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

[Vshine]

That's a nice amp.

i would have bought a Mesa at GC EXCEPT THEY WOULDN'T SELL OR ORDER ONE FOR ME. I am glad other people can walk into their GC and get what they want.

I already explained I had the money, and was ready to walk the walk. No biggie, but from my experience, the GC in my city sucks. If you have one where you have a great relationship and can walk out satisifed, more power to you.

 

[Nomad]

I'm sorry you've had a bad situation with them. It really has nothing to do with Guitar Center.

Are you guys willing to say that you've allways had good experiences at every Music Store you've ever been to except GC.

It all boils down to People and your not gonna have good folks every where. Just go to Irack and see.

I have been to many stores where I cant get a decent price and I'm talked to like I'm scum and all the rest of the bad stuff.

Its really not a GC thing its a people thing.

So all GC'S should be held to a high standard but anyone else should not be?

 

[Vshine]

It really has nothing to do with Guitar Center

It has everything to do with GC, they are the reason I don't have local music stores anymore. There use to be 8-10 local music stores in Tampa on Hillsborough Ave alone, three stores. There is now a Sam Ash and GC, that's it.

Corporate giants come in and feed you what you have to buy. I use to be happy at those stores because I had a choice of buying at Thorougbred or Carlton or Mars. It's hard to fathom it's never happend to you before, it's not the salespeople. I'm sure they would have sold me a Mesa if they could. That's the point. They could not and there are no other stores in a 100 miles radius to buy a Mesa because of GC.

 

[Nomad]

Guess you need to move to Atlanta. There are a freaking boatload of Guitar / Music Stores around here. My typing sucks or I'd list them all.

And there are Three GC's. So how have these stores survived in Atlanta and not Tampa? I guess thats GC'c fault to. Hell they probably started the war in Iraq.



My favorite hang out is Too Many Guitars.

My second is Midtown Music.

My third is Atlanta Music Brokers

My fourth is Guitar Center at Druid Hills.

There are about 14 I've never even been to. There is a Fuchs dealer south of Atlanta I forget the Name.

There is the Booteek Guitar something er other.

Maple Street Music.

Two other Guitar Centers.

Petes Music City.

Stevens Music

The Music Room.

And the list just goes on and on and on.

Hey dude I'll be in Tampa for two weeks in July vacationing.

 

[Nomad]

What amp are you looking for maybe I can snag one and bring it to Florida.

 

[no soul]

The trick is you get more with sugar than you do sh!t. You have to develope a relationship with one guy and that goes true anywhere not just GC.

Thats fine and dandy, but the over all point is you are likely at GC to have an employee piss on your leg and tell you its raining. I seriously cant believe half the crap they have tried to tell me when I pretend to know nothing about guitars or amps.

If recorded it all I could probably write a best seller.

 

[Nomad]

Say wha

 

[Mesaman]

What is the deal with Guitar Center? I wanted to order a Mark IV that wasn't in stock in the store. The manager told me that I can't put it on the GC credit card, but would have to pay in full. What is the deal with this bull? How does the system work in seeing if another store carries the item you are looking for? One guy looked it up on the computer and told me that the GC in Queens carries the Mesa I was looking for and can get it to the store if I was going to buy it. Most of the time the guys are idiots that work there. What is the deal with Guitar Center stopping to carry certain Mesa amplifiers? The salesguy told me that they won't carry the Mark IV anymore. Is this true? Plus the only amp they carry is the Lonestar. What if I don't wan't that and need a Mark series or a Roadking? Where can I go to demo one of those amps? The manager at GC told me that if I order a Mark IV and buy it, I can't return it. What kind of sales policy is that? Those amps are some serious change. It looks like GC is going down hill very fast. The help stinks, the sales people are imbeciles. I met an ex GC salesman at another music store. He told me that the store had like 40 Squier guiatrs all over the store and that their goal was to sell them. That's the reason he left, because of corporate selling quota on items that Guitarget wants to move off of the sales floor. I have worked in retail for the Wiz, that sold consumer electronics and the salesman there were forced to do the same thing, like sell 100 televisions of the same model.

 

[no soul]

What is the deal with Guitar Center? I wanted to order a Mark IV that wasn't in stock in the store. The manager told me that I can't put it on the GC credit card, but would have to pay in full. What is the deal with this bull?

Im not supposed to tell people this... but I dont work for GC, and I dont care if they dont like it, so here goes:

how to put ANYTHING on a Guitar Center credit card by No Soul

Step1 - purchase the cheapest product you can find that DOES qualify for the GC financing system. In many cases there are really cheap tuners that apply.

Step2 - purchase the item you want that is not normaly eligable for the GC credit card (such as a Mesa amp) with item from step 1 at the same time and VIOLA! Instant financing for whatever you want!

 

[vulture2600]

nosoul is correct. and small item by any vendor that qualifies will make
the whole purchase qualify for the financing (right now its 15 months).
i tell people that all the time and i work there. it makes deals happen.

to mesaman, yes you are partially correct as well. you cannot
finance factory direct speical orders. that is outside our hands.
this is up to the company that does our financing for us, and
trust me, they audit us like crazy to make sure were not abusing
their privilages.
you should, however, be able to finance a SIT (which means they
get the gear from another GC and ship it in). i dont know of any reason
you couldnt (ive done it a few times for customers).
as far as the mark IV goes, i believe it is not going to be carried
by GC any more ( ill check today). but we still carry the recto series,
F series, stilleto series, lone star, rackmount gear, and bass gear.
and i find it hard to believe that if you bought something you cant return
it. we have a 30 day satisfaction guarantee on most gear. but that doesnt mean you can rent stuff for free. thats just wasting our time.
as far as quotas for certain peieces of gear? NO WAY. ive never
heard of anything remotely so rediculous. were not encouraged to
sell anything specific except performance guarantees and those
are really good for the customer. all they want us to do is
sell as much gear (what ever it may be) as possible. were all here
to make a living. and the only way we do that is by getting to know
the customer, asking the customer many qualifying questions and sell them the right peice of gear, plus all the accessories to go with it.
there may be a time when that IS in fact a squier, but you dont know that untill you ask enough questions.
we help customers accomplish creativity, not work agasint them.
whats good for them is good for us, not the other way around.

 

[Vshine]

Dude, I wish you worked at the GC here.

 

[vulture2600]

i can only speak for my store and GC's business model. not for other
stores. its up to them to keep the torch burning.
vshine: thanks i appprecieate it but its more than me, our
whole crew is about the most amazing bunch of regular gear heads
ive ever met.

 

[IIIBoomerIII]

Hey the GC in Corpus Christi, TX is just like all the rest. Just last week I was
in there trying out a Solo 50 Single Rectifier. The "Sales Manager" a new
guy there who did not know me told me to turn down. I told him I was
trying out the amp to see what it can do. I told I am not here F**king
around. I had cash in my pocket and if he wanted me to turn down I
would be happy to, but I would walk out and never come back. I told
him I had the money and he should ask the salesman I was working with
(Chris Garcia). He walked off and left me alone and Chris "Big Money"
Garcia hooked me up like he always does. He is one of the best salesman
I have met. He is a guitar player first and he knows me as a customer
and what I am looking for in gear. He is willing to work with the customer
and make you feel like you got a great deal and great service. the other
asses in there are all about the sale. They do not even play guitar. It is
funny, you can tell the musicans from the salesman. If you are ever
looking for a great deal 361-808-8880 ask for Big Money. Tell him Eddie was bragging about
him on the board. He is the ****.

 

[vulture2600]

lol awesome man, awesome. its too bad the rest of the crew
aint so great man, they need more guys like chris.
ill send chris an email telling him what you said. im sure hell
apprecieate it.

 

[Nomad]

Well while were name calling.

Adam Youngblood at the GC in Atlanta (Druid Hills) is the freakin best there is. He has hooked me up on many a deal and I allways get Premium Service concerning whatever it is I want.

AAAAAAAAAA+ Adam my hats off to you. Keep up the great work in keeping the gear hound in plenty of gear.

 

[Nomad]

Oh btw. Why is GC not selling Mark 4's anymore? Just curiouds.

The Chevy Dealer sells all the Chevy's.

 

[Mesaman]

A salesman told me that they won't be carrying the Mark IV series. I haveno idea why. What about the Road King? And how much trouble does it take GC to locate an amp or guitar from another store? One guy said that he can try to do it.

 

[tavman]

Don't think it can be that hard.

When I ordered my roadking through GC in little rock they had to order the head from cali and the cab from NY.. i'm sure if little rock can do it most of the others can too.

As far as the GC bashing goes... i've had my share of bad experiences with them (my roadking order wasn't the best), but i've also had awesome service at others... I think it all boils down to the particular salesman you get, and where their priorities lie.

The one in SanDiego I never had a problem one out of.. The Little Rock store seemed to forget about me the moment the money transaction was done.

I think that's just the Pro's and Con's of any BIG corporation. You loose a little of the personalized service, but gain alot in the way of price reduction, and selection. I'd be more than happy if a GC came to my area the little guitar stores here are no better. I was once shopping for an amp at a "small town store" and had the saleman come up and tell me I only had 2 minutes of playtime left (i'd only been on it maybe 2 minutes before that).

So after all that ranting I guess what i'm saying is:
It's the same as picking an amp for what *you* want it for... the tone your after.
Do the same with the music store. If GC doesn't float your boat, find a different water supply that will :twisted:

 

[mesa115]

Tavman,

You are right! I have had great experiences at GC (as well as bad) and I had a terrible experience at a local guy's place, that frankly really needs people like me.

He is a Gibson Dealer, in Cleveland. I saw he had a single cut Les Paul. I asked him to let me play it. I said he couldn't unless I was going to buy it.
????????????????????????????????

I'm not some kid, I have a day job to pay for my toys and my family and house for that matter. I even had clean hands. What a jerk.

If this had happened at GC, I'd be ticked. This little guy probably hates GC, but I am far more likely to go to GC than his place again.

 

[Nomad]

Glad someone had some good luck with em. I went into Home Depot the other day and no one would waite on me. All Home Depots Now suck. :lol: :mrgreen: