That's it. And yeah, it's like he took pride in it. I worked in the area so every five years or so I'd check back to see if anything had changed. Nope. "You gonna buy it?"... before I'd even had a chance to touch it. Good times/
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Guitar Center Struggling
- Thread starter Doner Designs
- Start date
That's it. And yeah, it's like he took pride in it. I worked in the area so every five years or so I'd check back to see if anything had changed. Nope. "You gonna buy it?"... before I'd even had a chance to touch it. Good times/
Never bought anything from Guitar Center.
Three different stores in different metro areas and had the exact same experience every time...
At least 8-10 employees at every store. Never once was I greeted or asked if I needed any help.
Spent at least 30 minutes in each store looking around and left without any contact from anyone.
I tried but they didn't want to sell me anything.
Three different stores in different metro areas and had the exact same experience every time...
At least 8-10 employees at every store. Never once was I greeted or asked if I needed any help.
Spent at least 30 minutes in each store looking around and left without any contact from anyone.
I tried but they didn't want to sell me anything.
All I ever seen is a store full of kids. And a wall full of instruments that are not set up properly. Sad.
I like being left alone in stores, different strokes.
Being acknowledged would have been nice.
Ignoring customers is not a good business model IMHO.
Different stores, different areas, same thing - are you sure you don't give a "don't bother me" vibe?
Pretty sure that's not it. Now stop bothering me.
I remember I bought my first SVT as well as many other things when Guitar Center was a small, independent store on Sunset (& Fuller?) in West Hollywood. Yesterday I checked were all their locations are. WoW ! I knew they have gotten bigger. But I didn't realize how big !
Same thing happens to me. The kids running the store never come to see if you need anything. They seem to be content talking to their friends of being on their cell phones. And seem to not even care that there are customers in the store.
Was they like that here, I'd go there more - I swear it's like a gauntlet, and I understand, but they're still on my lawn.
But what helps is, take out yer wallet or reach in yer pocket and bring out and start counting your roll. Even if it's Washingtons, they'll be right there for ya!
(Works in bars, also, especially if they see you drop a bill on the bar.)
I'm glad they kept it to themselves. That must really suck.
My opinions, based on my experiences, are my opinions. Are yours fact? People like you who whine about mine being fact are common and predictable. Why does an experience other than yours bother you so? I think I know why.
No doubt there was a ticker tape parade when you showed up in the thread. We'll see if it's okay for me to say that... looks like it was fine for you.
I like my local GC ok. They have less people working these days. But you can always get help even waiting for a while.
My first purchase was over 10 years ago for a Yamaha digital piano for my family. Shopping experience was good. The piano was damaged from shipping. I got a replacement directly from the store immediately.
Few years ago I decided to practice music again. I have since purchased 3 America made basses and 2 electric guitars from the same store. Couple of them had a huge clearance discount. I am happy with my purchases.
Some clearance sales you don't see online, so I go there to check once in a while. For example, there were over $600 off for the Fender 60's Original Jazz and P bass earlier in spring. They were beautiful, but I don't need another J or P bass at the time. lol
They don't have the higher end stuff they used to display, but all in all I like to shop there.
I bought my HX STOMP from Sweetwater because it was out of stock in GC even online.
My first purchase was over 10 years ago for a Yamaha digital piano for my family. Shopping experience was good. The piano was damaged from shipping. I got a replacement directly from the store immediately.
Few years ago I decided to practice music again. I have since purchased 3 America made basses and 2 electric guitars from the same store. Couple of them had a huge clearance discount. I am happy with my purchases.
Some clearance sales you don't see online, so I go there to check once in a while. For example, there were over $600 off for the Fender 60's Original Jazz and P bass earlier in spring. They were beautiful, but I don't need another J or P bass at the time. lol
They don't have the higher end stuff they used to display, but all in all I like to shop there.
I bought my HX STOMP from Sweetwater because it was out of stock in GC even online.
I'm waiting for Daddy's Junky Music to make a comeback! Hold on, it's comin'...
That was the first Guitar Center I ever visited, I was living just down the street. Never got a good vibe there and avoided GC for many years. Lately I've been a GC customer here in South Texas, and recently in Honolulu, until the quarantine! I have had good experiences in both stores. Times change, people change. No complaints here.
Doesn't Fender already distribute some guitars and amps through Best Buy? I imagine that would grow should GC go down. GC isn't quite there yet. It's not quite at the point Sears was five years ago...
Best Buy may not be crippled by debt the way GC is, but I strongly suspect (hard to know for sure as GC is privately held and doesn't publish their numbers) that via MF and the other e-commerce outlets, GC did a larger percentage of its business on-line going into the COVID-19 lockdowns than Best Buy, so may have taken less of a hit.
Here's a science fiction scenario for you all: Imagine, in a world without a vaccine for the COVID-19 virus, where browsing at GC just isn't an option. Just how virtual could things get? Imagine shopping Virtual Guitar Universe, where you queue up to take over a shopping droid, with cameras, microphones, and robotic hands. You could have your avatar droid wander around a huge physical store (possibly in the middle of nowhere), look at stuff, and even take it off the rack and play it via VR gloves. This would of course be imperfect - in particular, there's a lot in the feel of an instrument that would be damned difficult to convert into sensor data and reproduce remotely - but you'd be able to hear the attack, the sustain, the tone of the pickups and electronics. Just how good would that have to be to be preferable to ordering blindly based on photos and reviews?
Our local best buy had a whole aisle of squiers and epiphones the last time I was in there... didn't see any Fenders (not even Chinese ones) or Gibsons though
buldog5151bass
Kibble, milkbones, and P Basses. And redheads.
The GC retail locations seem to be in total chaos after the huge layoffs.
A couple weeks ago I tried ordering an in-store used P Bass from one of the locations in the mid-west. After not getting a shipping notification after several business days I called the store. It took about 30 minutes to get anyone to pickup the phone. Once I finally got someone, he very politely explained that the store is down to three people and they're hopelessly swapped. Couldn't even give me an estimate when they'd have time to ship out the bass I'd already paid for. I canceled the order, of course.
When a retail operation can't even handle selling their product things are in deep, deep trouble.
A couple weeks ago I tried ordering an in-store used P Bass from one of the locations in the mid-west. After not getting a shipping notification after several business days I called the store. It took about 30 minutes to get anyone to pickup the phone. Once I finally got someone, he very politely explained that the store is down to three people and they're hopelessly swapped. Couldn't even give me an estimate when they'd have time to ship out the bass I'd already paid for. I canceled the order, of course.
When a retail operation can't even handle selling their product things are in deep, deep trouble.
Not rose colored... Growing up, the local shops were not overtly disparaging or rude. The one shop 1 town over was OK. Most had little in selection and plenty in attitude and arrogance though. Later in life the shop I went to for years was great. Mars and GC both came to town but really didn't make a dent in their business. Retirement closed them down... You just have to understand what these places are and what motivates them. Then you get the best of what they do best and the freedom to go elsewhere for the things they don'tAnyone else have a rose colored glasses look back on mom & pops?
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