What's your worst experience at a music store

[mpdd]

my personal favorite is when you go to gc and every person there is either doing receiving or doing inventory, i really like having to wait over 30 minutes to get somebody to wait on me and then another 30 minutes for somebody to get me a patch chord that works so i can try out the used amp i had shipped to the store and then 10 more minutes to get rung up, in the future i plan to just bring an envelope with exact change addressed to cashier associate and hand it to somebody and to just walk out with what i need

 

[xgator4u]

my personal favorite is when you go to gc and every person there is either doing receiving or doing inventory, i really like having to wait over 30 minutes to get somebody to wait on me and then another 30 minutes for somebody to get me a patch chord that works so i can try out the used amp i had shipped to the store and then 10 more minutes to get rung up, in the future i plan to just bring an envelope with exact change addressed to cashier associate and hand it to somebody and to just walk out with what i need

Hand it to the Nasty unbathed goth pincushion babe at the front door!

You MIGHT receive special treatment.

 

[mark beem]

GC for me as well. I had bought several things from them before (basses, recording interface, recording software, microphones, etc.) and had gone in there looking for a box in order to ship a bass I had recently sold here. I was told by the sales rep that "giving out boxes went against store policy". She then proceeds to tell me that if I bought a bass I could have the box it was shipped in. ***?!?!?!

I told her what she could do with her box (no pun intended) and haven't shopped there since.

 

[FretNoMore]

GC for me as well. I had bought several things from them before (basses, recording interface, recording software, microphones, etc.) and had gone in there looking for a box in order to ship a bass I had recently sold here. I was told by the sales rep that "giving out boxes went against store policy". She then proceeds to tell me that if I bought a bass I could have the box it was shipped in. ***?!?!?!

I told her what she could do with her box (no pun intended) and haven't shopped there since.

Well, it does make sense if you look at it from another angle ... what if the person buying a bass in the store wants the box, to protect it while taking it home, and the store has given the box to someone else?

(Of course I agree they could/should give it to you in case they have a surplus)

 

[Bassistcali]

GC for me as well. I had bought several things from them before (basses, recording interface, recording software, microphones, etc.) and had gone in there looking for a box in order to ship a bass I had recently sold here. I was told by the sales rep that "giving out boxes went against store policy". She then proceeds to tell me that if I bought a bass I could have the box it was shipped in. ***?!?!?!

I told her what she could do with her box (no pun intended) and haven't shopped there since.

Did you sell it to GC themselves? Or someone else

 

[mark beem]

Did you sell it to GC themselves? Or someone else

Was that question for me or FretNoMore?

If me then no, I sold the bass here on TB. I even offered to pay for it (the empty cardboard shipper box). So it wasn't as if I was looking for a handout.

 

[Bassistcali]

Was that question for me or FretNoMore?

If me then no, I sold the bass here on TB. I even offered to pay for it (the empty cardboard shipper box). So it wasn't as if I was looking for a handout.

I mean if that's their policy then you can't really get mad at HER because the boxes are meant for helping people out with gear from them, but on the other hand I think its a ridiculous policy because they're supposed to help ALL musicians no matter what their needs are. So yeah

 

[FretNoMore]

There's probably a dumpster behind the store with a whole bunch of empty shipping boxes ...

 

[mark beem]

There's probably a dumpster behind the store with a whole bunch of empty shipping boxes ...

Yep, there was. Not sure if actual "bass" boxes were in there but there was a LOT of cardboard sticking out from under the dumpster lid.

Edit: In the interest of full disclosure, there are other businesses located in the same shopping area (a craft store, a whole foods store, etc.) so I can't say with 100% certainty that all the boxes I saw were from the GC..

 

[lfmn16]

Rolls Music in Falls Church, VA, now defunct. In the '80's when I was playing guitar, I wanted to try out a Charvel model 6. I was playing through a Marshall 1/2 stack at the time and
wanted to run it through one of their Marshall's. I was the only one in the store and there was no power cord in the Marshall and the salesman wouldn't get one, but suggested I could try it out through the Roland jazz amp. I did and loved it so I drove over to Chuck Levins, bought one and sent a copy of the receipt to Rolls. They never called to apologize and I never stepped foot into the store again.

 

[Bassistcali]

Yep, there was. Not sure if actual "bass" boxes were in there but there was a LOT of cardboard sticking out from under the dumpster lid.

Edit: In the interest of full disclosure, there are other businesses located in the same shopping area (a craft store, a whole foods store, etc.) so I can't say with 100% certainty that all the boxes I saw were from the GC..

Surprised the dumpster isn't for customers only

 

[GIBrat51]

Trying to explain to the slack-jawed mouth-breather in the GC's string section that:
-Bass guitars are not the same as "real" guitars;
-Most of them only have 4 strings;
-Which are Thicker than guitar strings; and
-Come in not only different thicknesses, but different lengths, too.

And I've had to go through this at Both of the GC's here. Of course, neither store had what I was looking for, anyway. But, this was before BSO came along; they removed the need for me to teach Bass Strings 101 ever again.

 

[mark beem]

Of course, neither store had what I was looking for, anyway.

That's one of my big gripes as well.. Bass and bass players as a whole are looked upon and second class citizens and there is never much in stock for us to choose from. And when told that what I'm looking for isn't in stock, the next line out of their mouths is invariably; "We can order that for you"...

No. Thank you but I have internet and can order it myself...

Which is what I do most of the time now anyway.

 

[zontar]

Rolls Music in Falls Church, VA, now defunct. In the '80's when I was playing guitar, I wanted to try out a Charvel model 6. I was playing through a Marshall 1/2 stack at the time and
wanted to run it through one of their Marshall's. I was the only one in the store and there was no power cord in the Marshall and the salesman wouldn't get one, but suggested I could try it out through the Roland jazz amp. I did and loved it so I drove over to Chuck Levins, bought one and sent a copy of the receipt to Rolls. They never called to apologize and I never stepped foot into the store again.

I once had a reverse kind of experience.
I was looking at archtops and the salesman plugged me into a Marshall stack.

 

[lowfreq33]

That's one of my big gripes as well.. Bass and bass players as a whole are looked upon and second class citizens and there is never much in stock for us to choose from. And when told that what I'm looking for isn't in stock, the next line out of their mouths is invariably; "We can order that for you"...

No. Thank you but I have internet and can order it myself...

Which is what I do most of the time now anyway.

And you'll probably get it much sooner if you order it yourself.

 

[bswag]

When I was an aspiring/perspiring guitarist back in Austin in the 70's, a certain store (its initials are GR) seemed to employ only guys who scored over 900 on the American Standard Snob test (that's- oh, you get it!). The ambient music was alway some wretched Steely Dan or otherwise over-rated tripe (my apologies to all SD fans!). By way of contrast, Ray Hennigs's Heart of Texas Music was always beyond-helpful; when I bought a new Strat in the 80's, they did a free setup with my choice of strings as part of the deal, right then and there. Other than one of the Henning boys (who looked to be maybe 9 or 10) taking down a Tele and ripping licks far beyond my humble abilities...

Here in Madison- groan. I've detailed my misadventures with a place called Good 'N Loud somewhere else on TB, but since they're long gone I won't repeat it all. Ward-Brodt is still here, however- once I went in to look at this sorta cheap Ibanez gitty, thinking it'd be nice to have something for a beater. They had two in stock; one had the "action" set so low it was literally unplayable- barely any daylight between the 12th fret and the strings. OK; the other one was, strangely, missing a screw on one of the tuners, which was all kittywumpus as a result. I asked one of the (not at all busy) guys there if they could screw down this tuner so I could, you know, try it out? "Well, if you're committed to that guitar, sure..." Well, I'm not committed to any guitar I haven't tried yet, which I can't do right now... "No, blah blah blah..." Um, no sale!

Last but not least, a beloved and venerable retailer and repairer of (primarily) acoustic instruments- I bought a Walden acoustic from them, sounded great in the store. Over a few days at home, I found that the high E string had several weird buzzes and an overall lack of tone. That guitar went back there four or five times, getting a fret dress and other stuff- to no avail. I finally realized that honestly, no one there could really hear what I heard, and unless they played it somewhere else than that noisy store, they never would. Of course, I feel bad to gripe, since they did a lot of work for free and all; but after nearly a year it was obvious that the problem wasn't getting solved. That was my last guitar! I got tired of those little-bitty wire things on 'em clacking on the frets... I guess my feeling was that the guys in that store are kinda sorta VERY set in their ways. And maybe also don't exactly see so well, based on the condition of the fret-ends after they got done with 'em. And, er, probably don't hear that well anymore? Kind of sad, all and all.

I also regret that the glory days of The Pawn Shop are behind us- once upon a time you might luck out and find a great axe, dirt cheap, since many P-shop folks didn't really know too much about guitars: I once got a (re-issue?) Les Paul Custom in great shape for $122.00- the tag said $222.00, and they gave me $100.00 trade-in on my old Fender Jaguar (which is what my Dad had paid for it years before). Those days are gone, yes?

 

[Kevan Campbell]

Only two irritations from music stores over the years:

- "We can order it for you" when they don't have it in stock. Um, thanks, so can I.

- Salespeople who push products on the wrong customer. If I'm shopping for a vintage Gibson or Fender bass, that salesperson is wasting their time trying to sing the praises of the "top-of-the-line" Ibanez.

 

[petrus61]

Only two irritations from music stores over the years:

- "We can order it for you" when they don't have it in stock. Um, thanks, so can I.

- Salespeople who push products on the wrong customer. If I'm shopping for a vintage Gibson or Fender bass, that salesperson is wasting their time trying to sing the praises of the "top-of-the-line" Ibanez.

You do understand that no store on the planet can carry every little thing your heart desires, right? The regional market is going to dictate what most successful small music shops are going to carry at any given time.

While I consider this an inconvenience, I accept it as a fact.

 

[Kevan Campbell]

Oh sure petrus; perhaps I should have specified that I tell them this when they ask what I'm shopping for. All it means is that a sale won't be happening that day, but it's a waste of time trying to convince me that I'll like a modern Ibanez over a vintage P.

 

[ferdinandstrat]

"Hello, I am interested in the Orange Tiny Terror tube amp"
"It is not a tube amp, it is a valvestate amp"
"I knew the specs of the amp, I have read countless review and seen many demos and even schematics"
"...it is still not a tube amp"