I have rude salesman stories for just about every guitar I own. So just take your pick.

I noticed that in these big chain stores, like Sam Ash and Guitar Center, there are two types of floor salesmen. One type knows little about making sales and guitars, so they are useless with questions and tend to disappear when it is time to buy. This type of employee later uses his disappearing act on the store itself, for whatever reason. The other type knows the product and is confident that they know more than you do. So they will try to sell you a product that you may not like/want, a product that is possibly defective, and/or attempt to convince you into spending more money in other ways. Both types need to be asked for help. That just about sums up every story, just not the annoying things I did to make them earn their commission.

Notice I said salesmen. Saleswomen on the other hand approach and ask if they could help! I have never crossed paths with a saleswoman at Guitar Center that didn't ask to help me. 9 out of 10 salesmen ignore me. Big difference right there! I bought a Fender Solidstate amp a few years back that was priced $329.99 and the girl gave it to me for 300 even, no tax no fuss. She gave me a business card after the sale and asked if I needed a cart to trolley the amp to my car on the roof parking lot. That is a great sale in my opinion. She asked to help, knew the product, helped move it, and showed her pride in her work ethic by giving a business card. Isn't that they way they all should be?

I've had some bad experiences with salesmen at guitar stores, but I sort of forgot about them since they didn't involve anything major. Of course, I used to (and still do sometimes) get the "Why is that kid touching a $2000 guitar?!" look. A funny experience at guitar center was once I was playing a used SRV sig strat (which I wanted very badly, but even at $1000 I couldn't afford it, not even remotely). I asked for a whammy bar so that I could try out the lefty tremolo. The salesman said he'd go get one and he was back in a flash with the whammy bar. So I played with it for a really long time, before bringing the whammy bar back to the salesman at the counter. He saw me holding the guitar, and he thought that I was bringing the guitar back to the counter to buy. So he practically starts ringing me up and when I realized what he was doing I told him that I was just bringing back the whammy bar and that I did want to buy the guitar, but that I didn't have any money so if he wanted to sell it he'd have to pay for it himself. So needless to say I walked out empty handed. Maybe I'll have better luck getting the salesman to pay for it for me next time.

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Well, I gotta say my experiences have been good with two big local stores. Both Tom Lee and Long & McQuade seem to hire cool salespeople. I go in quite often with my 12 year old son just to "kick tires". My son loves to try basses and drums and lots of other stuff, (he owns an Epi SG Prophecy.) I just like to have him in a musical environment. Both stores seem to feel the same way. The thing is, the sales staff are musicians, so their attitude is to smile upon other musicians, (customers).

Same thing happens in bike stores, (I'm an avid mountainbiker.) The staff are riders and appreciate other riders, for the most part. It's not like they're shoe salesmen who hate their job - thank god!

Maybe I just got lucky, but it seems to make sense to me.

Gridlok

Love the new picture Niki.

Hi Ed: I was about to tell you to send a link to this thread to Chris Bryant's website. Went looking for it - and found there isn't one. I presume you made the same journey because I did find your review posted on their listing on this website -

http://www.yelp.co.uk/biz/chris-bryants ... nts-london

- so I guess you've done the best you could in that direction!

I bought a Tele at Chris Bryant couple of years ago and got so-so service (plugged into a Blues Deluxe, I recall).

In most of these places it just depends which bored kid behind the counter you happen to get. Many years ago I asked a guy in Ivor Mairants (in Rathbone Place) a simple question about sets of strings and got such a snotty response I've never walked through the door since.

I've found the young French guy in Regent Sounds very nice, always had extremely good service from the tech boys in the shop that is now called Music Ground, and overthetop helpfulness from a middle-aged chappie in the studio gear section of Rose Morris (all in Denmark Street). So those shops get my custom...

Best guitar shop on the planet however is down in Exeter: Manson's. Almost worth the two hour train ride down there...

Cheers - C

While this is not a Music Store related story I got lots of pleasure out it.

My daughter and I were shopping for a new desk chair for me. I found a chair I liked. So my daughter went to get someone to help us. After waiting 15 minutes and still not having any help we decided to leave. As we are walking out the door we notice that all 5 store employees are just standing at the cash register talking. I looked at them and said "Thanks for nothing, I'll take my business to someone who will appreciate my wanting to spent my money with them." The look on their faces was one of those priceless moments.

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I didn't Lose my mind, I traded it for this guitar.

I had an experience(not necessarily rude, but...) at a GC location. I had been stashing my paychecks for a while and was looking about for a nice Strat or Tele. I asked one one the employees if they had any Fenders, hoping that he would point to the Fender section. But, he goes and picks up a Fender FSR Standard Strat(Retailing $450) and hands it to me, the whole time sighing as if I had taken up too much of his time. I smiled weakly, set down the guitar and walked out of the store.

The same employee at a later visit cracked up laughing when I asked him about a certain PRS model that I didn't realize was hanging right behind him.

I've had very good experiences with employees... at Guitar Center, they're at least good with answering my questions, though they don't go out of their way.

At the HOG, I tell them what I'm looking for, and they bring me every single example of that model, and other similar models, that they have in stock.

Don't even get me started on T-Mobile.

The GC here in AZ USA both of the Phoenix stores I have been to and the one in Tucson has a problem with people who know nothing about the items they are supposed to sell. There are some decent cats in there that at the least will help you out and smile. I used to work for GC back in the 90's and have been involved with music/instrument biz since the 70's so I don't bother with them much except to "get stuff down" for me. Usually they don't give me to much grief. On occasion they will "remind" me how much something "costs". I will then remind them I am the customer and if they ever hope to sell it they should get the item and stop being so dramatic. I also tell them NOT to hover. the GC I have had the worst experience at was the Hollywood store,i.e. "Guit Snob Central" but thats how it goes at least most of them know what they are talking about. Here in Tucson a store called "Rainbow Guitars" is a pretty good independant and they are on the net as well. I shop there and they act like they are glad to see you or at least NOT like you are in the way. Shop the indy's as much as you can. I also like most of the Sam Ash's I have shopped at. Phil the Guit tech at the Glendale AZ (Phoenix) Sam Ash is truly a class act. He has worked on several of my guits and my banjo,and a great job was done I must say. Almost forgot another great indy here in Tucson is "Sticks N'strings" I found them because they are the local Godin dealer(love Godin) so I could buy a hardcase for my LG they are always pretty nice(must be on commission,lol) and I feel real comfortable in there,so again shop indy's as much as you can.

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Like the incident Chet related this isn't a music store story but shows that sometimes rudeness can backfire.One day after spending the morning working in his garden my brother in law went into a car dealership-still in his gardening garb-with the intent to buy a top of the line 4X4 crew cab truck.He walked into the showroom where there was only one salesman who made every effort to ignore my brother in law when he looked the salesman's way so he continued looking at the trucks until the sales manager came out and said "Hello Dr. xxxxx what brings you here today?" with that the guy who pointedly ignored him for over 10 minutes came over like a shot and went to introduce himself and shake his hand to which my b-in-l responded"No thanks I'm being looked after."The salesman's ignorance cost him a tidy commission.

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'65 Strat,65 Mustang,65 Jaguar,4 more Strats,3 vintage Vox guitars,5 Vox amps,'69 Bassman with a '68 2-15 Bassman cab,36 guitars total-15asst'd amps total,2 vintage '60s Hammond organs & a myriad of effects-with a few rare vintage ones.