[dasmetre]

Originally Posted by manthe

Your pricing is not different than any other McMusic Store out there. Some of the giant stores will still bargain or give good deals to good customers (Sweetwater, 123...even Sam Ash will cut small breaks!). The rigid, NO BUDGE policy is possibly the stupidest move GC could have made in terms of:

A - being able to build a relationship with a customer - I can ANYWHERE and pay full retail and deal with people that have cursory gear knowledge. Even if your staff was better trained, what incentive would there be? You offer nothing in terms of service and support (officially) that I can not get anywhere else that I pay full retail. Being a regular customer means ABSOLUTELY NOTHING now. I get nothing more or less than any 12 year old that walks in twice a year to buy sticks or strings.

B - Being the least bit competitive with any retailer. I covered this a bit above, but truthfully - you sell the same stuff for the same price as anywhere else. Whether I pay tax locally, or shipping online, it is the same...EXCEPT, there are several online retailers that I can call and get some scratch taken off the top. If I build a good relationship with some, the discounts get deeper. I HAD this with GC, then they gave me the middle finger. This was extremely frustrating after spending quite a while developing some good relationships and spending an ass-load of money!

Face it, without TOP NOTCH service, support and expertise, GC can offer me absolutely nothing aside from a price break. Now that i can't even get that there, I will (and DO) go elsewhere.

You would cringe if you knew how much I spent at GC last year. I have not set foot in the store now since after last Thanksgiving. Even with the great discounts you gave me, GC still made a fortune off of me, alone last year. That is over...as it is with every one I know that used to shop there. You've taken the single most important tool your salespeople had away from them and left them to deal with the angry, shafted regulars! You think we're angry and disappointed....talk to your sales staff!

I'm sure your stores will do fine with kids buying their first Epiphones or Ibanezes or Ludwigs, but don't expect loyal customers and relationships with professionals without either price breaks or pro service.

Thanks for the feedback! I am in full agreement regarding the Pro Service you mentioned, which is why I dive headfirst into the suggestions I get here. I've kinda made it a personal mission to get as much information as I can from you guys in order to help improve what we do.

Thanks!
Eli