I have friends who work at Guitar Center and I know it's not all informed people going in but more and more it is. A lot of times people will also come in and not listen to their advice anyways. For instance I had a friend tell me that he sells an unusual amount of expensive guitars for beginners because the parents will walk in and say "What's the best guitar?". Which is a stupid question to begin with because as we know there is no "best guitar". This Guitar Center was in a well-off suburb but it's still a bit ridiculous. My friend despite his own interest of making a higher commission sale would tell them to look at something lower in price as tastes actually changes from when you're a beginner and they wouldn't care, they'd still get something expensive.Billy3000 wrote:That really only goes for enthusiasts like us though. The other very large part of Guitar Center's customers are people who don't have the first clue about where to start or what to get like parents getting their kid a first guitar, a middle aged man going through a midlife crisis, and college douche bags looking for acoustic guitars to maybe learn 3 chords so they can impress stupid girls, etc.jcyphe wrote:I think that commissions based sales are kind of ridiculous in this day and age when so many shoppers already do their research at home/internet and many times are more knowledgeable about the product than the sales person, who's usually just a wage slave.
The Nazi's at Guitar Center put me "ON Notice"!
Moderated By: mods
Lets take one experience with one salesperson or store that you heard stories about and use it as a basis for judging an entire retail chain
If a beginner comes in and asks what "the best guitar" is, and not "the best guitar for a beginner", chances are he wants something nice to brag about. Assuming that everyone is on the same budget as you is naive in any sales position.
There is a process we at GC would call "Qualifying", which is a series of questions back and forth to assist in finding the right piece of gear to put in their hands to try out. In this scenario, the obvious questions would be "Well that depends on what you're after, what style of music do want to play?" or "Do you have any favorite guitarists?" or stuff of that nature. Usually someone who wants to play guitar wants to do so because of someone else they heard play one. After the family of instruments is established, finding out if they want the Gibson Standard, Gibson Studio, Epiphone Standard, or Epiphone special is a matter of how much it's worth TO THEM....people are usually only willing to part with their money once they know the value of something to them, whether it's because they think they'll be more likely to play with something nice, because they want to only have to buy one guitar ever, or because they want something cool to show their friends. If they don't know what the value is to them, they're likely not to buy it. And when you break it down to this, the only thing that makes a bad salesman is one who lies about the product, and selling someone something outside their needs that they want to buy because they have their reasons, is not lying.
If a beginner comes in and asks what "the best guitar" is, and not "the best guitar for a beginner", chances are he wants something nice to brag about. Assuming that everyone is on the same budget as you is naive in any sales position.
There is a process we at GC would call "Qualifying", which is a series of questions back and forth to assist in finding the right piece of gear to put in their hands to try out. In this scenario, the obvious questions would be "Well that depends on what you're after, what style of music do want to play?" or "Do you have any favorite guitarists?" or stuff of that nature. Usually someone who wants to play guitar wants to do so because of someone else they heard play one. After the family of instruments is established, finding out if they want the Gibson Standard, Gibson Studio, Epiphone Standard, or Epiphone special is a matter of how much it's worth TO THEM....people are usually only willing to part with their money once they know the value of something to them, whether it's because they think they'll be more likely to play with something nice, because they want to only have to buy one guitar ever, or because they want something cool to show their friends. If they don't know what the value is to them, they're likely not to buy it. And when you break it down to this, the only thing that makes a bad salesman is one who lies about the product, and selling someone something outside their needs that they want to buy because they have their reasons, is not lying.
I agree wholly about commissioned sales in certain marketplaces being a completely antiquated idea. Nick has some great points, but the problem with all of this is that any reasonably intelligent person should know that anyone working on commissioned sales in any realm is likely to take advantage of them; that's the whole game. As a consumer, if you don't know more about what you're trying to buy than the person making the sale, you're toast. You're an easy mark if you approach any commissioned sales opportunity unprepared and should expect to be taken for all that you are worth.
To add just one of many personal anecdotes, last week I saw the GC Clearance site had a pedal I was interested in (normally $119 retail) listed at a local store. I called and asked the price and he said it was $99; apparently, it was "undesirable inventory". I said I'd pick it up later, but instead I had the missus stop in and grab it for me because she was near the store. During the checkout process, he stressed that there were no returns and of course asked about the equipment protection program/extended warranty nonsense. Because the missus functions above the level of a fourth-grader, she politely declined. He kept pushing, explaining that the ~$30 plan was a great deal and still cheaper than I could buy it anywhere else -- an obvious lie.
She's now second-guessing herself, which was a commendable job on the part of the sales guy that's just trying to make a few bucks. She calls me and manages to explain all of this over the cling-clang of my rolling eyes, then homeboy grabs her phone and goes for the hard sell after seeing a few dollars potentially slipping through his fingers. He explains the same nonsense to me, and I explain to him the only reason I'm buying it is because it's $20 cheaper than I can get it anywhere else. Period. He says something ridiculous like, "Okay -- your call, man. If something happens with this thing tomorrow, don't expect to return it," and gave her back the phone. She tells me later that he threw his hands up and whined and cussed about how he's not even making a dime on the sale, said he was going on break, and sent someone else over to complete the transaction.
It wasn't always this bad. Back in '94 when I went with my dad to purchase my first guitar when the first GC in Michigan opened up, things were great. I was a loyal customer for many years and have spent many thousands of dollars there over the last seventeen years. I had a few guys there I dealt with, and they were great to me because I was an easy customer that did research before buying and handed them a sale with no effort. I don't know when the Great Hostility Shift happened, but I suspect it's related to diminishing sales as a result of online retailer growth. It's a great thing for the consumer, but probably not so great for a commissioned sales force.
So yeah, maybe this kid was just having a bad day. I won't judge an entire retail chain on this one experience, but I'll wisely use the countless other similar experiences that I and others have had. The only time I go into a GC these days is to use it as a giant demo playhouse, to buy something used, or to buy a heavily discounted item that I can't find anywhere else, like the sunburst Jaguar Bass I bought for $600 after they were discontinued. If some shitbag kid wants to treat long-term customers (and apparently, their special lady friends) poorly because he skinned his knee falling off a longboard at lunch time, he can eat my ass.
To add just one of many personal anecdotes, last week I saw the GC Clearance site had a pedal I was interested in (normally $119 retail) listed at a local store. I called and asked the price and he said it was $99; apparently, it was "undesirable inventory". I said I'd pick it up later, but instead I had the missus stop in and grab it for me because she was near the store. During the checkout process, he stressed that there were no returns and of course asked about the equipment protection program/extended warranty nonsense. Because the missus functions above the level of a fourth-grader, she politely declined. He kept pushing, explaining that the ~$30 plan was a great deal and still cheaper than I could buy it anywhere else -- an obvious lie.
She's now second-guessing herself, which was a commendable job on the part of the sales guy that's just trying to make a few bucks. She calls me and manages to explain all of this over the cling-clang of my rolling eyes, then homeboy grabs her phone and goes for the hard sell after seeing a few dollars potentially slipping through his fingers. He explains the same nonsense to me, and I explain to him the only reason I'm buying it is because it's $20 cheaper than I can get it anywhere else. Period. He says something ridiculous like, "Okay -- your call, man. If something happens with this thing tomorrow, don't expect to return it," and gave her back the phone. She tells me later that he threw his hands up and whined and cussed about how he's not even making a dime on the sale, said he was going on break, and sent someone else over to complete the transaction.
It wasn't always this bad. Back in '94 when I went with my dad to purchase my first guitar when the first GC in Michigan opened up, things were great. I was a loyal customer for many years and have spent many thousands of dollars there over the last seventeen years. I had a few guys there I dealt with, and they were great to me because I was an easy customer that did research before buying and handed them a sale with no effort. I don't know when the Great Hostility Shift happened, but I suspect it's related to diminishing sales as a result of online retailer growth. It's a great thing for the consumer, but probably not so great for a commissioned sales force.
So yeah, maybe this kid was just having a bad day. I won't judge an entire retail chain on this one experience, but I'll wisely use the countless other similar experiences that I and others have had. The only time I go into a GC these days is to use it as a giant demo playhouse, to buy something used, or to buy a heavily discounted item that I can't find anywhere else, like the sunburst Jaguar Bass I bought for $600 after they were discontinued. If some shitbag kid wants to treat long-term customers (and apparently, their special lady friends) poorly because he skinned his knee falling off a longboard at lunch time, he can eat my ass.
-
hotrodperlmutter
- crescent fresh
- Posts: 16665
- Joined: Sat Apr 04, 2009 10:29 pm
- Location: Overland Park, KS, USA
I can never follow who is commenting on what cause there are so many people posting different opinions.Nick wrote:at the time I wrote it, it made sense to me...rereading it again I still stand by the rest of the post but that part doesn't have anything to do with your story or at least not as much as I thought it did at the time.
I wasn't offended or anything, I was just saying I lived in bunch of different states and shop at Guitar Center a lot. People like to bash GC but I think it's a store that often has a lot of good deals and knowledgeable people if you talk to them and figure out who's there to help out and who just doesn't care.
I remember when Bain Capital bought Guitar Center, they gave the shareholders a really good deal. But Bain Capitol isn't just Mitt Romney from what I understand there are other partners and they're not even all Republican.plaidbeer wrote:I thought this was interesting--Mitt Romney's company owns Guitar Center. He's a partner in Bain Capital which owns Guitar Center, Musician's Friend, Music 123, Music & Arts, Harmony Central, Clear Channel, Domino's, and others. No wonder he's so loaded.
-
Mike
- I like EL34s
- Posts: 39170
- Joined: Thu Apr 20, 2006 8:30 am
- Location: Edinburgh, Scotland
- Contact:
I hear you guys bash Guitar Center loads, and didn't know what to expect when Roach and Sub took me to the big one on Sunset, but I loved it! Huge room of Vintage guitars, and the old Fender amps were priced really well I thought, especially compared to what we pay over here. People seemed happy enough for you to play stuff - maybe I saw a good example but I really wish we had those over here to be honest. It's pretty annoying when you walk into a Guitar Shop and they don't have a decent Fender, Squier, Gibson and Fender selection or any good amps.
London is blessed more than most with Denmark St, but I rarely agree with their pricing.
London is blessed more than most with Denmark St, but I rarely agree with their pricing.
I've been to quite a few guitar centres now. I can see why people might not love them but they seem pretty good as far as a chain guitar store goes. They're miles ahead of what we get over here. Sure there will be some (though very very few) small places in the UK that are fantastic, but for the most part you guys don't know how good you have it.
Shabba.
I have noticed a few local stores step up their game dramatically since Guitar Center came in. If there's one thing GC brings to the table, it's competition. For prices, selection, customer service, etc. Guitar Center sets a good standard for other shops to be compared to, and without that, I think I would probably complain about the smaller local music shops too. If GC came to the U.K. you guys would probably hate it eventually too, but it might bring a good change to your market
We don't have GC, but this is how I was able to afford my Jaguar and Telecaster.
Donate to Ankhanu Pressekwatts wrote:That's American cinema, that is. Fucking sparkles.
I've bought several used pedals from GC and when I was playing synths, several used synthesizers and rack effects. I haven't had any negative experiences with their customer service or salespeople, either. But, it seems that the more they saturated the market here in DFW, the other stores started shutting down and I hated that because aside from Mars Music, they were locally owned and were pretty good. I can't say how much GC's saturation of the market here affected that (online sales probably had a big effect), but I'm thinking it had to be a factor.
-
taylornutt
- .
- Posts: 4908
- Joined: Thu Sep 17, 2009 5:04 pm
- Location: Dallas, TX
I bought my first guitar at Mars Music and was sad when they went under because it offered GC some competition. Lots of the local shops have gone under in the DFW area so GC is the only option. My only gripe has been the salesman know very little, but that can also be an advantage when it comes to dealing.
J Mascis Jazzmaster | AVRI Jaguar | Tuxedo-stang |Fender Toronado GT |
Squier FSR Sparkle Jaguar | Squier CV Mustang |1971 Fender Bronco| Baja Telecaster |
Squier FSR Sparkle Jaguar | Squier CV Mustang |1971 Fender Bronco| Baja Telecaster |