Worst Guitar Store Experience Ever

[jpbrooks]

Originally Posted by HeyMikey

Orrrrrrrr, You can go back to the shop with a Martin case in each hand and do the Pretty Woman thing

This is definitely what I would like to do and also get up the courage to get out my 000-18 and jam for awhile and then show him that my guitar is still in pristine untarnished condition.

[Rev Roy]

Originally Posted by TBman

For every guy that is super careful with a store's inventory, there's 20 jerks who aren't. Unfortunately for the shop owners the super careful guys are the ones that buy, if they let them, but don't because they get treated like the 20 dummies.

Yep...well said, Barry.

[Paraclete]

It’s unfortunate, but I’m going to guess that the guy has had way too many “customers” come in who think of music shops as playgrounds or even damage done that forced him to cut the price of the merchandise. A lot of people have no intention of ever buying, or if they do, they spend a lot of time playing and asking questions, and then go buy online. My friend used to own a guitar and pro audio shop. Online and large chain stores drove him out of business. People wanted to be able to play at his store and get his advice and expertise, but then they would say they were going to buy online to avoid sales tax.

There was one family that came in to take music lessons, and the kids would sit and play all the high end guitars, bang on the drums, keyboards, etc. Their mother did nothing to curtail that behavior, and while the kids were fairly careful with the guitars, they put hours of wear on them with no intention at all of ever buying anything. That’s unfair to the retailer. But it’s a fine line to toe, because you don’t want to discourage potential sales either.

[buddyhu]

Not quite sure why you feel so irked by this fellow's issues. You weren't all that serious about buying anyways. So why are your knickers in a twist?

I'm different from you....I don't mind doing a few things to earn the trust of a cautious or paranoid salesperson. And if I can't earn their trust, I don't usually get piqued....I just move along.

Being a salesperson is not an easy job to do year-in and year-out, and most of them are trying to conserve their energy and only turn on the charm when they think it is likely to produce a positive result. I think that is understandable, even though it isn't very flattering or gratifying for the customer who interacts with salesperson who is unhelpful.

Just my point of view...

[RP]

I've long enjoyed this Grace Slick anecdote from back in the day...

It was in 1967 that Grace Slick went new car shopping with royalty money. She entered a posh Aston Martin dealership in San Francisco and looked over the DB6s on the showroom floor. The salesmen weren't that thrilled to see her. Remember it was the year the Flower Power sensation hit Haight Ashbury in down town San Francisco. Seeing penniless hippies panhandling and bunking up caused a tourist traffic jam as buses poured through the Haight area daily. A year of this and you can see why local residents were getting annoyed with anyone wearing a caftan, beads and mod clothes.
So Grace Slick walks into this dealership and when she asked questions about the car, the salesmen brushed her off. They assumed she was just a window shopping hippie. Imagine the surprise when Grace opened her bag and pulled out enough cash to grab their attention and a check to buy the car outright. It was a shining moment in freak power.

[HeyMikey]

The reality is that even if you go to a store with no intention of buying, sometimes you just have to.

Decades ago, pre-interweb, I was getting into blues and was trying out some ES-335's. I tried whatever I could find in various shops within a two hour drive but nothing really that I had to buy.

My wife and I took a flight to the Atlanta area to visit her folks. While the gals where shopping one day I thought what the heck, I'll poke my head into this nice looking guitar emporium and kill some time. Long story short, 30 years later I still have that beautiful ES that took my breath away and they graciously agreed to ship to me. The sound, playability and look of the guitar, the shop folks that let me play whatever I wanted knowing I was just killing time, the price, the free shipping.... they MADE me buy that guitar. There was no way I could not.

Of course there was a very nice birthday gift for my lovely wife the next month as well, since she didn't skin me alive for that impulse buy.

[guitar george]

I am mostly a strummer. If I can't check out a guitar, using a pick, there would be no point in trying any of the guitars. I like to strum, hard, to determine if the guitar can handle heavy strumming. This usually puts a fearful look on the salesman/owners face. I never (hardly ever) make a scratch. Not being able to use a pick, I would have been out of there.

[The Growler]

Originally Posted by fazool

What's the common theme?

All small music shops. Excellent or horrid - it's not because you are small it's because of your "front line" people.

Fazool is right. I'll add one thing. Large store or small shop, it's your people.

[Jeff Scott]

Originally Posted by HeyMikey

...My wife and I took a flight to the Atlanta area to visit her folks. While the gals where shopping one day I thought what the heck, I'll poke my head into this nice looking guitar emporium and kill some time. Long story short, 30 years later I still have that beautiful ES that took my breath away and they graciously agreed to ship to me. The sound, playability and look of the guitar, the shop folks that let me play whatever I wanted knowing I was just killing time, the price, the free shipping.... they MADE me buy that guitar. There was no way I could not...

Similar story. My SO and I were driving a car down from NE Ohio to a niece in South Florida. We had a minor problem with the car, so while in Orlando, I got dropped off at Bass Central to "hang out" for a couple of hours while the SO took the car to a dealer for the repair. Bass Central has an incredible range of the best basses, most of which I would never get to check out in my town, so I went to town!!!

When the SO came back to get me she asked if there was anything I liked in particular. As we were going to be flying back I wasn't thinking of actually purchasing anything there, at the time. And the staff had no problem with that, too, as they knew why I was there, and enjoyed the conversation we had. In the end I walked out of there with the sales receipt for a Rick Turner bass.

Fortunately, the bass showed up at home a couple days later.

[Reidclifford]

Originally Posted by Jeff Scott

Similar story. My SO and I were driving a car down from NE Ohio to a niece in South Florida. We had a minor problem with the car, so while in Orlando, I got dropped off at Bass Central to "hang out" for a couple of hours while the SO took the car to a dealer for the repair. Bass Central has an incredible range of the best basses, most of which I would never get to check out in my town, so I went to town!!!

When the SO came back to get me she asked if there was anything I liked in particular. As we were going to be flying back I wasn't thinking of actually purchasing anything there, at the time. And the staff had no problem with that, too, as they knew why I was there, and enjoyed the conversation we had. In the end I walked out of there with the sales receipt for a Rick Turner bass.

Fortunately, the bass showed up at home a couple days later.

Reminds me of a similar experience I had (I didn’t buy anything though)

I was on a trip for work, and since it was only a 10 day trip, and I don’t trust airlines with anything important... I didn’t bring any guitars.

After like a day, I was dying to play guitar. I went to the closest guitar shop, and when the fella working there asked what I was in for, I straight up told him I just needed to play something. He asked what kind of amps I liked, set one up, and then told me to go grab a guitar. He just let me sit there and play for a while. Super nice guy.

[Brucebubs]

This; 'He gets it down and says it will need to be tuned as well.'

It's a music store, tune the guitars every morning and during quiet times.

Car showrooms don't have dirty cars with flat tires on display do they?

Do your job.

p.s. I worked in a small music store for a few years - I tuned the guitars when we had them, it's not hard.

[Jeff Scott]

Another story of mine. We were in the San Francisco area a couple years ago for a family event. I wanted to check out both Schoenberg Guitars in Tiburon, and Gryphon Instruments in Palo Alto while we were in the Bay area. We flew in mid morning and checked into our hotel, then drove down to PA for lunch at Howie's Artisan Pizza, then off to Gryphon where I checked out some wonderful instrument. The staff was great and low key, and I got to play some amazing guitars by Huss & Dalton, Dana Bourgeois and some nice vintage instruments like the 1952 ES-175 I should have come home with, but I wasn't looking to buy anything on this trip.

A couple day later, we drove up to Tiburon to go to Eric Schoenberg's shop there. We got there around mid-morning and, when we walked in, Jim, Eric's business partner, greeted us and said to look around and play anything we wanted to, and that there was a bench outside the front door that I could take a guitar out to if I wanted to hang out there in the sunshine!

I was, needless to say, blown away by the hospitality, and the guitars all over the place, on the walls, laying across counters, on stands on the floor; the place was packed pretty tight with pre-war Martins and Gibsons, Schoenberg's own custom made guitars, and several new and vintage instruments I had never heard of. My eyes roamed the walls and I stopped dead in in my tracks when I spotted a very interesting 12 string guitar. I asked Jim to pull it down off the wall to check out what this really wild guitar was. It was a Yamamoto MS-12, a jumbo body, Venetian cutaway, multiscale (fanned fret) beauty. It was the first guitar I had ever played that had a Ryan style arm rest on it, my first time touching a fanned fret instrument, and not only that it featured a Manzer Wedge®!!! Way cool! I played it for a while then Eric came in and we discussed the guitar. I put it back on the wall and Eric showed me some if his own branded guitars that were built by Bruce Sexauer. They were quite nice with appropriate prices attached to them, not that the Yamamoto was inexpensive, itself.

My SO and left to walk around Tiburon and have lunch at a very nice Chinese restaurant that had a great view across the bay towards San Francisco. Then we went window shopping for a while before heading back to Schoenberg's place. I grabbed one of the Schoenberg/Sexauer guitars and started to play it, then I asked Eric to play something for us. He proceeded to do his version of Lady Madonna for us. Then lo and behold, look who walks into the shop. It's Bruce Sexauer! I introduced myself and we proceeded to have a nice and interesting discussion about - guess what?

After he had left I grabbed the Yamamoto MS-12 once again to get to know it a bit better. Now remember, we were on vacation for a week doing lots of traveling, so guitar buying was not on the ajenda. Shari and I went outside to take a breather, then we walking back in and told Eric the MS-12 was leaving his shop with us. Well, this was another one that we, actually left the shop with just a receipt. I'd have to wait until we got back to Ohio to get the guitar.

Really, we were just out there checking out the two world Meccas of the guitar world, Gryphon, and Schoenberg, not to spend our travel funds on a guitar, but we did it again!

Since I learned that Tony Yamamoto lived in the East Bay area I called him and he invited us out to his home. Tony was very gracious and spent lots of time with us. He showed me lots of his guitars he had there that I played, some one-off prototypes, and his personal Talus made from Maple and Giant Sequoia; such a cool guitar and so comfortable to hold with its three bevels (arm, chest, and leg)and Manzer Wedge®. Tony showed us his shop and we discussed his building methods, overall a great time with him.

A little over a year later I called to talk with Tony and I ended up buying a Talus 12 fret guitar from him. Paulownia top and cocobolo b&s. Most wonderful guitar I have ever played and owned. That is why my great and wonderful custom Martin is on the sales block. I wish I could afford to keep both but that can't be, unfortunately.

Anyway, given my great small shop experiences I have a hard time going to the big box stores, although I do get treated very well at my Sam Ash store; I have not been into the local GC in a long time and they are only about a block away from SA. I either get ignored or I am made to feel unwanted there, and I have spent many thousands of $$$ there over the past 20 years since they opened here. Sad.

[polarred21]

Originally Posted by jpbrooks

I am traveling for business and discovered that there is a guitar store across the street from my hotel. So, of course, I go to check it out.

I have the same carbon copy story as yours just last year. This one is within 30 miles driving distance and I had my hopes up. I did learn a lesson though.

http://www.acousticguitarforum.com/f...d.php?t=455890

[aknow]

Originally Posted by jpbrooks

I am traveling for business and discovered that there is a guitar store across the street from my hotel. So, of course, I go to check it out.

I walk in expecting it to be mostly low end guitars since the music store shares the space with a children's clothing store. I was surprised to see 7 or 8 Martin dreadnoughts all with a sign on them saying to ask for assistance.

I am not really looking for a dread so I pass by those and see a Recording King that looked really nice and I have not had much experience with them so I thought I would give it a try. None of the lower end guitars had a sign saying to ask for assistance so I start to get it down and the owner (I am making an assumption but I am pretty sure) said "Can I help you?"

So I told him that I would like to give it a try and he comes over and says he has to get it for me (it's not high up or anything). As he is getting it, he notices that I have a pic with me. I always use a thin pic in stores being mindful of pic scratches. He tells me I can't use the pic. I said, how do I know how it sounds then and he tells me to use my fingers. Of course, at this point I am pretty sure I am not going to buy a guitar from him because I generally play with a pic and certainly not going to buy a guitar that I have never used a pic on.

It was way out of tune so as he stands 1 foot from me I use the tuner on my phone to get it into tune. While I'm doing that he asks what guitar I own, but not to make conversation. It was obvious, he was evaluating whether I could be trusted to hold and tune the guitar. Then to make conversation I said I am from out of town, but love to check out guitar stores when I travel and he responds are you looking or interested in buying and I said, I am always looking to buy a great guitar at a great price.

I have been playing for just over 4 years and have fallen in love with guitars and playing. I play everyday if possible and am pretty decent player, but I only play for my own pleasure. I have never played in front of anyone other than family so even though I shouldn't have been, I was uncomfortable playing the guitar because he literally stood 1 foot from me staring so I just strummed a few cords and palyed a blues lick and handed it back to him.

I am really looking for a inexpensive small body and he had a Loar so I ask to try it. He gets it down and says it will need to be tuned as well. No problem I say and I get my phone out. I tuned up the E, A, and D strings (they were all at least a step and a half low). I start to tune the g string and it makes a "crimping" sound (sorry no other way to describe it) I turn it a little more and the string snaps. I have changed strings probably 30 times and have only snapped a string once and that was in the first year of my playing. I would have expected him to apologize and offer to restring it so I can try it, but he just says I'll take care of it and acts irritated like "see this is what happens when people play my guitars." So I hand it back to him and he just puts it back where it was so I left.

I highly respect small guitar shops and am conscious of playing their guitars when I am not looking to buy and when I do play them, I treat them with the utmost care, but this guy really ticked me off.

By didn't you tell the dude to back off and get out of your space. Speak your mind.

Not everyone in business understands how to run one. Always treat every customer with respect because you never know who you're dealing with.