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I'm officially boycotting Guitar Center

#181
xgator4u said:
Well, Sam Ash, Wal-Mart, Target, and many others are Comparable in theory, Big volume, low profit per item, High turnover, establishments.
Yet THEY still understand the basic elements regarding customer service, while G.C does NOT.
WHY do you think that is?
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Because that is their business model, and it works.

FWIW, all those other stores are not exactly famous for customer service. They are also successful in spite of lousy customer service, like Home Depot and others, just like GC.
 
#182
BassGoblin said:
Interesting. They wouldn't price-match American Musical when I bought my Zoom B3. They offered me 125$ for my ESP LTD EC1000 when they had one on the wall used right next to me in crappy condition for 575$. They offered me $400 for my ESP KH-2 which retails at $3000. They are in fact a rip off and I believe Hopkins is a butthurt employee of GC. I've got friends that work at GC in Albany NY, and their markup on guitars is 100%. Yes. They purchase their guitars from MOST manufacturers at 50% of what they charge the customer.

And no, I am not the reason employees tend to ignore customers. The employees ignore customers because the employees are generally idiots. They are there to make a paycheck. I purchase small items from them. I have offered to buy some guitars at what I thought they were worth - used, because what I pulled off the wall was clearly used. They always say no. That is not my problem.

So saying people like me are the problem... Well guess what? People like me aren't the problem. The problem is their business model and nothing else.
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No, you are pretty much the problem.
 
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#185
buldog5151bass said:
Guys, what is the "problem with their business model"? They are the biggest in the country, and blowing everyone out of the water. Their job is to make money - helping you and making you happy is just an unecessary by-product if it happens.
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Walmart is the biggest in the country and they are blowing everyone else out of the water. Does that make them the best?

Your reasoning is... Unreasonable.
 
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#186
BassGoblin said:
Incorrect. A phonecall to them with the part number and I got "We don't have it in store but we can order it for you". Horrible employees.
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So tell me, what is the exact name of the part you needed. You probably asked for something like "the little screw that screws into the stud that holds the bridge on a PRS". To look it up in their system probably required them to know exactly what the part was called, so after calling PRS and getting it, you called another GC with the part number and they were able to look it up, so this makes the guy that originally tried to find it for you an incompetent idiot, when you yourself didn't know, and still don't know exactly what you were needing is called, when all you had was a picture of it. The fact that he couldn't find it, and assumed that they couldn't get it is completely understandable, you getting upset about it, when you were able to solve the problem cheaper, and most likely quicker than GC ordering the part is not.
 
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#187
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/06/12/buyouts-bain-guitarcenter-idUSL2N0EO24720130612

NEW YORK, June 12 (Reuters-BUYOUTS)-Standard & Poor's cut its debt rating on Bain Capital-owned Guitar Center Holdings Inc late last month, as the music retailer purchased during the height of the 2007 buyout boom struggles with "weak operating trends." The corporate credit rating on the Westlake Village, Calif.-based company dropped to 'CCC+' from 'B-'.

"Although we anticipate the company (will) obtain the amendment to its financial covenants, we believe its capital structure is unsustainable in the long term and the company is dependent upon favorable business, financial, and economic conditions to meet its financial commitments," S&P credit analyst Mariola Borysiak said in a recent note to clients.

Invalid Link Removed

The company operates 253 stores under the Guitar Center brand, 117 stores under the Music & Arts brand, and also owns Musician's Friend, a retailer that targets serious musicians and hobbyists.

Guitar Center is a retailer worth salvaging, said the industry source, who asked not to be named. The source said the retailer sells products and services unavailable online.

For example, musicians need extra customer service. They also desire to play and interact with instruments before purchasing them -- something that Guitar Center offers. The company may need to shrink in size, the source said, but it still has a place in the world and is a relevant retailer.
 
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#188
Hopkins said:
There are a few "mom and pop" music stores in my town that are pretty good, but they are all pretty large stores that have been in business for a long time. If anyone is visiting Houston, do yourself a favor and visit Rock 'n' Robin guitars, or Danny D's Guitar Hacienda.

That being said the vast majority of the "mom and pop" stores sell low end gear for way to much money, and only stay in business because they supply band instruments to schools. They stock very little as far as parts go, they only carry Ernie Ball bass strings and the prices are outrageous, and they all close at 5 or 6 P.M. GC has shut down a few of them, but I don't miss them at all.
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Ironically, Rockin Robin is the most overpriced music store I've ever been to ;). They do have a lot of neat stuff though that's for sure.
 
#189
Right_Butterscotch64 said:
Ironically, Rockin Robin is the most overpriced music store I've ever been to ;). They do have a lot of neat stuff though that's for sure.
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Over priced on the price tag, but they will always cut you a deal. My friend bought a new Orange Rockerverb 50 from them for about $500 less than their sticker price.
 
#190
BassGoblin said:
Walmart is the biggest in the country and they are blowing everyone else out of the water. Does that make them the best?

Your reasoning is... Unreasonable.
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First, Walmart is in a group with Target and the rest. But yes, they are the best at what they do. Making money.

Second, what is the goal of GC? To make as much #$&*%$ing money as possible. There is no one in the same stratosphere as them. Fact.

That is THEIR definition of success - that's life.
 
#191
buldog5151bass said:
Guys, what is the "problem with their business model"? They are the biggest in the country, and blowing everyone out of the water. Their job is to make money - helping you and making you happy is just an unecessary by-product if it happens.
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And I submit, that it ain't happening. If they are all of that and a bag of chips, why so many pi$$ed of potential customers.
I concede that you are not going to please ALL of the people, ALL of the time,
but hell man would it not make them even more awesome if all of these people that are so pi$$ed off were NOT so pi$$ed of, and were potential customers?
Instead of telling every living person they meet, how bad G.C. sucks.
Or are they so high and mighty and so big that they just flat @$$ do not care?

How long before that comes back to bite them in the butt?
 
#192
buldog5151bass said:
First, Walmart is in a group with Target and the rest. But yes, they are the best at what they do. Making money.

Second, what is the goal of GC? To make as much #$&*%$ing money as possible. There is no one in the same stratosphere as them. Fact.

That is THEIR definition of success - that's life.
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None of that matters, there was not a customer service problem there. The guy went into GC looking for a non stocking part, not even knowing what it was called and they guy understandably couldn't find it. So he orders it from PRS who are experts on the guitar he needed the part for and automatically knew what he was talking about by the description. Then after he gets the part number when PRS sent him the part, he called back to find out that they actually do stock that part even though the counter guy didn't really know what to look for, but now the counter guy is an idiot because he couldn't find the part, they didn't even know what they were looking for the first time.
 
#193
Hopkins said:
Over priced on the price tag, but they will always cut you a deal. My friend bought a new Orange Rockerverb 50 from them for about $500 less than their sticker price.
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Whenever I tried to buy a used Rick 4003 from them they wouldn't budge past 1850$, when I told them Fullers was selling em new for 1700 the salesman just said something about not being a Ric dealer and just trailed off from there. I guess it depends on who you talk to.
 
#194
Right_Butterscotch64 said:
Whenever I tried to buy a used Rick 4003 from them they wouldn't budge past 1850$, when I told them Fullers was selling em new for 1700 the salesman just said something about not being a Ric dealer and just trailed off from there. I guess it depends on who you talk to.
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Possibly, it could also be that they couldn't sell the Rick at less than $1850 without taking a hit on it. Some of their stuff is way over priced, some of it you can get a pretty fair deal on, I guess it just depends on the mark up.
 
#195
Judging by how other stores are doing, a llooonnnnggggg time. Show me another music store doing better.

Not saying I like it. I don't shop there. I don't buy much retail now, but when I do, I go to smaller, specialty stores, and pay more to get the time and expertise I want. Most people are not willing to do that. GC knows that. They are #$%*%$. But they are successful #%&%#%&.

Good night.
 
#196
I really don't understand the need for all this so called expertise that GC doesn't have that other stores do. As an experienced musician and guitar tech, I fully expect to be better informed and more educated on what I am planning on purchasing than any sales guy at any music store. 99.9% of the time those old guys, that seem to know what they are talking about are selling a bunch of nonsense snake oil, and have no real knowledge of any particular guitar or bass
 
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#197
mellowinman said:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/06/12/buyouts-bain-guitarcenter-idUSL2N0EO24720130612

NEW YORK, June 12 (Reuters-BUYOUTS)-Standard & Poor's cut its debt rating on Bain Capital-owned Guitar Center Holdings Inc late last month, as the music retailer purchased during the height of the 2007 buyout boom struggles with "weak operating trends." The corporate credit rating on the Westlake Village, Calif.-based company dropped to 'CCC+' from 'B-'.

"Although we anticipate the company (will) obtain the amendment to its financial covenants, we believe its capital structure is unsustainable in the long term and the company is dependent upon favorable business, financial, and economic conditions to meet its financial commitments," S&P credit analyst Mariola Borysiak said in a recent note to clients.

Invalid Link Removed

The company operates 253 stores under the Guitar Center brand, 117 stores under the Music & Arts brand, and also owns Musician's Friend, a retailer that targets serious musicians and hobbyists.

Guitar Center is a retailer worth salvaging, said the industry source, who asked not to be named. The source said the retailer sells products and services unavailable online.

For example, musicians need extra customer service. They also desire to play and interact with instruments before purchasing them -- something that Guitar Center offers. The company may need to shrink in size, the source said, but it still has a place in the world and is a relevant retailer.
Click to expand...


YEAH BUDDY. I see that the butt biting of THAT business model has occored faster than I figured, yet not fast enough to quiet the business experts on here.
 
#199
It used to be better, especially before the Bain Capital buyout. You were able to negotiate on price. The last time I was in there, they were out of speaker cables. Unfortunately, they're all you've got in some places.
 

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