Guitar Center Rant

[John Deacon]

It's kind of funny how so many people bash GC and still they've grown to be the largest retailer of musical instruments. I live about a 30 minute walk from a GC, I go in sometimes for giggles and every time I'm disappointed. The sad part is they're better than the mom and pop place two blocks from me, that guy gave up along time ago. I still have a few smaller places that have what I need, and like to shop.

Because rich investors are pumping money into it, and buy out all the other shops. Its called a monopoly.

And I only go to GC when I am in a bind. If you have sales staff, they should at least know their department. I'm not saying they should babysit people, but having people who obviously don't care about the shape of the instruments they sell leaves me a bit uneasy. The sales people should also ask people to not crank up the amp, so that the other buys can actually hear what they are playing. I usually thought that GC's had an upper price section where not just anyone can go in and destroy the merchandise. And like somebody else said, GC is the only music store in my area aside from one other one, but they always close too early.

 

[PilbaraBass]

Because rich investors are pumping money into it, and buy out all the other shops. Its called a monopoly.

And I only go to GC when I am in a bind. If you have sales staff, they should at least know their department. I'm not saying they should babysit people, but having people who obviously don't care about the shape of the instruments they sell leaves me a bit uneasy. The sales people should also ask people to not crank up the amp, so that the other buys can actually hear what they are playing. I usually thought that GC's had an upper price section where not just anyone can go in and destroy the merchandise. And like somebody else said, GC is the only music store in my area aside from one other one, but they always close too early.

you know that fully half of the complaints that I hear about GC (and their twins) is that they WON'T let folks try the instruments?


you should live in Australia ... only the major cities have decent music shops...the regional shops are terrible (no inventory, or really entry-level stuff)...

I'm fortunate...I only have to drive 1.25 hours to get to a 1/2 decent music shop where the prices are OUTRAGEOUS (e.g. $2100 for an $800US MIK Jazz 24 Deluxe V)

 

[b_carville]

Our foreign brothers & sisters of the lowend have it pretty tough. For all that is wrong with the US,it is still the cheapest place to get good gear in the world!

 

[capnsandwich]

Our foreign brothers & sisters of the lowend have it pretty tough. For all that is wrong with the US,it is still the cheapest place to get good gear in the world!

Well, if you don't include ebay and the TB classifieds. Even Craigslist will surprise you now and then, but you've got to be willing to buy used.

 

[Michael Case]

Because rich investors are pumping money into it, and buy out all the other shops. Its called a monopoly.

Seriously? I find that hard to believe, I do believe that they run local shops out of business with lower prices due to stronger buying power. It's also a problem when local shops try to compete with GC in the beginner market. There's hardly any place for pro level players to go and kick the tires on pro level gear.

And I only go to GC when I am in a bind. If you have sales staff, they should at least know their department. I'm not saying they should babysit people, but having people who obviously don't care about the shape of the instruments they sell leaves me a bit uneasy. The sales people should also ask people to not crank up the amp, so that the other buys can actually hear what they are playing. I usually thought that GC's had an upper price section where not just anyone can go in and destroy the merchandise. And like somebody else said, GC is the only music store in my area aside from one other one, but they always close too early.

Well, I do agree that it is rotten that you can't find a well kept instrument in GC, which is why I don't like to browse or shop there. I do know for a fact that it can be pretty demanding to actually care about the instruments in those places though. I worked for GC for about two months back in late 1999, I thought I'd take in every little bird with a broken wing and nurse it back to health. The problem was EVERY little bird needed full body casts. Broken strings, rusted strings, bowed necks, you name it. Plus, if you're fixing instruments you're not making sales, if you're not making sales you're making minimum wage! I quit in a hurry.

As for the complaints of kids wanking the day away, try to remember we were all that kid at one time. I know I tortured the owner of the shop my best friend and I went to EVERYDAY for six moths before getting our first instruments.

 

[frankie5string]

Last year I walked into a Guitar Centre for the first time ever - when I was in Tallahassee... I'd heard of them because they used to come up to Canada for the Vintage Guitar show, rent a booth - then go around and buy 50 guitars and leave!

Anyway, when I went in there it was immediate "Radio Shack Syndrome" where five guys cornered me to assist... in the end i asked about getting an MB150E and they quoted me a really low price, but I decided against it...

Strange store too - most of the good guitars were so high up on the wall they had this trolly that could be driven into place, then extended to the roof-line to pluck down a guitar... All the crap was down at the bottom.

 

[wildcard]

The things, I don't like about GC are.
1. When you walk in, the music playing in the back ground, is way to loud.
2. People turn up as loud, as they can, when checking out instruments .
3. Poor quality instruments.
4. Poorly trained sells staff.
5. Before I'll buy at a GC store , I'll buy on the web first { same experience, but with out the loud music, & the pesky salespeople }. If your not happy with your purchase, send it back, without the pesky sales people, trying to sell you something else, that your not interested in.
This is just my experience with GC. Everybody is different, & has different needs. So I'm just speaking for myself.

 

[Michael Case]

The things, I don't like about GC are.
1. When you walk in, the music playing in the back ground, is way to loud.
2. People turn up as loud, as they can, when checking out instruments .
3. Poor quality instruments.
4. Poorly trained sells staff.
5. Before I'll buy at a GC store , I'll buy on the web first { same experience, but with out the loud music, & the pesky salespeople }. If your not happy with your purchase, send it back, without the pesky sales people, trying to sell you something else, that your not interested in.
This is just my experience with GC. Everybody is different, & has different needs. So I'm just speaking for myself.

Yeah the loud music part stinks IMHO. I agree with all that you say, but I've never purchased any gear from an online retailer. I can't get behind it. I miss good old fashioned music stores.

 

[60bass]

The things, I don't like about GC are.
1. When you walk in, the music playing in the back ground, is way to loud.
2. People turn up as loud, as they can, when checking out instruments .
3. Poor quality instruments.
4. Poorly trained sells staff.
5. Before I'll buy at a GC store , I'll buy on the web first { same experience, but with out the loud music, & the pesky salespeople }. If your not happy with your purchase, send it back, without the pesky sales people, trying to sell you something else, that your not interested in.
This is just my experience with GC. Everybody is different, & has different needs. So I'm just speaking for myself.

Agree about the things you mentioned and it also bugs me too. I have bought quite a few things at one of the local GC's in my area. One of the managers there knows I'm a long time player and can seperate the junk GC sells from the decent stuff that comes in. GC doesn't set up anything so you have to know if it's going to be a decent axe or not.

This guy also knows that I can get the stuff online for the same or less money and will ALWAYS match or beat any price I bring him. So it's OK by me. The last major item I bought there was a new 62 reissue Fender P bass. His price was way lower than anywhere else here local. I went to the local "bass only" store and they wouldn't match his price. I was standing there with the cash in my hand and they let me walk out. I was ready to buy from them and told them so. I knew that I was getting a great deal from GC so the guy there was doing me right. I also made him do a full setup on the bass before I took it home.

I'm probably the exception to the rule as far as GC goes as I feel their overall business model is to "screw the masses" so to speak.

So do I like shopping at GC, well no. However if that's where the best local deal is, I'll go there. I'd really rather support the local Mom and Pop store, but they just can't compete anymore. Which is sad.

 

[ryan(MAIDEN)]

at the store by my neck of the woods they keep all the good basses behind a counter... omg i hate it and hope the store burns down because of that(sarcasm)... the only bad thing about guitar center is the people wanking and parents letting their youngins run free in there... so the bad thing about it is the customers...

 

[Visirale]

Haha here's a fun story.

Our GC has a big room where you can test out PA systems. I was trying out a DVD turntable and my friend was on a soundboard trying out some EQ stuff with the system that was on.

This kid comes up to us who can't be older than 10. He's asked us what we were doing and we told him. He walks off. As we were walking out of the room, he's coming with about 3-4 other kids his same age, no parents in sight, and he says "Let's go mess with the stuff!" referring to the soundboard and dvd turntable I was just using...

 

[adronchase361]

The sad thing about the local GC here.

There's a ton of people on the guitar side, and it's like a deserted ghost town on the bass side.

It's so lonely every time I go there to check out a few basses, because I'm literally the only one there!

And another painful story. There was a kid who was looking at a Music Man Stingray, and he took it down and started messing with it. But I don't know what the heck he was thinking and just started going crazy with the bass! That poor ray got knocked so badly... I was buying some Schallers that day and all I hear is that Ray being mutilated.

 

[Michael Case]

Agree about the things you mentioned and it also bugs me too. I have bought quite a few things at one of the local GC's in my area. One of the managers there knows I'm a long time player and can seperate the junk GC sells from the decent stuff that comes in. GC doesn't set up anything so you have to know if it's going to be a decent axe or not.

This guy also knows that I can get the stuff online for the same or less money and will ALWAYS match or beat any price I bring him. So it's OK by me. The last major item I bought there was a new 62 reissue Fender P bass. His price was way lower than anywhere else here local. I went to the local "bass only" store and they wouldn't match his price. I was standing there with the cash in my hand and they let me walk out. I was ready to buy from them and told them so. I knew that I was getting a great deal from GC so the guy there was doing me right. I also made him do a full setup on the bass before I took it home.

I'm probably the exception to the rule as far as GC goes as I feel their overall business model is to "screw the masses" so to speak.

So do I like shopping at GC, well no. However if that's where the best local deal is, I'll go there. I'd really rather support the local Mom and Pop store, but they just can't compete anymore. Which is sad.

Sorry, but this is the kind of thinking that leads to cooperate giants like GC to squeeze local business out of the market. If you want REAL SERVICE from a person who gives a rats ass about the customers they serve and the products they sell you need to pony up the few extra bucks.
Why have high end instruments when you can get a Squier or Indonesian Fender for much cheaper? Why buy anything American for that matter? So what the quality stinks, we can just piss and moan about how things aint what they used to be.

 

[PilbaraBass]

Sorry, but this is the kind of thinking that leads to cooperate giants like GC to squeeze local business out of the market. If you want REAL SERVICE from a person who gives a rats ass about the customers they serve and the products they sell you need to pony up the few extra bucks.
Why have high end instruments when you can get a Squier or Indonesian Fender for much cheaper? Why buy anything American for that matter? So what the quality stinks, we can just piss and moan about how things aint what they used to be.

yes, and when you DON'T have a corporate giant like GC, you get local shops like the one in my town (come check it out )

shop is run by a man who last cared about his customers in 1983! (* gross exaggeration to enforce point *)

it is full of cheap gear, inflated prices, AND poor attitude.

I'm not complaining about how things USED to be...I LOVE my Indonesian Squier that I paid $300 US for @ GC...better than any $600 AU squier here

RANT OVER...at least for me...


carry on, my wayward sons

 

[Visirale]

Sorry, but this is the kind of thinking that leads to cooperate giants like GC to squeeze local business out of the market. If you want REAL SERVICE from a person who gives a rats ass about the customers they serve and the products they sell you need to pony up the few extra bucks.
Why have high end instruments when you can get a Squier or Indonesian Fender for much cheaper? Why buy anything American for that matter? So what the quality stinks, we can just piss and moan about how things aint what they used to be.

Great advice! Why should anyone ever shop for the best price and try to make their dollar go further? How foolish is that!

 

[Michael Case]

yes, and when you DON'T have a corporate giant like GC, you get local shops like the one in my town (come check it out )

shop is run by a man who last cared about his customers in 1983! (* gross exaggeration to enforce point *)

it is full of cheap gear, inflated prices, AND poor attitude.

I'm not complaining about how things USED to be...I LOVE my Indonesian Squier that I paid $300 US for @ GC...better than any $600 AU squier here

RANT OVER...at least for me...


carry on, my wayward sons

I know what you're saying, I've got a local shop right around the corner from me that I will not go to for that reason. The problem is Guitar Center isn't much better.

 

[Michael Case]

Great advice! Why should anyone ever shop for the best price and try to make their dollar go further? How foolish is that!

Are you really getting more for your dollar at GC? I remember a time where a shop serviced your instrument for free for a year. I didn't have to go to one store to buy the bass then to a shop to service the bass. GC doesn't offer any real service, the one near me has a guy that tells everyone the fist thing is "you need new strings." Then proceeds to charge for a "set-up."

I don't know, what's the point?

 

[Visirale]

Are you really getting more for your dollar at GC? I remember a time where a shop serviced your instrument for free for a year. I didn't have to go to one store to buy the bass then to a shop to service the bass. GC doesn't offer any real service, the one near me has a guy that tells everyone the fist thing is "you need new strings." Then proceeds to charge for a "set-up."

I don't know, what's the point?

Yes. GC price matches and can save me hundreds. I can set up my own basses and do anything the small store would do for free on my own. When I need real work done I go to a luthier, who isn't going to do it for free if I bought it from him or not. If someone goes to GC for repair work, that's their problem.

I don't even have that much loyalty to GC. I used to work for one of their sister companies and hated it. The only reason I worked there was for the discount. But if they have a product I want for the best price, I'm going to spend my money there.

I really don't have store loyalty. I love Bass Central, and they usually have the best prices, but me being local means I have to pay 7% tax which gets to be quite a bit at the $1000+ level. They usually help me out a bit, but some companies have set prices. A LOT of where I shop is based on who carries what.

 

[DeanT]

When I started playing in the early '70s, the only stores I had access to were Sam Ash and a bunch of mom and pop stores. I couldn't get into Manhattan regularly to go to Manny's and the other 48th Street stores. Sam Ash had the widest selection, but the mom and pop stores would spend the time to explain things to a bass newbie asking a lot of stupid questions. They both had their place.

I've never bought a bass from Guitar Center. Not because I don't like GC, but because they never seem to have what I want when I'm ready to buy. I use them to evaluate basses I'm interested in and to buy strings and accessories.

About their culture, well, it leaves a lot to be desired. In my GC there's hardly ever anyone in the bass section. So you'd think they'd jump when they see a customer walk in there. Wrong! You could die waiting for someone to wait on you. And if you ask for help, you could die waiting for them to finish with the 15 year old kid channeling Eddie van Halen, who they know isn't going to buy anything, but has to play at least 10 guitars anyway. So I just take matters into my own hands, climb up on the amps to get the Bongo off the ceiling and enjoy the solitude of the bass department.

GC may not be perfect, but at least there's probably one close to where you live. I bet there aren't many mom and pop shops left in your neighborhood.

 

[Gnejs]

The sad thing about the local GC here.

There's a ton of people on the guitar side, and it's like a deserted ghost town on the bass side.

It's so lonely every time I go there to check out a few basses, because I'm literally the only one there!

And another painful story. There was a kid who was looking at a Music Man Stingray, and he took it down and started messing with it. But I don't know what the heck he was thinking and just started going crazy with the bass! That poor ray got knocked so badly... I was buying some Schallers that day and all I hear is that Ray being mutilated.

Serves it right for what it did to poor Mr. Irwin...