Part of the solution---if you shop at Guitar Center, read this - Page 6

Chunky But Funky · 18th December 2007, 05:51 PM

To be fair, my experiences at GC have been mixed. I walked in for some Mogami cables for a demo I was using for an upstart rental business. I had a Korby mic and API channel strip. While searching the Mogami rack for the right cables, I talked with the sales person. I informed him of the gear I was getting in the next couple of weeks. He told me I should look into the mics in the "top shelf" of their mic display. They included Sterling and Neumann TLM 103. If I'm already getting Korby's, Royer's and U87's, he obviously didn't know the difference. Just say so. I creates more respect. He did however get my info. if any vintage pieces come in I would be interested in. Good move! (Pittsburgh, PA)

Mertmo2 · 18th December 2007, 05:52 PM

The problem with GC is indeed the business model. Corporate structure will never work for something like music gear. It's too much about art and personal preference.
GC is no different now than Pizza Hut. Exactly the same. Big mistake to try and make the company so big and build so many stores. Every neighborhood does not need a corner guitar shop. Every teenager does not need a fender. So what you get is a huge corporation just forcing the opening of store after store in any market big enough, and obviously more than one store in bigger markets like Portland, OR. (clackamas store and beaverton store). There is no way to find enough good people to staff all these places. That many knowledgeable audio and instrument people just do not exist. It's a losing battle from day one. Then add to that the shittiness of how corporations like that pay their employees and you are toast, never to return. GC will never ever be a great place to shop on the whole. Sure there are exceptions, individuals and/or stores here and there that rise above, but in general it will never return to the great service that the original few stores were famous for. GC's purpose in life now is to sell cheap gear to amateurs, and to be basically a gear "7-11", for the people like us who just stop in to buy strings or a cable or that one cool piece of gear that you already know you want and you don't have to talk to anybody about it or audition it.

Sorry to be so harsh about it. I encourage the original poster to do whatever you can to improve your store, but IMO you are up against a battle you can't win. The company is too big, the problems are too fundamental in nature, and even if you had all the right answers you would still have to effect change at too high a corporate level to be realistic. I was an employee at the Beaverton, OR store, helped open the store when it was first built. Building the place was fun, but once we were open for business and I saw the reality of how we were all going to get paid and how poor the training was, it opened my eyes in a big way. Depressing... It sunk in real quick that it was absolutely no different than my teenage experience at Pizza Hut or my previous experience at the ridiculously inept CompUSA.

My local GC's pro audio dept is pretty much a joke. Did a session last night at my friend's studio and he was telling me more than one recent horror story about shopping there. I just don't see it ever changing, really. Can you tell I have no faith in corporate america?

DCMIX · 18th December 2007, 06:49 PM

Ditch the computer system you guys use.

Holy Cow. Everytime i buy something, my sales guy pecks at the keyboard for the better part of an hour.

I'm convinced he's just playing Defender or Joust.

And if you got a return............forget about it.......they are gonna peck on the keyboard for a month...MINIMUM.

D

DontLetMeDrown · 18th December 2007, 07:17 PM

Most of my GC experiences have been good and I still shop there. They have pissed me off a few times and each time was the same reason. GC likes to offer to "special order" things for you that they don't have in store. Then once they have your cash and you leave, they could give a rat's ass about ever seeing you again.

A while back, I bought a Marshal half-stack. I only received the head since the cabinet was out of stock. "No biggie," I thought. The guys says, "Don't worry bro, I'll call you when it comes in." No prob. Weeks go by and still no call. Call em up, "It didn't come in on todays delivery. We won't get it until next week." Wow that sucks, oh well, I guess I wait. This happened every week for about 2.5 months. I should mention that the dude NEVER EVER called me. I had to finally ask for a different person that was able to figure out what the problem was and get it sorted out.

My best friend had almost the exact same experience when buying his Warwick bass. The floor model had a f'd up input jack. Different sales guy: "No worries bro, Lemme special order it for you." We waited for a few weeks, then went in and asked if they could get us a guitar from a different Guitar Center. They sent him about an hour north. When he arrived, the salesman told him that the guitar they had was a slightly different version and would cost more. What really sucks is that my friends ACTUALLY PAID IT. What's worse is the guitar worked for a while, now the input jack is f'd just like the floor model from the other store.

My point is this: What really sucks is that whenever GC "special orders" something they make you pay IN FULL, up front. I understand that problems happen, but it's stupid to charge a repeat customer ahead of time for special orders if you are not going to stay on top of your shit-- DON'T CHARGE US until YOU get the goods. I know you guys can see how much I've spent when I'm making a new purchse. Not trying to say I deserve special treatment, but cmon, I'm helping to pay your salary "bro".

Just a couple of my experiences...

Brent Hahn · 18th December 2007, 07:53 PM

I see the basic problem as this: if a person is bright enough and skilled enough and undamaged enough to be an ideal Guitar Center Salesperson, he or she can and will get a much better job than Guitar Center Salesperson. Kinda the same problem they have at Kaiser, Supercuts, LensCrafters, and the Public Defenders' Office.

LoopQuantum · 18th December 2007, 07:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lhm1138

Nothing I can really criticize about GC, for a Best Buy of Music Instruments, it's pretty good. The staff here at the Jacksonville, FL store are very knowledgeable and helpful, especially John Jenkins at the Atlantic Blvd GC. My main criticism would be of the people that come in to play terribly on the workstation keyboards and grooveboxes for hours, reeking of marijuana smoke and driving the sales staff crazy while bogarting the demo instruments. All those instruments should be headphones required....it's bad enough to hear someone playing Smoke on the Water badly on a Gorilla amp, much less some pothead rap/techno retard who can't keep time even with quantize turned on.

John is a great guy.... I've known him for years as a musician and friend.

gravityminor · 18th December 2007, 08:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dasmetre

I'm the general Manager for GC in Fountain Valley, CA and have a question for you guys--

What do we need to do better? I want to be a part of the solution.
Thanks
Eli

ps--I hope this doesn't turn into a "you guys suck" thread, because that's not going to help us get better at what we do.

thanks again!

I'll tell you, I just called the new west la location (asked for gc pro in hopes of speaking to someone knowledgeable) to get a tt to xlr cable. had to speak to 3 people. the 1st two employees just passed me on. i assume they didn't know what the hell i was talking about. the third guy tried to look it up but still had to ask what is a tt cable was. i said tiny telephone, bantam, etc. for a patch bay... he said "i don't think they make those connectors"... he sounded so put out by my retarded request too.

so, i expect guys and gals on the floor or at the accessories counter not to know what i'm talking about. but, gc pro? in LA?? come on!

vernier · 18th December 2007, 08:55 PM

Quote:

I'm the general Manager for GC in Fountain Valley, CA and have a question for you guys--

What do we need to do better? I want to be a part of the solution.
Thanks
Eli

ps--I hope this doesn't turn into a "you guys suck" thread, because that's not going to help us get better at what we do.

thanks again!

Kind of a coincidence ..I've been a Fountain Valley GC customer forever and its a great store ...don't need to change a thing.

dasmetre · 18th December 2007, 09:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by carlheinz

Long time customer who dealt regularly with one sales person and wants to know

1.Was Gil fired or did He quit?

2.I think the fountain valley store should wake up to the fact that they will never sell the used AMS RMX and DMX units for $4,500.00 each.WTF?They sit in the back of the booth year after year rotting away.I've inquired and once made a reasonable market value offer and they declined.I'm sure someone"heard" they were used by the pro's....etc etc etc.Some of the pricing on used stuff is pure wacky.

3.The store's background music is TOO LOUD!!!!!!,You cant hear anything.You get blasted in the parking lot with a powered monitor on your way in.Once inside you are again bombarded by the p.a. inside and the tv screens at the same time.You cannot think straight!!!

It would be inappropriate (and illegal) to discuss the reason for an employee's separation.

A lot of used gear in my store was very obviously priced far above fair market value, and this happened before I took over. I am, and have been, in the process of solving these issues. If you would like, PM me and I will keep you posted.

We have, as of two weeks ago, removed the speaker from the front door. I can do little about the overhead radio, but we no longer have that speaker out front.

I'm ahppy to address issues with my store immediately, and am glad to have some feedback.
thanks!

mreagan · 18th December 2007, 09:13 PM

The sales people are way too intimidating. I feel like I have a target on my back the second I walk into the door.

+

When an employee is 'helping' me, it feels like the only thing they're thinking about is getting me to buy whatever they can in the shortest amount of time.

bunnerabb · 18th December 2007, 09:14 PM

After reviewing my statements on my visits to Guitar Center and getting the timbre of all of the other complaints, I think the summary is clear.

Never let your customers feel like they're being conned.

Do that, and you got solid people willing to blow money on whatever you offer at a fair price.

kpaw · 18th December 2007, 10:47 PM

There is a lot to be said for having a low turnover sales staff. I've dealt with the GC in Cherry Hill, NJ for years with no problems. Andy in pro audio is knowledgable, and makes it a point to contact his best customers first when they have blow-out deals. Customer service is king. He knows I know my stuff and we work from there.

On a humorous note, here is a conversation I had with a GC employee in a New York store that will remain unmentioned:

GC guy: Hey, looking for a preamp?

Me: I'm in the market for another pre soon.

GC guy: Cool dude! Have you seen the new presonus gear we have?

Me: Uh, not really, I have Avalon, Manley, Langevin, and Brent Averill pres, I don't think the presonus would fit in with my gear.

GC guy: Who's Brent Averill? Can't be that good, I never heard of him, you sure you don't want to listen to a presonus? You won't be sorry.

Doh!

emdub123 · 18th December 2007, 11:06 PM

My comments have to do with the guitar department. I've shopped at one or more GCs in the following cities: Austin, Denver, Fort Collins, Hollywood (FL), Miami, Kansas City, Houston and Corpus Christi.

1. Strings and tuning. All acoustic guitars above $1500 should have fresh strings and be in tune at all times. Same with the Gretsch, PRS and Gibson electrics. If it goes for more than a certain amount (whatever is feasible), it needs to be attended to on a regular basis. No excuses, yes it sucks tuning 20+ guitars EVERY DAY, but that should be part of the job in the guitar department. No one expects squier strats to be in tune, but expectations change for the higher end stuff.

2. Guard your guitars better. Don't let Mr. Rockstar play that D-28 with his big ass belt buckle and bracelets. Same with jackets. Those zippers can't do much harm "just this once", but when 10 people play the guitar with their jackets on, those little scratches add up. Plus, if you tell me to take my jacket/belt off when playing high-end gear, that's an indication that you are taking good care of your gear and I'm going to be MORE (not less) likely to buy from you.

3. Tuners. Have a few tuners placed around the guitar department. Customers can SILENTLY tune the guitars themselves and no one has to hear Justin try to tune that Dimebag guitar by ear through a Mesa Stack. In tune guitars sell faster than out of tune guitars and reduce the noise-aggravation for everyone that has to hear "My Sacrifice" yet again.

4. Pedals. What good does it do to have guitar pedals in a glass case in the string department? Who's going to bother with that lame-ass Boss Display? My suggestion: Have somebody who knows something about guitars and a wide variety of music walk around with a handful of pedals and make recommendations. You see some middle-aged guy playing "Cold Shot" or "Pride and Joy" through a strat/super reverb, you might want to offer him a tube screamer. You could clear those Marshall Reissues off the floor in hours if you put RATs in front of them. Somebody playing a gretsch? Get that man an echo. Get that man an echo. See what I mean? Would you sell more guitars? Maybe. Would you sell more amps? Maybe. Would you sell more pedals? No question.

All for now....

xopeth4 · 19th December 2007, 12:46 AM

Just a quick one from the NYC store- I called ahead to ask for a product, "Jeremy" says "yeah we got it, I am holding it now, I'll put it on hold for you behind the counter, just ask for me dude!" I figure awesome, I'll come right down.

I get there about 45 mins later, go to the counter, ask for Jeremy. Another dude says "he's in the back, I'll go get him." i wait.... wait... wait.... same dude who went to the back to find Jeremy just ignores me for 20 minutes. I ask him again, "I'm still waiting for Jeremy, is he around?" This schmuck says, "Dude, Jeremy left for the day an hour ago."

Why did he wait for me to ask again to tell me this? Couldn't he have told me this as soon as he found out, as I was standing in the same spot for over 20 minutes and he walked by me a dozen times or more as i waited for the elusive Jeremy? It was not busy in the store, and this guy was just yukking it up with his friends behind the counter, talking "shop." And why did Jeremy ask me to ask for him if he was about to leave the store?!

Seriously, I felt very unimportant as a customer, as this guy just kept walking by me after going to look for Jeremy, and my item on hold must have stayed on hold because i was so pissed that I left without purchasing.

rackdude · 19th December 2007, 12:49 AM

Are you the same guy that used to work at the El Toro guitarcenter? If you are, you sold me my SG for a good price. :) and I'm happy for that. I know the guy moved to Fountain Valley for a some reason.

TheArchitect · 19th December 2007, 01:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dasmetre

I'm the general Manager for GC in Fountain Valley, CA and have a question for you guys--

What do we need to do better? I want to be a part of the solution.
Thanks
Eli

ps--I hope this doesn't turn into a "you guys suck" thread, because that's not going to help us get better at what we do.

thanks again!

Go into a few of your other locations as just a "customer". The pack of wolves hassling you every 5 sec and more often than not just making shit up as they go if you have to actually speak to one of them will answer all of your questions.

Other items of note. 1)Stop the "case is extra" bullshit to make a few extra bucks. Everyone knows the cases on MIA fenders are included in the price. 2) Get off the commission based pay. You may be able to get staff that knows what the hell they are talking about and keep them around for a while.

Truth be told, I seriously doubt this is legit.

TheArchitect · 19th December 2007, 01:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bexarametric

I can see the point that it's very difficult for your average Joe salesman to justify spending the years and years that it takes to gather the amount of knowledge that all the people on these boards have when all it will lead to is about 1% of their sales. They don't have the time or the resources to compare and contrast API to Neve or Telefunken to Wunder. That being said, if you are looking for someone that has that kind of knowledge; we are out there.

I don't expect them to know everything. I DO expect them to not make shit up as they go. I do expect them to help me with what I am interested in, not push something I have already told them I DON"T WANT. I do appreciate being asked if they can help once. I DON"T appreciate being hassled every 5 minutes.

This is the real world and is by no means limited to the GS demographic. If you honestly believe the issues are limited to the 1% of the customer base that is on this site then you have just identified the biggest issue you have to deal with. Ignorance of your customer base and what goes on in your own stores.

TheArchitect · 19th December 2007, 01:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GroovnD313

Don't let any salesman ever say......

"Why do you want that?"

This cannot be emphasized enough

dasmetre · 19th December 2007, 03:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DCMIX

Ditch the computer system you guys use.

Holy Cow. Everytime i buy something, my sales guy pecks at the keyboard for the better part of an hour.

I'm convinced he's just playing Defender or Joust.

And if you got a return............forget about it.......they are gonna peck on the keyboard for a month...MINIMUM.

D

Joust would be an AMAZING addition to my day.

dasmetre · 19th December 2007, 03:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheArchitect

Truth be told, I seriously doubt this is legit.

You can find my name on the Guitar Center website under the "Store Locator" link. I'm in the Fountain Valley, CA location, and the number there is listed. Feel free to call me and verify, and I'll be happy to personally address any concerns you may have.
Thanks!
Eli

dasmetre · 19th December 2007, 03:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rackdude

Are you the same guy that used to work at the El Toro guitarcenter? If you are, you sold me my SG for a good price. :) and I'm happy for that. I know the guy moved to Fountain Valley for a some reason.

I haven't worked at our El Toro location, but I'm glad they got you taken care of!

Shaft · 19th December 2007, 03:27 AM

It would be wrong to refer to it as Guitar Sphincter, wouldn't it?

Okay. I won't call it Guitar Sphincter then. Because that wouldn't be very nice.

Nope. You won't hear Guitar Sphincter from me.

Thanks for helping me through this moral quandary.

ignatius · 19th December 2007, 03:33 AM

hire smarter people, pay them a living wage and don't make them work 6 days a week. rework your really unfair and un-motivating commission sales model. your employees get hosed every month. your business model is a scam. i only go to a guitar center as a total last resort.

i have found helpful people on occasion at guitar center but they never seem happy... they look like they are contemplating quitting and usually the next time i am forced to go to guitar center for something there seems to be all new people in the pro audio dept.

cajonezzz · 19th December 2007, 05:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by biggator6

you asked to not be called 'dude'.. then proceeded to call the GC guy 'dude' in the same post.

just sayin'..

When in Rome...........

Touche'

MOFO PRO · 19th December 2007, 05:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Da Mill

The Kay is now behind a glass display case with an asking price of about twice the amount as the trade in value, and they made profit from a sale to me that day.

Not if it's still sitting behind the glass

w_stylz · 19th December 2007, 05:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DRC

I wish.

There is a Pro Audio dept. at stores in the Chicago area, but no GC Pro. Just the usual 13 pre-teens amazed by the whammy bar on an all ready out of tune guitar through a Mesa making life hell for everyone in the building.

Dan Scalpone is the Rep for GC pro. He is based at the Halsted Store!!!

tINY · 19th December 2007, 06:23 AM

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Best guitar shop in Montreal?	djanogil	So much gear, so little time!	6	26th August 2007 02:24 AM
Guitar shop in Orange County, CA	numchukskillls	instruments, guitar, bass, amps	2	12th August 2007 10:19 PM
Best Vintage Guitar Online-Shop	Jason Grand	So much gear, so little time!	1	5th January 2007 04:07 PM
Please Read!! For All You...Part-1	M2E	So much gear, so little time!	3	3rd March 2005 11:41 AM

18th December 2007, 05:51 PM	#151
Chunky But Funky Gear nut Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 97	Education! To be fair, my experiences at GC have been mixed. I walked in for some Mogami cables for a demo I was using for an upstart rental business. I had a Korby mic and API channel strip. While searching the Mogami rack for the right cables, I talked with the sales person. I informed him of the gear I was getting in the next couple of weeks. He told me I should look into the mics in the "top shelf" of their mic display. They included Sterling and Neumann TLM 103. If I'm already getting Korby's, Royer's and U87's, he obviously didn't know the difference. Just say so. I creates more respect. He did however get my info. if any vintage pieces come in I would be interested in. Good move! (Pittsburgh, PA)

18th December 2007, 07:17 PM	#154
DontLetMeDrown Lives for gear Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Camarillo, CA Posts: 1,211	Most of my GC experiences have been good and I still shop there. They have pissed me off a few times and each time was the same reason. GC likes to offer to "special order" things for you that they don't have in store. Then once they have your cash and you leave, they could give a rat's ass about ever seeing you again. A while back, I bought a Marshal half-stack. I only received the head since the cabinet was out of stock. "No biggie," I thought. The guys says, "Don't worry bro, I'll call you when it comes in." No prob. Weeks go by and still no call. Call em up, "It didn't come in on todays delivery. We won't get it until next week." Wow that sucks, oh well, I guess I wait. This happened every week for about 2.5 months. I should mention that the dude NEVER EVER called me. I had to finally ask for a different person that was able to figure out what the problem was and get it sorted out. My best friend had almost the exact same experience when buying his Warwick bass. The floor model had a f'd up input jack. Different sales guy: "No worries bro, Lemme special order it for you." We waited for a few weeks, then went in and asked if they could get us a guitar from a different Guitar Center. They sent him about an hour north. When he arrived, the salesman told him that the guitar they had was a slightly different version and would cost more. What really sucks is that my friends ACTUALLY PAID IT. What's worse is the guitar worked for a while, now the input jack is f'd just like the floor model from the other store. My point is this: What really sucks is that whenever GC "special orders" something they make you pay IN FULL, up front. I understand that problems happen, but it's stupid to charge a repeat customer ahead of time for special orders if you are not going to stay on top of your shit-- DON'T CHARGE US until YOU get the goods. I know you guys can see how much I've spent when I'm making a new purchse. Not trying to say I deserve special treatment, but cmon, I'm helping to pay your salary "bro". Just a couple of my experiences... __________________ Dave Escobar So-Cal Sound Design My New Website My Myspace Page Rock City Studios Orange Whip Recording

18th December 2007, 07:53 PM	#155
Brent Hahn Gear addict Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 425	I see the basic problem as this: if a person is bright enough and skilled enough and undamaged enough to be an ideal Guitar Center Salesperson, he or she can and will get a much better job than Guitar Center Salesperson. Kinda the same problem they have at Kaiser, Supercuts, LensCrafters, and the Public Defenders' Office. __________________ Brent Hahn http://www.radioactive.la

18th December 2007, 09:13 PM	#160
mreagan Gear Head Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 39	The sales people are way too intimidating. I feel like I have a target on my back the second I walk into the door. + When an employee is 'helping' me, it feels like the only thing they're thinking about is getting me to buy whatever they can in the shortest amount of time. __________________ The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side.

18th December 2007, 05:52 PM	#152
Mertmo2 Gear maniac Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 258	The problem with GC is indeed the business model. Corporate structure will never work for something like music gear. It's too much about art and personal preference. GC is no different now than Pizza Hut. Exactly the same. Big mistake to try and make the company so big and build so many stores. Every neighborhood does not need a corner guitar shop. Every teenager does not need a fender. So what you get is a huge corporation just forcing the opening of store after store in any market big enough, and obviously more than one store in bigger markets like Portland, OR. (clackamas store and beaverton store). There is no way to find enough good people to staff all these places. That many knowledgeable audio and instrument people just do not exist. It's a losing battle from day one. Then add to that the shittiness of how corporations like that pay their employees and you are toast, never to return. GC will never ever be a great place to shop on the whole. Sure there are exceptions, individuals and/or stores here and there that rise above, but in general it will never return to the great service that the original few stores were famous for. GC's purpose in life now is to sell cheap gear to amateurs, and to be basically a gear "7-11", for the people like us who just stop in to buy strings or a cable or that one cool piece of gear that you already know you want and you don't have to talk to anybody about it or audition it. Sorry to be so harsh about it. I encourage the original poster to do whatever you can to improve your store, but IMO you are up against a battle you can't win. The company is too big, the problems are too fundamental in nature, and even if you had all the right answers you would still have to effect change at too high a corporate level to be realistic. I was an employee at the Beaverton, OR store, helped open the store when it was first built. Building the place was fun, but once we were open for business and I saw the reality of how we were all going to get paid and how poor the training was, it opened my eyes in a big way. Depressing... It sunk in real quick that it was absolutely no different than my teenage experience at Pizza Hut or my previous experience at the ridiculously inept CompUSA. My local GC's pro audio dept is pretty much a joke. Did a session last night at my friend's studio and he was telling me more than one recent horror story about shopping there. I just don't see it ever changing, really. Can you tell I have no faith in corporate america?

18th December 2007, 06:49 PM	#153
DCMIX Gear Head Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Elvisville,TN Posts: 58	Ditch the computer system you guys use. Holy Cow. Everytime i buy something, my sales guy pecks at the keyboard for the better part of an hour. I'm convinced he's just playing Defender or Joust. And if you got a return............forget about it.......they are gonna peck on the keyboard for a month...MINIMUM. D

18th December 2007, 09:14 PM	#161
bunnerabb Lives for gear Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: The Big Wide City Posts: 1,083	After reviewing my statements on my visits to Guitar Center and getting the timbre of all of the other complaints, I think the summary is clear. Never let your customers feel like they're being conned. Do that, and you got solid people willing to blow money on whatever you offer at a fair price. __________________ "It CAN be done. You can drive a car with your feet, but that don't make it a good f*cking idea". - Chris Rock

18th December 2007, 10:47 PM	#162
kpaw Lives for gear Join Date: May 2007 Location: South Jersey Posts: 1,744	There is a lot to be said for having a low turnover sales staff. I've dealt with the GC in Cherry Hill, NJ for years with no problems. Andy in pro audio is knowledgable, and makes it a point to contact his best customers first when they have blow-out deals. Customer service is king. He knows I know my stuff and we work from there. On a humorous note, here is a conversation I had with a GC employee in a New York store that will remain unmentioned: GC guy: Hey, looking for a preamp? Me: I'm in the market for another pre soon. GC guy: Cool dude! Have you seen the new presonus gear we have? Me: Uh, not really, I have Avalon, Manley, Langevin, and Brent Averill pres, I don't think the presonus would fit in with my gear. GC guy: Who's Brent Averill? Can't be that good, I never heard of him, you sure you don't want to listen to a presonus? You won't be sorry. Doh! __________________ http://www.myspace.com/kpawalker "Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies...a theft from those who hunger and are not fed." --Dwight D. Eisenhower, speech, 1953

18th December 2007, 11:06 PM	#163
emdub123 Gear nut Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Victoria, Texas USA Posts: 147	My comments have to do with the guitar department. I've shopped at one or more GCs in the following cities: Austin, Denver, Fort Collins, Hollywood (FL), Miami, Kansas City, Houston and Corpus Christi. 1. Strings and tuning. All acoustic guitars above $1500 should have fresh strings and be in tune at all times. Same with the Gretsch, PRS and Gibson electrics. If it goes for more than a certain amount (whatever is feasible), it needs to be attended to on a regular basis. No excuses, yes it sucks tuning 20+ guitars EVERY DAY, but that should be part of the job in the guitar department. No one expects squier strats to be in tune, but expectations change for the higher end stuff. 2. Guard your guitars better. Don't let Mr. Rockstar play that D-28 with his big ass belt buckle and bracelets. Same with jackets. Those zippers can't do much harm "just this once", but when 10 people play the guitar with their jackets on, those little scratches add up. Plus, if you tell me to take my jacket/belt off when playing high-end gear, that's an indication that you are taking good care of your gear and I'm going to be MORE (not less) likely to buy from you. 3. Tuners. Have a few tuners placed around the guitar department. Customers can SILENTLY tune the guitars themselves and no one has to hear Justin try to tune that Dimebag guitar by ear through a Mesa Stack. In tune guitars sell faster than out of tune guitars and reduce the noise-aggravation for everyone that has to hear "My Sacrifice" yet again. 4. Pedals. What good does it do to have guitar pedals in a glass case in the string department? Who's going to bother with that lame-ass Boss Display? My suggestion: Have somebody who knows something about guitars and a wide variety of music walk around with a handful of pedals and make recommendations. You see some middle-aged guy playing "Cold Shot" or "Pride and Joy" through a strat/super reverb, you might want to offer him a tube screamer. You could clear those Marshall Reissues off the floor in hours if you put RATs in front of them. Somebody playing a gretsch? Get that man an echo. Get that man an echo. See what I mean? Would you sell more guitars? Maybe. Would you sell more amps? Maybe. Would you sell more pedals? No question. All for now.... __________________ Check out the Dharma Wheel on Myspace

19th December 2007, 12:46 AM	#164
xopeth4 Gear Head Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 66	Sales staff seems disrespectful Just a quick one from the NYC store- I called ahead to ask for a product, "Jeremy" says "yeah we got it, I am holding it now, I'll put it on hold for you behind the counter, just ask for me dude!" I figure awesome, I'll come right down. I get there about 45 mins later, go to the counter, ask for Jeremy. Another dude says "he's in the back, I'll go get him." i wait.... wait... wait.... same dude who went to the back to find Jeremy just ignores me for 20 minutes. I ask him again, "I'm still waiting for Jeremy, is he around?" This schmuck says, "Dude, Jeremy left for the day an hour ago." Why did he wait for me to ask again to tell me this? Couldn't he have told me this as soon as he found out, as I was standing in the same spot for over 20 minutes and he walked by me a dozen times or more as i waited for the elusive Jeremy? It was not busy in the store, and this guy was just yukking it up with his friends behind the counter, talking "shop." And why did Jeremy ask me to ask for him if he was about to leave the store?! Seriously, I felt very unimportant as a customer, as this guy just kept walking by me after going to look for Jeremy, and my item on hold must have stayed on hold because i was so pissed that I left without purchasing.

19th December 2007, 12:49 AM	#165
rackdude Lives for gear Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Orange County, CA Posts: 689	Are you the same guy that used to work at the El Toro guitarcenter? If you are, you sold me my SG for a good price. :) and I'm happy for that. I know the guy moved to Fountain Valley for a some reason. __________________

19th December 2007, 03:27 AM	#172
Shaft Gear nut Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: San Diego Posts: 80	It would be wrong to refer to it as Guitar Sphincter, wouldn't it? Okay. I won't call it Guitar Sphincter then. Because that wouldn't be very nice. Nope. You won't hear Guitar Sphincter from me. Thanks for helping me through this moral quandary. __________________ "Be just and if you can't be just, be arbitrary." -William S. Burroughs -Shaft

19th December 2007, 03:33 AM	#173
ignatius Lives for gear Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 1,215	hire smarter people, pay them a living wage and don't make them work 6 days a week. rework your really unfair and un-motivating commission sales model. your employees get hosed every month. your business model is a scam. i only go to a guitar center as a total last resort. i have found helpful people on occasion at guitar center but they never seem happy... they look like they are contemplating quitting and usually the next time i am forced to go to guitar center for something there seems to be all new people in the pro audio dept. __________________ http://www.ignatiusmusic.com unofficial cyndustries yahoo group.

19th December 2007, 06:23 AM	#177
tINY Lives for gear Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Orygun Posts: 6,052	<