Re: guitar ctr vs. Sam @$$


Jay Swartzfeger wrote:

After going on a quest for a 14" Evans ST dry, I've come to a conclusion
at least for my area. Sam Ash hires some rude kids that don't have any
customer service skills, or desire to help anyone. After visiting the 4
stores nearest me, I've concluded that the times I've shopped their
stores in the past, haven't been isolated incidents. Went to just 1
Guitar Center store, and not only found the item in stock, but was able
to talk shop with a salesman that knew I was only there for a $16 item.
Talked about other products, bands, generally a short BS session without
the beer-n-peanuts. I've shopped GS before, but SA was closer in most
instances so I went there. NEVER again.

Is this the same throughout the country??

It is around here. SA management (which I have bitched about
extensively here in the past) is very dizzy and doesn't stress customer
service at ALL! Hell, at our store they don't even bother to put price
tags on things. I guess the point is "if you have to ask you can't
afford it". Salesperson: "Can I help you?" Me: "Yes, how about you help
me by putting some price tags on these things so I can figure out what
they cost?" Salesperson: <looks sheepish> Heh. Heh" Bottom line: if you
are looking over heads or sticks of which there are a million, you have
to drag a salesclone over and ask them the price of EACH one you might
want which they then have to try to find on the computer! Makes buying
that kind of stuff there almost impossible unless you don't care what
things cost. Usually prices are the best in town though, which makes it
a place to buy ambassador heads etc.

But on the other hand, I must admit I've bought a TON of expensive crap
at SA. Same reason. They have these stupid-cheap sales from time to
time and even better the worthless management has a habit of not
knowing what stuff is really worth. So I've picked up all manner of
truly cool demonstrators etc. for pennies on the dollar. They haven't
had many stupid cheap sales lately, but I presume one of these days
they get another truckload of some closeout and there'll be another.
So this is the other side of the coin.

GC on the other hand stresses customer service. They really truly try
to make the customer happy. The sales guys seem much better and more
knowledgable too. I presume this is because GC is a happier place to
work than SA. And yeah, I've got a lot of gear here for a song too.
The big problem with our GC is that when they have a stupid-cheap sale,
it's always gone before the sale even starts. They just had a mic sale
where I tried to get one, so the sales guy trying to please me, ordered
it right from the factory. OK. Only, it's discontinued at the factory
so I'll never get it! Now I'm trying to get them to put the money back
in my Visa account. OF course if I see something I'd really like about
the same price, I can parlay this incident into a big fat discount
because of my "customer dissatisfaction". Otherwise I just get my money
back and wait for the next sale. At Sam Ash you'd have no advantage no
matter how unhappy you were. They simply don't give a rat's ass about
how happy the customer is.

I've actually had worse experiences with the so-called
'service-oriented' mom & pops. One M&P in my life has been a great
experience where I would pay more $ simply to support them, lean on them
for knowledge, support, etc. Many have been arrogant pricks that simply
charge MSRP because they can get away with it and they know it.

Of course, in Cowtown, if you want any kind of "pro" stuff like say
weird drumheads, Columbus Pro Percussion is the place to go. They don't
match box store prices but have what you want with real knowledgeable
advice if you want it. But that isn't to say I haven't had my
differences there too. I recall a big hassle when they didn't want to
honor my Gibralter warranty because I bought it at Midwest. I pointed
out that all the Gibralter ads pointedly say "take warranty repairs to
ANY authorized Gibralter dealer"! On the threat of me raising hell with
Gibralter, they caved and I was VERY pleased with the service. In fact
though we've had a few of these go rounds, I must say that there was
NEVER a single incident where at the end of the day I was unhappy for
any reason! OK, when "people" are involved you have to expect an
argument or two, but if you always are satisfied in the end, how can
you complain? CPP rules! Jim Rupp is a great drummer and great guy and
I wish I could buy everything thing there, but fact is my money doesn't
grow on trees so if his prices are higher than I can find elsewhere, I
simply have to chose the best place from *my* perspecive. Sometimes
it's CPP, sometimes not.

And if you want something REALLY weird and it has to be ordered, I'll
tell you hands down George's is THE place to go. George has ALWAYS
given me a great price on ordered stuff (CPP always charges list for
ordered things) plus (and this is MOST important!) George takes these
orders seriously. He follows up and makes sure you get it in a timely
fashion (which often depends on a bad attitude by the company). Other
stores seem to regard these "special" orders as something you place and
then forget about until the customers starts bitching months later and
you discover nobody bothered to even place the order. My experience has
been that George Rules! He can get anything and the price will be good
and he won't rest until the order is complete and you are happy. I'm
sorry there is just nothing else a person could ask for except that his
store was closer.

I bought my Mapex Orions at Lang Music which is another "mom and pop"
kind of store. Great price. But they are more "real" mom and pop in
that they don't really have much of a drum stock and lean toward the
higher profit beginner guitar stuff like many of these stores do. I
pick up a lot of doodads there, but not much else unless I see a used
buy.
The owner is a great guy and every time I've asked for his "best price"
I've never been unhappy with what he said!

The bottom line is that you just have to know what stuff is worth and
what you want. If you see it at a great price at ANY store, you buy it.
I go to the stores to get stuff at the best prices I can. Often that
means used gear which many stores don't carry. As for jerky sales
staff? Hey, I'm there for gear not to have my ego stroked! What do I
care how they want to act? And as for "service" at my age I probably
know more answers to "questions" than the kids at any of these stores.

There are a few other so-called "mom and pop" stores in town but they
are places to avoid. These are the one that always charge MSRP and try
to take advantage of newbies and their parents. They often have these
kick-back deals with schools where they overcharge for instruments and
then kick money back into various slush funds. Very seedy businesses
not worthy of anyone's support!


Benj

.

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