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I'm officially boycotting Guitar Center

#121
Spirit of Ox said:
I called them last week to see if they had any rack ears for my amp. The guy I talked to on the phone assured me that they had something for my amp.
So I went to the Boston store over by Fenway which is a real PITA to get to at 4:30 due to traffic but I had the time so I went for it.
So I go in the store and nobody greets me or asks if I need any help. All the employees were just standing around talking amongst themselves.
I ask about the rack ears and the first guy didn't really know what they were so he sent me upstairs to their sound reinforcement department.
The clerk there didn't seem to knowledgeable either. He told me that rack ears are manufacture specific.
They don't have rack ears in stock!! Thanks for wasting my time!
Anyways, this was the worst customer service experience I've dealt with. I'm done with this store. I don't even like shopping there to begin with, they've destroyed so many mom and pop shops and are just a greedy corporate entity.
I am sorry if I offended anyone who works or shops there. I'm sharing my experience and this is not the first time I've had a bad experience with this company.
End Rant. Thanks for reading and sharing your experiences if you have any. Oh, and it's Friday, enjoy the weekend!
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I drove nearly two hours once before one opened in my town because they said they had a line6 pod HD500 in stock. They didn't and then tried to sell me on the HD300. I still shop at GC for strings and the like because they are dirt cheap compared to 30 a set at a mom and pop store. I don't mind buying local but it seems some local places use it as an excuse to price hike. I'm not paying 30 bucks for a set of Ernie Ball Hybrid Slinkys I can get at GC for 16. Or 28 for a snare head I can get for 15.
 
#122
I haven't been to a GC in about six years, I always had mixed feelings /experiences when I did go, so I always preferred mom n pop stores. That being said, I could deal with poor customer service now as I'm living in Oahu where there are only 3 actual guitar stores(noGC here, just way overpricedmom n pop stores) and more ukulele stores than you can stand, so I actually miss being able to try out new gear no matter how limited the selection might be, so as bad as it sounds from a former GC hater, count yourselves lucky to be able to have one, or any decent music stores nearby!
 
#124
There's a ton of mom and pops around me. One I've bought many instruments from. But that's all Ill buy there. They sell used and will even barter and haggle. I am a firm believer in bartering and haggling.
 
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#125
Nydhog said:
I drove nearly two hours once before one opened in my town because they said they had a line6 pod HD500 in stock. They didn't and then tried to sell me on the HD300. I still shop at GC for strings and the like because they are dirt cheap compared to 30 a set at a mom and pop store. I don't mind buying local but it seems some local places use it as an excuse to price hike. I'm not paying 30 bucks for a set of Ernie Ball Hybrid Slinkys I can get at GC for 16. Or 28 for a snare head I can get for 15.
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True, they do have cheap prices on strings but I just order them on Ebay for cheaper than GC plus you don't have to deal with going there.
I think they only time I will go there will be to test drive equipment and than buy elsewhere.
 
#127
BassGoblin said:
You're just as clueless as the typical GC employee.

I do not need the STUDS. I need the screws that go in the studs. The Flathead looking screws. Invalid Link Removed One phone call from PRS and they are sending me 2 of the SCREWS ONLY for just over $10. Please, before you attempt to insult me do your own research. I do not need the studs. I do not need the bridge. I need JUST 2 screws. So next time, do your 'due diligence'. He flat out stated 'We don't sell parts of parts."

I did not call the actual manufacturer first-hand because typically manufacturers won't sell to the public like that. They usually make you go through a dealer.
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You are making yourself look worse with this post. You are upset because GC didn't carry a manufacturer specific part, when there is a very good chance that you couldn't get those screws individually from anywhere else other than PRS, I am surprised that GC even carries the whole assembly. Guitar Center is not a specialty parts retailer, their parts department is very limited, because stocking a bunch of small manufacturer specific parts is very unprofitable. To fault them because they didn't carry what you needed is beyond naive. It makes you come off like a spoiled brat who throws a fit when you don't get your way.
 
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#128
Hopkins said:
You are making yourself look worse with this post. You are upset because GC didn't carry a manufacturer specific part, when there is a very good chance that you couldn't get those screws individually from anywhere else other than PRS, I am surprised that GC even carries the whole assembly. Guitar Center is not a specialty parts retailer, their parts department is very limited, because stocking a bunch of small manufacturer specific parts is very unprofitable. To fault them because they didn't carry what you needed is beyond naive. It makes you come off like a spoiled brat who throws a fit when you don't get your way.
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Spoiled brat? I'm a grown man who works his ass of for everything I own.

For the record, Guitar Center has carried every part I have ever needed up to this point. When I lost the little tiny blocks in a floyd rose... They had it. So, yes... I fully expected them to carry a part to a guitar that is used on at least 10 of the guitars i saw up on their wall. The truth is, they could have bought the part for me. They just chose to not do the legwork for it. Very bad customer service. They would rather sit around and gossip than help the customers that walk through the door.
 
#129
BassGoblin said:
I work in a recycling facility with giant multimillion dollar machines. I can order every single part, down to the very last nut, bolt, and washer... INDIVIDUALLY. I'm not mad that he wouldn't "Tear open a package". I'm mad that the cuntmuffin wouldn't just order the single part because 4$ is less than the 130 he was trying to rape me for. Commission is a bitch, and so was he. Like I said. I ordered it online without a problem. Their loss. Me spending $4x2 would have led to me frequenting the store much more often.
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I think the key is "multimillion dollar" machine, which you are likely paying a few $100k per year in support contracts. Consumer items are sold at a much higher level. Walk into Walmart and see if you can buy a lever for a toaster.
 
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#130
Hopkins said:
You are making yourself look worse with this post. You are upset because GC didn't carry a manufacturer specific part, when there is a very good chance that you couldn't get those screws individually from anywhere else other than PRS, I am surprised that GC even carries the whole assembly. Guitar Center is not a specialty parts retailer, their parts department is very limited, because stocking a bunch of small manufacturer specific parts is very unprofitable. To fault them because they didn't carry what you needed is beyond naive. It makes you come off like a spoiled brat who throws a fit when you don't get your way.
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The stores simply can't afford to stock every part ever "in the back" and hope that someday someone might need it. When I sold appliances at Home Depot you placed an order and it was delivered from a regional warehouse in 3-5 days. We had a few things in the store but it wasn't cost effective to have 100 fridges of every size and color in the store on the hope someday that one guy that would want an almond counter-depth French door and oh lucky for you we have one in the back!
 
#131
BassGoblin said:
Spoiled brat? I'm a grown man who works his ass of for everything I own.

For the record, Guitar Center has carried every part I have ever needed up to this point. When I lost the little tiny blocks in a floyd rose... They had it. So, yes... I fully expected them to carry a part to a guitar that is used on at least 10 of the guitars i saw up on their wall. The truth is, they could have bought the part for me. They just chose to not do the legwork for it. Very bad customer service. They would rather sit around and gossip than help the customers that walk through the door.
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Yes spoiled brat, with extremely high expectations.

Yes GC probably could have ordered the part from PRS and sold it to you as a mark up, if they have a policy that allows them to do that. But it would have cost you more money, and taken longer for you to get it than if you just ordered it from PRS yourself. Sure, there are plenty of guitars on the wall with that exact same part, but its not a part that needs to be replaced often. Tons of guitars have floyd's only certain model PRS guitars come with those screws.

Years ago I worked in an auto parts store. I have had to deal with customers just like you, guys that would get pissed off because we didn't stock or could not get a part that was a dealer item. Trust me, you are not a victim in this situation. Some items are simply not profitable to sell as a retail vendor.
 
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#132
BassGoblin said:
So, you just agreed with me that they could have probably ordered the part... Yet I have 'high expectations'? I have standard expectations. MAYBE 'high'. But not Extremely high expectations. That would be me expecting them to mill a new bridge from scratch. Guitar Center carries a good assortment of parts. The rest of the parts that they don't stock - they can, and usually will order. I'm not remotely pissed that they didn't stock it. I'm pissed that rather than Captain Commission looking into ordering the correct part, he chose to try to sell me the entire bridge. He didn't even just try to sell me the pots. He tried to sell me the ENTIRE BRIDGE. I'm not sure how in your deluded world you think the customer is wrong in this situation. You're completely missing out on the old adage of 'The Customer is Always Right'. I know that it should be taken with a grain of salt, but the point of this thread is that we have various reasons to hate Guitar Center. You seem to have buttsex with Guitar Center on a fairly regular basis and thoroughly enjoy it.

If the employee would have taken the time to do the legwork and sell me the part, even if they only profited 1$ on the sale, it would have brought me back for more... knowing I could get parts from them easily. You're not understanding that their customer service is absolutely horrible. Defend it all you want. Truth of the matter is that across the entire country there are people posting in here that do not experience good customer service there. I have 5 guitar centers within a 30-45 minute drive from me and the experience is always the same. They either ignore you completely, or put minimal work into actually helping you get what you WANT. They will go over any hurdle in the world though to sell you that $4000 Gibson.

With such defense of Guitar Center I find it very hard to believe that some of these people are not employees. EVERYONE I have ever known has found Guitar Center to be quite lacking.
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The difference between you and I, is that I never would have tried to get that part through GC and would have called PRS straight away. I also don't expect a GC employee to be more knowledgeable about guitars than I am. There is a very good possibility that he had no idea what to even look for when it comes to the part you were needing, much less the mind frame or authority to make an outside purchase and order that part directly from PRS. Their computer system is no different than the website your or I can access from any computer system. I expect myself to me more knowledgeable than they are so I look up the part before I go into GC and either find it myself or give the sales guy the part number. The sales guys in my local GC's are not dumb or uninformed by any stretch, but to expect them to know everything is expecting alot.

They have gone out of their way to take care of me in the past. Not only did they honor a warranty that was 2 months past expiration, they gave me store credit on a gift card instead of just a replacement on the cab, which was an Acoustic 410, and the second cab that failed on me. They had every right to tell me to go pound sand, but they made the situation right for me. I used that store credit to get a used cab at a different location. When I bought an acoustic bass that I did not like, I was able to return it with no questions asked, same thing with a set of head phones. That is what I consider to be good customer service, which keeps me shopping there. Getting mad because they didn't have or couldn't get you a very specific part only makes you look bad. Your assumption that I must work for them because I question your expectations is laughable
 
#133
Hopkins said:
Getting mad because they didn't have or couldn't get you a very specific part only makes you look bad.
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Again. not mad they didn't have the part. Just angry that they didn't have the proper customer service to get the part. As for their computer system being the same as the website, 100% false. They have a DOS based inventory system they order through via part # or search terms. They weren't afraid to assist me when they didn't have a Zoom B3(200$) in stock and show me the screen to make sure it was the correct one before they placed the order.
 
#135
BassGoblin said:
Again. not mad they didn't have the part. Just angry that they didn't have the proper customer service to get the part. As for their computer system being the same as the website, 100% false. They have a DOS based inventory system they order through via part # or search terms. They weren't afraid to assist me when they didn't have a Zoom B3(200$) in stock and show me the screen to make sure it was the correct one before they placed the order.
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Every time I had to ask someone to look up a part, the screen they pulled up on their computer was exactly like their website. A DOS based inventory system is probably a great way to keep an inventory of every item number in their store, but I have doubts as to its effectiveness when trying to find a specific part, especially when you don't know the exact name of it.
 
#138
There is a TON of difference in MY experience.
I shop at Sam Ash, as well as M.A.E. and others.
WHY ???
CUSTOMER SERVICE.
I have no problem with a store employee NOT knowing something, as long as they are polite, respectful, and at least TRY.
Nothing wrong with them saying " Sir I DON'T KNOW , But I will be happy to check on that for you",
and then actually checking up on that for you.

DOES ANYONE here have a problem with that?
Would ANYONE here be angry or upset in any way
at an employee that was honest and mature enough to tell you
"I DON'T KNOW" ?
Chime in here if you would have a problem with that.

That is the main difference between G.C. and every other retail business in America.
 

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