My truly horrendous Guitar Center experience!

B

BillH2121

Junior Member
I have been looking for a used Sonor Vintage kit in WMP. Found one at an out of state GC. Sent an email to the GC store making an offer at reduced price. Shortly thereafter, a guy from the out of state store responded with a counter offer and said if I “pulled the trigger” he would call me and place my order. I thanked him and asked that he let me think about the counter offer. Later that day, I sent a follow up email accepting his counter offer and asked what number to call to finalize order. the GC salesman then advised that I should call the general customer service number to place order.
I called the number and after a 20 minute hold, was told they couldn’t process an order for a used item at a discount - only the person at the GC store could do that. I emailed the GC salesman and advised he had to sell to me directly, the general CS rep could not sell me the drum set at a discount. The GS salesman said no, call CS and they are happy to sell to me. Called general CS number and, again, on hold for 20 minutes. Different CS person said they couldn’t process sale at discount - only store salesman could. Texted salesman and again informed that he needed to call me and sell to me directly. I received no response.
I was pretty pissed at that point. But next day, I calmed downed - I looked for another Sonor Vintage set online but none found. I sent another email to the salesman yesterday in late afternoon again telling him he needed to contact me and sell the set directly. Today, I waited for a response from salesman - nothing, nada.
I can’t believe a business has made it this difficult for me to give them a couple thousand bucks. WTH??!!
 
I wouldn't try to order anything online from GC right now. With what's going on, there is only chaos.

Most of the stores are closed, and my local store shows no inventory when normally it's around 5,000 items.
It should get back to normal before too long.
 
Now isn't the time to expect stellar customer service. Many organizations are running on fumes. I don't buy through Guitar Center, but I do through Musician's Friend, a subsidiary of Guitar Center. Musician's Friend is usually prompt and professional, but they, too, are operating with reduced manpower at present. I do understand your frustration, though. You could be dealing with a combination of both reduced manpower and incompetence. Delayed delivery is one thing. Having to jump through hoops to make a purchase is another. Good luck securing the kit.
 
Yes, I’m understanding of the fact we are not operating under normal circumstances. However, the salesman was quick to respond until it was time for him to follow thru on his promise to call me and place order - then things went sideways. And now, nothing!
 
What a shameful experience. Nobody should be required to jump through hoops in order to buy something, especially now that businesses large and small are in such dire straits.

I had a similar experience (involving MUCH less money, though) while signing on to a new internet provider. As usual, the problem resulted from a minimally-equipped tech "advisor" with a don't-care, lazy and evasive attitude toward customer service. Simply hanging up on the "advisor" and calling back for a different advisor made all the difference in the world, and turned a frustrating experience into a happy one.

Changing sales reps will likely resolve your situation, too. Call - don't text - the GC store that has the drum set that you want to buy and ask to talk directly to the manager. Be cool headed and explain what happened to you and request that the manager honor the agreed-upon price and arrange for payment and shipment.

If the manager of the store doesn't readily and happily follow through on the sale, it will be time to shake the dust off your feet and look for the set elsewhere. And I would certainly call or text GC HQ and express your anger and frustration over being treated so shabbily. Hopefully it won't come to this. But committing the unforgivable sin of retail (ie, failure to make a customer happy) must not go unpunished.

Good luck, and please keep us updated as this story unfolds.

GeeDeeEmm
 
gdmoore28 said:
What a shameful experience. Nobody should be required to jump through hoops in order to buy something, especially now that businesses large and small are in such dire straits.

I had a similar experience (involving MUCH less money, though) while signing on to a new internet provider. As usual, the problem resulted from a minimally-equipped tech "advisor" with a don't-care, lazy and evasive attitude toward customer service. Simply hanging up on the "advisor" and calling back for a different advisor made all the difference in the world, and turned a frustrating experience into a happy one.

Changing sales reps will likely resolve your situation, too. Call - don't text - the GC store that has the drum set that you want to buy and ask to talk directly to the manager. Be cool headed and explain what happened to you and request that the manager honor the agreed-upon price and arrange for payment and shipment.

If the manager of the store doesn't readily and happily follow through on the sale, it will be time to shake the dust off your feet and look for the set elsewhere. And I would certainly call or text GC HQ and express your anger and frustration over being treated so shabbily. Hopefully it won't come to this. But committing the unforgivable sin of retail (ie, failure to make a customer happy) must not go unpunished.

Good luck, and please keep us updated as this story unfolds.

GeeDeeEmm
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Thank you for you advice. Here is an additional frustrating thing - I can’t call the store. The store phones are all forwarded to the central GC customer service number. One of the customer service reps tried to contact the salesman and couldn’t. My only contact with the store is the email with the salesman. I refer to the guy as “salesman” - his actual title is “customer service manager” which makes all this even more ironic!

Actually, I’ve pretty much given up on the drums - I posted here to blow off some steam.
 
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BillH2121 said:
Sorry - I don't mean on the Sonors in general - I meant give up on getting the ones at GC. I'll keep looking and score some eventually.
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Oh okay. I thought you were giving up drumming because you were so pissed at GC. Don't do that!
 
***UPDATE***

After my bad experience last week attempting to purchase the Sonor Vintage set at the Jackson, Miss, GC location, I spent several days trying to locate another used WMP set or another color Vintage set at a price similar to that I agreed to with GC. I could not find a set so on Tuesday evening at about 8:30, I decided to call the central GC Customer Service number and "go up the chain" until I found someone that would address my problem and sell me the set. The CS representative I first spoke to stated she could not help me but that she was willing to contact her superior (unlike the other two CS reps I previously spoke to ) and see what could be done. It took some time and they had me forward all the emails between me and the Jackson GC employee to prove my story. Bottomline - GC honored the deal the Jackson employee and I reached, the drums were shipped the following day, and they are scheduled to be delivered to my home tomorrow. I would like to give a shoutout to Jess at GC Customer Service for helping me and now I'm ready to enjoy those Sonor drums!
 
BillH2121 said:
***UPDATE***

After my bad experience last week attempting to purchase the Sonor Vintage set at the Jackson, Miss, GC location, I spent several days trying to locate another used WMP set or another color Vintage set at a price similar to that I agreed to with GC. I could not find a set so on Tuesday evening at about 8:30, I decided to call the central GC Customer Service number and "go up the chain" until I found someone that would address my problem and sell me the set. The CS representative I first spoke to stated she could not help me but that she was willing to contact her superior (unlike the other two CS reps I previously spoke to ) and see what could be done. It took some time and they had me forward all the emails between me and the Jackson GC employee to prove my story. Bottomline - GC honored the deal the Jackson employee and I reached, the drums were shipped the following day, and they are scheduled to be delivered to my home tomorrow. I would like to give a shoutout to Jess at GC Customer Service for helping me and now I'm ready to enjoy those Sonor drums!
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Awesome update! I am sorry that you had to go through that experience. But enjoy your Sonor kit!
 
That’s great that it all worked out. We’re in unprecedented times and a lot of people are out of work, or working very little, so I’m being very forgiving to people right now. It’s nice they stepped up and took care of you though. What business would turn down money these days? It’s tough out there.
 
bonerpizza said:
Glad it worked out!

I'm a GC employee (I teach lessons not in sales) and all I can say in defense of GC is that right now it's very hectic! The GC stores are supporting online orders for GC and Musician's Friend because of the Musician's Friend warehouse is/was closed (not sure if it still is) and at most stores it's just one person doing the packing and shipping.
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I can confirm that authorities have shut down one of Musician's Friend's warehouses on the basis that it doesn't serve an essential purpose at present. We all have to be patient with access to gear right now. We have a more important pandemic to address.
 
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