it online. What's more, if you buy something new online and don't like it, you are going to lose 50% of your money right away.
Personally, I also have a problem with most MI store's terrible bass selection. I might like be looking for something but the store doesn't have the right model or color. "We can order that," they say. "So can I," is my reply. "What do I need you for? Maybe if you gave some of the space you have dedicated to every damn stupid color of Les Paul and Strat to some basses you could have made some money today."
But do be considerate of your volume. Except when you are in the purchasing phase of buying an amp\cab. Sorry everyone, I'm cranking it to live venue volume for a minute to make sure it doesn't sound like @$$.
buldog5151bass
Kibble, milkbones, and P Basses. And redheads.
@socialleper It is a jerk move to try something out in a store, and then order it elsewhere - they can't have every model or color.
I don't think you demoing their equipment is helping their "atmosphere".
But yes, if you are looking to buy an amp (there) you SHOULD give it a proper test - just don't be a wanker - which 90% of the players in most music stores are.
I don't think you demoing their equipment is helping their "atmosphere".
But yes, if you are looking to buy an amp (there) you SHOULD give it a proper test - just don't be a wanker - which 90% of the players in most music stores are.
It is, and yet it is going to happen. Retail is nothing more than who can get away with what. Salespeople will screw the customer and the customer will screw the salespeople. The only thing more distasteful that retail is the drug or human trafficking trade. Although to be fair, I have never tried something in the store just to turn around and buy it used or online cheaper because most MI inventory sucks so ferociously that I can't find one of something to try in the first place.
They can't have every model? It sure as $#!& seems like they have space for every damn fool guitar and guitar amp. In the modern economy physical stores need to understand their new place. They are there for for things you can't really buy with out looking at it or trying it first (clothes, shoes, instruments), convenience (buying a cable at Best Buy for more because you need it NOW), or things it is just too impractical to get online (groceries.) If you don't have the stock, you are going to lose the sale; period.
I don't know if you have ever worked in retail, but an empty store is a death knell. It is the same strategy as to why grocery stores have twice as much produce than they could ever sell, and then throw it away. Americans want to see lots of inventory and busy show rooms. If a place looks empty and dead, they assume there is something wrong with the place. Why do you think GC plays music over the PA? Because if the store was dead quiet it would be too imposing for the one person to plug in. The individuals that work in a store may not like wankers, but corporate loves wankers because it makes the store look busy. Busy = appearance of profitability.
buldog5151bass
Kibble, milkbones, and P Basses. And redheads.
Yes, I have worked in retail (and I own a business).
Sorry - don't buy your argument. Any perceived benefit is more than outweighed by the damage to the instruments (and we see threads almost weekly here about instruments in stores and how they are damaged, scratched, etc.). It's an excuse. If you do it carefully and respectfully, then it's not as much an issue, but as I said before, you don't go into a supermarket and start rubbing the melons in an effort to help out produce sales.
Sorry - don't buy your argument. Any perceived benefit is more than outweighed by the damage to the instruments (and we see threads almost weekly here about instruments in stores and how they are damaged, scratched, etc.). It's an excuse. If you do it carefully and respectfully, then it's not as much an issue, but as I said before, you don't go into a supermarket and start rubbing the melons in an effort to help out produce sales.
I really hope you don't say that. That seems aggressive and needlessly rude. Not to mention, I'm sure that a basic sales associate has no control over what the stores inventory is comprised of. Especially because if you order through a big box store, they can give you free shipping and if you don't like it you can return it directly to them instead of trying to re-ship it yourself. It can also build a good relationship with an employee at whatever store you work with. Not to mention it gives them a chance to make some money as well.
If I can go through a store where the deal is the same or better for me AND it helps out someone else, I would always go that route. Some salesmen are out to get as much money as possible, but in guitar stores, my experience is much more friendly and much less like a used car lot.
The "so can I" part, yes I have.
"I can order that" is a canned answer, I know it, they know it, and their companies know it, which is why they make them say it. Does the salesman have any control over their inventory, mostly no, but if enough potential customers walk, the sales people will squawk about it at their sales meetings. And, as a bass player, I'm tired of taking it in the shorts and buying whatever beat up, ugly colored, vanilla basses they have hanging around as a second thought.
Just because I'm me, I've also said "where is the high end bass room" when a sales person has caught me looking into the high end guitar rooms GC has. I have to resist saying "no $#!&" when they tell me there isn't one.
My family is British; I have dry sarcasm in my veins.
The locally owned and operated music store in my neck of the woods has the worst attitude about testing/demoing equipment I've ever seen. I've been griped at for using my hand to push a bass over a little bit that was hanging on a row of instrument hangers to get a better look at the heel. I've asked if they could match or come close to online prices for an Ibanez guitar that I was ready to buy on the spot and they berated me as "what's wrong with America". The stories get worse from there, but suffice to say that I just don't go in there any more.
Maybe I'm weird, but I like to try things at GC and typically, I'll buy them. I have a few sales reps that I like to deal with. I email them before hand, let them know what I'm looking for, then show up to test it out on a day that they are there. Saves me time and they get the commission instead of whatever random I got luck of the draw. From the same guy, I've bought both basses I've owned, the guitar that I'm getting ready to sell, both amps I've owned, the guitar I bought my brother for Christmas, etc. He's always been great about price matching, I've had a gig bag thrown in, and I get a set-up/string change before I leave the store. It seems win/win for me except for the sales tax. But, I guess that's the price for instant gratification.
I've never had many of the different types of horror stories that other people have had looking at instruments, and I've really never had any of the pushy salesmen.
I've never had many of the different types of horror stories that other people have had looking at instruments, and I've really never had any of the pushy salesmen.
Also, if someone wants to plug into an amp next to you tell them they can't practice there because you are practicing
I'm sorry. I've been a good music store customer for years. I spend plenty of money at them, and here is the deal:
- I won't play loud enough to drown out someone who is trying out an instrument or amp unless that person is there to wank and I am there to purchase. In that case, I will be the loudest guy in the store.
- I will play any instrument in the store as long as I feel like it. I might come in during some off time, while waiting for an appointment, and go into the acoustic room, and spend 45 minutes playing the nicest guitar in the store. I will treat the instrument with extreme respect, and you will not be able to tell I played it when I am done.
- If the salesman is lying to a nice family about how they need this certain very expensive guitar, I will find a very nice entry-level instrument that would be more than adequate, and I will play something that sounds great on it, and then tell them how it is plenty of guitar for them, and I will scowl at the lying sales clerk, and the hungry kid who now hates me. The parents will either love me, (most of that time that is the result,) or hate me, (hey; I've learned to live with it.) No salesman has ever dared talk back to me about this, and if they did, they would hear a lot from me about their business practices.
- I will otherwise be respectful, and quite often, I will most likely leave the store with a purchase. Oh, and if it's a Guitar Center, and they are playing the music loud over the store's PA, I will jam along with whatever they are playing.
Y'all city folks don't wear your guitars around all day?
Let me guess? You're going to tell me that y'all wear shoes on your feets instead of running 'round bearfoot the way we was made?
I guess I need to see how the city bumpkins do it 30 miles up I40 from me.
I don't think there is any proper etiquette for trying out gear. At least that's what I've been told from posting experiences here and seen and experienced on my own. Apparently you must have hands on any and all gear at all times regardless of testing status. You can play as loud as you'd like cause you have to have hear whatever gear you are testing at full volume in order to truly get an idea of what it sounds like. If its in the store the store expects you to "drive it like you stole it". If I'm trying out gear to drop big bucks on I'm the only one in the store that matters. That's what I've learned from TB and real world experience lol.
Fixed it. Let's face it, almost every s*** bassist we've ever seen slap the hell out of the bass thought they were really good at it. Kind of like drinking - you say something, you think you're hilarious!...nobody else does.
This is the best advice. If you're trying it out, play it like you're going to buy it. Get a feel for it, but don't mess around for an hour straight with your Lemmy, Jaco, AND Chris Squire tribute pieces. You can d*** around with a bass at home, if you really need to.
I feel so bad for the music shop guys who have to put up with bad slappers and shredders all day. God only knows how annoyed I must have made the guys at my shop. They always had to grab the bass for me (all $1,000+ basses were kept behind the counter) and listen to me play it up and down the neck, listen for sustain, dead spots, tonal checks... They were real nice, but I always hated the idea that I could be "another of those guys". The guilt finally dissipated when I walked out with my brand new bass.
By the way, from a music shop frequent flier, thanks for knowing your etiquette @lokikallas . I get a little less enthused about my trip when I have to hear Mr Dragonforce shredding from across the street.
