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Music Shop Tyranny
- Thread starter CrownandAnchor
- Start date
I've had great luck at GC. (Boston)
Most of the counter help don't know s**T.
But, you can use this to your advantage.
They are all trained the same way.
1- offer you no more than 25% of value of trade in at first.
2-The do the GC stall, make you wait for no reason just to get you
impatience.
3- always look for cash to. ( this helps there comission)
I alway go right to manager.
He makes final decision anyway.
Be polite, and honest, if the want your trading they will deal.
My best GC story was.
They miss-marked a 57 Reissue P-bass. ( $975.00)
The bass was hanging high on the wall.
I seen it, asked to play it.
It was a USA Reissue 57 P-bass.
With tweed case, all the candy.
I said I would buy it.
Sale person then says, oh this bass is tagged wrong.
I then point out, anything marked on the wall must be sold for advertized price.
Manager comes, reams out sales person for miss-marking bass.
And sells me bass for $950.00.
But story gets better.
I pay by credit card.
3/4 of the way through transaction, sale person ringing up my credit card.
Machine goes blank.
Comes back on, he completes transaction.
I take bass, go home.
One month goes by, no credit card bill.
Two months, three months.
Finally, I call GC.
Tell them, I was never billed for purchase. (they made mistake)
Person says, this could never happen.
Mistake must be mine?
I insist, there is a problem.
He replies, don't worry about it.
I get bass for free.
Thanks GC.
Houston up and down. My 300 lbs and lack of hair means they ususally leave me alone. Once a year I get a tax check and once a year I buy something with it. So when I go in I'm looking to pick up something that inspires me, and prefer to be left alone. If I need help I will ask. Really good experience buying a keyboard for the wife ( a subject about which I know little).
LA Sunset has always been great whether basses, recording, microphones, or making inquiries for my drummer brother back home. Everyone there seems to know their stuff. Gold star for the vintage section and the acoustic folks. I used to be there a lot on "real life" business. Never had a bad experience in any other store on Sunset.
Arlington IL.a lot of good gear, but a little standoffish (AKA the great I) last time I was there. Prefered Flynns, spent money there.
Atlanta fine but never found something that got me going.
If you dont like the shredders shop away from their peak times. I have walked out several times on a Saturday afternnoon when it got too much. Sandman is a great tune but the same riff over and over again!!!! I wonder how the staff don't go postal.
Only major downer is that there is no excuse for a $1000-00+ bass to be poorly set up and displayed for purchase. Too many buzzes these days on set ups that are plain too low beyond what could be described as taste. Ditto poor intonation. Maybe ok on import low cost, but not good for sales at the top end.
In the end the credit card is in your pocket. If you, the customer, are not happy leave. There will always be another guitar / bass / kit /keyboard. Same comment for the guys arguing about who gets the commission. If you walk out without handing over the flexible friend no one does and peace is restored. These days I am on the DB side and it's a really easy walk to the car if I am not getting the service I expect while buying a $5k + DB (low end for a DB). It never seems to happen!
LA Sunset has always been great whether basses, recording, microphones, or making inquiries for my drummer brother back home. Everyone there seems to know their stuff. Gold star for the vintage section and the acoustic folks. I used to be there a lot on "real life" business. Never had a bad experience in any other store on Sunset.
Arlington IL.a lot of good gear, but a little standoffish (AKA the great I) last time I was there. Prefered Flynns, spent money there.
Atlanta fine but never found something that got me going.
If you dont like the shredders shop away from their peak times. I have walked out several times on a Saturday afternnoon when it got too much. Sandman is a great tune but the same riff over and over again!!!! I wonder how the staff don't go postal.
Only major downer is that there is no excuse for a $1000-00+ bass to be poorly set up and displayed for purchase. Too many buzzes these days on set ups that are plain too low beyond what could be described as taste. Ditto poor intonation. Maybe ok on import low cost, but not good for sales at the top end.
In the end the credit card is in your pocket. If you, the customer, are not happy leave. There will always be another guitar / bass / kit /keyboard. Same comment for the guys arguing about who gets the commission. If you walk out without handing over the flexible friend no one does and peace is restored. These days I am on the DB side and it's a really easy walk to the car if I am not getting the service I expect while buying a $5k + DB (low end for a DB). It never seems to happen!
I relatively recently bought a guitar and have 2 examples. One about how it SHOULD NOT be done. One that made the sale purely on how it was handled.
First the bad
Came into the store and was fully ignored by three guys behind the counter way to busy playing the WII.
No matter, I decided to take a stroll around the guitar wall. I already did some internet research and made a list of all guitars I wanted to test. Decided to _NOT_ ask for help to see how long it would take for them to even notice me. After about 15 minutes one finally comes up and asks if I need some help.
I do the jig about coming to test, have the list, wanting to buy, etc, etc.
He then nonchalantly takes the first of the list. Plugs it into a crappy no-name amp in the special testing room and leaves.... 15 minutes of fidling with the knobs trying to get some usefull sound out of the amp I give up. Proceed back into the store, put the guitar back on the wall and leave... unnoticed...
Then the good:
I walk in. Do "my rounds" and as soon as my slow pace stops to look at a certain guitar the salesperson comes over and offers his help. I do the jig, wanting to test, buy, etc. He surveys my list decides on taking them "in three's". Gathers them up, plugs the first one into a quite nice Roland cube. Dials in a fairly vanilla distortion with slight reverb, proceeds to try 2 single powerchords to check the volume and hands over the guitar.
While I test tries to find out which type of music I'm interested in, my playing skill, types of wood (I have some wood experience from my bassplaying so), even some random artist small talk while I proceed to test the first three guitars. (even putting the one I eliminated back into it's place in the store)
Up on the next three and one he recommends based on the small talk we just had and he had to go and help one of the other potential buyers.
Up to the last three and I'm almost sold on a single guitar. Sounded right, felt right, etc, etc. My best-mate walks in, takes a single stroll around the shop, picks out a guitar and hands it to me with the words "that's your guitar". Immediatly I notice the slightly overbudget pricetag (and on the first chord notice my mate is right. this IS my guitar)
No questions asked I get a gigbag, new strings (elixir) and a strap on top of the guitar.
SOLD
Perfect service. Let me do the testing, small talk to find out what types of guitars I'm looking for (and just simple small talk as musiscians alike).
Taking his time for me. I was in the store for at least 5 hours straight of which at least 3 I was his main focus.
Willing to immediatly deal when I found "THE ONE" which was overbudget. I blew my budget but they gained a new loyal customer.
(As soon as I need a new piece of gear, I'm gonna "shop around" on the net and then proceed over there to test and buy)
First the bad
Came into the store and was fully ignored by three guys behind the counter way to busy playing the WII.
No matter, I decided to take a stroll around the guitar wall. I already did some internet research and made a list of all guitars I wanted to test. Decided to _NOT_ ask for help to see how long it would take for them to even notice me. After about 15 minutes one finally comes up and asks if I need some help.
I do the jig about coming to test, have the list, wanting to buy, etc, etc.
He then nonchalantly takes the first of the list. Plugs it into a crappy no-name amp in the special testing room and leaves.... 15 minutes of fidling with the knobs trying to get some usefull sound out of the amp I give up. Proceed back into the store, put the guitar back on the wall and leave... unnoticed...
Then the good:
I walk in. Do "my rounds" and as soon as my slow pace stops to look at a certain guitar the salesperson comes over and offers his help. I do the jig, wanting to test, buy, etc. He surveys my list decides on taking them "in three's". Gathers them up, plugs the first one into a quite nice Roland cube. Dials in a fairly vanilla distortion with slight reverb, proceeds to try 2 single powerchords to check the volume and hands over the guitar.
While I test tries to find out which type of music I'm interested in, my playing skill, types of wood (I have some wood experience from my bassplaying so
), even some random artist small talk while I proceed to test the first three guitars. (even putting the one I eliminated back into it's place in the store)Up on the next three and one he recommends based on the small talk we just had and he had to go and help one of the other potential buyers.
Up to the last three and I'm almost sold on a single guitar. Sounded right, felt right, etc, etc. My best-mate walks in, takes a single stroll around the shop, picks out a guitar and hands it to me with the words "that's your guitar". Immediatly I notice the slightly overbudget pricetag (and on the first chord notice my mate is right. this IS my guitar)
No questions asked I get a gigbag, new strings (elixir) and a strap on top of the guitar.
SOLD
Perfect service. Let me do the testing, small talk to find out what types of guitars I'm looking for (and just simple small talk as musiscians alike).
Taking his time for me. I was in the store for at least 5 hours straight of which at least 3 I was his main focus.
Willing to immediatly deal when I found "THE ONE" which was overbudget. I blew my budget but they gained a new loyal customer.
(As soon as I need a new piece of gear, I'm gonna "shop around" on the net and then proceed over there to test and buy)
when you pay with cash, the store doesn't have to pay fees to the credit card company.
I work part time in a small music(guitars,basses,CDs,vinyl records,anything musical we get our hands on) store so I think I've seen it from both ends.
I've been treated badly in GC & Sam Ash, but once they realised I'm a working bassist,they started treating me well.
All over the country all there seems to be is GC/Sam Ash.The cool mom & pop stores run by local musicians with an intrest in the local scene/community is a thing of the past.These places were run by musicians & cared about what they sold.If you were a beginner they did their best to steer you right.You could also find cool 2nd hand stuff.If you had a problem you delt with them directly.
It's that "big box"mentality that rules now.Yeah,GC has a decent return policy but if the beginner's instrument isn't set up & playable he/she might lose intrest.You shouldn't have to spend your money & drop another $50-75 on a "set up".Warrenty? After 30 days, "Contact the manufacturer.Dude"
Botique stores are cool,but they usually carry expensive stuff.They usually have great staff but I can hardly afford to buy at them & they usually don't carry starter/intermediate stuff.Even in those places I've seen expensive basses that have bowed necks,loose jacks,etc.'
Customers can be a pain too.Just today I had to ask a guy & his son to leave(politely).They had no intention of buying anything.They rang the buzzer before opening time to be let in. They both went for the two most expensive guitars in the shop.They jammed(badly) for about 1 hour & 10 minutes.The dad kept on pulling amps out without asking,when I asked (nicely) several times if they needed help it was"No we're OK"Finally I asked what they were intrested in & Dad said "We just came in to jam together"I replied (politely,really!) that the gear was for sale & I thought they had been playing long enough.I could direct them to a rehersal studio with instruments if they wanted to jam.
Dad got major league angry,raising his voice,saying he'll spread the word about this,you know.Then I said "Sir,please leave!"politely but firmly.This guy & his son appeared to be affluent people(Rolex,drove a BMW!).Our lower economic status customers are more polite.
Guitar Center must get that a 1000 times over!
I've been treated badly in GC & Sam Ash, but once they realised I'm a working bassist,they started treating me well.
All over the country all there seems to be is GC/Sam Ash.The cool mom & pop stores run by local musicians with an intrest in the local scene/community is a thing of the past.These places were run by musicians & cared about what they sold.If you were a beginner they did their best to steer you right.You could also find cool 2nd hand stuff.If you had a problem you delt with them directly.
It's that "big box"mentality that rules now.Yeah,GC has a decent return policy but if the beginner's instrument isn't set up & playable he/she might lose intrest.You shouldn't have to spend your money & drop another $50-75 on a "set up".Warrenty? After 30 days, "Contact the manufacturer.Dude"
Botique stores are cool,but they usually carry expensive stuff.They usually have great staff but I can hardly afford to buy at them & they usually don't carry starter/intermediate stuff.Even in those places I've seen expensive basses that have bowed necks,loose jacks,etc.'
Customers can be a pain too.Just today I had to ask a guy & his son to leave(politely).They had no intention of buying anything.They rang the buzzer before opening time to be let in. They both went for the two most expensive guitars in the shop.They jammed(badly) for about 1 hour & 10 minutes.The dad kept on pulling amps out without asking,when I asked (nicely) several times if they needed help it was"No we're OK"Finally I asked what they were intrested in & Dad said "We just came in to jam together"I replied (politely,really!) that the gear was for sale & I thought they had been playing long enough.I could direct them to a rehersal studio with instruments if they wanted to jam.
Dad got major league angry,raising his voice,saying he'll spread the word about this,you know.Then I said "Sir,please leave!"politely but firmly.This guy & his son appeared to be affluent people(Rolex,drove a BMW!).Our lower economic status customers are more polite.
Guitar Center must get that a 1000 times over!
I concur. It is by far the lamest excuse for a music store I've ever been to. Just gonna through this out there, but I get better service over the internet (ex. musiciansfriend, etc.) than I do at any of their stores... anyways, just support the local mom and pops, they are twenty times better and often times have nicer gear.
My exprience at GC is actually a good one. When I was interested in a pedal I asked to see one and he said alright, got me a brand new cable to try it out with, let me use any bass I wanted to try it out with, and even offered his own suggestions on pedals I could try IF I wanted to, he even said I quote "I'm not going to persuade you to buy something, its up to you in the end." He was patient, helpful and even swiped my card for me when i paid for the pedal. So I left happy, Im going back to trade the pedal in for another. (Nothing wrong with the pedal, I just found little use for it.)
I've had great luck at GC. (Boston)
Most of the counter help don't know s**T.
But, you can use this to your advantage.
They are all trained the same way.
1- offer you no more than 25% of value of trade in at first.
2-The do the GC stall, make you wait for no reason just to get you
impatience.
3- always look for cash to. ( this helps there comission)
The only way to make this situation right and amke right your guilt seared conscience is to give the bass to me. No question about it thats what you need to do.
I alway go right to manager.
He makes final decision anyway.
Be polite, and honest, if the want your trading they will deal.
My best GC story was.
They miss-marked a 57 Reissue P-bass. ( $975.00)
The bass was hanging high on the wall.
I seen it, asked to play it.
It was a USA Reissue 57 P-bass.
With tweed case, all the candy.
I said I would buy it.
Sale person then says, oh this bass is tagged wrong.
I then point out, anything marked on the wall must be sold for advertized price.
Manager comes, reams out sales person for miss-marking bass.
And sells me bass for $950.00.
But story gets better.
I pay by credit card.
3/4 of the way through transaction, sale person ringing up my credit card.
Machine goes blank.
Comes back on, he completes transaction.
I take bass, go home.
One month goes by, no credit card bill.
Two months, three months.
Finally, I call GC.
Tell them, I was never billed for purchase. (they made mistake)
Person says, this could never happen.
Mistake must be mine?
I insist, there is a problem.
He replies, don't worry about it.
I get bass for free.
Thanks GC.
You need to give that bass to me. Trust me you will feel better in the morning if you do. I know I will.
That's quite a screed for your 10th post. Of course little of it hangs together, but I like the Dr. John story; he's the man.
This thread makes me want to apply to GC. Then when I get hired, I will be a nice person.
It's probably a huge waste of time for me since I won't be making much money nor will I be learning much of importance, but it still sounds like fun.
It's probably a huge waste of time for me since I won't be making much money nor will I be learning much of importance, but it still sounds like fun.
I have never had a problem with the Guitar Center near me. I go almost weekly, and normally buy nothing, and the sales people there are just happy to talk. One day I was in there looking at a bass cab, the assistant manager showed me that on the computers they have a lowest price. So, even if you try talking a deal, they can't always go that low. Because I go up there all the time, I get $20 strings for $15 with tax. Whenever I plan on buying anything, I find an honest salesperson who will show me their bottom line price. For $630 dollars, I got a Warwick Corvette Standard (used) that was priced at $600, a SKB $120 case, and Rotosound strings. If you know how to make a deal they normally will do what they can. In some cases, you have to know the right people and talk the right game. 
I have had nothing but terrible experiences with my local GC, so I don't shop there anymore. Q.E.D.
Last weekend I was at GC looking for a bass case. A salesman comes to me and asks if I need any help, and I asked about hardshell bass cases. He took me to an area where there was only 1 type of bass case (a $99 roadrunner). Without me saying anything, he says, "you wait here, I will go bring out all of the models we stock so you can see what they're all like". I wait about 10 minutes, and he comes back with about 6 different cases, 1 being a musicman case (which cost around $150 normally) that had been damaged during the shipping to that GC (there was a crack in the tolex on the side, and it wasn't too big), it's marked down to $50! I found a bass similar in shape to mine to see if it fit (the case is really for Stingrays), and to my surprise, it was a near-perfect fit! I was so happy that he went out of his way to bring out all the models he had to see which one would suit me best that I actually bought a second case for my 6er(the roadrunner from before), something I hadn't even intended to do. I've definitely have had more good experiences than bad at my local GC.
That's a load of bull.
A couple months ago I was looking to buy a multi-effects pedal. Just something to have some fun with when I'm playing around at home. I first went over to the Digitech single-FX pedal display and plugged in... and nothing worked. I asked a sales monkey for help and he said the whole display was down. Okay... then I went around to the other side and found the multi-FX pedals. I plugged myself in but stopped when I realized that it was being output to a guitar amp, even though the whole display was bass pedals. There was a bass amp about 5 feet away, but the cable wasn't long enough to reach it. So I asked the sales monkey for some help. I explained the situation and then he pointedly refused to plug in the bass amp. He said that he couldn't move it from where it was.... okay. He refused to even run a longer cable from the effects display to the bass amp.
Well I still wanted a multi-effects pedal, so I looked at all of them and found the one that most appealed to me from the specs on the box and the build quality of the floor model. I made sure to CONFIRM the return policy. 30 days and I can return it for my money back? Yep. A full refund? Yep. So I decided "Hey if I don't like it, I can just return it" and I bought it. It was a Digitech BP200 for about $150, IIRC.
I didn't like it. It KILLED my tone and there was only one (yes ONE) effect that I was actually satisfied with. So I took it back... my sales monkey from before wasn't there, so I took it to a different one. And guess what she slapped me with!?
Fifteen percent restocking fee.
FIFTEEN PERCENT RESTOCKING FEE!!!!!
Whatever happened to "If you don't like it, bring it back within 30 days and we'll give you a full refund!"?
I had ALL the original paperwork.
I had ALL the original packaging.
I even had the protective freakin' adhesive plastic still over the screen.
My dad was there too. We argued and argued and argued, and the sales monkey was sticking to her guns. Finally she just got frustrated and gave us the full refund we deserved. She acted like she was doing us a HUUUUGE favor by waiving the BS restocking fee, too.
That's just not tolerable. From moron #1 who refused to help me when I first came in for a pedal to moron #2 who tried to cheat me out of my money, I'm not exactly very happy with GC.
The only reason I still shop at that location is because there is one employee who has always been immensely helpful to me. He's gone out of his way to make sure I get hooked up every time, even breaking a couple rules now and then(and for that reason I won't identify him).
