Comments on: No more Haggling at Guitar Center: Employee Comment Follow-up

By: lz

lz — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 03:12:31 +0000

“If I have the option now of paying full price at Guitar Center or at a small store, i’m going to the small store. I feel my money is going to better use, i’ve had a better experience, and i’m making sure they’ll be there by supporting their livelihood.”

but i bet you still eat fast food once and a while instead of searching out some mom and pop diner that charges twice as much for a sandwich that has been there all week. let’s not be such hypocrites. it’s time to admit that these two entities can co-exist and offer their own cost for benefit advantages. not every mom and pop place will have the latest pro tools rig and not every guitar center will have the les paul that’s been loved into perfect playability. These things are not black and white or mutually exclusive… a-duh.

By: GC Customer & Employee

GC Customer & Employee — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 19:56:33 +0000

Well, it’s September 26th, 2009 and Guitar Center employees still work for mostly commission.

So, no need to freak out anymore about where you’re going to purchase your gear or how much you’ll spend & save!

Capitalism is a good thing! Thank God you’re not in China or Cuba.

By: ACCGuy

ACCGuy — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 07:55:20 +0000

Wow, great thoughtful comments on this site! I’ve worked for GC for a little over two years now and I’d have to agree with screaming stone, but I’d like to add more food for thought.
The term gp bomb, is a sales term that identifies an item that has greater margin in its profit, not necessarily an inferior product. Generally I look for equivalent products that both serve the customers interests as well as make better profit. There is no mal-intent here. Yes the sales staff works off of commission, but a genuine sales guy should want you, the customer, to be happy. Whenever a customer returns a product we do take negative numbers (its tough it happens). We want to get you the right thing the first time to avoid negatives (more importantly making you happy), so that our time can be spent helping other customers or by having your repeat business by giving you good service.
Margin, which i referred to before, is the final figure that we make 10% of. For example Item A & Item B both cost $40.00. Item A is a more popular brand and makes $6.00 in margin. Item B is equal if not better than Item A at performing the same function at $20.00 margin. 10% of these two #’s breaks down to a choice for us to make 0.60 cents with Item A or $2.00 with item B. Over several transactions these #’s add up significantly. I will of course recommend B, but if your mind is made up on A, no problem.
I do not personally like the pay structure and would like to see some changes, because it is a struggle to even make basic payments even while ranked #2 in the store! That’s how we survive. I can think of no other instance in which I have asked a grocery clerk, a waiter or my car mechanic to give me a special discount because I think I should be treated special. Do you ever consider not tipping your waiter or bartender for their service? For lack of a better analogy, haggling down the price is similar to leaving a bad or no tip.
One thing I would concede though is that due to the pay structure, I have seen many extremely valuable employees who are knowledgeable guys be forced to leave because they just can’t afford to work there. I hope in the future corporate will make greater efforts to retain its employees. As of now there are promotions, but there is NO SUCH THING AS A RAISE until you are a sales manager or higher. Sometimes I’d rather be the guy on the other end who has the money, instead of the one with the great employee discount who can’t afford to use it :/

By: sandrar

sandrar — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 13:38:10 +0000

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By: Screaming Stone

Screaming Stone — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 19:21:32 +0000

Interesting story – great comments.

I used to work at GC for four years. My experience – loved it and hated it. The reasons I loved it – working in the music instrument industry, selling gear to musicians – and that positive vibe is still there. What I hated was that the culture to sell really caused anxiety amongst the employees – and that is going away with the change in sales tactics – making it a much better place.

In regards to GC hiring “Joe Blows” – I have to disagree with that. I thought I knew allot about gear – been playing for 20 years – but was always amazed at how much the other salespeople I worked with knew.

Don’t expect salespeople to know every detail about every piece of gear – that’s not reality. The hardest thing was when some guy would come in to the store after spending countless hours researching one particular guitar – then proceed to grill you on every detail of that instrument – often with no intention of ever buying – doing it just to get his kicks. And this is what GC employees have to deal with on a daily basis. I luckily realized this early on and when it happened to me I would tell the customer the truth – you know more than I do, so tell me what you know – stroking his ego while possibly learning something from him.

I had a great time working there, and have an even greater time shopping there knowing I can just go in, try out some gear and not buy anything.

One last thing – it’s too bad musicians don’t respect each other more – instead of dissing GC employees, why not realize that they are musicians like you that just want to earn a living.

By: A.Moore

A.Moore — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 05:26:46 +0000

I guess what it comes down to is whether Guitar Center cares more about having more gross sales who will be repeat customers, and once those people are won over, they will come back for everything small they need like strings etc. in bulk quantities. Or do they care more about making full profit off of a single item, and not making the customer feel like he is getting something different at this place. As mentioned above, if GC is going to just sell things for retail cost, yet a Ma-Pop shop is willing to haggle a little to beat GC, eventually I think we will see things level out a bit. Circuit City was in business and a large chain for a long time. It is things like what seemed like minor policies which have led this company to its demise. The road ahead might seem like it is paved well, and while I agree that there might be some stability for a while, GC will eventually reach its peak, and the word will get out about the GP bombs, which as a previous employee I can vouch for. I dont at all trust employees there now, only because most of them when I go there are trying to sell me b-52 amps telling me they sound like a mesa, simply because they have more profit. I guess this would be remedied by taking commission away, however I think haggling is going to make its way back, as I am currently developing a website specifically devoted to consumer haggling which will partner with various retailers to allow the retailers to reach “haggling” type customers, as well as make customers get the “break” they want. I used to love Guitar Center, and now I will only buy strings and drum heads there because everything else can be bought cheaper at smaller stores and they “earn” your business.

By: LR

LR — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 15:34:45 +0000

Wow, after working at GC for 6 months in NYC, it really amazes me how many AMs etc on this post seem really INTO that store. They are repeating practically verbatim the company handbook as was recited to us by the AM’s and managers. I can’t say GC was a great place, and wouldn’t shop there now, commission/haggling or no because it’s all a bunch of bs rhetoric, plain and simple.
The managers are there to compete and make money- and it’s all too often at the expense of their sales people.

GC has a way of advertising that is common with any department store or supermarket you want to name. It doesn’t run to promote a creative spirit, but focuses all its energy on THE GEAR. Oh how hot is this GEAR, oh sweet GEAR I need MORE GEAR…etc. Consumption of PRODUCT is promoted, not the integrity or quality of the music itself. (How seamlessly they were able to start selling Guitar Hero alongside the real instruments without batting an eye!)

Yes, obviously GC is a retail store, but that’s my point- it defines itself by the products alone- its reason for being is the product and not the end result- which honestly should be to help people express themselves creatively.

You get this kind of environment from employees who want to be there, and enjoy what they do. GC had very few of these people on the sales floor. It felt like everyone was hustling for a pimp, and fighting over peanuts. It creates a deluded state among employees who start believing that it’s a valuable way to spend their time- that the commission-wages really pay off. They don’t, and that creates a lingering state of resentment among the quicker members of the sales crew.

What ended up happening was it made people resort to creative ways of making money off the store. Two or three people got canned while I was there for agreeing to take the price down significantly for the customer on a keyboard or Mac or something expensive in exchange for a little cash from the customer right then and there into the employee’s pocket.

And yes, anyone can work there- it has to be that easy because for that much work and that little pay, few people even stayed as long as I did.

So essentially, commission or no, there really was no great incentive for the employees at GC anyway. What do you expect from the combination of a low payoff for an inversely proportional amount of grunt-work. Sorry, had to get some stuff off my chest

By: High Tech Guy

High Tech Guy — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 15:56:13 +0000

What really sets GC above anyone else is the fact that you can get what you actually want to buy. If you go to a mom and pop store wanting to buy an amp, sure they will have an amp. They may even have two.

The prices are good. The selection is the best for any brick and mortar store. The people really WANT to enjoy helping you. I work for GC. Trust me. Nobody at the store level is getting rich. We just want to enjoy our jobs. Any time you feel you don’t trust a GC employee, keep that in mind. If we are so good at sales and taking your money, what the hell are we doing in THIS avenue of sales when we could be making real money in a different company with a different product? We just want to enjoy what we do, and most of us enjoy working with gear and can help you get what you need.

If you want to pay less, often you can. Just do your research. Any advertised price will be beaten. Just look it up. If nobody has a lower price then you’re already getting a deal, aren’t you? Get over the haggling. It’s lame.

Please, folks, keep in mind that in the GC stores we don’t just sell. It is a lot of work setting things up for you to play with.

So, we work hard. We have good prices. We have a good selection. We are not money grubbing bastards. (I cannot stress this enough. We make shit, and I work in one of the BIG music markets at a BIG Guitar Center.) We try to enjoy what we do. We like the gear and we want you to enjoy buying it and using it. If there is a mom and pop store in your town that can perform on all of those levels any better, you live in some kind of gear heaven.

By: Tennyson Williams

Tennyson Williams — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 19:30:49 +0000

Very interesting article. I did not know about any of this. I can’t speak on behalf of Guitar Center so much, but I seriously think that Samash needs to teach its employees about proper sales. At least at the Samash near me.

I don’t know how you can make a sale of information or product when you can’t even look the customer in the eye. I see this behavior everywhere, and its getting worse and worse. Only those who are willing to work on their people skills will ever progress in business. If I were Samash, I would hand every employee in the company a copy of “How to win friends and influence people” by Dale Carnegie – a very important read for anyone.

By: Jason Ewton

Jason Ewton — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 20:55:12 +0000

I was an assistant manager at a Guitar Center in TN, and I helped open the store. I worked there for 3 years and I can tell you these facts:

- Guitar Center trains its employees *explicitly* to rip you off.

Its not about what gear fits your needs, it’s about what gear “gips” (GP) or makes the most gross profit. That’s all they tell you. “Just roll deals, sell sell sell…” They even have things called “Gip Bombs” that are garbage instruments marked up 50% and then encourage you to sell that garbage.

As a working musician since about 16 (im 28 now), I can tell you honestly… that place is hell.