Guitar Center - are you kidding me?

[adorshki]

Right, adorshki, Guitar Center salespeople work on commission - IMHO, a very strange way to run a music store. But apparently, it works for them. The Wal-Mart of musical instruments!
Most members of the younger generation don't know what customer service is, not their fault, they haven't been exposed to it.
walrus

Ironically, I've been telling my customers I HAVE to give better service or I won't get paid AT ALL, 'cause I won't get their business and I AM on commission. Conversely, I don't claim to be the cheapest, just the best warranty and AFTER THE SALE service and PRE-Sale support. The important factor is I'm in a repeat business market for a raw product used in other services. The service level has a tangible value to a regular customer whose business depends on my reliabilty. It's those one-shot sale markets (computers/guitars/cars) that are virtually entirely price-driven since no one puts a value on the potential need for service, and if the sale isn't sewn up in one encounter it's probably lost forever. Also ironically, I got a great deal on my D25 at Guitar Center in 1997. When I asked the salesman "Why are you doing this?" he said: "Because I'm tired of this rat race and I want to go back on the road as a musician and I need to sell some guitars first".
About the younger generation, true they've never been exposed to real service because it's one of those things that's been getting reduced and reduced in the name of lowering costs, until now it's virtually non-existant in the retail world. That p----s me off most extremely. Just keep shaving down the service until nobody remembers what it's s'posed to be like anymore. :twisted: And then they put a tip jar on the counter of a bus-it-yourself joint! :evil:

 

[Bikerdoc]

A Guitar Center dude nevering hearing of a Guild? Makes ya wonder how he got his job. I have my theory. :?

Peace

Hi Doc: I actually applied for an assistant manager job at a Guitar Center about 18 years ago, when Zenith decided to get out of the retail computer store business (the old "Heathkit" stores). Music product knowledge wasn't even a factor in their screeeing process, it's all about inventory management and turns (how many times can you sell $10,000 worth of inventory in a month, regardless of what that inventory is?). These issues ARE at the heart of any retail or wholesale business, but it sure shows you the emphasis is on sales/management skills first and product knowledge second, or even third or fourth. Same thing applies with cars, I've been a salesman there too. The whole dang world is just about moving boxes now and no one young enough to be dumb enough to hire even has a clue about what used to be relevant. Like service and product knowledge. :evil:

I think you're right on. As a commercial roofer for upteen years I had the opportunity to get into residential and commercial sales so I took it. I questioned why they (MRDI) wanted me since I always said that being a salesman was like being born with the taste for scotch whereas guys like me have to acquire that taste. But it was because of my practical experience and knowledge of the roofing industry and the fact that I knew every roofing contractor that was an MRDI customer; drank with 'em, bid against them, seminars with them, etc.

But I never acquired that tasete for scotch. Wholesale, retail shackled a guy like me; having been use to hands on, setting the pace, etc. Yes, with MRDI I was an asset to the company and an asset to the customers because they weren't dealing with a salesman who didn't have a clue. But GOD was I bored for the last 10 years of my career. Even though I was a bit set in my ways and had my own opinion as to what was best for the contractor (customer), the concept of inventory turn-over and bottom line sales was drilled into me. But still, unlike a "real" salesman, I can't sell just anything.

Peace

 

[Bill Ashton]

Interestingly, I was just searching for a particular type of (electric) string, and one of the google hits was GC; so I went back to the site and put in "Guild." They are clearly a dealer, nine guitars shown, and well as Hans' book! Good prices on GAD's...pity they don't carry them in a store where you could try them.

 

[adorshki]

I think you're right on. But still, unlike a "real" salesman, I can't sell just anything.
Peace

Thanks Doc. I have to admit I've realized I'd rather be in the "middleman" wholesale market than true retail. That's where it's actually the toughest place to sell reliabilty and product knowledge since so much of the world is driven by simple cheapest price for something the consumer assumes they're going to throw away anyway in 5 years at the most. I have a pet hypothesis for the skyrocketing rate of marriage failures in the US: It's the buy-and-throw- away mentality. So many people treat marriage like a car purchase. If you don't like it, trade it in on a new one! It's just money. :x
A "REAL" salesman knows how to bring the customer around to considering whether they really want to just keep buying cheap stuff and replacing it or not. Even though it may not get you ALL the money right away, most people are appreciative someone's actually taking the time to look at them as people and will respond in kind. Metaphorically you might say it's like not cutting the goose open to get the golden eggs, and realizing you're going to come out ahead in the long run if you just accept the ones that come out one at a time.
I probably COULD sell anything using that basic philosophy, but I know there's some things I really WOULD NOT sell.
I was tested once to be a telemarketer soliciting donations for an outfit calling itself "The Murdered Children's Alliance". I was actually sent there by my state unemployment agency on a referral. I read the phone script to a guy who immediately offered me a job. The script was such an obvious scam I told him I didn't want his job. A "real" salesman has his limits!

 

[fronobulax]

the old "Heathkit" stores

I built an Heathkit H-8 computer and kept it running until the late 1980's. Alas, I always dealt with them via mail order. Maybe that is why the stores were not a tremendous success.

To the original topic, I have numerous friends under the age of 30 who are jobless and are desperate enough to try retail. The companies they apply to do not care what they know about the product line. They are interested in overall appearance, cleanliness, politeness, attitude and the ability to work long and unusual hours at minimum wage. The ability to operate the cash register or equivalent is helpful. But there is absolutely no requirement that they know anything about the product when they are hired. The ambitious ones will make the effort to learn about the product and the great ones will have targeted their job search for areas where they already know the product, but finding a sales associate who knows more about the product than I do is an unusual experience. Giving the customer that experience does not seem to be part of retail service these days.

So, I can't hold it against a GC employee that they have not heard of a brand that has a very low profile in today's market. When I come across such ignorance, I sigh and then try and educate the clerk so that the next customer has a better experience. That seems especially useful when dealing with Guilds and GC.

 

[adorshki]

the old "Heathkit" stores

I built an Heathkit H-8 computer and kept it running until the late 1980's. Alas, I always dealt with them via mail order. Maybe that is why the stores were not a tremendous success...
The companies they apply to do not care what they know about the product line. They are interested in...attitude.. The ambitious ones will make the effort to learn about the product ...
So, I can't hold it against a GC employee that they have not heard of a brand that has a very low profile in today's market. When I come across such ignorance, I sigh and then try and educate the clerk so that the next customer has a better experience. That seems especially useful when dealing with Guilds and GC.

Hi Frono: I edited your post for the high points...Actually the Heathkit retail stores were pretty successful for about 5 years 85-90, then the cycle of obsolescence caught Zenith out. They were still building machines to last a lifetime and pricing them accordingly while the market was replacing equipment every couple of years. Here in Silicon Valley it was ground zero, and there was a merchant called Frye's who pioneered the lowest cost and no service busienss model in the PC market here. Since most of their customers were engineers they didn't need expertise on the part of the sales people. However as they expanded into other generic retail markets their customer base expanded to include people who DID need support. They'd buy accessory boards at Frye's and wind having us doing the tweaks to make 'em work in the Zeniths. That was billable service for us, but over the course of time we had lots of opportunities to sell the concept of a one-stop warranty shop if they'd just pay a little extra to buy it from us in the first place.
I agree, I don't hold it against the guys (and girls) just getting their start in life or having to explore new career options. Your points about the ambitious ones and the great ones are the secrets I used to get ahead while my co-workers watched the clock. And your final observation about attitude reflects a management maxim I heard once and never forgot: "HIRE for attitude and TRAIN for skills." It's the training that seems to be falling by the wayside perhaps, these days.

 

[chazmo]

Doc, maybe you were drinking the wrong scotch.

 

[walrus]

Hey littlesongs, those links are great! I don't know whether they are funny or sad, but they are amusing!!

walrus

 

[jcwu]

All I can say about Guitar Center is... they did me right once, a long time ago, when the salesman steered me toward the Guild DV52 (I'd never heard of Guild back then).