Victor Litz Music Center — Local services in Gaithersburg

Walked in to request that VL get a lefty Martin DX for my son to try before he buys it. The DX is $600 and my son is not buying it without trying, which I felt is smart on his part. I thought that as a good client (already bought a lefty fender, ovation, and many other things) and neighbor VL owner would be amiable. Although I recognize that bringing in a lefty guitar and not making a sale is a risk, I might have been willing to pay for a reasonable fee. However the attitude of the owners (father and son) was chocking, and I had never felt this small at VL. I guess they change customer service as they change store layout!

I was told to find another store to try the guitar (no store in the region has it) and then come back to buy it at VL. Recession anyone? Why would you send your regular customers away? Don't you have thousands of unsold instruments waiting for the risk of not being sold already? So the answer was "only 1 out of 100 customers are lefty, so usually we suggest you play as a righty" and "if I bring a lefty guitar it will be a final sale". Way to go for superior customer service!

Even more surprising for a neighborhood store was the owner's son calling dad to the rescue in front of other customers, and the dad saying: "I will get involved because i can almost hear the voices raising". Almost? What is that supposed to mean? Are you acting as a bouncer? Customer that attempt to explain their needs to an immature, undertrained, unwilling, opinionated, and self-righteous employee are thrown out?

You just lost a customer Victor Litz. Hope the next one you gain to replace me...

Victor Litz is an absolute gem.

I was having some equipment issues after a frustrating experience at a national music store chain, and the folks at Victor Litz helped me get back to playing in no time. They ("J") patiently answered all of my questions and went out of their way to make sure I was taken care of. The exceptional staff are what truly make this store great.

In terms of merchandise, Victor Litz has a vast supply of new and used instruments of just about every variety in addition to gear, accessories, and other equipment. I was so impressed by what I saw when I went in for repairs that I returned a few days later to shop for an upgrade to my starter bass. I called ahead of time, explained a general idea of what I wanted, and the staff ("M") recommended basses that completely met my needs. They did such a good job matching me with a bass and priced it so competitively that I bought it right then. I had a very minor issue with it (not the fault of Victor Litz), and when I brought it back in, they ("L") took care of me right away. I've been in bliss enjoying my new bass.

Honestly, I can't say enough good things about Victor Litz. I've even already signed up for lessons there, thanks to the extremely kind and friendly lesson coordinator ("L").

If you're a musician in the Gaithersburg area, do yourself a favor and visit Victor Litz; you...

I'll give you guys the extra star for selection, but I was very disappointed during my last visit. Firstly, you guys have GOT to do something about your absurd wait at the front desk. Just an acknowledgement of it would be nice.

I waited with 3 other people for about 15 minutes before one of us was finally helped or even spoken to. When it finally was my turn, I asked for advisement on some strings for my P Bass. I was recommended some D'addarrios, which I purchased and took home to string. When I got them on my bass, I discovered the strings had major action problems with open notes, and they tapired off toward the top of the bass before the nut.

So I came back in to find out what was wrong with the strings (while waiting with no acknowledgement, again) Turns out that your first associate sold me strings for a SHORT SCALE bass. I asked to exchange them. I was told, "Uh, well, these strings are cut, so we can't." No apology for the issue. Just that excuse.

You totally could, bro. You guys made the mistake with selling me the wrong strings, and you could have easily made this right by swapping me for the correct strings. I would never have cut them if I knew they were the wrong strings.

Long story short, if you can't at least trust these guys' advisement, you sure can't trust their customer service. Won't be going...