Mom & Pops > Guitar Center??

[spade2you]

I feel the same way as this thread. Other than a local place called "The Guitar Czar", all the mom and pop places in the entire city are a total joke. Selections, prices, and service is way out of control, I have yet to meet an owner that isn't a jerk.

The GC here practically owns this market, and rightly so, they have a huge selection, and are usually easy to deal with.

Interesting. Most local shops typically work on being more customer service oriented, although I know a few local turds, but that's probably everywhere.

We're getting a GC, but I doubt it will really affect business. Marrs didn't really do much, other than go belly up! Before I knew what they were about, I applied for a job, but they ended up hiring everyone from department store sales positions. It really showed because nobody knew anything about the stuff they were selling, other than what they were told.

 

[Captain_Arrrg]

The customer service is so atrocious at the GC where I live, that it's easy for anything to look great by comparison.

The last time I was there I fully intended to walk out of there with a fretless Corvette, but when I got there no one even acknowledged my presence. The real lame part was there were more employees there than customers! After waiting around for 30 minutes I put the bass back and walked out of the store, but not before telling the manager that he just lost a sale. He just gave me a glazed over look and shrugged. Unbelievable!

My next bass will be from the TB classifieds.

 

[dannoman]

Zoo Music actually has 2 of my old basses there, 1 is a Yamaha 5 and the other is a custom jobby named Cundiff, they are also over priced. I went in there yesterday to look at amps and overheard them selling this lady some drum hardware and they were just being ridicules about their pricing and the way they were talking to her.

There is also a place not to far from Dallas called Musicians Headquarters. Once in a while you can find some good stuff tehre, but they are also kinda over priced...

 

[neurotictim]

I didn't care much for the mom & pops places here in VB, but TB inspired me to give them another go, and I gotta say, my opinions on them have changed 180 degrees from 5 years ago. The customer service at both Moe's and Alpha really can't be beat.

I still go to GC. Mostly to pick up strings and straps and such, definitely not for the uneducated opinions of the people who work there.

 

[Jon Moody]

It comes down to the employees that work at the stores, IMO. I'm lucky that there are a good number of knowledgeable folk that work at GC in town. There are also some great employees (many are friends) that work at Broughton Music across town.

I have no problem paying a premium to shop and support the local businesses. But there's one place in town I just won't go to anymore, due to the rude responses I got from the sales staff (and manager) in regards to buying a set of URB strings, and asking if it was the best price I could get; I ended up buying them through Bob Gollihur for 1/2 the price.

 

[de la mocha]

Mom and pop stores>>>>>Guitar center! Their is this mom and pop store that is close to my mother's house that I keep promising myself to deal with exclusively.

Guitar Center in my opinion is an evil empire. The mom and pop store by my mother house is also a luthier, and have a wide selection of guitars and a decent selection of basses. The bass section is not as numerous as guitar center, but they have basses their besides ibanez, fender and the usual bunch that infests guitar center.

I can pick up strings, straps and everything their in between. They are great with returning and trading gear and their used bass section is awesome! In fact, I don't think I'm going to Guitar Center ever again. Just sam ash if push comes to shove, but mostly mom and pops stores. I'm supporting my local business, especially in this economic turmoil. They're right their in the community!

 

[Bassic83]

Inattentive sales staff. I once walked out of a similar GC (Mars Music in VA Beach) with $3500 cash because no one would help me.

Wow! Walk in, don't get any help, and walk out with $3500 while they're not paying attention? Not a bad days' haul...

 

[dangerkirk]

my opinion is a bit different there is 1 mom and pop store i love in my town, the other 2 the people that own it are pushy and trying to make a buck, and are not to concerned with what you want/need kind of like GC.

although i know a guy that works at GC and he usually can get me some bottom barrel prices just because he likes me and my band.

its good to know people

 

[Baird6869]

I am staying in Richardson for a week on business starting Sunday and had planned to do some bass shopping.

Thanks for posting this!

 

[WarMan]

I would suggest seeking out the Dallas (on Central Expressway) location if your time is limited. The Plano location is closer, but their selection is limited. The LBJ location is also somewhat limited.

 

[WarMan]

I failed to mention Anderson Guitar Gallery in Frisco. He is an example of a good Mom & Pop store in the Dallas area. Unfortunately, his selection is pretty limited and mostly geared to acoustics, some electrics and a few basses. Nice guy.

 

[()smoke()]

I read a lot about peoples good experiences at Mom & Pop guitar stores versus Guitar Center. Now I only have experience with the Dallas market, but I've found Guitar Center, with all its faults, to be a much more pleasant buying experience than the local Mom & Pops.

Larry Morgan Music recently went out of business. They were a local legend, but I never found them that good to work with. They were okay at best. Their trade-in policy was horrible compared to GC.

Murphy's Music is a very questionable retailer to deal with. Horrible return policy.

Charlie's Guitar Store is run by arrogant people who are still trying to live off of their image created by the original Charlie. Their customer service is bad and their inventory is so-so. For basses, their inventory is usually one to three basses.

Zoo Music is another animal. It is hard to describe it but their name kind of describes them. They have a few gems in the pile, but they have a lot of used stuff they are trying to pass off as new. It is very crowded in their store too. Their return policy is horrible.

Once again, I can only attest to Dallas, but I sure haven't seen any of that Mom & Pop customer service other people have experience. For all its faults, I'm glad we have GCs in the area.

i'm in the same area, and my take is that for a metroplex this large, the available music stores selection is pitiful--with a couple of exceptions

i got to know a couple of the guys in larry morgan, and i liked that store a lot...(the 'tech' at their store wasn't someone i'd use though, due to different views)

zoo music next to larry morgan is a great shop--i've purchased a good deal of stuff from a guy there and i like him, he's a bass player and a very cool cat...the other store isn't so hot, but as mentioned, has some neat stuff amongst the junk

Charlies--i share your opinion

haven't been to murphy's yet


as for GC, i've purchased a lot at 3 of the locations, yet lately, the stock has been stale and i've noticed that more and more of the floor models are in horrible condition (huge finish chips, seriously unplayable setups, broken electronics, missing strings, etc.) coupled with the incessant garbage blaring through the PA, i've just about quit going except when i have to have something right then on a Sunday

that being said, i've met some cool people at the stores, and the bass room at the 635 store is an oasis from the noise (the main reason i still shop there)

 

[Baryonyx]

Guitar Guitar in Newcastle started off as a larger store (for Newcastle) with a good selection of gear. However, the more they expand the less they seem to care about the customer. The gear is nice enough, but the shop is cluttered, the staff are moronic, idiotic, clueless, discourteous and rude and the gear is way over priced.

My biggest gripe is not how clueless the staff are. I know what I'm looking at so I don't need their help. I don't even mind their sky-high prices for gear, because I rarely buy anything there.

However, today, playing a £1500 Sadowsky, through a terrible little Line6 amp with the EQ all over the place (before I flattened it out), the sales assistant was hovering round me after 4 minutes of playing, asking me if I was going to buy it. Who decides on dropping that kind of money that quickly?

The sales talk is moronic and generic, and the way he talked about the bass, it could have been any one in the shop! Even worse still, if you indicate that you wern't that interested in the bass, you get funny looks, as if they can't understand why you wanted to try it in the first place!

You Americans might be lumbered with Guitar Center but be glad you don't have anywhere as embarassing as Guitar Guitar around! :scowl:

 

[arcellus]

Mom & Pops have to work harder. They're not gonna beat GC on the prices they pay for their gear. If they're gonna stay alive, it's through better customer service. At GC, you can buy a bass. Hopefully at a mom & pop you get a relationship to go along with that bass. It pays dividends down the road for both the store and the customer.

I agree 100%. It really pains me to go to GC, but over the past few years I've come to realize that it's the most reliably-stocked and easiest to deal with. I make exceptions and shop locally whenever I can, but the little guys around here really need to step it up.

With all of that said, I'll still plug my favorite local shop, Fearless Guitars.

 

[mothmonsterman]

depends
Mom and pops vary greatly on quality
I mean in ferndale MI, i can go to

Gordy's, he never has much and rips off people he doesn't know, but a good guy just trying to make it.

New to You, mostly vintage stuff, kinda a dick and a crook

LowDown Sound, Greatest music store of all time (partly being bass only and owned and operated by bass players.) they give you a feel of the good old days when sales men really where there to help you other than earn commission.


Then of course i can hop on 696 either way and go to guitar center, where i get followed around, sassed about wanting to try something. pressured into more expensive **** when i really just want one thing and where even a decent pair of strings needs to be speacial ordered. They always have the same old garbage, and there's always some idiot playing the intro riff to stairway to heaven of schism over and over again.


I'll take the right mom and pops any day.

 

[arthurzen]

I don't shop at Guitar Center (or places like it) because of the staff. I have walked around several dozen of these type of stores and have never met a knowledgeable or helpful staff member, yet they're all condescending arrogant pricks that think every shopper is a "bedroom warrior" (not sure who coined that term but I read it and liked it).

Just because you're in a local cover band and can play a few Clapton licks doesn't make you a musician.

 

[Vic Winters]

I'm in Rochester, home of the House of Guitars and I honestly haven't stepped in there to buy a piece of musical equipment since I started playing 8 years ago. The prices are jacked up, the sales staff has little to no knowledge of what they sell and it's a total sty.

The small music stores have hardly any bass stuff, usually jacked up prices, and they don't know much beyond acoustic and the old school/classic guitar stuff (Gibson, Fender, Marshall. etc.)

There is a GC literally 5 minutes from where I go to college, and I've had great experiences. As long as you know what you want, and don't show up with that goofy "I'm lost, take my money" look on your face, you'll be fine. At 15 years old, I got a $250 bass for $196 out the door. Brand new, no scratches or dents, nothing. No one talked to the salesman for me. I've had pro audio guys test out my Crown MicroTech - 1200 I brought in and make speaker cables for it because the ones they had in stock were too long.

As long as you go in educated and know how to handle the situation you won't have most of the issues people here complain about.

 

[wazzel]

The two mom and pop shops I deal with have good service and decient prices, but not much of a selection. Basically the standard fender, ibenez, yamaha, etc. Either will get me whatever I want if they carry the brand. They have good techs and fair prices on repairs. I would much rather bring my bass to somewhere it will get some TLC when it needs to be fixed.

 

[GreggBummer]

Putting all differences aside....

Maybe a copy of this thread should be emailed to all the music shops in your area. It seems that the biggest problem discussed here is customer service... not the stores themselves.

 

[69nites]

I think the big thing is the Mom and Pop Shop owners generally have a "I'm better than you" kind of attitude. Almost like I should be thanking them for selling me something.

There's one shop that I only visit because the guy REALLY knows his stuff but he's such a douche I steer clear most of the time.