George's Music — Local services in Springfield Township

UPDATE: After approximately 3 years of guitar lessons at George’s, I had to stop supporting their business. A new manager came onboard after Kevin left. His name is Doug. While every employee had a good habit of greeting everyone upon entering/exiting the store, Doug did not. He NEVER would greet me upon entering or leaving the store. Every Monday, I would enter the store and speak, and he would literally ignore me. At times, it was just the two of us on the floor, so there is no way he could claim he didn’t know I was speaking to him. I tested my theory repeatedly, and he failed with flying colors each time. Clearly, Doug had an issue with my presence. I don’t know if it was because I am a woman or because I am black. Maybe both. Either way, if Doug can’t get along with every kind of people, then he should not work with the public. Of course when I reported my concerns, all Bill (the man who hired Doug), had to say was , he hired the guy, and he doesn’t see him as “that” kind of guy, and that he could change my lesson to a different day. Changing my lesson to a different day, does NOTHING to solve the problem. Instead Bill just offered the usual justifications for poor behavior. What? Was he going to admit that the guy is racist, sexist jerk? I believe they had 2 women instructors working there at the time. One of which was my guitar instructor, whom I really like. She is great. When I informed her that I quit lessons at George’s, she informed me, that she also had just given her two weeks notice. Oh the irony! Well, the good news is, I was able to pick up lessons elsewhere, but with the same instructor 😉 Since then, I have not, nor will I, step a foot through any of their doors, EVER again. For obvious reasons, it took a long while to update this review, but it needed to be done.

I attended a free group lesson on Saturday afternoon. Kevin, was our class instructor, and he is good (and patient), at what he does. He provided a good deal of insight and information, in a short amount of time, all while addressing questions from the group, AND teaching us, our first chords. He made me feel comfortable about my desires to learn the guitar, at the back half of my life lol!!! Kevin, also repeatedly thanked me for my patience while he assisted two customers (also from class) ahead of me. I wasn’t sure what to expect, upon arrival, but I quickly experienced a very welcoming atmosphere at George’s. I made sure to take advantage of scheduling a free lesson for the following week, with high hopes of continuing lessons at George’s. I’m...

Felt compelled to leave this lengthy story/review after the amazing service I received not once, but twice in the short timeframe I went to George’s music. I’ve always wanted to learn guitar and while I’ve had several different guitars in my life, I’ve never really committed to playing and learning, and then I would sell them shortly after. Now that I’m a bit older, I wanted to really get back into it and force myself to try it at least 10 minutes a night. I knew I needed a guitar so of course I went to George’s because I live right around the corner. Associates George and Chris were so helpful in getting me an acoustic/electric guitar that caught my eye, which was also a very reasonable price. They were very knowledgeable but they were also very humble in knowing that I had no idea what I was talking about while looking. I thought for sure I would encounter some smugness from the staff because I had zero idea of any thing guitar related, but I was treated courteously and everyone was very friendly there. George had mentioned that perhaps I would be interested in an electric guitar as they are more versatile and a little easier to learn on than the acoustic, but I was hell-bent on walking out with this beautiful blue acoustic guitar. Fast forward two days, I should’ve taken George’s advice, because after many other people told me the same thing regarding the electrics, I was now realizing I should have gotten an electric guitar instead. Why the long story you ask? Because when I went back with the new guitar and case that I had just bought, I met another associate, Austin, who didn’t hesitate to find me an electric guitar in the similar price range I wanted to spend and a different case that was more suited to the electric guitar plus an amp!! On top of all that I ended up getting 20 extra dollars back on my card for the price difference. I got an amazing value and the same great service even after I admitted to them that I should’ve listened to their advice to begin with. Do yourself a favor and go to George’s music, if, for no other reason, you’re going to get honest and true people who genuinely care about your needs and preferences. George, Austin, and Chris, thank you so much for helping a newbie like me get passionate...

I recommend George’s at Springfield for their good products and excellent customer service. George’s has been around a long time for these two reasons. I recently purchased a set of Audio Technica professional headphones from George’s in Springfield. Here was my experience: After researching headphones on the internet, I called early in the morning to see if I could demo some brands I was interested in, and was told I could. The call was very brief. I didn’t get to the store until many hours later, almost closing time. But the salesman, Austin, remembered me from the call. That made a strong impression on me — after all, it was the end of the day; and how many non-distinct calls like that come in all throughout the day? Austin helped me narrow my search, but then got detained by a phone call. Another salesman took over; and I was told for the first time that the store had a “no demonstration” policy for headphones. Looked like I’d made the trip for nothing. Normally, at that point, I would have been inclined to leave and take my money elsewhere, especially after I’d called ahead to make sure I could try out headphones. But the salesman was professional. He made an effort to listen and consider the conversation I’d had with Austin. He took the time to consider what I was trying to do, to accommodate my request, and come up with a way to honor Austin’s invitation for me to try out headphones without disturbing store policy. Within a few minutes the two brands of headphones I was interested in were on my head. Austin rejoined the demo, and was particularly knowledgeable about both brands (and about mixing), and he was able to give me insight into the reliability of the AT’s for the long haul. I was impressed by his expertise, and the interest both of them took in what I wanted to do with my music. I ended up going forward with the purchase, not just because of the exceptional quality of sound from the headphones but also because of the exceptional customer service by these two gentleman. They were very sincere, and they sold me a high quality product that I am very happy with. I hope the reader has a similar good experience. Thanks, to Austin...