I'm done supporting my local guitar shop

[Locobolo]

I would say that I am very capable of setting up my guitars by myself. But having a herd that is close to 20 guitars, often times I just bring them to my local (mom and pop type) shop also as a way to support the local community.

A few months ago, they went into some sort of management change and ousted the original owner who was the only knowledgeable person there when it comes to guitars. His brother (who was mainly a drums guy) was now in charge. Everything went downhill from there. They eventually lost their Taylor dealer status. And every time I am there trying out some guitars, I can hear their sales pitches and honestly, they sound like car salesmen just trying to shove something to the customer without really listening to what they need.

So that's the background of the shop. I felt bad for them since I can clearly see that their business is slowly dying. So I still made it a point to buy strings and other stuff from them from time to time even with knowing that I can easily get it a lot cheaper online or somewhere else. And like what I said at the start, I brought my guitars there for setup even if I could do it myself.

But the last 4 or 5 setups that they did, it felt like they only change the strings and that's it. They seem to NOT DO ANY SETUP at all. The other issues I mentioned (like fret buzzes etc) were not being addressed. It's hard to clearly prove this since my guitars are not in bad shape to begin with, but as the owner and player of the guitar, you know deep inside that nothing has been done. It's like being charged $50 string change labor (without the cost of strings at that!).

With the latest guitar I brought, I clearly showed them how to recreate the buzz, but every time I pick it up it was still there and they just always act dumbfounded when I show them the issue has not been fixed. This cycle went on for about 3 times in a span of 3 weeks for this particular guitar. This morning, I picked it up and to no surprise, the problem still persisted. But this time, the owner was very defensive and was now even denying that he could still hear the buzz even if it was clear as night and day that it was still there! He was making some excuse that he was a drummer and did not have a good ear for guitars. Heck, you don't need to know guitars to be able to tell if a particular fret position is buzzing or not!

Thankfully, another customer went in and sided with me that he could hear the buzz. I just told the owner that they just lost a customer and took off.

And yes, I took out my tools and tackled the issue as soon as I got home. I fixed it in 10 minutes.

I really wanted to support this local shop, but they just don't seem to be helping themselves at all.

Thank you if you've made it this far in my long winded post. I just wanted to get this off my chest I guess...

[Petty1818]

That's unfortunate but a lot of the times it's the case with smaller music stores. They need to give cheaper set up rates to compete in smaller markets which often means hiring inexperienced repair men.

With that said, I have to ask why you returned so many times for guitar work when you were clearly upset the first time? I understand you were trying to support a smaller store but honestly I have been down the road before of bad set ups in the past and I do everything to avoid them. If this was just a one case thing where you were not satisfied and they did nothing for you then that's one thing but you probably lose a bit of credibility when you return a few times and then complain after the latest issue.

Not trying to get down on you, it's just my thoughts!

[DesertTwang]

Wow. You're a saint. What you describe is like taking my car to a shop for repair, and when I show them that there is an oil leak, they pump up the tires and tell me, "Sorry, I'm more of a bicycle kinda guy, I don't know much about cars. --- That would be $50, please."

Need I say more? Kudos to you for sticking to them for so long. It sounds like their business isn't dying, but died when the original owner left.

[fazool]

Similarly, I posted about a few mom&pop shops that were just absolutely awful.

Some are great, some are terrible.

I never understand the idea of giving someone my business out of pity or "support"

Here is an idea:

If you can buy something online for $45 and your local M&P charges $50, you could "support" them and buy it from them. Then you have spent $50 and you have the item.

But instead of spending $50 and buying from them, do this:

Buy it online for $45. Then walk over and *GIVE* the M&P store $5 as your charity support donation.

You are still out $50 and have your item. You supported them with your pity charity and you supported an online store.

Has a bad taste doesn't it?

But the logic of giving someone pity business is 100% identical to you just giving them your money as a donation. You are making a conscious choice to lose money and have less of your own money so they can have some.


No judgement call here on your values - if that's what you want to do then fine. But don't hide it by "shopping" just give them charity.

[Mycroft]

Careful of extrapolating your experience in this local shop to every single mom and pop guitar store in the world. That said, I'm sorry to hear that your local place seems to be going downhill.

What you might want to do is send the same thing that you just posted to the shop, attn: the manager. Explain that you have only goodwill toward them and truly wish to continue as their customer, but here is your recent experience with them and if they do not change their practices then you feel that you are entirely justified in taking your business elsewhere.

Sometimes people on the inside may not be as aware as someone from the outside how much things have changed. Draw their attention to it, give them a chance to right things, and hopefully they will. If not, you are justified in walking having done more that you were required to to help a local business that you obviously would like to continue with if you can.

TW

[The Growler]

I've seen terrible mom and pop stores and great ones. I've seen terrible big box and great ones. Both categories have winners and losers. When you find a loser, you just have to move on. You can't save them from themselves.

[Steve DeRosa]

While I wouldn't make a blanket judgment about all local shops, I'm 100% behind your decision to walk away from this place. Looking back at your OP there's something far more than meets the eye here, and based on your description it sounds like they've adopted the GC/Sam Ash business model; frankly, I wouldn't be terribly surprised if there was a buyout offer or a request for affiliation on the table (either or both of which the original owner probably opposed) - I seriously doubt this clown's just running the business into the ground without a Plan B in place...

[Tobias Music]

Originally Posted by The Growler

I've seen terrible mom and pop stores and great ones. I've seen terrible big box and great ones. Both categories have winners and losers. When you find a loser, you just have to move on. You can't save them from themselves.

Agreed. Not all guitar shops are created equal.

[stephenT]

I try to buy local when I can, I like the shop close to me.

That said, I do my own guitar work so I don't need those services which I would think would be spotty (inconsistent) out there. I sympathize.

There's a number of reasons I don't mind shopping Guitar Center when they have something i want, one is a degree of anonymity. I call, make my deal and pick it up.

I try to avoid the music stores that wreak of salesman attitude.

[HAPPYDAN]

Being kind of a Taylor fan for many reasons, the loss of that brand support would have done me in for good. Those guys at Taylor seem to really know their stuff.

[aknow]

Locobolo: Why didn't you just fix it in 10 minutes in the 1st place?
Buy your strings @ Strings and Beyond.
Who needs the grief?

[Thrillhouse]

Originally Posted by fazool

Similarly, I posted about a few mom&pop shops that were just absolutely awful.

Some are great, some are terrible.

I never understand the idea of giving someone my business out of pity or "support"

Here is an idea:

If you can buy something online for $45 and your local M&P charges $50, you could "support" them and buy it from them. Then you have spent $50 and you have the item.

But instead of spending $50 and buying from them, do this:

Buy it online for $45. Then walk over and *GIVE* the M&P store $5 as your charity support donation.

You are still out $50 and have your item. You supported them with your pity charity and you supported an online store.

Has a bad taste doesn't it?

But the logic of giving someone pity business is 100% identical to you just giving them your money as a donation. You are making a conscious choice to lose money and have less of your own money so they can have some.


No judgement call here on your values - if that's what you want to do then fine. But don't hide it by "shopping" just give them charity.

Yeah but what happens when you need a guitar setup...are you going to ship your guitar to that online store? What about when you are in a pinch and need to grab something fast? Sure is nice to have that local store too. I support both online and local businesses. Having both is a lot better than just having one.

[Ted @ LA Guitar Sales]

Clearly you don't need this local store so I would suggest you stop visiting them.

Originally Posted by Locobolo

...With the latest guitar I brought, I clearly showed them how to recreate the buzz, but every time I pick it up...

BTW, did you buy the above mentioned guitar from them?

[Locobolo]

I'm sorry if I gave some the impression that I was throwing a blanket statement towards all mom and pop shops. That was never my intention. For the record, I was pertaining to this one particular local shop alone. I know there are some gems out there that offer stellar sales and service.

[roylor4]

That's too bad. I have seen a steady and rapid decline in customer service at several local guitar shops, especially since a GC opened a few years ago. That coupled with more and more viable online choices has put a strain on all but the most tightly and well run "mom & pop" shops. Many are dying a slow and painful death and becoming more and more resentful because of it - often taking it out on the customer.

Darwin's law seems to be at work at a highly accelerated pace right now. Sadly, eventually local customers will suffer with limited choices. Less competition not good for buyers, only sellers.