I don’t often go to Guitar Centers. In fact I’m really not a big fan of big box stores in general. If I need socks, or some item that is a no brainer, I go for the place that has the best price, and that’s closest. If I need info and want an educated & experienced opinion, I’ll go to a specialty shop, or a small business that’s known for good service, which is getting harder and harder every day.
On Memorial Day this past year I was up in Nashua, NH doing some errands. I remembered that I needed a speaker cable for the amp I have at my house, so I figured "Ok I’ll pop in GC, get a cable and be on my way". I walk up to the accessories counter, and a guy that looks like Russell Brand asks me want I’m looking for. I tell him I want a 3 foot monster speaker cable, He says Cool, and we walk over to Pro Audio and he asks me "Ok but are you sure you want monster?" I said "Yes, why not?" His response was "Well, I find that the ends are kind of boxy". I kind of shrugged it off and said “yeah well, whatever” He then went and grabbed a live wire brand cable, and began to ring me up! I was kind of shocked that he ignored my request. Before I could comment on this, he asked me for my information (address, phone #, etc) I asked "do you really need to my information to complete this purchase for a speaker cable?" He informed me that this was Guitar Center's policy, and I said really? He said it would only take a couple of seconds. Again I commented with at Senfield-esque "Really?!" He then asked again for my address. I was disgusted that for a $13 purchase I needed to give my personal information. I said "have a nice day" and walked out. I was appalled that not only do they want my personal info, but that he grabbed another brand (which I believe is the non-descript guitar center brand). I know Monster cables don’t have a lot of markup on them, meaning there’s less profit for the retailer, so pushing their own brand makes sense.
On my way out of the parking lot I was fuming, but then I remembered there is a Daddy's Junky music across the street. I walked in, and purchased the monster cable I originally wanted. No personal information was given during the transaction. I was in and out of their store within 5 minutes.
I came home and told my Fiancé what happened, and she said “You should email them” I said No, I’m going to email GC AND MONSTER! I kept thinking of the movie “Summer School” when Chainsaw wrote to the “Cool Dudes Shades Company” because his sunglasses broke.
So I wrote an articulate email, stating what happened, and why I was disappointed to GC. I then sent one to Monster telling them that when their products are requested at a guitar center, they are directed to buy another brand. Rumor has it Monster PAYS for those spots on the wall at guitar centers. Glad to know that’s money well spent on their part! I also included the email I sent to GC.
The next day I get an email from the store manager of Guitar Center, he asked me to call them to discuss the situation. I did and he apologized for what happened. He tried to defend the request of asking for the personal information, stating that it’s a security thing for credit card purchases. I've since found out that some companies have quotas for getting new names into their system. I told him I was gonna pay cash, and if I’m paying by credit card and he wanted to check my address, he should ask for my drivers license. Otherwise there’s no reason for them to have that information. He couldn’t defend the sales person substuting a monster cable for another brand, and said that the salesperson was spoken to on this. I asked why would he even try and spend the effort to change the item, when it was requested; he had no response to this. I then told him I emailed Monster on the situation as well, and that he shouldn’t be surprised if he hears about this from them.
He then asked if there was anything he could do to win back my business. At this point I was re living my feelings about this situation, and I got a bit pig headed and said “You tell me?” He did say if there was anything he could do, he would love the chance for my business again.
After hanging up with him I realized “oh crap, I could use a BBE sonic Stomp pedal”. So I contact him and tell him “I was a bit hasty and probably a bit gruff as talking to him I re lived that experience, but I could use a BBE Sonic stomp, is there a way we could make a deal on this?” He offered me the last one he had in stock for ½ price. Ok I can deal with that.
Monster got back to me during the week as well, thanking me for letting them know about the situation. I don’t know what that really means in the real world, but they did thank me for going out of my way to buy their product, and they sent me a swag bag, of a couple of cable ties, a T shirt and some stickers. The swag bag isn’t a big deal to me. The fact that they got back to me, and let me know that they appreciate my business was nice, especially from a big company.
The next Saturday I go back to GC and I pick up my new pedal, and the guy that caused all this problem was working there. Great, this could be awkward. Thankfully I blended in with every other 30 something wearing khaki cargo shorts, & a baseball cap.
The manager hooked me up with the pedal, at ½ price. He was nice and amiable, and amazingly enough, you could tell he wasn’t doing this begrudgingly. He was sincere, and very gracious.
So for all this I didn’t spend $13 at guitar center, I spent $43, did they make any money off of the sale? Maybe, but probably not as much. Ok, will I ever go to a GC again? I dunno. In my opinion they didn’t really fix anything, they now have the same reputation with me as they did as before all this happened. I still prefer to go to small places, or just get the best price if it’s something I just need, that’s a no brainer. I can tell you this though; I don't often go to guitar centers, but after this, I'll be going into their stores less.
