Guitar Center — Attraction in New York

I loved coming to this guitar center, and i purchased quite a few guitars and gear from them, however, i now firmly believe that this is the worst place to buy or get your guitar setup. I am writing this review now, as opposed to right after when this repair incident happened because i am still deeply bothered by this guitar center's customer service. I am also writing this because of a rude customer service experience i just had.

A year ago i got my guitar setup, one of my most precious ones. The guy, i believe his name was Raymond, called me the day after and said that he was done, HOWEVER, he noted that there was a noticable "scratch" he left behind and because of that, he is knocking down the price. The day i picked it up, i noted it was not a scratch, rather he chipped the wood. I spoke to him about it and he seemed annoyed when i called him out about it, down playing it saying it's a small "scratch" and he already knocked the price down. Spoke to the manager after, guy said he's sorry and that he can't do much besides also giving me some things equating to 30 bucks or something for compensation. He said because the technicians are "their own thing", whatever that means. I wanted them to pay for the restoration of the "scratch" the moron left behind, not "free" stuff and price reduction for the setup, i don't want an unsightly wood chip on my expensive guitar. They said they can't do that. So i hesitantly took his offer and the "discount" given because of the lack of care that went into the setup when Raymond was handling my baby. To this day, i have been looking for someone to fix that chip on my guitar locally, hence why i am also leaving this review, however, i cannot find anyone unfortunately.

In reference to another unfortunate experience i had today, i was looking into possibly purchasing another guitar at some point later in the week, one within the 2K range, i saw one i liked, and so i asked a guy if he can take it off the the wall. Once he got it off the wall, he asked if i was looking to purchase it, i said not right now, but was rather looking just to play it. He said unfortunately "you cannot just play it", and said that at most, i can have 5 minutes with it but that he has to be close by. I said that was fine. In the middle of me starting to tune it, the guy stepped away into the main area for 1 minute, and then quickly returned and asked if i was done with it. Extremely annoyed I replied "i haven't even properly tuned it yet". He said "yes, i'm sorry, unfortunately we cannot have you just play a guitar in this price range, and that any other guitar that is not latched on the wall is fine". Not wanting to cause any trouble, i handed it back to him and told him to just take it back. I was extremely annoyed and continued browsing and told my girlfriend over the phone the way i was treated is so stupid, as i was on the phone with her this whole time. As he walked away, he quickly turned back and said "excuse me? Is there anything else i can help you with?" as if almost trying to intimidate me. I know he heard he heard me, and so i replied, "i'm actually still just browsing, but i think your "policy" is ridiculous, i don't understand it." Many of the associates know me by face, and know i'm a frequent customer here and not someone looking to cause trouble. Anyway, in a rude and disrespectful tone, he replied, in spanish mind you that i unfortunately cannot do anything if you don't understand the policy, and walked away.

I'm done with this guitar center. I've purchased alot of gear and guitars from this place throughout the years, but never again. I go to Sam Ash in Manhattan for setups and all purchases now and have never been happier with their service. Sam Ash tech guys in Manhattan genuinely care about the well being, in terms of both the playability and aesthetics of their client's guitars. The customer service of this place is garbage, and unless you want your expensive guitars dented or chipped by Raymond, don't let this place setup any of...

Loved this store, as most of its staff is mostly super friendly and helpful, but recently had uncomfortable experience, where I returned something & was questioned about it in a way that felt as if being accused of doing some kind of free rental scheme or something, as I had returned something small a few weeks prior. This was in exchange for a new more expensive purchase anyway. Also the reality is have PURCHASED MANY thousands at this store.

So over the last few years I have purchased practically a recording studios worth of gear between GuitarCenter and a few other stores, which I still have in studio. Many high end tube amps, Kemper, various guitars, flagship electric drums with almost a cars value in components, tons of high end cabling, PAs, various acoustic drum shells, mics, compressors, and more. I am mentioning that as it should be obvious when making such high quantities of expensive purchases over years, there will be at least a few occasions when things don't work out perfectly. Some examples being One case was when I was sold a used PA for which I was told they could find me the the included case; this also which was listed in the receipt. They couldn't find it, and it was not purchase-able by itself even, so I returned it. Instead bought an upgraded brand new one from the same store anyway. -Or when I purchased 2 cymbal sets asking if I could compare them in my kit to keep the more suited one. I did and followed this by purchasing yet 2 other sets of cymbals the week or so after. I bought additional cymbals and like 3 snares that same week also. Ended keeping all except one cymbal set that was redundant. Or when I purchased some cheap drum hardware which I was told should fit in the Tama gigbag and could return it if it didn't. It didn't so instead purchased a more expensive yamaha hardware. FINALLY THIS, the case where i had the disappointing experience for which I am making this review. This time I picked up a small eDrum set for my nephew for Christmas. It was not for my studio so I was a bit more budget conscious. I had asked if I could try a better unit that was out there in the store as a floor model or something but they said they could not connect it, so instead i picked one of their cheaper sets which was already connected for testing. When I got the chance to compare it in my quiet studio environment it did not perform as I had thought.Compared it to my other ekit, and acoustics it lacked. So per the above returned it, and ended buying something over 2x more expensive anyways. This is when the disappointing experience occurred, with the same sales person that had sold me PA that they could not find the included case for in first bullet point.

SO THE UNCOMFORTABLE EXPERIENCE WAS when I have bought literally thousands of dollars in equipment from GuitarCenter over time; I was asked in what felt like a condescending tone "why are you returning stuff, aren't we getting you the right stuff". Why was I told I could compare two sets of cymbals, to make my choice then. Or why was I told I could see if the hardware works for the gigbag I had and if not return it and change it. But more importantly why ask in a manner as if implying that I am just returning stuff & not buying anything, when the opposite is true. I think I may just switch to purchasing from Sweetwater or something...

I don’t visit Guitar Center locations often, but when I occasionally do, I’m reminded why I don’t go to this store more often. This location, and it seems is no exception when compared to other locations, is understaffed. The staff has completely inadequate training in both the technical knowledge of the products and equipment sold at the store as well as in the area of social customer service skills. As for the inventory, this location actually has a fair amount of really decent instruments and equipment, both used and new. The issue for me is that, a) the instruments are clearly not brought up to spec, inspected and setup well before being put out on the floor. I examined a few guitars that had distinct technical and/or cosmetic flaws while the price tags on them had zero acknowledgement or appropriate compensation for them. There are so many guitar stores this day and age that sell the same great used equipment but for better prices, so I see absolutely no advantage to buying from Guitar Center. b) most of the instruments are locked up and a sales associate must be located in order for a customer to try these instruments. I understand why this is, but again, the store is grossly understaffed, and it took a fair amount of time to get assistance, so this fact alone makes this store an entire inconvenience. c) the acoustic room in particular is a really warm and inviting space in particular. However, the instruments for sale are so poorly maintained, severely out of tune and have old strings on them. The most noticeably off-putting thing about this particular store is its location in Queens. The shopping center in which it is located is old, somewhat rundown and in desperate need of renovations. The elevator from the parking garage was out of order. The shopping center is, quite frankly, kind of deserted and depressing— not an inviting location for a musical instrument store. I do think GC should really reconsider how it trains its staff. More of its efforts should be put into education sales employees on their range of products and how to appropriately interface with customers. GC feels so stuck in the past in this way, and overly corporate feeling. There is a laziness to the way this business is run and it feels so bland. And the prices are just not competitive, especially for the used gear which seems to be a focus of GC this day and age. Guitar Center is just a disappointing experience more often than not, and this location was not much of an exception. It’s a shame because I think with not a huge amount of capital and effort, this business could definitely be revitalized. It just feels like on the corporate level, nobody...