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Gibson Nashville


JuanCarlosVejar

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Wow..!

Anyone that out right does not believe these posts is not being realistic.

Im just glad that the guys on the bottom line are producing good Les Pauls.

 

When I originally read/heard Ren Ferguson say that the first thing Henry said to Steve Carlson & he, when they offered they're services to build better Mandolins for Gibson.. was that he was going to sue them...

Oh man..

If there is some truth in that most reprinted book.. there will be a nice warm place in Wahana for him. : )

He needs to watch the George C Scott version of Dickens "A Christmas Carol" a few times and start caring for people.

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.

It's fairly easy to see which comments are belly-aching. And of course there's no way of telling if the comments are really coming from Gibson employees.

 

Some of the comments definitely generate concern in me. A 15% approval rate for Henry is pretty dismal.

 

I work for a corporation that takes one of those "anonymous employee opinion surveys" every year that covers a myriad of topics and also includes a write-in comment. I'm not sure if G Nashville does that, but from some of those comments, they should.

 

 

.

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I don't take postings like that too seriously. "Poor communication" often means someone won't do what another thinks should be done and "micro-manaagement" has become a cacthall for I don't won't to be told what to do. No idea about the working conditions at Gibson, but I presume it's a job and in my experience, most jobs suck more than being at home playing guitar. I think you could survey a gruop of pie tasters and get similar results.

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Sure hope those comments are not accurate. That would not be a good situation. However most were gripes not substantiated by specifics and all were anonymous. So while disturbing in some ways I don't know what to do with the "information" other than to shrug. It was interesing reading though- thanks for posting the link!

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Well ya know, as a former worker and then manager (with a grad degree in administration), I see both sides. I spent equal years in each. It really sounds like business everywhere in the USA. It seems that employees always believe that admin never listens and promotes suckups. Management always thinks about the bottom line and believe that employees are trying to get over on them. Yack, Yack, Yack ...... good guitars are gettting built and I don't see much of this coming from Bozeman. Perhaps the humidity in Nashville just makes 'em cranky.

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Many complain that to the management there...just good enough,is good enough.... as long as production goals are met.

And many guitars are only 90%.

 

If they were allowed to focus on getting that last 10% detail work done..it probably would slow down production 20%.

The employees seem to voice a genuine want to make a great guitar and is probably why they are pretty good.

 

I was in a little guitar showroom last week(GTR) in NJ.

The guy said they had some reissue Les Pauls delivered where they probably didn't let the finish cure or something before putting them into the cases..

as the inside of the case was transfering to the finish of the guitars.

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Ed Roman has been a blowhard self-promoter for quite awhile on the internet. That doesn't mean he doesn't have legitimate points to make, but he does have an agenda.

Ed Roman passed away, right? His site apparently had just provided a link to these comments, so this really has nothing to do with him. My take, being in management of a small organization, is that you don't get this much negativity unless there are significant issues. If you treat employees well, the vast majority of them will recognize and appreciate it. Generally, the tone of a company is established from the top down, not from the bottom up.

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My take, being in management of a small organization, is that you don't get this much negativity unless there are significant issues. If you treat employees well, the vast majority of them will recognize and appreciate it. Generally, the tone of a company is established from the top down, not from the bottom up.

 

 

Bingo!

 

And for Bozeman, at least, the "top down" tone seemed to come from Ren's excitement and love for the craft. That can rub off on even the most cynical line worker doing it only for the paycheck.

 

I just hope they can keep it up with Ren gone.

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The stuff on this site first popped up in discussions a few years back. It is apparent that things have not changed for the better at Gibson Nashville. Sad because from the late 1940s to the mid-1960s Gibson was considered one of the best companies in the country to work for.

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The stuff on this site first popped up in discussions a few years back. It is apparent that things have not changed for the better at Gibson Nashville. Sad because from the late 1940s to the mid-1960s Gibson was considered one of the best companies in the country to work for.

 

 

And this country one of the best to live in.. :.. (

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Unhappy employees. So what? They're everywhere. Some people will ***** and complain even when they get to heaven. I've *****ed and complained about jobs, while others loved the work. It's life. And this is the internet. Like most things on the internet, take it with the proverbial grain of salt. And in all sincerity, does anyone believe that the aforementioned website would direct you to ANYTHING that was positive about Gibson?

 

Out of curiosity, I registered on the link provided. I started setting-up a review of a work place. I gave an email address I've never used and used my website for the business I was reviewing. Anyone can do this for any company they want. All you have to do is say you work/worked there. No proof needed. Just pick the company and have your say. You WILL remain anonoymous. Meaning you can say what you want. You can mention Ford Motor Company, even though you've never worked there, and say it's a hell hole of a place to work, etc. This is like giving guitar reviews on the internet. No way of knowing if someone has ever even played the specific guitar, let-a-lone owned one.

 

Is Gibson perfect? No place is, but this *****-and-moan link is just another place for anyone to say whatever they want (hidden behind the secrecy of the internet) about whomever they want with no chance of being held responsible. For Gibson bashers, this link is one of those "too good to be true" places.

 

I don't know Henry. Only read all the complaints about him here on the internet by other people who don't know him either. Kind of sounds like The Devil himself, don't he? He probably tore the wings off of butterflies when he was a kid, and now he's a big boss torturing his employees.

 

I can only speak for myself. This is simply my opinion. It doesn't mean I'm right and someone else is wrong--------I'm living in a country that is dying, and I've got more things on my mind than someone who got their feelings hurt at work.

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I know plenty of people who work for Gibson. It is too complicated of a company to really understand just reading these reviews. working for Gibson Corporate and working for one of the divisions... 2 totally different things. Also, in that industry, a lot of people leave one company for another but stay in the business. So, you get lots of people who don't really move on. They are still in the industry, so they talk a lot about their old company. In other parts of the workforce, people move on and don't bother to post things about their old boss. I am not saying that Gibson is the perfect place to work (I have never worked for them) or that the reviews are fake (I am sure they are not) but I think perspective and a lot of other factors come into play here. Personally, I don't look at this stuff when I buy a product. It might be worth it if looking for a job though!

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A good point was brought up about the "annonimity" of the poeple who contribute.

 

As I attempted to look more into the site, I got so far until I was denied any more access because I had to "sign up" for Facebook or something. To me, while I understand the need for marketing, I didn't think it did anything for my opinion of them, as I don't like BS.

 

But mainly, I didn't find anything on the site that explained or showed any effort to keep the info accurate. I't seem like a website that was too concerned with the integrity of the info they were providing.

 

Another point was brought up about the additude of some workers these days, as well as the possibility that the only ones motivated to write may be those who had bad experiences working there. Thing is, if you are a bad employee, chances are you are going to have a bad experience in the workplace. In reading some of the comments, I found more wrong with the poeple writing them than the employer!

 

I would say that I am curious and interested in how Gibson treats their workers, but this website ain't the place to find out.

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I would add that while many employers are shipping your and our jobs to China, Henry has managed to not only keep the Gibson brand Made in the USA, but has actually expanded the workforce in an economy where most are downsizing.

 

At least in that important area, Henry is holding up his end of the bargain as far as the American worker goes.

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I would say that I am curious and interested in how Gibson treats their workers, but this website ain't the place to find out.

Agree it's too diffuse and distant, still most of the talkers sound rather credible. Then again it could be the 1 and same guy – or a little group.

In case this is real, they should have spoken united while being there if the climate was so bad. That's the way to go.

 

The times of unreasonable working conditions must be history.

 

Employees – and not least chiefs and brands – cannot be served with it.

 

Pete Seeger said it, , , , and The Byrds -

 

Oh What will you give me ?

Say the sad bells of Rhymney

Is there hope for the future?

Say the brown bells of Merthyr

Who made the mine owner ?

Say the black bells of Rhondda

And who killed the miner ?

Say the grim bells of Blaina

 

Put the vandals in court

Say the bells of Newport

All would be well if, if, if, if

Say the green bells of Cardiff

Why so worried sisters, , , why ?

Sang the silver bells of Wye

And what will you give me ?

Say the sad bells of Rhymney

 

Oh What will you give me ?

Say the sad bells of Rhymney

Is there hope for the future ?

Say the brown bells of Merthyr

Who made the mine owner ?

Say the black bells of Rhondda

And who killed the miner ?

Say the grim bells of Blaina

 

 

 

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I would add that while many employers are shipping your and our jobs to China, Henry has managed to not only keep the Gibson brand Made in the USA, but has actually expanded the workforce in an economy where most are downsizing.

 

At least in that important area, Henry is holding up his end of the bargain as far as the American worker goes.

 

 

What this comment doesn't address is Gibson's overseas operations, such as the Epiphone division, or other parts of the Gibson family of brands. I don't know where those are made.

 

 

I agree that it's good that Gibsons are still made in the USA. Let's just hope it stays that way.

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After the post above, I did a little research on the manufacturing locations of various Gibson (Henry) owned musical instrument companies. I have no idea how these compare to the Gibson brand in terms of yearly sales, amount of product manufactured, or people employed, but here they are:

 

Kramer Guitars: apparently some USA, some Asia

 

Epiphone: Korea, China, Japan, Indonesia, Czech Republic

 

Maestro Guitars: China

 

Tobias Basses: Nashville, USA

 

Baldwin Pianos: China

 

Gibson Guitars: made in USA

 

 

Just keep buying those "made in USA" Gibsons, guys, just in case........ [unsure]

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