Stupid things you've been told at Guitar Center

[alary]

The same people work at Home Depot and Lowes.

[Chrislpp]

The problem is not that they are all idiots and ignorant about the equipment they are selling, it's that they are actually all guitarists.

*Ooooh's and Ahhhhhh's of sudden understanding*

''So that explains it!''

[scottb4101]

I have to brace myself before I go into Guitar Center...

Story #1 - I go in to buy a patchbay that I needed ASAP, otherwise I would have bought it online. I scope out the store and notice a stack of new patchbays on the shelf. After standing there for a few minutes I have to seek out a salesperson. I ask him for a patchbay, he tells me he doesn't think they have any in stock. I point the patchbays out to him I had seen on the shelf. He says oh, I guess we do have them in stock

Story #2 - I've been buying DR 12 String Acoustic guitar strings from GC for over 15 years. I go in to buy some before a gig. I don't see them on the string rack. Hoping they have some in back I ask the salesperson. He tells me "DR? They don't make guitar strings." I tell him I've been buying them here often and if he looks in the computer my last purchase was of the very same strings. He says I'm wrong, DR never made strings. I point out the DR Acoustic 6 string set on display. He says, well but they never made 12 string sets, do you want to try these d'addarios? as he shows me an electric set.

[Chrislpp]

Originally Posted by scottb4101

Story #2 - I've been buying DR 12 String Acoustic guitar strings from GC for over 15 years. I go in to buy some before a gig. I don't see them on the string rack. Hoping they have some in back I ask the salesperson. He tells me "DR? They don't make guitar strings." I tell him I've been buying them here often and if he looks in the computer my last purchase was of the very same strings. He says I'm wrong, DR never made strings. I point out the DR Acoustic 6 string set on display. He says, well but they never made 12 string sets, do you want to try these d'addarios? as he shows me an electric set.

And I bet he was a guitarist himself eek.

[flyingkeys]

My favourite was when the head guy in recording and the store manager both tried to convince me that Reason 4 does Audio ......

Gabriel

[beezwax901]

"Well you can use your VST plugins in Garageband"

"Oh, uhh... I accidentally sent your receipt to the front"

[Heartlander]

Originally Posted by stevep

Phone call,....

Me.... Looking for a price on a Shure SM7 do you guys have them in stock ?

GC dork..... Let me check,....

waiting.......... he comes back, cant find it... never heard of it,... you must want a sure sm57


Me.... click

That is freeking classic. I also went in (made the mistake instead of calling)...
Me: "Do yall have any SM-7B's in stock"?
GC: "You mean an SM-57?"
me: "No..."
GC: "You probably do, I've never heard of an SM-7"
Me: "Oh... actually, there it is... 4th shelf up on the left"
GC: "Oh THAT one... yeah. Let me take it out and give you a demo"

...the guy brought it out into their 'studio' and hooked it up. It wouldn't work... he thought it was a phantom power problem. I said "you don't have the correct input selected"... He said "yeah, i got it". He didn't. And 10 minutes later, i pretended to get a phone call and ducked out. I bought it from Sweetwater.

[12ax7]

.
"It’s not the things we don’t know that get us into trouble. It’s the things we know that just ain’t true."

-Will Rogers

"Ignorance has a certain charm to it. Stupidity does NOT!"

-Frank Zappa

.

GS & GC and Sweetwater DO NOT make up for the loss of...

Places like THIS!

.

.
.

[relaxo]

This thread is nothing compared to the stupid things the Guitar Center people have been told by the public...and remember, the customer is ALWAYS right.

I feel sooo terribly sorry for the Guitar Center workers...all day long everyday excruciating amateur pounding drums and guitar solos, people TEACHING you the FACTS about what some magazine says or their buddy with the Celeron 392-88 Z12 Turbo 122 says about SSL consoles or the 87 and your #*$% manager. Oh man, to quote Frank again...the torture never stops.

[twinfin]

I have found some good deals through the G.C. used section and I have had them ship me 2 amps . Here is how that went.

me-Hey I see you have a made in the U.S Blues JR.

G.C- Sure do made right in the U.S.A !

me-Will you double check for me ?

G.C.-Sure--- Yep made in U.S.A

me- Sweet I want it .Ship it.

It arrives packed ok and on the back it says " Made in Mexico "
They did give me a " 100.00 " refund.
My Mesa Stiletto I had shipped was supposed to be a 2x12 but when it arrived proved to be a 1X12 that was not packed very well at all .They never did make that right.

Right now I am trying to buy a used VOX AC30 . For two days these fools have dodged Me. " I will call you Back as it is in the back-NO CALL.
I call them again today . The guy says" AC30 - Yeah ,we have an amp plug -duh-duh hoho - it plugs right in"-
"WTF No I mean an amp , the other guy said it was in the back"
It might be in the back , I think we might have shipped it out"
another"WTF"
"Can I get your number so we can call you back"
"No dumb ass."

[12ax7]

They should really have a drive-through window.

It would totally complete the analogy I have in mind.
.

[PRobb]

Originally Posted by relaxo

This thread is nothing compared to the stupid things the Guitar Center people have been told by the public...and remember, the customer is ALWAYS right.

I feel sooo terribly sorry for the Guitar Center workers...all day long everyday excruciating amateur pounding drums and guitar solos, people TEACHING you the FACTS about what some magazine says or their buddy with the Celeron 392-88 Z12 Turbo 122 says about SSL consoles or the 87 and your #*$% manager. Oh man, to quote Frank again...the torture never stops.

I bet if there's a forum for GS employees the "Stupid Things You've Been Told By Costumers" thread must have some hysterical stuff in it.

[12ax7]

Originally Posted by PRobb

I bet if there's a forum for GS employees the "Stupid Things You've Been Told By Costumers" thread must have some hysterical stuff in it.

Yeah, its probably TWICE as funny!

Like:

"This stupid-lookin' guy came in lookin' for an SM-57. But (get this) he was so stupid that he called it an SM-7!!!"

[Purple]

Originally Posted by PRobb

I bet if there's a forum for GS employees the "Stupid Things You've Been Told By Costumers" thread must have some hysterical stuff in it.

There must be a forum somewhere with a thread called "Stupid Things You've Been Told By A Gearslut".

[Voyage.One]

In Australia we have Allans Music/Billy Hyde.
Quite recently I was shopping around for mics.
The gasser: "M-Audio sputnik sounds just like a U87"
(Yeah, right!)

[squidsquad]

Originally Posted by PRobb

I bet if there's a forum for GS employees the "Stupid Things You've Been Told By Costumers" thread must have some hysterical stuff in it.

Really?

[psycho_monkey]

Originally Posted by PRobb

I bet if there's a forum for GS employees the "Stupid Things You've Been Told By Costumers" thread must have some hysterical stuff in it.

Why would costumers be in GS? Not know for their fashion range are they?!

[PRobb]

Wow, two typos in one post. Not my day.

[chris319]

Why would costumers be in GS?

Halloween is coming.

[Thomas W. Bethe]

Originally Posted by PRobb

I bet if there's a forum for GS employees the "Stupid Things You've Been Told By Costumers" thread must have some hysterical stuff in it.

Guitar Center has some really good employees - the trick is to find them and work with them long term to build a relationship. Our local GC has a GREAT manager and some GREAT Pro Audio Salesmen. One salesman in particular, Dave Miller, just was promoted to GC Pro Audio and I am very happy for him. He certainly earned it. There are also some really good salesmen in other departments and assistant managers who work there.

They have some people working at the local GC who look like they have on permanent Halloween makeup although I have recently noticed that much of it seems to be gone - maybe a new store or GC policy?

IMHO if you are going to be a "professional salesmen" I guess you should somewhat look the part.

Nothing wrong with dreads or face makeup or wearing lots of hardware but it may give the wrong idea to a family who is coming in to buy an acoustic guitar for their son or daughter at Christmas and it may give them the idea this is what their children are going to turn into in the near future. Not something a lot of families want to "dream" about.

Since this is the era of the internet I tend to purchase most things off line but still go to my local GC in an emergency.

[projektio]

Had the "pro" in GC Pro Audio up-sell me on (2) Sennheiser e835 vocal mics. They were $99 and he convinced me that they were better than the SM58 at the same price point. Admittedly, I was in a rush and needed them about an hour before a gig because "someone" forgot some of the regular mics back at the home studio, and thought what the hell, I'll try 'em.

We used them once and they were BEYOND terrible. Totally lousy frequency response, had to crank the gain ALL THE WAY UP in order to even hear the signal. Never had another mic do that.

So a few weeks after that gig I remembered that I'd meant to return them (after my anger at that show had subsided) and went back to GC. Got told by the front desk guy that, "You can't return microphones because of California's health codes".

I was stunned. I'd purchased used microphones from them earlier in the year. I even went so far to show him that they were still selling used microphones on their website. No dice.

So now I'm in the hole $200 on a pair of mediocre microphones desperately trying to unload them for practically anything on Craigslist. I'd probably give them away for a plate of tacos and a Corona!

Matt

[n8tron]

Originally Posted by projektio

Had the "pro" in GC Pro Audio up-sell me on (2) Sennheiser e835 vocal mics. They were $99 and he convinced me that they were better than the SM58 at the same price point. Admittedly, I was in a rush and needed them about an hour before a gig because "someone" forgot some of the regular mics back at the home studio, and thought what the hell, I'll try 'em.

We used them once and they were BEYOND terrible. Totally lousy frequency response, had to crank the gain ALL THE WAY UP in order to even hear the signal. Never had another mic do that.

So a few weeks after that gig I remembered that I'd meant to return them (after my anger at that show had subsided) and went back to GC. Got told by the front desk guy that, "You can't return microphones because of California's health codes".

I was stunned. I'd purchased used microphones from them earlier in the year. I even went so far to show him that they were still selling used microphones on their website. No dice.

So now I'm in the hole $200 on a pair of mediocre microphones desperately trying to unload them for practically anything on Craigslist. I'd probably give them away for a plate of tacos and a Corona!

Matt

they "up-sell" you on those because they make more profit, and if they are still on commission it means a few extra bucks their way. SM58s Have less profit built into them.

tis a crappy place.

[12ax7]

.
The main problem with GC's business model is that they are so busy trying to sell stuff that they just don't quite know what to do when somebody shows up and just wants to buy something.

(Of course, theirs is not the only business with this problem.)
.

[joelpatterson]

Originally Posted by projektio

...Sennheiser e835 vocal mics.... and they were BEYOND terrible....

That sounds quite peculiar to me... I have three 835's and they are wondrous... I'd love to send you some tacos and a Corona, I'll even throw in some frijoles, but I'd suggest there's something faulty with those two.

[S.Filpansick]

Originally Posted by joelpatterson

That sounds quite peculiar to me... I have three 835's and they are wondrous... I'd love to send you some tacos and a Corona, I'll even throw in some frijoles, but I'd suggest there's something faulty with those two.

That's what I was going to say... 835's really are great mics! I wouldn't take that as any sort of dishonesty on the salesperson's part.

[angielog_d]

i work at guitar center, but i am not a sales person.

unfortunately this recently happened to a friend:

bobby in pro-audio: SUP DUDE THIS IS BOBBYDIGITAL
friend: hey, do you guys carry contact mics?
bobby in pro-audio: WHAT IS THAT, MAN
friend: it's, uh, well - it's not a normal microphone - it can be attached to things and it picks up the vibr-
bobby in pro-audio: WHAT???
friend: i... don't understand... how you don't know what this is!
bobby in pro-audio: I DON'T THINK THIS EXISTS, I THINK YOU'RE MESSING WITH ME.
friend: seriously?
bobby in pro-audio: (((inaudible banter/my friend hangs up)))


he got fired shortly there after.

[projektio]

Originally Posted by joelpatterson

That sounds quite peculiar to me... I have three 835's and they are wondrous... I'd love to send you some tacos and a Corona, I'll even throw in some frijoles, but I'd suggest there's something faulty with those two.

Refried beans? Now we're talkin'! But seriously, I think I found a local buyer who is interested as of today. I'm convinced there is nothing wrong with the mics, but definitely certain I don't care for them. I've since purchased a Beta58 and Beta57, and they are much better and more what I was looking for in terms of sound.

Cheers for allowing me to commiserate with a recent GC tale. I'm sure there are more in the memory banks.

For what it's worth, if you never dealt with American Musical Supply before, they are really friendly and very, very knowledgeable. I only wish they had a store front, but I've gotten my most recent large purchases from them and been very happy. I've heard similar stories of friends who bought through Sweetwater.

What happened to Customer Service in America? It used to be amazing! You know, helping people and knowing your products inside and out? Holy crap!!

Matt

[s12512]

Originally Posted by FFTT

Chuck Levins Washington Music Center is the ONLY store in town these days
with a serious pro department.
They were there providing gear to the founding fathers and still do so when anyone
passes through town.

They also hold long time contracts for just about every major performance venue
in the area.

Granted, you don't want to go down there on a Saturday when it's mayhem, but
overall they don't mess around when dealing with professionals.

+1 for chuck levins!!

[wafflesomd]

I had a pretty horrible experience there the other day...

I went in to demo some monitors. I brought a long a few cd's and my ipod.

He asks me what I'd like to hear... From a selection of 3 pairs of monitors, out of 13 pairs...

I got around listening to some KRK's, Yammys, and JBL LSR's. They were alright, but I ran out of source material on my CD's and wanted to hook up my ipod. I need a cable so the clerk goes and grabs a 1/8th to 1/4 cable and procedes to plug it into ONE Yamaha HS80.

He actually tried to demo monitors for me with one speaker...

I left after that, complete waste of time.

[gmontano]

great thread - here are a few of mine.

I was in the market for a new tube amp. I was interested in trying a mesa boogie that it turned out was broken. The sales guy kept pushing some peavey aimed at the metal market, which isn't what I was interested in. I then asked to try a vox ac30 out. The reply "those are old amps, I think the beatles used them. Not sure why you want that."

I went in the "pro audio" department and was looking for a controller for my windows/cubase set up.

Sales guy: "My friend, who knows his stufff, said all pros use Macs, you should get a Macintosh so you can use the euphonix."

Me: While I am sure Macs are great, I am not switching now. Plus, I am looking for a controller that will as a sound card and handle lightpipe i/o. (my digital 328 just died and had handled these tasks.)

Sales guy: lightpipe is very unreliable. Everyone stopped using that years ago.


I really feel bad for the uniformed who get crazy misinformation from GC.