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Music Store Pet Peeves
- Thread starter martybernal
- Start date
Well at one time, not sure how old you are. A store called Quigley on 78th and Troost in KCMO was the place to go. The thing I liked best about them, besides the fact they always had a good selection of basses to look at in all price ranges. Most of the salesman were there over 20 years. Unfortunately the global music stores, and other internet based stores put this local music store out of business. I don't like Big Dudes at all, it's amazing to me they are still in business. A store in Lawrence Ks called Mass Street Music is not bad. It's actually the store you can go into and find all the basses are set-up well and in tune. The store is managed real well. I did buy my Mesa Boogie Walkabout Scout from Guitar Source. I just buy small accessories or strings from our Guitar Center in Overland Park.
I have had great luck with buying from authorized dealers online. And of course picked up a bass here and there on Ebay with great luck.
How about you?
Spot on.
I suppose if we were as many of us as there is guitarists and splashed as much cash then we may get treat slightly better.
I can see it from the stores point of view though, they don't want dozens of show off bassists as well as guitarists every Saturday afternoon.
Still no excuse for basses not set up and way out of tune, do they actually want to sell them or not?
I remember Quigley and I think I went in there once or twice before I started playing guitar or bass when I was still just playing brass. They did seem really good. I bought a used Ampeg Superjet guitar amp from Big Dudes when I had just started playing and got completely ripped off. I've been there a couple times since, and they treat their customers terribly and have some of the worst better than thou attitude I've ever seen. I went to Guitar Source to check out used gear and stuff, but they didn't have much of a bass selection at all when I went there unless I wanted an overpriced Orange amp. I've had good and bad experiences at the local GC's. Pretty much I try to steer clear of most of the music stores around. I try to plan ahead and buy plenty of supplies online. I'll have to check out that place in Lawrence next time I'm out that way. I have a buddy that haunts a few pawn shops and has found some good deals, but if you do that you don't have much of a try before you buy option.
My pet peeve is poor sales ability.
The other stuff (customers making too much noise, a store that doesn't let you be the person making too much noise, etc), I grant you.
Attitude, listening, some sense of building a trusting relationship. These aren't things specific to music, but so terribly lacking in the stores in my area.
I went to one place. "Hi, I'd like to put some flats on my P bass, what do you have?"
Owner: "We don't carry them. You don't want flats on a bass, it'll kill your tone."
Other store, I asked about Ernie Ball (which, turns out, they don't carry). "Ernie Balls suck!"
Insulting a customer's opinions... just baffles me.
The other stuff (customers making too much noise, a store that doesn't let you be the person making too much noise, etc), I grant you.
Attitude, listening, some sense of building a trusting relationship. These aren't things specific to music, but so terribly lacking in the stores in my area.
I went to one place. "Hi, I'd like to put some flats on my P bass, what do you have?"
Owner: "We don't carry them. You don't want flats on a bass, it'll kill your tone."
Other store, I asked about Ernie Ball (which, turns out, they don't carry). "Ernie Balls suck!"
Insulting a customer's opinions... just baffles me.
I'd say this is larger than "sales". It seems quite likely some of those people you were talking to were simply, well... ...idiots with little SOCIAL skills, to say nothing of less consequential SALES skills. And unfortunately, they happen to be employed at the places you visit. Sure, the store(s) are responsible for keeping idiots on a payroll, but mostly, I consider some of these experiences you have had relates more to individual people than places or types of places, or more generalized targets.
IMO.
My biggest peeve is a common one...all the adolescent bangers who's parents use GC as a daycare center on the weekends.
And about those so-called sales events at GC...LOL, yeah, read that fine print! Sometimes they do have a smokin' deal, but I've made a couple pretty decent deals on gear via trade-ins and simple negotiating. regardless of any 'sale' that was advertised.
Regarding my experiences at GC (and Sam Ash)... Occasionally maybe I can't find a sales rep, and only rarely can I not get an answer to a question concerning a piece of gear, and maybe once or twice have I left shaking my head over some nincompoop know-nothing sales guy. But to be fair, the vast majority of my visits there are positive. Maybe I'm treated better because I'm in my 40's and they figure I'm not that typical starry-eyed kid dreaming of Gibsons and Marshalls who can't even afford Behringers, etc.
And about those so-called sales events at GC...LOL, yeah, read that fine print! Sometimes they do have a smokin' deal, but I've made a couple pretty decent deals on gear via trade-ins and simple negotiating. regardless of any 'sale' that was advertised.
Regarding my experiences at GC (and Sam Ash)... Occasionally maybe I can't find a sales rep, and only rarely can I not get an answer to a question concerning a piece of gear, and maybe once or twice have I left shaking my head over some nincompoop know-nothing sales guy. But to be fair, the vast majority of my visits there are positive. Maybe I'm treated better because I'm in my 40's and they figure I'm not that typical starry-eyed kid dreaming of Gibsons and Marshalls who can't even afford Behringers, etc.
twofingers... THANK YOU. I managed a guitar store for 11 years ('77-'88) and still help out there on occasion. I wouldn't want to be in retail music for a living now at all. There's no reason to give cables away to thieves, which is what happens if you leave cables out. Even the cheesy cheapo 8' ones that come with the lowest end imports get ripped off, let alone the power cables (as if most people didn't already have too many they don't need).
Tuning instruments to standard pitch (and wiping them off, etc.) needs to be checked each day, but lots of people can't tune for crap. They start off tuned, but after Johnny Snotrocket comes in and detunes below a Bossendorfer grand piano and whacks on the strings through the biggest amp with the obligatory smiley face EQ for twenty minutes to impress the vacant-eyed girl he's trying to shag, all bets are off. Then the next person comes in and whines because the '57 P Bass reissue with a set of LaBella Old Original flats "isn't set up right, it's just awful" while another person is playing a Jazz bass strung up with 35-90 stainless rounds and tells you that you need to fix that bass because the strings rattle everywhere...
The real crux of the problem is that GC has ruined the retail music biz, just as WM has ruined most other retail businesses. Customers who shop only for the price-tag (despite their protestation that they do want customer service, they just don't want to pay for it) force stores to stop investing in training, hire people who can only take orders, and can't afford to invest time in creating a long-term relationship.
John
Tuning instruments to standard pitch (and wiping them off, etc.) needs to be checked each day, but lots of people can't tune for crap. They start off tuned, but after Johnny Snotrocket comes in and detunes below a Bossendorfer grand piano and whacks on the strings through the biggest amp with the obligatory smiley face EQ for twenty minutes to impress the vacant-eyed girl he's trying to shag, all bets are off. Then the next person comes in and whines because the '57 P Bass reissue with a set of LaBella Old Original flats "isn't set up right, it's just awful" while another person is playing a Jazz bass strung up with 35-90 stainless rounds and tells you that you need to fix that bass because the strings rattle everywhere...
The real crux of the problem is that GC has ruined the retail music biz, just as WM has ruined most other retail businesses. Customers who shop only for the price-tag (despite their protestation that they do want customer service, they just don't want to pay for it) force stores to stop investing in training, hire people who can only take orders, and can't afford to invest time in creating a long-term relationship.
John
My recent GC experience has been that they didn't have what I needed when I needed it... and Behringer doesn't count.
Am I the only one that has not had a terrible experience at a store? I always bring my own cable and/or bass (of I don't I have no problem just asking for one). If people are around and they're loud I use headphones (If the amp has no headphone jack I just tune them out, but I've rarely had to do this). Most of the bass guys I've known have been cool, knowledgeable, and basically great to talk to. I usually don't have to deal with much customer service; if I have to ask something I find them ask them, which is rare, and if a overly pushy salesman (emphasis on pushy) comes up to me I just tell them sternly that I don't need their help until they go away, and if they don't I ignore them.
I suppose the closest thing to a negative experience would be with actual people but I don't have to deal with them or now how to get around them. I find myself to agree with the guys here that have worked in retail and know both sides of the coin.
I suppose the closest thing to a negative experience would be with actual people but I don't have to deal with them or now how to get around them. I find myself to agree with the guys here that have worked in retail and know both sides of the coin.
I was thinking about a bass wah a couple years, walked into some store. They didn't have a bass pedal, but the salesman insisted the crybaby one for guitar would work just as well because "the frequencies don't matter"
Also made the mistake of listening to the guy who told me warwick strings suck. It's all I use these days.
Also made the mistake of listening to the guy who told me warwick strings suck. It's all I use these days.
+1 big time on lack of set up~ I just don't get it & Fender seems to be a big offender here. I actually have never bought a Fender in my life, because I've never played one in a music store that didn't have the string action 1/2 inch off the frets. What am I supposed to do~ pay $100 for set up to see if I like the thing?
last time was kinda lame. I tried out a Fulltone BassDriver & told him I wanted to try through an SVT/810 because that's what I had and they didn't have one. So he plugged me into an Acoustic 115 combo. Really? That's the sub, I guess. 
dead strings. to me, you can't hear a bass's true tone with flat sounding rounds that are dead. all bass imo sound the same like that. new rounds make a world of difference to me..
+1. If I were working in a music store, I'd prefer to not have all the amps plugged in all the time since they still drain power when turned off, and the electricity costs will accumulate over time. Plus, there's the chance that the AC or instrument cables will get broken or stolen or lost (small chance? Yeah, but I don't trust young douchebag musician types.) It'd be nice if there was a tuner set up, but unless it's in a rack mounted unit it also has the possibility of breaking or getting stolen.
Also, I'm not sure why people are complaining about the oh-so-pestering salespeople. As soon as I walk into any store and someone asks if I need help, my automatic response is, "No, I'm good" and I keep walking, because usually if I go to a store I've already researched what I need, what they have in stock, and know exactly what I'm looking for, and anything else I can figure out on my own. They leave me alone after that, though that could be in part because my default facial expression is "pissed off."
I have worked in a music store and all of these things are true. The one unforgivable sin in my book is dead strings on a new bass. If they came on a used bass that is one thing but once at GC I was handed a brand new modulus quantum 5 with rusted strings! Didnt play it, just handed it right back to the salesperson and walked out of the store.
There are no cables in the bass room. However there is a cable literally every 5 feet in the guitar department. Problem is, they're all zip tied to the shelves.
Just had a guitar repaired and didnt recieve a call when it was done being worked on. Waited 5 days before checking in person. It was done waiting for me.
Call the customer when the work is done.
Call the customer when the work is done.
