Stupid things you've been told at Guitar Center

[JTMuehl]

I get what you are saying. I just think if you operate a department in a store you should know what you are talking about. It's bad business to have people running your music department and not know what a DI box is. It's basic audio stuff I didn't ask for anything crazy.

I thought it was funny because I was just reading this thread before I went to Best Buy and was thinking to myself I never really experienced these stories before. 20 minutes later BAM it happens. Anyway...

[verve92]

Originally Posted by kasmira

Hmm. Well, I got paid 8.50/hr in AZ if I remember correctly. Min wage at the time was 7.25. We were actually required to do our own training on a computer with materials provided by the vendors. Some were required, most were optional though. I did a lot of them...some of them were quite good, some were pointless. Most of the knowledge came from other employees, honestly, unless you were strong prior in the sales area you were in. I get the point but the guy at Guitar Center doesn't make a ton of money either..

Sent from my Nexus S 4G using Gearslutz App

WEAK!!
Did you at least get a commission?

[ksandvik]

The only constant stupid thing the salespeople are forced to tell customers is the extended warranty. Let's see I get an extended warranty on a set of $40 headphones...

[kasmira]

Originally Posted by verve92

WEAK!!
Did you at least get a commission?

No commission at Best Buy. They don't commission their sales associates so that they as a company are known to have non pressure employees, but then your manager yells at you when you don't sell bundled items, don't sell accessories or services or additional warranties. Its pretty ******** all in all. we were practically forced and trained to act like commissioned sales associates, but without actual commission.

Employee discount was seriously beast though. I miss it.

Sent from my Nexus S 4G using Gearslutz App

[verve92]

Originally Posted by kasmira

Employee discount was seriously beast though. I miss it.

It's cheaper for the company to sell you the stuff at cost and call it a "discount" than to give a commission.
This is what happens when there are no unions- no workers rights.

[jrod9900]

I can agree with the Best Buy story. The kids that work there have no clue. To be fair they probably just got thrown in.

Guitar Center here is a joke. They don't carry anything I need ever. Snakes are all like junk Hosa stuff, no Neutrik, maybe a couple Mogami cables. I always keep quiet just to see what kinda dumb stuff they tell me when I ask for something they don't have...

JROD

[Jazz Noise]

Originally Posted by jrod9900

They don't carry anything I need ever. Snakes are all like junk Hosa stuff, no Neutrik, maybe a couple Mogami cables.

Couldn't deal with that. When I'm stuck and I need a Neutrik I can go to Maplin - it'll cost 3 times the actual value of the thing, but it's there!

[DaveUK]

Maplin = give me an eyeball .
LOL / SOB :-)

[JamesN]

It wasn't at GC but another store i was told

"The condenser mic wasn't invented until the mid to late 1970's"

[DaveUK]

Got a spec request with c12's as overheads fet u47 on kick drum ....and on and on ...from a band who'd won a day in the studio as a prize in some daft battle of the bands prize the my owner/pimp got phone suckered into :+)
Turned into a few more days work after their super home mixer friend let them down for a mix of the first session and they decided to go for a full album with me !!..
Is that a result? .
:+)

[DaveUK]

Actually 3 days record and mix and master 13 songs plus 5 incidental things!
I'm a f****ng idiot !!!

[catchafiyah]

Originally Posted by Mafiso

I worked at guitar center in Cleveland for 3 long months. There was one guy that had a fair amount of knowledge on a few things, but for the most part all the guys were clueless.

And of course there is always the high profit margin stuff that we were always encouraged to shove down people's throats. Esp the eureka's, and groove tubes mics...those were the biggest. A gt55 had like 250 bucks of profit in it...with no hard minimum, so it was also a good thing to throw into a large sale.

Anyway I ended up leaving because I needed to focus on preparing for auditions into different music schools.

I went in there the other day and couldn't resist butting into this conversation:

customer: Do egg crates really sound proof rooms?
GC guy: I have heard they can do a pretty decent job at sound proofing.
me cutting into the convo from across the room: Egg Crates do nothing!
GC guy: well they help a little bit.
Me: no the don't! egg crates do absolutley nothing...esp concerning soundproofing.
GC guy to customer: well then i guess you need some auralex.
...I leave because i don't feel like lecturing the two people on the difference between treatment and isolation.

Makes me happy I never went back...I would get so frusterated working with complete morons...plus cleveland is poor, so it was always tough to make commision...all we had were rapper wanna be's coming in wanting to price out a 10g studio because they were getting some cash real soon. Or they just wanted reasons(always with the extra s)...and lots and lots of loops

God I just LOL'ed in my pants over "reasons"

[Bangalore]

I'm already working on the copyright for "Reasons", "Innuendo's" and "Po' Tools".

[drblank]

When you talks to $5 an hour sales people, expect a $5 an hour response. The same thing is going to happen at many of these computer superstores when it comes to asking computer related questions.

he typical answer a computer superstore will tell you when you ask just about ANY question.

"Yeah, that will work"

[Jimbo]

Originally Posted by drblank

The same thing is going to happen at many of these computer superstores when it comes to asking computer related questions.

What's a "computer superstore"?

[drblank]

Originally Posted by Jimbo

What's a "computer superstore"?

Oh, you may not have them where you live. They have or used to have big stores that sold nothing but computer products. One name was Computer Warehouse. Now we have electronics superstores like Best Buy, Fry's Electronics. Same thing basically. A big store with a bunch of $5/hour sales guys running around. They will usually tell you that whatever you're buying will work whether it will or not.

In my area, there is a Fry's Electronics and when you enter the front door, many times there is a long line of people returning product and when you buy products, a lot of the stuff on the shelf is a return because the seal is broken.
That's why I don't shop there anymore.

[Jimbo]

You shouldn't buy fried electronics. Exposing sensitive electronical parts to heat can damage them.

I guess we have what you could call a "computer superstore" in my mall called Apple. They sure have a lot of cool stuff in there.

[drblank]

Originally Posted by Jimbo

You shouldn't buy fried electronics. Exposing sensitive electronical parts to heat can damage them.

I guess we have what you could call a "computer superstore" in my mall called Apple. They sure have a lot of cool stuff in there.

The store is called Fry's. I can't help it. They actually do sell Apple products. But I don't shop at Fry's. Haven't for many years. I usually go to Apple and if they don't have it, then I find it on-line at places that have a decent reputation.

But gear, it's frustrating when there isn't a decent music store to buy gear from that has people running around where the customer knows more than them. Now, I used to work in a music store back in the 70's, but the owner retired and then I ended up at Guitar Center and lasted 2 weeks, because I didn't care for their pressure sales tactics. The manager was a COMPLETE jerk to work for and he didn't care about anything other than making as much money as possible and screwing the customer over. But this was the late 70's. I don't know how much has changed since they have new ownership. I understand they have to make a profit, but when they put people in certain departments, they need to hire people that know what they are doing, but they don't pay much and the kids sometimes don't care, because to them it's just a low paying retail job and a lot of them are there so they can get deals on gear for themselves and make their parents happy that they can get a job. Obviously, there are some sales guys that actually know what they are doing and some don't. But it is sad to walk into the store knowing as much or more than the sales guy selling you the product.

[drblank]

I wondering if offering to pay the sales rep some $$ on the side will yield a better answer when you ask for them to assist you.

[drblank]

Originally Posted by kasmira

Hmm. Well, I got paid 8.50/hr in AZ if I remember correctly. Min wage at the time was 7.25. We were actually required to do our own training on a computer with materials provided by the vendors. Some were required, most were optional though. I did a lot of them...some of them were quite good, some were pointless. Most of the knowledge came from other employees, honestly, unless you were strong prior in the sales area you were in. I get the point but the guy at Guitar Center doesn't make a ton of money either..

Sent from my Nexus S 4G using Gearslutz App

Retail rarely makes a lot of profit. Apple and a few others have consistently made it a profitable venture. The music industry is one of those rare industries where no matter who you work with, you'll rarely get a straight answer and there are thousands of mfg putting so much equipment, it's hard to keep up. What I do is identify one area of gear I am looking for, then you have to find all of the companies that make similar products, bookmark them, read as much as you can on their website, and then search forums for personal experiences, then cross your fingers that you made the best decision. What I can't stand is these mfg using artists to sell a product when the product they get is different than the product they sell. They do that sometimes with guitars where the artist gets a better quality instrument that plays and sounds a lot better than the product the consumer buys.

[Les Paul Gibson]

How may I help you?


Me: Do you guys have 6l6's power tubes? (I needed some tubes for my Egnater MOD and 5150).

idiot: Never heard of 6L6's, I'm pretty sure that amp (5150) take EL34's, I have been playing along time and I never heard of them, tubes are pretty much the same anyway

Me: I'm pretty sure it uses...:face palm: thanks anyway, BTW, you know you can damage your amp if you use the wrong tubes..

idiot: really? that's cool bro..I don't use tube amps, I use solid state amps..What was your name again?

FML...seriously, I really miss the mom and pop guitar shops.

Me::face palm:

[toddreloaded]

I emailed GC for a price quote on $6500 list of gear. This is the Assistant Manager's response:

" The best promotion I've got for you is that if you use your Guitar Center Preferred Players Card for in store purchases between August 9th and 13th, you can get 18 months 0% interest financing (thats a year and a half!)"

SO YOU CAN'T SAVE ME ANY MONEY BUT YOU WANT ME TO PUT $6500 ON A CREDIT CARD???

And then ...
"What do you currently have? Is this for a studio you're building from the ground up? What are you planning on recording? What type of microphone(s) are you looking at? "

I SENT A LIST STATING EXACTLY WHAT I'M LOOKING FOR AND THERE WERE NO MICS ON THE LIST.

"There are some other options out on the market for gear that will get the job done for you that may be tailored more for your needs. Also, just so you know, we do offer coverage plans on most of this gear you're looking at so that if anything happens to it in 2 or 3 years, you'll get replacements, so its something to think about."

AGAIN, I SENT A SPECIFIC LIST. BUT PLEASE TELL ME ABOUT HOW $6500 WORTH OF BEHRINGER GEAR AND CHINESE MICS WILL "GET THE JOB DONE"

[Ward Pike]

LOL!! Quality! Hilarious!

[Hellion102792]

I was in the Milford CT GC a few months ago trying to buy strap locks. I know right? You're probably already thinking "Strap locks? What stupidity could come from buying something as simple as strap locks?"

Literally NONE of the counters had anyone behind them except at the accessory department. Hardly anyone on the sales floor either so I helped myself to a pair of Proline locks and got in line. The GC guy behind the counter is having a grand old time helping the flannel-shirted hipster in front of me return a loop pedal. First I got to witness this exchange:

Hipster: "Yeah bro, it's just not working. I bought it 2 days ago and want to return it."
GC Genius: "Okay, lemme just look it up here"
*stares at computer for literally 10 minutes*
GC Genius: "Yeah uh, we don't have any in stock"
Hipster: "What? I don't want to exchange it, I want to return it"
GC Genius: "Oh, right, sorry"
*another 5 minutes of computer time*
GC Genius: "Uh, hold on I gotta call my manager over. It's not uh, letting, yeah."
*manager comes over, hops on computer, resolves return in under 5 minutes*

After standing there annoyed for almost 20 minutes with my damn strap locks I finally go up (keep in mind I still don't see any other registers in the store with anyone behind them).

GCG: "Hey man, sorry for the wait. What can I get for you?"
Me: "Just these strap locks, all I need"
GCG: "Hm, what kind of guitar are you getting these for?"
Me: "Gibson SG, I looked up online and saw that these will fit."
GCG: "I dunno man, you should use these. They're more reliable"
*hands me a pack of Dunlops with obviously different-sized screws and a higher price. I read online that they were too small to fit SG's properly*
Me: "Eh, no I had read those don't fit SGs as the screws are too narrow (I show him the side-by-side difference)"
GCG: "Well what you could do is drill these in right next to the old strap button. Lot of people do that!"
Me: "I'd really rather just get the ones that fit and not have to drill holes in an instrument that took me 2 years of saving to buy"
GCG: "Well, if you insist!"


In contrast I've met some great GC employees. The Rhode Island one used to have a guy everyone called Kool Keith who helped me get said SG brand new and discounted from the back while another tried to sell me the banged-up floor model. He remembered his customers and would sorta check in with you on future visits. Shame he doesn't work there anymore and there's not more like him.

[Marcel G]

I was at GC looking for a new pair of headphones and overheard this

GC employee: sir do you need help
Customer: erm no thank you i dont think you can
GC employee: sure i can im a qualified audio engineer
Customer: oh yesh? Where did you go to school for it at?
GC employee: oh they teach you at guitar center
Customer: so i couldve came and worked at GC instead of the years and money i spent to become one?
GC employee: pretty much
Customer: (walks away and exits store)

[ampsarus]

Originally Posted by Jimbo

You shouldn't buy fried electronics. Exposing sensitive electronical parts to heat can damage them.

I guess we have what you could call a "computer superstore" in my mall called Apple. They sure have a lot of cool stuff in there.

I get it

[suedesound]

can anyone explain why it takes a minimum of 10 minutes, your phone number, address, company name etc to ring up anything there? i can think of at least a half dozen times i ran in to pick up a couple of drum heads or pairs of sticks, adapter cables whatever small purchase and been stuck in there for 30 minutes to an hour. what other retail store makes it that hard to pay for your shit and get out?

[Thomas W. Bethe]

Originally Posted by suedesound

can anyone explain why it takes a minimum of 10 minutes, your phone number, address, company name etc to ring up anything there? i can think of at least a half dozen times i ran in to pick up a couple of drum heads or pairs of sticks, adapter cables whatever small purchase and been stuck in there for 30 minutes to an hour. what other retail store makes it that hard to pay for your shit and get out?

Boy you must go to a faster GC than the one I go to. I usually leave one hour for all the BS at GC. The GC here is GREAT but with all the interruptions and time wasters it usually takes me about an hour to get there look around a bit and get waited on and get out. Most times my salesman is trying to work with 4 or more people at once. He is the best but he just really gets involved with his clients.


FWIW

[PRobb]

Originally Posted by suedesound

can anyone explain why it takes a minimum of 10 minutes, your phone number, address, company name etc to ring up anything there? i can think of at least a half dozen times i ran in to pick up a couple of drum heads or pairs of sticks, adapter cables whatever small purchase and been stuck in there for 30 minutes to an hour. what other retail store makes it that hard to pay for your shit and get out?

Tell them you don't want to be on their mailing lists, you just want to pay.
For small purchases, cash is a pretty convenient way around that.

[bass_pilot]

I recently purchased a Banjo songbook and two $4 guitar straps at GC.

GC guy: What's your name?
Me: I prefer not to give that information.
GC guy: We need the info in case you want to return the items.

What?!?! Why wouldn't the receipt be adequate for the return? I paid with a credit card, so the receipt has my name on it. I chose not to ask/argue and just told him I wouldn't be returning the items.