Friggin' Guitar Center guys!

[a12stringer]

I must live in heaven. About a mile from my house is a local music store. The only people working there are the owner, the guitar repair person, and a kid who is learning to repair guitars.
I went in there one Saturday with my brother to help him purchase two guitars for his sons. The shop is small and was crowded because there were about a half-a dozen other customers browsing/shopping/purchasing instruments or accessories. At first my brother was put off because it wasn't as fancy as the big music store on the main drag. I explained that one of the signs of a good music store is one where musicians are at ease to browse and shmooze.
The owner will meet any price offered by MF or AMS--something the other music stores in town won't.
Even when I bought my bass from MF because he did not carry the make/model I wanted, he gave me a free setup because of the business I have brought to him as well as other purchases I've made from him. If I have used equipment to sell he will sell it for me on consignment and doesn't even charge a commission.

 

[vestast]

I guess I'm lucky too. One of my oldest friends works at the local shop here and he would never try to sell me anything I didn't want. I also have a chance to try things out at home before I buy.

 

[Light]

My experience with the mom & pop operations has been mostly negative too.
If I don't purchase something immediately upon entry to the store, I am then viewed as an intrusion. And they mostly sell at full list price, and I don't really enjoy haggling. At GC things run hot or cold--depends on which salesperson I get. If they're not frantically busy, (like on weekends) they're usually helpful.

None of the good small shops in my area sell anything at full list. We generally charge 70% of list on standard list-50% items, and on B discount items (list - 40%) we have a similar discount. We charge full list on a few "impulse" items, like guitars stands and straps, but most of what we sell, we discount. And by the way, Banjo Mart also sells impulse items at full list. For us, we sell so few of these items, they cost us a lot of money and space to stock, so in order to have them at all, we need to charge list.

There are, of course, crappy stores out there, even small ones. The trick is to talk to the local professional musicians and find the good ones. We have, here in the area, about six stores we recommend, not including the big box stores, and all of them are really good. We also have a whole bunch of crap stores, more than I can count.

Our primary concerns when recommending a store is that they have; a) a knowledgeable sales staff 9this is particularly important, as we are frequently sending the people who are coming in asking about beginners guitars); b) they treat our customers as well as we would; c) a good selection of instruments. You will notice price is not in that equation, but all of those stores sell at below list on almost everything they sell.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi

 

[Phosphene]

Any good business does that... want fries with that? do you need some brushes with that paint? do you need some strings or picks or a strap with that new guitar?

Yes, I see your point, but they were telling the employees that they weren't doing their jobs unless they slipped warranties in, and sold all the extra stuff that the buyers didn't ask for or need.

 

[shredfit]

I used to work at GC about 14 years ago... Just let me say that it has changed BIG time! When I worked there there were NO Squier guitars on any hook (or in the store for that matter) It was a Pro Shop... without any prices on anything... meaning "Everything" was negotiable...

Every employee there, was at the top of their game in their respective departments... and also giging musicians...

In fact, the GC manager Never wanted a cheapo guitar trade because having a crap guitar... Slivertone, Squier, Hohner etc... Would be like owning a Ferrari with a broken mirror and replacing the mirror with one purchased at Wal-Mart.

My how things have changed!

Shred

 

[playit]

Here are my wonderful experiences with Guitar Center:

#1: I am looking to try a new amp out, so I go to Guitar Center. They have Marshall, Fender, and Crate displays. I try them all out. I know what I am looking for: something with a Marshall-like tone but unique. So I ask the guy what else he has and explain I'm looking for something with high gain and a tight bottom end. I figured they would have showed me some Peavey stuff and maybe something else, I don't know.

Then I explain to him I would prefer all-tube. When I say that, he says, "Oh! I'll tell you what you need. Have you ever heard of PODs?" I am staring at him with my eyebrows raised in disgust at this point. He goes, "Yeah, they're great. You should try that stuff out." So I tell him, "Yeah, yeah, I know all about that stuff. I am not interested in digital modeling. I'm looking for a real all-tube amp." So he says, "No, seriously, check it out. They're really good. Excuse me, I've got to help another customer." What other customer? This guy was clueless.

I left.

#2: So a bit later I go in and I'm trying out some of the Epiphone Les Pauls. There was a really nice one in there with a honey flame maple top, so I pick it up and start playing. The pots are all scratchy, I notice. Also, the input jack has something wrong with it, probably loose because it pops when you move the cable around. So I grab the nearest guitar guy and say "Hey check this out. You might want to go in and clean the pots and fix the input jack." He goes, "Yeah? That kind of stuff bothers you? Half of these guitars do that. It's no big deal. You just spray some stuff on it. Another guy mentioned that too. He already bought and returned that same guitar you're holding. Seriously it's not a big deal. I don't understand why you would return a guitar for scratchy pots or an input jack."

I say, "OK." And I leave, and never go back.

 

[Be Loveless]

To update, I just had a pleasant experience at Guitar Center!!!!!!!!!???? I went in to browse drum machines ( I have begrudgingly made the decision to buy one) and lo and behold some dude I knew from like ten years ago was working in that department. He told me that there was a used alesis sr-16 hidden in the back for $60.00!!! The cheapest that I have seen them on e-bay was $80.00+ shipping+ paypal fee. Anyway, I bought it and a power supply from the local electronics dealer. I get home, the unit sounds fucked, I call the dude, I go back. It turns out that I'm an idiot and bought a AC to DC supply. So he goes to the sale bin, finds the right adapter, made sure that it worked, zeroed it out and gave it to me for free. I was very suprised. I think that Guitar center is like any other retail joint and it depends on who you are dealing with. The difference for us is that this is our trade and our hobby which makes us a bit more affected by bad service than say at the Gap or McDonalds. Yeah I bitch and complain about GC, but then I remember that the service sucked at Gordon Miller Music too. They were a larger local store that was put out of business when GC opened up right next door. Does anyone know why Mars went under? They had a much better selection and were a little cheaper as I recall.

 

[lpdeluxe]

Mars was trying to market music like Staples or Wal-Mart. I think the real key (judging from my own experiences) to selling to musicians is to know something about it. Mars wanted to make cheap Strats some kind of cultural rite of passage and it didn't work. There are too many distractions. God bless 'em for selling me some of the gear I have now, but dammit, musicians are a specialized breed. It's like the magazine scene: am I going to base my artistic decisions on what's in People Magazine or on what's in Electronic Musician? Some things can't be dumbed down.


At least I hope so.

 

[Easto]

Personally, I love GC

Actually I'm very surprised at a lot of the negative posts that I see about GC. I live in an area where I have one about 7 miles away and 2 about 25 miles away.

I've never gone into a GC to ask questions. I go in knowing what I want and the price I'm willing to pay for it. I've usually shopped the net to see what the "right" price should be and go in armed with that. Maybe I'm just lucky but I've never had any sales rep try to redirect me to an alternate product. And if one of them was to try and sell me something I didn't want I'd just tell them I'm not interested in that product.

I've actually shown up on a Sunday an hour before they open (by mistake) and had the Manager open the door for me while others waited in the parking lot for the store to open. I was allowed to make my purchases while being the only customer in the store.

Personally I can't remember having a bad buying experience there.

(no, I don't work there either)

 

[Lambo]

As for the part about telling GC that so in so is selling something at a reduced price, I was told by both GC and Sweetwater on several occasions to go ahead and buy it from brand "X". I'm not one to leave money on the table so I did. And if you think one of those guys at GC is going to jeopardize a $4,500 a year job just to keep you happy you're crazy.

 

[Venejer_Jose]

SHARKS SHARKS SHARKS!

Simple strategy to use when goin in the waters of GC:

1- GO in, and have your Money ready.

2- Get what you want

3- Pay.

4- Leave.


* ( in between steps, don't even get close to the sharks...just ignore them if they get close, freeze, they wont notice you). *


haha..Peace
Jose

 

[CGibson]

When the Dust Settles

Most people don’t know the history of the music store and how it originated, so I thought I would pass a piece of history along. Music stores originated during the Great depression with people helping people by loaning them money on personal items to help them feed the family. It transformed into Pawn Shops and then broke into several pieces such as gun shops, jewelry stores, bike shops and the music store.
The first owners of the original music stores had a real love for music and other musicians but didn’t want to operate anything like a pawnshop. Unfortunately a few of the pawnshops functions carried over to music stores. Think about it…. when’s the last time you went into Sears, Wal-Mart, K-Mart and haggled the price or took a trade-in to help keep the price down. I wonder if you would be arrested for haggling at the grocery store?
I started shopping music stores more than twenty-five years ago when things were a little simpler. Anyway here’s my take on it all when the battle of the music store dust settles.
The day of the mid-size music store is winding down due to the large chains, Internet sales and ebay just to name a few reasons. But the large chains will follow shortly after giving up the brick & mortar for catalog and Internet sales. This leaves the small Mom and Pop stores that are in business mostly for the original reasons. So we come full circle back to twenty-five years ago when we had Mom & Pop shops and the mail order catalog in our back pocket.
So all the fuss over what store has the cool deal or cool salesman won’t matter to your kids.

So you think this is a bit over the top? Do the homework and take the test.
What happened In your city in the last five years
1. How many local music stores closed? My city = 9
2. How many chain stores have closed? Mine = 3
3. How many Instruments are listed on Ebay today? 122,694
4. How many on-line Music stores are on the net today? ????

Just My take on it all
C

 

[ahuimanu]

I've been dealth with fairly at GC. Seeing as how we had a Mars (which was good) and saw it replaced by Sam Ash (not so good), most people in my town are thankful for GC. There are some mom and pops, but most don't have the selection and price that GC does. I still go to one of the local shops for repair and they actually beat the GC price on my Tele.

 

[Ed Dixon]

Most large GC stores are similar to most large music stores. They have lots of folks working, and a fair percentage of them don't know much about the gear they sell.

The advantage they have is lots of selection, and usually lower prices. The key is to do your research before you enter. Know mostly what you want, and what you should expect to pay for it. You can usually get the online price or something very close to it.

If you are buying a high end item, try to work with the manager or someother more senior sales person. If you're there for a grab and buy, then do that and go home.

Like any other big store, try to avoid the busy times. That is always a harder time to get the deal you want/need.

Ed

 

[a12stringer]

When I was in college many millennia ago, I worked for a local music store on an as-needed basis on weekends in their repair shop. All sales staff were hired based on their abilities/knowledge as musicians. The owner's philosophy was that he could teach people customer service more easily than he could teach them to be musicians.

A far cry from today's breed when I go into a music store to purchase some guitar strings (D'Addario Phosphor Bronze Light Guage 12-string set), and am told that strings are not sold according to X-Lt, Light, or medium guages [since when?], but by string diameter and I have to present them with a list of the string diameters I want for them to match the correct set.
I imagine this same store probably wants people to purchase picks by submitting a written technical description instead of asking for some Fender thin guitar picks.