Why I hate Guitar Center (Mesa Related) But really long.

[dylan7620]

i understand that. its just that ive had people give me lower prices before on the same thing. im not trying to be an anti GC guy because i actually like the stores better than alot of local stores that dont let you touch anything. i dunno, maybe they should have a better hirering proccess to weed out the guitarget style employees, ur store sounds better than most, maybe they should take hints from you guys :wink:

 

[Nomad]

Hey guys!

I've had both good and Bad experiences there. I think the best policy at GC is find someone you like and go to them over and over. If you do that you start getting personalised service and better deals. Thast what I did. Of coarse I buy so much gear I go to alot of stores around here but since I befriended a guy at GC I get incredable deals and service there now. Only when hes there though.

I also have another GC story to tell. I was in there a couple of years ago looking for a really good bass guitar. I tried this tried that nothing caught my eye. This guy goes hold on a minute. Went to the back and returned with an origional Michael Tobias 6 string used in mint condition. I bought it on the spot. It was a deal and a freakin buy of a lifetime! I reserched it thouroghly before I picked it up and it was the real deal not a Gibson.

I do think all the corperate BS and the pricing and dealer crap is gonna put an end to the music store all toghether. Though I think a short time after that the origional music store will start to pop back up.

Glad to be here. After a short while without a Boogie I had to get back in the Fold. Glad to be back. Guess what I bought?

 

[vulture2600]

definitly find a guy and go to him and him only. thats kind of the idea.
me and most of the veteran guys workin there have quite a loyal
customer base. scratch my back and ill scratch yours.

 

[jargapix]

Here comes my GC experience...I walked in one day and thought about buying a new guitar, saw a ZW EPI and was mezmorized, asked If i could play it and a SR said;"yeah, man grab it and rip." I was surprised, but did and 2 hours later I was ready to buy... one prob..not enough $$ ...applied for a GC card....DENIED, **** college days. The GC man was very nice and didn't walk away in disgust, he stated many people get deinied and too work on my credit and come back in 6-12 months and try again. I had to go through a friend to get credit from MF and ordered a EPI ZW. Very happy.

FLash Forward 2 years and lot's of work on my credit score...I walk into GC and look around at the MArshall's and a SR asks if I need help. I tell him I'm in the market for a new amp. He asks what music I like(Metallica comes to mind quickly) and he tells me to forget about Marshall and look at these...MESA's...I was like MESA?? That's Spanish for table...BOOGIE...I don't wanna boogie, I wanna ROCK!! He laughs and gives me their catalogue, tells me to go home and read it and go on some forums and do some research and to come back in a week. I read and researched and I was sold!! I go back and then see some prices and feel disheartened, but I wanna plug in for the hell of it. The SR comes by and brings a cable and plugs me into a F-50 and asks, If I need help, I say no, he says enjoy and leaves. He comes back 30 min later and sees I'm not satisfied and says I can plug into whatever I want...single, dual, triple, IV, RK...whatever. He plugged me in and I asked him to play for me so I could hear a better guitarist than myself. He ripped it up on all the amps...pretty loud too...a bunch of other SR came over and stood around while he played...the manager came and took the guitar out of his hands and started jammin'. Before long it was like a little party, without beer of course, I got to hear all the amps and decided on the ROV combo for lack of funds.

I applied for credit and was APPROVED!! Took the floor model home and was told 1 year interest free and I could come back and pick up a new model he would order for me. I brought it home and was very disappointed, you can search this forum too find out why. I call GC and spoke to my SR and he told me to bring it in and he would plug me in and we would find out what was up. I did and we realized the V1 pre-amp was messed up and he gave me another. I still wasn't feeling it and he asked if I wanted to try a single 50 head and cab. I told him I didn't have the room for a 4X12 and he recommended the 2x12 Horizontal. I plugged in and was in heaven! I left very happy and he gave me a free Monster instrument cable.

I later wished for the cab to be taller and noticed that MESA made 2x12 Verticals. I called him back and asked If I could trade it in and he said sure, but he had none in the store. He made some calls and told me that a store 20 miles away had it. I drove to the store and the reps there were very nice and took my old amp and gave me the other no hassles. They also sold me a GRAMMA Board and discounted me $20. I am now super happy and always get treated well when I go into GuiTarget...funny...I go to GC in NYC (Manhatten) and NJ(Paramus) at least twice a month too Jam on gear and sometimes buy stuff I need or want....no hassles, questions, looks, nothing! They answer all my questions and give me good advice!

Sorry to bore you with this long story...I actually left out many details, but you get the gist. GC is OK in my book.


JA

 

[vulture2600]

awesome, thats exactly how GC should be. so always go back to that
guy. loyalty goes both ways!!! trust me. i bet that sales rep makes a very good living. great customer service is rewarded with very large commish-checks every month! theres been several instances when ive dealt with a completely unapproachable, pissed off customer and by just asking the right questions and following thru on promises, ive won them over for life.
its a great achievement for everyone involved.

 

[redmax61]

there is a reason we can justify sticking to 200 bucks on a whammy, its
the best deal youre gonna find, period. and if not, we want to know about
it, because we guarantee the lowest price, even at full pop.
but thats not to say i wont make sure every deal happens.
customers leaving empty handed is no fun for anyone. trust me, i know.
as far as used gear goes, GC's policy is to not quote anything, even
a ball park, till we see it. thats just better for everyone. the only
negative out come is someone might waste a trip to find out
that we might not give anywhere near what the customer was expecting.
and trust me, that rarely happens.
i work on commission, and pretty hard at that. i want as much business
as possible, but where excellent customer service goes, commission
follows, not the other way around.
we have 144 stores (thats the last number i heard, a new store opens up
pretty much every week) and we didnt get there by screwing people,
quite the contrary.

First off, let me say that I'm not here to bash or cause hate and discontent. I've never met you so I don't know what kind of person you are, so I have nothing against you.

I will say that the last several experiences I had at GC were most definitely not good. Just plain crappy treatment. I have not been to a GC since 1985. I've found that I just can't trust anyone who works there. I still hear more horror stories about GC than I do good ones. What does that say about the company's reputation, and why aren't they doing anything to fix it?? It seems to me that if they took a few easy steps to restore customer confidence, they would have a much better reputation.

 

[Vshine]

awesome, thats exactly how GC should be

Exactly. Or for the most part, how all guitar stores should be.

The only store that I went to who went out of their way to make customers totally happy like that was Thoroughbred Music in Tampa. They were the best. I just don't get that vibe from GC, it feels more like a outlet than anything else.

 

[vulture2600]

first off, ive heard people say that a customer with a bad experience
will tell 10 people, where as a good experience only gets passed on to 3.
secondly, remember mars? they were the corporate giant
that represented everything that is soul-less and wrong (office space heh).
not all GC's are bad, the one i work at has amazing service standards,
and anything less gets quicky dealt with. were always trying to find
ways to improve ourselves. were all there to make a living, and if nobody
shops with us because of bad experiences, nobody wins.
if it means anything to you guys, i take every negative thing ive heard
on this board into consideration and do my best to go above and beyond
so it doesnt happen again. keep rockin guys, i apprecieate the posts.

 

[cvansickle]

first off, ive heard people say that a customer with a bad experience
will tell 10 people, where as a good experience only gets passed on to 3.
secondly, remember mars? they were the corporate giant
that represented everything that is soul-less and wrong (office space heh).
not all GC's are bad, the one i work at has amazing service standards,
and anything less gets quicky dealt with. were always trying to find
ways to improve ourselves. were all there to make a living, and if nobody
shops with us because of bad experiences, nobody wins.
if it means anything to you guys, i take every negative thing ive heard
on this board into consideration and do my best to go above and beyond
so it doesnt happen again. keep rockin guys, i apprecieate the posts.

I appreciate your input. I live in a city with three GCs, and for some products I use you (GC) are the only game in town.

But you manage a store in MN - are you in a position to help make a difference in GC's policies and performance nationwide?

 

[vulture2600]

no im really not in a position to improve stores nation wide.
all i can answer for is my self and my store. i still leave it up
to the customers to decide whether my service is up to par.
im not a manager (hey, im workin on it, and ive got a long way to
go) but ive always said shop with us because you want to, not because
you have to.

 

[redmax61]

I disagree with your comments about Mars. They were all about treating the customer right. I dealt with them exlcusively for the entire time that the Virginia Beach store was open. I did a lot of business with them and never once had a bad experience there. Their service was always outstanding whether I knew the salesperson or not. One of the guys told me that the majority of his loyal customer base were people who had been dissed by the GC that was located a block away.

 

[vulture2600]

im going on what ive heard from customers and my personal experiences
there. maybe the one you dealt with had a bunch of really
good guys workin for them like my store does.

 

[cvansickle]

no im really not in a position to improve stores nation wide.
all i can answer for is my self and my store. i still leave it up
to the customers to decide whether my service is up to par.
im not a manager (hey, im workin on it, and ive got a long way to
go) but ive always said shop with us because you want to, not because
you have to.

With all due respect, as an employee of the organization YOU SHOULD have a voice in helping to improve the organization as a whole. You have been participating in these forum discussions, and you have heard for yourself the opinions of customers and/or "potential" customers. I think that you should feel compelled, if not obligated, to report these findings to senior management.

Please don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to criticize you personally or tell you how to do your job. An organization that is committed to customer service is willing to listen to both internal and external feedback, and to use negative criticism as opportunities to improve customer service and to grow.

Obviously, you have some successful methods for satisfying customers in your store that other GCs lack. So when you report your findings based on the opinions mentioned here, include your own ideas for chain-wide improvement. Management will be more willing to address the problems when presented with solutions too.

I am whole-heartedly encouraging you to step up in this matter. Changes for the better will benefit all of us customers, and you and your own store as well as the corporation as a whole.

 

[redmax61]

With all due respect, as an employee of the organization YOU SHOULD have a voice in helping to improve the organization as a whole. You have been participating in these forum discussions, and you have heard for yourself the opinions of customers and/or "potential" customers. I think that you should feel compelled, if not obligated, to report these findings to senior management.

Please don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to criticize you personally or tell you how to do your job. An organization that is committed to customer service is willing to listen to both internal and external feedback, and to use negative criticism as opportunities to improve customer service and to grow.

Obviously, you have some successful methods for satisfying customers in your store that other GCs lack. So when you report your findings based on the opinions mentioned here, include your own ideas for chain-wide improvement. Management will be more willing to address the problems when presented with solutions too.

I am whole-heartedly encouraging you to step up in this matter. Changes for the better will benefit all of us customers, and you and your own store as well as the corporation as a whole.

Thanks! You said what I was trying to say but couldn't manage to get out.

 

[diamondschwin]

guitar center is a bit shaky but you find your guy or guys you want to deal with and theyll treat you right, i am greeted by a bass guy a manager and a guitar guy every time i go into gc they all know my name and ask me how ive been and yeah its cuz ive spent money there but they hook me up, they sold me a used cab once with two torn celestions, the manager was on the horn ordering up two replacements free of charge for me as soon as i told him and he didnt need to see the speakers or anything he just trusted me because he knows im a good customer.



the funniest bit is when the "new guy" gives me **** for picking something up or touching an amp and then one of the guys who knows me or knows that im a good customer walks up and is like "NO HES OK! STOP IT"


thats the funniest thing, they know im not an idiot they know i know my stuff cuz half the time i just shoot the **** with them

ah well what sucks is a got my dual rectifier at full price thru rudys i never knew about the "blowout sale" gc was having lol, but if it was on floor models count me out

 

[vulture2600]

from what you guys are telling me, it seems like a store to store basis of
good vs bad service. optimistically speaking, this is good, because
it means noone can honestly say "GC sucks." if anyone does, its
because a "good" store isnt in your area.
to diamondschwin: thats great that you get greeted by guys who
know you. thats great that its a mutual thing (you shop there alot
and they hook you up and take care of you). the goal at our store
is that everyone gets that kinda treatment, from the regular loyal customer
to the future regular loyal customer. IMO thats just **** good business.
as far as contacting upper management goes, i think theyre working on
this pretty hard as it is to put the right managers at the right stores
to inspire the right sales people. our store manager inspires us on many
levels, to get pumped up for the day before open, to guide us through
any customer service issue, make an active presence on the floor,
and write numbers. he knows, cause he did exactly that in his
5 years with the company. he sold his way to the to the position hes in
by going above and beyond every chance he could.
i find it pretty hard to believe that there would be a group of "corrupt"
mangers at a particular store. i dont see that happening
just based on my experience with the culture. managers depend on
every customer's business just as much as the sales guys do.
if a store is down in numbers, that manager usually gets replaced by
someone whos gonna do the job better and turn the store around.
this trickles down to the sales guys. this is also good buisness.
we all have bad days, we all get tanked out and stressed, but
i think at the end of the day our goal is still the same:
to help people fuel their creativity and make a living in the process.

 

[no soul]

from what you guys are telling me, it seems like a store to store basis of
good vs bad service. optimistically speaking, this is good, because
it means noone can honestly say "GC sucks." if anyone does, its
because a "good" store isnt in your area.

Not to be rude, but thats crap and you know it.

There are FOUR in my area, and Ive even been to plenty out of state. Hell, I'll admit that the ones in my area are actually even better than most of the ones Ive checked out elsewhere, but Im sorry, they still SUCK.

It isnt pure coincedence that threads like these pop up from people all over the country.

 

[toddzilla]

The Guitarsinner question is an easy one for me. JUST SAY NO!

I have never, NOT ONCE, had a sales person deal with me as a professional. I do purchasing for my school (as well as myself) and I simply will not deal with them. There is always a better deal with better service somewhere nearby.

But that's my opinion and I could be wrong.

 

[Vshine]

from what you guys are telling me, it seems like a store to store basis of
good vs bad service. optimistically speaking, this is good, because
it means noone can honestly say "GC sucks." if anyone does, its
because a "good" store isnt in your area.

That is not true, The store sucked but they were very polite. Customer service means they work with you to get what you want, not send you out the door with excuses.

 

[Nomad]

I think yall are taking it out a little to much on vulchure. Take it easy. I've had good and bad experience there but now have found the strategy to making it happen. If I want to buy a piece of New gear thats usually where I end up.

The trick is you get more with sugar than you do *****. You have to develope a relationship with one guy and that goes true anywhere not just GC. If you want to just walk into anystore and be treated like you own the place - it aint gonna happen.

I have a situation with a guy here at the GC locally that couldnt be better. So is that cuz they suck? When I want something he gets it. If I see something I want and dont have the cash that moment he'll stick it in the back. All I have to do is walk in the place and say what I want. I get the best deal from the get go and the best service.

Its all in the sugar though. When I go in they know I mean business. I dont spend a lot of time dicking around trying to figure out what it is I want. When I say I want something they know I'll back it up with the cash.

Picked this bad boy up there the other day. Got a deal on it too. Walked in there saw this thing got my friend and told him I wanted to play it loud. He hooked me up with the guitar I wanted to play through it and let me go to town. Before you know it I've got a crowd gathered round. Anyway the amp sounded great. They had one white one in stock. I told my buddy I didnt have the cash or my checkbook with me and my company credit card was maxed but I'd be back in a couple of days to pick it up. He said no problem I'll throw it in the back and told me he wouldnt be there for a couple of days too.

I had the money but went back when he was gonna be there. Picked it up and been loving it ever since. **** that is a great amp.

I just cant figure out what the problem is.