The last day I will ever step foot in a Guitar Center

[sevenone]

April 21, 2009. That was the day I decided Guitar Center, Inc. will no longer get my business as well as everyone I know. That includes musiciansfriend, music123, and guitarcenter.com.

 

The present downturn in the economy must not effect the spending power of 15 yr old boys that love barely playing Metallica, and Ozzy riffs over and over again for hours while their parents shop next door. That’s is a good thing I guess, as GC apparently doesn’t need to sell $3000 Les Paul Custom Reissues “in this economy”. GC also must not need the $2500 I just spent today at americanmusical.com on recording gear, that would have gone to GC Edina, or the $3300 I spent yesterday on the 1968 Reissue LP Custom Authentic at American Guitar and Band (americanguitarandband.com) in Maple Grove, MN to replace the guitar I returned to GC. I guess it’s nice to know that while treating loyal customers like dirt, customers that have spent thousands of dollars over the past 10 yrs, GC will still be able to fall back on the occasional $200 BC Rich sale to said 15 yr old, to pay rent/salary/utilities/tax, etc.

 

Let me just say this to the Asst Mgr at the GC. Where else am I going to get this kind of service? Um.. prison, a gangbang, Ron Jeremys house, Zeds basement (Bring out the gimp), Iran, certain “massage” rooms. FYI – why would I really care about the COA? Because I paid for it? Why would you knowingly sell a Les Paul VOS Goldtop with the wrong case, box and no documentation? Why would you tell me first, I can keep this guitar while you order a replacement, then tell me GC never does that, when in fact GC has done it for me in the past? Why would you offer to refund $450 for my trouble and pay for the authentication, only to tell me 5 minutes later that it’s a better deal for me not to get a refund? (thank you sir, may I have another) Why would you tell me my fiancé lied? Why would you think I would give your company a dime again?

 

I do have to thank GC for having the worst customer service I have ever experienced. If not for that I wouldn’t have discovered American Guitar and Band in Maple Grove, MN. (americanguitarandband.com) Great people. They were willing to order from Gibson the exact model I returned to GC for the same price, and work with the dealer to get the right neck. Instead though, I went with a better guitar, for the same money. The GC sales manager told my fiancé it would take 6 months at least, to order a new guitar. I’ll get it in less than 2.

 

To be honest though, since GC ended haggling and put in place fixed pricing, they offer nothing more that showrooms to test gear before buying online and saving the tax. That’s like a 10% discount right there.

 

Awesome business model! Piss on the single 30-something, gear junky, musician types with disposible incomes. The guys that shopped at GC from the first day they opened in MPLS. The people that helped you put Knut Koupee out of business when you came. Keep up the good work boys! Hopefully, with some word of mouth on my end, an economy in the toilet and a lot of luck, GC will no longer exist in the MPLS area in the nearer future… just like Knut Koupee.

 

Seriously though, how well are those $2000+ Gibsons, Fenders, PRS that hang on your wall collecting dust selling these days? How about the Neumann mics, or Apogee interfaces you have in stock? Are SSL and Manley pulling in the $$ for ya? I know where I’m NOT getting high-end gear anymore. 10 years ago, people like me didn’t buy online. Experiences like this are the reason we do now.

 

P.S. If someone asks to see a guitar in your “special” high end glass room, and they aren’t 15, be aware they may actually have the cash in their pocket for that guitar.

[AXE®]

I like you !!!

[MikeRom]

I'm not a huge fan of the GC myself but I haven't completely written them off. I mean after all, a good sale is a good sale. And they sell other things besides guitars and amps. During their last sale I picked up a shure sm58 for $75. Hard to beat that price especially when your budget is practically nill.

[Californiaman]

That's the spirit!

Another "satisfied" Guitar Center customer.

When will the learn.

Thanks for the rant.

[tulsaslim]

Yeah, eventually they will fire the jerk (or he'll get tired of working for $6/hr) and they'll replace him with somebody who knows even less about guitars than he does.

 

They always seem so shocked when they find out I'd rather buy a new guitar (still in the box, never played) for 8.5% less (sales tax) than buy one from them that has the worst setup in the world, has the grease from a thousand hands all over it, and is always missing the documentation (and usually at least one knob). Imagine that.

 

Glad you found a good vendor. Sweetwater is great, too.

[djroge1]

I've already pretty much stopped buying from GC - I don't like their customer service.

 

I have been enjoying my days off work by finding new (new to me since I moved here) local guitar shops which is just another benefit of living in or near a fairly large city.

[myspace.com/jessenoah]

NO MORE "I HATE GC THREADS" I MEAN IT!

[Homz]

I'm going out for some drum sticks. Nope, not going to GC. I'm going to Pulse Music in Kokomo.

Later dudes.

[Hall]

You're my hero!

 

They have more trouble with their little cases at those Guitar Centers; favorite play is wrong one and try & charge you for the right one. Cases come silently priced with guitars, and they are supposed to be the right one.

[Basshole]

 

 

 

 

 

NOT ANOTHER "I HATE GC THREAD"

(at the same time lights himself on fire and jumps out a window)

[TheLiveSoundGuy]

April 21' date=' 2009. That was the day I decided Guitar Center, Inc. will no longer get my business as well as everyone I know. That includes musiciansfriend, music123, and guitarcenter.com.

 

The present downturn in the economy must not effect the spending power of 15 yr old boys that love barely playing Metallica, and Ozzy riffs over and over again for hours while their parents shop next door. That’s is a good thing I guess, as GC apparently doesn’t need to sell $3000 Les Paul Custom Reissues “in this economy”. GC also must not need the $2500 I just spent today at americanmusical.com on recording gear, that would have gone to GC Edina, or the $3300 I spent yesterday on the 1968 Reissue LP Custom Authentic at American Guitar and Band (americanguitarandband.com) in Maple Grove, MN to replace the guitar I returned to GC. I guess it’s nice to know that while treating loyal customers like dirt, customers that have spent thousands of dollars over the past 10 yrs, GC will still be able to fall back on the occasional $200 BC Rich sale to said 15 yr old, to pay rent/salary/utilities/tax, etc.

 

Let me just say this to the Asst Mgr at the GC. Where else am I going to get this kind of service? Um.. prison, a gangbang, Ron Jeremys house, Zeds basement (Bring out the gimp), Iran, certain “massage” rooms. FYI – why would I really care about the COA? Because I paid for it? Why would you knowingly sell a Les Paul VOS Goldtop with the wrong case, box and no documentation? Why would you tell me first, I can keep this guitar while you order a replacement, then tell me GC never does that, when in fact GC has done it for me in the past? Why would you offer to refund $450 for my trouble and pay for the authentication, only to tell me 5 minutes later that it’s a better deal for me not to get a refund? (thank you sir, may I have another) Why would you tell me my fiancé lied? Why would you think I would give your company a dime again?

 

I do have to thank GC for having the worst customer service I have ever experienced. If not for that I wouldn’t have discovered American Guitar and Band in Maple Grove, MN. (americanguitarandband.com) Great people. They were willing to order from Gibson the exact model I returned to GC for the same price, and work with the dealer to get the right neck. Instead though, I went with a better guitar, for the same money. The GC sales manager told my fiancé it would take 6 months at least, to order a new guitar. I’ll get it in less than 2.

 

To be honest though, since GC ended haggling and put in place fixed pricing, they offer nothing more that showrooms to test gear before buying online and saving the tax. That’s like a 10% discount right there.

 

Awesome business model! Piss on the single 30-something, gear junky, musician types with disposible incomes. The guys that shopped at GC from the first day they opened in MPLS. The people that helped you put Knut Koupee out of business when you came. Keep up the good work boys! Hopefully, with some word of mouth on my end, an economy in the toilet and a lot of luck, GC will no longer exist in the MPLS area in the nearer future… just like Knut Koupee.

 

Seriously though, how well are those $2000+ Gibsons, Fenders, PRS that hang on your wall collecting dust selling these days? How about the Neumann mics, or Apogee interfaces you have in stock? Are SSL and Manley pulling in the $$ for ya? I know where I’m NOT getting high-end gear anymore. 10 years ago, people like me didn’t buy online. Experiences like this are the reason we do now.

 

P.S. If someone asks to see a guitar in your “special” high end glass room, and they aren’t 15, be aware they may actually have the cash in their pocket for that guitar. [/quote']

 

 

 

Who are you again?

[Thundergod]

Another "satisfied" Guitar Center customer.

 

 

[Thundergod]

 

 

 

 

 

NOT ANOTHER "I HATE GC THREAD"

(at the same time lights himself on fire and jumps out a window)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

...I still think you should just tackle oilpit...:-

[rocketman]

I was actually OK with them until they ended haggling. My famous story is that when I wanted to get a LP Premium Plus GC quoted me $2,999, which the same price on the standard websites, including their own. I told them that I bought about 10k worth of equipment from them and that I wanted to remain loyal, but they didn't budge. HOG in Rochester gave it to me for $2,100!! They also stand behind every purchase. Thus ended my major purchases from GC...

[James Allen]

I don't buy guitars from GC because NONE of the folks who work there can tell me anything about the guitars I've inquired about in the past. I will buy strings and picks. That's it.

When I buy guitars, I go to the locally owned L&M Music just down the street. There is NO blaring Slipknot music over the intercom so you can't hear the instrument you're trying out. At L&M when you ask about a guitar, you get good information from the techs, not to mention that they KNOW the guitar in question. They also try to get you to play through an amp similar to the one you currently use, if not the exact amp, so that you can have a really good idea about the guitar.

 

Go to my local GC and ask about ANY guitar. The reply from ANY of the "techs" will be: "It ROCKS!"

 

No matter what my question is, the answer is always "It ROCKS."

[Jesus Is Dead In My Basement]

What in the world are you doing with so much money in the first place?

[Jesus Is Dead In My Basement]

I was actually OK with them until they ended haggling. My famous story is that when I wanted to get a LP Premium Plus GC quoted me $2' date='999, which the same price on the standard websites, including their own. I told them that I bought about 10k worth of equipment from them and that I wanted to remain loyal, but they didn't budge. HOG in Rochester gave it to me for $2,100!! They also stand behind every purchase. Thus ended my major purchases from GC...[/quote']

 

Rocketman, Those bastards ate Guitarcenter tried to sell me a Gibson Les Paul Standard for $2,999 i walked the **** out of there.

 

I only buy AMPS from them now.

[NeoConMan]

I only buy AMPS from them now.

Boy!

You really showed them!!!

 

????????????????????

 

If all you buy is strings, you're still rewarding their behavior.

[NeoConMan]

What in the world are you doing with so much money in the first place?

What the hell kind of question is that?

[NeoConMan]

I decided Guitar Center' date=' Inc. will no longer get my business as well as everyone I know. That includes musiciansfriend, music123, and guitarcenter.com.[/quote']

 

Check out the link in my signature, Nice Peter speaks for me....

 

Neo

[rocketman]

Rocketman' date=' Those bastards ate Guitarcenter tried to sell me a Gibson Les Paul Standard for $2,999 i walked the **** out of there.[/quote']

 

Let me get this straight. They wanted $2,999 for a regular ole' Standard that you can find on THEIR website for $2,699 (see here). I would have walked out too, but not without screaming at the top of my lungs so that everyone in the store could hear me.

 

Also, I agree with Neo. Stop buying anything from them. Either that or bring Neo with you next time. He WILL show them...

[harmonicchaos]

Ok I have my problems with GC but I don't hate them. There are some good employees and prices. I don't mind going in and playing around sometimes. I'll occasionally buy something if it's an exclusive or a good price.

 

Can we give the "I hate GC!!!" threads a break! We get it, a lot of people don't like GC.

 

Didn't your guy's moms ever say: "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all" ?!

 

(and yes, I am quoting the movie "Bambi". Anybody got a problem with that?)

[RichCI]

I've seen enough of these kind of threads and it always reminds me of a bit that some comedian did a years ago (might have been Chris Rock, don't remember) where he compared having sex with an ex girlfriend to spoiled milk. I'll recall and paraphrase it as best as I can...

 

Banging your ex girlfriend is like going for that carton of milk in the fridge that you know went bad. As a single man, one day you'll take the carton of milk out of the fridge, smell it and make a messed up face 'cause that crap went rotten and spoiled. But, being a single man and not having anyone else to answer to, you put it back in the fridge instead of pouring it down the drain. A week later, you take that same carton out again - you know it's f'd up but you grab it anyway. You smell it, and it's even more f'd up than the last time you went there. Why the hell would you bang your ex girlfriend again after you put her back in the fridge 'cause she was so f'd up the last time?

 

Replace "ex girlfriend" with "Guitar Center." Why do you guys who hate the place keep going back???

[cat&mouse]

I've sort of taken a stand against GC as well.

 

The last few times I have been in there I've had problems. I was loaded cash-wise and was seriously considering buying a guitar there, but I like to try before I buy, which means I'm going to plug the guitar in and play soft and loud through different amps (both solid state and tube) to not only get a feel for the guitar but hear how the guitar sounds at different volume ranges. I had the volume up no louder than what I use for my personal practice and one of the employees came up to me and told me to turn it down. I was a little angered, but I complied.

 

The last time I was in there I was eventually kicked out because I was "playing way too loud" for the store. If I'm a paying customer with a wad of cash burning a hole in my pocket I am going to play as much and as loud as I feel is necessary. I've always had a hatred for corporate business, but GC often has things that my local music shop doesn't have, so I feel almost forced to go there because of the selection. My drummer goes in there to play every drum set until they kick him off and I just usually stand around and laugh at some of the customers.

 

If they're overpricing things more than what it is on their website, I would've walked out too.

[Corrosion of conformity]

:-

 

 

 

 

 

NOT ANOTHER "I HATE GC THREAD"

(at the same time lights himself on fire and jumps out a window)

 

 

 

 

 

 

oh dear...please try not to hit anyone...