Re: Guitar Center report.


"John Shaughnessy" <johngoogleplexNOSPAM@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:66wkf.1614$7b4.445039@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Walked into GC today for the first time in a few weeks, and I was
> instantly
> confronted with a swarm of waiters. Seems they've instituted a new dress
> code - black dress pants, black shoes, white button down shirt. About as
> UN-
> rock and roll as you can get. It DID make me feel like ordering an
> appetizer
> though.
>
> They've also gotten a lot dumber too. seems like most of the guys I knew
> there are gone and replaced by 16 year old morons. I was in there to
> scavenge a shipping box, but on impulse I decided to buy a couple of drum
> mutes that were on sale. They wouldn't take my VISA card without ID, which
> I
> didn't have because I wasn't planning on making a purchase (and which is
> both useless in stopping theft and illegal to require me to produce on
> demand, but that's another thread).
>
> Fair enough, kid's just doing his job. But the thing is, I gave him my
> name
> and address which pulled up fine in their computer. He's got my
> transaction
> history. People who work there know me. And I hate to sound like a totally
> arrogant ***, but any musician with a clue in this city knows me or has
> heard of me.
>
> He told me how sorry he was. I told him I'm sorry he's gonna lose the
> commission because I'm going to buy them at Sam Ash now, which I did with
> ZERO hassle.
>
> There is NOTHING in this world that makes me crazier than blind obedience
> to
> authority; I would have driven to the Vic Firth factory myself if I had to
> just to prove the point. Yeah, I know it's not the kid's fault; that
> bull*** starts at the top. What it tells me is that these guys don't have
> the power to make "point of sale" decisions anymore, which is sad. I told
> my
> buddy at SA the story, and he had a good laugh. Apparently our CG is near
> the bottom or dead last in the whole chain.
>
> Sorry, I didn't mean for this to turn into a credit card rant. I was
> actually wondering if this is a chainwide shift, or just a store thing.
>
>
It's the face of corporate America and unfortunately it's getting to be a
fact of life. Big box stores only want clerks to fill orders and hopefully
there are enough personable operators who realize the value of servicing a
niche market and can survive and/or help to support a broader supply base.
If you are lucky enough to find a trustworthy and knowledgeable person who
can not only service your needs but has latitude or is independent, treat
them like royalty and shower praise and gifts upon them. If the local Sam
Ash manager has a good attitude and can produce results for the corporate
heads then obviously good for you but especially good for them. There's
nothing wrong with a chain. The problem is when there's an *** in charge
and it's


.