I guess I should feel lucky, my local GC has been great, I bought stuff from them, returned them, swapped them out, whatever and I never get looks or anything like that... almost all the staff happens to be musicians and know their products well. Just a couple of days ago I was a Best Buy, try asking these guys for help!

It's too bad our GC is like that. They've got some great gear to offer. There again, I noticed some new staffers when I was in there. I tried asking the accessories counter guy about some features on a $200 pedal and I got the deer in the headlights look. He didn't have a clue about anything he sold except for how to ring it up.
Bottom line is, if you're there to buy something, tell them that first. Then you'll get the royal treatment. If you say, "I'm just looking", prepare to fade into dust.

_________________
Life is like a sh*t sandwich. The more bread you have, the less sh*t you have to eat.

It varies from GC to GC, the GC on route 4 in paramus, NJ is decent in that they will let you play whatever you want, although their selection is terrible. The GC in Union Square in NYC is absolutely awful, I hate dealing with some of the people there.

Poor customer service in any business is a sign of bad management and dissatisfied employees. Employee attitudes are a reflection of their management. Management's attitude in part is a reflection of their compensation.
Ceri touched on part of the problem in his post. The first purpose of a business is to make profit. Guitar Center is a public company that is obligated to make profits for its shareholders. If the local GC manager's compensation is based in part on the store's profitability then you can pretty much bet that the stores with bad service aren't making a profit.

From what I heard it's District Managers that cause these bad experiences. Since the only ones that will get those positions are the people who aren't musicians, meaning they don't have band responsibilities.

_________________
Music's the only thing that makes sense anymore, man. Play it loud enough, it keeps the demons at bay.

Right.

The shame of it is, I've lost count of the number of times I've read on this Forum people saying they really like the service at their local independent guitar shop - but they go to the chains or internet because they are 5-10% cheaper.

That's the market forces of the thing right there.

There's another side to this too. Sometimes I look at the rude adolescent bonehead behind the counter - but then I turn the other way and look at the rude adolescent boneheads they are mostly dealing with all day long. There's a sort of lowest common denominator equation going on there...

Cheers - C

Ceri

I do agree with you that many of the rude clerks are that way because of the number of rude customers that they have to deal with. Unfortunately, that is a major flaw in their character, not just a byproduct of their jobs. I spent years in a personnel office where I had to deal with a lot of rude and abusive people. I would always continue to be polite and provide them with the best support possible. Giving them less than 100% just because they were rude or because they made me mad would have been a negative reflection on my character. With that said, there were quite a few times that after helping them get their problems resolved, I pulled them aside and did an attitude correction with them. While I do believe in being polite to a fault, I also believe in letting the customer know that their conduct was unprofessional.

I don't know, but my experience with GC employees has been pretty
positive. I know it hasn't been that way for others.
I think that it's an attitude thing on the part of both customer and sales rep
as well as corporate policies. We can always walk in with a mature attitude and find ourselves walking out with immature attitudes whether we want to admit it or not.
Patience is a virtue. I think the more we consider the other side of the story we may understand better why a given sales rep. or customer may be negative.

When asked about the negative feelings people have toward GC, one veteran GC rep pointed out most of the products in the store are sold to
the customer. Because prospective customers, usually the youth, can damage an instrument on hand, he felt that GC should have made it a policy to use the guitars on the floor as demos not meant for sale. Of course you know that many are obsessed with tonal qualities of a prospect
and ask "Is the boxed product as good as this demo?"
Can you see the dilema? Such transactions demand a compromise by both parties involved: The customer and the store.
GC gives you a 30 day period to try it out to see if it is what you REALLY want. If you don't want it after all, you can return it. However, you cannot guarantee GC that the instrument you return is in as good a shape as when you first picked it up.

I think GC should have a section for DEMOS and Untouched merchandise.
The Demos are not sold at full cost and the customer is advised in advance of sale that there may be imperfections and warranties may differ.
There may be problems with this as well.

No easy answers, are there?

Like everything else, we cannot expect perfection in everything because
when we do, we are let down much more easily. We only compound our
let-downs by responding to it negatively which in turn makes us feel that much more disappointed. A GC rep's job isn't one I envy. Mom & Pop shop reps' jobs are no better. It's all dog eat dog. Only a positive attitude can
neutralize the negative.

That's my opinion - it's free and worth every cent.

Hi man: I so sympathise with what you're saying.

Many (many) years ago I was working as a barman. Had a youthful enthusiasm to do a fine job - but not only were the clientele often fairly obnoxious in that joint, the management didn't give much of a damn either, their only interest being to sell as much product as possible as fast as could be. There was much that could be done in that particular establishment to improve service, but it was a thankless task and the wages didn't ultimately make it worth the uphill struggle.

I eventually decided I was the wrong guy in the wrong place and moved on.

And I have a feeling it's pretty much the same story in many of the bigger guitar shops. Certainly, in the chain I'm familiar with if there's someone around who's clued up and enthusiastic you can be pretty sure he won't still be there the next time you look in. There's places that appreciate his services more...

Cheers - C

As I think about it, I have rarely ever really received good service at any store. From Guitar Center to Gruhn's, Sam Ash to Mom & Pop shops, they often have this in common- they want your $ and often the salesman want to prove to you how smart they are or great on guitar they are. If you ask an honest question you have, they seem to just make up answers too. (not just at GC)

I know this sounds very cynical, but isn't this really how it is? (at least 75-85% of the time) Buy used and buy online (with a good return policy)-then you will do much better than dealing with the music stores and their employees. Not all are bad...but man most are. Its not worth your time IMHO to shop with music stores..unless you are uncertain about what you want..then it is just part of the deal.

I am just glad the the mom and pop store I do use (and have used since the purchace of my HWY 1 three years ago) not only give me good service, they have better deals than the GC around the corner...imagine that, a smaller store having better service and the ability to give better deals than a corporate chain. That means they are doing things right.

I have no problems paying the MSRP for gear when the store service is good. I do not care if it is buyig a car or going out to dinner, if I get substandard service and do not get at least an appology, I'll go elsewhere. That is one of the reasons I love living in the area I live, too much competition around here to have to put up with crappy service.

_________________
RK

2007 Fender Highway 1
2012 American Deluxe
2015 MIM Dave Murray HHH
2010 Fender Blacktop
1987 Fender Avalon Acoustic
2012 Marshall DSL 15 watt head

......and.....that 14th Street store is designated a Showcase Dealer by Fender.

_________________
"Another day in paradise!"

......with that in mind, you would think that their Manhattan store would be killer because the competition around them consists of some of the best indies in the area. But no.....
.......IMHO their online operation is where the issue lies because even though the store places the order, when it goes into the system, its managment is picked up there. The sales force doesn't seem to track the orders they place. It's freaky because that's their income source. That system cancelled my order twice since it was placed on 4/3/10 and the salesperson who handled it (the asst. mgr. no less) didn't know until I told him. To the best of my knowledge he still thinks the deal is on, because I haven't heard from him, and I just received email confirmation from GC, at my request that, indeed, there are no outstanding acitve orders from me in the system.
I gave it to The Music Zoo,
Doc

_________________
"Another day in paradise!"

Oh no...don't get me wrong, the GC closest to me is run by the Devil and has little demon spawns selling their gear. I just choose not to go in there very often, and if I do, it is to see if a miracle has happened.

_________________
RK

2007 Fender Highway 1
2012 American Deluxe
2015 MIM Dave Murray HHH
2010 Fender Blacktop
1987 Fender Avalon Acoustic
2012 Marshall DSL 15 watt head

Their 12 month interest free credit card can be a great advantage, as are their 15%/30% discount deals. But if a back order situation is going to get blown out of the water because of the system, a shop -around-and compare is a definite must. I couldn't ever trust something like that to them again.

_________________
"Another day in paradise!"