Guitar Center

"I had a bad experience. Ordered online to pick up in store and website said they had it in stock. I went to pick up my purchase and they told me they didn't have it. Since it was not in stock they automatically shipped it to arrive a week later at the store instead of shipping it to my house. If they didn't have it in stock I would have just shipped it to my house and wouldn't have made two trips. I also got a bad attitude from the people working at the San Marcos store. They couldn't find my package and finally found it. I'll just shop somewhere else next time."

"I don’t live that close, but happened to be in the area so I stopped in to buy some drumsticks and a pad. When I walked in I noticed a guy stepping up to the counter. I went past them to the drum section. Looked around for a while. Nobody around to help me so I took a guess and grabbed what I thought would work for me. Took about 5 minutes. Went to check out. Same guy was at the counter. He was talking about bands with the employee. There was a woman standing behind him and there was another employee at the other counter seemingly talking about an item they were looking at. Another employee came and asked the lady in line if she needed help. They went off to look for her items. I stood in line for another 10 minutes. Another customer got in line behind me during this time. The employee who was talking about bands would type a little bit in his computer, but then get back into the conversation about bands. I didn’t hear them discuss any sort of product or transaction or price the whole time. It was just friendly talk about bands. They didn’t acknowledge me or the person behind to at least say “hwy sorry, the system is slow, someone will be with you shortly.” Or whatever. Atleast the other employee seemed to legit be talking with someone about a product. I was getting hangry. My plan was to get the drumsticks and get a burger in the same area. But I ran out of patience after looking around for some kind of sign that I would be helped in the near future. I can understand being short staffed but to stand there just talking tripped me out."

"Store employees are great, good selection. However corporate doesn't support them and understaffs the store. I saw the checkout line 7 deep with 1 person working a trade answering the phone and trying to checkout everyone. This was a Saturday morning and someone in the store said corporate was going to cut more hours."

"UPDATE: After my initial review, I was contacted by Guitar Center and put in contact with the store manager who made it right. He made sure we got a new guitar for a fair price given the circumstances. As such, we are happy with the way it was resolved and understand that some employees will require some additional training. ORIGINAL: Wife purchased a guitar online as a gift. When she came to the store to pick it up, she was given the floor display with no box or anything else. She was not offered a discount for the used item and when she inquired, she was told no discount could be given. She reluctantly continued with the purchase as this was a gift for Christmas, but we will be returning this item and purchasing elsewhere. This is absolutely unacceptable. If you pay full price for a new item online, that is what you expect to pick up. If the store improperly managed their inventory then that is on them and not the customers fault. If the sales associate was simply trying to “move product” then they should be dismissed for selling a used product at full retail price. That is an unethical practice."

"This location has markedly declined. (Edit: However, the staff that remains is still top notch. I specifically worked with Greg, who helped me multiple times sometimes working between multiple locations). They apparently let go of most of their staff, and don't stock any but the most common equipment, and accessories. The Pro part of the store, and the keyboard section are not staffed. I have spent $10,000s here over the years: $8000 for sound equipment for a church installation, $5,500 in keyboards, $1,000s myself for my sound company, etc. I came in for a direct box, and a right angle 1/4" cable this time. I prefer Mogami cables. None were out on the floor, and the cashier (as no one on the floor offered to help) told me those were out of stock, but I could order them. I did order them - from Amazon. The time before, I came in for microphone stands. I called ahead, and asked for the pro shop. I got, "well there are only two of us in the store, so I may not be able to help you." I had to go in, luckily, I found two stands boxed on the floor, and bought those. If I shop at the Guitar Center again, it will be via the La Mesa store dealing with Ernie. I LIVE in San Marcos."