Guitar Center

[James Cann]

I've spent enough time in retail sales to know that, yes, there is an instinct that "gets developed" through time spent on a sales floor with all types of customers.

Nothing personal, but how you interact with people (not necessarily the salespeople but, for instance, the people you might be with), what sort of questions you ask, etc., all send vibrations.

Neither being left alone or approached is a negative in and of itself. Each of us prefers what we prefer.

However, there is one clear negative: store policy whereby a salesperson is expected to stop whatever s/he is doing to answer a ringing phone, up to and including asking present (and paying) customers (of whatever seriousness) to wait while someone at home with an idle question is satisfied.

[Matthew Walton]

I was "test driving" a nice Gretsch lap steel one day (using my own bar and picks), and some smartaleck kid (an employee) explained to me that he did not care to hear that twangy crap because it was running customers off.

Idiot!
(the employee, not you.)

[Tay Joslin]

I know, Matthew-
you didn't have to
explain yourself.
And, yes, that kid
is an idiot; he was
fired for what he
considered to be
"borrowing" (I think
y'all refer to it as
plain old stealing
down in Texas).
'Nuff said!

[Donny Hinson]

Duh???

It's this simple...

"Ring Bell For Service!" (If you have a question or are ready to buy.)

The customer in the store ALWAYS takes precedence over someone calling on the phone!

The employee should tell the caller to "Please hold for service". If the calling party cannot be helped in a reasonable amount of time (either by that employee or another), then they should be told to call back at another time.

Retail sales is common sense and common courtesy. Of course, for minimum wage, you can't expect much of either these days. Recently, I went out to buy a used truck. When I found one I liked at a local dealer, I walked in the showroom and asked the price. The salesmen (at least 4 of them) remained seated, talking, at a table, and one of them shouted out a price that was about 5 grand over the retail value. I turned and walked out, got in my car, and drove away (waving at the one salesman who had followed me out the door. and was now running down the highway behind my car).

I waved goodbye.

[Jim Eller]

Donny,

The customer in the store ALWAYS takes precedence over someone calling on the phone!

You are so right on this one. I've preached this all my life. Mostly on deaf ears.

I have left the store on many occasions because of it.

Jim

[Webb Kline]

I have seen this all over the country and not just at GC's. Sam Ash down the road in Madison is the same way. It's really pretty bad when I can have such a well-stocked store so close to home and yet have to do business elsewhere because I can't find a sales person who can or will answer my questions.

I buy a lot of my gear online at Sweetwater Sound simply because the sales people are knowledgeable, courteous and attentive to my query. It doesn't matter how big or small the item, they make certain that my questions are answered satisfactorily; they listen to my needs to help me determine which model will serve me best; and if they don't have certain answers, they try to find them for me and reply either by phone or email. If I purchase something from them and don't like it, I send it back and get a full refund.

I'm not sure about GC's, but I know that Sam Ash sales works on commission, so it escapes me why they would want to ignore me. I've practically begged sales staff there to help me to understand features of various products and they act like I'm bothering them. I've even explained my frustration to management and get no response, so I guess the problem trickles down from the top. I bought everything from Sam Ash in Manhattan back before they became a chain store, and the service couldn't have been any better.

I'm all about supporting local music and business, but such apathy has driven me to the internet.

[Tay Joslin]

Amazingly, Guitar Center of Memphis
has made a vast improvement during
the past four weeks!
I stopped by there today to see if
the store manager had ordered a dobro
bar for me, and he had it! The clerk
mentioned that some special dobro and
lap steel strings had been ordered for
stock, as well as a few more dobro bars.
There has been some interest expressed
in dobros and lap steels lately, and
they want the business that comes with
folks like us!
Also, Uncle Buddy had all of the "kids"
doing housecleaning chores, such as
vacuuming the floor, dusting the shelves,
and washing the glass display cases!
Uncle Buddy has always done those chores
by himself just to keep things nice, but
now the manager insists that everybody
hop onboard the "washing wagon".

IT WAS A MOST SHOCKING DAY AT
GUITAR CENTER OF MEMPHIS!

[Blake Wilson]

GC's are a weird scene but can't be beat for the "buy n try" 30 day return policy. Take home just about anything but a harmonica, use/abuse for 30 days, and take it back if you don't like it after the gig you needed it for.

Over the years I've had mostly positive experiences there, and have developed relationships with employees that result in seriously good deals (usually close to cost).

I've also found that walking in wearing a shirt and tie and looking somewhat respectable gets you LOTS of attention because they think you are loaded and ready to blow big money.

If you got completely ignored there, it means the manager isn't doing his/her job (which means the staff aren't either).

Regards,

Blake

[Carroll Hale]

personally..........I hate to be accosted by the sales/employees when I go in ..any kind of store..I will ask for help when I need it.....it is nice to just be able to shop around..play the instruments...

but, I want someone to help me...when I need help...
guess, each store is different....
jmo

[Charlie McDonald]

I was in there once. The sound drove me away.
The 'clerk' couldn't hear what size string I wanted.
Kept giving me flatwounds....

[George Redmon]

Ever walk into a {gulp, hard swallow} Radio Shack? I needed an adapter that our local music store didn't have. Man, i was asked my phone number, had to show ID, my current mailing address, if i wanted an extended service plan, my email address. And they watch you like you're there to rip off a $4.00 audio adapter, give me a break. I knew before i walked into that china shop that i would regret it. I want to be left to hell alone by those pushy salesmen, who always know more about everything in the store then you do. Just stay behind the counter where you belong, if i need you, i'll call you.

[Mark Butcher]

You guys get to play guitars in the shops? Here in the UK the do not touch notices take up most of the wall.

[Tay Joslin]

George Redmon asked:

Ever walk into a {gulp, hard swallow} Radio Shack?

As a matter of fact, I worked at
Radio Shack during the Holiday
Season of 1999- during the infamous
Y2K scare. Radio Shack is owned
by the Tandy Corporation out of
Texas. Radio Shack forces all new
hires to sit down and watch videos
on what they believe to be "great
customer service", and then a quiz
is given for each video. If you do
not pass the quizzes, no job.
Every manager at Radio Shack is an
over-caffeinated gadget junkie with
zero people skills. George is correct
in saying that they are all way too
concerned about the theft of a $4.00
item than they are greeting customers
with hospitality.

Radio Shack's warped attitude is that
if you (as a sales associate) do not
interrogate every customer for a
ridiculous amount of personal infor-
mation, then you have just kissed your
career good-bye! Radio Shack also insists
that you sell each customer an extended
service plan, and if you do not comply,
you have committed a "dis-service" to
the customer. This is the attitude
of Guitar Center, as well.

[Frank Freniere]

Last weekend I bought my son a new Fender HSS Strat at GC here in Burbank, IL. What struck me was the absence of any sales pressure, i.e., sales people, on the floor. My first thought is that they've cut back on sales people to save money, assuming that customers will help themselves until they're ready to schlep the merchandise they're actually going to buy to the counter. I think you're in trouble if you don't know what you're looking for.

[Mark Ardito]

The GC by my house is flooded with kids playing "Smells Like Teen Spirit" through Marshall or Mesa Boogie half stacks. When you walk in you better be prepared for some loud and awful guitar playing. I go there for basic needs (strings, picks, pedals, etc).

[James Cann]

We might as well have some grins for all this:

. . .a salesperson is expected to stop whatever s/he is doing to answer a ringing phone, up to and including asking present (and paying) customers (of whatever seriousness) to wait while someone at home with an idle question is satisfied.

(Remember, paying customers are at the sales console as this goes on),
Caller: I can't get my new TV to work.
Sales: OK, what brand of TV do you have, and let's see what we can do.
Caller (off mike, to friend at home): Hey, Jake, what kind of TV did we buy?"
Sales: (click)

[Keith Cordell]

The insider's view-
Having been a GC employee at a couple of different levels over a period of about 10 years, I can say this; If we made one side happy, the other side would hate us.
For many years GC trained sales people to aggressively trail customers, being sort of in-your-face and doing all that was possible to separate you from your wallet before you got out the door. MOST customers hated that. The response about 99.5% of the time would be "just looking" followed by a quick course change to get you as far away as possible from the salesperson. Now that policy has changed and discounting is nearly impossible, salespeople that have been experiencing this rejection and outright nastiness at time from customers have little need to follow you around, or even put you in the position of having to speak with them; and that IS what it seems that the usual customer wants. You should be able to easily see what these guys are thinking. I'd recommend that you find one salesguy that you think might be less than a total vacuum and develop a relationship with him or her. I have one guy I call for anything I want. I get in the store, get what I want, he always calls if something I am looking for comes in (they have a neat contact system in the computers for that) and he knows when I come in what to suggest since he knows my taste. If you put in a small amount of effort it will make the entire situation more tolerable for you.
If you don't ask them, you probably won't feel any differently about the service.
For what it's worth, I agree with you- but assuming that they are idiots, Wal-Mart rejects or used car salesmen is foolish. They generally have at least basic product knowledge and can be a great resource.

[Tay Joslin]

Keith,

I respectfully disagree with you concerning this statement (as far as Guitar Center of Memphis is concerned):

Now that policy has changed and discounting is nearly impossible, salespeople that have been experiencing this rejection and outright nastiness at time from customers have little need to follow you around, or even put you in the position of having to speak with them; and that IS what it seems that the usual customer wants. You should be able to easily see what these guys are thinking.

Discounts are NEVER a problem for me at the Memphis store. Perhaps there is a reason for this exception-
I HAVE ONE FRIEND WHO I DEAL WITH EXCLUSIVELY, which is what you recommended.
The man known locally as Uncle Buddy
puts other sales associates to shame
with his skill of the instrument, his
hospitality, his experience in the music
industry, and his gentle approach to
every customer. Uncle Buddy has revealed
to me that any item over $100 is eligible
for at least 5% off the ticket price, so
there (in my opinion) is no excuse for
any other Guitar Center in our great
nation to deny anybody a discount, no
matter how insignificant.

Keith, thank you very much for providing this insight as to the salesmanship policies of Guitar Center.

-Tay

[Keith Cordell]

I called a friend at one of the stores and he advised me that the 5% rule is in effect as of recently. Those aren't the discounts I was thinking about; I was used to giving discounts of 10% over cost on items to folks I dealt with regularly or guys that were full time musicians. The 5% discount is kind of a joke compared to what once was.

[Stu Schulman]

We just got a G.C. at our Best Buy two days ago,All we've had up here is a local store owned by an idiot who's been hosing us for years.It's nice to see stuff that you can actually buy at a good price that isn't in a catalog...Two kids were going crazy on a couple of electric drum sets so I went into the acoustic guitar room for while...All in All not too bad for up here.

[Jim Bob Sedgwick]

GC is a sore spot for me. I mean walking in and paying brand new price for a guitar that no telling how many idiots have beat the hell out of (trying them out). I recently purchased an Ibanez AG95 through the internet from GC. I am really pleased with the guitar, and guess what? It was BRAND NEW, no one had taken it for a test drive. The frets still had that scratchy new feel (which I hate). All in all, I find their prices to be reasonable with a good return policy. I just don't buy in person from them.

[Rick Campbell]

We have some good guys at our GC, and I've spent a lot of money there. But, my point is the loud noise gets me out of the mood to even think about music. My thought is that they should have an audition room to try out equipment. They do that at JC Penny's when you want to try on some pants, you don't just strip off there in front of everybody.

[Jim Means]

Lee, I have no idea what you age is but I expect if you are over 30, therein lies your answer. How could anyone over 30 possibly know anything about music!
I might buy something online once in a while if I can't find it locally, but as for in-person shopping, I will take the mom and pop store everytime. Corporate America, just go ahead and ignore me!

Jim in Missouri

[Darrell Criswell]

I went to the GC in Maryland several years ago and asked if they had pedal steel guitars there. The clerk said no but he would get one there, I said it wasn't necessary and he said it didn't matter he wanted one there. I came in a week later and there was a Carter starter for sale.

[Lee Baucum]

Do they have some sort of invisibility ray they shoot you with when you walk in the door?

We have had a GC in our area for quite a while now and one Saturday afternoon I finally decided to go visit it. Since it was Saturday, it was quite crowded with customers, trying out guitars, basses, drums, pedals, etc.

I spent about an hour, looking at high-end guitars and amps, and not one employee ever acknowledged I was in the store. I wandered over to the counter where all the f/x pedals and pickups were, peering through the glass at all the goodies that were in there. Two guys were behind the counter, talking to each other. Nothing directed toward me. Same thing in the bass guitar area and the drum room. Lots of employees, but I guess none of them could see me. When I left the store, I walked by the two "guards" that are posted at the desk near the door. They said not a word. I guess the invisibility ray was still working.

Yesterday, I had a meeting near the store, so I decided to stop in and see what I could see. This time, instead of wearing jeans and a t-shirt, I was wearing a business suit. As I entered the store, the invisibility ray hit me and the two guards never acknowledged my arrival. It was about 5:15 on a weekday, so the store had very few customers. There were more employees than customers. Once again, I made the rounds to the different areas of the store, trying out several guitars. Many employees walked right past me with no eye contact whatsoever. Same thing in the room where all the f/x pedals are. There was one customer in that room and two employees, talking behind the counter. While I was looking in the glass case, I thought I heard a question directed toward me, so I looked up and said, "I beg your pardon". He looked in my direction and said, "No, I wasn't talking to you". Since I was invisible, I guess he was startled at the voice coming from the other side of the counter. I went to the acoustic room and played a few expensive Taylors and Martins, and the same thing in there. Nobody ever said a word to me. I finally left, walking past the two guards at the front door who never even looked in my direction. I know the invisibility ray wears off as soon as you leave the building. As I was walking out, another customer was walking in and he nodded and said hello to me.

Now I'm beginning to wonder, was I invisible while I was in the store, or are the "employees" that I saw all created with some sort of holographic device that projects their images around the room.

Lee, from South Texas

Well, it's six years later. My wife and I were in the shopping center where our local GC is located. I decided to do a walk-through, to see if the invisibility ray was still functioning properly.

It is......

Lee