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Comments:
Robert Cox
Guitar Center, Maybe Bigger Isn’t Better
We have all heard the claims that big business has stolen away part of what makes our country great. Discounted prices have become so overwhelmingly important, that service and integrity have been thrown to the wayside. This is what many of my elders and others who remember fondly “the better days” would have us think. After a visit to the local Guitar Center, I began to recognize there may be some truth in those statements.
In May of this year I went to a Guitar Center store to look around. My birthday was coming up and I felt like buying myself something (pathetic, I know). I looked around at the extensive amount of merchandise they carry and decided upon the right item for me. It was a Martin X0001, a very nice and somewhat expensive guitar. I made my purchase, grabbed my new toy, and headed off. I have to say the visit itself was not unpleasant, aside from my wallet being quite a bit lighter afterwards. The problem began once I got home.
After playing the instrument for a longer period of time, I began to notice that it had a string that did not ring clearly on a particular fret. The guitar came with a thirty-day guarantee, so I wasn’t worried about any potential issues with return. I decided to take it back to the store. Upon speaking with the manager, I was assured that the problem would be fixed within a couple hours.
After a short period of time, the manager called to let me know I could come by and pick up my guitar. As I walked in the door, I noticed a previously unseen employee standing beside the manager, waiting for me. When I approached, the manager smiled and handed me the instrument, but I couldn’t help but notice the other employee glowering at me. As I began to walk out he said, “What did you do to it?”
Having just bought the guitar a few days before, and obviously not having the skills to work on them, I was somewhat surprised by the question. “No I haven’t worked on it, that’s why I brought it here,” I said.
“Well this bridge has been filed down and glued in and Martin (the guitar manufacturer) doesn’t do that. And we sure as hell don’t.”
Well if I didn’t do it, and they didn’t do it, I guess that only left one option. I asked him, “So are you saying that someone snuck in my apartment in the middle of the night, and tweaked the setup of my guitar?”
“Yeah, I guess they must have,” was his reply. I paused for a moment, being a little stunned by not only his arrogance but also by his manager’s lack of restraint. Composed, I said, “Honestly, I don’t appreciate the way I am being spoken to, and I will never be back.” And I haven’t.
I admit, it is nice to go to a store and have all the choices, better prices, and flashy advertising. But never once have I been to a local musical shop and received treatment like that. I must also admit that Guitar Center as a corporation cannot be held completely responsible as they cannot monitor every single employee. But the purpose of the hierarchy of employee, manager, supervisor, etc., is to make sure that these individual mistakes are taken care of on a micro to a macro level. The manager had witnessed the entire situation and did nothing. To me, that speaks volumes about Guitar Center as a whole.
I’m sure most of you are like me; you work hard for your money. I don’t want to pay someone to treat me like garbage. I also don’t want to go broke trying to support every small business that has its doors open. But what I can do and what I will do is stay away from the places that take my money, then turn around and treat me as though my business does not matter. If that is the case, then I will gladly pay a few more dollars to receive the respect that I give and deserve in return.
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Visitors to the site are reminded that the details contained within user comments are uncorroborated and as such should not be read as fact but as the opinion of the person who left the comment.
Comments:
Guitar Center, Maybe Bigger Isn’t Better
We have all heard the claims that big business has stolen away part of what makes our country great. Discounted prices have become so overwhelmingly important, that service and integrity have been thrown to the wayside. This is what many of my elders and others who remember fondly “the better days” would have us think. After a visit to the local Guitar Center, I began to recognize there may be some truth in those statements.
In May of this year I went to a Guitar Center store to look around. My birthday was coming up and I felt like buying myself something (pathetic, I know). I looked around at the extensive amount of merchandise they carry and decided upon the right item for me. It was a Martin X0001, a very nice and somewhat expensive guitar. I made my purchase, grabbed my new toy, and headed off. I have to say the visit itself was not unpleasant, aside from my wallet being quite a bit lighter afterwards. The problem began once I got home.
After playing the instrument for a longer period of time, I began to notice that it had a string that did not ring clearly on a particular fret. The guitar came with a thirty-day guarantee, so I wasn’t worried about any potential issues with return. I decided to take it back to the store. Upon speaking with the manager, I was assured that the problem would be fixed within a couple hours.
After a short period of time, the manager called to let me know I could come by and pick up my guitar. As I walked in the door, I noticed a previously unseen employee standing beside the manager, waiting for me. When I approached, the manager smiled and handed me the instrument, but I couldn’t help but notice the other employee glowering at me. As I began to walk out he said, “What did you do to it?”
Having just bought the guitar a few days before, and obviously not having the skills to work on them, I was somewhat surprised by the question. “No I haven’t worked on it, that’s why I brought it here,” I said.
“Well this bridge has been filed down and glued in and Martin (the guitar manufacturer) doesn’t do that. And we sure as hell don’t.”
Well if I didn’t do it, and they didn’t do it, I guess that only left one option. I asked him, “So are you saying that someone snuck in my apartment in the middle of the night, and tweaked the setup of my guitar?”
“Yeah, I guess they must have,” was his reply. I paused for a moment, being a little stunned by not only his arrogance but also by his manager’s lack of restraint. Composed, I said, “Honestly, I don’t appreciate the way I am being spoken to, and I will never be back.” And I haven’t.
I admit, it is nice to go to a store and have all the choices, better prices, and flashy advertising. But never once have I been to a local musical shop and received treatment like that. I must also admit that Guitar Center as a corporation cannot be held completely responsible as they cannot monitor every single employee. But the purpose of the hierarchy of employee, manager, supervisor, etc., is to make sure that these individual mistakes are taken care of on a micro to a macro level. The manager had witnessed the entire situation and did nothing. To me, that speaks volumes about Guitar Center as a whole.
I’m sure most of you are like me; you work hard for your money. I don’t want to pay someone to treat me like garbage. I also don’t want to go broke trying to support every small business that has its doors open. But what I can do and what I will do is stay away from the places that take my money, then turn around and treat me as though my business does not matter. If that is the case, then I will gladly pay a few more dollars to receive the respect that I give and deserve in return.
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