Comments on: Would you work at Guitar Center?

By: Jimi Zappa

Jimi Zappa — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 18:29:27 +0000

I work at gc right now I have been there for almost an entire year where I have been nothing but lied to. I have been number one in my store for a long time and I still don’t make any real money. I have a family and I left a job that paid well to go to gc which did nothing but blow my life savings and leave me filing for government aide. My store manager has offered me an assistant manager job that I am unable to take until I “Get my Finance together Bro” because they have strict credit standards for management. You can’t take a job if you have bad credit, which in my case has been a bi-product of working for these jerks. I also scoff at the idea of an employee discount that is impossible to use when you make no money. I hate this place and I hope to open another retail chain that makes it’s money making fun of that shit hole. If you are thinking about working there don’t if you just started quit I am probably going to take any position anywhere just to get out.

By: Oliver Chesler

Oliver Chesler — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 06:56:59 +0000

Thanks for the reply mrcxxi. As a quick update. Dan who I interviewed above still works there and really loves it. He’s also purchased a boat load of equipment!

By: mrcvxxi

mrcvxxi — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 23:16:18 +0000

I’ve worked for GC for 10 months. I agree, it does get a bad rap sometimes and yes inventory can be a issue… that said, if you can tough it through the first 30 days of outsider initiation, the discounts are great and after 3 months you are eligible for GAIN membership which can help you get phenomenal deals (although, with the base pay, you may or may not be able to utilize either). I’ve gotten tons of great advice on production and gear. I’ve also been able to return the favor on several occasions. depending on the crew your working with, GC can be a very rewarding job with good opportunities. It’s definitely not the best paying job I’ve ever had but it has greatly impacted my life in a short period of time. I can’t lie, there are days where I seriously think about grabbing the classifieds but for the most part it has been a job that I don’t dread getting ready and sometimes look forward to in the morning. In my experience, this is something that is very hard to find.

By: Audiogeek

Audiogeek — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 21:01:36 +0000

I worked in a GC store for just over a month. It was my third music store job, and by far, the WORST job I’ve ever had. There was NO sales training, and if you asked a question, you were treated like a complete idiot. I heard the phrase “fired” used about 50 times a day. The inventory was completely a mess. If the system said we had 2 of a certain item in stock, it was about a 50% chance we even had one. After 2 weeks, I knew I had to get the hell out of there.

By: Oliver Chesler

Oliver Chesler — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 07:43:07 +0000

Hi T. Thanks for your comment. I agree with what you say. Sales- commision jobs are what you make of them. My mother sells plumbing supplies. Sounds lame maybe right? Well she sells them in a nice showroom in Westchester to rich people and she makes over six figures a year. In fact she is the leading sales woman in the North East. She absolutely loves her job. So go figure! As an update my friend who is interviewed above is still enjoying his time at GC.

By: T

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 01:45:06 +0000

I’ve worked for GC for several years now. I started selling guitars at age 19. I quit college to try to make it with my band and got the gig at GC to pay the bills.

It has been said that commission sales is the Hardest, Highest paying job, or the Easiest, Lowest paying job. This is true at GC as it is anywhere. I know sales guys that make over $100k a year selling pro audio or guitars, I know other sales guys that cant seem to make more than their 6 dollar an hour draw. It all depends on how hard you work, how focused you are, and how much you thrive in a competitive (in a good way, the shark tank days of the past are gone at GC) environment.

I cannot vouch for anyone who works at GC, but I made the progression from sales, to assistant manager, to store manager within 4 years. I feel like I have a fantastic career ahead of me with a company that is moving in a positive direction.

Like any other job, it is what you make of it. The potential for a high income and a great work environment is there for the taking… but it is not given away freely, you have to earn it as you do in ANY job.

If you go into guitar center with a passion for music, gear, and helping people…then you will be successful. If you go in thinking you can play guitars and talk shop all day, you probably wont make much money.

Commission sales is not for everybody, but no job is. You can do great things and make a positive impact on the musical lives of countless people, all while making great money…if you want it, are driven, and are focused every day.

By: Homeslice Robinson

Homeslice Robinson — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 05:00:33 +0000

I work @ GC631 here in Lexington, KY. Currently I’m 22, married, and living cheaply (but very happily!). My wife has her bachelor’s degree and works full time so that obviously helps with the bills. I’m still technically in school but work between 40-50 hours a week at GC when I’m not out on the road (which is approximately a total of 4 months a year).

The benefits of working at GC are:
- The obvious discounts (just purchased a Nord Electro 2 61 key, SKB case, Monster cables, sustain pedal, random accessories, etc. for $845)
- Working in an environment of a field that you enjoy
- The fact that they (the corporation) caters to their employees in terms of ‘musical understanding.’ By that I mean I get time off for touring (going on a national tour for the whole month of June this summer), recording, and the like. It is usually no questions asked. Obviously this hinders my paycheck at the end of the month, but that is my personal decision and most of the time I make more $$ playing out anyways

The disadvantages are:
- The pay is average at best… you REALLY have to hustle to make money but the potential is totally there (we have guys who are in their early 20’s, college drop outs, making $30K+ a year as Assistant Managers. Store Managers make around $50K + benefits). I work in Pro Audio and the key to getting a good commission check is building up your clientele. In other departments (especially Accessories) it’s a little more about clerking as opposed to actually working deals. During an average day I’ll have probably a total of 10 to 15 sales but I’ll spend much more time with each individual customer (which means they will come back to specifically buy from me from now on) as opposed to the, “I can ring you up over here,” method of ’selling.’
- It is a sales job. You work on commission, you deal with asshole customers who want you to cut them a deal for no reason, etc. When it really boils down to it you are just another sleazy salesman out to make a buck… but hey, at least you’re selling stuff you actually have somewhat of an interest in.

The bottom line is that for now this job works out well. I really have no intention whatsoever to make GC my career. It does take a bad rap but I mean, it’s totally understandable… we are the Wal-Mart of music stores who put Mom & Pop out of business on an annual basis. It sucks and I hate it just as much as the other guy… but GC does more good than bad, in my opinion. There are genuinely awesome salesguys/girls who work there and believe in what they are doing. The prices are honestly the lowest you can possibly find and 99% of the time they’ll match as long as it’s from an authorized dealer. Buy from GC if you’re a realistic person living in the real world… if you can manage to avoid huge corporations and feel as if you’re making a difference then more power to you.

By: John

John — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 20:52:31 +0000

Why would you try something at GC and then buy it online? In my experience, GC will meet or beat anybody’s prices. I’d much rather buy from a store.

Sam Ash, on the other hand, does not discount as deeply as GC, in my experience. We have both GC and Sam Ash stores in the Miami area.

GC seems quite cool about giving working musicians time off for touring. Nice to know one can come back to a job after a tour, no?

By: wire to the ear » » Photos from Guitar Center. 14th Street NYC.

wire to the ear » » Photos from Guitar Center. 14th Street NYC. — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 11:04:53 +0000

[...] you remember one of the first posts on wire to the ear titled “Would you work at Guitar Center?“. A few weeks ago I was in New York and stopped by the flagship Guitar Center Store on 14th [...]

By: regend

regend — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 22:02:40 +0000

i worked in south bay, CA for a few weeks.
at the time there was a competitor down the street so emphasis was on getting as much product out the door as possible to poor unfortunates who rolled in not knowing anything about gear. i did pro audio and keyboards. the goal was 25,000 a month. bundling products was key…buy an item and stack the accessories…our boss actually said it was ok to hustle customers outside of GC like finding people who buy PA gear and instruments for churches. that was the key for me. in LA there are hundreds and hundreds of spanish speaking evangelical churches with bands…i would tell them to come see me because i could hook them up. they would buy drums and guitars and i would take 50% because it was from another department….then tack on my own pro audio and keyboard stuff. it eventually became a bore. i make more money now doing less in the IT world.